CD Odyssey Disc 752: Motorhead

I got up early this morning (for a Sunday). Yesterday I had four more hours of work done on my “sleeve” tattoo and I needed to wash it off. Tattoo care at the front end makes for a much nicer product down the road.

For the second straight week the Odyssey features a band with an umlaut in its name – I just don’t trust blogspot to translate it correctly, so I leave it out.

Disc 752 is….Ace of Spades

Artist: Motorhead

Year of Release: 1980

What’s up with the Cover? Outlaws! They’re mean, dirty and not afraid to put you in the ground if you cross ‘em! Regrettably, these outlaws forgot to phone each other before going rampaging, and all showed up wearing the same outfit. Awkward!

How I Came To Know It: My brother had this album but I didn’t listen to it a lot back in the day. I’ve had a greatest hits package from Motorhead for a while, and recently I was searching for some studio albums to try out. “Ace of Spaces” is considered by many the classic Motorhead album, so it was the natural starting point.

How It Stacks Up: This is the only Motorhead studio album I own (for now), so it can’t really stack up.

Ratings: 4 stars

Listening to “Ace of Spades” it is hard to imagine band leader and bassist Lemmy ever playing in seventies prog act “Hawkwind.” There are no time or tempo changes here, and no nerdy talk of space adventures or fantastical journeys.

Instead “Ace of Spades” is 100% pure visceral power. The music is an assault on your senses and coming straight from the variations of Blue Oyster Cult’s “Fire of Unknown Origin” it was a shock to my system at first. It felt kind of like those first few pokes of the needle when you are getting a tattoo.

Just like a tattoo, you quickly settle into the experience. You have to let Motorhead flow into you. Remember to breathe and just let it hammer away.

“Ace of Spades” begins with the title track, which thirty-five years later is still a classic. The boys jump all over the front of the beat, making the song feel like a reckless race to the end. As it is throughout the album, Lemmy’s vocals rasp their ugly way through the song. He’s not a pretty man, and he doesn’t have a pretty voice, but he is what Motorhead needs. I always picture him singing up into his microphone (he used to always set the mike stand way too high), his giant mole blistering off his face from around whatever unkempt facial hair he was rocking at the time. Lemmy is living proof that no matter how ugly you are, if you can play rock and roll you’ll still get the girls.

Many of the songs on “Ace of Spades” pursue this journey. “Love Me Like a Reptile” has a nice rolling guitar riff, as Lemmy invites the object of his affection to love him like a reptile, as if you could love him any other way. Reptiles noted in the song include the Black Mamba, the Thunder Lizard and the…er…Electric Eel. Ah, guys…?

Elsewhere Lemmy sings about the dangers of under-aged girls interested in his electric eel, in “Jailbait” and the slightly more philosophical “The Chase is Better than the Catch.”

The guitar solos on “Ace of Spades” don’t blow me away, but “Fast” Eddie Clarke definitely knows his stuff and the production keeps a nice balance between instruments in a genre of music that too often over-amps the guitars. I love the guitar best when it is just laying down a furious metal groove, like on “Shoot You in the Back” or “(We Are) The Road Crew.”

There is a punk element to Motorhead in their absolute adherence to simple melodies that hammer away. Motorhead isn’t a band to put on airs, literally or figuratively, and there is a strange humility amid the fist-raising power of their music.

For example, “(We Are) The Road Crew” is a song about the rigors of touring, but instead of telling the story as rock stars, they give the roadies the spotlight:

“Another hotel we can burn, another screw, another turn

Another Europe map to learn, another truckstop on the way,

Another game I learned to play, another word I learned to say

Another bloody custom’s post, another fucking foreign coast,

Another set of scars to boast.

We are the Road Crew.”

The album loses me a little on the first half of side two, with “Fire Fire,” “Jailbait,” “Dance,” and “Bite the Bullet” the weaker parts of the album.

Fortunately the boys bring it back home with “The Chase is Better than the Catch.” This is probably my favourite Motorhead song of all time, with its chugging beat, loose and dirty three chord guitar riff and Lemmy at his most lascivious.

The album ends with “The Hammer,” a punk-infused barrage on the ears that brings you full circle to the opening song of the album. While “Ace of Spades” is the better song, “The Hammer” is the perfect book end to it.

My copy of the CD has three bonus tracks. As an album purist, I usually don’t like this but the additions are all good, and even with their inclusion the whole record is over in 45 furious minutes.

Two of the three songs are covers. One is a collaboration with all-girl metal band Girlschool on “Please Don’t Touch” a cover of the 1959 song by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. It isn’t better than the original, but it is close. The other cover is of a Girlschool song, “Emergency” and is also a great addition.

If you are a metal fan, “Ace of Spades” is a must-own record. If you like punk music, this could be your gateway album into the world of metal and if you don’t like punk or metal then you may want to consider broadening your horizons.

Best tracks: Ace of Spades, Love Me Like a Reptile, Shoot You in the Back, (We Are) The Road Crew, The Chase is Better than the Catch, Please Don’t Touch

CD Odyssey Disc 751: Blue Oyster Cult

I’ve been so busy after work this week that I haven’t had time to blog. This has been kind of awesome, because it has given me the chance to listen to this next album over and over. I’ve listened to it hundreds of times over the years, but that didn’t make it any less of a treat.

Disc 751 is….Fire of Unknown Origin

Artist: Blue Oyster Cult

Year of Release: 1981

What’s up with the Cover? Blue Oyster Cultists, obviously. Each has their own votive blue oyster shell. I’ve always felt this would make a wicked Halloween costume.

As is tradition with BOC covers, you must search out the BOC symbol – in this case it is on the left breast of the lead cultist.

How I Came To Know It: I’ve known this album ever since my brother brought it home in 1981.

How It Stacks Up: I have 11 of Blue Oyster Cult’s studio albums. “Fire of Unknown Origin” is tied for first overall with another album that is so different it is hard to compare them. However, since it is my job at this juncture of our journey together to do so, I’ll reluctantly slide “Fire of Unknown Origin” into second place.

Ratings: 5 stars

There is so much to say about “Fire of Unknown Origin,” but I am mindful that few readers will be the Blue Oyster Cult fanboy that I am, so I’ll try to restrain myself.

OK, I tried. “Fire of Unknown Origin” is one of the greatest rock albums ever, by one of the greatest rock bands ever. It may not make the same splashes into conversations about great albums, but that’s just because those conversations didn’t involve me.

This record is the emergence of Blue Oyster Cult into the eighties. Technically, “Cultosaurus Erectus” came out a year prior, but the sounds of “Fire of Unknown Origin” absorb eighties sensibilities better. The title track leads the album off with a synthesizer riff that is brilliant, innovative and thoroughly (for the time) modern. Later in the decade bands would overdue it with the synth. Even BOC overdoes it two years later on “The Revolution by Night” album.

But on “Fire of Unknown Origin” the band uses it in just the right proportion. The organ augments other songs, and the fuzzy quality of it is something earlier bands like Deep Purple could only dream of having at their disposal.

But don’t be fooled, “Fire of Unknown Origin” is not a synth-driven album. The band still rocks it out, with every classic rock instrument getting its due. “After Dark” is driven by its bass lick, “Heavy Metal: Black and Silver” is all about screeching guitar and “Veteran of the Psychic Wars” is nothing if not for the driving martial beat of its drums calling you to conflicts best forgotten.

Most songs just blend them all perfectly together. The great thing about Blue Oyster Cult is every instrument – even voice – gets equal treatment in the mixing room, and your ear is free to wander to whatever sound it fancies at that moment.

This is a prog album for sure, with all the hallmarks of prog. Tempo and time signature changes, and crazy otherworldly topics abound. For topics, we are treated to UFO abductions, vampires, the aforementioned psychic wars and even Joan Crawford rising from the grave to launch the end times.

The band really outdoes itself with “Vengeance (the Pact),” a song written for the movie Heavy Metal, but rejected – probably for being too close to the story. The band writes the tale of a Tarakian taking vengeance on some murderous raiders. If you don’t know, a Tarakian is a woman warrior with white hair who wears very little clothing, but is very talented with a sword. She flies around on some kind of reptile with wings to wreak her vengeance.

How could stuff like this appeal to anyone past the age of 15? Put simply, the musicality of “Fire of Unknown Origin” is exceptional. These are tight and thoughtfully written songs both musically and lyrically. “Vengeance (the Pact)” is the best thing that never happened on the Heavy Metal soundtrack. The song that was chosen, “Veteran of the Psychic Wars” is the best thing that did.

Buck Dharma’s guitar solos are less prominent than on some records, but he still gets his licks in. The album’s ‘hit’ (and BOC’s only ever #1) “Burnin’ For You” isn’t my favourite song, but the guitar work on that song is exceptional. While “Heavy Metal: Black and Silver” is not as great a song in its construction, the guitar is some of the heaviest stuff going on in 1981.

The album’s proggy nature is wrapped in pretty melodies, many of which move in unexpected ways but never feel forced. This album is Blue Oyster Cult taking all the fearless weirdness from their first three albums, mixing in the doo wop and fifties rock from “Agents of Fortune” and “Mirrors” and adding the rock edge of “Spectres.”

The album never makes a bad step, which is not to say it doesn’t take precarious ones. “Joan Crawford” starts with classical piano, and then slips into lyrics about catholic school girls throwing away their mascara and chaining themselves to the axels of big Mack trucks. “After Dark” starts with a bass riff, mixes in a new wave organ and then lets Buck’s guitar add rock and roll without the very real fear it could be too much.

All of that is dangerous footing, but this album is the mountain goat of prog; knowing just where to put the notes down so as not to slip. Because it covers so much ground on what the band is about, and doe so ably it is my go to ‘gateway album’ to get other people interested in the band.

I rank “Fire of Unknown Origin” as my second favourite record. It could easily be my first. I play it all the time, and have done for decades, yet I never tire of a single track. It is music that makes you think, encourages your imagination to take flight and does it all at a high level. In short, this is must have rock and roll.

Best tracks: All tracks

CD Odyssey Disc 750: Them Crooked Vultures

I am halfway through a really great weekend. I spent Friday hanging with a friend (and making some new ones) and earlier today I got in a game of ulti. Now I’m blogging and soon I’ll take wee nap. Life feels very relaxed and the pressures of the work week seem so long ago. Ah, Saturdays…

Disc 750 is….Self Titled

Artist: Them Crooked Vultures

Year of Release: 2009

What’s up with the Cover?  Behold Vulture-Head: Super Villain. His super power? The ability to pick over the corpses of dead bands to create new ones.

How I Came To Know It: My friend Kelly brought it over once for a games night and it sounded pretty good. After that I’m not sure if he bought it for me, or maybe Sheila or another friend did. Maybe I bought it for myself, and now I’m trying to pretend that didn’t happen. Anyway, now I have my very own copy.

How It Stacks Up: This is the band’s only album to date, so there isn’t anything to stack up against.

Ratings: 2 stars

Superbands are so often less than the sum of their parts, and so it is with “Them Crooked Vultures.” In this case, our stars are John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme.

This should work for me, I like three of these guys’ former bands (Kyuss, Nirvana and Led Zeppelin) and I can tolerate a fourth (Foo Fighters). The less said about Queens of the Stone Age the better.

The album begins with a bang with “Nobody Loves Me & Neither Do I.” Ill-advised use of the ampersand aside, this is a quality rock song that crunches a pretty sweet groove and even has a bit of menace in it.

Unfortunately moments like this are too few and far between. A lot of the album has too many ideas being crammed into a single song. It makes a lot of them feel overwrought and without direction.

The musicianship is great, particularly the rhythm section. Grohl is an awesome rock drummer and John Paul Jones is clearly enjoying being out from the shadow of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. I also like Josh Homme’s guitar stylings, although I think his fuzzy groove-metal thing in Kyuss is better than the more bluesy style he strives for with Them Crooked Vultures.

But while it is competent, the playing lacks heart. It could be the arrangements, but the band feels like it is always in a hurry, even though they are in perfect time. The songs set up a couple of alternative grooves early on, play them against one another in sometimes jarring fashion and then take forever to bring it to a conclusion. Feeling hurried and still taking too long is not a good combination.

Consider “New Fang” which is a pretty solid song, but just drones on and on at the end. No amount of fuzzy guitar soloing will make up for the fact that the song just stubbornly refuses to resolve when it should. Considering it is under four minutes long, it is even more disappointing.  

The music is better when you focus on the drums and bass. Josh Homme has a solid enough rock voice, but these songs are so bombastic it feels in places like he can’t keep up.

“Scumbag Blues” is a strong track, with a cool riff and an arrangement that plays to Homme’s vocal strengths. His high near-falsetto voice is a welcome tonic to some of the shoutier songs on other parts of the record.

For every restrained bit of rock magic, there is another song that just has way too much going on. Songs with titles like “Interlude with Ludes” and “Caligulove” try to be clever, but just come off as self-indulgent. “Interlude with Ludes” feels like it was written late at night in the middle of a massive bender. Unfortunately once daylight came and everyone heard it they failed to realize it should have been discarded as harmless experimentation.

It is hard to get past the pretentious titles, but with “Caligulove” it is such a cool song – even the ridiculous organ section works – it manages to do so.“Warsaw Or the First Breath You Take After You Give Up” just aren’t good enough to do the same.

For what its worth, most people I know love this record. I don't, but it has its moments and it is worth keeping for the bright spots.

Best tracks: Nobody Loves Me & Neither Do I, Scumbag Blues, Caligulove, Gunman

Figurine: Behir

It has been a long time since I posted a painted miniature, but after a long hiatus I'm back into painting them again. For a while all the time I was spending writing and then learning the guitar ate up my leisure time. I just have too many fun things to do, I suppose.

This figure is my first post in two years (the two I finished in between I was not sufficiently happy with to share with the world).

This is a behir - a fantastical worm that has many sets of limbs and breathes lightning.

Behir are said to live in frozen wastelands, so I took these pictures up against the stucco of my building to try to simulate a frozen cave, since I didn't think this guy warranted the full diorama treatment. Not exactly frozen, but it'll have to do.

I tried to make the ground look like it was dusted with snow, but I'm not sure it doesn't look more like gravel. Either way, I like the effect.

He looks suitably grumpy, but maybe he just needs a hug. With fourteen legs, I bet behirs are really good at hugs.

CD Odyssey Disc 749: Queen

After a recent flurry of Queen reviews I’ve actually reached the end of my Queen collection – all 15 albums worth. It’s been a great ride.

Disc 749 is….A Kind of Magic

Artist: Queen

Year of Release: 1986

What’s up with the Cover?  Queen has a lot of bad album covers: the four merging heads on “The Miracle,” “Hot Space’s” badly imagined Warhol print. “A Kind of Magic” takes top spot for worst of the worst. The band appear to be genies from Disney’s “Aladdin” dressed up as an eighties boy band. Side note: I’ve never seen more of Brian May’s bare chest, or less of Freddie’s.

How I Came To Know It: I have had this album since it came out. I originally owned it on tape. My cassette version was too tightly wound, and would always slow down when playing on my cheap ghetto blaster. One day in frustration I threw it against the wall of my apartment and broke it for good and all.

Next paycheque, I replaced it on this more durable format. Fittingly, I broke the jewel case on this one, and now the cover falls off every time I open it. I don’t recall how it broke. Maybe it saw its own cover art in a mirror and shattered from the shock of it all.

How It Stacks Up: I have all 15 of Queen’s studio albums. Competition is tough and “A Kind of Magic” was only able to land in 12^th spot. Here is the full recap.

1. News of the World:  5 stars (reviewed at Disc 198)
2. A Night at the Opera:  5 stars (reviewed at Disc 326)
3. The Game:  4 stars (reviewed at Disc 15)
4. Self-Titled:  4 stars (reviewed at Disc 158)
5. II:  4 stars (reviewed at Disc 88)
6. A Day at the Races:  4 stars (reviewed at Disc 202)
7. Sheer Heart Attack:  4 stars (reviewed at Disc 352)
8. Hot Space:  4 stars (reviewed at Disc 738)
9. Innuendo:  4 stars (reviewed at Disc 113)
10. The Miracle:  4 stars (reviewed at Disc 52)
11. The Works:  4 stars (reviewed at Disc 739)
12. A Kind of Magic:  3 stars (reviewed right here)
13. Flash Gordon Soundtrack:  3 stars (reviewed at Disc 659)
14. Jazz:  3 stars (reviewed at Disc 80)
15. Made in Heaven:  2 stars (reviewed at Disc 698)

Ratings: 3 stars

It’s always hard to review an “every note” album. Those are albums you’ve owned so long and listened to so many times you can anticipate every song before it comes on, and every note before you hear it. It is like a chair you’ve sat in so long that it has started to conform to the contours of your ass. You overlook the faults of these records because they just feel…comfortable.

“A Kind of Magic” is an ‘every note’ album for me, but just because I’ve been settling into it for almost thirty years doesn’t mean it isn’t good. This is Queen, after all. It still has Freddie Mercury singing. It still has Brian May on guitar. Both are still in full command of their prodigious talents.

So is bassist John Deacon, but he isn’t given the same kind of opportunity to show off. He’s got a pretty groovy riff going on the title track, but it is maddeningly back in the mix. On “Don’t Lose Your Head” Deacon gets his due, but now the song is weak.

As for drummer Roger Taylor, he only gets two writing credits, and one of them is the aforementioned “Don’t Lose Your Head.” Worse, the nightmarish production values of 1986 permeate this album, and really suck the life out of his drumming, good as it is. I feel like Taylor and Deacon are Queen’s secret weapons, and having an album where they take a back seat doesn’t do the band justice.

There are still great tracks, though, including the bombastic opener, “One Vision” which shows nice patience. It has a  slow atmospheric build for over a minute before May’s guitar explodes in your eardrums. They lyrics are mighty and inspirational in a kind of non-specific way that makes everything seem somehow more heroic. The song was the theme for the 1986 movie “Iron Eagle.” “Iron Eagle” starred Lou Gossett Jr. and some kid flying around in F-16s in the service of dubious plot devices. “One Vision” is the only good thing I can remember about the movie.

But the real movie that “A Kind of Magic” is associated with is “Highlander” The movie featured Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery running around with swords chopping people’s heads off in service of a dubious plot point as well. Unlike “Iron Eagle” was loaded to the gunwales with good things. The movie is also chock-full of music from this album.

When I was in high school, “Highlander” was one of my favourite movies. I even emulated hero “Connor MacLeod” by wearing a trench coat and sneakers to school (no sword). Over the years I’m sure I’ve exhorted Sheila watch it multiple times. I think around the third viewing, she even started to like it.

The songs over the years appealed to me partly because they reminded me of the movie. “Princes of the Universe” captures the bombast of someone who is immortal unless they are beheaded. It is full of May’s grandiose guitar. “Gimme the Prize (Kurgan’s Theme)” is the ultimate villain music, with screeching metal guitar and even an audio clip of the movie’s final swordfight (spoiler alert: it ends with someone losing their head).

Right about now you are realizing that Roger Taylor song I mentioned earlier is literally about not losing your head.

Basically, Queen has demonstrated once again that they can do a soundtrack, fully capture the feel of the film, and still bring a heap of value-added Queen musicality.

Over the years my love for “Highlander” has never faded, but my favourite songs on “A Kind of Magic” have moved around a little. I still love the bombast of “One Vision” and “Princes of the Universe” but my new favourite track is “Friends Will Be Friends.”

I’m not sure “Friends Will Be Friends” is even featured in the film, but it is Queen at their best. No other song on the album comes close to letting Freddie soar vocally, and May’s guitar work is unhurried and sweet. The 80s production is toned to the point that this song could easily appear on an earlier classic like “News of the World” or “Day at the Races.”

“Friends Will Be Friends” has no beheadings featured, but it is just as literal when it comes to its subject matter:

“Friends will be friends

When you’re in need of love they give you care and attention.

Friends will be friends

When you’re through with life and all hope is lost,

Hold out your hand cos friends will be friends, right till the end.”

Friends are awesome, and I’m lucky to have a lot of great ones. This song always makes me think of them. Through all the weird production, and all the conceptual movie songs, Queen took a time out on “A Kind of Magic” to touch my heart with music. That’s the reason why just like the characters in “Highlander” they are going to live forever.

Best tracks: One Vision, Pain is So Close to Pleasure, Friends Will Be Friends, Princes of the Universe

CD Odyssey Disc 748: Mark Knopfler

When I’m done this review I’m going to go finish watching the Hollow Crown production of Shakespeare’s “Richard II.” The series was loaned to me by my friend Kate, and although I’m only an hour in I already know I owe here a favour.

But first, let’s carry on with the CD Odyssey – since that’s why I’m here and since you are reading this, I’ll assume the same for you.

Disc 748 is….Privateering

Artist: Mark Knopfler

Year of Release: 2012

What’s up with the Cover?  Welcome to the 21^st century where this is now a thing. By this, I mean album covers with little or no connection to the artist or the album itself. I blame Belle and Sebastian for starting this trend. Here Mark Knopfler has decided to make an entry into the Pointless Cover Olympics with what I’ve titled “Old Van, Old Dog, Pile of Tires.” This is the best one could hope for from a picture with a description like that, but that is still damning it with faint praise.

How I Came To Know It: I am an avowed Mark Knopfler fan – I bought this unheard when it came out, because Mark has earned that trust from me over the years.

How It Stacks Up: I have eight Mark Knopfler albums. Of those eight, “Privateering” is going in at third, displacing “Shangri-La” which I just reviewed at Disc 740. Oops.

Ratings: 3 stars and worth your time, but it’s complicated – more on that later.

“Privateering” is a combination of Mark Knopfler at his absolute best, and Mark Knopfler who doesn’t know when to say when.

The album starts out strong with “Redbud Tree,” a song where he displays his ability to paint a picture with music and lyrics. The song is about someone (something?) hiding in the branches of a redbud tree and you can listen to this song ten times (I have) and still not know the circumstances of hunter and hunted. It doesn’t matter – the scene is so evocative that you feel a permanent connection of gratitude to a tree that hid someone (something?) from certain death. It’s the relationship between the succored and the tree – the circumstances are secondary.

“Redbud Tree” also continues Knopfler’s penchant for starting an album with a song that shows off his guitar genius. More understated now than in his days of rock and roll, but still as beautiful as ever.

For the most part, the whole of the first half of “Privateering” is full of equal brilliance. “Haul Away” is about losing someone at sea (for real, or maybe just metaphorically). It is also one of the great sea shanties I’ve ever heard, and I’ve heard a lot of them. If you’ve ever held the railing of a ship in a gentle swell and leaned out over the water, feeling helplessly and beautifully lost, then this is a song for you.

Later Knopfler would drop another modern classic of the sea with the title track. Where “Haul Away” is a song of mourning, “Privateering” is full of black-sailed adventure. Knopfler turns his keen historical eye on the golden age of piracy. Best lines out of many great ones:

“Come with me to Barbary

We’ll ply there up and down

Not quite exactly

In the service of the Crown

To lay with pretty women

To drink Madeira wine

To hear the rollers thunder

On a shore that isn’t mine.”

Phew! I swear if there are past lives, I was a sailor in more than one of them.

Before the first ten songs are over on this record, Knopfler has not only taken us out to sea, he’s broken our hearts in a more conventional manner with “Go, Love” and then made us fall in love all over again with “Seattle.” Along the way he’s plucked some upbeat stuff to keep our heart rate up. 18 years after his first solo album, it is an album as good as any.

But then, he doesn’t stop. Instead, he decides to make this into a double album, and adds another ten songs. The slower songs are mostly pale facsimiles of those on the first disc. The faster ones have that stale and dated smell about them that music people without rhythm like to dance to because it’s “easy”. You know the stuff – that empty mid-tempo zombie-swing that sits somewhere between roots and blues and can be found in every small town pub on a Wednesday night. Six customers are in the place; two of them are shuffling back and forth on the dance floor and you and your buddy from high school make up half of the rest.

There are some good tracks on the second disc, notably a lovely historical piece called “Dream of the Drowned Submariner” (yes, the sea again) which is “Disc One” worthy. “Today is OK” is a lowlife character study, about a brawler and a drinker that (unless I’m mishearing the lyrics) goes out to do both and then comes home feeling frisky; also strong enough for Disc One.

In fact, if I had been producing this album, I would have just put these two on the first disc and have done with it. Sadly, like an overlong Dire Straits solo at a live show, Mark decides he must have it all and instead ends up having too much.

So what I’m going to do is make my own version of this CD as described above and play that one around the house. I can’t do that under the rules of the Odyssey, but I sure as hell can in my spare time.

Best tracks: Redbud Tree, Haul Away, Privateering, Miss You Blues, Go Love, Seattle, Dream of the Drowned Submariner, Today is OK

CD Odyssey Discs 746 and 747: Lady Gaga

My usual rule for albums packaged together is that if they are presented on two different albums, and were not originally released together, then I review them at separate times (as I roll each of them). If the albums were originally released together, or are both on a single disc, then I review them together.

These next two discs confused me – probably because of their similar titles – and so despite appearing as two separate discs in one jewel case, and being released originally a year apart, I ended up reviewing them both together.

Hey, nobody’s perfect.

Disc 746 and 747 are….The Fame and The Fame Monster

Artist: Lady Gaga

Year of Release: 2008 (The Fame) and 2009 (The Fame Monster)

What’s up with the Cover?  Two covers for two albums – first “The Fame” which features a pretty standard “Giant Head” and then “The Fame Monster” which has Gaga getting a bit more adventurous with a vinyl outfit and a weird wig. It isn’t meat-dress weird, but she’s just getting started here.

Because my album came as a single package I can flip the booklet to show either cover, but not both. I usually go with “The Fame Monster” because I like my Gaga a bit on the weird side.

How I Came To Know It: I can’t remember. I think I bought this for Sheila for Christmas many years back or maybe she bought it for herself.

How It Stacks Up:  We have two Lady Gaga albums – both being reviewed right here. Of the two, I prefer “The Fame Monster.”

Ratings: 3 stars for “The Fame”, 4 stars for “The Fame Monster”.

Before I get into each of these two albums a quick comment on Lady Gaga in general; I like her. In fact, I more than like her – I admire her.

When these albums first came into my house I wasn’t expecting much, but Gaga surprised me. This may be dance pop but it is thoughtfully composed dance pop; always entertaining and often fearless both musically and lyrically. Moreover, this is music that is fun to listen to, and had me in a positive mood every day that it served as my personal soundtrack on my walk to and from work.

The Fame

From the opening notes, you know that Lady Gaga’s debut “The Fame” is going to be filled with energy. The opening track, “Just Dance” isn’t going to make you contemplate world peace, but it is sure going to make you want to dance.

Anyone who reads my reviews regularly will know what I think of excess production. Is “Just Dance” a bit over-produced? You bet it is – gloriously so. I wouldn’t remove a single squawk box moment, electronic beep or layered voice over. I want it all – and I want to dance.

“Lovegame” keeps the energy up, and Gaga starts to inject the edge that had people at the time rightly suggesting she was inheriting Madonna’s mantle (and in my opinion, doing it better). “Let’s have some fun, this beat is sick/I wanna take a ride on your disco stick” may not by Pullitzer-worthy prose but it is exactly what this song is called. Consider my disco stick suitably inspired.

The biggest problem I have with “The Fame” is that it even though it is only 14 songs and 50 minutes long, it still drags a bit as it progresses. The album’s first big hit “Poker Face” is a good one, but “Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)” and “Paparazzi” both lack the edge of the other hits. They feel like beach anthems for teenage girls. Teenage girls need their beach anthems (I’m not a monster) but these carefree summer-fun anthems just didn’t strike a chord with me.

There aren’t any bad songs, which for an album in this genre is a minor miracle, but outside of the hit singles there wasn’t much to blow me away. “Brown Eyes” comes close to being a touching change of pace, but doesn’t fully commit and for once that over-production doesn’t serve the song like it should.

Overall, this album is a pretty amazing collection of songs from a brand new artist, who was in the process of perfecting her talent for what would come next. And that would be…

The Fame Monster

A year after “The Fame,” “The Fame Monster” is all the good stuff, made better.

Just like “The Fame” the opening track blows you away with its energy. In this case it is “Bad Romance” which also makes you want to dance – vertically and horizontally this time – taking no prisoners. Full of production, the decisions at each step are perfect.  Even if you were to strip out every crazy back beat and overdub, you’d still be left with a pretty melody. I once put “Bad Romance” on a ‘guilty pleasures’ playlist. The only thing I feel guilty about now is that I was ever ashamed of liking this song.

“The Fame Monster” is a tight collection of excellence, with only eight songs and 35 minutes it just doesn’t have time to slow down. Even the weaker tracks, like “Telephone” are still pretty strong.

“Alejandro” is what ABBA’s “Fernando” would have sounded like if it had been good. “Monster” is half dance track and half cautionary tale of boys that are just too perfect.

Where “Brown Eyes” tried and fell short of a change of pace, “Speechless” delivers the goods. Gaga takes a minute to drop the production and trust to her voice and a bit of piano, and the effect is like a refreshing mojito in the middle of a hot day on the beach. Gaga gets a bit raspy here and channels her inner Bonnie Tyler to good effect.

The album ends with “Teeth,” one of the sexiest dance songs you’ll ever hear. With its lascivious back beat and unabashedly forward lyrics this is the perfect club song to meet a girl that you want to make breakfast for.

“The Fame Monster” is “The Fame” distilled down to its best parts. It is consistently strong, brave and honest – just like Lady Gaga. Listening to it made me want to dig deeper into her catalogue of music, and not that Tony Bennett schmaltz she is peddling of late so people will take her seriously. I already take her seriously. She’s wasted propping up Tony Bennett (aka – the crappy Dean Martin).

I want her showing me her teeth and taking no prisoners, just like she does on “The Fame Monster.”

Best tracks (The Fame): Just Dance, Lovegame, Poker Face, The Fame

Best tracks (The Fame Monster): Bad Romance, Alejandro, Monster, Speechless, Teeth

CD Odyssey Disc 745: Neko Case

My week of indolence and relaxation is over. Even so, this week holds a lot of social engagements as well as the inevitable catch up that is always required after you leave your office untouched for a week. The time off did its magic though; I’m feeling relaxed and carefree despite having plenty to do.

Disc 745 is….The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight. The Harder I Fight, the More I Love You

Artist: Neko Case

Year of Release: 2013

What’s up with the Cover?  Neko prepares to fight off some animated eels with the help of an animated sword (naturally). Like so many fantasy sword-maidens before her, Neko has decided to enter battle wearing some sort of shirt/underwear combination.

How I Came To Know It: I’ve liked everything I’ve heard from Neko Case so this was just me buying her new album without a second thought.

How It Stacks Up:  I have eight Neko Case albums. “The Worse Things Get, etc.” is a good one up against a strong field. I put it somewhere in the middle. I’ll say fourth.

Ratings: 4 stars

A few years ago I got heavily into Neko Case and since that time I’ve been champing at the bit to review one of her albums. Finally, the day has arrived, in the form of her most recent release, The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight. The Harder I Fight, the More I Love You” – and I won’t be typing that again.

Despite the ridiculous title, “The Worse Things Get…” is a quality entry into the discography of an artist that consistently wows me with both her songwriting and the power of her voice.

First – that voice. I’ve mentioned it before on reviews for New Pornographers records, where Case is sadly underemployed. On “The Worse Things Get…” as with her previous solo efforts, she is able to unleash its power for a full record.

Big and brassy, Case’s voice is a force of nature. She is like a chorus of bells, all in perfect tune, ringing off the walls of the room, rich and glorious. You’d think it was divinely inspired, except that Case’s voice is so deep and grounded it clearly has its origins here on earth.

The production decisions on “The Worse Things Get…” show Case off to full effect. The album has an echo-like quality that is reminiscent of Daniel Lanois, except stripped down to its bare essentials.

The album had me thinking of how Nick Cave has put his records together recently; rich lyrics hanging bright against sparse arrangements, each word dripped with greater import, if for no other reason than everything drives you to listen to them.

This comes together on “Nearly Midnight, Honolulu” a song about the casual cruelty some mothers pass along to their children. For all those people who have mothers who never loved you, this song is for you. I am lucky to have a great mom who loves me to the end of the earth, but “Nearly Midnight, Honolulu” lets us peek into the unfortunate world of people who aren’t so lucky without having to live there.

Thematically, the album also reminded me a lot of Jenny Lewis’ recent record “The Voyager”.  Like Lewis, Case is a now-established female singer who has enjoyed the shared fame of a band, as well as the individual stardom that can leave you feeling both exposed and empowered at the same time. “I’m From Nowhere” speaks to Case’s refusal to be gender stereotyped in her success:

“I was surprised

When you called me a lady

Cause I'm still not so sure that that's what I wanna be

Cause I remember the 80's

And I remember its puffy sleeves

You say I'm lucky to be here,

Then maybe you can take this over

And I'll gladly wear the pants into the next century

Past the scanners with ease.”

In some places, Case over-reaches, such as on “Where Did I Leave That Fire?” which has overly clever lyrics as well as an electronically-generated effect designed to sound like water but that is just distracting. Even on this song I couldn’t get too angry; Case almost pulls it off and besides, I could listen to her sing the alphabet and enjoy it.

My copy of the album is the ‘special edition’ CD which is known for having a slightly different cover (on which Neko doesn’t have a sword to fight off the eels), a bunch of amateur ‘art’ photography in a booklet which didn’t appeal to me, and three bonus songs.

These songs are a mixed bag. The remake of Robyn Hitchcock’s “Madonna of the Wasps” is awesome – better than the original. Case then inexplicably does a new version of “Magpie to the Morning” which was on her previous album, “Middle Cyclone.” Here, I preferred the earlier version. Finally, we have “Yon Ferrets Return” which at 1:16 feels like underdeveloped filler.

Overall, I could probably live with the regular version, but even with the extra tracks “The Worse Things Get…” is still only 15 songs and 42 minutes of playing time, and never feels bloated. This is a record from an accomplished singer/songwriter who has learned her craft well, and continues to forge her own musical direction.

Best tracks:  Wild Creatures, Night Still Comes, Man, I’m From Nowhere, Nearly Midnight Honolulu, Calling Cards, Local Girl, 

CD Odyssey Disc 744: L7

Before I begin I want to give a big shout out and thank you to my friend Randall, who recently gave me a thoughtful introduction to his favourite band, “My Morning Jacket.”

I didn’t love “My Morning Jacket”, but they do have some pretty cool songs. My favourites include “The Bear,” “Golden” and “Librarian.” Overall MMJ reminded me of Band of Horses when I was enjoying them and later Radiohead when I wasn’t.

My next review is for a band very unlike either of those bands.

Disc 744 is….L7 (Self-titled)

Artist: L7

Year of Release: 1988

What’s up with the Cover?  A very grainy photo of the band. I think this cover is designed to capture the raw and visceral quality of L7’s music, but for me it just captures the fact that they probably couldn’t afford better cover art at this stage of their careers.

How I Came To Know It: I had discovered L7 through the two albums that followed this one, and this was just me drilling back through their collection.

How It Stacks Up:  I have the first four L7 albums. I’m thinking about getting 1997’s “The Beauty Process” but haven’t made up my mind. Of the four I have, I’d put this one last, just a hair behind “Hungry for Stink.”

Ratings: 3 stars

L7’s self-titled debut is their most raw and rough-edged, which is saying something about a band that is pretty raw and rough-edged at the best of times. It is a perfect intersection of metal and punk. Coming out in 1988, this album is an early entry into the world of grunge, and should get more credit than it does.

The punk elements are clear on this record, which has 11 songs but clocks in at under 32 minutes of playing time. Six of those minutes are taken up by “Uncle Bob” (who, we are advised, is a drunken slob) leaving 25 minutes for everything else. It is enough time to put across a basic idea, both musically and lyrically, thrash the hell out of that idea and then wrap it up in 2-3 minutes and move on.

These songs have maybe two chords, but never get boring (they don’t give you time to get bored). If they want to signal a new section for the song then they change the rhythm up a bit and just power through.

It is that power that brings the metal to the equation. The dual guitars of Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner grind out a relentless thrash that makes you want to let your hair fall into your eyes and nod your head up and down in the homage known to every metal fan: the mosh. I can’t tell you who is the lead guitar player, but they are mostly just crunching out rhythm anyway.

I listened to about half this album waiting outside a senior’s centre for Sheila’s Weight Watcher’s meeting to wrap up so we could go for dinner. The quiet dignity of the senior’s centre tried valiantly to impose itself, but L7 was having none of it. This music is a tonic against getting old before your time.

The topics of this album are very limited, mostly referencing drinking, fighting and fucking in no particular order. There isn’t much plot development either. A scene is set with someone doing one of the aforementioned three activities, they do it with gusto, and then you are on to the next song.

Donita Sparks’ raspy voice and punk vocal delivery match the topics perfectly, and make you feel like you are right there. She spits out the lyrics, angry at the world and proud of it. Here is a sample from “I Drink” which showcases the type of high-brow prose Sparks occupies herself with:

“I drink, I get drunk I fall on my face

All my friends tell me I’m a basket case

I got so drunk, I don’t remember what happened

But everybody said I had a real good time.”

Later, Sparks manages to recall that she drank White Russians, and puked outside while someone tried to kiss her. No doubt this song would expound even further on a quality evening out, but at 2:55 playing time there really isn’t any time for it.

“Let’s Rock Tonight” and “Cool Out” have the slightly (and I mean slightly) smoothed out sound that later albums like “Smell the Magic” and “Bricks are Heavy” would be known for, but make no mistake – L7’s debut is about visceral take-no-prisoners rock. This isn’t music to sip wine to and discuss poetry, it is music to drink, get drunk and fall on your face to. Or maybe just have a laugh at such youthful notions while hanging out on a park bench outside the senior’s centre. I’m not ready for my room inside just yet.

Best tracks: Cat-O’-Nine-Tails, Let’s Rock Tonight, Uncle Bob, Runnin’ from the Law, I Drink

CD Odyssey Disc 743: Rainbow

I am writing this a few hours after coming back from getting another tattoo, and I can now definitively say that getting your elbow tattooed sucks. It marks the first time since I started getting tattoos that I had to tap out (over four hours in, mind you) and the thought of another two hours in the chair a few weeks from now doesn’t appeal.

But I’ll do it because…art! Speaking of which, here is some musical art to consider.

Disc 743 is….Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow

Artist: Rainbow

Year of Release: 1975

What’s up with the Cover?  A whole lot of awesome. My new (not quite complete) tattoo has a Dracula’s castle on it. This looks more like Dr. Strange’s castle, if Dr. Strange did a lot of LSD.

How I Came To Know It: I’m a big Dio fan and I wanted to check out what he did before he joined up with Black Sabbath. My friend Spence, who is a seventies rock aficionado, encouraged me to do the same.

How It Stacks Up:  Rainbow has eight studio albums but so far I’ve only been interested in the first three (the only ones to feature Ronnie James Dio). Of those three, I put their self-titled debut first, narrowly beating out “Rising” (reviewed back at Disc 625).

Ratings: 4 stars

I’m note feeling 100% at present (see “tattooing your elbow” above) but I think seventies hard rock is even better when you are feeling a bit woozy, so I’ll give it a go.

Part of that woozy fun is the heavy guitar sound that Blackmore brings to Rainbow’s debut album from the very first track. “Man on the Silver Mountain” is a riff for the ages; the kind of song that makes you lift up your goblet of rock, your crimson wide-cuffed robe spilling off your arm as you majestically declare “behold – this rules!” “Man on the Silver Mountain” doesn’t get the same ubiquitous praise of equally riff-heavy tracks like Black Sabbath’s “N.I.B.” or Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” but it deserves to be in that conversation.

I don’t know a lot about Deep Purple, “Blackmore’s previous band, but from what I do know “Rainbow” is a departure. The keyboard-heavy sixties vibe is gone, replaced with a whole lot of Blackmore’s signature guitar sound. I guess when you name the band after yourself, you get what you like.

That said, there are still songs that remind me of sixties Who at their heaviest, including “Black Sheep of the Family” showing this album still has its foundations in that decade. They’ve just been made bigger.

A big part of making everything bigger is vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Blackmore has gone through a lot of musicians that didn’t follow his strict vision (I guess the big hint is he called the band “Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow”). Whatever the band’s name is, Dio is a big part of what gets created here and I suspect when Dio left Rainbow (voluntarily, according to Wikipedia – which as we know is never wrong) I expect he took some of the furniture with him, musically speaking.

Dio soars on the majestic “Man on the Silver Mountain” and on many of the other songs his wacky warlock lyrics take centre stage as well. Hell, the band is named “Rainbow” a visual that RJD has put centre stage throughout his career. Of course, Dio doesn’t need a rainbow to write something crazy and mythic. Consider the opening lyrics to “The Temple of the King”:

“One day in the year of the fox

Came a time remembered well

When the strong young man of the rising sun

Heard the tolling of the great black bell”

When was the year of the fox? What great black bell? It doesn’t matter, my friends – relax in the robed arms of RJD and accept that magic doesn’t have to make sense. “Temple of the King,” more than any other on the album, shows the great combination of Dio and Blackmore’s talents. Dio adds the majesty, and Blackmore’s guitar on this song is sublime, trilling through the melody in a style that has elements of blues, folk and even flamenco, but never loses its rock edge.

The album ends with a cover of the Yardbirds’ “Still I’m Sad” the core of which always sounds to me like “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” Give it a Youtube listen and see if you agree.

Rainbow’s debut is responsible with its time, clocking in at only nine tracks and 37 minutes. It is yet another reminder that vinyl did us all a favour by limiting the amount of playing time an LP could have. My copy is a remaster, and I’m pleased to say they didn’t add any additional content – just the original songs, with better sound.

While you could argue that Rainbow’s second album, “Rising” rocks harder, I default to their debut partly because of the manifold ways they explore this new sound. Dio and Blackmore are like two long lost musical twins finding each other like a rainbow in the dark – maybe after being separated at birth by an evil sorcerer. Now that they are united and ringing that great black bell of rock, striking a tone that lets the world know once and for all that if you don’t like rock and roll, it’s too late. It’s here to stay.

Hmmm…I’ve been listening to too many Dio lyrics today…

Best tracks: Man on the Silver Mountain, Self Portrait, Snake Charmer,The Temple of the King, Sixteenth Century Greensleeves