Great Metal Albums of 1988: Briar- Crown of Thorns

With heavy metal bands being a dime a dozen in the late 1980s, it was very easy for bands to come and go unnoticed. In some cases, it was whether you were in the right place at the right time to catch a particular band. That was the case for me with UK metal band, Briar. I discovered them when I saw them open for Styper in London in 1987. Another reason why they might have not gotten true recognition is that while they were pretty good that evening, I wasn’t wowed by them either. Still, it was enough for me to check out their previous album “Take On the World” and their 1988 offering, “Crown of Thorns.”

Here’s another take from the evening, the song I remember the most from their set was “One Foot Back in the Door.” When I got “Take on the World,” I assumed the song was going to be on that album but it wasn’t. However, it does appear on this album. Here’s another idea, because they played that song, I assumed that it was going to be released as a single and it might have been. There was a vague air of familiarity when Briar played the song in London but I don’t remember it as a single. On the other hand, the song that made its way onto MTV in the US was “Frankie.” Both songs were worthy of being released as a single, they have that vibe to it but it’s the deeper cuts which interest me more.

When Briar stick with the melodic metal, which they do for most of the album, things sound really good. The opening title cut and tracks like “Back and Wild,” (my vote for hidden gem) and “Another Day in the Life of a Fool” bear witness to this. All three tracks are straight forward, let’s get down to business songs which are really good. Furthermore, one of their two covers, the one of Thin Lizzy’s classic, “The Boys Are Back in Town,” is done quite well. In fact, I’m going to step into the ring of controversy and declare that I prefer this cover to Bon Jovi’s cover of the same song on the “Make a Difference” compilation album. As for the other cover, Los Lobos’s “La Bamba,” well let’s just say that it’s pretty amusing though metalled out fairly well. I do like the guitar solo on it and Dean Cook has a nice drum fill at the end.

Again, they’re not bad tracks but “Spirit of the Wood” attempts to go a bit progressive at the beginning before going back to Briar basics. Perhaps they realized they shouldn’t veer to far away from their bread and butter. Saying that, the guitar at the intro and between the verses is quite alluring. “Empty Words” is a decent but unspectacular power ballad. Normally, I would say that the album ends with a cool closer and “Everyone’s Going Crazy” is just that. However, officially, it’s not the closer because that is the two second long track, “Fart.” Yes, it’s literally that!

One thing I can say for sure from listening to “Crown of Thorns” is that Briar were a good tight band. Kevin Griffiths has double duties on vocals and bass, just like Lemmy. His vocals are good and I can’t fault his bass playing. The guitar duo of Dave Fletcher and Darren Underwood make a great combination. I like the way they complement each other on the Thin Lizzy cover. Maybe they should have done more, even one guitar solo trade off. Drummer Dean has already been mentioned and what he does on “La Bamba” he does throughout the album. Together, they did make a good band.

Track Listing:

1. Crown of Thorns
2. Frankie
3. Just Another Day in the Life of a Fool
4. Back and Wild
5. La Bamba
6. One Foot Back in Your Door
7. Spirit of the Wood
8. The Boys Are Back in Town
9. Empty Words
10. Everyone’s Going Crazy
11. Fart

Briar

Kevin Griffiths- lead vocals, bass

Dave Fletcher- guitars, backing vocals

Darren Underwood- guitars, backing vocals

Dean Cook- drums

There are probably many reasons why Briar , like so many other bands, never made the big time. It’s basically down to the fact that they were competing in a very saturated market at the time. As “Crown of Thorns” shows, they had the tools. Oh yes, I’ve decided that in the not too distant future, I will write a Cover vs. Cover or even an Original vs. Cover vs. Cover post in reference to “The Boys are Back in Town.”

Next post: Stryper- In God We Trust

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Great Metal Albums of 1988: Guns N’ Roses- Live From the Jungle

I now know why I hadn’t heard of this live album from Guns N’ Roses for a long time. In 1988, it was only released in Japan. There seems to be a lot of controversy over the tittle of the album, mainly down to the Japanese writing. It is on account of an interpretation of the large red text on the album’s obi strip people have called it “Live From the Jungle.” To be honest, I only write that because it’s part of history so let’s get down to the EP itself.

Three of the six tracks were recorded live at the famous London Marquee Club. Since the performance took place in 1987, I am sure that my old buddy Dave Williams and Co was in the crowd. The first of the live tracks is the opening live performance of “It’s So Easy,” from the “Appetite for Destruction” album. It starts off with the famous English chant, “Here We Go” before the band comes on and gets down to business. To be honest, there is no problem in telling that the song was recorded live on account of the production. Still, it gets things going.

Second track, “Shadow of Your Love” is said to be recorded live but according the notes on Wikipedia, it was a faux live recording with crowd noises dubbed in. The production on this one is definitely better than the opener and I will go out on a limb a bit and say that this could have been a forerunner to the classic, “You Could Be Mine,” as it sounds similar. Axl’s vocals are clear, the band is tight and Slash nails a cool guitar solo. All in all, a great tune, it’s the hidden gem for sure.

“Move to the City” comes in with a nice blues swagger to it. This is one to get the blood pumping and I could say that it’s the best track on the album. No mention of where it’s recorded but the notes state that it’s the same version as on “Live?!*Like a Suicide” album. Following on is an early live version of a song which would be a huge hit for them a few years down the line, a cover of the Bob Dylan blockbuster, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” Admittedly, the studio version is more polished than this live recording but I really dig this recording. At least on the live version, Axl’s singing “do-oh” isn’t so magnified. This was the second song recorded at the Marquee Club and this track alone makes me regret not being there that night.

Linking past with the present, when I listen to the final song recorded at the Marquee, Guns N’ Roses cover of AD/DC’s classic, “Whole Lotta Rosie,” I can see why Angus Young would choose Axl to sing for AC/DC on tour. Axl admits he’s no Bon Scott, (there is no other Bon Scott), but he does do the song justice. This is a very likeable cover of a cool song. The EP closes with the only studio recorded song, the famous “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” Is there any need to say more about this closer? It’s still my favourite Guns N’ Roses song and I would probably just repeat what I wrote when I reviewed the “Appetite for Destruction” album.

Track Listing:

1. It’s So Easy
2. Shadow of Your Love
3. Move to the City
4. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
5. Whole Lotta Rosie
6. Sweet Child O’ Mine

Gun N’ Roses

W. Axl Rose- lead vocals

Slash- lead guitar

Izzy Stradlin- rhythm guitar, backing vocals

Duff ‘Rose’ McKagan- bass, backing vocals

Steven Adler- drums, percussion

It’s a shame that “Live From the Jungle” or whatever you want to call it was only released in Japan. Yes, I know you can get it now these days but if I had known about it back in 1988, I would have snapped it up in a heartbeat.

Next post: Helloween- Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part 2

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David Williams: My Curry With Guns & Roses

So, after the gig had finished, we decided that we were going to find out where they were going, and crash whatever wild party that had been thrown in the honour of Axl and co, in whatever glamourous venue, probably in some amazing venue in the Wild West End! But how? Around the side of Hammy O we went, as near to the stage door as possible, to hang out with rock stars and find out our eventual destination. Various rock stars appeared, most lost in my memory, but the two conversations that still stick in my mind are when John Gerring asked John Sykes, ‘John, John, is Coverdale still in Whitesnake…???!!’ which was met with a rather bemused look, and the following exchange, between me and one of my absolute heroes. Me: Hello Pete Pete Way: Hello mate, I know you, you’re Swedish ain’tcha, with that pretty girlfriend. Me: No Pete, I’m Welsh Pete Way: Ah, right yeah. Got any heroin? Me: No Pete, I don’t do drugs Pete Way: Good man. Got any coke? Me: No Pete. Then his accomplice led him away to where Phil Mogg was standing and off they went away into the night, like the title of a UFO song…. But where the heck were G’n’R going??? Hang on, there they were getting on a coach. We sprinted for Kieran’s van and set off in hot pursuit. Through West London we went, keeping up with the coach despite the traffic lights getting in the way. Finally we caught up with the now parked up coach on Westbourne Grove, and it was voted that as I was the singer and the one with the mouth (lol) who goes to restaurants, that I should go and find them. Off I went and despite peering through the windows of every still open pub/bar/restaurant I could find, my search sadly drew a blank. Oh well, we’d still had an amazing night, we’d seen Faster Pussycat, (I’d even got Brent Muscat’s autograph), our mates The Quireboys (hooray!), and the all-conquering Guns’n’Roses, and then star spotted around the back of the legendary Hammy O. What more could you want from a night out? Kieran turned the ignition of his company van and we started the cross town journey back to the glamour of our East Ham home. But then, to our amazement, we saw Duff walking along the pavement by the side of the van! Down went the window and Duff was duly summoned, I still don’t know who was more surprised, him or us! He explained that he was looking for ‘a payphone to call Seattle…’ We immediately told him to get in the van, he did look at us suspiciously at first, but when he saw the way we were dressed, and we told him we’d not only been at the gig that night but also at the Marquee shows back in the summer, in he got, off we went, and a pay phone was found a few hundred yards up the road, so out he got and made his call home. We were now beside ourselves with excitement, your actual Duff, in the van, and we’d done him a favour! Surely we’d now be invited to the wild soiree that he’d escaped from. Duff got back in the van, thanked us all for our help and suggested that we should all, ‘come and have a ****ing drink with Guns and Roses!’. This was it, now what crazy rock and roll hot spot were we going to be invited into for an evening of (hopefully) free Jack Daniels and rock and roll goddesses? Much to our surprise he pointed out the Khyber Indian Restaurant, the Escort van was parked outside and, much to the shock/bemusement/horror of the respectable diners coming to the end of their meals, a line of leather jacketed, big haired rock and rollers followed him in and down the stairs at the back of the restaurant (the reason why I’d not seen them), where he was greeted by (I think) Alan Niven with the words, ‘Oh my God, what’s he done now….’. Not to worry, we were his new friends, so seats were found, beers and Chicken Kormas were ordered, and I sat there, caught my breath and looked around. So who was around the tables then? If I remember correctly, it was 35 years ago after all, it went, in clockwise fashion, me, Leigh, John, Slash (in a bootleg t-shirt he’d got outside the Odeon), Sally the Dancer, (who we knew from various gigs and nights out), maybe Alan Niven. Duff, Steven Adler, a girl called Nellie who looked like she could have been Slash’s sister, two German girls, Kieran, Carol and Martin. So who’s missing you’re asking? Just as we arrived at the restaurant, Izzy had to leave as he wasn’t feeling very well. He had indeed spent the whole gig looking extremely cool but sort of not moving very much, so not sure what had happened there. Axl was sitting away from the band further down the restaurant with, I think, Erin Everly herself. The two of them didn’t seem really interested in joining us as they appeared to be in deep conversation but I do recall him playing with a rather large ornate knife and also looking daggers at me when I proposed a toast to the band and their success. Never mind, what fun conversations we were all having, I wish I could remember them all; Duff asking me to translate into German his intentions to the two German girls, Steven Adler being very funny and charming and maybe Alan Niven being quite relieved that we were actually a well behaved group of reprobates that Duff had brought into the restaurant. All too soon at approximately 2am, it was time to leave the restaurant. Hugs, handshakes were exchanged and our demo tapes were given to the band and we got back into Kieran’s Escort van for the journey home to East Ham. What a night, as is often said, if only we’d had phones with cameras in those days! I’m lucky that I still go to gigs and meet all sorts of various famous and infamous musicians, but that night will always be one of the most special, heck, I’ve still the matches from the restaurant somewhere….

Dave, (second from right) how he looked back then when he was singer in the band Torque Show.

David’s favour Guns and Roses Song.

Thanks to Dave for sharing this great account. My only regret was that I couldn’t be there. I had to work that evening and had spent the day with my bride to be flat hunting.

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Great Metal Albums of 1988: Bonfire- Fireworks

I nearly forgot, blame old age, that I begin any given year with albums which came out the previous year but didn’t come to my attention until the year I’m posting on. One of these was the second album by German metal band, Bonfire and my discovery of them came in a rather amusing way. My friends’ band, Torque Show was playing their first gig at London’s famous club, The Marquee. They were the opening band for, you’ve already guessed it, Bonfire.

Torque Show

The photo above is misleading, only two members of the band were left by the time Torque Show played the Marquee and they were on their second drummer. Anyway, they played well as an opening band and paved the way for Bonfire who impressed me as well. At least to the point that I gave their second album “Fireworks,” a go. It was a good night.

The best way to describe “Fireworks” is a straight forward glam metal album. The album does nothing I would call groundbreaking but it is consistent all the way through. For me, it doesn’t really fully kick into gear until the third track, “Sleeping All Alone.” There’s nothing wrong with the first two tracks, they both provide a good listen but it’s this particular track that turned my head. It could be the cool guitar solos from Hans Ziller which do it. That level is maintained with the following track, “Champion.” It’s a good straight ahead metal tune, one which would be radio friendly and the rhythm section, including the rhythm guitar, lay down a good foundation for the song.

Bonfire gets down and dirty with “Don’t Get Me Wrong” as this is a sleazy sounding, guitar crunching number. This is one to pump your fist in the air and flash the horns to. I can’t remember which songs they played that night so I can say if I did or not. I know I did stage dive. However, things dip a little after as “Sweet Obsession” doesn’t quite measure up to the previous three tracks. It has a good bassline though. The same can be said for “Rock Me Now.” Its intro sounds similar to the Great White classic, “Rock Me,” but then picks up speed but in spite of the increased speed, it lacks a little punch.

Fortunately, my pick for track of the album comes in and the last two tracks become distant memories. “American Nights” comes in with some cool drumming and definitely has some swagger. Lead singer, Claus Lessman, who sings well on all tracks, gives it a bit more oomph with the vocals and the rest of the band respond accordingly. Cool guitar riffs and lead guitar hooks bring in “Fantasy.” The changes in tempo keep it interesting, One minute it sounds like a ballad but then goes total metal the next with some great guitar work.

Penultimate track, “Give It a Try,” is a decent power ballad and you can feel the passion in Claus’s vocals and some good power ballad soloing from Hans. Listening to it and then to the actual closer, “Cold Days,” I think that these two songs should have been switched around. “Cold Days” would have been a better penultimate track and the passion behind “Give It a Try” would be better for a closer.

Track Listing:

1. Ready 4 Action
2. Never Mind
3. Sleeping Alone
4. Champion
5. Don’t Get Me Wrong
6. Sweet Obsession
7. Rock Me Now
8. American Nights
9. Fantasy
10. Give It a Try
11. Cold Days

Alternative Cover

Claus Lessman- lead and backing vocals

Hans Ziller- lead and acoustic guitars, backing vocals

Horst Maier- rhythm guitar, backing vocals

Jorg Deisinger- bass, backing vocals

Additional Musicians

Ken Mary- drums

Martin Ernst- keyboards

Maybe I should thank Torque Show, for opening for a great band. Torque Show broke up a couple of years later but Bonfire still burns on. With albums like “Fireworks,” it’s plain to see why.

Next post: Cheap Trick- Lap of Luxury

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Great Metal Albums of 1987: Tigertailz- Young and Crazy

Making their way around the British metal scene in 1987 was Welsh glam metal band Tigertailz. While I never got the chance to see them live, I do know they played great London rock clubs such as The Marquee and the Royal Standard. Looking at this album cover, your initial reaction is probably similar to mine back then, they could rival Poison in the ‘rock dudes who look like chicks’ sweepstakes.

The funny thing is that their debut album, “Young and Crazy,” is similar to the Poison sound. I do hear the similarities between the two bands. However, I also note a KISS influence in some of their songs, the opener, “Star Crazy” and “Shameless.” Paul or Gene would both be comfortable singing either of those songs.

There is no doubt in my mind that Tigertailz were a competent band and there are some really good songs on it. The standout song for me is definitely “Livin’ Without You.” Crunching guitars and a pumping bass dominate the song but without losing any of the catchy melody. It is probably Steevi Jaimz best vocal effort and the crunching rhythm in the middle stamps its authority. Additional, there is a great drumroll from Ace Finchum and Jay Pepper lays down his best guitar solo. Definitely, my choice for best song.

The other thing is that because they look and sound similar to Poison, I want to compare and contrast them with Poison. What would be cool if Brett Michaels came and sang for Tigertailz as he is better than Steevi Jaimz while Jay Pepper is a better guitarist than CC DeVille. Just my opinion and of course, you are all free to offer yours. The teacher in me always welcomes debate.

Oh, another thing about the track, “Shameless,” is that while KISS influenced, in the middle of the song, Steevi does a David Lee Roth style spoken part. Is it as good as Dave? Well, not many singers can talk their way through songs like DLR but I will give Steevi and ‘A’ for effort. Where Tigertailz go original is the track, “City Kidz.” There is a blues like swagger to this song and a real cool rhythm guitar riff before a cool guitar solo. Okay, it gets the number two spot in the best song on the album category.

“Shoot to Kill” isn’t a bad track but it’s more filler with all the cliche heavy metal elements to it. On the other hand, “Turn Me On” is definitely the song for the rhythm section. It begins with Jaimz saying, “Come on Ace” and Ace responds with a cool drum fill. His drums take command but there is a good bass solo from Pepsi Tate in the middle. Less fortunately, it’s sandwiched between the two filler tracks. The former already mentioned track and “She’z Too Hot” has the same heavy metal cliches. Still, it’s not that bad. The title track is a more lively penultimate track where Jay is once again let off the leash on the six string. However, the album ends with a decent power ballad in the form of “Fall in Love Again.” At first it seems out of place but that thought is quickly erased and guitar and bass make it okay.

Track Listing:

1. Star Attraction
2. Hollywood Killer
3. Ballerina (Instrumental)
4. Livin’ Without You
5. Shameless
6. City Kidz
7. Shoot to Kill
8. Turn Me On
9. She’z Too Hot
10. Young and Crazy
11. Fall in Love Again

Tigertailz

Steevi Jaimz- vocals

Jay Pepper- guitar

Pepsi Tate- bass

Ace Finchum- drums

In respect to what I said about the Brett vs Steevi aspect. Steevi isn’t a bad singer but he wasn’t that good. It’s probably why Tigertailz got a new singer after this album. There is even a re-recorded version of my favourite track sung by the new singer. Anyway, this is a good effort from a band looking to make it. If the production had been better, then I think it would have been phenomenal.

Next post: Anvil- Strength of Steel

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London’s Aladdin’s Cave of Heavy Metal

Now that I am back from my weekend of playing Santa Clause to my step-grandchildren in Cleethorpes, I can return to posting about the golden age of heavy metal. However, this post isn’t for an album or event which happened in 1987. Instead it’s about a record store in London called Shade’s. A few years back, fellow blogger Every Record Tells a Story wrote a post about the store and now that it has been several years, I thought I’d put my own spin on it.

The best way I can describe Shade’s is using the words I used in “Rock and Roll Children,” an Aladdin’s cave of heavy metal. Although in the book, I changed the name to “Snakes” so I wouldn’t infringe any laws. It was down an narrow lane, so you had to actually be looking for it in order to find it and once inside the door, the staircase leading down to the main room added to the cave effect. Actually, I think I described it better here than I did when I wrote “Rock and Roll Children.”

Inside Shade’s

Shade’s had everything a metalhead could possibly hope for. Records, tapes, t-shirts and all other types of metal paraphernalia was on sale. I thought it particularly cool when I say a t-shirt of Kreator’s “Pleasure to Kill” album cover. However, I procrastinated and when I tried to buy it a few months later, it was no longer available. The attitude of the sales attendant when I inquired confirmed the belief that Londoners didn’t do customer service very well. They also sold concert tickets as it was there that I bought my ticket to see Possessed, Voi Vod and the English Dogs. Furthermore, while they had the classics, they also seemed to get the albums from the US when they first came out. That’s how I learned of new releases from the likes of KISS, Whitesnake, Billy Squier and the Killer Dwarfs. My one regret is that I wasn’t able to attend when Poison showed up for an autograph signing.

Unfortunately, Shade’s is no more. I heard it had become an internet cafe but I can’t be sure. I also wonder if they had been around in 2010, if they would have sold copies of “Rock And Roll Children.” I hope they would have. Still, I have fond memories of this great store.

Next post: Lee Aaron

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

Great Rock Albums of 1982: Blackfoot- Highway Song, Live in London

What is the most logical thing to do after your band has put out three very good studio albums? Well, in the case of Blackfoot, the answer is to put out one hell of a live album. That is exactly what they did in 1982 with the album recorded live in London. If it hadn’t been for the fact that I happened to visit London in the summer of 1983, this album would have past me by because I never saw it on sale at any of the record shops in New Jersey and that, to me, would have been a damn shame.

Why is this live album so good? The answer is pretty obvious to any Blackfoot fan. At this particular concert, they played some of their finest material off their previous three albums, “Strikes,” “Tomcattin'” and “Marauder.” If I were to have produced the album, I would have done little different except ask the band to play “I Got a Line On You” from the “Strikes” album but that’s a personal thing. The album is fine as it stands. Things open with two songs from “Tomcattin,'” “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme,” which is definitely a great concert opener, especially at the beginning when Rick Medlocke announces “All right London, it’s boogie time!” You get little time to rest after the opener because Medlocke gets the crowd going by saying, “If someone messes with your queenie, you’re gonna mess up their god damn nose!” Then they launch into “Queenie, Every Man Should Know.” If the crowd isn’t fully up by now, then the almost thrash sounding, “Good Morning” definitely gets them there.

“Good Morning” is the first of three songs from the “Marauder” album. The other two songs that follow, “Dry County” and “Fly Away” sound much better live than the versions on the album and there was nothing wrong with those. It’s just the raw energy this concert gives that takes things up several levels. One note, in between “Dry County” and “Fly Away,” Blackfoot play their own version of John Lee Hooker’s “Rolling and Tumbling” and I will say that they put their own unique stamp on that song quite nicely.

The rest of the album/concert is dominated by songs from the “Strikes” album. “Road Fever” for all the Scotland rock and roll maniacs as how Medlocke introduces the song, rolls things along very well. After they play “Trouble in Mind,” Blackfoot take the show up on an enormous high with the two best songs from that album, “Train, Train” and of course “Highway Song” and both are cases of the live version being way above the studio version. This leads me to realise that if Blackfoot can improve on songs from great studio albums when played live, they are definitely a band to be reckoned with.

Track Listing:

1. Gimme, Gimme, Gimme

2. Queenie, Every Man Should Know

3. Good Morning

4. Dry County

5. Rolling and Tumbling

6. Fly Away

7. Road Fever

8. Trouble in Mind

9. Train, Train

10. Highway Song

11. Howay the Lads

Blackfoot

Rickey Medlocke- guitar, lead vocals

Charlie Hargrett- guitar

Greg T Walker- bass, backing vocals

Jackson Spires- drums

I think back to that time in 1983 and thank God that I was in London and saw this album in a record store. Otherwise, I would have missed it. Then again, each time I listen to the album, I become pig sick at not having ever seen them live. Trust me, “Highway Song” will make you feel that way.

Next post: Rossington/Collins- This is the Way

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Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

 

 

My Olympics Closing Ceremony Rant

As you can clearly see there are some photos of the Olympics Closing Ceremony which took place in London last Sunday.  There are pictures of some of the acts that played there like George Michael and The Spice Girls and here’s a shot of my favourite act on the evening, Eric Idle of Monty Python fame. I thought bringing him into to sing “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” was pure genius.

But from all of the act that played on the night, can anyone tell me what was desperately missing from the night? Yes, that’s right, the total absence of heavy metal bands. I won’t repeat all the things I wrote about the absence of metal at the Jubilee concert, but you can see a common thread here. In spite of the fact that Britain is the birthplace of heavy metal, it seems that the country as a whole is embarrassed to admit it. Would anyone have been offended if Iron Maiden had played on the night? Or do you agree with me in saying it would have improved things 300%?

I don’t know why the United Kingdom, which has given the world so much, is ashamed of the fact that it gave the world heavy metal. I can’t think that it’s because they were afraid of what the American religious right would have said. Most people in Britain think they’re a total joke. As I said in that last post, Iron Maiden are great ambassadors of heavy metal and Great Britain. Most of the world would have head banged away to them while they blasted one of their many great songs on stage. Maiden not being there only dampens what could have made a great ceremony and made Great Britain even greater.

So, I’ll include them here:

This is how they would have gone down at the Closing Ceremony.

See you all next time.

80smetalman