Happy New 2024!

2023 is over and 2024 is about to begin. This past year has been interesting in several ways. It started early when, after living in Europe for over 36 years, finally went to Paris and visited Jim Morrison’s grave. However, that wasn’t the only good thing to come out of the Paris trip. While I was there, I discovered France’s best kept musical secret, Indochine, a band that has been around since the 80s and are virtually unheard of outside France but pack stadiums in their country.

Indochine

While I didn’t go to any major concerts in 2023, I did get to see a couple of tribute bands. Thin Lizzy tribute band Limehouse Lizzy totally rocked Gloucester and AC/DC tribute band, Hells’ Bells never disappoint. In addition, I went to Edinburgh, Scotland in June and saw a number of cool bands at a great rock bar known as the Banshee Labyrinth. The management liked my post so much, they said to come back again.

Limehouse Lizzy

Hell’s Bells

The Banshee Labyrinth

I must also thank Mike Ladano, John Snow, Harrison Klopp and the others for allowing me to contribute to the Tee-Bone Man and Superdekes Adventures. It has been a great opportunity to really stretch out my imagination and let it go wild. Spoiler alert: I will begin working on my next contribution, Satan’s attempt to take over Rock Heaven. So, 2023 has been a pretty eventful year.

Things seem set to continue for 2024. First, some non-music related news. On January 31, my daughter Rowena is getting married and of course, I’ll bore you with all the wedding photos. In musical news, my big discovery from 2018, Lebanese heavy metal outfit, Slave to Sirens, will be putting out an album called “Echoes of Silence,” which I’m looking forward to. Furthermore, America’s best kept secret, Hannah Wicklund, has also been active so we might get an album from her. A lot to look forward to. In the meantime, here’s a track from Slave to Sirens.

With that, I wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year.

Next post: Deep Black Rainbow’s full performance

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

Once again, Bruce Dickinson has been overlooked for a knighthood. To right this wrong, click the link: https://www.change.org/p/special-honours-committees-for-knighthoods-a-knighthood-for-bruce-dickinson

Great Rock Albums of 1989: Nine Inch Nails- Pretty Hate Machine

I have to admit, I’m totally stumped here. I’ve always associated Nine Inch Nails with the 90s and even the 00s. Therefore, when a reader pointed out that their debut album, “Pretty Hate Machine,” actually came out in 1989, I cheerfully added it to my list. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret doing it as this album passed me by back then but after several listens, I’m still not sure what to make of it. This is one album you can’t put into any single category and I like that.

This album has been referred to as synth pop on steroids and true, I do hear elements of synth pop and steroids. It has also been said that the album singlehandedly started the genre we now know as industrial rock. While I don’t debate that, I’m not sure if it singlehandedly did so. I do love the raw, grinding sound of many of the tracks on the album. It is certainly different and that’s another reason for me to like it.

In my own humble opinion, my reaction to “Pretty Hate Machine,” was to immediately draw reference to Tool, at least the “Undertow” album but that could just be me. What I do know is that like Tool, this album is different and I definitely do different. One song which defines my belief is “Sanctified.” To call the track, ‘way out there’ is a total understatement. This one goes way out there and beyond and back again. You get the low, barely intelligible vocals of Trent Reznor with some weird bass, synth and drumming noises accompanied by the drone of a guitar. I can’t help thinking that I should have altered my mind before listening to the album.

At least three singles were released from the album, “Down In It,” which was the first single, “Head Like a Hole,” which hit number nine on the US charts and “Sin” which got to number 35 in the UK charts. The thing is, normally listening to the album would rekindle memories of long forgotten singles. Unfortunately, it hasn’t done it this time. Still, all three of those tracks are pretty good. However, I can find a hidden gem and that happens to be “Terrible Lie.” It’s out there but there is an element of rock to it which endears it to my ears.

Another unique aspect of the album is that there seems to be a lot of engineers on it but not many credits to musicians. I had to do a lot of digging in Wikipedia to find out the musicians, at least the ones who went on tour with Nine Inch Nails. According to said source, the only full time member of Nine Inch Nails until 2016 was Trent Reznor.

Track Listing:

1. Head Like a Hole
2. Terrible Lie
3. Down In It
4. Sanctified
5. Something I Can Never Have
6. Kinda Want To
7. Sin
8. That’s What I Get
9. The Only Time
10. Ringfinger

Nine Inch Nails- touring band

Trent Reznor- vocals

Richard Partick- guitar

John Fryer- keyboards

Chris Vrenna- drums

If you like way out there and something completely different, then Nine Inch Nails and “Pretty Hate Machine” is for you. The reason why it’s such a good album is because it goes beyond the realms of what people would consider normal.

Next post: Happy New Year

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com 

To sign the petition to give Bruce Dickinson a knighthood, click the link: https://www.change.org/p/special-honours-committees-for-knighthoods-a-knighthood-for-bruce-dickinson

Merry Christmas To All!

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas! Though I posted this song, a recent post from KMA has inspired me to post it again. It’s the carol “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem” sung to a famous song from the Animals.

Merry Christmas!

80smetalman Poll: Would you have liked a full album from the Dudes of Wrath?

Dudes of Wrath

I know I said that the next post would be the Nine Inch Nails but with all the things I had to do with the run up to Christmas, I haven’t been able to give their debut album my full attention. Therefore, I got to thinking and ever since I posted about the “Shocker” soundtrack a few weeks back, I have been wondering if the one band, The Dudes of Wrath, should have put out a full album. They played the opening and closing songs on the soundtrack, although the closer is a reprise from the opener. Plus they back up the strange duet between Alice Cooper and Horace Pinker. While, the duet might have been strange, the song they do play is pretty good, so, was there potential there? The stellar line up alone suggests that they should have moved forward.

Desmond Child- lead vocals

Paul Stanley- lead vocals

Vivian Campbell- guitar

Guy Mann-Dude- guitar

Rudy Sarzo- bass

Tommy Lee- drums

Kane Roberts and Michael Anthony- backing vocals

So, tell me your thoughts, good or bad. Should we have heard more from the Dudes of Wrath?

Normal service will resume after Christmas.

To buy Rock and Roll Children, it makes a nice Christmas present, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

Great Rock/Metal Albums of 1989: Aerosmith- Pump

With my weird, wishy-washy mind, it is sometimes great when I prove myself right. A long time ago, I think it was on Mike’s blog, I stated that “Pump” was Aerosmith’s “Toys in the Attic” for the 80s. After multiple re-familiarizations to this all time classic, I stand by that statement. Now, I know some of you out there prefer their previous album, “Permanent Vacation,” and there isn’t much between the two but it was “Pump” which brought Aerosmith back to the garden of superstardom.

When I visited “Permanent Vacation,” I stated that Aerosmith had brought back the swagger which made so many of their 1970s albums so brilliant. With this one, they brought even more swagger. The first two tracks and I love the hidden meaning behind “F.I.N.E.,” are absolute groove-a-thon songs. They get the head banging and the blood pumping, yes pun intended. Then we get to their well known single, “Love in an Elevator,” which is my favourite Aerosmith song from the 1980s. Of course, if I was to do a top ten all time list, it would be on that for sure. I love the line, “Kiss your sassafras” and how Misters Perry and Whitford trade off guitar solos. I always said that Brad was a better guitarist than what he’s given credit for.

The party continues with “Monkey on My Back,” which if I’m right, talks about the band’s struggle with drugs a decade earlier. Then it goes to the second single, “Janie’s Got a Gun.” Now, I have always liked the song and I knew it was about a daughter killing her abusive father but what really gave it meaning for me was when they played it at Download in 2017. Steve explained that he got the inspiration for the song from a woman he met while he was in rehab. That explains why there is so much feeling in the performance of it.

Tracks six through nine are all candidates for hidden gem as they all have that potential. Rockabilly is brought in with “Dulcimer Stomp/Take Me to the Other Side,” at least at the beginning. The second half is the band doing what they do best. What I didn’t know was that it was the subject of a lawsuit where the song writing team of Holland-Dozier-Holland claimed that the melody sounded like one of their songs. As a result, Aerosmith settled by giving them a song writing credit. On second thought, maybe not “My Girl.” It’s a decent track but maybe not as good as the others. Actually, the hidden gem award goes to “Don’t Get Mad, Get Even.” It has a blues stomp intro, which generates into a blues/hard rock tune. Steve’s vocals are just amazing on it and there is plenty of Aerosmith swagger. That doesn’t stop the party moving on “Hoodoo/Voodoo Medicine Man.” “What It Takes” was the third single and it’s a great closer. I love the guitar solo.

Track Listing:

1. Young Lust
2. F.I.N.E.
3. Going Down/Love in an Elevator
4. Monkey on My Back
5. Water Song/Janie’s Got a Gun
6. Dulcimer Stomp/Take Me to the Other Side
7. My Girl
8. Don’t Get Mad, Get Even
9. Hoodoo/Voodoo Medicine Man
10. What It Takes

Steve Tyler- lead vocals

Joe Perry- lead guitar, slide guitar, backing vocals

Brad Whitford- guitar, lead guitar on “Voodoo Medicine Man”

Tom Hamilton- bass, backing vocals

Joey Kramer- drums

When the likes of Motley Crue and Poison were ripping up the metal world, old timers Aerosmith came in and took over with “Pump.” This album put them back on top of the music world.

Next post: Nine Inch Nails- Pretty Hate Machine

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

To sign the petition to give Bruce Dickinson a knighthood, click the link: https://www.change.org/p/special-honours-committees-for-knighthoods-a-knighthood-for-bruce-dickinson

Great Rock/Metal Albums of 1989: The Cult- Sonic Temple

Whether or not it’s my weird brain but did you ever find an album really good but can’t explain why you like it so much? This has always been the case for me with The Cult’s album, “Sonic Temple.” It’s a brilliant album, make no mistake about that. The songs are just fantastic, some critics criticized the album for repeating the same formula song after song but hey, it works. I find myself bobbing along to the opener, “Sun King” and then doing the same on the next track with the single, “Fire Woman.” I really love the riffs on this one.

Another criticism hurled at the album is that they went from a defiant indie rock band to Warrant wannabees. Okay, there are some elements in songs which do point to hair metal but those are done in a way unique to The Cult. Maybe it’s because it seems to me that Billy Duffy is let loose more on the album to do what he does on the guitar. He nails some really good guitar solos, one on the mentioned opener and another on the power ballad, “Edie (Ciao Baby).”

A difficult task, although I’m not complaining because it meant I had to listen to the album more, was identifying the hidden gem. There were a couple of candidates. “American Horse” does bring the power and this song alone puts them in the heavy metal category with that blistering guitar solo and the mentioned power ballad was also a strong consideration. However, and it was a very very close call, the hidden gem goes to “Sweet Soul Sister.” This song has a bit of a Savatage feel at the beginning and that was what won it for me. In addition, it’s one of those metal anthem type songs where if played live, would have the audience clapping along with it.

While I prefer the first half of the album, the second half is by no means weak. “Soul Asylum” starts things off in a cool melodic metal way with some great power chords, though it does drag a little at over seven minutes long. “New York City” is also a strong power rocker which borders near thrash and when I first saw the track listing, I thought the penultimate track, “Soldier Blue,” was going to be a cover of the Buffy Saint-Marie classic. Trust me, it’s nothing like that! Instead, it’s another great metal sounding tune. Still, I wonder what a Cult cover of Buffy’s song would sound like.

Track Listing:

1. Sun King
2. Fire Woman
3. American Horse
4. Edie (Ciao Baby)
5. Sweet Soul Sister
6. Soul Asylum
7. New York City
8. Atomic Blues
9. Soldier Blue
10. Wake Up Time for Freedom

Ian Astbury- vocals, percussion

Billy Duffy- guitar

Jamie Stewart- bass, keyboards

Additional Musicians:

Mickey Curry- drums

Note: Eric Singer and Chris Taylor played drums on demo versions

Iggy Pop- backing vocals on “New York City”

John Webster- keyboards

Bob Buckley- string arrangement on “Edie (Ciao Baby)”

Said it before and I’ll keep on saying, “Who gives a stuff what the critics say?” “Sonic Temple” is a fine offering from The Cult.

Next post: Aerosmith- Pump

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

To sign the petition giving Bruce Dickinson a knighthood, click the link: https://www.change.org/p/special-honours-committees-for-knighthoods-a-knighthood-for-bruce-dickinson

Great Rock/Metal Albums of 1989: Steve Stevens- Atomic Playboys

Steve Stevens is best known for playing guitar for Billy Idol for many years, although he has played with others such as Vince Neil. What I didn’t know until one of you out there, I forget who, informed me that Steve actually put out a solo album in 1989 in the form of “Atomic Playboys.” Naturally, I had to add it to my list of albums for said year and it was a brilliant decision on my part. Actually, with the benefit of hindsight, it was a no brainer.

Wikipedia refers to the album as hard rock/glam metal and while I agree with that label, there is so much more to the album. There are two tracks which have a jazzy blues swagger to them. Most notably, the second track, “Power of Suggestion,” which uses horns to their full effectiveness. This one has lots of swagger to it and could have been played in a 1940s jazz club. I love the horns and Steve lays down a nice guitar solo and plays bass here. Saying that, he plays bass on all but one track. Another track which has a bit of cool swagger is “Evening Eye.”

Two songs which are set apart are the cover of The Sweet’s “Action” and the power ballad, “Desperate Heart.” Steve does a commendable job on The Sweet cover, not venturing far from the original format of the song. I think The Sweet would have given Steve a collective thumbs up. As for the power ballad, it’s done very well and I love the blistering guitar solo. The track was co-written with Fiona, who sings backing vocals on the track. Anton Figg plays drums on it as well. Penultimate track, “Run Across Desert Sands,” is an interesting instrumental.

As for the rest of the tracks, well they all fit in the hard rock/metal category. Starting with the opening title track, which is a great metal tune. This is the only one where Steve doesn’t play bass on but then Kasmir Sulton of Utopia fame does a notable job in his place. Right after the power ballad comes the powerful “Soul On Ice.” I can hear a definite Van Halen influence here with a bit of Aerosmith thrown in. Was Steve paying tribute to EVH? Because the guitar solo sounds like he was.

Even though I heap most of the tracks in the rock/metal category, there is versatility galore on “Atomic Playboys.” “Crackdown” is right out of the 1980s glam metal playbook. Then there is sleaze metal with “Pet the Hot Kitty.” Don’t believe me, then have a listen to the opening guitar riffs and the little spoken word at the beginning. While it sounds Poison-esque, I think Poison would have loved to put out a song like this. Then again, I think most would agree with me that Steve is a better guitarist than his counterpart in that band.

Being previously totally unfamiliar with the album and finding so many good deep cuts, I think I must award two hidden gems this post. I’ve already mentioned the tracks, the two gems are “Soul on Ice” and “Pet the Hot Kitty.” It is also time to give credit where it’s due to lead singer Perry McCarty. In spite of the changes of each song, Perry handles each song with flair and listening to him, I ask myself: Why isn’t he more well known? Steve does sing lead on one song, “Woman of 1000 Years” and his vocals sound a little like the singer he had been playing guitar with throughout the decade. Still, I give his vocals a thumbs up.

Track Listing:

1. Atomic Playboys
2. Power of Suggestion
3. Action
4. Desperate Heart
5. Soul on Ice
6. Crackdown
7. Pet the Hot Kitty
8. Evening Eye
9. Woman of 1000 Years
10. Run Across Desert Sands
11. Slipping Into Fiction

Steve Stevens

Steve Stevens- guitar, bass, lead vocal on track 9

Perry McCarty- lead vocals

Phil Ashley- keyboards

Thommy Price- drums

Kasmir Sulton- bass (track 1)

Anton Figg- drums (track 4 & 8)

Chris Botti, Kent Smith, Mike Davis, Andy Snitzer, Daniel Wilensky- horns (track 2)

Fiona- backing vocals (track 4)

Paul Winger, Nate Winger, Paulette Brown, Bunny Hull- backing vocals

Whoever pointed me to this album, thank you. “Atomic Playboys” is a brilliant album and Steve should be proud of his achievement even if in an interview, he called it an expensive hobby.

Next post: The Cult- Sonic Temple

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

To sign the petition to give Bruce Dickinson his knighthood, click the link: https://www.change.org/p/special-honours-committees-for-knighthoods-a-knighthood-for-bruce-dickinson

1989: Metal Comes to Moscow

Oh damn my memory! I nearly left out a very important event in the metal history of 1989. Under the Glasnost era of Mikhail Gorbachev in what was then the U.S.S.R., the country became more open to Western influences. One example of that was they held a huge metal festival in Moscow calling it the Moscow Peace Festival. I was lent a video recording of the show and I remember it being really good.

The lineup was as follows, at least on my video:

Bon Jovi

The Scorpions

Ozzy Osbourne

Motley Crue

Cinderella

Gorky Park

Skid Row

My memories of the concert are very limited. Things I do remember is my ex wife having a go (not literally) at Sebastian Bach for telling the audience not to take shit off anyone. She pointed out that a few years earlier, Skid Row wouldn’t have been allowed to play there. I remember Motley Crue singing “Girls, Girls, Girls” and being rather impressed with Russian band, Gorky Park as well as The Scorpions kicking ass, especially because five years earlier, I saw Bon Jovi supporting The Scorpions and now it was the other way around. It was my first time seeing Zak Wylde playing with Ozzy and of course the end of the show where Bon Jovi invited everyone back to the stage, along with Jason Bonham for one big jam session. So, instead of me trying to rack my brain for more memories, I will defer to the Tubes of You and show you some live performances from that historic day.

There’s also a nice little guitar intro from Jeff LaBar

Thank God my memory came back and I remembered this amazing show. Metal final broke through to Russia and was graciously accepted. Proof that heavy metal could rule the world.

Next post: Steve Stevens- Atomic Playboy

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

To sign the petition giving Bruce Dickinson his knighthood, click the link: https://www.change.org/p/special-honours-committees-for-knighthoods-a-knighthood-for-bruce-dickinson