“Floating Down”, Cheap Trick We’re All Alright!

As an unabashed Cheap Trick fan, I’m still totally digging on what these guys are up to 40+ years down the road.  “Floating Down” is another prime power pop blast, quite a bit Beatle-y and Badfinger-y with a touch of ELO glossed with some killer vocals from the man Robin Zander and some nice slashy chords from Rick Nielsen.  Once again the boys turn a “trick” and come up with the goods- toss in some strings, jangly guitars, and those wonderfully hooky Zanderisms and you got a nice little ditty to take your cares away.

“As Long As I Have You”, Elvis Presley  The King Of Rock and Roll

Two minutes of fine Elvis from his movie  King Creole, this is an underrated tune from the man’s canon with a splendid, understated vocal from the King and typically outstanding background vocals from The Jordainairres.  1950s Elvis is pretty much the bread and butter and he did very little wrong (if anything), especially when you listen to those non-hits that came out during the period (non-hits for Elvis?  You don’t say!).  A fine love song that took a back seat to the rock n roll hits in the movie.

“Lack Of Comprehension”, Death Human

Ha ha, yeah…  still coming to terms with these cookie monster vocalists even after all of thes years but LISTEN TO THE MUSIC!  All can be forgiven though, Chuck Schuldiner’s vocals may be an acquired taste and are actually pretty decent here but the calling card is the massive amount of technical heaviosity; a semi-spacey and proggy intro (check out the smooth bass stylings from Steve DiGiorgio) is quickly followed by a massive, spinning riff before dropping the hammer with more solid riffery.  Some excellent metal for those of you more adventurous ones out there.

“Wiz Kid”, Fu Manchu California Crossing

I remember picking up California Crossing one night at WalMart of all places, probably shortly after the disc was released, and instantly falling in love.  Totally sick of the radio at the time (nu metal…  baaaah), I needed SOMETHING different and started latching onto what was deemed as stoner rock and these guys were high on people’s lists and it did not disappoint.  Fat guitars, fat riffs, slamming drums, and sounding like a bit like your lost KISS tune sung by Ace Frehley, you may love this as much as I do.

“Smoke On The Water” Deep Purple, Machine Head 25th Anniversary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUwEIt9ez7M

Who DOESN’T love this song?  OK, so maybe you don’t love the song but that riff is one most everyone knows (those growing up in the 70s/80s specifically) and may be the first riff you ever air guitared to or learned to play on the guitar.  My preferred version is the live one but the studio one is quite the classic, written as the band was holed up in the Montreaux, Switzerland writing the new album with lyrics based on a true story (Google it!).  A classic if there every was one; not only are all parties on point here but that tasty drum groove from Ian Paice is to die for.

“Choke”, Alice In Chains The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here

I, like many of you, miss Layne Staley.  Dirt is my favorite disc from the 90s and AIC ranks high on my favorite “grunge” bands from that era.  But with Layne gone I have to give it up to Jerry Cantrell, Sean Kinney, and Mike Inez for picking up and continuing on with the name and adding vocalist William DuVall, who, while not a Layne clone, fits in very well vocally with Cantrell.  Alice In Chains do melancholy well and “Choke” fits the bill with a loose, easy campfire strum as DuVall/Cantrell blend together during the song’s understated yet hooky chorus.

“Hearing Voices”, Suicidal Tendencies How Will I Laugh Tomorrow…

I didn’t quite cop on to Suicidal until they moved from their punkier roots and grafted on some high grade thrash metal and walked that hardcore line between the two genres.  I was in college when I first heard “Institutionalized” and it was a big “HUH?” moment but all in good fun with the dorm buddies.  But man, once the crossover hit I was on board with the ripping guitars as I was hooked by thrash when this album came out.  “Hearing Voices” is powered by a primo thrash riff and Mike Muir’s unique singing/rapping/talking vocal style.  Bang your head!

“The Evil That Men Do”, Iron Maiden A Real Live One

Full on confession…  at one time, THIS was my favorite Iron Maiden cut.  Not this live version mind you; no, the one on the fantastic Seventh Son Of A Son album.  Over time though this has slipped a little lower into the Top Five and this version, while actually pretty decent, is a tad bit speedy and a tad bit sloppy if I do say so myself (missing the Adrian Smith factor certainly).  All that said, it DOES have its charms as the mighty Maiden gallop is strong and Bruce is giving it his all through some bootleg quality (Nicko is a pillow slapper on this one, unfortunately).

“Go”, S.O.D. Speak English Or Die

Ooh, in these PC times I’m not quite so sure this would be released.  Hard to say, but the whole Stormtroopers Of Death concept was pretty much shock value at the time-  take Scott Ian and Charlie Benante from Anthrax, former ‘thrax bassist Danny Lilker, and manic hardcore shouter Billy Milano and mix it up with punk/thrash songs ranging anywhere from seconds to generally no more than two minutes with lyrics not for the faint of heart.  “Go” is a one minute blast of anger and ferocity telling us ALL OFF.

“One More For The Rodeo”, UFO Obsession

One word…  well one NAME…  SCHENKER!  For those blog readers in the know I am a big Michael Schenker fan, ranking high amongst my favorite lead guitarists with songs like “One More For the Rodeo” being a major reason for the love.  Such tasty tones to dip into from one of the band’s more underrated cuts written by bassist Pete Way and vocalist Phil Mogg, although their performances take a back seat to the master guitar class on feature.  Listen and enjoy.

Top spot goes this week to the immortal “Smoke On The Water” followed by “The Evil That Men Do” and “One More For The Rodeo”.