Tip of the hat to my brother for this topic…  who doesn’t like a good scream/shriek/howl/yell from their favorite singers?  Below is the first in a series of posts on my long list of faves and their best moments (in no particular order).

Bruce Dickinson (“The Number Of The Beast”, “Flight Of Icarus”, “Rime Of The Ancient Mariner”, “Moonchild”, “Run To The Hills”)

Personal favorite here would be “Icarus” as it was the first Maiden song I ever heard (saw the video) plus I have a funny memory about me trying to hit that note in chemistry class and failing poorly while my buddies got in trouble for their air drumming and air guitar mastery.  But “Beast” gets a big nod due to its length and power.

Roger Daltrey (“Won’t Get Fooled Again”, “Free Me”, “Who Are You”, “Love Reign O’er Me”) 

“Fooled” of course is the big one (especially due to the CSI theme) and comes at such a key point of the song, but that roar is ever present throughout “Love Reign O’er Me” and shows up menacingly during “Who the f___ are you?” and in the underrated solo cut “Free Me”.  Great stuff from The Who frontman.

Ian Gillan (“Child In Time”, “Disturbing The Priest”, “Trashed”, “Highway Star”, “Fighting Man”)

And this is just a short list!  Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan may be my favorite screamer by far and he’s got one of the craziest ranges of screams ever.  “Child In Time” is ridiculously high, “Disturbing The Priest” (from his Sabbath days) is disturbingly unhinged, and “Highway Star” has some classics.  Hell, let’s add “Speed King” on here too just for fun.

John Oliva (“Hall Of The Mountain King”, “Beyond The Doors Of The Dark”, “Power Of The Night”, “Hounds”, “Of Rage And War”)

Oliva literally scares the shit out of me-  he’s got a great, clean singing voice but the more aggressive he gets the manic intensity comes out and he has the most ungodliest shrieks you’ll ever hear.  He’ll belt out a great scream here and there but his occasional burst of AHHH sends chills up my spine (check out “Mountain King” for examples).

James Brown (“It’s A New Day”, “Mother Popcorn”, “Cold Sweat”, “I Got The Feelin'”, “I Can’t Stand Myself”, “Super Bad”)

Yeah, all fast stuff here and I’m leaving out some others but this would be one loooong post to include EVERYTHING.  JB grunted, squealed, yelled, screamed, and was just in the moment with pretty much anything he sang regardless if it was uptempo or lowdown funk.  Highly influential to artists like Prince, who can drop a mean scream as well.

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

You WIN!  Two posts in one day!

Man…  haven’t done an “Under The Radar” post in a couple of years.  First few posts were done to highlight albums and bands that you may have missed back in the day, but for this go ’round I’m going to hit on an underrated fivesome from California that went through some serious trials and tribulations (and definitely heartache) to release what is possibly their best album ever:  Armored Saint and Symbol Of Salvation.

Armored Saint…  a band of childhood friends that formed in the early 80s found themselves at a difficult period at the tail end of that decade.  Their first three albums (March Of The Saint, Delirious Nomad, and Raising Fear) were excellent slabs of heavy metal, taking the strengths of bands like Judas Priest and the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) movement and putting their own spin on things.  All players were solid, the music was heavy yet melodic, and the band featured a fantastic singer in John Bush.  Unfortunately, due to the timing of hair metal and record company indifference the band never quite broke out of cult band status and did not receive the respect they deserved outside of a few metal magazines and the praise from faithful fans. But the worst was yet to come.

Shortly after the band’s 1987 album Raising Fear and unhappy with Chrysalis Records, the band holed up over the next few years to work up demos to present to record labels.  Unfortunately, lead guitarist David Prichard was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away shortly before the band started recording the material for what would be their Metal Blade release Symbol Of Salvation.  After Prichard’s passing, the band recruited new blood in guitarist Jeff Duncan, brought back original guitarist Phil Sandoval (who had left the band shortly after second album Delirious Nomad), and went in to finish the new album, dedicated to the spirit and memory of their fallen friend.

And what a record this turned out to be.  From intro song “Reign Of Fire” through the final cut “Spineless”, Armored Saint played to their strengths and released an released an album full of memorable, heavy yet melodic songs with some outstanding vocal work from John Bush and great interplay between the tag team of Sandoval\Duncan,  backed by the great Joey Vera on bass and Gonzo Sandoval on drums.  And with Dave Jerden’s production, the songs and sound of the band were really top notch and were one step above the already great material on their previous releases.  Finally, the band had the songs and a great sounding album that would hopefully lead to greater success and respect in the music community (more on that later).

No lie…  this album would be a fantastic edition for those of you that dig heavy rock and miss old school heavy metal from the 80s.  “Reign Of Fire” and “Last Train Home” were two of the more melodic cuts on the disc that did not sacrifice the heaviness one iota but featured some excellent Bush vocal work with some singability to the chorus.  Shoot, throw “Warzone” in there and “Burning Question” while you’re at it; both cuts showing off the killer range of Bush as he offers up plenty of melodic singing in the verses but belts out the hero vocal come chorus time (one of the reason he ranks high in my list of favorite singers- look up those posts!).  And how about the band’s ability to swing a little in the underrated “Truth Always Hurts”?  Just proof that you don’t need to hit everyone over the head with non-stop straight forward metal.

Did I say “non-stop straight forward” metal?  How about that hammering riff on title cut “Symbol Of Salvation”?  Or the in your face of last track “Spineless”?  Two solid riffsters for sure.  But maybe a taste of experimentation is what you need, so how about digging on the bluesy, almost jazzy flamenco swing that intros the great “Tainted Past”, one of those great, great cuts the band seems to toss out with ease that features those heavy elements but adds new twists.  Solid stuff.

Unfortunately, Symbol Of Salvation did not set the world on fire.  It did garner the band some new fans but within a couple of years John Bush was asked to join Anthrax, a band with much bigger recognition and one that could offer up a bit more longer term stability after many years of struggling.  Bush went on to release some great albums with Anthrax but during downtime did Saint’s 2000 album Revelation, eventually leaving the NYC thrashers in the late 00s.  Fortunately for us, Bush has reunited with Vera, Duncan, and the Sandoval brothers and has released a couple of excellent albums, one live album, and done the occasional tour.  And for that, this lifelong fan couldn’t be any happier to see them back together.  The Saint lives on!

Music is a funny thing…  there are certain songs out there or types of music that may remind you of a specific time in your life, whether it be memories of youth or possibly tied to a specific event.  Maybe you remember exactly where you were the first time you heard your favorite song.  Happens to me all of the time and when I hear Soundgarden’s “Loud Love” and the release it came from I remember the cold, dark winter of 1989.

1989…  jeez, almost 30 years ago now.  Fresh out of college and fresh into my first “real” job as door to door salesman for the local cable company, pounding the pavement in various neighborhoods (both good and bad) in the Cincinnati area in an attempt to sell a product to people that I assumed already had.  Well, much to my amazement NOT everyone had cable- we were often given “leads” for people that maybe had just moved into the area (college kids!) or for newly built subdivisions.  Unfortunately, those leads dried up fast and we were given certain areas of town to go back and visit and try to sell people on something that they’d probably already turned down a gazillion times.  Me being the young greenhorn on the team and wanting to make a good impression, I beat the street, lost twenty pounds in the late summer/early fall heat, and did as best as I could.  That is…  until winter came along.

Up until then the job really wasn’t too bad-  I made some decent money with the leads I was given and got sent to some good territories that were fairly new, plus the weather was nice and I was getting great exercise.  But boy does that change when the weather and daylight savings time kicks in.  Sales expectations were always hitting X amount of homes Monday through Friday and those after dinner hours were always prime time, but when it’s dark outside and a stranger comes knocking on your door people are less likely to answer (not long after, the older guys would laugh and tell me that I should have just put a door hanger on the door with my phone number on it for customer to call ME).  And that winter was especially cold and we did have some serious snow that I recall.

So what’s this have to do with Soundgarden and “Loud Love”.  The album that that song was featured on (Louder Than Love) was frequently in my tape deck late that year as the album had just come out that fall.  As always, I was on the lookout for the next new heavy thing and I remember watching MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball and catching the video for “Loud Love”, which immediately caught my attention as being almost anti-glam in image and letting the music speak for itself.  This was new, this was fresh, and beat a lot of the hair crap that was really starting to water the heavier music down.  So I bought the cassette tape, played it to death, and just fell in love with the droning, feedback drenched guitar work and the banshee wail of Chris Cornell.  The darker vibes just fit perfectly with that time of the year and I played the tape incessantly, digging hard on the songs and the strong production from Terry Date that captured the band’s sound to a T.  The band made a strong impression with me at the time due to the album and I remain a big fan.

As we all know, within two short years the hair metal scene was being phased out in favor of this exciting new music that was eventually called grunge.  Soundgarden got lumped into the genre (likely due to most of the bands being from the Seattle area) and went on to even greater heights, but “Loud Love” will always stand high for me as my introduction to this great band, and also due to the strong memories of my first post-college job and the cold and dark winter of 1989.

I’ve got a feavuh… and the only prescription is…  an iPod shuffle post on this fine evening!

“Sailin’ Shoes”, Little Feat Waiting For Columbus

The original Little Feat was an awfully cool band; one of those ones where I liked a lot of what they did but didn’t fully appreciate them until I was a few years older.  “Sailin’ Shoes” is essentially a slow, feel good bluesy churner featuring some good slide work and sweet vocal from leader Lowell George.  Some awesome piano accompaniment from Billy Payne and the lowdown Feat backing vocals.

“Fight The Power”, Isley Brothers It’s Your Thing: The Story Of The Isley Brothers

A song like this is why I’ve always been a funk music fan-  relentless groove, soulful vocal, and that funkalicious bass guitar.  Cincinnati’s Isley Brothers were always a great R&B band but occasionally dropped some incandescent heat on the unsuspecting masses with a cut like “Fight The Power”, a mega stomper with a great dual vocal and chunky guitar from Ernie Isley.  How can you sit still when this comes on?

“Flagship”, Jason Isbell Something More Than Free

I’ll be honest, I really miss Isbell with his former band Drive By Truckers but I fully understand the need to leave and his success as a solo artist is strong.  “Flagship” is pretty much just the man on acoustic with a hint of female backing vocal and some light music accompaniment, sounding a bit like a lost Simon & Garfunkel classic.  As always with Isbell, the lyrics are poignant and touching.

“Come Follow Me”, The Answer Rise Special Edition

This is the live version from the Deluxe Edition of their first album and the clip above is the studio version, so you’re totally missing out on a smokin’ hot performance from Tokyo on their initial tour.  One of the better bands that have come out since 2000; lots of classic rockin’ vibes as they sound like a 70’s throwback.  This song is a full on barn burner, a bit of Zep swagger mixed with the best of Thin Lizzy and AC/DC.

“Daughter Of The Damned”, Fireball Ministry The Second Great Awakening

Somewhere in the late 90s\early 00s or so I got sick and tired of the watered down grunge sounding bands on the radio and started crusin’ the ‘Net looking for some new sounds.  Stoner/sludge/doom rock really grabbed me and thought it was going to be the next new thing but alas, it wasn’t to be.  LA’s Fireball Ministry falls into that category as a bit of a lighter Sabbath and “Daughter” is a prime example of the groovy goodness.

“Conviction”, Primal Fear Unbreakable

Ralf Scheepers is just a ridiculous singer.  I think I’ve made the comparison before but Primal Fear is like Judas Priest on a massive dose of steroids and Scheepers has the Halford chops but is even more aggressive.  “Conviction” would fit well on Painkiller but it’s not quite fair to call the band a batch clones even though it’s hard to dismiss the influences.  That said, their brand of power metal stands tall among their European counterparts.

“YMCA”, Village People The Disco Years, Vol. 2

Ha ha ha… talk about an iconic song from the good ol’ 70s, this one has probably been played at every sporting event, party, and wedding for EONS due to the kitschy fun, singability, and crowd participation.  Hell, do I even NEED to review this?  Y’all know it, your parents know it, your grandma knows it and it’s probably being played on at least 500 radio stations or in the credit of some movie at the same time you are reading this.  And I’m serious 🙂  One of mine and my wife’s road trip songs!

“Lady Godiva Blues”, Mother Love Bone Stardog Champion

Hearing Mother Love Bone years down the road often makes me wonder what direction the “Seattle Sound” may have taken if Andrew Wood had not died at such a young age.  I mean, these guys were on the brink of success with their pseudo glammy funk grooves and weren’t too far removed from some of the late 80s LA metal of the time.  “Lady Godiva Blues” features a charismatic yet fun vocal from Wood and some slinky slide work from future Pearl Jam man Stone Gossard.

“Dance Naked” John Mellencamp Dance Naked

I’ve always been a fan of John Mellencamp’s material and “Dance Naked” is no exception.  Yeah, this ain’t Shakespeare lyrically but it’s purely a fun and simple song with a great melody (especially the “spin ’round and ’round” line), simple guitar, and some punchy Kenny Aronoff drumwork.  And hey, who doesn’t want to dance naked themselves when nobody is looking?  Preferably no mirrors around either…

“Cousin Dupree”, Steely Dan Two Against Nature

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY-zUkWwS50

Talk about a welcome return, Steely Dan’s comeback with Two Against Nature was certainly long awaited from those of us that missed Fagen and Becker’s jazz/rock sensibilities (I prefer their rocked up jazz but it’s all still good).  “Cousin Dupree” is one of the highlights of this album with a playful vocal from Fagen, a relaxed semi rockin’ tempo, and a typically oddball yet funny lyric.  And dig that tasty guitar work too!

Favorite cut of the week goes to “Fight The Power” followed by a tie for second between “Dance Naked” and “Cousin Dupree”

My music collection continues to border on obsession.  Figured it would be a good idea to track what I’ve collected through the first quarter of this year and give you readers an idea on what I’ve been listening to lately.  And yes!  All of these are legally purchased or downloaded 🙂

• Booker T & The MGs-  Green Onions
• Tower of Power- Back To Oakland
• Asleep At The Wheel- Live At Billy Bob’s Texas
• Jon Butcher- Wishes
• Fabulous Thunderbirds- Walk That Walk, Talk That Talk
• Little Charlie & The Nightcats- The Big Break
• Stanton Moore- Groove Alchemy
• Massive Attack- Protection
• Massive Attack- 100th Window
• At The Drive In- This Station Is Non-Operational
• The Who- 30 Years Of Maximum R&B Sampler
• X- Los Angeles/Wild Gift
• The Power Station- The Power Station
• Various Artists- Plus From Us
• Widespread Panic- Bombs & Butterflies
• Ry Cooder- Chavez Ravine
• Mr Bungle- Disco Volante
• Fountains of Wayne- Out Of State Plates
• Protest The Hero- Volition
• Johnny Cash- American IV:  The Man Comes Around
• Atlanta Rhythm Section: The Best Of
• Clutch- Impetus EP
• Clutch- Slow Hole To China: Rare & Rereleased
• Clutch- Jam Room
• Jolly- Forty-Six Minutes, Twelve Seconds Of Music
• Elvin Bishop- Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio
• Overkill- The Grinding Wheel
• The Polecats- Best Of The Polecats
• Jethro Tull- War Child
• Manic Street Preachers- Futurology
• Maggie Koerner- Dig Down Deep EP
• Dan Baird- SoLow
• Black Star Riders- Heavy Fire
• Witchery- In His Infernal Majesty’s Service
• ASG-  Blood Drive
• The Marcus King Band- Soul Insight
• Armored Saint- Carpe Noctum