Tom Beaujour and Richard Bienstock’s Nothin’ But a Good Time tracks the decadent rise and fall of the much derided 80s hard rock / hair metal scene. It weaves a narrative from Van Halen and early incarnations of Quiet Riot, through the dizzying success of Mötley Crüe and Poison and the birth of Guns N’ Roses, to the scene’s implosion with all the look-alike sound alikes power ballading their way onto Dial MTV.
After a revealing introduction from Slipknot’s Corey Taylor (!) professing his love for the 80s glam scene, music journalists Beaujour and Bienstock create an oral history through old and new interviews and quotes from a broad selection of players from L.A. and beyond. It’s the words of those involved that paint a vivid picture of the scene and its shenanigans, whether it’s A&R wizards like Tom Zutaut, producers like Tom Werner, the bands themselves, the publicists, stylists or even the odd groupie spilling the tea.
It was clearly a wild time marked by rampant misogyny and unbridled excess, and the book takes us behind the scenes into the rivalries and ridiculousness to reveal the last hurrah of a tribal music scene before grunge changed the mood, the internet permanently altered life as we know it, and phones replaced lighters. Love it or hate it, there is no denying that it was hard rock’s most vibrant period, and, despite the scene eventually disappearing up it’s own backside and having its coffin nailed shut by the Seattle bands, it produced a lot of surprisingly enjoyable, good, old-fashioned rock n roll, as well as a bunch of stuff that’s probably best forgotten.
The book reveals all kinds of insights, from Slash’s audition for Poison to Sebastian Bach’s performance alongside Zakk Wylde at a wedding that led to him getting the Skid Row gig, via Jon Bon Jovi’s parents of course! There are all kinds of interesting backstories, but the one big shocker is that some of these bands worked really hard to achieve what they did, living in abject poverty and dedicating absolutely every waking hour to making it big.
The book can come across as a little he-said-she-said gossipy at times, but that’s hardly surprising given the overriding High School Musical vibe of the scene. Still, for those who grew up with an HR/HM soundtrack, this book provides a delightful romp down memory lane in a no-holds-barred exposé of the misadventures of the time. It has also been distilled down into a three part docuseries on Paramount+ that is equally good fun, featuring said interviews from a number of the key players.
Now that there is some distance from the time, it is clear that despite eventually becoming a parody of itself, a lot of great songs came out of the melee. So, check out the Spotify playlist that I’ve curated to more or less chronologically reflect the book’s narrative.
It’s been a busy old month, what with listening to pretty much everything Metallica have ever recorded for a piece I wrote for Already Heard. Then there was the surprisingly awesome, but shamelessly nostalgic, Guns n Roses show, which meant catching up on some old favourites, plus the usual selection of stuff to review and fill the hours of endless bus journeys. Also, with the usual round of end of year lists coming up, I’ve been dedicating a bit of time to checking out some stuff I’d been meaning to listen to. As such, it’s been a metal heavy month, even so, between the big ass riffs and raging solos I have managed to squeeze in some sublime listening. Here’s the smooth grooves that have been dripping honey into my brain of late.
Although It’s been out a while, only now have I got round to checking out ‘Love & Hate’ the absolutely incredible second album from Michael Kiwanuka. Damn, this is a fine record. Beautiful, heartbreaking, emotional and uplifting in equal measure. It makes for a superb take on human nature, echoing with vibes from the sixties and seventies, yet succeeding in sounding contemporary and topical, this is a sublime record that will be very close to the top of my end of year lists.
The cool groove of Warpaint‘s Heads Up has also been on pretty heavy rotation of late. There’s something wonderfully understated about the subtle mix of textures on these laid back deep cuts that keeps me coming back for more. There is a lot of experimentation with beats to compliment the hypnotic qualities of the vocals and instrumentation, all of which kinda defies classification and gives it a refreshing air of individuality. It’s well worth giving this a few plays and immersing yourself in its subtleties.
Another cracking recent release that I had the pleasure of reviewing, is the totally old school thrash of Testament and ‘Brotherhood of the Snake’. Honestly, this is as good as, if not better than, anything they released back in their heyday. It’s by far their most frantically thrashy record and includes some serious hooks that make it instantly catchy. Chuck Billy delivers an absolutely killer vocal performance throughout on track upon track of raging metal. Killer record.
So, a few months back I wrote a piece on the much lauded Guns n Roses“reunion”, saying what an awful idea it was. My argument was basically that it was a cynical money making venture and that Axl could not and would not cut it, as he has been largely shit for the last 20 years. I also suggested that the shows would be nowhere near as good as they were back in the day and that it was one more nostalgic nail in the coffin of modern rock.
However.
Then I saw the videos of the performances from the U.S and it was pretty damn obvious that Axl was actually cutting it. Maybe not like a hot knife through butter, but there were high notes and enthusiasm, and not just in GnR, but in AC/DC too. And with a broken foot.
Then, as the tour showed little sign of imploding and actually decided to roll on down to South America, what else could I do, but see for myself.
So the question is, did I eat my words?
Kinda.
After a functional set from the uninspired choice of opening act, Brazilian rockers Plebe Rude, and a surprisingly short interval, in which we got to see the really quite beautiful logo variations on the backdrop, the Looney Tunes theme blared out and it was showtime.
‘It’s So Easy’ kicked things off and we all went mental. Seriously. Once upon a time Guns n Roses was known as the most dangerous band in the world and for the first 15 minutes or so it was easy to see why. The crowd was like a raging sea as it bounced as one to the punk energy of the opener and the swagger of ‘Mr. Brownstone’, even ‘Chinese Democracy’ got people jumping before the teased intro to ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ eventually sent everyone ballistic. For a few moments Axl, Slash, Duff and Co rocked as hard as they ever did; sure they are a little slower and a little rounder, but they still know how to deliver a good old fashioned hard rock banger.
‘Double Talkin’ Jive’ immediately calmed things down a little and calm they stayed, for the underrated ‘Better’ and an absolutely epic performance of ‘Estranged’. Despite proving spectacular and one of the highlights of the night, this was the first of many rather indulgent mega ballads – we got them all, bar ‘Patience’.
‘Live and Let Die’ was predictably frantic, prior to the cool bass groove of the sorely underrated ‘Rocket Queen’; the already lengthy track gaining an extended midsection and sexy skeletons on the backdrop. There was another surprise in ‘Out Ta Get Me’ before the heroin chic of the tireless Duff McKagan pounded out the bass riff to ‘You Could Be Mine’ to get the crowd bouncing again. Although Axl was mostly excellent, reaching most of the high notes, it was here and more notably on ‘Coma’ that he struggled – the fast sections tripping him up a little. A mid set breather was due – cue Duff and his version of the Misfits‘ ‘Attitude’.
‘This I Love’ preceded the epics ‘Civil War’ and ‘Coma’ before the obligatory Slash solo of Speak Softly Love (Love Theme From The Godfather). It was all great stuff and the top hatted one still shreds, but the dude has been playing the same damn thing since I was a kid – talk about playing it safe. Was it then necessary to do an instrumental duet with Richard Fortus on ‘Wish You Were Here’? Sure, it was awesome, the crowd sung it, people cried and Slash and Richard nailed it, but two solo slots?
Sandwiched in between were the unbeatable ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ and the surprisingly fun ‘Yesterdays’, which proved much more enjoyable in the live arena than on record. In a neat twist they then segued ‘Wish You Were Here’ into the piano outro from ‘Layla’ to get Axl on the piano.
Only one song could follow, and follow it did. On the one hand November Rain epitomizes everything that is pretentious and overblown about GnR and can so easily turn into an awful lumbering spectacle of over indulgence. Thankfully though, the front man seems to be in a good place right now, despite him and Slash virtually ignoring each other all night, and he crooned his way though with technique and urgency, delivering one of the best vocals of the night. For some reason most of the crowd seemed to have balloons to go with cell phones and it all made for a quite beautiful spectacle, even more so as the massive full moon emerged above the stadium right on cue – I guess these kind of shared moments are the whole point of such nostalgic outings. Fair play Axl.
Two hours in and the vocalist was visibly enjoying himself as he rolled back the years to dart around the stage to conduct the crowd in a sing off on ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’. By now it was utterly shameless enjoyment of timeless classics, and we were certainly getting our money’s worth.
We rocked again for set closer ‘Nightrain’, but it was back to the ballads in the encore of ‘Don’t Cry’ with more extended guitar work. The Who‘s ‘The Seeker’ offered an irresistibly big riff, but we were really only waiting for ‘Paradise City’ to rock to an explosive close. And it did not disappoint – mosh pits opened up, swathes of bodies bounced as one and it was genuinely wild abandon in the crush – it almost felt like 1990 again.
The crowd actually demanded another encore, but the band returned merely to take a bow, all hugs and smiles.
So, all in all, I guess you have to take your hat off to Guns n Roses – they are still a mighty proposition and deliver a fine performance. They are seasoned pros and know how to work a stage and get a crowd going, despite the minimal interaction between band members and between band and crowd.
Are they still dangerous? Not really, but they do rock and they are a pretty tight unit; they put on a show but it’s not over produced and works well with less people on stage – no horns, no backing singers, a cool backdrop of images and minimal pyrotechnics keeps it lean.
Is Axl the vocalist he was 25 years ago? He’s a damn sight closer to it now than he has been in the last 15 years. His range is impressive and he works the mic, but the impression is that age has taken it’s toll a little and slowed up the delivery, there may be an element of tiredness too.
Are they just in it for the money? Surely that is a factor, but then again they do seem to be enjoying themselves, so I’ll reserve judgement. Also, they may be raking in the cash, but at two and a half hours long their set is pretty damn good value.
Is it all just shameless nostalgia? Sure, of course, but when you are this good and the material still cuts it, then why the hell not? Quite how long the night train can roll on without new product though is open to question, as is whether or not the relationships will endure. In the meantime though, they are well worth the trip down memory lane.
Back in the late eighties hard rock was fast disappearing up its own rectum; the proliferation of hair metal bands had reached epidemic proportions and each and every one of them was following the same formula of massive choruses, massive heels and at least one massive power ballad. Quality hard rock was hard to come by, except, of course, in the form of Guns n Roses, who totally dominated the HR/HM scene, and to a lesser extent Skid Row, who were somewhat unfairly lumped in with the sunset strip wannabes, when in fact they were substantially heavier and had a lot more going on in the songwriting department, especially on ‘Slave To The Grind’. Anyway, in the midst of all this a band that had been struggling to be heard and get a record deal finally got signed and delivered a quality slice of hard rocking, Jack soaked tunes with barely an eye liner in sight.
In simple terms ‘Blackout In The Red Room’ rocks, and hard. The refreshing thing about the album was that it wasn’t just copying GnR, it wasn’t just following the formula of all the hair bands and although there are a few clichés, it wasn’t all high hats, cow bells and radio friendly harmonies. Instead, what you get is a bunch of dirty sounding riffs, abrasive vocals and some coolly arranged tracks largely about getting wasted. Oh yeah, and no power ballad.
The title track sets the pace with a mid tempo swagger and some serious groove; it may be a true headbanger, but in rock clubs it was a surefire floor filler. ‘Rock Queen’ is a stylish second track featuring a stack of hooks and the wonderfully bizarre line of “Let me touch your cookies/Let me eat your cookies”!
The album continues in a flurry of hard riffs and well worked tunes, with highlights like ‘Fuel to Run’ and ‘Tumbleweed, which are good hard rockers and the frantic old school finale ‘Hell, Ca., Pop.4’. Although ‘She’s an Angel’ borrows heavily from the book of hard rock clichés for its more serious tone, it is as quality a slice of metal lite as you’re likely to hear.
Ok, so one track or another doesn’t exactly set the world on fire, i.e ‘Slutsy Tipsy’ and ‘Slave Girl’, but in general the standard is high. For example, the ode to weed that is ‘Mary Jane’ is a nicely arranged number with some cool twists to the tempo and more great guitar work. The standout track though, is the song which got heavy rotation on MTV, ‘Why Do You Think They Call It Dope, a killer tune with a great hook and some funky assed bass.
On the whole ‘Blackout…’ stands up as a damn good record that was a cut above a lot of what was coming out of sunset strip at the time. They may not have been PC or had the general appeal of a GnR or a Skid Row, but there was some serious talent in the band and some hard rocking bangers on this record. If dirty riffs, blazing solos and raspy vocals are your thing, it’s well worth revisiting.
There are very few bands left in the world for which the release of a new record would be an event, and lets face it, outside of the reformed Guns n Roses dropping ‘Appetite…Part 2’, the biggest possible such event is new music from Metallica. The San Francisco metallers once thrashed out 4 albums in five years, so having waited 8 years since ‘Death Magnetic’, a new album is long overdue, but finally, come November, the 12 track double album will hit the racks. In the meantime, we have the video for album opener ‘Hardwired’, which they dropped yesterday, August 18th, three months ahead of the album. The question is though, is it any damn good?
The short answer is yes, of course! It’s fucking Metallica, even their worst music is streets ahead of the majority, the bigger issue though, is whether it will stand up alongside ‘Master of Puppets’ and the uber popular Black album, which is precisely what it sound as if they are aiming for. The production has that clean crisp resonance of Death Magnetic, not surprising given Greg Fidelman is once again fiddling with the knobs, but there is more than an echo of ‘Battery’ to Lars’ furious drumming and Kirk’s blistering soloing. There’s also a definite air of the early 90s about the black and white claustrophobic video for the track.
The song actually begins with machine gun riffing/beats and a staccato riff á la ‘Enter Sandman’, before the real thrash gallop begins. It features all those little stops, time changes and familiar elements of the signature Metallica sound, although James wasn’t exactly up all night on the hook – “We’re so fucked!/ Shit outta luck”. He does make amends in the ‘Whiplash’ style third verse however – “Once upon a planet burning/ Once upon a flame/ Once upon a spirit turning all in vain/ Do you feel that hopeless feeling?/ Do you comprehend?/ Do you feel it terminating in the end?”. It all sounds somewhat familiar, but hey, I guess that’s kinda cool, we want Metallica to sound like Metallica!
After repeated listens, I’ve gotta admit that it pretty much hits the spot – one foot in the past, one in the present – ok, so it may lack the rawness of ‘Ride The Lightning’ or ‘Master of Puppets’, but this is brand Metallica launching new product, so there’s no way it will ever be that amazing again. However, considering that it’s now thirty something years down the line and the band are in their fifties, it’s good to know that like the rest of the big four, they can still shred. See for yourself right here:
I recently wrote a massive kind of introduction to Iron Maiden piece for http://www.alreadyheard.com, but due to editorial constraints I had to cut it down and change the format and stuff. However, having put rather a lot of time and energy into its researching and writing, I’ve decided to make the most of it to reproduce a brief history right here.
Iron Maiden was born on Christmas day 1975, but spent three years messing around with different members, before Steve Harris, Dave Murray and their then colleagues got it together to record a demo on New Year’s Eve 1978. Such was the popularity of the demo, that in under a year it had been pressed and released under the name of ‘The Soundhouse Tapes’, all 5000 copies selling out in a few short weeks based on word of mouth; had secured them a manager in the rotund form of Rod Smallwood; oh yeah, and landed them a major label record deal with E.M.I..
By April of 1980, riding high on the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, the Londoners were already delivering the goods – their eponymous debut crashing the UK album charts at number 4. Featuring Paul Di’Anno‘s rough edged vocals, it boasts a raw energy honed to perfection by five long years on the East London pub circuit. From the sinister rock riffing that opens the murderous ‘Prowler’ there is something quite daring about it; this is the sound of a band exploring its creativity, pushing themselves and the Heavy Metal genre forward, reworking classic ideas whilst incorporating new. The most startling example of their innovation is the monumental ‘Phantom of the Opera’, an epic master class in songwriting that helps make ‘Iron Maiden’ one of the finest debuts in Heavy Metal. In one fell swoop, Iron Maiden established themselves as the act to follow, not only in sound, but also in marketing, the stunning first glimpse of Eddie The Head the first step to establishing their merchandise empire.
However, Harris and Murray were still having difficulties with personnel, which led to Adrian Smith joining the band prior to the recording and release of 1981’s ‘Killers’. Although it was another quality album, there was little to set it apart from their debut, it largely consisting of left over material, plus there were more personnel problems on the horizon. Besides the excessive drug use of vocalist Paul Di’Anno, which never really fit the band’s profile, the raspiness that had initially attracted Harris to his voice would prove to be the singer’s downfall; his hard rock tropes were just too limited for the direction the songwriting would take.
Samson‘s Bruce Dickinson was seen as the perfect replacement and slipped seamlessly into the band for the recording of ‘The Number of the Beast’, the album that changed everything, providing their first UK number one. ‘Beast’ is jam packed with killer material, the songs are quite simply in a different class, whether it’s the riff fest that is ’22 Acacia Avenue’, the hook filled chorus of ‘Run to the Hills’ or the subtle complexities to the epic tale of ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’, which is arguably the band’s finest moment in itself, the songs are quite simply in a different class. It is a genuine classic that created a template by which future Metal albums would be judged. With Nicko McBrain replacing drummer Clive Burr after the supporting tour, what would become the classic line up was in place and the Maiden machine would march on to conquer the world.
The first half of the 1980s was the band’s most prolific period and would see them produce a quite staggering album a year for five years until 1984, followed by the definitive heavy metal live album in 1985’s ‘Live After Death’. Simply put, it is one of the finest live albums ever recorded and documents the seemingly endless World Slavery Tour following 1984’s ‘Powerslave’ and the 1983 album that first broke them stateside, ‘Piece of Mind’. The tour went on so long that Dickinson actually threatened to quit if they didn’t have a few months off.
The break was short lived however, as they were soon back in the studio for ‘Somewhere In Time’, on which they controversially added some synthesised elements to their signature sound; something they further explored on 1988’s conceptual affair ‘Seventh Son of a Seventh Son’. Even so, both albums were warmly received by critics and fans alike; the latter providing the band with their second UK number one. The supporting tour culminated in their first headline performance at Donington for the Monsters of Rock festival, which was marred by the death of two fans in the crush during Guns n Roses’ UK debut set.
Chinks were starting to appear in Iron Maiden‘s armour though, Dickinson was feeling creatively limited by the band’s sound and released his first solo album, the vibrant ‘Tattooed Millionaire’ in 1990, alongside guitarist Janick Gers. Gers would then find himself employed by Maiden after the departure of long time member Adrian Smith, who was distinctly unhappy (and rightly so!) with the stripped down direction the band was taking on ‘No Prayer for the Dying’, which proved to be a stinker of a record. After having produced seven classic studio albums, at some stage the creative juices had to run dry and ‘Prayer’ is the sound of band pushing the self destruct button. It looks and sounds like Maiden, but it’s like they decided to give the tribute band a shot. How ironic that the second single from the album, the stunningly awful ‘Bring Your Daughter…’, gave them their first number one single – must’ve been a quiet week on the charts.
1992’s ‘Fear of the Dark’ managed to recover some lost pride, but was the final nail in the coffin for Dickinson, who’d simply had enough, the tension of the subsequent tour signalling the end of an era. He was eventually replaced by Blaze Bayley from Wolfsbane, who had supported Maiden on their 1990 tour. Blaze’s deeper voice added a darker edge to their sound on the competent ‘X Factor’, but his limitations were starting to show by 1998’s disappointing ‘Virtual XI’ and were undisguisable in the live arena, many of Bruce’s songs proving too challenging for Bayley’s natural register. January 1999 brought the likeable front man’s five year stint to a close, and, at the suggestion of manager Rod Smallwood, Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith were both approached to rejoin the band.
From the opening chords of ‘The Wicker Man’ on 2000’s ‘Brave New World’ it is clearly the sound of a band reinvigorated, now boasting a three guitar line-up of Smith, Murray and Gers and a return to more complex compositions. Maiden were back on form and would embark on a run of quality releases through the noughties; besides the superb ‘Rock in Rio’ live album, which neatly captures the enthusiasm of Brazilian fans, both ‘Dance of Death’ and ‘A Matter of Life and Death’, from 2003 and 2007 respectively, were well received and would result in ever more ambitious touring. Not only were their songs getting longer and more complex, rarely dipping below the five minute mark, but the tours were also going to ever greater lengths, visiting more exotic locations and flying in their own plane, Ed Force One, with lead singer Dickinson at the controls. The ‘Flight 666’ movie of their 2008 ‘Somewhere Back in Time Tour’ makes for compelling viewing, giving rare insight into the logistics of a world tour and the dynamic of the band, as they play in places like India, Colombia and Costa Rica as well as the well trodden stages of previous world tours.
For a band that had weathered the turbulence of internal difficulties, coupled with the ever changing musical climate, the fact that after Dickinson and Smith returned they consolidated their creative reputation, besides cementing the popularity of their live performances, is testament to their talent and enduring appeal. For 15th studio album, ‘The Final Frontier’, which was widely expected to be their last, to then go to number one in 28 different countries was a remarkable achievement, as was the Grammy win for single ‘El Dorado’ and the fact that the supporting tour gathered audiences reportedly totalling 2 million people.
It would’ve been no surprise if Iron Maiden had decided to call it a day, but with another greatest hits album, ‘From Fear to Eternity’, and more live releases they found excuses to keep on touring. Their headline performance at Download in 2013 would be their fifth at Donington, 25 years after 1988’s infamous occasion.
The breaks between the albums may have got longer but 2016 finds Iron Maiden touring the world once again, and with another Donington headline appearance lined up. Last year’s ‘Book of Souls’ proved that despite Dickinson’s brush with cancer, Maiden marches inexorably on, the longest album of their career providing yet another UK number one. Although all the albums since the return of Smith and Dickinson have been well received and stand up in terms of quality, it is ‘Book of Souls’ that holds up when compared to the cannon of albums from the eighties. Tracks like ‘If Eternity Should Fail’ and ‘Tears of a Clown’ show that they still have a trick or two up their collective sleeves, and that’s before we get to the 18 minute piano driven epic ‘Empire of the Clouds’!
Whether or not ‘Book of Souls’ is their swan song remains to be seen, but for the moment at least, it’s business as usual as their enduring brand continues to thunder across the globe. Who would’ve thought that in the 40 plus years since that Christmas Day in Steve Harris’ living room his brainchild would go on to sell over 90 million albums and monstrous quantities of merchandise, becoming one or the most recognised brands and bands in the world, with multiple number ones, multiple awards and a legacy that makes them one of the most important forces in the history of rock music.
Once upon a time the album format ruled the music business, particularly in the seventies and then again with the CD boom of the late eighties early nineties. However, with the changing landscape of the digital age, singles or individual downloads, legal or otherwise, were the preferred method of consumption for the internet generation. In a somewhat surprising twist it appears that vinyl is making a comeback, and also with the save to device features of streaming platforms being at their most efficient when downloading the whole album, the good old long player format is once again at the fore with all its pros and cons.
The case in favour is basically one of context, artists don’t decide running orders lightly – ever make a playlist? – this shit is important and the combination of songs can make or break a track. For instance, Blur‘s ‘Song 2’ only works as track 2, preferably right after ‘Beetlebum’. I mean can you imagine listening to GnR’s Appetite for Destruction and ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ not being followed by ‘It’s So Easy’? Also, the fact that each track is normally intended as part of the ebb and flow of the album’s mood makes each and every song important – at least in the eyes of the artist.
Which brings us to the downside – filler. Unfortunately, not every track on every album can be a classic and sometimes artists stamp their feet and hang on to tracks they have a real personal thing for, but just don’t always strike a chord with the listener. So stuff gets included that maybe would be better left on the studio floor and we start reaching for the skip button, something more complicated for vinyl junkies, but easy as pie for streamers and CD & Mp3 listeners. How many twelve track albums have you heard that would be all killer if they were cut to nine or ten? Then there’s the one hit wonders who build albums around that one awesome track and just don’t have the songs to merit a full LP. You ever buy an album for that one song?
Whatever the case may be, every now and again the lack of patience that has us reaching for fast forward, or the “I love that one killer track” mentality, or even the greatest hits approach, means that certain less well known tracks don’t necessarily get their dues. Sometimes the filler can be killer, check out these low fliers….
Oasis’ debut album, ‘Definitely Maybe is a certified classic and has a lot of very strong songs. ‘Live Forever’, ‘Supersonic’, Cigarettes and Alcohol’ and ‘Slide Away’ all have an enduring popularity, but one song that is often overlooked and was never given enough runs on stage was the mighty ‘Columbia’. Ok, it’s not exactly pushing any boundaries lyrically speaking but it’s got hooks and is just so damn loud. The guitar sound is gigantic and it builds and builds, layer upon layer, lick upon lick as the hypnotic rhythm rolls along in mesmerising fashion; it is surely one of their most unique songs – mad for it.
1991’s ‘Screamadelica’ is a classic album of indie acid house that came about after Andrew Weatherall had deftly deconstructed Primal Scream‘s ‘I’m Losing More Than I’ll Ever Have’ into the dance floor hand waver and top twenty hit ‘Loaded’. The album is overflowing with dance beats, chill out music and house piano lines that neatly capture the pervading drug culture on (and off) the UK’s dance floors. The album is famous for the aforementioned ‘Loaded’, the uplifting gospel of ‘Movin’ On Up’, the ultra chill of ‘Higher Than The Sun’ (and its dub symphony on side four), floor filler ‘Don’t Fight It Feel It’ and the monumental ‘Come Together’. But hang on a minute, what’s that tucked away half way through side three of the vinyl? A ballad? Yep, and it’s one of the Scream’s most underrated songs. ‘Damaged’ owes a lot stylistically to ‘I’m Losing More Than I’ll Ever Have’, the song which prompted the whole thing, and is a piano based acoustic strum of summer love featuring sublime guitar work from Robert ‘Throb’ Young, who also did the vocals on ‘Slip Inside this House’, literally impersonating Bobby Gillespie, who was too wasted to sing. ‘Damaged’ stands up as a quite beautiful song, very much in the vein of their regular indie rock style, and is deserving of way more recognition than it gets.
Buried on side seven of the ridiculously overblown ‘Use Your Illusions’, ‘Locomotive’ is one of the most criminally overlooked Guns n Roses songs. The song ebbs and flows through Axl’s story telling and is jam packed with time changes as they drop in all kinds of twists and turns; musically speaking it’s a superbly arranged track, with the piano break in the finale accompanied by understated soloing to provide a classy finish.
‘Hatful of Hollow’ (‘Louder Than Bombs’ in the U.S.A, albeit with a slightly different track listing) is a compilation album of tracks The Smiths recorded for sessions at the BBC, besides a couple of singles. While not exactly a greatest hits album it does feature slightly altered versions of a number of their most famous tracks like ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now’, ‘Hand in Glove’ and ‘This Charming Man’, but wait, what’s that little gem nestling at mid-album? It’s a song that was only ever recorded for a Peel session in September of 1983 – This Night Has Opened My Eyes’. I’m no Smiths aficionado, but this track has everything that made them great; laid back guitar melody, disturbing lyrics and a subtly twisted pop aesthetic, only it finds Morrissey delivering a beautifully understated vocal while Johnny Marr‘s guitar lines meander along atmospherically; sublime.
Elbow‘s universally acclaimed, million selling, Mercury Music Prize winning album ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’ is one of the most important records of the last ten years and is filled with many a beautiful moment. With Guy Garvey‘s thoughtful lyrics and the band’s intricately woven musical tapestry it’s a record that is nothing short of superb. The stand out tracks like the massive Grounds for Divorce, ‘The Bones of You’ and ‘One Day Like This’ in all its glory tend to steal all the thunder, yet it’s the rich textures and the subtle details that make this such a fine album and one of the less obvious tracks that repeated listens reveal to be quite stunning is ‘Weather To Fly’. Featuring one of Garvey´s most measured yet brilliant vocals, a delicate piano melody and gorgeous lilting orchestration that takes on a whole new dimension on the Abbey Road version with the BBC Concert Orchestra, it is a song of restrained beauty that is sorely underrated.
In the current musical climate it takes something special to pull off Hard Rock without it sounding like a lukewarm version of the 1980s. Thankfully, the combined talents of Motley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx, Guns n Roses guitarist DJ Ashba and multi-platinum producer/engineer/songwriter James Michael not only pull it off, but also add a modern twist, experimenting with a variety of sounds over the band’s three powerful records.
Originally formed back in 2007 for the soundtrack project to Nikki’s brutal ‘Heroin Diaries’ book, Sixx A.M. were never even meant to tour, but public demand soon changed that and the busy schedules of the individual members had to be put on hold. The tour led to a second record, also accompanying a book, Nikki’s photography project, ‘This is Gonna Hurt’, which inevitably led to more touring, more recording and the release of 2014’s ‘Modern Vintage’. All three albums are jam packed with hard rocking hook filled tunes, but they also include an array of interesting touches, from catchy pop, through industrial to music hall and the theatrical.
There’s a kind of freshness and instant likeability to the creative hotbed that is Sixx A.M.; Michael knows how to deliver a good old fashioned radio-friendly hook, yet their heavy assed tracks are glued together by Ashba’s powerful riffing and soaring solos, all underscored by Sixx’s rumbling bass. As well as covering the hard-hitting subject of addiction and recovery, there’s plenty more substance to the lyrical content in their accessible take on modern life. As Nikki says:
“A big part of our message is, and will always be, finding hope in dark subject matters, taking universal messages and rendering them in a way which people can ascribe their own meanings to and relate to their own life experiences. That is something that resonates with our crowd and gives us the strength of connection we do.”
Now that the final nail has gone into the Motley Crüe coffin and that Slash has (temporarily) made up with Axl, it looks like Nikki and Dj might have a bit of extra time on their hands to dedicate to this intriguing project which keeps serving up killer tunes. With Michael making space in his prolific songwriting and production schedule, the coming release of their fourth album Prayers for the Damned Vol 1.’ and the possibility of Vol.2 also following in 2016, should see the band making serious waves; there are already a number of top festival dates confirmed. In the meantime, ‘Rise’, the killer first track from the new record, has already dropped and the album is set to follow in late April, so as a taster, here are six(x) of their best…
‘Relief’ from ‘Modern Vintage’
This starts out like an urgent hard rocker, but soon takes on a darker feel with a more restrained vocal, before the annoyingly catchy chorus. Although a little less epic than some of their work, the frantic feel gives it a vibrant energy that makes for a killer tune.
‘Stars’ from ‘Modern Vintage’
For high quality slickly delivered melodic hard rock, it don’t get much better than this.
‘Lies of the Beautiful People’ from ‘This is Gonna Hurt’
Despite being seriously hooky and possessing a touch of uplift to the chorus, this is actually one of their darkest tracks and features some great work from DJ Ashba.
‘Life Is Beautiful’ from ‘THe Heroin Diaries Soundtrack’
Although ‘This is Gonna Hurt’ has some great moments it’s the ‘Heroin Diaries’ that is all killer and ‘Life is Beautiful’ showcases pretty much everything that rocks about this band – great chorus, banging riff – good, straight forward, hard-rocking tune.
‘Van Nuys’ from ‘THe Heroin Diaries Soundtrack’
They manage to include a killer hook and put a commercial spin on this claustrophobic track about Nikki’s addiction. It also features some lovely touches in the instrumentation as well as James Michael’s most versatile vocal performance; superb.
‘The Girl With Golden Eyes’ from ‘THe Heroin Diaries Soundtrack’
There are so many great tracks on ‘Heroin Diaries’ that it’s actually difficult to pin-point a favourite; I love ‘Courtesy Call’, ‘Pray For Me’ rocks and ‘Dead Man’s Ballet’ is one of the most innovative tracks they’ve done, but there’s something about this song that I love – maybe it’s the brutal honesty of the track, the building intensity or just its atmosphere – whatever, it’s a great track.
The apparent liberty and misguided feeling of anonymity afforded by the internet have led to a shift in cultural paradigms. After a few years of dial up connections and getting excited when you received an email or managed to penetrate the ads and access the monumental porn database, broadband and 3G eventually woke us up to the potential of this international network of computers and legitimized our God given right to steal music.
“But file sharing’s not stealing – it’s like making a tape of your mate’s CD” I hear you cry, and to an extent you have an argument, but when we were younger and we made tapes this was often a way to get into something new we would later acquire, not quite the same thing as torrenting the entire back catalogue of your favourite artist now is it?
By necessity our music tastes were much more tribal than today because our access was oh so limited, so we tended to stick to what we knew we liked, and tape swapping was a way of broadening horizons and getting to know different bands or genres, albeit constrained by the limitations of the format; I miss tapes. Nowadays, the entire scenario is different – we basically have access to everything and listen to everything – now it’s actually kinda cool to have guilty pleasures or varied tastes.
This wide ranging access afforded by the internet has led to the rise of streaming; and now you can stream pretty much anything from books through to porn. We are the immediate generation, transcending “On Demand” to “Right Fucking Now”; patience is no longer just a virtue, it’s a rare commodity as scarce as likeable politicians. Attention spans are equally hard to come by, so streaming is the perfect solution, if we don’t get instant gratification we can bin it and move on, no need to invest time or money in something not instantly likeable, unless of course you like a challenge. As far as music goes, on the surface at least, the enormity of the available catalogues on streaming services is proving a raging success and is the latest chapter of the ever changing story board that is the music industry, so what’s going on and why is it the future?
Streaming services first became viable as a result of governmental concessions granting certain liberties in regard to royalty payments. In a nutshell, so as to facilitate their growth, they were given the possibility of paying lower rates than radio or tv or from physical sales; so called digital performance royalties. Basically, the record companies and independent artists license out their catalogues to digital services through aggregators like Nimbit, TuneCore or CD Baby and the royalties are then collected and distributed through Sound Exchange, with artists recouping as little as half a cent per stream. i.e You’d need 20 thousand streams to make 100 bucks, which when compared to standard royalty rates of 9.1 cents essentially equates to slave labour – in no other industry would this be acceptable.
Now that streaming is so well established maybe it’s time for a rethink on this, especially now that it counts towards sales figures and chart positions. This move is probably part of a grander plan from the conglomerates, a kind of first step towards the much more lucrative mechanical royalties, as paid on physical sales and downloads. In the meantime, at least the digital platforms provide another way to discover an artist, so there is a bit of shop window factor in return for musicians not really making any meaningful cash from their music.
Right now there are a number of players offering a variety of streaming type services, from the ubiquitous “freemium” service of Spotify, through the dominant online radio of Pandora, which is also set to join the on-demand market using its powerful brand as leverage, to the totally paid services like Rhapsody or Napster. There are even ad-supported platforms like the extremely attractive Guvera, which is only available in about 20 countries, but set to expand. And lets not forget the tech giants like Apple and Google pimping their services to their already cornered markets.
As a dedicated non-Appler (I like thinking for myself), I know very little about Apple Music, though must admit to wishing I could access the Beats Radio programming, which I’m sure is illicitly available somewhere on the interweb. However, I find the whole Apple domination thing a little sinister – personally I like choice, flexibility and competition; running apple services on exclusively apple platforms is a little monopolistic for my taste.
Spotify is obviously the most universal entry point to the streaming market, with over 75 million users, about 20 million of whom pay for the service and provide 91% of the company’s revenue, the other 9% coming from the ads supporting the free service. In other words, one person pays for certain privileges so another 3 or 4 can enjoy the free service, hmmm. Their model is somewhat controversial as a result of the royalties thing, but from the customer’s point of view it’s an attractive option, whether you listen to their 30 million plus catalogue for free with limitations or subscribe and take advantage of being able to save albums and playlists to your devices – regardless of its brand. Personally, I prefer Deezer which offers a similar service, but their interface is not only much more attractive, but also way more user friendly – for instance you don’t need to save an album first to download it after, as well as navigation also being easier, with less polluted results.
Whatever service one uses, the whole concept of streaming has raised some interesting issues, besides artist royalties. Primarily, having such an enormous catalogue at your fingertips is incredible yet overwhelming. The realization that you can now listen to absolutely anything you want whenever you want is liberating to say the least – I’ve rediscovered old classics, got back into artists I’d forgotten I liked, checked out new releases, been recommended cool bands I’d never heard of and revisited stuff I have on vinyl but haven’t been able to play for years (when you have a young child spending money on decks is not a priority!), all without illegally downloading a thing. Personally I like not committing a crime to listen to music.
However, the limitlessness of it is kinda scary, having pretty much everything at the touch of a screen has made me think about whether or not I really need a record/CD/tape/digital file collection and to be honest that’s not a comfortable thought; as well as not getting decent Christmas presents it would be just plain weird – what would I play in the car? Imagine never studying the beautiful artwork on an album sleeve, or never reading an inlay again, or never holding the physical product! As (The Great) Chuck D says, streaming’s a fools paradise, you are basically renting music, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but a world without physical ownership of music is not a world in which I wish to live. The downloading generation are sure to super overvalue our record collections come the digital backlash. Also, can you really conceive of paying a monthly fee for the rest of your days? Again, limitlessness =scary!
Even so, the benefits of streaming are attractive, I love the “I haven’t heard it for ages” factor, I love having legal access to an album I’m curious about, and, as a subscriber, I love being able to save to my phone. And therein lies the rub. Here in Brazil, Deezer and Spotify are an easily accessible R$14:90 which in dollars is only $3:75 and comes in R$5 cheaper than Netflix over here; pretty good value huh? Especially when you consider that streaming services tend to cost around $10, £10 or €10 depending on where you are. Ten bucks would be a cool forty reais out here, twice the price of Brazilian Netflix.
Interesting discussion surrounding the issue from Consequence of Sound
Another interesting consequence of streaming is that when you search for an artist, although you get the most popular tracks you also get the discography organized by album. As such, if you are a subscriber and wish to save something to a device, the easiest way is to download the album, unless someone has already made the definitive playlist of course, as picking and choosing tracks is not only time consuming but impractical. Therefore, unless you’re a compulsive track skipper, chances are albums are getting listened to as complete works once again; in my view this is a positive thing.
Right now, the majority of users prefer the free services that are available, the challenge for the platforms is getting people to subscribe – Tidal, Deezer and Rhapsody have used a variety of techniques with varying degrees of success, Spotify’s model having had the best results thus far. It seems that people are still uncomfortable with paying for music – strange mentality if you really think about it – I mean you wouldn’t steal a book from a book shop would you? But then again, why pay to join a library?
The future, I believe, would be to make the subscription service more attractive, Spotify are already under artist pressure to do this, but keep the cost affordably low so as to increase the number of users. Basically, the free service, if you are listening on a PC with broadband or a Laptop on Wi-Fi is every bit as good as it is for subscribers; free users only really lose out on mobile devices, because as well as eating up their data quota they only get shuffle play, besides the annoying ads. So how about more ads and less flexibility on PCs and Laptops? How about exclusive content for subscribers? Make the free service less desirable, then with a higher subscription rate maybe royalties would be less laughable.
Whatever way you look at it and however you prefer listening to music, streaming services are here to stay and record companies see them as part of a coming golden age in the music industry. The big labels are already preparing for the possibility of ubiquitous Wi-Fi and super fast internet connections; and when I say super fast I mean beyond what you can imagine, thousands of times faster than today’s broadband speeds and instant access wherever you are. The information super highway is set to go supernova in the next few years and the labels are already working out how to make money from people being able to access music with such facility.
So, like it or not, subscription streaming is the future and, with any luck, the kind of money this is likely to generate may well be just the shot in the arm the industry needs; if, and it’s a big if, that money filters down to artist development and to the independent labels. After all, that the internet is a hotbed of creativity is a given, the indie/alternative/ punk scenes, fuelled by alternative streaming services like SoundCloud and artist friendly hubs like Bandcamp is thriving and is an enormous market in itself. However, too much talent falls by the wayside, as sustaining an upcoming band is quite simply not a financially viable proposition under current circumstances, but with greater investment at grass roots levels and more exciting young talent breaking through, maybe something like a Guns n Roses reunion won’t seem like such an exciting idea.
I love Guns n Roses. I was 15 when I was first blown away by ‘Sweet Child O Mine’. I was 17 when I first saw them live at Wembley Stadium. I went on to see them three more times; Wembley again, Milton Keynes and Rock in Rio in 2001, which in retrospect wasn’t half as good as I thought at the time (also borne out by radio replays). I still have Appetite for Destruction on vinyl with the original artwork. I wrote an essay about them for my English Literature course work. They were a massive part of not only my teenage but also my adult life, I mean I still listen to them.
Which is precisely why I am NOT in the least bit excited about the “reunion”. Dammit, yet another nail in the coffin of new music as nostalgia continues to dominate.
Let it lie, it’s not going to be the same, Axl is a completely different person and singer, and the hunger that made them just isn’t there anymore. I was there when the Sex Pistols reformed in 1996 and they managed to pull it off; basically because Johnny Rotten’s voice hadn’t changed and given the band’s premature break-up, they still had something to prove. Moreover, they needed the money! GnR don’t need the money, which makes it ugly; have nothing to prove, and are therefore beating a dead horse; and Axl’s voice has changed beyond recognition.
OK, I’m sure it will be fantastic standing in a field reliving your teenage years screaming “whoa – oh – oh – oh sweet child o mai-ee-ii-ee-iiiine” but lets face it, it’s not going to have anything like this kind of passion.
Yeah sure, they’ll play all those tunes that you know and love so well, but they are hardly “The most dangerous band in the world” anymore.
No amount of rehearsing is gonna get them this tight again.
There’s no way they will have this kind of energy, or shorts (thankfully).
Even if there’s a small miracle and Izzy Stradlin joins the fun, no way will it be this cool.
Even if all the planets align and it all comes together and is somehow really fucking good, there is still no way they will ever be this badass again.
Looking back at what this band once was and what made them great just turns the whole circus surrounding this comeback all the more disappointing. Think I’ll stick with the memories.
Hard Pressed 