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“Angry Young Girl” The Parlor Mob, And You Were A Crow

These New Jersey cats’ debut album And You Were A Crow came out in 2004 with a sound that was definitely a bit retro, a touch of Led Zeppelin and Seattle’s Walking Papers with maybe a bit of gloomier folk in vibe here and there.  “Angry Young Girl” is a bit of the latter, laid back in tone with an acoustic base for the riff and understated yet passionate vocal.  Hints of echoed keyboard notes and effective bits of backwards guitar noise are added for dramatic flair, taking you on a journey into those nether regions of the darkest vestiges of the unknown.  Really cool little track.

“Jericho” K.D. Lang, Hymns To The 49th Parallel

K.D. Lang is someone I don’t normally listen to but boy does she have one helluva voice.  Her version of Joni Mitchell’s “Jericho” is excellent, ably covering the original artist’s passion and liquid vocal styling yet balancing that with Lang’s more huskier and cooler hues.  The arrangement here is quite a bit more languid than the original, allowing for a greater focus on the vocal and the melody with more brushes of subtle piano, symphonic strings, and acoustic bass (no electric Jaco vibe here).  Hey, if Mom or your cool aunt or older cousin had the original Joni version play her this one 🙂

“Up In Smoke” Blackberry Smoke, Little Piece Of Dixie

Full confession here…  this is the first Smoke song I heard and while I admit I liked it I kinda wrote it off as “well…  not a bad little cut but those lyrics lean a little bro country”.  How UTTERLY STUPID of me, because the more Smoke I heard the more I realized how fabulously killer they are and now are one of my favorite newer bands.  As far as the song it’s definitely a fun little guitar stomper, leaning a little more Blackfoot in heft but still throwing in the Skynyrd/Outlaws tunefulness template with plenty of singalong moments.  Quite the fun and crankable ditty…

“Slow Marimbas” Peter Gabriel, Secret World Live

Essentially an in concert mood piece originally found on the Gabriel soundtrack for the film Birdy, “Slow Marimbas” lives up to its title…  sparse instrumentation featuring marimbas and light keyboards but also includes the haunting violin work from L Shankar, who “voice” sounds akin to that of an Indian vocalist similar to someone like an Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn.  Definitely not a song per se but Gabriel has never been like any artist in the live format, leaving focus not only on the music but also on the striking visuals he deploys for various songs.

“Black Water” Riot, Shine On 

Two for two with in concert mood pieces!  Here, NYC rock band Riot kicks off their live album Shine On with a keyboard woosh then a brief Irish jig played on violin before the full band kicks in to echo the line, sounding a great bit like a Thin Lizzy/Iron Maiden dual guitar bit.  If you like either of those two bands this is definitely up your alley, although it does lean a little bit more to the wild Irish sons.  Always loved how bands will kick off their shows with something dramatic like this.  And check out the dude dropping what sounds like a “F___ Yeah!” around the :18 second mark!

“Addicted To That Rush” Mr. Big, Mr. Big

Those readers of this blog are quite aware of my fandom for one Paul Gilbert, so when word got out that he was teaming with bass monster Billy Sheehan for a new band I quickly set aside a few bucks to pick up the eventual release.  Their self-titled debut led off with the stunning “Addicted To That Rush”, which pleased this guitar loving freak to no end as it features stunning interplay between both Gilbert and Sheehan and rocked like a mother.  Eric Martin is in fine vocal form and Pat Torpey is solid on the kit, but make no mistake, we gearheads bought the album for the dudes with the fast fingers.

“Fight Fire With Fire” Metallica, Ride The Lightning

God, I remember buying Ride The Lightning after hearing the sinister swing of “For Whom The Bell Tolls”, dropping the needle on the album, and then utterly perplexed with the first song.  Talk about a jarring “huh?” moment!  Oddly enough, I’m still not a fan as much as I love old school Metallica.  That riff is downright menacing and abrasive but that Hetfield atonal bark is…  ah…  a little too robotic and cold sounding for my tastes.  Not long after I sold the album and thought I’d given up on the band until giving Master Of Puppets a chance, which eventually blew me away.  As for Ride?  I did repurchase but tend to skip “Fight Fire”.  I’m a blasphemer!

“Tornado” Voivod, The Best Of Voivod

Funny this popping on after the aforementioned song because it’s definitely similar in vibe as far as thrashiness is concerned and likely not something I would have listened to back in the day due to not getting the harsh vocals.  Nowadays I hear something like this and think the vocals are killer because I dig the intensity and passion the singer employs to sell the tune.  Snake (Voivod vocalist) has always been a unique singer, deploying more of a nasally sneer nowadays but for something like early tune “Tornado” he’d mix it up with the occasional hardcore roar.  A headbanger’s delight, this one.

“Love Stays” Sweet & Lynch, Only To Rise

I’ve always respected Michael Sweet’s talents as a vocalist but never really got too big into Stryper, but I’ll be danged if his voice hasn’t dropped into a slightly smokier tenor with age that suits him incredibly well in his two albums with guitar stalwart George Lynch.  “Love Stays” is a great showcase for the singer, a slower laid back burner in which Sweet capably handles during the verses but it’s really chorus time where he rises to the occasion.  To Lynch’s credit he’s more in the background throughout a good chunk of the song, eventually blessing us with some tasty blues licks.

“(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” Otis Redding, The Dock Of The Bay

Otis Redding left us far, far too early.  Those of us of a certain age definitely know “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” and have likely sung the chorus many a time or have even practiced pursing their lips to mimic that iconic whistling moment near the fade of the song.  What can you say about this one?  Just an incredible laid back vibe and picturesque vocal, one in which we can picture ourselves just like the singer as we chill out and sit on the dock after a long day, silhouetted against the setting sun as the waves crash and the birds sing.  One of my all time favorite soul songs.

Pick of the lot this post goes to “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay”, followed by “Addicted To That Rush” with “Up In Smoke” bringing up the rear.