CD Odyssey Disc 1969: Lana Del Rey

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey. As we’ll be doing for the next 50 or so reviews, here’s a few records I recommend from the year corresponding to the review number.

• Townes Van Zandt, “Our Mother the Mountain” (Disc 236)
• The Beatles, “Abbey Road (Disc 441)
• Leonard Cohen, “Songs from a Room” (Disc 536)

On to a record that I missed upon its release eleven years ago, much to my chagrin now…

Disc 1969 is…Honeymoon

Artist: Lana Del Rey

Year of Release: 2015

What’s up with the Cover? If this is a honeymoon it looks like Lana is out on her own for this part of it. Maybe her partner wasn’t keen on taking the StarLine Cruise and slept in, or maybe they decided to take in a baseball game.

This may sound bad, but I’ve been happily married for a very long time, and there’s nothing wrong with a short stint at different events – gives you something to talk about when you meet up later.

How I Came To Know It: I came late to Lana Del Rey, not giving her more than a passing thought until around 2021. Since then I’ve been devouring her new records and going into her back catalogue with equal zeal. “Honeymoon” was the latter experience.

How It Stacks Up: I have six of Lana Del Rey’s nine studio albums. I don’t know them well enough to definitively rank them, but I was pretty damned impressed with “Honeymoon” and I’m placing it second.

Ratings: 4 stars

Lana Del Rey has a haunting voice that is like sunshine on a cold day, and on “Honeymoon” she pairs her instrument with a set of immersive, moody pop songs that cast a spell that gets more intense on each listen. It left me shaking my head at myself that I’d taken so long to come around to her sound.

Part of this slow seduction is the nature of Del Rey’s music. She sings in a high head voice that creates an otherworldly pop-Goth, drawing you siren-like to her music. These songs aren’t immediate bangers. There’s nary a guitar riff, not even a strum, and the result is a kind of background hum that doesn’t immediately draw your notice. You need to settle down and properly listen before this record will properly reach down inside of you.

Once you’re there, you can appreciate the ghostly, eerily sensual quality of the record. These sequences are like an art film romance, sexy and disconcerting at the same time. If you like your pop music mysterious and a little dangerous, then “Honeymoon” will suit you well.

The title track leads the record off with a starkly beautiful couple of bars of violin – or maybe a synthesizer mimicking a violin. It is hard to tell, and that straddling of the artificial and the deeply emotional is what gives “Honeymoon” a portion of its magic. The song is almost six minutes long, unfurling at a languorous pace, but by the time it is in full flight you’re sorry it has to end so soon.

Like a lot of the songs on the record, the unnamed object of Del Rey’s affections is dangerous, distant and hard to understand. Del Rey paints this dark character with splashes of imagery, tinted by the narrator’s ardor. Best lines:

“There are violets in your eyes
There are guns that blaze around you
There are roses in between my thighs
And fire that surrounds you”

Sexy stuff. Del Rey doubles down on this dangerous desire vibe throughout the record, following up the opener with the sultry sway of “Music to Watch Boys To” another crooner that shows off Del Rey’s high head voice as she sings a call and response of “I like you a lot” and “so I do what you want” leaving you the listener to wonder just what sacrifices are being made in the name of desire. And on it carries through the record, spinning you inward into the depths of human longing.

Later on the record, relationships sour. Tracks like “High by the Beach” are just as deeply introspective, but now they are about creating some distance from destructive influences. The song’s refrain seems to suggest that sometimes you don’t need to get out of your head, so much as you need to get deeper inside of it.

The final track of the record is a cover of the Animals’/Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.” Del Rey does a fine job of it and given all the edgy characters she’s inhabited through the record, it feels a bit on the nose, and not necessary after all the high-quality originals. It’s good but there’s knowing nod to the listener that isn’t necessary. The record operates better in an air of mystery.

However, this is a minor quibble, and by the time you get to this point of the record you are well and truly under Del Rey’s spell. Maybe you need a bit of a landmark pop cover to come back from it, even, and in this regard even its somewhat awkward inclusion serves a purpose.

Best tracks: Honeymoon, Music to Watch Boys To, God Knows I Tried, High By the Beach, Freak, Art Deco, Salvatore

CD Odyssey Disc 1968: Orange Goblin

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey. As we’ll be doing for the next 50 or so reviews, here’s a few records I recommend from the year corresponding to the review number.

• The Rolling Stones, “Beggar’s Banquet” (Disc 381)
• The Beatles, “The White Album” (Disc 593)
• The Byrds, “Sweethearts of the Rodeo” (Disc 1021)

Not exactly a very surprising list, and overall 1968 does not look to be shaping up as my favourite year in music.

And now…goblins!

Disc 1968 is…Frequencies from Planet Ten

Artist: Orange Goblin

Year of Release: 1997

What’s up with the Cover? There is a LOT going on with this cover. We have landed on an alien planet just in time to see a musical meet up. A giant intergalactic amp and speaker stacks are pumping out tunes to all the groovy guests.

The dude with the hookah may even be producing some sonic creations of his own with all those shoulder pipes. The cone-headed green dude has a squeeze box of sorts, if a squeeze box was a disembodied mouth that shrieked when you squeezed it.

As for the moon, he is the only one who appears distressed at the whole affair. Maybe he’s already had some noise complaints from the other planets, or maybe he’s just afraid of music. I admit I am also a little afraid of music that features a screaming mouth being squeezed by a disembodied hand.

That said I’ve got pretty varied tastes and would be willing to give it a go.

How I Came To Know It: I was introduced to Orange Goblin by my friend Chris, who played a record of theirs one day during a barbecue. It isn’t your usual fare for a barbecue, but it worked.

This particular album is part of a 2002 rerelease of Orange Goblin’s first two records (the other being 1998’s “Time Travelling Blues”) that I found used at the local record store and snapped up on the cheap.

How It Stacks Up: Orange Goblin has 10 studio albums, but I only have four. Of those four, I put “Frequencies from Planet Ten” at #2.

Ratings: 4 stars

“Frequencies from Planet Ten” is Orange Goblin’s first record, so it can be forgiven for wearing its inspirations on its sleeves. Fortunately, those influences are honoured and blended, not simply imitated. The result is a record that at different times can feel from a previous time and also strangely current, often alternating between these sentiments within a single song.

Orange Goblin is for the most part a psychedelic metal band, prone to groove-driven guitar riffs suitable for watching a pack of Harley Davidson’s drive by. They also liberally mix in garage rock and even a soupcon of KISS in the vocal delivery of lead singer Ben Ward.

Ward’s raspy tones are more Lemmy than Simmons/Stanley but the phrasing of the songs have a KISS groove to them in places that the more punk-flavoured Motorhead doesn’t explore.

I found the sound initially a bit too full and busy, but Orange Goblin is like a very hot bath – you’ve got to immerse yourself for a while before you decide if you like it. The longer I listened the more I started to pull the intricacies of time signatures, and internal melodic shifts.

When they do these well they hearken to greats like Black Sabbath; chugging riffs that made me want to swing what’s left of my hair in a mosh-fueled fury. Those riffs tend to sit forward in the pocket creating that urgent lean that had me thinking earlier of fat-bodied choppers and growling sword pipes.

There were also many occasions where they descended into a more experimental thrashing about. Sometimes these worked (and reminded me favourably of Deep Purple) and other times they got a bit too impressed with themselves (and reminded me of Cream).

You read that right, dear reader: I admire Cream’s contributions to hard rock, but I don’t like listening to an album full of it.

But I digress…

The band does a bit of all of this stuff – the groove, the psych, and the weird – on “Saruman’s Wish”, which is one of my favourites almost despite itself. You can enjoy this record just for the many different musical movements it explores across a little over six minutes, but the lyrics are also solid. They explore Saruman the White’s descent into madness (presumably with all that Palantir-staring he’s been getting up to). He sees a world lost, with the only escape to selfishly seize what power he can.

Later the band will do a short instrumental tune capturing the mysterious beauty of the forest of Lothlorien (which they misspell “Lothlorian”). It is a lovely palate cleanser halfway through the record’s otherwise furious pace.

Lord of the Rings fans, that bit was for you. IYKYK.

I actually found the back half of the record stronger than the front, but that could be because on each listen it took a while to sink in.

“Orange Goblin” (the song) is the crunchies track on the record, which is saying something. This is fist-pumping thump at its best. A lot of the lyrics on this record are overwrought and ridiculous, but it works well when paired with the bombastic beats and riffs on a song like “Orange Goblin”.

There are two bonus tracks on this re-issue, which are basically adding a two-song EP onto the back end. I don’t usually like when a band adds bonus tracks onto the same disc, but this EP is only two tracks (“Nuclear Guru” and a cover of “Hand of Doom”) also released in 1997, and is a good stylistic fit.

As for the cover of “Hand of Doom” it doesn’t add a lot to the Sabbath original other than 90 seconds of playing time, but it is well-played and any day I get a chance to hear “Hand of Doom” is a good day.

Overall, this record is very solid debut. There are places where they stray a bit too close to the edge of imitation (one track has Ward calling out a very Ozzie-like off-the-beat, “all right now!” which I thought unnecessary) but they are rare moments that I forgive as part of the recklessness of youth. For the most part this is a band exploring myriad off hard rock traditions and forging their own space in the process.

Best tracks: The Astral Project, Saruman’s Wish, Lothlorian (sic), Orange Goblin, Star Shaped Cloud

CD Odyssey Disc 1967: The Tragically Hip

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey. Before we get to Disc 1967, here are a few records I heartily recommend from the year 1967:

• Jimi Hendrix, “Are You Experienced?” (Disc 1928)
• Leonard Cohen, “Songs” (Disc 522)
• Albert King, “Born Under a Bad Sign” (Disc 1862)

OK – on with the album review…

Disc 1967 is…We Are the Same

Artist: The Tragically Hip

Year of Release: 2009

What’s up with the Cover? Some fellas (presumably the band) stand around an outdoor fire. At least I hope it is outdoors, because the sparks coming out of that chimney will definitely damage the ceiling.

How I Came To Know It: I heard the song “Coffee Girl”. This was years after this album was released and I wasn’t really focused on the Tragically Hip at the time, but I liked the song and was intrigued by what the Hip had been up to all these years.

While not my favourite Hip record, it did return me to them and caused a second round of exploring their discography from the other end of their career, so that was cool.

How It Stacks Up: I have eight of the Tragically Hip’s thirteen studio albums, which is a goodly amount, but not at the level of super fan this band tends to attract. Of those eight, “We Are the Same” comes in at a #7, which sounds bad, but it isn’t – it is just a tough field.

Ratings: 3 stars

For the most part, I am an “early Hip” fan, and all my other records span from their eponymous EP debut in 1987 through to “Phantom Power” in 1998. “We Are the Same” is the exception to that rule, a full decade later returning me to a band and making me ashamed that I had left so soon.

“We Are the Same” is a slightly softer, gentler record overall in its arrangements, but the key ingredients to the Tragically Hip are all there. The superior musicianship - more orchestra of sound than individual showboating, and melodies that draw you inward to a beauty that emerges more fully only after repeated listens. Along with all of that, the thoughtful Gord Downie lyrics, masterfully phrased out into the song.

Downie’s vocals on “We Are the Same” are less aggressive on this record, but just as emotive. His voice has a natural hurt in it, and on “We Are the Same” it surprised me with just how soothing hurt can be, when done right.

This is most notable on the lilting beauty of “Coffee Girl” which paints the perfect picture of the neighbourhood barista, recasting that person you see for five minutes a day as a three-dimensional human. Downie’s artistry is showcasing the “why” of the character, with half-painted scenes that honour the character while reminding the listener that no, you don’t really know this person like you think you do.

I didn’t love all the lyrics on the record as much as “Coffee Girl” but that’s a feature of a Tragically Hip record, where often you’re not sure what Downie is singing about fully, catching his poetry like phrases of passing conversation, or gusts of wind blowing leaves. Evocative in the moment, but fleeting, and a bit mysterious.

Musically, my favourite is “The Last Recluse” which has Downie delivering a sublime set of high notes that lifts your spirits while simultaneously leaving you uncertain just where you are being lifted to. Best line:

“When the wind comes up and the surface of the water scuffs

-      Enough! Enough! – the ferry whistle cried.”

“The Depression Suite” holds down the end of Side One with a deep exploration of depression. The theme is that even when we are down and feel alone, someone else is feeling just as depressed as you are: the Hip’s answer to R.E.M’s “Everybody Hurts”. Observant readers will note later that despite this praise it does not feature in the “best tracks” summary. That’s only because the song is over nine minutes long and could probably accomplish the same magic in five or six.

The record has a pastoral quality to it. The first song features the still imagery of an overly quiet early morning with “Morning Moon” and the final track bookends it nicely with “Country Day”. In both cases, the quietness around him has Downie thinking Deep Thoughts (this is a common state for him).

The songs still manage to rock out in places, but they feel rounded around the edges in the production, and you get the sense of a veteran band that has settled into their sound and are comfortable letting it unfurl without having to press. Still thoughtful, still creative, but all with a greater sense of calm. Is it better or worse than the groove-filled rock of their earlier work? It’s neither. It’s just the exploration of a different facet of the band’s sound, and while not my favourite, still a worthwhile entry into their impressive catalogue.

Best tracks: The Last Recluse, Coffee Girl, Queen of the Furrows, Country Day

CD Odyssey Disc 1966: Ozzy Osbourne

I’ve decided to try something new where before I do the review of the day, where I list a few (no more than five) of my favourite records from a year with same number as what review I am on. Obviously once we are “in the future” this will cease, but it’ll be fun for a while.

So, without further ado, here are two great records from 1966:

·       Bob Dylan, “Blonde on Blonde” reviewed at Disc 306

·         Simon & Garfunkel, “Sounds of Silence” Disc 239 – where I wrongly labelled it’s release year as 1965 (in my defence it was January, 1966).

I also really dig the Supremes – “Supreme A’ Go-Go” but I don’t own it yet. That is going to change very soon.

“Wait a minute”, you may be saying, “did he just exclude both "Pet Sounds" and "Revolved"? Yeah, I did. I like both those records just fine, but these are some of my favourite albums from 1966, not someone else’s…

Disc 1966 is…No More Tears

Artist: Ozzy Osbourne

Year of Release: 1991

What’s up with the Cover? Ozzy, having doffed his shirt, is looking angsty and withdrawn. This is in contrast to early Ozzy covers that have him in full cosplay looking like a crazed maniac.

This may seem an odd departure, but don’t judge Ozzy. Every band not still in the denial of hair metal’s death spiral at this time was trading in for tarp-less angst.

Frankly, I think Ozzy wears it better than most. He’s even sprouting a small angel wing on his back, which would have made wearing a shirt itchy.

How I Came To Know It: This is yet another of my Ross records, obtained from my buddy Ross when he divested his CD collection. This is the seventh review of that bunch so far. Thanks, Ross!

How It Stacks Up: I currently have four Ozzy records (two via Ross, and two via my own devices). I don’t know any of them well enough yet, but I am confident “No More Tears” at least good enough to be third, and maybe even second. For now I’ll put it in third. Maybe it’ll finish second, but that’s the disadvantage of skating first…

Ratings:4 stars

Great artists tend to have later career classic records, and “No More Tears” is one of those for Ozzy Osbourne. More than a decade after he launched his solo career with the brilliant “Blizzard of Ozz” Ozzy returns with a record that is a bit more polished than what fans might expect but showcasing some of his strongest work.

While the record leans a bit more into hard rock ballads than pure metal, there’s no denying its edge, with Ozzy always willing to lean into the darker side of the human experience.

This is never truer than on the opening track, “Mr. Tinkertrain” a song told from the perspective of a child abuser, who has given himself the clownish alter ego of Mr. Tinkertrain, under which he hurts kids. Ozzy sings about madmen and werewolves without a second thought, but the deep dive into the terrifying and horrible Mr. Tinkertrain is as dark as he gets. It is genuinely creepy.

The record features two timeless earworms that would help define the decade for those with an ear for metal. The first of these is “Mama I’m Coming Home”, fueled by the inspired picking of guitarist Zakk Wylde. Wylde’s work here is like a pastoral folk song in places, then switching to pure metal magic in the inspired solo that – like all good solos - relies more on tone than speed.

“Mama, I’m Coming Home” has some of Ozzy’s best work as a vocalist as well, as he does what Ozzy always does – turns his performance deeply inward to his most vulnerable, and then lets that vulnerability blossom out to his audience. The ability to share the unseen storms in the depth of the human heart is a true art, and few do it as well as Ozzy.

The other big hit was “No More Tears” which is another metal classic. It has an odd bit of synth production at the front end that are very much a product of the time, but “No More Tears” makes that fuzzy production a feature not a bug. The song is a long one at 7:23 in playing time, but you never get bored.

While those are the radio hits (I assume) the whole record is great, and on successive listens I enjoyed this record more and more. In addition to freaking us out with “Mr. Tinkertrain” and making us feel the feels with “Mama…” Ozzy throws in a bunch of songs that are ground zero for metal conversation.

“Hellraiser” is a song about being on the road and rocking out. It’s simple message: “come to my concert, and I will blow you away”. “I Don’t Want to Change the World” is classic metal rebellion. A “screw you” for all those critics saying Ozzy is bad for your kids. Best lines:

“Tell me I'm a sinner, I've got news for you
I spoke to God this morning and he don't like you
You're telling all the people the original sin
He says, he knows you better than you'll ever know him”

“Zombie Stomp” is a weird Side Two offering that took me a while to love. It takes forever to get going and feels like more of an exploration of beat and rhythm than a full song. In the end it never became a favourite, but I started to appreciate it for what it was. Could the record (which approaches a full hour in length) live without the six-minute stretch of “Zombie Stomp”? Yeah, it could, but it is more weird and out of place than objectively bad.

The final track, “Road to Nowhere,” is a perfect summary of Ozzy’s ability to pull you in with deeply personal compositions. Here Ozzy is feeling a bit of regret across past years. He doesn’t wallow in mistakes once made, but he acknowledges them in a way that feels sincere and thoughtfully explored.

“The wreckage of my past keeps haunting me
It just won't leave me alone
I still find it all a mystery
Could it be a dream?
The road to nowhere leads to me”

Ozzy isn’t saying he’d change anything in this song, he’s just recognizing that he got here on his own. By internalizing his own road to nowhere, and sharing it with the audience, he invites us all to a little introspection.

Purists might say that some of these songs are too soft around the edges for an Ozzy record. I might have said the same in 1991 when it came out and was not yet a converted Ozzy fan. But those people (including me) were completely overlooking just how consistently ballsy Wylde’s guitar work is on this record. We were also overlooking that at their core these are just well-constructed songs, that would be bangers in any genre.

I’m so glad that through my friend Ross I had a chance to reacquaint myself with this record 25 years later and both recognize my initial error, and this record’s greatness.

Best tracks: I Don’t Want to Change the World, Mama I’m Coming Home, No More Tears, S.I.N., Hellraiser, Time After Time, Road to Nowhere

CD Odyssey Disc 1965: Lera Lynn

This next album review doesn’t have a concert component, but I did see this artist live eleven years ago in Nashville. You can read all about it back at Disc 792.

Disc 1965 is…Resistor

Artist: Lera Lynn

Year of Release: 2016

What’s up with the Cover? Angles and shapes, yo! Also Lera’s disembodied head in a circle.

I’m not sure what this cover is going for, but apart from an exploration of rudimentary geometry, it does not land it.

How I Came To Know It: By 2016 I was already three albums deep with Lera, so this was just me buying her latest release and hoping for the best.

How It Stacks Up: I have seven Lera Lynn albums, which I feel is a lot. Of those, I put “Resistor” in at #4, so right in the middle.

Ratings: 3 stars

“Resistor” finds Lera Lynn doubling down on the same “mood music to be murdered to” kind of vibe that worked for her so well on her 2014 record “The Avenues” as well as her contributions to the second season of “True Detective”. It’s a warm and sultry soak in cigarette smoke and whiskey neat.

Sounds alluring – but it doesn’t come easy. “Resistor” is a headphones album – better when you can immerse yourself in it without distraction. As driving albums go it is a forgettable bit of background hum, but if you give it your full attention without the roar of the engine competing with the low notes and it is instantly so much better.

These songs are lounge personified, and while there is a wall of sound quality to it, Lynn’s vocals have an ability to travel through without ever breaking the broader mood.

The opening track, “Shape Shifter” is a bit of a banger, up tempo and with the snap of a snare drum and syncopation that won’t show itself much for the rest of the record. This song is the one tune that throws its hip into the street and invites you to give the rest of the record a chance. It’s a wise opening choice, but don’t expect more of the same, as the remainder of the record will instead retreat into the deeper swells of sound.

These are songs that take their time, and if you’re in a hurry it is going to irritate you. Lynn’s purpose is not to show you vocal gymnastics, nor to hop from one musical concept to another. She’s here for the slow burn, the late-night confessions that come only after the second bottle of wine gets opened.

Lynn’s early records are much more country in style, and through the mist and mystery of her more urbanized self you can still pick out a western twang, particularly on songs like “For the Last Time” and “Slow Motion Countdown”.

The subtle reverberation of “Slow Motion Countdown” features the many and varied dangers of the night: the rattlesnake in the midnight desert out back, and the distant stare from a lover in the booth across from you, both cold-blooded and dangerous. It’s a song about fading love, but more than that, it is a song about the untethered danger of what comes next.

There are places where the whole thing is so atmospheric it almost collapses under the weight of its own coolness, and not every song has the bones to hold the groove on its own. Just a touch more balance toward that earlier twang would have been welcome, but Lynn won’t go back to simpler times any more than the complex and alluring characters she sings about.

In the end “Resistor” is a slow dance of a record that can go a couple of different ways. Awkward and a bit distant if you are only willing to put your hands on its hips and avoid eye contact; evocative and tactile when you embrace it close against you, and surrender to its perilous charms.

Best tracks: Shape Shifter, Cut + Burn, Run the Night, For the Last Time, Slow Motion Countdown

CD Odyssey Disc 1964: Sabaton

There is a special rule in the CD Odyssey that when I go see a band live in concert I can directly select their album, provided it is the album they are touring. That’s what’s happening here. So today it isn’t random, but don’t get used to it. We’ll be back to not knowing where our musical journey takes us in no time.

Also, if you like a bit of live concert review with your studio experience, I’ve provided exactly that following this review. Just keep scrollin’!

Disc 1964 is…Legends

Artist: Sabaton

Year of Release: 2025

What’s up with the Cover? Artwork that depicts the various characters you are going to encounter on the album. Looks like that rascal from the 12^th Dynasty Senusret III is getting centre stage on this one. Not my favourite song on the album but he does have a handsome visage and a resplendent headdress, so it’s an understandable choice.

Other notables you’ll see include Hannibal, Napoleon and Miyamoto Musashi. And others! Collect all your historical favourites here on…Legends!

How I Came To Know It: This was just me buying the latest release from Sabaton – a band I have been following for about seven years now. This is not remotely from the beginning, so I claim no street cred, but I have been making up for lost time.

How It Stacks Up: I have ten Sabaton albums. “Legends” is a good record, but I must reluctantly rank it at #9.

Ratings: 3 stars

Sabaton is one of those bands that I call “ACDC bands”. Not because they sound like ACDC (they don’t) but because like ACDC their songs all sound very similar to one another. If you like the sound, you tend to like their albums and if you don’t then you really need to go find a new interest, because this is their thing, and the lads aren’t for turning.

That thing is a mix of power metal, folk metal, and New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal (NWOTM – yes, it’s a term, IYKYK), a galloping beat, power chords and the bombastic vocals of frontman Joakim Broden.

Despite 25 years in the bombast game, Broden hasn’t lost a step and his vocals still cut through the fog of war (and on a Sabaton record there is a lot of that) and tells tales of various characters and battles through the course of human history.

I’ve mentioned this on previous reviews but it bears repeating: Sabaton are a band that sings about historical events, almost exclusively of the military variety. Much like their style of music, if this appeals to you, you will tend to view their records favourably and if this does not appeal to you then it is going to be a very long and fitful 45-55 minutes, indeed.

“Legends” is no exception to both the musical and thematic rules of the band, and because I land nicely at that intersection of bias, I had no complaints on that front. In fact, there are a few standouts on the album.

The first of these is “Templars”, a classic full-tilt Sabaton galloper about the Knights Templar that has a first-rate guitar riff hooking your ears. Broden is particularly good here, as the song lends itself to his range well and as usual, makes everything the height of DRAMA. This despite lyrics that are literal to the highest degree (another Sabaton standard). Don’t look for a lot of metaphor on a Sabaton record – they are here to share some history they found interesting, and they’re sticking to the facts, ma’am.

Another winner is “Crossing the Rubicon” about the fateful decision made by Julius Caesar to bring his legions back to Italy and contest for the leadership of Rome. Again, the heavy riffs and the unison singing on the chorus encourage singing along and create a surge of energy. Sabaton captures the dread import of decision like the crossing of the Rubicon and transports those momentous events across time and space so a modern audience can feel the urgency. It ain’t exactly time travel, but it’s a cousin.

My last of three favourites is “Lightning at the Gates” the story of Hannibal surprising the Roman legions by invading Italy across the alps. A bold maneuver that didn’t ultimately win him the war, but an inspiring bit of generalship all the same. Also, this song has one of the better melodic structures on the record, capturing the shifts in elevation, the determined march of an army and even a bit of optimistic whimsy in the guitar solo, as befits such an unorthodox bit of strategy.

So why only ranked 9th? Because apart from these three songs a lot of “Legends” is just not up to the same standard of earlier Sabaton records. When you do the same thing a lot, you walk a thin line to avoid becoming an imitation of yourself, and there are songs on “Legends” that feel a little like they are trying to squeeze water out of a stone. Also, while I don’t expect Shakespearean prose, songs like “I, Emperor” (Napoleon) and “Maid of Steel” (Joan of Arc) land awkwardly in both lyrics and phrasing. “I, Emperor” in particular is a plodder.

But even with a couple of clunkers this is still a Sabaton record, and all the ingredients you like (if you like this sort of thing) are there. While I didn’t get the full rush of some of their truly great records, I still had a good time and unlike most of the stuff they sing about, no one got hurt in the process.

Best tracks: Templars, Crossing the Rubicon, Lightning at the Gates

The Concert: October 8, 2026 at the PNE Forum, Vancouver, BC

This concert was originally scheduled for April but one of the members of the band had a medical issue and the show had to be delayed. I decided to stick it out, and with the companionship of my buddy Spence, I took it in with several thousand other screaming metalheads.

The Venue:

If you haven’t been to the PNE Forum, it is pretty great to see a show. It is essentially a mid-sized hockey rink built in the early thirties with a big central floor for moshing/fist-pumping types with good backs and bleachers on either side for those with backs that are a bit dodgier. No good for moshing, but still plenty of room to pump a fist or two. My companion and I, being of the dodgy-back persuasion, chose this option.

Wings of Steel

The first of two opening acts was Wings of Steel, a traditional heavy metal band that went full in for the eighties metal vibe. The line between homage and imitation in this genre can be admittedly fuzzy, so I’ll just say Wings of Steel did not offer anything new. The singer had good vocals and the songs were well structured, if a bit obvious. The guitar player played fast, but his solos felt disconnected from the song. It wasn’t to my taste, but I will say that on aggregate, these five guys had the BEST metal hair I have seen in many a decade.

Pop Evil

The second opener was Pop Evil, which was a very different kind of metal entirely. More thrashy/nu-metal crossover with a bit of nineties alternative mixed in there. These guys had good thump, but this isn’t a style that I personally find enjoyable, and I admit I started to get fidgety in anticipation of the main act.

Sabaton

At last, the band we’d been waiting for took the stage. I turned with breathless excitement to my friend and warned him that I might “fanboy out a bit”. This did happen.

First of all, Sabaton have a great stage setup. As you can see from the photo, it features a full-scale model of a First World War tank that the drummer perches on. There’s also a model piece of artillery to the side. With such initial promise, would this show feature explosions and smoke? Reader, it did, and plenty of it.

The band played tight and energetically and had a very knowledgeable and willing crowd eating out of their hands throughout the show. We sang along, we pumped our fists on demand and joyously participated as Sabaton rocked out.

The band has been doing this for a couple of decades now and their resulting mastery of the stage was on full display. They played off each other (often kidding each other with sight gags during songs and self-deprecating banter between them). Broden is a natural showman and brings levity and excitement to songs that are sometimes about heavy topics.

Unison singing is a big part of many Sabaton songs, and everyone brought their A game. There was even a trio of sexy (and talented) backup singers lending some higher range to the tunes.

In terms of setlist, I got almost everything I wanted, with two of my three favourites from “Legends” (see above) being played. Sadly, they also played, “I, Emperor” but even though I still didn’t like this song, it was markedly better live.

Other standouts for me included rousing renditions of “Bismarck”, “Fields of Verdun”, and “Night Witches”. The only one I really wanted to hear that didn’t make the setlist was “Winged Hussars” but hey, you can’t have everything.

Weirdly, there was no encore but that was OK with the show naturally wrapping up with a crescendo of bangers and a very theatrical series of bows (the band, Broden alone, the band with the backup singers, etc.) followed by the very welcome tossing of drumsticks, guitar picks and even the setlist sheet into the crowd.

I am always a little leery of stadium shows with “older” bands, but there were no concerns here with either sound quality or energy levels, and it was a rollicking, fist-pumping good time. Well worth the trip.

CD Odyssey Disc 1963: Ted Nugent

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey where I randomly select and review every album in my collection. Since we’re not done yet, let’s sail on to the next port of call.

Disc 1963 is…Weekend Warriors

Artist: Ted Nugent

Year of Release: 1978

What’s up with the Cover? You’ve heard of the key-tar? The double-necked guitar where one neck is a bass? Well Ted does this one better with a guitar that doubles as a shotgun.

Apparently the ‘gun-tar’ is fired when Ted plays a particularly killer riff, as Ted demonstrates here. Any concert where this thing gets played probably needs an extra rider on the insurance.

How I Came To Know It: This was another of the “Ross Records” collection that I got from my buddy Ross when he was divesting himself of CDs. I was already a fan of Nugent so this was an easy selection. Thanks again, Ross!

How It Stacks Up: I have four Ted Nugent albums, two with the Amboy Dukes and two solo. I like them all, but competition is fierce and “Weekend Warriors” lands in fourth – but a respectable fourth.

Ratings: 3 stars

The world can sometimes be a confusing place but there is one thing you can count on: put an electric guitar in the hands of Ted Nugent and magic happens. On his fourth solo record since parting ways with the Amboy Dukes, Nugent once again displays his mastery on the axe.

That is the main thing that draws most people to a Ted Nugent record, and on “Weekend Warriors” I was not disappointed. The style is solidly hard rock, with heavy influences of rock’s next-door neighbour, the blues.

The blues vibes on “Weekend Warrior” are strongest on “One Woman” and manifest in the chord progression and classic blues riffs. However, the way the song is played is crunch-forward with a metallic aftertaste that lets you know that hard rock is the driver on this record, even if blues helps with the initial recipe.

I’m a big fan of the epic sonic explorations on Nugent’s early work with the Amboy Dukes, and while there is less of that on this record, there is still plenty to get behind. The best song for those who also love that early sprawl is “Venom Soup”. The album’s longest song by well over a minute and a half, “Venom Soup” is a throwback to that earlier sound. It takes a little time to get going but once it does you are rewarded with a deep soak in Nugent’s guitar brilliance.

To varying degrees, Nugent’s guitar work is a star on every song on the record, but on the majority of tracks the vocals are handled by bandmate Charlie Huhn. Huhn takes singing duties on six of the ten tracks, but his tone and Nugent’s are so similar that I didn’t really notice who was on the mic and had to look it up several times to confirm. If anything, Huhn’s voice is the stronger of the two, but Ted’s got that patented Nugent grime to it which lets you forgive a lot.

My favourite of the Nugent-led tunes is “Good Friends and a Bottle of Wine” which is a classic Nugent song in the “party on” vibe that his music inspires. The solo work in “Good Friends…” sits back a bit in the mix compared to some tracks, but when it hits it grabs your attention and does not let you up for air.

It is hard to describe what makes Nugent’s guitar solos so singular and impressive. So many other guitarists in the hard rock/metal world will fall into a fit of excess, showcasing how fast they can play or how “balls-out” they can sound. Nugent writes solos that serve the song’s underlying melody but that also take you on a journey through a different facet of that melody, just like a good solo should. Yes, he can play fast, but only when the moment calls for it, and he never sounds hurried.

I didn’t learn a lot about life, the universe, and everything while listening to “Weekend Warriors’ nor was there a plethora of new musical ideas to choose from. But that’s not what you come to a Ted Nugent album looking for. You come looking for songs about good times and bad times, played with virtuosity by one of rock and roll’s greatest.

On that front this record delivers and then some.

Best tracks: Venom Soup, Good Friends and a Bottle of Wine

CD Odyssey Disc 1962: Neil Young

I made the mistake of trying to listen to this on my MP3 player after sorting for “album name” and got a mix of songs from Neil Young and the Offspring for my troubles. The CD in the car was far more reliable.

Disc 1962 is…Americana

Artist: Neil Young and Crazy Horse

Year of Release: 2012

What’s up with the Cover? What you see here is not the cover, but an artist’s rendering of turn of the century America on the inside fold of the CD jacket.

For the actual cover, Neil took a 1905 photo of Geronimo and some other First Nations and superimposed the faces of the band over top of them. Opinions no doubt vary on what Neil was intending here, but at minimum it could be triggering, and I’ve chosen to go in another direction. Forewarned, you can look it up elsewhere on the internet.

How I Came To Know It: This was just me giving Neil a chance based on previous positive experiences. I was learning around this time to be more discerning with which Neil Young albums were worth my time.

How It Stacks Up: Neil Young has released 45 albums over his long and illustrious career, but I don’t have all of ‘em and I don’t like all of ‘em. I have at one time or another owned (and reviewed) 23 albums. This is the last one left, and I rank it…21^st. So, not good.

Ratings: 2 stars

As this is the final Neil Young record in my collection, here is the full and exhaustive recap of all 23 (read them all here). Enjoy and/or seethe with disagreement as the mood strikes you:

1. Harvest: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 1877)
2. Rust Never Sleeps: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 664)
3. On the Beach: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 579)
4. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 497)
5. After the Gold Rush: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1450)
6. Hawks & Doves: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 188)
7. Prairie Wind: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 160)
8. Le Noise: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 403)
9. Hitchhiker: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1158)
10. Chrome Dreams II: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1196)
11. Harvest Moon: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 257)
12. Comes a Time*: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 883)
13. Homegrown: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 1604)
14. Freedom: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 1750)
15. Sleeps With Angels: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 20)
16. Ragged Glory: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 730)
17. Tonight’s the Night: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 422)
18. Self-Titled: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 435)
19. Everybody’s Rockin’: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 914)
20. America Stars ‘n’ Bars: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 855)
21. Americana: 2 stars (reviewed right here)
22. Colorado: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 1809)
23. A Letter Home: 1 star (reviewed at Disc 850)

·         *I was probably a bit harsh on “Comes a Time” at three stars, and it likely should be higher on the list, but a star laid is a star played…

Before we launch into “Americana” let the record above show that I’m not one of those “I only like his early stuff” jerks, and there have been plenty of records (well, five) that Neil put out after 2005 that are solid records.

But it is also true that later Neil has doubled down on doing whatever the hell he wants. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. On “Americana” it doesn’t.

“Americana” sees the return of Neil’s backing band Crazy Horse, whose presence is almost guaranteed to make a record grimier. When these folks get together with Neil everything tends to get drawn out a bit longer with a lot more reverb on the guitar.

Given that this record is a collection of re-imagined old classic American folk songs, I was hopeful that this would mean that some of the “lost” lyrics of standards like “Clementine” and “Oh Susannah” would make an appearance. Some of those lyrics make these old songs even darker and creepier than they already are. To some degree, this hope was rewarded, particularly on these two tracks.

However, Crazy Horse mostly used the extra time to “explore the space” with a lot of not very inventive jam-session style grooves that were equal parts self-indulgent and unimaginative.

The further I went into the record the more irritating this long, drawn-out “go nowhere” vibe became. If the song is going to be five plus minutes long, I want most of that time exploring the various lost stanzas of these classics, not a bunch of hot-boxed, blue haze studio wankery.

Whether you’re covering a song from two, twenty, or two hundred years ago, the unspoken rule of the exercise is well understood: make it original and do it well.

For most of this record, Neil and Crazy Horse only manage the first half of that social contract. Yes, these sound original, but they are mostly deliberately messy dive-bar renditions. If that’s what you want with your timeless folk classics, you might like – even love – this record. I thought it was just a lot of doubling down on an idea that was good for a couple of songs (both of which I’ve already mentioned) but not for a whole record that approaches a full hour of playing time.

“Tom Dula” is a particularly good example of the excess, with eight full minutes that go nowhere special and travel there in the loudest manner possible. The song features plenty of Neil Young’s exceptional guitar playing, but I kept waiting for the song to have a purpose, and it never did. Instead all the layers of improvisation just caked an otherwise interesting tale with a thick layer of sonic mud.

Half-way through the record you get a listless version of “Get a Job,” lurching like Frankenstein’s Monster through a song designed to be lively and full of jump. I found myself wishing this song had instead appeared on Neil’s 1983 rockabilly record “Everybody’s Rockin’.

As a fan of folk music history, there was a part of me that was just happy to have all these old songs, but then I realized that over the years I had many of them by other artists. A quick search of my music catalogue revealed many a gem (“Oh Susannah” – the Be Good Tanyas and the Byrds; “Gallow’s Pole” – Led Zeppelin; “This Land Is Your Land” – Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings; “Wayfarin’ Stranger” – Emmylou Harris; and “God Save the Queen” – Queen).

Young’s version of “Wayfarin’ Stranger” (where he finally tones it down) is pretty solid but he’s no Emmylou…

At the end of the otherwise brilliant version of “Clementine” you can hear a member of the band say, “I thought we shoulda gone back to the F sharp minor”. It’s the kind of conversation you might have with your buddies while jamming, but it isn’t something worth recording.

Which, sadly, is how I felt about large chunks of this record.

Best tracks: Oh Susannah, Clementine, Wayfarin’ Stranger