Emmo’s Blog

Even most diehards would admit that Bon Jovi albums since the post 2000 have been patchy.
Crush, Bounce, Have A Nice Day and Lost Highway have all been OK. If you take the best 4 songs from each album and you would have a cracker of an album but in order to get that album you are losing a lot of songs.

So on their 25th Anniversary the band have decided to release a “Total Rock Record” and have gone full “Circle.”

2007 saw the band get a Nashville influenced sounding album with Lost Highway and although it was surprisingly good in places it wasn’t the album the fans had wanted. Lost Highway was never meant to be toured but it was for nearly a year and 2009 was meant to see the (unneeded) release of a Greatest Hits 2.

I’m a firm believer that a Greatest Hits album should be released when the band are no longer together (as I type this I find that Rod Stewart is set to release roughly his 10th Greatest Hits album!) The band announced that writing 2 new songs for the GH2 album became 5, which then became 10 and so on. In all 26 songs were written and 16 demoed. None of the new songs sounded like they fitted on a Greatest Hits so they decided to release a new album instead- postponing the GH2 for Xmas 2010.

So on 02.11.09 Bon Jovi released the The Circle and as fan of the band for over 20 years I can honestly say this is their best album since 1995s These Days. The albums theme is the usual Jovi theme of hope and faith and what makes that even better is the financial state of the  world now. The first 3 songs on the album We Weren’t Born To Follow, When We Were Beautiful and Work For The Working Man are all about the current situation the everyone finds themselves in at the moment.

The Circle also sees Bon Jovi  write their best ballad since 1994s Always. Since the release of Always the slower songs on every album since have all come up way short in comparison so step forward Superman Tonight (2nd single) which is a belter of a song.

Other stand out tracks are Thorn In My Side, Love Is The Only Rule, Happy Now, Brokenpromiseland & Fast Cars all songs are great rock songs and will sound great live.
 
The only disappointments for me are the song Bullet which at the moment hasn’t struck a chord with me yet and Live Before You Die which has a great chorus but the verses sound like Walk Like A Man (HAND) and Joey (Bounce) re-written.

So all in all this is a excellent effort from Bon Jovi and they finally have an album which can stand proudly with the albums released pre 2000. After 25 years the boys from New Jersey still know how to rock.

Track list:

We Weren’t Born To Follow
When We Were Beautiful
Work For The Working Man
Superman Tonight
Bullet
Thorn In My Side
Live Before You Die
Brokenpromiseland
Loves The Only Rule
Fast Cars
Happy Now
Learn To Love

Rating 8.5/10

2009 has been a strange year for me musically.
I have bought a lot of CDs but not many new ones. I have spent most of the year getting my back catalogue in order.
Iron Maiden, Enuff Z Nuff, Poison & Terrorvision have all had their back catalogues completed.
2009 also saw me get rid of some bands from my collection. I think I must have sold around 30+ albums this year.
Artists that have gone include NIN, Pearl Jam (last 4 albums), Papa Roach, Daughtry and Theory Of A Deadman.
My music taste has changed.

So below is my top 6 albums of the year and my turkey of the year. Agree? Let me know.

Chutzpah! – The Wildhearts:
Without doubt my number one album of 2009. From the opening track The Jackson Whites to the self titled closer this album doesn’t let up. Chutzpah! was a different album than the bands previous efforts as other band members also had a go at lead vocals with stunning results. For an extra few pence the Japanese Import was well worth the purchase as it came with an extra 4 tracks including the frantic one minute pre-opener Chutzpah! Jnr. So if you want harmonies thunderous guitars and chorus’s that stick to you like spunk in the bath Chutzpah! is the one album of this top 6 you must own. Never being a band to do things the easy or normal way Newcastle’s finest then toured the album in September and played the album live from start to finish every night. After nearly 20 years this band still produce the goods.

The Circle – Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi now sound like the sons of New Jersey legend Bruce Springsteen and that’s not a bad thing is it?
They were always going to end up sounding like the Boss even if 2007s Lost Highway Nashville influenced album took them on a slight de-tour.  The Circles theme is set in the current global recession but it’s not a doom and gloom album.
The album opens up with a traditional stadium anthem track in We Weren’t Born To Follow and then Springsteen’s influence kicks in during When We Were Beautiful and Work For The Working Man.
The Circle is triumphant return to form from Bon Jovi after a couple of average releases over the last few albums.

Babylon – W.A.S.P
Blackie Lawless and his band returned in late 2009 a new album. Babylon is an immense album that is surely WASPs best release since the epic Crimson Idol in the early 90s. Lawless and band members are on top of their game with the performances on Babylon. The song Get To The Fire for example is 6 minutes of quality WASP metal with 3 (yes 3) guitar solos. The only downside to this album is that there are only 9 songs and one is a cover of the Deep Purple classic Burn. I don’t understand why bands put cover songs on albums as they should be saved for B-Sides or a rarity album. Still, if you have never heard Burn it don’t matter so much. WASP will never match The Crimson Idol but Babylon comes pretty darn close.

21st Century Breakdown – Green Day
How would Green Day follow up the multi selling multi award winning and critically acclaimed American Idiot? By releasing 21st Century Breakdown that’s how. 21CB is in my opinion better than its predecessor. Yes its overblown, egotistical and way too long but we would expect nothing less from Green Day after the success of American Idiot.
21CB is another concept album and is broken down into 3 sections over 18 songs and clocks in at 70 minutes. The album tells the story of a couple of kids (Christian and Gloria) trying to make it in America after the reign of President Bush.
The pressure was really on Green Day with this release and it took them nearly 5 years to complete. A job well done.

Blue Gives Way To Gray – Alice In Chains
Of all the bands that came out of the early 90s “Grunge” scene in Seattle Alice In Chains were head and shoulders above the rest. Following a temporary split after the death of front man Layne Staley in 2003 from a drug overdose, AIC re-grouped and hired long time friend Robert Duvalle to take over vocal duties. The results on this album are outstanding. It’s always hard replacing front men and there are more bands that have failed than succeeded in a change of vocals. But what helps AIC is that DuValle sound just like the man he replaced. Throw into the mix Jerry Cantrell’s backing vocals and velvet guitar and you have the ingredients that make Blue Gives Way To Gray a masterpiece. 

Sonic Boom – KISS
Ok here’s the deal. Never been a fan of KISS. Never got what the big hoo-hah was with them. Maybe I’m too young but most of the bands I like say they were influenced by them so they must have something about them. This album was a no go until I read a few reviews and they all said that Sonic Boom was the best KISS album in 30 years. This album has  Big riffs, big chorus’s and big hair. What more do you want in an album? Chuck in some great guitar work and cheesy lyrics and you have a great Rock record. The new members of the band seem to have gelled with Gene and Paul and even have a go at taking over vocal duties on a few tracks. Sonic Boom is a pleasant surprise. Enjoy

GOBBLE GOBBLE – Turkey of the year:

Manic St Preachers – Journal for Plague Lovers
Loved the Manics first three albums of which all were mostly wrote by “missing” guitarist Richey James. The band lost their way when he disappeared in 1994 but released a corker of an album in 2007 titled Send Away The Tigers. I was looking forward to this album as the band used the lyrics that Ritchey never got round to using. The result? An album of dire songs. There must have been a reason why these lyrics were never used by Mr James and now we know why. The band just seem to be trying to re-create the Holy Bible era again and fail miserably. Back to the studio lads and leave Ritchie’s song book at home!

I have over 300 CDs in my collection and I was wondering what my favourite is.
It’s hard to pick a favourite out of so many classics. But like the cream some easily rise to the top.

The Wildhearts P.H.U.Q, Guns N’ Roses Appetite For Destruction, Skid Rows self titled debut & Motley Crues Shout At The Devil are up the top. Pantera’s Far Beyond Driven, Pearl Jam’s Ten and Extremes Pornograffiti are more classic albums but at number 1? It’s a very special album.

I stumbled across this album when I was 14 which was 20 years ago. Seems like yesterday.

My number 1 album is an album that had to deliver. The band had released the biggest selling Rock album of all time just two years earlier. By selling 16 million copies the pressure was on. Although they had released two albums prior the one that put them on the map they remained fairly unknown outside of America. Due to the success of their third album they spent two full years on the road touring. Was it a flash in the pan? Was it a fluke? Album number four was give us the answers….

If you haven’t guessed the band was Bon Jovi and the album that was the follow up to the monstrous Slippery When Wet, is New Jersey.

Bon Jovi had hit the big time with SWW and became household names over night. The singles You Give Love A Bad Name, Livin’ On A Prayer and Wanted (Dead or Alive) were never off the airwaves and MTV all over the world.

The two year tour that followed the album release only paused for the recording of New Jersey. The idea was release New Jersey as the SWW tour came to an end and then get straight back out on the road for another two years.

BJ did exactly that and it nearly finished the band. Nearly four years on the road is too much for anyone. They played a ridiculous amount of concerts to a ridiculous amount of people. They even visited some countries three times. But after the final date in Mexico the band went home and didn’t return until late 1992.

New Jersey was released in September 1988 and went straight to number 1 in the US where it stayed for four weeks selling 5 million copies. It also set a new record that’s yet to broken which is 5 top 10 singles from a hard rock album.

New Jersey was also the band’s first album to go to number 1 in the UK where it stayed for two weeks. The album has now sold 16 million copies worldwide. NJ proved SWW was no fluke.

The album itself consists of 12 songs and lasts just short of an hour. Once again Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora drafted in Desmond Child to help with a few songs as he did on SWW.

The album starts with three big stadium rock songs in the form of Lay Your Hands On Me where Jon asks “Are you ready, willing and able?”  The party fuelled Bad Medicine and Born To Be My Baby a tale of two lovers financially struggling world but don’t need anything as they have each other “table for two on a TV tray it ain’ fancy babe but that’s ok, our time, our way.”

The album slows down for a second on track for the ballad Living In Sin. A song about two people who want to be together but their parents won’t allow it. The Video caused a stir on MTV and was cut in some states of America.

Blood On Blood follows and it’s a tail of friendship, honour and loyalty between best friends. JBJ takes us back to his youth with his blood brothers Danny & Bobby and tells us of losing their virginity to the same woman, buying drink with fake ID and becoming best friends. The songs best moment is when the music stops and Jon tells us “Now Bobby, he’s an uptown Lawyer, Danny is a Medicine man and me…I’m just the singer in a long haired Rock N’ Roll band… “

The pace starts again with the ferocious Homebound Train which is one of the heaviest songs the band have ever done.

From here on in the album has a cowboy feel to it. Wild Is The Wind, Ride Cowboy Ride and Stick To Your Guns could all have easily been used on the soundtrack to Young Guns. JBJ eventually wrote a whole album for Young Guns II after they wanted to take a few songs from New Jersey.

Wild Is The Wind tells of a man’s struggle to keep his lover happy. “I tried to make you happy, God knows I tried so hard to be…what you wanted me to be..”  The song has a great line in “Maybe a better man would live and die for you, baby a better man would never say goodbye to you”  and is a real album highlight.

Ride Cowboy Ride sounds like an old vinyl record that’s been stuck under the floorboard, dusted off and stuck on a broken gramophone. Its starts off with a ton of crackling and the singing can hardly be heard.

Its only just over 1 minute long but is a perfect way to proceed the song of the album in Stick To Your Guns which comes crashing in like a bulldozer. “So you want to be a Cowboy? Well you know it’s more than just a ride..”  Jon sings before saying “Stick to your guns, ain’t nobody gonna hurt you baby, go for the trigger but only if you have too..”

The album slows down again with the “lighter in the air” ballad I’ll Be There For You and its probably the best ballad the band have done. Yes, even better than Always. Jon apologises to his lover by signing “I wasn’t there when you were happy and I wasn’t there when you down, didn’t mean to miss your birthday baby, I wish I’d seen you blow those candles out..”

99 In The Shade follows and is a feel good song. It mentions the two characters that Bon Jovi have referenced in nearly all their albums. Jon tells us “Somebody tells me even Tommy’s coming down tonight  If Gina says it’s alright..”

All good things must come to an end and Love For Sale closes the album. It’s an acoustic live track recorded in a small bar when the band are drunk on tour. Jon drunkenly mumbles the words “Let’s just, let’s just say that the records done Ok?”  Before Sambora gives a “Yeeehhoooo Love For Sale..”

It’s not often that an album has 12 songs all of which are shear perfection but somehow Bon Jovi managed it with New Jersey.

Kerrang! reviewed the album in 1988 and said “New Jersey is truly amazing journey from start to finish. Buckle up, set the volume to maximum and enjoy the ride”

I don’t think I could have put it any better.

Track listing:

Lay Your Hands On Me
Bad Medicine
Born To Be My Baby
Living In Sin
Blood On Blood
Homebound Train
Wild Is The Wind
Ride Cowboy Ride
Stick To Your Guns
Ill Be There For You
99 In The Shade
Love For Sale

Its finally landed. At long last!
The Wildhearts 8th studio album Chutzpah! arrived through my letterbox on Monday.
I decided to order the Japanese Import for the 4 exclusive to Japanese release bonus songs.  I’m glad I did as the UK version has only 10 songs. The Wildhearts also gave away a free download from a song that didn’t make the final mix so that takes the total from 10 to 15 songs.
That’s more like it!

Chutzpah! is different to other Wildhearts albums in that the song writing and vocals are not all left to group leader Ginger. Every band member has contributed with either lyrics, vocals or both. This means the album has a more widespread sound but at the same time they stick to what they are best at. Great songs.

Every member has brought their influence to the table. You can hear Bassist Scott Sorrys punk influence as well as guitarists CJs poppy influences (including that of Honeycrack his side project in the 90s.) Ginger has maybe been listening to a lot of American bands now he lives there as this album also has an American sound/feel to it.

I am not going to give you a song by song review telling you what I think each song means but rest assured this is another great Wildhearts album. Probably the best album since 1996s Fishing For Luckies. It has taken me about 4 listens to find my feet with it which is unlike any other Wildhearts album but now it’s all fallen into place.

There are some instant classics in the form of The Jackson Whites, The Only One, Mazel Tov Cocktail, You Are Proof That All Women Are Not Insane & title track Chutzpah!
I found a few songs hard to get into on the first couple of listens. Tim Smith, John Of Violence and Low Energy Vortex were the strange ones for me but now it’s just the latter than I’m still not sure on.

The Japanese songs consist of Chutzpah Jnr which is a one minute song that tells you how to pronounce the album (drop the CH!), All that Zen, Zeen Requiemn and a cover song People Who Died which is again sung by Sorry.

The download freebie is The Snake The Monkey, The Lion and The Spider which is another good song but I can see why it was left off as it don’t sound in the same vein as the rest of the songs on the album.

All in all its another triumph for Ginger and his band of merry men but did we expect anything else?

Track listing:

Chutzpah! Jnr – (Japanese Exclusive)
The Jackson Whites
Plastic Jebus
The Only One
John Of Violence
You Are Proof….
Tim Smith
Low Energy Vortex
You Took The Sunshine
Zeen Requiemn – (Japanese Exclusive)
All That Zen – (Japanese Exclusive)
People Who Died – (Japanese Exclusive)
The Snake The Monkey, The Lion and The Spider (Download only)
Mazel Tov Cocktail
Chutzpah!

Rating 9/10

 Well how do you follow a mega selling album like American Idiot? You release 21st Century Breakdown that’s how.
If you thought that American Idiot was big, overblown and that Green Day had reached a peak from which down was the only way then you were wrong. 21st Century Breakdown is bigger, louder and might be even better than American Idiot.

5 years in the making Green Day have again gone for the concept album which served them well with AI.
21CB is again based on 2 characters called Gloria and Christian. The album follows them on their journey in 21st century America following the mess that George W Bush left behind.

The album is broke down into 3 sections, Heroes & Cons, Charlatans & Saints the third being Horseshoes & Hand grenades and conatains 18 songs that have a running time of just under 70 minutes.

Green Day have made this concept album in a way that you can listen to any song and like it for what it is. You don’t have to listen to the whole album all the time. 

Song highlights include 21 Guns, East Jesus Nowhere, The Static Age, American Eulogy and the single Know Your Enemy.

Expect Green Day to become the worlds biggest band again very soon.

Tracklisting:

Song of the Century
   
Act I: Heroes and Cons

21st Century Breakdown         
Know Your Enemy
¡Viva la Gloria!
Before The Labotomy         
Christian’s Inferno          
Last Night on Earth          

Act II: Charlatans and Saints
        
East Jesus Nowhere          
Peacemaker         
Last of the American Girls         
Murder City         
¿Viva la Gloria? (Little Girl)          
Restless Heart Syndrome
          
Act III: Horseshoes and Handgrenades
        
Horseshoes and Handgrenades          
The Static Age         
21 Guns          
American Eulogy (A. “Mass Hysteria / B. “Modern World)        
See the Light   

My rating: 8.5/10

As you know one of my favourite bands is The Wildhearts.
For those of you that aren’t familiar with their work I have added their entire catalogue to the site.
Anybody who wants to start collecting good luck in trying to track the early ones down and be warned it will be an expense journey.
You will notice that a few of the albums are greatest hits or versions of the Greatest hits. To my knowledge the Wildhearts have never officially released “their” best of album.
The compilations have mostly been released because they owed the label one more album so a GH was released or in East Wests case they wanted rid of the band so released albums just to conclude the contract.
“Coupled with” was released without their permission by the then label and you will notice that all the songs on that album are the B-Sides of the singles taken from the “The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed” era. If you bought the singles (many formats) then you wouldn’t need the album

Also you will see there are 3 versions of “Fishing For Luckies”  The first was released via fan club only after they lost their record deal and the other versions were released with added tracks. Fishing For More Luckies was a label rip off but the revamped Fishing For Luckies which included the singles Sick Of Drugs & Red Light-Green Light was a good version to have.

I may be wrong but I don’t think “Geordie In Wonderland, Archaic Airwaves and Landmines And Pantomimes are official band releases. In the case of Archaic Airwaves this was released by the BBC!

There’s a new album already recorded and will be released around August 09

Wildhearts discovery:

Earth Versus: 1993
Greetings From Shitsville
TV Tan
Everlone
Shame On Me
Loveshit
Miles Away Girl
My Baby Is A Headfuck
Suckerpunch
News Of The World
Drinking About Life
Love You ‘Till I Don’t

Earth Versus (Re-Release): 1994
As above but with Caffeine Bomb added and new album sleeve

Fishing for Luckies (Fan Club Edition): 1994
Inglorious
If Life is Like A Love bank I Want An Overdraft
Schizophonic
Do The Channel Bop
Geordie In Wonderland
Sky Babies

P.H.U.Q : 1995
I Wanna Go Where The People Go
V-Day
Just In Lust
Baby Strange
Nita Nitro
Jonesing For Jones
Woah Shit, You Got Through
Cold Patootie Tango
Caprice
Be My Drug
Naivety Play
In Lilly’s Garden
Getting It

Fishing For More Luckies (Extended Edition): 1995
Inglorious
If Life is Like A Love bank I Want An Overdraft
Schizophonic
Do The Channel Bop
Geordie In Wonderland
Sky Babies
Underkill
Saddened
I Wanna Go Where The People Go (Early Version)

Fishing For Luckies (Re-Release): 1996
Inglorious
Sick Of Drugs
Red Light-Green Light
Schitzophonic
Soul Searching On The Planet Earth
Do The Channel Bop
Mood Swings & Roundabouts
In Like Flynn
Sky Babies
Nite Songs

Best of…   : 1996
I Wanna Go Where The People Go
TV Tan
Sick Of Drugs
29x The Pain
Caffeine Bomb
Geordie in Wonderland
Suckerpunch
Just In Lust
Greetings From Shitsville
In Lilly’s Garden
My Baby Is A Headfuck
If Life Is Like A Love bank I Want An Overdraft
Nothing Ever Changes But The Shoes
Red Light Green Light
Beautiful Me, Beautiful You
Splattermania

Endless Nameless :1997
Junkenstein
Nurse Maximum
Anthem
Urge
Pissjoy
Soundog Babylon
Now Is The Colour
Heroin
Why You Lie
Thunderfuck

Anarchic Airwaves: 1998
Nothing Ever Changes But The Shoes
Greetings From Shitsville
Everlone
Shame On Me
Love You ‘Til I Don’t
Suckerpunch
Drinking About Life
I Wanna Go Where The People Go
Sick Of Drugs
Nita Nitro
29x The Pain
TV Tan
Pump It Up
Everlone
Something Weird (Going On In My Head)
Liberty Cap

Landmines and Pantomimes: 1998
Abhoria
Velvet Presley
Stupid Things
Tom Take The Money
State Of Nondependance
Ride The Wave
Weekend ‘96
Beautiful Me, Beautiful You
Got It On Tuesday
Do Anything
British All American Homeboy Crowd
One Before The Lights Go Out

The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed: 2003
Nexus Icon
Only Love
Someone That Won’t Let Me Go
Vanilla Radio
One Love, One Life, One Girl
Get Your Groove On
So Into You
There’s Only One Hell
It’s All Up To Me
Out from the Inside
Top Of The World

Coupled with…: 2004
Stormy in the North, Karma in the South
Move On
Cheers
The People That Life Forgot
LTD
Looking For The One
6.30 Onwards
Eager To Leave ‘Er
Putting It On
Better Than Cable
Lake Of Piss
If I Decide
Bang!
You Got To Get Through
Hit It On The Head
Let’s Go
Return To Zero
O.C.C
Action Panzer
Dancin’
Stormy In The North (Video)

Geordie In Wonderland (Live): 2006
I Wanna Go Where The People Go
Sick Of Drugs
Shitsville
Nita Nitro
Stormy In The North Karma In The South
Tv Tan
Nothing Ever Changes But The Shoes
Geordie In Wonderland
Vanilla Radio
Caffeinebomb
Suckerpunch
My Baby Is A Headfuck
29 X The Pain
Love You Til I Don’t

The Wildhearts strike Back (live album): 2006
I Wanna Go Where The People Go
Greetings From Shitsville
Top Of The World
Vanilla Radio
Caffeine Bomb
O.C.D.
Someone That Won’t Let Me Go
Nita Nitro
Caprice
(Disc 2)
Girlfriend Clothes
Jonesing For Jones
Suckerpunch
Beautiful Thing You
Turning American
Weekend ‘96
My Baby Is A Headfuck
Loch Ness Interlude
Cheers
Nothing Ever Changes But The Shoes
Dangerlust
Love U Til I Don’t
Don’t Worry About Me

The Wildhearts: 2007
Rooting For The Bad Guy
The Sweetest Song
The Revolution Will Be Televised
The New Flesh
Slaughtered Authors
The Hard Way
Inner City Overture
Bi Polar Baby
She’s All That
Destroy All Monsters

Stop Us If You Have Heard This Before Vol 1: 2008
AC Rocket
Geez Louise
Understanding Jane
The World Comes Tumblin’
Unsung Waiting Room
Ice Hockey Hair
Possum Kingdom
Pep Talk
Rocket 69
Battleship Chains
Rearrange You
Everyday Formula
The Judge
Carmelita

New album due Aug 09.

Singles/EPs

Mondo Kimbo A-Go Go (EP): 1992
Nothing Ever Changes But The Shoes
Crying Over Nothing
Turning American
Liberty Cap

Don’t be happy just worry (EP): 1992
Turning American
Crying Over Nothing
Nothing Ever Changes But The Shoes
Dreaming In A
Splattermania
Something Weird (Going On In My Head)
Weekend (5 Days Longs)
Dreaming In A

Greetings From Shitsville: 1993
Greetings From Shitsville
TV Tan
And The Bullshit Goes On

TV Tan (EP): 1993
TV Tan
Show A Little Emotion
Dangerlust
Down On London

Caffeine Bomb: 1994
Caffeine Bomb
Girlfriend Clothes
Shut Your F*cking Mouth…
And The Bullshit Goes On

Suckerpunch: 1994
Suckerpunch
Beautiful Thing You
Two-Way Idiot Mirror
29 x The Pain

If Life is Like A Love Bank, I Want An Overdraft:  1995
If Life is Like A Love Bank, I Want An Overdraft
Geordie In Wonderland
Hate The World Day
Fire Up

I Wanna Go Where The People Go: 1995
I Wanna Go Where The People Go
Shandy Bang
Can’t Do Right For Doing Wrong
Give The Girl A Gun

Just In Lust:  1995
Just In Lust
Mindslide
Friend For 5 Minutes
S.I.N (In Sin)

Sick Of Drugs: 1996
Sick Of Drugs
Underkill
Bad Time To Be Having A Bad Time
Sky Chaser High

Red Light – Green Light: 1996
Red Light – Green Light
Got It On Tuesday
Do Anything
All American Home Boy Crowd

Anthem: 1997
CD1 :
Anthem
So Good To Be Back Home
Time To Let You Go

CD2:
Anthem
White Lies
The Song Formally Known As?

7”:
Anthem
He’s A Whore
 
Urge: 1997
CD1:
Urge
Fugazi (Do The Fake)
Kill Me To Death

CD2:
Urge
Zomboid
Genius Penis

7”:
Urge
Lost Highway

Vanilla Radio: 2002
CD1:
Vanilla Radio
Putting It On
Looking For The One

CD2:
Vanilla Radio
O.C.D
Lets Go

7” :
Vanilla Radio
Better Than Cable

Stormy In The North, Karma In The South: 2003
CD1:
Stormy In The North, Karma In The South
Bang!
If I Decide

CD2:
Stormy In The North, Karma In The South
You Got To Get Through……..
Move On

So Into You: 2003
CD1:
So Into You (Gordon Raphael Mix)
Dancin’
Lake Of Piss

CD2:
So Into You (Spike Drake Mix)
Action Panzer
The People That Life Forgot

7”:
So Into You (Spike Drake Mix)
Dancin’ (Instrumental)
Return To Zero

Top Of The World: 2003
CD1:
Top Of The World
6.30 Onwards
Eager To Leave ‘Er

CD2:
Top Of The World
Hit It On The Head
Top Of The World (Video)

CD3:
Top Of The World
Cheers
L.T.D

The Sweetest Song: 2007
The Sweetest Song (Download Only)

The New Flesh: 2007
The New Flesh
Unbroken
Bonita

Borderline: 2007
Borderline (Download Only)

DVDs
Live At Scarborough: 2007
Live In The Studio: 2008

Shinedown – Sound Of Madness

Originally released in June 2008 the Sound Of Madness is US rockers Shinedown’s 3rd album.
Relativity unknown in UK the roumers began to surface in late 2008 that these guys were something special.
In Jan 09 the small concert venue in London that was booked had to be moved to a bigger building to contain their ever growing fan base. This was  largely down to the song Second Chance getting heavy rotation on metal channel Scuzz.

The bands new found popularity prompted their label to re-release Sounds Of Madness in early March 09.  The re-release has 13 songs which include 2 UK Bonus tracks (but for some reason no longer has the bands biggest hit Second Chance?) and is a superb collection of heavy rock & melodic tunes . One song even contains a full orchestra.

In front man Brent Smith they have someone who can not only write great songs but also has the voice to match those excellent lyrics. Smith can match his voice perfectly to the tempo of the song which is what’s needed as the album goes from heavy to mellow and back again.

The album kicks off with 3 fast paced songs (Devour, Sound Of Madness & Cry For Help) and only takes a moment to slow down during the albums 4th song The Crow & The Butterfly.
Shinedown seem at home with any type of song but I think they sound best in the slower moments. Don’t get me wrong I love heavy & fast songs but if a band can do a slower song well that to me that’s the sign of a great band.
Another reason for me to say that they seem best during slower moments is during Call Me the band use a full orchestra and are obviously proud of it.

Smith said “we wanted to push out the boundaries on this album. We wanted to think this isn’t possible then record the impossible.”

If you are thinking that maybe Shinedown are another Daughtry or Hinder think again because when they rock they rock. The bonus song The Energy is testament to that. A truly great rock song that I can’t believe was left of the original.

I don’t know why the song Second Chance is left off the re-release and it seems that its only available on the import copy. This is another excellent song so check out Scuzz as this song has to be heard.

2009 seems like it’s going to be huge for Shinedown. The have been hyped up but have the songs to back up that hype. The first great (re)release of 2009 is now out there.

My rating: 8/10

Track listing:

Devour
Sound Of Madness
Cry For Help
The Crow & The Butterfly
If You Only Knew
Sin With A Grin
What A Shame
Cyanide Sweet Tooth Suicide
Breaking Inside
Call Me
I Own You
The Energy
Son Of Sam

 For all the wrong reasons (see what I did there) a lot of people just do not like Nickelback. I just can’t fathom out why. I can only put it down to them being hugely successful over the last 5 years. People just love to build up something then try to knock it down. If you like ball out Rock songs with crunching guitars, Pounding drums and catchy chorus’s then this is the band for you.

OK even I hate the song Rock Star (now used by DFS) but there is far more to this band than that song.
Nickelback have sold more albums than any other band in the last 5 years. Since the release of the massive single How You Remind Me in 2001 they have been a global success. Rock Star was the last single to be released of 2005s All The Wrong Reasons album. The fact that Rock Star was released in late 2007 shows you how big this album was.

Nickelback have released solid album after solid album and Dark Horse in my opinion is their best to date. Dark Horse is one of the albums of 2008. It only didn’t make my Top Ten Albums of 2008 (see site) because I got it for a Christmas pressie. If I done the list again this album would be in the top 5 make no mistake about it.

The album kicks off with the furious and purposely sounding innuendo Something In Your Mouth. It sounds like what it means. This is followed by the best song they have possibly ever done in the form of Burn It To The Ground. This is a song that Metallica need to write. It contains a magnificent guitar riff from start to finish and is finished off with a stadium sounding chorus.

These 2 crunchers are followed by the single Gotta Be Somebody and the slower paced I’d Come For You. For me this song is the only song on the album I’m not keen on as it’s a copy of Far Away from the last album. The lyrics have changed but the music is the same.

Sex seems to be the theme on this album because as well as the opening track there are 3 more excellent songs about a bit of slap and tickle. Next Go Round (about sex until you drop) , Shakin Hands (about a top dollar prostitute) and S.E.X (about a sex addict) keep the album ticking over at frantic pace.

Never Gonna Be Alone takes the pace down before the foot tapping If Today Was Your Last Day comes along. ITWYLD is one of my favourites on the album.

Dark Horse contains 11 songs of which 9 are excellent, 1 is OK and 1 is less than average. There is nothing to dislike in this album at all and is a must for every Metal/Rock fan.

Nickelback will be around a bit longer yet so you better get used to it.

My rating: 8/10

2008 has been one of the strongest years for new Rock/Metal albums in recent times. Here is my 2008 top 10 Rock albums of the year in reverse order.

 
10) Thunder: BANG! Thunder still rock after all these years. The trouble they have is that they are a victim of 2 things. The first is that they are constantly living in the shadow of their first album Backstreet Symphony and the second is that they get no radio play at all while other not as good bands (you know who you are!!) seem to get it all.
Music needs Thunder and BANG! their latest studio album is an excellent example why. They possess one of the best voices in music in the form of Danny Bowles and they are still an excellent live band. 
 
9 ) The Quireboys: Heartbreakers & home wreckers – The UKs Quireboys have been around for what seems like forever. This album is the best since the debut album A Bit Of What You Fancy released way back in 1990. Spike and Co have put together an excellent package of new songs and they all keep in tradition with the Quireboys unique sound of bluesy orientated Rock N’ Roll. This band remind me of the Rod Stewart & the Faces and that’s not a bad thing.

8 ) The Wildhearts: Stop Us If You Have Heard This Before – A cover album of some of the songs that have influenced the band over the years. All members take a turn of the vocals with some decent results. Nothing amazing but a fun album. The trouble is that the songs Ginger writes are a lot better than these songs. Expect a new album from Newcastle’s finest next year.

7 ) Slipknot:  All Hope Is Gone – The boys from IOWA bounced back to release a beast of an album. Many thought that this album could be a bit of a duffer as singer Corey Taylors side project Stonesour has done so well. Many were wrong! This album is as heavy as a JCB with Bella Emberg sitting on it but also shows the bands lighter side with some toned down tracks. Slipknot also proved how big they are in the UK with 3 sold out shows at Hammersmith Apollo at the beginning of this month.

6 ) Avenged Sevenfold: Diamonds In The Rough – This album compromises of 11 songs. There are 2 covers (Pantera & Iron Maiden), 2 newer versions of older songs and 7 songs that the band decided not to put on their self titled album which was released in 2007. These 7 songs are possibly the strongest they have ever wrote so how the hell did they not make the last album? If finger shredding guitar solos and huge riffs are your thing then this album is a must. Also comes with a bonus DVD of a live show which is filmed in HD.

5 ) Motley Crue: S.O.L.A – LA’s sleaziest were back in 2008 with a cracking album. Their best since 1989s Dr Feelgood. Based on their top selling book soon to be made into a film, The Dirt, S.O.L.A leaves no stone or story uncovered. This album put the Crue back in everyone’s faces after a disappointing last few albums. Guitarist Mick Mars is the unsung hero on this album as his guitar playing on S.O.L.A has gone to another level that’s out of this planet.

4 ) AC/DC: Black Ice – This was only the legendry rockers 3rd album in 18 years so the pressure was on. Could AC/DC deliver? You bet they could. OK, so they have been cooking the same album for the last 30 years but if it tastes this good why change the recipe? This album went straight to No 1 keeping Keane and Razorlight of the top of the charts. Their UK tour next year sold out within minutes of going on sale last month. AC/DC are back now crank it up.

3 ) Metallica: Death Magnetic – The metal world held its breath as the heat was on the San Francisco metal gods to deliver a thunderous album after the disappointment of 2003s St Anger. DM is filled with old style Metallica songs. The solos are back and so too is the energy of the band after a decade of mediocre releases by their standards. If you loved old style Metallica then this is the album you have been praying for. Play loud !
 
2 ) Ginger: Market Harbour –  What can you say about Ginger (Wildhearts singer/songwriter) that hasn’t already been said? This album is a masterpiece. 21 songs of shear perfection. This guy is up there with Lennon, Plant & Jagger as one of the best songwriters of all time. MH is recorded at a slightly lower volume but this just enhances the brilliance of the songs. If you don’t have this in your music library then you don’t have a very good record collection. Go buy !

1 ) Guns N’ Roses: Chinese Democracy – Was there going to be any other number 1? Was it worth the 17 year wait? Of course. This album is a massive rock album on all levels. Overblown, egotistical & ball dropping all at the same time have helped W Axl Rose take GNR to a level that no one thought existed. The 14 songs are wrote with heart , passion and are littered with amazing finger burning guitar solos. After a few listens it all falls into place. Album of the year doesn’t do it justice but album of the decade should just about cover it.

It’s here. After a very long time the mystic surrounding new Guns N’ Roses album is over. The beast has finally been unleashed. It’s been 17 long years since Axl Rose started this project if you take into account that the Use Your Illusion albums were released in 1991. Forget 1993s Spaghetti Incident punk covers album.

It has been rumoured that during the recording of the Chinese Democracy Axl has used over 30 studios and spent around $15m. The hot headed front man has fired countless producers, managers, musicians and anyone else who he thinks has stood in his way of making this album how he wants it. One producer claimed that he heard the finished product back in 2005 and doesn’t know why it’s taken nearly 3 more years to hit the shelves. Axl Rose aside no one will ever know the real reasons why this had taken so long. Rose has seen music trends come and go since the 90s. He feels that now is the time for you to hear his masterpiece.

Rose has always said in countless interviews that it will be released when ready and not before. The trouble is now  the hype that surrounds the album means the released product will never reach anyone’s expectations. Also anyone who thinks that just because this has taken 17 years each of the 14 songs on the album (of which clocks in at just over 70 minutes) will be 14 songs of shear perfection are fooling themselves.

I’ll let you decide whether Rose chose this year in particular to release the album especially when you consider what has happened to his former associates other band Velvet Revolver in the last few months. Is it coincidence that the Chinese Democracy hits our shelves a few months after VR lost their vocalist Scott Wieland and even better than that, the same week that VR have been dropped by RCA records or was it always planned to be released when VR were out of the way?

With Slash and Duff’s less than average solo albums and side projects many have said that Rose has played a blinder buy not releasing anything at all. After hearing the solo albums and side projects I totally agree with these views.

Before I review Chinese Democracy let me remind you of a few things. This is the new GNR not the old GNR. Those who want another Appetite don’t bother picking up this album. There is no way that this album is going to have the rawness and hunger of Appetite. Why? Two reasons. The first is how can this sound unpolished, hungry and raw after 17 years of mixing and re-recording? The second reason is Axl wanted to get as far away from GNRs original sound as possible and has said in countless interviews as far back as 1990, that he wants to “bury the sound” of Appetite.

This is for fans who want to see GNR as a journey and the music hopefully evolving on every album. If you liked Locomotive, Breakdown & Estranged from Use Your Illusion 2 then the new album could well be for you because in those songs there are various bits and pieces that tell you where Axl was heading to with Chinese Democracy. Long overblown songs is the sound that Axl wanted and he was going to do this with or without the others.

My only fear for this album is whether or not the world needs or wants another Guns N’ Roses album. I don’t want to harp on about it but I will…. It’s been 17 years and a lot has happened in the world since 1991. I am double my age since the last album for example!  Should GNR be something of legend or still be releasing music today? What if after all this time the album is the “transitional album” that should have been released in about 1998?

I hope this album is good solid rock music and not a band living of past glories as Chinese Democracy parts 2 & 3 are scheduled for release in 2010 and 2012 respectively. This album needs to kick off the trilogy with a bang and not a whimper.

I have heard the album twice now and it’s a massive success. It seems that Rose has tried to put everything in his head on CD and it works. Yes the songs are long but they are not boring. They are songs that start of slow and build up to a crescendo of sound. Half way through the album you forget that Slash & Co were ever in the band. There are roughly 6 guitarists named in the credits and most play on most of the songs. The guitar work and especially the solos are out of this world.

A real highlight on the album for me are Street Of Dreams. Call me an old romantic but I do love a cracking ballad and that’s what we have here. A song that well and truly puts November Rain in the shade (thank god for that). Starts off with just Axl and Piano and the soft versus build up to a stadium filling chorus. You just know you are going to get a cracking solo and that’s followed by the song slowing down to just piano before every instrument comes in to finish the song of powerfully. One of the best songs GNR have ever done.

Another highlight is the song Better. It starts off with high pitch singing sung at a low volume. Guitars come in and the song bounces along nicely. Some excellent lyrics here for example “A twist of fate, the change of heart kills my infatuation, A broken heart provides the spark for my determination.” The chorus takes the song to a new angry level the song then ends with the way that it started

The heavy side of GNR come through in the title track, Shacklers Revenge & Scraped. Whereas the epic overblown masterpieces are here in the form of If The World (which could be the next James Bond theme), There Was A Time, Catcher In The Rye, Madagascar and Prostitute.

Sorry is a song that the old GNR would never have released but I’m so glad this GNR have. This is a slow moody song with a soul feel, Rose sings “You close your eyes, All well and good, I’ll kick your ass, Like I said that I would.”  Make your own minds about who this is about. It’s also the only song on the album written in full by Rose

The only downside for me is  This I Love. Could be a grower but not instantly likeable.
The song just plodded on and nothing after the first 2 listens makes me think this will be a great song but I’ll give it a few more plays. Sounds like a Meatloaf/Opera song.

The 6 minute Prostitute closes the album and leaves you wanting and needing Chinese Democracy parts 2 & 3 now.

So there we are. We waited 17 years and the question is was it worth the wait? The answer is massive yes. As I said before not all 14 songs are perfect but maybe that’s a good thing.  To coin a phrase “It’s So Easy” to slag the album of as some of the press have already. One review said the album ended with 4 ballads? I don’t know what album he was listening to. Maybe it’s because the album is a grower and gets better with each listen that it’s been wrote off is some quarters and one listen didn’t hit the spot for them. NME was never going to give it a good review neither were those music gurus at The Sun.

The truth is that Axl Rose may has just given Rock music a much needed kick up the backside. This album is well and truly the album of the year, if not decade. 
Track listing:

Chinese Democracy
Shacklers Revenge
Better
Street Of Dreams
If The World
There Was A Time
Catcher In The Rye
Scraped
Riad N’ The Bedouins
Sorry
I.R.S
Madagascar
This I Love
Prostitute

My Rating 9/10