Hey ho let’s go!  Time to pontificate once again on the first ten songs that pop up on shuffle mode on the ol’ iPod…

“A Pleasant Shade of Gray VIII” Fates Warning, Still Life

From live album Still Life comes part eight of their dark progressive album A Pleasant Shade Of Gray, an excellent stab at a moody concept album.  VIII offers up a new flavor of Fates, featuring Kevin Moore’s (ex-Dream Theater) tasty piano lines alongside some fab acoustic work from Jim Matheos.  This cut features no vocals and works decently outside of the album as a whole but is better listening within the full context of its magnificent scope.  Still, some solid playing from the band here.

“Under The Skin” Lindsey Buckingham, Under The Skin

From the mastermind of mid-period Fleetwood Mac (yes, there was a Mac BEFORE Nicks/Buckingham) comes a sweet little acoustic piece from the great Lindsey Buckingham.  Featuring layered guitar work with light percussive touches and soft vocal effects, Buckingham give us an easy listening piece that flows nicely and shows a different side to his work with the Mac.  Definitely more of a floating, airy tune that has a bit of dreamy quality to it.

“Jump” Loverboy, Classics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBGIgx7fHCw

Yeah, when I hear “Jump” I’m certainly NOT thinking of Loverboy but….  ah well.  At any rate, this “Jump” is a fun little ditty, certainly not a big dog from the catalog but a decent rocker featuring some funky keyboard touches and some decent guitar runs from Paul Dean.  Lead throat Mike Reno does a good job selling the song as he gives it a bit of vocal punch during the verses and chorus.  Certainly not one of my fave Loverboy cuts but it’s always cool to hear those non hits from the band’s catalog.

“Searching For A Reason” Michael Schenker Group, Assault Attack

Man, gimme the Mad Axeman on guitar any day and I’ll have a smile on my face for awhile.  “Searching For A Reason” isn’t one of his standout cuts but it bounces along at a fairly steady pace with some sweet, sweet melody lines thrown in for good measure.  Graham Bonnet’s bellow (is there another way to put it?) is relatively in check here; his forceful holler swings somewhat mightily alongside Schenker’s riff, taking a quick detour through a multi-layered solo and slight twist before the melodic intro returns.

“Out Of Cash” Vandenberg, The Definitive

Ah man your loss here as there is no YouTube link to this song, which is actually a demo that can be found on their Definitive collection.  A decent little headbanger that cops the riff from Michael Schenker’s “Armed And Ready” during the intro, even keeping the same tempo.  Guitar work is nice and riffy, Jos Zoomer’s vocal is suitably rockin’, the lyrics a little oddball (NEEEEEED…. CAAAAASH!  uhhh… don’t we all?).  As a demo it does the job, would have been interesting to hear the finished product.

“Bullet To The Brain” Megadeth, Dystopia

From the latest ‘Deth opus comes the cool riffster in “Bullet To The Brain”, which mixes mid-period chug with some decent twists and turns in tempo.  Not really any thrash in sight here but some killer guitar work from Dave Mustaine and new boy Kiko Louriero, a bit European in the noodliness of it all but that’s a good thing.  Nice mix of acoustic and militaristic snare work during the intro before the CHONK comes in (is it just me that thinks Mustaine’s fatter riffs sound like that?).

“John L. Sullivan (Demo)” Blue Oyster Cult, Rarities

What a weird little tune from the B.O.C. box set’s Rarities disc-  kind of a mix of Grateful Dead/Allman Brothers/Kinks on speed and far removed from the vampire rock of the band’s glory days.  Eric Bloom’s vocal sounds akin to Ray Davies’ 60s hits from The Kinks, maybe a bit nasally in tone and somewhat odd but listen to that Buck Dharma guitar!  So many jazzy runs in one and a half minutes.  Gives you some elements for where they were heading, but not quite there as of yet.

“Map Of The Problematique” Muse, Black Holes and Revelations

I really dig the sonic sweep of this one; Muse keeping an almost techno/trance/dance beat with a stately guitar drive, tribal drums, and graces of echoed piano.  There’s not so much of a riff here but a statement of regal noise, a pulsating rhythm that doesn’t stop, and a soaring Matt Bellamy vocal that glides along with the tempo.  One of those more underrated cuts from the band that likely works well in a live environment, featuring a crowd hopping along with the grooviness of it all.

“Death Is This Communion” High On Fire, Death Is This Communion

Talk about gigantic and monstrous…  High On Fire ride a mountain moving riff that contrasts ugliness and beauty in all its twisted glory.  Matt Pike and gang hit us up for eight plus minutes of weighty guitar, tribal drums, and guttural vocals that, taken together as a whole, contain such a spellbinding effect that you are caught up in one endless swirl of heaviness.  Detuned and extremely bottom heavy-  crank it up and feel the rattle deep in your bones.

“Smash Alley” Faster Pussycat, Faster Pussycat

This may sound funny to some, but Faster Pussycat’s brand of drunken sleaze rock was a breath of fresh air in the latter days of the hair metal craze.  “Smash Alley” sounds like it was recorded after a long, tiring day (or night?), or possibly after a three day bender; maybe they just woke up outta bed and laid down some sloppy guitar work and said “fugeddaboudit”.  Taime Downe’s cat scratch fever vocals were totally unique and an acquired taste but his spirited delivery here is the highlight of the song.

Tough to pick the winner of the week here but I gotta go with Muse followed by High On Fire and Megadeth.