This is to give notice to the precious few readers who have come here at all that, commencing Tuesday, 24SEP2002, this little blog will cease to exist. It has been on Life Support for quite a while, ever since Marty has been placing his reviews on BlogCritics as well as Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles.
Because of this, it has become painfully obvious to us here that the kindest thing to do is simply pull the plug and let this wee blog slide into oblivion.
For the convenince of our special devotées, this last post will remain visible for a few more days.
Marty will be under controlled access at Dodgeblogium, for those addicted to his charms. [ed. we take no reponsibility for that situation...that's YOUR problem]
Another review that Marty slipped onto The Editor's desk when she was not looking ! This one, too. is up at Blogcritics.
7 Months
(Frontiers)
This lot produce AOR-tinged prog in the manner of Saga and Kansas at their most mainstream. It is decent but not for everyone. 7 Months were named for the time it took them to complete this 9 track CD. The more accesible tracks are 'You & Me' and 'Stay', but being a prog album there is an 8 minute track with the preposterous title of 'Senorita Serenade'. With two of its members having attended the Musicians Institute, you know it is going to be pretty muso in the end. If you like Saga then there is a pretty safe bet you will like this. It will be interesting to see if they can manage something a bit more special next time round.
Marty dashed off to a party after tossing this review on her desk. His latest, which has also been put up over at Blogcritcs.
Fallen
Fields of the Nephilim
(Jungle)
FoN are back to their old form, having had several line-up changes,
dropping the Fields to go heavy, with the rest of the band continuing as
Rubicon. Fallen is not only a return to old form but a return to their
good form. On here you find 10 stonking goth tracks that contain all the
elements you are looking for in this sort of thing. Pacey but still
depressing, this is solid effort from founding members Carl McCoy and
Tony Pettitt. The band have released a single from the album called
'From the Fire'. Like most albums of this sort, this albums improves
with each play, sucking you into the complex complex If your into your
old school "goth" rock then you will love this one.
There is now a new procedure for The Editor to follow concerning Marty's reviews. Not only are they posted here, but a great many are now going over to Blogcritics, the new site for "What's New" in the entertainment industry, be it music, books, TV, or other genre. Remember, though, this will be the site of ALL his reviews.
Here are his latest:
Cocked & Reloaded
LAGuns
(Brilliant)
Formed after Tracii Guns left Guns & Roses because of Axl, LAGuns enjoyed brief success back in the late 80s. This collection is named for the breakthrough album, Cocked & Loaded, which went on to sell millions on the back of the video and song for 'Ballad of Jayne'; the following album was not as successful but produced a few hits, both included here:'Goodbye' and 'It's Over Now'. It was diminishing returns for their next few albums, with line-up changes and constant bickering. This release was to celebrate the return of the original line-up, and is older tracks re-recorded. It is a decent effort, with tracks like "Rip & Tear' and "Never Enough" worth the price of entry. The only downer is an appalling remix/dance version of R&T. What the hell were they thinking? This is a great collection to remind you that GnR were not the only Hollywood sleave rockers going.
Marty: 7
Dreamland
Honeymoon Suite
(Frontiers)
Most famous for their first hit 'New Girl Now', HS were one of those 80s bands who were there at the beginning of MTV. The band are back with a pretty good collection of hard rock ala Glass Tiger et al. While not as accessable as their debut, there are moments on here that remind me of their first outing. On 'Still Lovin' You' Dee (vocals) sounds just like Robin Zander of Cheap Trick, giving the power ballad extra omph. The final track, a ballad called 'Even Now', is a great way to end the CD. Along the way we are treated to the song 'Lagavulin', which is as smooth as the whisky it's named after. 'Undone' is another good one; the title track deserves mention as well. Overall, a nice little CD of decent hard rock. If you get a chance, go see them live.
Marty: 7
I'm Goin' Sane
Eric Martin
(Frontiers)
Like a game of football, this is a disc of two halves. The first side (if you will forgive the old term) is very "modern" sounding and thus not too great to my ears, with exception of the rocker 'Marie' and the bluesy 'There goes the Neightborhood'. Then the disc picks up, and we see the EM of old. The same soulful voice we loved in Mr Big squeezes a bit of emotion out of tracks like 'Everyday"' and 'Bigger Man'. Why EM decided to include a piss poor cover of the Car's 'All I needed" is a mystery; the other bonus track 'Only a Moment' is better, if not essential. All in all, a pretty good collection of tracks from the former Mr Big singer, but it does not mean we don't miss his old band.
Marty scooted out the door after dropping these on The Editor's desk; after 'cleansing, scrubbing, and polishing' them, The Editor is pleased to post them here for your perusal.
Rock America: Smash Hits Live
Jim Peterik & World Stage
(Frontiers)
This is a collection of some of Peterik’s most famous tunes. As you would expect from the founder-member of Survivor, the band’s most famous songs figure on here, as well as tracks recorded by Night Ranger, 38 Special, and Sammy Hager. Other notables on the disc are Kevin Cronin (REO), Kevin Chalfant (The Storm), Kelly Keagy (Night Ranger), Don Barnes (38 Special), & Johnny Van Zant (Lynrd Skynrd). Some of the tracks on here are a bit hit or miss, not because of the songs themselves but the choice of singers. The version of ‘The Search is Over’ is frankly rubbish, mainly because the little-known female singer, Kelly Moulik, does her best to oversing it in the mode of Mariah Carey. As you would expect with a Peterik record it's fairly ballad heavy, but ‘Heavy Metal’, ‘Rockin into the Night’ and ‘Eye of the Tiger’ give it a good kick up the arse. One of the biggest downers on here is the terribly twee and overly mawkish studio bonus track, ‘The Day America Cried’. The sentiment is great, but the song had a me reaching for my sick bag. But 15 tracks of Peterik’s finest is nothing to be scoffed at, as it is overall a very good collection.
Marty: 8
New Religion
Lost Weekend
(Frontiers)
LW have released a competent album in NR; alas, it is just competent, and there are very few “stand-out” tracks that really grab you the first time. This is defintely a grower, with the first plays resulting in the album not really making an impression. The title track is a great rocker with a catchy chorus that rises above the rest, as is ‘Dead in the Water’. These guys play extremely well, but don’t really produce anything that special; it is a bit “bog standard.” I suspect that these guys are much better live, and I will seek them out. They need to attempt to get the rush of their live show on CD. It might be the recording, but everything comes out as a bit flat, most notably on the ballad ‘I’m not the only One’. I suspect that I will like this more that I listen to it, because, despite its faults, it’s a decent melodic rock album.
Marty: 6
Hardline II
Hardline
(Frontiers)
Releases do not come more anticipated than this one. Disappearing aftertheir acclaimed debut, the band are finally back with the follow-up a decade later, and it was worth the wait. Having the seen their headline show at this year’s GODs show , it was fairly obvious they still had it. This is not a radical departure from their debut, just a bit of modern tweaking, the opening track being the most “modern” one on here. It rocks hard and provides a great intro to a damn good album that gets better with each listen. Like any decent hard rock album it has all the elements you want and none of the ones that annoy. There is no filler and no lame rap-rock, just staright ahead melodic rock. I might oversteping here but I think HII is actually a more solid even effort than their first. Take, for example, ‘Y’, a song where you are singing along to the chorus on your first listen, as you do with ‘Face the Night’. Face is a power-ballad in all its glory. Josh Ramos (Two Fires) does an excellent job in place of Neil Schon who is now back in Journey. Schon plays on the final track ‘The Gift’. HII is certainly the come-back album of the year and could rival Def Lep’s X for melodic album of the year.I suspect both will be on my playlist for a long time to come. HII should be huge even in mainstream rock circles, arena rock at its best!
Just watched the Kerrang awards. Now I know why I was not invited to go: because true metal types need not apply. The awards were full of indy fuck-wits who used to fill the pages of NME. Kerrang's editor Phil Alexander is a total arsehole who would not know metal if it bit him on the arse. Since when was Garbage (who I like) fucking metal? Look at the list of who was on and tell me which one is at all metal. Kerrang has been taken over by trendy wankers, and real metallers have been driven out. I really, really hope some true metal fan hits Phil hard in the face. He knows about as much about metal as Anne Wittecombe knows about beauty.
Gavin Rossendale: Def Leppard have more talent in their collective pinkies than you will ever have, you arrogant little prick. I am sure Rick Allen, with his one arm, could beat you senseless.
I wonder why so many of the bands felt the need to take the piss out of Nickleback. Maybe they really are successful; they are more talented than most bands at the award ceremony.
BTW: A special F.O.A.D. goes out to the organisers of this year's Kerrang Awards! It would help if you knew who was who in the genre before you allocated tickets! I would like to thank all those who helped get me the tickets that were then taken away.
Update: The PR company has pissed off most of the real players in the game. What a bunch of losers....
Marty went out last night to a gig. When he finally recovered, he submitted the following review for your pleasure.
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Guns N Roses
London Arena
26 August 2002
Last night saw London witness one of the few dates Guns N Roses have done in the past few years. It is, in fact, 10 years since they were last here. On the strenght of last night's gig, let's hope they are back very soon.
Weezer opened the show and bored the trousers off the crowd. The seated crowd did not even bother to stand for their incredibly dull set. When they finally played their hit "Buddy Holly", there were two people dancing in my section. I was one of them and my date was the other. Whomever choose this bunch of losers for "special guests" should be smacked round the head. Their performance was one of the worst I have ever seen out of an opening band.
Then Gun n Fuckn Roses hit the stage with "Welcome to the Jungle." The place went nuts and stayed nuts for most of the rest of the length of the gig. We were given time to rest our necks and voices while we sat through the requisite solos and a few new songs. The new tracks were halfway decent but not memorable enough. Axel was on fine form, slimmed down from the New Year's gigs that go NME (who he slammed twice), to his touring fitness. Axel stalked the stage like an angry tiger. He even seemed to be pretty damn happy with himself and his band. The only remaining member of GnR (or close enough), besides Rose, was Dizzy Reed on keyboards. The rest of the hired guns played with panache and enthusiasm; Buckethead almost managing to make us forget there was no Slash, Izzy, or Gilby. His guitar rendition of the Star Wars theme won over the crowd. The rest of the band (another guitarist, bassist, drummer and second keyboardist) delivered the goods to a sceptical crowd.
Much of the show concentrated on their stunning debut, Appetite for Destruction, from which they played at least 8 tracks. I predict yet another upsurge in sales of this classic hard rock album in the next few weeks. The "Ilusions" set was represented by November Rain (of course), Live and Let Die, and Knocking on Heaven's Door. The Lies was represented by one track, its big hit, Patience, complete with a crowd whistle-along. It was a pity they did not play Used to Love Her.
At times it was rather hard to hear the band because the sound was not very loud; the crowd drowned out Axel. My companion complained that her hearing was not ringing as she left the gig. Despite this, she made it clear it was the best show she had ever seen!
As I expected, the finale was an amazing redition of Paradise City for an encore complete with flames, confetti, flashpots, and smoke. It was a cracking set which left the evenly mixed crowd knackered, sweaty, and content as hell. It wasn't a bunch of ageing rockers, either; there were representatives from all the "rock generations" there and, as should be expected at a decent hard rock gig, there was a lot of scantily clad totty. (NB: There were several packs of young girls. What the hell were their male friends doing last night? Washing their hair and watching telly?)
Don't believe anyone who says Axel is past his sell by date. He can still deliver the goods, and last night Guns N Roses delivered one of the greatest gigs I have ever seen. Was it better than sex, no, but it was damn close!
Welcome to Darker than Dark®, the home of the darker side of all of us. Expect the the unexpected, a bit of fiction, the reviews and rants of Marty and anyone else we plan to add to this place. So take a trip to the place where dark sides come to play, a den for the ominous meanderings of the multitudes.
"When it comes to Cthulhu, I am all out to sea..."
MommaBear April 2002
