CD Odyssey Disc 1303: The Dropkick Murphys

Earlier this month I watched a solid four-part documentary on punk rock. One of the lessons I took from it was that punk is an attitude as much as a style of music, and that denying someone the title simply because it isn’t ‘pure’ enough is just uncool.

Whatever you want to call this next band, I like their music, and that’s what matters.

Disc 1303 is… The Meanest of Times

Artist: Dropkick Murphys

Year of Release: 2007

What’s up with the Cover? A family portrait of some kids you wouldn’t want lurking around your silverware or left alone in a room with your cat.

How I Came to Know It: I’ve been a fan of the Dropkick Murphys since my friend Andrew introduced me to them. This album was just me checking out their latest album.

How It Stacks Up:  The Dropkick Murphys have made nine studio LPs, and I have seven of them. Yeah, I’m a fan. Despite that fandom, one of those albums has to finish last, and “the Meanest of Times” is it. If you’re a glass-half-full kind of person you might say it ranks higher than the two records I passed on.

Ratings: 3 stars

If “The Meanest of Times” had been the first Dropkick Murphys album I’d ever heard, I would probably be raving right now at the brilliance of it all. This is because when you first year the Murphys infectious, aggressive blend of Celtic folk music and punk rock it is something of a musical revelation. This being the sixth Dropkick Murphys album I’d ever heard, my reaction was more akin to “Oh, so more of this? I like this!”

There is a lot to like, and like hard rockers ACDC drop killer rhythm guitar licks and keep 4/4 time, the Murphys know what makes their sound great and how to stay in their lane. You won’t encounter them exploring a lot of new sound on “The Meanest of Times” but you’ll still have a rollicking good time, and even a slam-dance or two if you’re in the right company.

I did not have a slam-dance, as I listened to this walking around town and riding the bus. Coming off of a soft-spoken contemporary folk album, I didn’t cotton on to the Murphys signature mix of rock guitar, raucous unison singing and the blast of bagpipes at first. However, it didn’t take long, and by the end of my first run through I was ready to sing along, or yell about something important, or maybe just yell for the sake of it.

For a band as big and boisterous as they are - the Murphys have seven members and whatever they play, they play it loud – the sound is never muddy. These guys bring the energy of punk rock, but they bring the musicianship of Celtic folk. Lead singer Al Barr is also a big part of what makes this band rock. He has a rough rasp and earnest delivery that makes you feel like every song is being played at a live show.

If you like your punk to sound like it is being played by drunks in the garage next door, this is not for you. But if, like me, you like a blast of visceral energy but also appreciate good production, then the “Meanest of Times” will give you joy.

This album covers the traditional Murphys gamut of subjects. The positive songs invest heavily in themes of family, friendship, drinking and fighting. Yes, for the Murphys a good donnybrook is a perfectly acceptable Saturday night. A good example comes from the first track, “Famous for Nothing” where the boys belt out a chorus of:

“Their gang went my way for basketball

My gang went their way for alcohol

When we met it wasn’t pretty at all

Still the bells of St. Mary’s kept ringing”

The heavier tracks take on serious social issues, none more so than on “State of Massachusetts” a song about children being taken by the state from homes stricken with poverty and violence. On “Vices and Virtues” we hear about friends lost to alcoholism, war, suicide and gun violence. It is grim stuff, sung with an appropriately desperate energy.

The album also features some updated traditionals, including “(F)lannigan’s Ball” and the two-hundred-year-old “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya,” still a powerful combination of martial might and dread. The Murphys fill them all with a fast-paced fist-shaking power that is undeniable.

For all that, this is the same old fare they mastered long ago. If you liked it then, you’ll like it now. Just don’t expect any earth-shattering revelation. The Murphys know what they do and they do it well.

Best tracks: Famous for Nothing, The State of Massachusetts, Vices and Virtues, (F)lannigan’s Ball, Rude Awakenings, Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya

CD Odyssey Disc 1302: Ana Egge

Greetings, gentle readers! My apologies for my long absence. I’ve had a busy week. That busyness has not ended (in fact, I took today off just to make sure I had time to get everything done) but I’m taking a break to keep the Odyssey moving.

Over the course of the week I have listened exclusively to this new record. This amounts to somewhere between eight and ten listens. I can’t say exactly how many because as Dirty Harry Callahan would say, “to tell the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost count myself.”

What I did rediscover is the joy of giving a record a deep, immersive dive – the kind you do when you only own 20 records instead of 2,000.

Alright then, let’s see what all this languorous fuss is about. Then it is back to chores!

Disc 1302 is… Road to My Love

Artist: Ana Egge

Year of Release: 2009

What’s up with the Cover? Ana, chillin’ out in a tank top. Ana looks kind of handy in this photo. Like she could just as easily fix your motorcycle as sing you some folk songs.

How I Came to Know It: I was listening to an album by Canadian folk singer Matt Patershuk (2017’s “Same As I Ever Have Been,” reviewed back at Disc 1234) and I kept hearing this great female voice singing backup and harmony. I looked in the liner notes and discovered it was Ana Egge. It turned out she is far more well-known than Patershuk (sorry Matt).

How It Stacks Up:  Egge has 10 studio albums. I have two of them and I’m on the lookout for four more (they’re devilishly hard to find). Of the two I have, I’ll put “Road to My Love” in second.

Ratings: 4 stars

My media player has gotten a lot more creative recently with how it categorizes music, adding judgy phrases like “old school” to my early rap music, and occasionally throwing up its digital hands with “miscellaneous” when sufficiently flummoxed with all the musical crossover of the modern world.

Labels are an annoyance anyway, because music is music and should be taken on its own merits every time, but we music critics sometimes apply them anyway because…well, hell, they save time.

For “Road to My Love,” the labelers in my media player went with “contemporary folk” and for this record, it is a pretty helpful start. Egge’s music has its roots in folk music, but there is a steady stream of pop music present in the melodies, the instrumentation and the production. I wanted all these pop sensibilities to annoy my purist tendencies, but try as I might, I couldn’t get upset. Egge just does too good of a job of marrying the styles into something uniquely her own.

The effect is the earthiness of folk music, set in a warm and ambient bath of pop. It smooths out the edges that I was sometimes hopeful to hear, but it also lets the journey feel contemplative and relaxed. It soaks in a bit slower, but you get the feeling you’re in the presence of an old soul, taking her time to tell you a story or two.

Folk music is very much about storytelling, and Egge tells some good ones here. The one that always stands out is “Bully of New York” a character study of someone who works as a Park Ranger in New York’s Central Park. My only other cultural encounter with the Central Park Rangers is as villains at the end of the Christmas movie “Elf” and it was great to have Egge humanize them, through a chance encounter with one of them who gave her a ride one day. This ranger is a decent man, resigned to his role doing tasks like:

“I lock up the playgrounds, here in the park

I am the bully of New York

It’s getting’ dark – so I turn the keys

The kids all think I’m bein’ mean”.

His late hours contribute to his divorce, and while he’s a sad man in a lonely job, Egge paints him with kindness, and reminds us that deep down we’re all just people in need of love.

The ‘contemporary’ songs are also strong, including the opening track “Storm Comin’” which has an up-tempo beat that makes you want to do a little head bobbing at the back of bus. I may have succumbed once or twice. I regret nothing.

Egge mixes the styles together on the sultry longing of “The Sea Around You” which matches an introspective folksy charm with the plaintive cry of electric guitar. As she does throughout the record, Egge sings with a mix of breath and sweetness. Her phrasing generates emotional energy on intimate admissions like:

“I dreamt of something I shouldn’t do last night

I want too, I still might. I still might.”

You get to hear a lot of different guitar styles as well. “Red Queen” features a very light acoustic strum, and on her cover of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” she plays a stripped-down Delta blues slide style.

There are a lot of different treatments on “Road to My Love” and there were times where it felt a bit too atmospheric, but I found that over time I came to forgive the odd bit of horn or smooth jazz lurking around the edges of the songs.

All that extra time with the record definitely helped. On my first three listens I probably would have given it 3 stars, but in the end it climbed up to 4. If your wondering if this is why a lot of records you played the hell out of back when you only had 20 seem “better” than something new you’ve had less time with, the answer is yes. And that’s OK – it doesn’t make the love less real.

Best tracks: Storm Comin’, The Bully of New York, The Sea Around You, Farmer’s Daughter, New Tattoo, Red Queen

CD Odyssey Disc 1301: Iron Maiden

As long-time readers will know, I almost always randomly select what album I’m going to review. Despite this randomness, sometimes the happiest accidents happen. That was the case here, where I rolled an Iron Maiden album only a couple of weeks having seen them live in Portland.

It feels like the universe is telling me I should review the show, so following this review that’s what I’ve done.

Disc 1301 is… Iron Maiden (Self-Titled)

Artist: Iron Maiden

Year of Release: 1980

What’s up with the Cover? It’s Iron Maiden’s perennial zombie monster mascot, Eddie! In later appearances Eddie will be equipped with an axe, a laser pistol, and even a tank. This is early in his career so all he’s got is a plain old white tank top and a smile to get him through un-life’s many challenges. Yes, that’s a smile. You should see what he looks like when he’s scowling.

How I Came to Know It: I’ve been an Iron Maiden fan since I was a kid. This particular album caught my eye when it was part of a broader re-release of their catalogue in 1998.

How It Stacks Up:  I have 11 Iron Maiden albums. Their self-titled debut lands respectably at #4.

Ratings: 4 stars

Iron Maiden’s 1980 debut is a seminal moment in the development of the massive musical landscape of metal that exists today. Yes, Black Sabbath came first, and Judas Priest had been at it for a few records themselves, but Iron Maiden’s arrival was a seminal moment in the development of the genre.

On their first record the band is still finding its style, and as a result is more of a blend of the early hard rock sounds of bands like Thin Lizzy and Sweet with the later “anthemic gallop” sound that they are now famous for.

Bruce Dickinson’s powerhouse vocals are missing from this record (he wouldn’t join the band until 1982) and instead we have Paul Di’Anno. Dickinson is one of rock’s great vocalists, but Di’Anno is no slouch, and on the band’s debut album he sounds great. He has a bit more of a punk edge than Dickinson, and while he can’t soar up into the notes Bruce can hit, he is an amazing singer in his own right.

It helps that bassist and songwriter Steve Harris was there from the beginning, meaning you are going to get brilliantly constructed songs and some of the most creative basslines in music. As ever, you can listen to Maiden’s soaring guitar riffs (fun) or let your ear drift down to the wizardry Harris is unleashing on the bass (equally fun).

“Phantom of the Opera” is good song to do both. In its seven minutes of glory you are treated to the galloping guitar riff Maiden is famous for, intricate basslines (including what is almost – gasp – a bass solo) and some killer guitar solo work from either Dave Murray or Dennis Stratton (to my shame I don’t know which – maybe it’s both).

And yes, “Phantom of the Opera” is the tale you think it is. Iron Maiden’s first album doesn’t have a lot of the literary and historical references of albums to follow - this one and an instrumental called “Transylvania” are about it - but these songs tease at what’s to come. They are also two of the best songs on a record with a lot of good ones.

“Remember Tomorrow” has the doom-filled punch of Black Sabbath mixed with the slow crooning of early Scorpions. I’m not sure what the hell it is all about, but that doesn’t make the song any less awesome.

Other songs are more straightforward hard rock, such as “Running Free,” which I was not surprised to find was one of the album’s singles. It reminded me a lot of Sweet with it’s pop-flavoured drum intro coupled with grimy staccato vocals and guitar licks. I liked it, but my ear gravitated more to the anthemic sounds of the Maiden I have known and loved all my life.

And despite misogynistic lyrics that have aged poorly, “Charlotte the Harlot” remains a killer tune with interesting musical transitions and a furious tempo. It covers some uncomfortable subject matter, however, so consider this a trigger warning if you decide to check it out.

The record is solid throughout, with exceptional musicianship and songwriting. It is easy to see how this band was going to go on to bigger things and soon.

Best tracks: Prowler, Sanctuary, Remember Tomorrow, Phantom of the Opera, Transylvania

The Concert: Friday, September 6, 2019 at the Moda Center, Portland

When Sheila and I travel we often adjust our travel window to maximize our ability to see a concert or two. That is what we did for our Portland trip earlier this month, and I’m glad we did.

Seeing Iron Maiden was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for me. As a kid I never got the opportunity, and later in life I was off exploring other musical genres as time slowly slipped away on Maiden’s career. When the opportunity came to see them perform in Portland (for the first time in over 30 years, no less) I jumped at it.

The Moda Center was set up for 15,000 fans that night and it was packed. Sheila and I got there early to check out the merch table. There were a lot of awesome shirts, but we ended up both liking this one the most.

Not a problem, since this is the only time we’re going to wear them at the same time. I was disappointed that they didn’t have a sticker for my lunch box, though. Ah, well.

My fellow Maiden fans were just as excited as I was, even the ones who’d seen the band multiple times. Everyone was friendly, and many were feeling no pain. I was sober, but still felt at home and among my people.

The Raven Age

The opening act was a band called The Raven Age. They played a kind of moody Gothic metal which was OK but didn’t inspire me to run out and buy their album.

Their main stage decoration were three wooden boxes that various band members would strike ‘totally metal’ poses on. It did not strike awe in me the way I believe the band intended.

I would have preferred a band like Sabaton as an opener but given that one of the Raven Age’s guitar players is Steve Harris’s son, I don’t see them getting replaced anytime soon.

Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden took the stage to the sound of 15,000 screaming fans in full-throat, me among them. These guys are all in their early to mid-sixties, but you wouldn’t know if from the energy they put out. From the opening notes of “Aces High” through to the final song of the encore the band’s energy never waned. They ran around the stage, they spun their guitars, jumped up and down and generally acted like a bunch of 12-year-old boys playing war. It was awesome.

Also awesome was how well they played. The musicianship was top notch and the songs sounded as crisp as the studio recordings, but organic and different enough to make the live versions special. Bruce Dickinson’s vocals still sound incredible. He hit every single note like he was 25, with the exception of the highest one in “Aces High.” For that, he rewrote the melody so he doesn’t have to. The song still sounded great.

The stage show was also brilliant. During “Aces High” there is a very realistic looking spitfire on wires ducking and wheeling above the band’s head. On “The Trooper” a 20-foot-tall Eddie comes out on stage and has a sword fight with Dickinson.

There was a giant Icarus figure, a massive demonic Eddie that burst out of the back of the stage and so much pyro we even felt the heat a couple of times in the nosebleeds.

Most of the non-fire effects were generated with inflatable models that were beautifully rendered.

In terms of the setlist, Iron Maiden was not touring a new album. I was a little disappointed at that, but it ended up just being a lot of their biggest hits and crowd pleasers. I was suitably pleased, most notably that they played “Flight of Icarus” which is one of my all-time favourite Maiden songs.

Iron Maiden that has lost very little over the years, and even after having played many of these songs live a thousand times, still puts every ounce of enthusiasm they have into each of them.

I found out later that there was even a small group of protestors outside, still angry at all the demonic imagery in the band’s stage show and lyrics. I bet it made Iron Maiden happy to know they were still causing moral outrage after all these years. Long live rock and roll.

CD Odyssey: The First 1300

As is tradition, I’m taking the arbitrary arrival at a big round number to reflect back on the last 100 reviews.

What stands out this time is that I found a lot more 5-star albums than usual crossing my path. I also became a lot more mercenary about parting company with albums that didn’t inspire me, partly because I overdid my enthusiasm over newly discovered artists, and partly because I’ve only got so much shelf space.

The previous 100 albums yielded only 4 perfect scores, but between Disc 1201 and 1300 this number ballooned to 10. They were:

• St. Vincent – Masseduction (Disc 1206)
• St. Vincent – MassEducation (Disc 1207)
• Nazareth – Loud ‘N’ Proud (Disc 1235)
• Hurray For the Riff Raff – Small Town Heroes (Disc 1244)
• Ice-T – O.G. Original Gangster (Disc 1247)
• Lucius – Nudes (Disc 1252)
• Gillian Welch – Hell Among the Yearlings (Disc 1283)
• Better Oblivion Community Center – Self-Titled (Disc 1292)
• Sleater-Kinney – The Center Won’t Hold (Disc 1294)
• Mattiel – Satis Factory (Disc 1300)

Six of those albums were released in the last three years, proving there is plenty of great music being made right now. Particularly St. Vincent. I’ve gone back into her back catalogue even further as a result of these two gems, and found even more great music.

The oldest was 1973’s “Loud ‘N’ Proud” which is one of the first albums I ever bought. You could argue it had a sentimental advantage, but I would argue it is just plain great.

No albums fell as low as a single star, but I still parted with 10 that ranked between 2 and 3 stars. They weren’t all bad, but for one reason or another I didn’t feel like I’d put them on enough to justify keeping them. The best thing about letting a good record go is that it will end up in the collection of someone else who’ll appreciate it more than you did.

Here’s the list of records that I parted with over the last 100:

• Amelia Curran, “Watershed” (3 stars) – This was a solid folk record, but I knew in my heart I wasn’t going to play it enough. I gave it the good home it deserved.
• Lucy Dacus, “Historian” (3 stars) – A friend bought me this record and I liked it, but despite amazing tracks like “Night Shift” I knew deep down I wasn’t likely to play the whole record often enough.
• Dar Williams “In the Time of the Gods” (2 stars) – I love Dar Williams and this album was the result of me glutting myself on her collection and then paring back when I realized I’d gone too far. Even so, I still have four of her albums.
• Jethro Tull “Stand Up” (3 stars) – This is a classic album by the standards of most music lovers, but not for me. Weirdly, I prefer Jethro Tull’s synthy eighties phase.
• Nilufer Yanya “Miss Universe” (3 stars) – This record is the one I came closest to keeping. Yanya is a brilliant new talent in the field of pop music and has a bright future, but this record didn’t call to my heart like I hoped it would when I first heard it.
• 10cc, “How Dare You?” (2 stars) – I fell hard for 10cc and bought three of their albums, but the first one I reviewed came up short. Hopefully the other two fare better.
• Capercaillie, “Roses and Tears” (2 stars) – One of my all-time favourite folk bands, but another example of where I have too many other albums that I simply like better – in this case, eight of them.
• Little Feat, “The Last Record Album” (2 stars) – I was temporarily blinded by the brilliant pop song “Long Distance Love” but when I came to my senses I realized I had three other Little Feat albums that were all better overall.
• B. Dolan, “The Failure” (2 stars) – This album has a killer spoken word track honouring Evel Knievel but otherwise it didn’t grab me.
• Marissa Nadler, “Little Hells” (2 stars) – Like a lot of albums on this list, “Little Hells” was me falling for a new (to me) discovery and over-indulging on their back catalogue. I still have four other albums by Marissa Nadler and while I admire her songwriting and love her voice, I am nervous that her ambient style will continue to chafe at my bias for crisp, spacious production.

Alice Cooper continues to be my most reviewed artist, at 28 albums. Steve Earle takes over sole possession of second with 20 and Tom Waits comes in third at 19.

Thanks for reading!

CD Odyssey Disc 1300: Mattiel

I could have written this review last night, but I was enjoying the music so much I decided to prolong the experience for one more day.

Disc 1300 is… Satis Factory

Artist: Mattiel

Year of Release: 2019

What’s up with the Cover? This cover reminds me of a job I had one summer shoveling sawdust onto conveyor belts. Given the album title, I assume this factory processes raw adequacy for its legions of reasonably motivated consumers.

How I Came to Know It: The way I often discover modern music. First I read a review and was sufficiently intrigued to listen to the single. Once I liked the single, I listened to the whole album. Halfway through I knew I was hooked.

How It Stacks Up:  While I’m on the lookout for 2017’s “LP” for now “Satis Factory” is the only Mattiel record I have, so it can’t stack up.

Ratings: 5 stars

Leave ‘em wanting more. That’s what singer-songwriter Mattiel Brown does on one of the best records of 2019. She gives you 35 minutes of pure and perfect genre-bending rock and roll and then calls it a day, leaving you no choice but to go back to Track 1 and do it all over again. And that’s exactly what I did. Six times so far, and there’ll be more.

Like a lot of the best current crop of musicians, Mattiel is blissfully unaware of any restrictions she is expected to have on her sound. She mixes in soul, funk, eighties pop and hints of a thousand other elements, creating a sound that is unique to her. Imagine the early folksy groove of Michelle Shocked with later-career Clash. Maybe throw in some Blondie or Eurythmics. Basically, if you listen too long, you’ll get confused about just what you’re hearing but let me summarize – it’s Mattiel. And it’s sheer genius.

The experience begins with her vocals, which are deep, brassy with power to spare. This is a voice that fills a room with the triumph of a trumpet and the power of a kettle drum. It isn’t just power, either. Mattiel reminded me of a modern-day Annie Lennox, taking songs that could be overwhelmed with their own anthemic majesty, and then singing them in a way that lets you ride the wave back down the barrel to its vulnerable core.

It is a good thing Mattiel has that kind of power, because the songs she writes are brash and bold anthems that demand a full commitment from the first note. They get to the point in a hurry as well. The album is 12 songs and only 35 minutes long, with over half the songs under three minutes. Mattiel doesn’t go in for a lot of bridges or meandering instrumentals. She hits a riff, develops it, drops a few insightful lyrics and wraps it up. This music reminded me of the food in Italy: only 2 or 3 ingredients, but perfectly portioned and prepared every time.

Unsurprisingly, with so many stylistic elements, “Satis Factory” has incredible range. There is plenty of R&B inspired rock, including “Moment of Death” and “Rescue You,” but there are also elements of spoken word (“Food for Thought”), eighties pop anthems (“Keep the Change”) and even country beats (“Blisters”). “Heck Fire” has a pop-reggae groove that sounds like it could have been lifted from Combat Rock but…nope. It is all original, it just sounds timeless. Even the use of the archaic “heck” comes off sounding more modern than any casual swear you’ll hear in modern music.

I had a hard time picking favourites (one of the reasons the album earned 5 stars), but “Millionaire” was a winner. It holds a mix of wistfulness and uncertain triumph that summed up the emotional core of the album. Mattiel doesn’t sing about perfection, but she is perfectly happy to celebrate a world with plenty of faults. Reflecting her own path to self-fulfillment, she sings:

“Took a hundred years to get this microphone

Now I wanna sell everything I own

Ever since I got myself this easy chair

Might as well be a millionaire.”

The song literally made me appreciate sitting. I know its not about that, but still.

“Long Division” ends the album with less certainty, with a riposte of realism to the trite advice that so often falls short in the face of misfortune:

“And we all were taught to plan for the worst

As if we had a chance to rehearse

And we all were taught to give respect

As if we could avoid a disconnect.”

The production on “Satis Factory” is crisp and separated. Drum and bass feature heavily but the album wisely doesn’t have them thump and everything is kept even in the mix, letting the bones of the song – and Mattiel’s voice – work their magic. Italian cooking, with sound.

Best tracks: All tracks. Sadly, there are only 12 but that’s OK, you can replay it any time you like if you buy it. Now go buy it. Seriously. Go give this woman some more money so she can make another record.

CD Odyssey Disc 1299: Tyr

Given my busy job and other commitments I am often asked where I find the time to write all these reviews. On busy weekends like this one, where I’m juggling multiple deadlines and activities, I’m tempted to ask myself the same thing.

Motivationally it helps that the CD Odyssey also serves as the pilot light for my creative writing when I don’t have time for a longer writing session. But the truth is, I love music and writing about it only deepens my appreciation for each record in my collection. If something is important to you, you make the time.

Disc 1299 is… Ragnarok

Artist: Tyr

Year of Release: 2006

What’s up with the Cover? Will you look at this place? Just look at the blood you've left on your sword and helmet! If this battlefield isn’t tidied up by the time I get back then Ragnarok is cancelled!

What's that? This is after Ragnarok? Well, you still better clean it up before the All-Father gets home!

How I Came to Know It: I had heard about Tyr in passing over the years but never had taken the time to check them out. Then my friend Nick went to the Faroe Islands and came back talking about Tyr, which is that country’s most famous metal band. He played a few tracks for me and I liked what I heard. I dug through their discography, and while not everything made the grade, a couple of albums appealed to me, including “Ragnarok.”

How It Stacks Up:  Tyr has eight studio albums, but I only have two. Of the two, “Ragnarok” comes in at #2.

Ratings: 3 stars

With an album titled “Ragnarok” it should come as no surprise that Tyr loves Norse (Scandinavian) mythology. Fortunately, I’m also a huge fan of Norse mythology, which was likely one of the deciding factors in my purchasing this album.

It also helped that Tyr plays a sub-genre of metal– folk metal – that I’ve only recently discovered, and there is no fervor like the fervor of the recently converted. As the name suggests, this genre combines folk and metal. It has the power chords and soaring melodies first popularized by Iron Maiden, matched with the melodic structures of local folk music. Sometimes bands incorporate traditional folk instruments as well.

Tyr aren’t big on the original instruments side of the equation, but they definitely borrow from old Viking song structures. Half the songs on “Ragnarok” either being traditional songs or containing lyrics or melodies from them. The first music I explored when I began looking outside of metal and hard rock was traditional folk music, so hearing these structures in a metal song is like introducing my two oldest friends to each other and finding out they get along great.

On “Ragnarok” Tyr also throw in some progressive elements, with changes in tempo and some mysterious atmospheric guitar work. There’s also a bit of the double-bass drum which is commonplace to most metal music from the mid-oughts on. I don’t think the progressive flourishes add a lot to the songs, but they aren’t offensive either. As for the double-bass all I ask is that bands not overuse it, and Tyr is appropriately restrained.

A great example of this is “Torsteins Kvaedi” a traditional Faroese song with a rhythmic unison singing. It sounds like something Viking raiders would chant while pulling at the oars of their longships a thousand years ago. Tyr then adds the wail of electric guitar and modern production. I’m not saying this makes it more heroic, but it sure doesn’t hurt.

The songs on the record are principally about ancient myth. Ragnarok is the ancient final battle of the gods in Norse mythology, and features prominently in the lyrics. Other songs cover famous legends such as the forging of Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, and other fun-filled (and sometimes tragic) tales of adventure.

At its best, “Ragnarok” delivers some serious fist-pumping, hair-swinging crunch, such as on “The Hunt” which drops into an early groove and then climbs out one thump at a time, helped along the way by a pretty sweet guitar solo shared between Heri Joensen and Terji Skibenaes.

At its worst, songs like “Lord of Lies” plod a bit, particularly where the folk lyric structures fail to find a good fit with the modern elements. There are also guitar solos that make a common mistake in metal music, which is to focus on being fast over being interesting.

The album also has a host of little instrumentals strewn throughout. There are six of these tracks, ranging in length from 27 seconds to just under two minutes. The intent of these seems to be to glue the record into a cohesive whole, but they didn’t add a lot to my listening experience. Also, they collectively push the album to 16 tracks and 60 minutes long. Not uncommon for a modern metal record, but that extra content has to be uncuttable, and that wasn’t always the case here.

Overall, “Ragnarok” is a mixed bag and on my first couple of listens I was inclined to part company with it. However, it grew on me as I developed a better feel for what the band was trying to accomplish. Also, there are songs on here (“Torsteins Kvaedi” and “The Hunt” in particular) which are just too damned good not to grace my CD collection.

Best tracks: Hammer of Thor, Torsteins Kvaedi, Grimur A Midalnesi, Wings of Time, The Hunt

CD Odyssey Disc 1298: Mountain Goats

My apologies for my absence, gentle readers! I have been on holiday with Sheila in Portland, Oregon. We spent our days hunting through cool clothing stores and record stores and our nights taking in music and film. I also got some killer tour shirts.

Let’s stick with music here, since you will be able to read all about the rest of the trip over at Sheila’s excellent (and far more famous) blog here soon enough.

The first show we saw was Iron Maiden, which was one of my favourite bands as a teenager in the eighties. That show didn’t support an album, however, as was the case when I saw the Mountain Goats in Portland on Sept. 9. For a review of the show scroll down, but before you do – here’s a review of their newest studio album.

Disc 1298 is… In League with Dragons

Artist: The Mountain Goats

Year of Release: 2019

What’s up with the Cover? Artist Elton D’Souza brings us a serious Dungeons and Dragons vibe with this picture. Experienced Dungeon Masters will know from comparing the poor collection of sods walking on this cover against the terrifying presence of that massive blue dragon that this is what is known as a “not level appropriate” encounter. You will also know that blue dragons breathe lightning, not fire.

For all you D&D nerds out there that got those references…you’re welcome. I’m not just in league with music nerds, I’m sometimes also…in league with dragons.

How I Came to Know It: When this record came out I was already a big Mountain Goats fan, so this was just me buying the next album on faith.

How It Stacks Up:  I have nine Mountain Goats albums. “In League With Dragons” comes in at #6.

Ratings: 3 stars

The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle loves concept albums, so when I heard he would be doing a concept album around fantasy roleplaying games (RPGs to those of us willing to publicly admit knowledge of such things) I was pretty excited.

The resulting record is uneven, with some truly great stuff and other songs that are just OK. Either way, don’t expect a lot of songs about goblins or wizards. The song titles may suggest they’ll be replete with fantasy imagery (the title track, “Clemency for the Wizard King”) but the connection often ends there.

On his more recent concept albums Darnielle draws a much more direct line. “Beat the Champ” is filled with wrestling imagery, “Goths” captures his disaffected youth in both lyrics and musical style and the songs on “Transcendental Youth” sound like the kind of bitter self-doubt that poverty-stricken youth in Seattle would express. Here the connection is tangential at best, and trying to connect some of the titles to the narrative in the songs made my head hurt.

All is forgiven in the face of good music, however, and once I was over my preconceived notions of how I would do it, and instead allowed the songs to wash over me on their own terms, the experience improved.

Within the broader umbrella of indie pop, the Mountain Goats do a lot of style exploration. On “In League with Dragons” they opt for a mix of jazz-inspired horn and piano, and the insistent country strum of guitar that Darnielle often employs as the backdrop to his storylines.

The jazz portions can overdo it, such as the saxophone on “Younger” but for the most part Darnielle wisely lets a few runs trickle in here and there where the song allows for it, without pushing too much complexity into the melody. When done well, the piano reminded me favourably of the barroom reverie on early Tom Waits records.

Darnielle mixes in these shades of jazz with pedal steel and traditional acoustic guitar, creating something that is halfway between lounge singer and country troubadour. Then he puts his high tenor and poetic half-spoken delivery on top of the amalgam.

The songs here tend toward dark subjects, with drug use and quiet desperation featuring strongly. “Going Invisible 2” is a great example of the latter, a song with a soothing reverie built into is production that belies the anger and hopelessness of the narrator, singing “I’m going to burn it all down today”. Invisibility as a metaphor for being frustrated and forgotten isn’t a new idea, but it is handled well here.

On “Waylon Jennings Live!” Darnielle is a reminder that isolation can exist even when someone is surrounded by events.  The opening line sets the scene:

“Drunk at the Meskwaki casino
Right where God intended me to be
Looking up at the one man in this room
Who's handled more cocaine then me”

Lyrically, “In League with Dragons” is top-notch throughout. Musically it is good as well, although Darnielle sometimes sacrifices melody in favour of establishing mood through a song’s rhythm. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it caused my mind to drift when I wanted to be mindful to what he was saying. Maybe that was the point.

While I see this record as a step down compared against his other recent work, this is still a quality record, laden with raw emotion and honesty. I was hoping for more dragons, but that’s on me.

Best tracks: Passae 1975, Going Invisible 2, Waylon Jennings Live!,

The Concert: Monday, September 9, 2019: McMenamin’s Crystal Ballroom, Portland OR

My second show in four nights in Portland was a major shift in styles. On Friday night I had been part of 15,000 screaming fans at the Moda Center celebrating what was essentially Iron Maiden delivering a “greatest hits” extravaganza with a massive stage show and plenty of pyro.

The Maiden show was full of people my age, all avowed Maiden fans. Like a lot of metal shows, on the surface the crowd looked a bit rough, but there was a great feeling of community. I felt at home and at ease among fellow fans, met many of them and didn’t have a single bad experience in the process.

The Mountain Goats show was a totally different type of show. Around 1,100 dedicated fans, most 20 years younger than Sheila and I. These fans were chill urban hipsters ready for a show full of literary reference and introspective songs. I once again felt at home and at ease among fellow fans. Music is a great unifying experience, regardless of genre.

The Crystal Ballroom is a beautiful old venue, and Sheila and I had dinner at the conveniently attached pub restaurant. This ended up being a happy accident, as event staff come into the restaurant and pre-authorize any patron with a ticket to the show for priority seating.

As a result, we were able to get front row seats in the balcony of the “Over 21 only” section, with a brilliant view.

Lydia Loveless

The opening act was Lydia Loveless, an alt-country singer-songwriter with the rough-edged attitude of Nikki Lane or Lindi Ortega and the brassy heartfelt power of Patty Griffin. I didn’t know her well, but I’d checked her out on Youtube before we left. I liked what I heard enough to buy two of her albums at a Portland record store a couple of days prior.

Live, Loveless was excellent, and her voice filled the Crystal Ballroom, ringing off the walls with songs that featured heavy doses of heartache and hard-living. She also was apparently pretty funny, because the front rows of the audience down on the floor laughed several times. I didn’t, but that was only because of the noise of people talking further back that drowned out portions of her performance.

This was disappointing and frustrating, and a good reminder that if you are going to show up for the opening act you should take the time to listen. You may discover a new artist that you love in the process. If you aren’t inspired to discover new music, then honour the artist’s efforts with your attention and the even simpler goal of “don’t be rude”.

Mountain Goats

Picking up the buzz of the crowd before the show I got the impression there were a lot of serious Mountain Goat fans out there. I like them a lot myself (as noted above, I have nine albums) but I could sense there was some serious devotion here.

My instincts were confirmed when front man John Darnielle and the rest of the Mountain Goats hit the stage and the crowd erupted in a jubilant celebration bordering on the religious. As a Frank Turner fan, I know exactly what it is like to love a band’s live act this much. My reaction was a combination of happiness knowing it was going to be a great crowd and a bit of regret knowing I wasn’t yet at their level.

That quickly washed away, as the Mountain Goats launched into their set. Darnielle may look like an English Literature professor moonlighting at Open Mic night (down to the glasses and brown sport jacket), but he is no amateur. From the opening notes, he had the audience in the palm of his hand with a combination of frenzied energy, and heartfelt emotional delivery.

The show had good balance on all fronts. The talk vs. sing quotient was just right, with Darnielle engaging in a little banter, but not so much as to lessen the energy of the music.

They also balanced old vs. new material. I am a believer in the rule of thirds for any concert: one-third new material, one-third old favourites and one-third deep cuts. The Mountain Goats honoured this well, with well over half of the latest record played, and a number of serious crowd pleasers during which the audience sang back every lyric to Darnielle in perfect time (as a neophyte I only trusted myself to join in for the chorus).

As for the deep cuts, I only knew about 70% of the songs played so I am assuming they nailed that too. The Mountain Goats are known for adjusting their setlist a fair bit from show to show (as does Frank Turner) which is awesome and – like us Frank Turner fans – is one more encouragement to the die-hards that follow the band from show to show.

We’d heard that the sound in this venue could be a bit over-cooked, but I found it was solid. It was slightly bass-heavy for the first song, but the sound guy quickly adjusted on the fly.

I would go see the Mountain Goats again in a heartbeat – at the Crystal Ballroom or elsewhere. They’ve got a great catalogue to work with, the fans (outside of the few talkers at the back) are top-notch and they play both old and new songs alike with an infectious energy.

CD Odyssey Disc 1297: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

I was off work today, so no commute time for listening to this next album. Fortunately, I had a few errands to run. By walking to all of them I was able to steal just the right amount of time I needed to give this next record its due.

Disc 1297 is… Echo

Artist: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Year of Release: 1999

What’s up with the Cover? Tom and the boys lurk in the weeds. They look kind of miserable, but it isn’t like weed-lurking is the kind of activity that puts a smile on your face.

How I Came to Know It: I somehow missed this album when it was released. I discovered it years later while fleshing out my Tom Petty collection.

How It Stacks Up:  I have 16 Tom Petty albums. I had reserved a low spot for “Echo” but it fared better than I expected, bumping four other records down a spot. It still only managed 11^th best in the strong field of records released by one of rock and roll’s greats.

Ratings: 3 stars

One of the keys to Tom Petty’s brilliance is his exceptional range. He can play folksy strums reminiscent of the Byrds, and then grit it out to with a dirty blues riff. “Echo” has strong examples of both styles, although there may be just a bit too much music for one record. As the saying goes, “great stuff – but save some of it for the sequel!”

The writing on “Echo” is what I’ve come to expect from a Tom Petty album; classic melodic progressions that you didn’t know were classic until Tom Petty wrote them down and played them for you. I’ve never heard an artist consistently do more things with three chords than Petty. He is proof-positive that every pop song has not, in fact, already been written.

The unspoken hero of the record is Rick Rubin, who – working alongside Petty and guitarist Mike Campbell – makes some sublime production decisions. The instruments sit evenly in the mix, but even when things get a bit layered and complex everything continues to sound distinct and separated. I’ve long been a fan of Rubin’s ability to make a band sound better without getting in the way of what makes them great in the first place.

On this record, we’ve got heart-wrenching Rickenbacker strums on some songs, right alongside thick and rich blues riffs on others, but everything feels like it belongs with everything else. It helps that this band has been together so long they’ve become a hive mind – like what a perfect jam session would sound like, only with more polish. Petty’s distinct vocals also work to naturally pull everything together. He knows when to employ a gentle warble and when to screech out grimy rebellion based on the individual needs of each song.

My favourite track is the opening one. “Room at the Top” is a song for standing on the veranda of a penthouse and reveling in the euphoria of it all – or is it? The song is triumphant on the surface (the chorus features the repeated declaration of “I ain’t comin’ down!”) but just underneath all the opulence and excess is a deep loneliness. The real story is who’s not in the room, and the song ends with late calls to a loved one and sad disclaimers of “I ain’t so bad” from someone who has no doubt been behaving badly. Proof that sometimes comin’ down is what’s called for.

It is a theme that features heavily through the record, even as Petty repeatedly explores the notion through the lens of defiance. Whether that defiance is healthy is up for debate, but it does generate some of the record’s better music including “This One’s For Me”, “No More” and “Rhino Skin – the latter being a moody atmospheric number that would be equally at home on a Dire Straits album.

Petty’s always been an artist who unapologetically followed his own vision, and on “Echo” he begins to confront some of the repercussions of that character trait. He was going through a lot back in 1999 (recent divorce and battles with heroin addiction) and the songs on “Echo” show him wrestling those demons in real time. While he doesn’t get a clear pin, he manages to fight them off sufficiently to turn them into great songs. “Echo” is an incomplete exploration of regret – one that would be fully realized on the masterful “Highway Companion” seven years later – but it is a good start.

As I alluded earlier, the record is a bit too long at 15 songs and 61 minutes. At the risk of second-guessing the great Rick Rubin, I think I could find three songs to remove that would raise the overall level of the record. Despite that, this record surprised me with how good it was. Over the years I have generally advised casual fans to steer clear of it in favour of other Tom Petty albums. While I still like plenty of his other records more, for anyone I’ve told to skip this one entirely, I apologize. Don’t do that.

Best tracks: Room at the Top, Free Girl Now, Accused of Love, Billy the Kid, This One’s For Me, Rhino Skin