MTV

Everybody Loves a Ballad

Posted on by edwardlayland

Ok. Hands up, I admit it – I’m a sucker for a big rock ballad. You can’t beat a bluesy riff, some heart-break lyrics, a soaring solo and a massive chorus. Ever since I was a kid I’ve loved a tragic melancholy slice of the break-up blues; my favourite Elvis track growing up was ‘I Just Can’t Help Believing’ and I loved ELO‘s ‘I Can’t Get It Out of My Head’; Doctor Hook‘s ‘Sylvia’s Mother’ was another that drifted up through the floor late at night that I couldn’t resist. Call me a sentimental old fool if you will, but come on, we all love a good ballad really and this updated version of an old listicle brings a few that have stood by me.

Ah yes, I remember it well, one of my first musical epiphanies. Back in the days before the internet, before satellite TV and even before channel 5, entertainment back home in England fell way short of today’s multiplicity – we had four TV channels and a handful of radio stations, yet access to non-pop programming was available for a few precious hours here and there. Besides The Tube (Channel 4), The Old Grey Whistle Test (BBC 2) and of course the legendary John Peel on Radio One, we also had the Friday Rock Show with the gravel voiced Tommy Vance for the rock/metal crowd, of which I was an enthusiastic member. Anyway, there I was one Friday night, in the middle of winter, must’ve been January ’89, headphones plugged into my midi system, when Tommy announced the next song – “Top 40 record? Hmmmm” – followed by the heartbreak riff of ‘How Come It Never Rains’ pulling on the heartstrings of my lovelorn 15 year old self. Damn it, I almost cried! I fucking loved that song, still do, Tyla‘s raspy cracked voice, the hook laden chorus and all those bluesy notes bending out of shape – unbeatable.

How do you end an album almost totally dedicated to shagging? Getting dumped that’s how. ‘What It Takes’ has to be one of the ultimate power ballads – it is Aerosmith at their heart aching best. Lyrically it is nothing short of superb, even with its cheeky references to other tracks*, and musically it’s sublime, the subtle time shifts are pure genius. Throw in an astonishing vocal from Steven Tyler and you have one of their finest crying in your beer tunes ever, something they’ve tried hard to match multiple times since, failing repeatedly every damn time. Yes, even on ‘I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing’ – it was good, but pales in comparison. Pass the tissues.

Although ‘Don’t Know What You Got (til it’s gone)’ is without doubt one of the cheesiest, most cliché glam rock power ballads in the history of hair spray, Cinderella were somewhat unfairly lumped in with the glam bands from LA as they prove on the title track of the very same album. Tom Keifer and co absolutely slay on the superb Zeppelinesque blues lament that is ‘Long Cold Winter‘, with its badass bluesy vocals accompanied by a mean lick of guitar; man, the sky is crying, the guitars are crying, even Tom sounds like he’s crying and it’s gonna be a long cold winter without your love baby.

Jeff Buckley‘s ‘Grace’ is one of the finest albums ever committed to vinyl, bearing not even the vaguest hint of filler. Although ‘Last Goodbye is an absolutely incredible break up song, there is way too much groove to the bass line to call it a ballad; ‘Lover, You Should’ve Come Over’ on the other hand….slow acoustic strum, rainy funeral imagery and tonight you’re on my mind… we get soaring vocals in the hook, brooding Hammond underpinning the melody as the emotions stack up in the lyrical climax:
“It’s never over, my kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder
It’s never over, all my riches for her smiles when i slept so soft against her
It’s never over, all my blood for the sweetness of her laughter
It’s never over, she’s the tear that hangs inside my soul forever”


Then there’s ‘Forget Her’ which features Jeff at his best, fuck it just listen to it – it’s awesome.

Tesla were so sure they’d written the ultimate love song that they called it ‘Love Song’. Ok, so it’s like mega cheesy but hey, it works. Medieval intro and classic break up lyric to kick off, but the twist here is that this song offers hope that we can all find love again. It’s corny, it’s lighters in the air time and on one level it totally sucks, but on another you can’t argue with it’s delivery, from every soaring guitar lick to the arm waving sing along parts – the extended five man acoustical jam version is unbeatable – it out clichés every glam rock cliché ballad ever – even ‘Every Rose..’.

You don’t get much more heart breaking than the warm bath, open vein agony of ‘Black’ by Pearl Jam. Man, Eddie Vedder was really upset when he wrote those words and if you can’t identify with how the poor fella feels then you are either a cold unfeeling shell or you’ve never been dumped. For me, the definitive version has to be the one from MTV Unplugged where Eddie really belts out that killer final slice of desperate heartache.

One of my all time favourite songs is so obscure you’ll be hard pushed to find it anywhere. On the UK version of Tones of Home by Blind Melon, ‘Wooh G.O.D.’, also known as ‘Whoa Dog’, is either a mispress on the vinyl 12″ or wrongly credited as ‘Soak The Sin’. Whatever the case may be, this melancholy lament by tragic vocalist Shannon Hoon to his dead dog** is just so damn raw…

Notes:
*) “Girl before I met you; I was F.I.N.E fine; but your love made me a prisoner; yeah my heart’s been doing time”
**) “Wooh” was the name of Shannon’s dog. It is spelled Wooh, but pronounced “whoa.” Shannon would always catch it tearing something up or raising hell and he always yelled “whoa!” to try to get him to stop so he named him that. Shannon got him in a pet store and really connected with the dog and felt bad that he was cooped up in a cage. The dog was expensive so Shannon went back to the pet store, slid the glass up on the cage and snuck Wooh out of the store under his coat. He died when he swallowed a pin cushion. He was undergoing surgery and was over-anethstized by the vet. Shannon and Rogers buried Wooh near the big “HOLLYWOOD” sign in California. From http://www.blindmelon.org

Nöthin’ But a Good Time

Posted on by edwardlayland

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. 

5 Times George Michael Nailed It

Posted on by edwardlayland

george-michael
When I was a child growing up it was kinda hard to get away from whatever pop music was polluting the charts at the time; whether I liked it or not, this music was soundtracking my childhood. However, what I didn’t realise at the time, basically because I found songs like ‘True’, ‘Rio’ or ‘Karma Chameleon’ irritating (though now admit to their pop genius), was that the people who sung numbers like these could not only hold a tune but were seriously talented. Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet) had an absolutely massive voice, Simon Le Bon (Duran Duran) could really nail a hook, and as for Boy George, his voice had texture – just listen to ‘Do You Really Want To Hurt Me’ it’s stunning.

Then, of course, there was George Michael. I wasn’t exactly a fan, but as pop music went at the time George could normally meet with pretty much universal approval and was about as close as you get to pop perfection. I always knew he was a good singer, I mean, I bought ‘Older’, which is a fine album with a jazzy late night feel that makes for a very chilled listen, but it was only recently that it really hit me.

Since the turn of the century, we’ve been inundated with “talent” realities – Idol, X-Factor, The Voice to name a few – and a number of alumni from these shows have gone on to achieve considerable success. The shows themselves have thrown up a number of memorable moments where singers have stunned crowds with incredible voices or stand out performances. A handful are even genuine talents with a long history of hard work behind them; think Adam Lambert and Leona Lewis, but in reality most are just winging it, benefitting from big production, teams of songwriters and talent makers like Simon Cowell looking for a quick return on their investment. However, singers like these, and other internet sensations discovered via YouTube or wherever, have become the norm and are everywhere.

So when, a few years ago, I happened across a George Michael live show on a satellite music channel – it was an unplugged style thing – it struck me just how easy he made it look and how little production he needed. Where the reality stars were singing their hearts out to make it look good, George hardly broke sweat, where the wannabes were struggling to reach a note and get all the words into the melody, George had smoothly glided through and never missed a beat or failed a note. Thinking back over his career, a couple of big ballads aside, he rarely belted out a tune, there was always this sensation that he was singing well within himself and that he could sing pretty much anything with consummate ease. And therein lies George’s genius, ok, his career may have waned in recent years, but his early work has stood the test of time, simply because it was so well done. Great voice, great talent.

Anyway, here’s a bunch of times George nailed it in his own inimitable style.

‘Careless Whisper’
One of the few times George really lets loose, showing off an enviable range and stunning power. Sure, it’s about as slushy as a ballad can get, but the sax riff is genius and the vocal nothing short of incredible. Hats off to Andrew Ridgeley for writing such a timeless classic.

‘Somebody to Love’
Move over Adam Lambert, George was the original choice as the new Queen vocalist, such was the supremacy of his performance at the Freddie Mercury tribute. There was a lot of speculation in the media that he really would join as permanent replacement, but rumour has it that John Deacon vetoed the project (among other rumours). Whether he could’ve cut it on the rockier numbers will also remain open to question. Anyway, George described ‘Somebody to Love’ as the hardest song he ever had to sing, but boy does he nail it, whether in the famous rehearsal video or on stage at Wembley, where he puts in a sublime performance – take note singers, that is how you work a crowd.

‘Father Figure’
For me, this is one of the most underrated songs in George’s back catalogue and is often overlooked, yet it has stood the test of time and his understated vocal shows the depth of his singing talent. This performance from the Mtv Unplugged of 1996 is testament to the talent of the man.

‘Older’
In my humble opinion, this darkly jazzy track is one of George’s finest moments. It’s a beautifully understated song that shows off some fine vocals – there’s a bit of bite, a bit of hush – and really was a coming of age. The whole album stands up for its quality until today – ‘Jesus to a Child’, ‘Fastlove’, ‘Spinning The Wheel’…great songs, brilliantly sung.

‘As’
Ok, so I’m a bit of a sucker for a big bad Mary J vocal, she always kills it, but on this Stevie Wonder classic George more than holds his own on what is a superb duet. Whether it’s trading riffs between verses or when they go head to head as the song gathers to its killer gospel climax, George puts in an awesome performance.

Love/Hate – Blackout In The Red Room

Posted on by edwardlayland

lovehateBack 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.

8/10

Metallica Top Ten Covers

Posted on by edwardlayland

With the coming release of the new Metallica album in November there’s gonna be a whole lotta words dedicated to the San Francisco Metal titans in the next couple of months. As I’m currently researching a mega piece for Already Heard, I’m listening to pretty much everything they’ve ever done and have to say the awesomeness of their back catalogue is really quite something.

I’m finally giving the ‘Load’ and ‘Reload’ albums the chance they always deserved and can now grudgingly admit to their undeniable quality (I prefer Reload) even if they’re not the sound of James and Co in full thrash fury. Anyway, when it comes to Metallica, there’s nothing more divisive than a top ten, and as good as their entire catalogue may be, mine would be firmly rooted in the glory days of the band’s career. Unless, of course, we do an alternative top ten, say of cover versions…. because if there’s one thing the Metallica boys like doing, it’s loosening up on someone else’s songs. Check it out.

10/9 Last Caress and So What
The Misfits’ ‘Last Caress’ originally featured on the $5:98 Garage Days EP and is basically an ode to rape, murder and the longing for death and is enjoyable and disturbing in equal measure (check this explanation! https://medium.com/school-of-pop/the-misfits-last-caress-is-one-of-the-best-punk-songs-ever-here-s-why-db9e67df6b90#.c7n12c8ds). However, with references to cock sucking, goat fucking and piss drinking, ‘So What’ is probably the most politically incorrect song in history and Metallica make it sound as fun as it was always intended to be. British punk band Anti Nowhere League originally wrote the song to poke fun at people telling exaggerated stories, but given the offensive lyrics it tends to stir a little controversy, especially when it’s played with ‘Last Caress’ live on MTV when the band were supposed to be airing a brand new song, oops!

8 Helpless
Lars must love Diamond Head because this is not the only song of theirs Metallica have covered. Anyway, this was the first song to feature Jason Newstead on bass on the $5:98 EP and it fucking rocks! In fact the whole EP is great and Newkid played a blinder, quite why they then smothered the bass with layers of guitar on the Justice album is beyond me (now there’s a remastered version waiting to happen).

7 Tuesday’s Gone
James has been out of the country closet for sometime now and there’s no better way to marry that passion to his first love than by covering Lynyrd Skynyrd with a bunch of rock n roll friends. Great song, great version.

6 Remember Tomorrow
This is a great version of the Iron Maiden “ballad” – Metallica being Metallica, there´s a bit more meat on this than the original, but the quality of the song itself cannot be denied and they certainly do it justice – killer!

5 The Wait
Not the most obvious song to include, but personally I love this track and think it’s seriously underrated. Killer riff, killer bass line and a dark pulsating groove, this is a great version of the Killing Joke track – love it.

4 Turn The Page
Like many of their covers, I don’t know the original (by Bob Seger), but that doesn’t really matter. Although it’s obviously a departure from their normal style, it suits Metallica’s penchant for a big rock ballad; tune.

3 Stone Cold Crazy
Such is the lightening fast riffing that this Queen track is now actually considered as a precursor to thrash, making it the perfect song for Metallica to cover. As with most of their covers they stay true to the original, but also add that little dash of metalligrit, making for a super fast barnstormer – what’s not to like?

2 Breadfan
I first heard this on the b-side of my ‘Harvester of Sorrow’ cassette single (seriously), which I still have somewhere, and immediately fell in love with it. Obviously, I’ve never actually heard the original by British seventies rockers Budgie, and to be frank, why would I, no way can it be better than James and co in full flight. Go.

1 Am I Evil
This has been part of Metallica’s live set for so long that there are probably people that don’t even realise it’s a cover, talk about owning it. This version is mind blowing.

The Big Four Part 1 – Thrash

Posted on by edwardlayland

If by some mysterious quirk of fate I were ever to find myself with my own radio show, I would have a section on Big Fours. Although the term was first coined for the big four thrash bands, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, it is a trend which seems to occur in other genres too; there are often four big players that tend to be at the vanguard of innovation within a given style and, more often than not, achieve the most commercial success.

As I don’t have a radio show, and it’s probably not among the most likely things to happen to me, I figured I could just write about (and rank!) Big 4s instead. So, to kick off the series, what better place to start than with the original big guns from the world of relentless riffing, blistering solos and fast fingered fury that is thrash metal.

Thrash was born in the early 1980s as the sound of traditional heavy metal was taken to a new extreme. There was a heavy influence from the likes of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and New Wave of British Heavy Bands like Iron Maiden and Diamond Head, except thrash bands were playing harder, faster and heavier, besides moving in a more serious direction lyrically. It’s impossible to pinpoint an exact beginning to the movement, although albums from US punks Void and Newcastle’s Venom are often cited as being forerunners to the scene. Whatever the case may be, it was the emergence of bay area bands like Metallica and Exodus that really provided the impetus. However, of the big four that would emerge, it was in fact the only east coast band that probably played the most pivotal role.

4) Anthrax
Despite being the third of the four to release their debut Anthrax were actually formed first and as such were already getting established in New York by the time Metallica pitched up for their watershed visit in late 1982. They made the San Franciscans welcome and helped them out during the stay when Dave Mustaine would get fired prior to subsequently forming Megadeth. Moreover, the term “thrash metal” is said to have been coined in February 1984 in reference to their song “Metal Thrashing Mad”.

Even so, Scott Ian‘s band have always been slightly different; their early sound enjoying strong hardcore influences, besides having an interest in Skate culture and a more humorous approach to their image. Scott is also a lover of rap and their version of Public Enemy‘s ‘Bring The Noise’, featuring a rapped verse from the guitarist, is not only one of the earliest cross-overs, but one of their finest moments.

Like the other big guns in thrash, their output peaked between the mid eighties and early nineties, yet they’ve battled through line up changes and a myriad of record label problems to continue producing quality records. Their latest release, ‘For All Kings’ is another fine release and is as metal thrashing mad as anything from their peak.
Essential Albums: Among the Living & Persistence of Time
Personal Favourite: State of Euphoria
Random Classics: I am the Law, Got the Time, Bring the Noise, I’m the Man, Be All End All & Caught in a Mosh

3) Slayer
The heaviest and most uncompromising of the top thrash bands is far and away Slayer; you won’t find them straying into hard rock territory in search of a number one. It’s fair to say that Kerry King, Tom Araya and co are the darkest of the big four, regularly writing about serial killers, hell, war and suicide, whilst pushing the boundaries of thrash to go harder, heavier and faster.

Slayer‘s material has always stood up for its quality and influence, inspiring subsequent generations to go to even greater extremes – ‘Reign In Blood’ was mind blowing at the time of its release and without it, genres like Death Metal may never have happened. Last year’s ‘Repentless’ was the first to feature new guitarist Gary Holt (Exodus), following the tragic death of Jeff Hanneman, and continues their long line of quality, no holds barred, metal mayhem.
Essential Albums: Reign in Blood & Seasons in the Abyss
Personal Favourite: Seasons in the Abyss
Random Classics: Angel of Death, South of Heaven, Mandatory Suicide, Dead Skin Mask, War Ensemble & Raining Blood

2) Megadeth
Dave Mustaine was pissed when he was unceremoniously dumped by Metallica, but he turned that fury into music, and Megadeth was born. He stayed pissed for a very long time and it’s kinda understandable given that his band has always been and will always be judged in comparison to James and Lars’ work. I mean, you gotta feel for Dave; as Scott Ian says:

“The guy is arguably the godfather of thrash metal. He wrote a lot of the riffs on Kill ’Em All and even some of Ride the Lightning. Without Dave Mustaine, maybe thrash metal never would have happened. At least in the beginning, he was the driving force, artistically.”

Although less successful than his old band, Mustaine is probably the most technically proficient of the big four and the releases from the eighties and early nineties are as good, if not better, than those of his contemporaries – is there a more perfect thrash song than Holy Wars…the Punishment Due?

Despite constant line up changes and well publicised drugs problems, Megadeth‘s output has been pretty damn regular and of consistently high standard ever since -,even the hard rock debacle ‘Risk’ has its moments! This year’s furiously fast ‘Dystopia’ is actually Dave’s fifteenth studio album, so in terms of catalogue, none of the other bands can boast such an extensive collection of high quality original work.
Essential Albums: Rust in Peace, Countdown to Extinction & Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying
Personal Favourite: Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying
Random Classics: Holy Wars…the Punishment Due, Hangar 18, Darkest Hour, Hook in Mouth, Symphony of Destruction & Devil’s Island

1) Metallica
You have to respect a band that has sold over one hundred million records, I mean, you don’t get much bigger than that – Metallica are basically the undisputed heavyweight champions of the world.

As for their role in the thrash scene, would the others have done so well, if it weren’t for James and Lars? This is a band that carved out an enormous reputation and was well on the way to becoming a major force on the metal scene without releasing a single or even making a video until their fourth album, and even then, the video for ‘One’ wasn’t exactly made with MTV in mind.

It’s also testament to their stature that the self-titled record which turned them into global superstars, was released just six weeks before Nirvana‘s ‘Nevermind’ changed the face of rock music forever, practically destroying the metal scene in one fell swoop.

Sure, they’ve made all sorts of bad decisions and of all the big four, theirs is the most divisive back catalogue; but they have never stayed still and have always pushed forward on their own pioneering terms; sometimes as true visionaries and at other times misguided. Whatever way you look at it though, there’s no denying the importance of Metallica to Thrash, to Metal and to the music industry as a whole. The fact that they are releasing a new album is about the biggest thing that could happen in music right now, lets hope it delivers the goods, after all, the other three have all come up with killer records.
Essential Albums: Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets & Metallica (The Black Album)
Personal Favourite: …and Justice for All
Random Classics: Enter Sandman, Creeping Death, One, Damage Inc., Whiplash & The Unforgiven

Beyond the Big Four
Back in the mid to late eighties the thrash metal scene was well and truly thriving and a number of other bands were particularly important to the scene and even knocking on the door of mainstream success. Exodus in particular played a major role, supplying Kirk Hammett to Metallica and thirty years later Gary Holt to Slayer, besides recording some superb records like ‘Bonded by Blood and ‘Fabulous Disaster’.

Also from the Bay Area were the likes of Testament and Death Angel, both of which are still active; the former set to release new album ‘Brotherhood of the Snake’ in October, while DA released the superb ‘Evil Divide’ earlier this year. It’s fair to say that the thrash scene is enjoying something of a renaissance.

Suicidal Tendencies, the former band of Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, is another favourite that is also still active. I have previously written at length about their classic album ‘Lights, Camera, Revolution’ right here: https://hardpresseded.wordpress.com/2016/01/27/overlooked-or-underrated-lights-camera-revolution/

Of the many other great bands around back in the day, the one that really stood out and we went mad for in England was Sepultura. ‘Beneath the Remains’ and ‘Arise’ were two of the finest albums from the genre and were comparable to the best work of the big four.

Random Classics: Exodus – Bonded by Blood, Testament – The New Order, Death Angel – Act III, Sacred Reich – The American Way, Suicidal Tendencies – Lights Camera Revolution, Sepultura – Beneath the Remains, Death – Leprosy & Annihilator – Alice in Hell.

Everybody Loves a Ballad

Posted on by edwardlayland

Ok. Hands up, I admit it – I’m a sucker for a big rock ballad. You can’t beat a bluesy riff, some heart-break lyrics, a soaring solo and a massive chorus. Ever since I was a kid I’ve loved a tragic melancholy slice of the break-up blues; my favourite Elvis track growing up was ‘I Just Can’t Help Believing’ and I loved ELO‘s ‘I Can’t Get It Out of My Head’; Doctor Hook‘s ‘Sylvia’s Mother’ was another that drifted up through the floor late at night that I couldn’t resist. Call me a sentimental old fool if you will, but come on, we all love a good ballad really and here’s a few that have stood by me.

Ah yes, I remember it well, one of my first musical epiphanies. Back in the days before the internet, before satellite TV and even before channel 5, entertainment back home in England fell way short of today’s multiplicity – we had four TV channels and a handful of radio stations, yet access to non-pop programming was available for a few precious hours here and there. Besides The Tube (Channel 4), The Old Grey Whistle Test (BBC 2) and of course the legendary John Peel on Radio One, we also had the Friday Rock Show with the gravel voiced Tommy Vance for the rock/metal crowd, of which I was an enthusiastic member. Anyway, there I was one Friday night, in the middle of winter, must’ve been January ’89, headphones plugged into my midi system, when Tommy announced the next song – “Top 40 record? Hmmmm” – followed by the heartbreak riff of ‘How Come It Never Rains’ pulling on the heartstrings of my lovelorn 15 year old self. Damn it, I almost cried! I fucking loved that song, still do, Tyla‘s raspy cracked voice, the hook laden chorus and all those bluesy notes bending out of shape – unbeatable.

How do you end an album almost totally dedicated to shagging? Getting dumped that’s how. ‘What It Takes’ has to be one of the ultimate power ballads – it is Aerosmith at their heart aching best. Lyrically it is nothing short of superb, even with its cheeky references to other tracks*, and musically it’s sublime, the subtle time shifts are pure genius. Throw in an astonishing vocal from Steven Tyler and you have one of their finest crying in your beer tunes ever, something they’ve tried hard to match multiple times since, failing repeatedly every damn time. Yes, even on ‘I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing’ – it was good, but pales in comparison. Pass the tissues.

Although ‘Don’t Know What You Got (til it’s gone)’ is without doubt one of the cheesiest, most cliché glam rock power ballads in the history of hair spray, Cinderella were somewhat unfairly lumped in with the glam bands from LA as they prove on the title track of the very same album. Tom Keifer and co absolutely slay on the superb Zeppelinesque blues lament that is ‘Long Cold Winter‘, with its badass bluesy vocals accompanied by a mean lick of guitar; man, the sky is crying, the guitars are crying, even Tom sounds like he’s crying and it’s gonna be a long cold winter without your love baby.

Jeff Buckley‘s ‘Grace’ is one of the finest albums ever committed to vinyl, bearing not even the vaguest hint of filler. Although ‘Last Goodbye is an absolutely incredible break up song, there is way too much groove to the bass line to call it a ballad; ‘Lover, You Should’ve Come Over’ on the other hand….slow acoustic strum, rainy funeral imagery and tonight you’re on my mind… we get soaring vocals in the hook, brooding Hammond underpinning the melody as the emotions stack up in the lyrical climax:
“It’s never over, my kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder
It’s never over, all my riches for her smiles when i slept so soft against her
It’s never over, all my blood for the sweetness of her laughter
It’s never over, she’s the tear that hangs inside my soul forever”


Then there’s ‘Forget Her’ which features Jeff at his best, fuck it just listen to it – it’s awesome.

Tesla were so sure they’d written the ultimate love song that they called it ‘Love Song’. Ok, so it’s like mega cheesy but hey, it works. Medieval intro and classic break up lyric to kick off, but the twist here is that this song offers hope that we can all find love again. It’s corny, it’s lighters in the air time and on one level it totally sucks, but on another you can’t argue with it’s delivery, from every soaring guitar lick to the arm waving sing along parts – the extended five man acoustical jam version is unbeatable – it out clichés every glam rock cliché ballad ever – even ‘Every Rose..’.

You don’t get much more heart breaking than the warm bath, open vein agony of ‘Black’ by Pearl Jam. Man, Eddie Vedder was really upset when he wrote those words and if you can’t identify with how the poor fella feels then you are either a cold unfeeling shell or you’ve never been dumped. For me, the definitive version has to be the one from MTV Unplugged where Eddie really belts out that killer final slice of desperate heartache.

One of my all time favourite songs is so obscure you’ll be hard pushed to find it anywhere. On the UK version of Tones of Home by Blind Melon, ‘Wooh G.O.D.’, also known as ‘Whoa Dog’, is either a mispress on the vinyl 12″ or wrongly credited as ‘Soak The Sin’. Whatever the case may be, this melancholy lament by tragic vocalist Shannon Hoon to his dead dog** is just so damn raw…

Notes:
*) “Girl before I met you; I was F.I.N.E fine; but your love made me a prisoner; yeah my heart’s been doing time”
**) “Wooh” was the name of Shannon’s dog. It is spelled Wooh, but pronounced “whoa.” Shannon would always catch it tearing something up or raising hell and he always yelled “whoa!” to try to get him to stop so he named him that. Shannon got him in a pet store and really connected with the dog and felt bad that he was cooped up in a cage. The dog was expensive so Shannon went back to the pet store, slid the glass up on the cage and snuck Wooh out of the store under his coat. He died when he swallowed a pin cushion. He was undergoing surgery and was over-anethstized by the vet. Shannon and Rogers buried Wooh near the big “HOLLYWOOD” sign in California. From http://www.blindmelon.org