OK, enough with the “favorite” lists for a little bit-  time to get back into the swing o’ things with other regular posts like this one, where I shuffle through the first ten songs that pop up on the iPod.  Like a box of chocolates, you never know what yer gonna get 🙂

“Material World Paranoia”, Kreator Coma of Souls

I’ll be perfectly honest, my hard earned money back in the day was NOT being spent on European thrash but I’ll be damned if I’ll let it escape my grubby clutches as I’ve gotten older.  “Material World Paranoia” is headbangingly good, lead throat and guitarist Mille Petrozza shifting various tempos here from stuttering riffs to heads down technical thrashing.  Like all good thrash, you’ve got a gazillion different riffs on display here plus properly menacing vocals.  RRRAAAAAGGGGHHH!!!

“If Eternity Should Fail”, Iron Maiden The Book of Souls

From Maiden’s latest opus comes this intro cut, starting off with a spacey, spaghetti western vibe (just listen) before Bruce Bruce belts out a few opening lines to set the mood.  And then… BAM!  A glorious mid-tempo Maiden riff a la “Stranger In A Strange Land” regales us for a good chunk of the song until kicking into higher gear around the five minute mark and we are off to the races.  Great chorus, great guitars, great drumwork, oddly effective ending and overall an excellent example of Maiden’s recent epic work.

“Cross Of Thorns”, Black Sabbath, Cross Purposes Live

Man, I dig Tony Martin-era Sabbath and this is one of my faves from his short tenure with the band.  Sure, it’s not Ozzy/Dio/Gillan on the mic but Martin is no slouch and he can carry a tune even if he’s not nearly as powerful as his predecessors.  But “Thorns” is a winner with its moody semi-doom Tony Iommi riff and solid thump on drums thanks to Bobby Rondinelli, although Geezer Butler is playing it fairly safe on the bass.  Extra points to keys man Geoff Nicholls who does a good job shading the riff ever so subtly.

“Freedom”, Blues Traveler, Live From The Fall

Blues Traveler was one of the bands at the forefront of the groovy jam-band era in the early 90’s; however, they set themselves apart from the pack courtesy of John Popper’s ridiculously amped up harmonica playing.  “Freedom” certainly fits the aspect of their sound as it rides a smoking riff and Popper and guitarist Chan Kinchla lay down some wild and crazy solos.  This version is played fairly straight and closely matches the studio version although it’s a bit more aggressive in the vocal department (for character, y’know).

“You’ve Got To Stand For Something”, John Mellencamp, Scarecrow

A bit o’history lesson here from the artist formerly known as John Cougar as he engages us a bit on music, pop culture, and controversial events in general.  The guitar is a bit of jangly Stones and sounds a bit similar to earlier hit “Crumblin’ Down” pre-chorus but it’s not a knock as this is one of his more underrated cuts from this great album.  Best part of this song is how much air and space is in here; the riff is punchy and the rhythm section is great but they fall into a solid pocket during those verses.  Just a smooth, smooth ride.

“Whole Lotta Rosie”, AC/DC Bonfire: Live From The Atlantic Studios

At one time, “Rosie” was my favorite AC/DC song.  This version is courtesy of the Bonfire box set and is culled from a “live in the studio show” with the boys letting it rip in front of a small crowd as if they were playing Radio City Music Hall.  The energy is non-stop and frenetic as Angus and Malcolm bust out that familiar blazing riff and Bon Scott is on fire behind the mic.  And speaking of fire, I can smell the smoke from Angus’ amp as he lays down a blistering solo at the end.  Woo!

“High Head Blues”, The Black Crowes Amorica

Come third album Amorica, the Crowes had moved on from a Stonesy/Faces-esque band into their own groovetacular and funky ensemble.  Part of that was due to the addition of Marc Ford on their previous album but also due to new boy Eddie Harsch on organ, who adds nice color on this cut with its rockin’ Latino rhythms.  Not sure who’s on the solo here but it’s a ripper, plus Chris Robinson adds a fairly subtle (for him) vocal as he weaves in and out of the pockets of sound.  A funkified piece o’ goodness, this one.

“The Very Thought Of You”, Albert King, King Of The Blues Guitar

Talk about a semi-oddity here-  Albert King is a major influence as a guitarist on MANY players but you wouldn’t know it listening to his take on this pop standard covered by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Billie Holliday to Ella Fitzgerald and then some.  His guitar is used solely as a backing instrument and is softly strummed throughout in this blues/jazz version with tinkling ivories and horn arrangement.  All that said, King does a solid take here as he offers up strong yet subtle touch.

“Venom Wearin’ Denim”, Junior Brown Semi-Crazy

Yeah baby!  Not one of my favorite Junior songs but anything he does is always fun due to his sly lyrics and creative guitar work.  And speaking of guitar work, this is a perfect example of how deftly he can switch between his smooth steel guitar slides and awesome Tele pickin’, sounding like two guitarists in one.  And that singing voice!  This is country, not that crap that they play on the radio today.  Just a smooth country shuffle, great vocal, funny lyric, and it’s country gold Jerry!

“Bastard Nation”, Overkill W.F.O.

This song kicks off with a mighty purty bass solo piece courtesy of DD Verni and his ping pongy tone on his four string death machine before aggressive time.  Nice choppy metal riff and typically snarly vocal from Blitz but we get somewhat NYC punky come chorus time, offering a slight bit of tunefulness to everything.  Production is a bit odd and unsettling here, all harsh treble on the guitars (akin to Justice era Metallica) with that bass tone up front in the mix making this for a cold and calculating listen.

Fave cut this round goes to “If Eternity Should Fail” followed by “Whole Lotta Rosie” and “High Head Blues”.

Iron Maiden

October 1st, 1983…  a date I’ll always remember as it was my first ever concert experience.  I don’t recall every exact detail of the lead up to the show nor do I remember much about the opening act (the band I actually went to see), but I DO know the immediate impact the show had on me.  My exposure to hard rock music was more on the tuneful side, all 3-4 minute radio staples chock full of great riffs with simpler arrangements and with lyrics either in the “party hearty” mode or of a sexual innuendo.  Good and often great stuff but what I saw that chilly October evening was a revelation (pun intended) and a huge evolution in my listening tastes.

Iron Maiden was my gateway, my portal into an even greater musical world far beyond my wildest imagination.  Maiden’s performance that night was so full of conviction and sheer dominance that I was utterly transfixed, so much so that I had to go out the next day and buy their latest (at the time) Piece Of Mind.  I’d already heard “Flight Of Icarus” from that platter and maybe one or two earlier songs (I think “Wrathchild” and “Number Of The Beast, not too sure) before the show but everything else I heard that night was impressive.  But I believe what really hooked me was “To Tame A Land”- Holy cow!  Guitarist Dave Murray bathed in blue/green light, dry ice billowing around his feet, as he kicked off the middle eastern tinged intro of the song.  Visually and aurally stunning in its seven and a half minutes of sonic twists and turns.

So yeah…  got Piece Of Mind, got Number Of The Beast shortly thereafter, got the early Paul Dianno albums (lead singer before the supreme Bruce Dickinson joined for album #3), but what really pushed me into greater fandom was the release of 1984’s Powerslave and the ensuing concert in early ’85 on that tour.  I’d pretty much realized it earlier, but I found a band that was essentially me-  lyrical content revolving around fave topics like historic events (“The Trooper”, “Run To The Hills”), horror/science fiction (“Phantom Of The Opera”, the aforementioned “To Tame A Land”), or classic literature (“Rime Of The Ancient Mariner”, “Murders In The Rue Morgue”) with more complex musical passages in differing tempos and time signatures played by five blokes with a seemingly similar mindset and perseverance as me.  Suddenly in my mid-teens I’d found a band that I could identify with and was much more interesting than what was popular on MTV or the radio at that time.  I didn’t just hear the music but I felt it too, deep down in the depths of my soul.  I wanted to be like chief songwriter and leader Steve Harris with my foot propped up on the monitor and singing along to each tune, with my bass pushing the galloping tempo at top speed.

Being a fan of something can be funny.  I can talk about Iron Maiden for hours on end, not just about the band as a whole but discuss songs, albums, the musicians, eras of the band, and so on.  I’ve bought pretty much all of the DVDs, albums, singles (well, a huge chunk of those), solo albums, and box sets in multiple formats.  Iron Maiden is the only band out of my favorites where my anticipation level for a new release is like a kid waiting for Christmas and almost stupidly so.  I’ll pull out all of the old records and listen to Maiden non stop for weeks until the new release comes out and then I’ll spend another few weeks absorbing every detail of the new riffs, songs, lyrics, album art, credits, etc etc etc.  And then like a fan I will critique…  not as good as this, could have been better if they did that, that riff sounds familiar, etc etc etc.  But with Maiden, there is always something positive that outweighs those harshest critiques in me.

Maiden has gone through a few changes of their own over the years-  new singers, new drummers, change in guitarists, the return of former singers and guitarists- but I love all eras of the band.  I’ll vouch for The X Factor, I’ll talk about how Janick Gers is a major kick in the pants as third guitarist, talk about the finer points of former singers Blaze Bayley and Paul Dianno, and I’ll get into a friendly debate with you as to who is the better drummer (Clive Burr or Nicko McBrain…  psst…  it’s Nicko).  All that said, I couldn’t be happier with the 1999 return of Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith to the band.  Both have been a major shot in the arm over the past 15+ years especially Dickinson, who is arguably a better singer now than during his earlier tenure with the band.  I’ve caught them live three times since their reunion and I’ll be damned if the shows aren’t as good or better than when I saw those early tours.  Incredible.

Iron Maiden has released album #16 in last year’s The Book Of Souls.  The now six piece band continues to evolve over each album and are arguably more popular than ever.  And like I said earlier… you want to talk Maiden?  Make sure you set aside a couple of hours and gimme a holler 🙂

Favorite Albums:  Powerslave, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, Piece Of Mind

Favorite Songs:  The Trooper, The Evil That Men Do, Run To The Hills, Number Of The Beast, Wrathchild, Where Eagles Dare, Moonchild, Powerslave, Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, Wasted Years, Aces High, Hallowed Be Thy Name…  auuugh!  Too many good ones to pick!