Category Archives: rock

ISSA – The Storm

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Despite members of the melodic rock community proclaiming her Issa’s debut album ‘Sign of Angels’ a work of genius and suggesting the record sounded like a female fronted Journey, that wasn’t really accurate. Fact is, being Norwegian, huge chunks of Issa’s first album had a distinctly Scandinavian feel. There was nothing particularly wrong with that, but it just wasn’t American enough to gain Journey styled comparisons. Regardless of Issa’s best efforts, the bulk of that album’s material was solid, but often unremarkable – certainly not really “genius” by most people’s standards.

It would be wrong to suggest Issa had broken any new ground with her second record, ‘The Storm’ – it’s still loaded with some very predictable melodic rock chops – but the record has a distinctly more American feel at times. More importantly, she’s contributed to the song writing and – perhaps as a direct result – sounds more at ease vocally. Although not as sharp as those from a classic Survivor album, for example, the production values (courtesy of Daniel Flores) are also superior to the slightly muddy dynamics present on Issa’s debut release. Each of these factors make ‘The Storm’ an infinitely more enjoyable listening experience.

‘Looking For Love’ is a strong opening statement: David Siviland’s rhythm guitars have a pleasing soft metal choppiness over which Issa’s vocal is strong. An extra sense of depth is provided by a pompy keyboard line throughout which is perfectly judged rhythmically, though perhaps the squealy 70s style solo could have been avoided. Overall, it’s a decent opener, but it’s the softer bridge section and featured guitar solo (courtesy of Work of Art man Robert Sall) which lends the listener to believe this is only the beginning and, perhaps, ‘The Storm’ has even better material up its sleeve. ‘Please Hold On’ cements such theories, pushing things into slightly more American sounding 80s hard rock territory. Issa takes this number and pulls the best from its vocal – particularly on a classic sounding chorus. Many of you will have hundreds of songs in your AOR collections which achieve similar results – but when those songs are as good as this, there’s always room for one more! As before, Siviland provides a suitable amount of musical meatiness in the guitar department; this time around, though, he’s totally outshone by Daniel Flores on the keyboards, whose work echoes many 80s classics with his tinkling and rather bell-like accompaniments. Those keyboards alone would be enough to remind you all of melodic rock’s glory years, but a predictably perfect key change for the last chorus just adds to the goodness, making this one of the album’s essential tracks.

The intro on the title cut is lovely: the guitars ring with an absolute clarity, while the piano also adds a great deal of charm to a very 80s mood. When the drums kick in, they do not dominate – instead settling for providing a suitable backline, thus allowing the choppy guitars carry most of the tune. Compared with a few of the album’s choicest cuts, the chorus here is weaker and as the number progresses, a slightly cheesier mood doesn’t quite live up to the intro’s great promise. Still, it’s not a dud by any means – but it certainly could have been better. Moving things into a rockier mood, ‘You’re Making Me’ is slightly pompy – driven by a pounding bass and reasonable guitar riff. Issa proves here she’s as adept at rockier outings as she is the more dramatic offerings. Overall, it’s more in keeping with some of the material from ‘Sign of Angels’ and is a little more throwaway, but it’s given a lift by the presence of Christopher Vetter on lead guitar who offers up a more than commendable solo spot. ‘Two Hearts’ is slightly more Scandinavian sounding once again; this has much to do with its being penned for Issa by Xorigin’s Johannes Stole and Daniel Palmquist. What it offers musically is something hugely melodic – a number loaded with twin guitar harmonies and another big chorus. The mid-paced approach will likely appeal to a lot of melodic rock fans; Issa is in good form and even though her band don’t get to show themselves off as much here as on some of the other cuts, it has to be said that Palmquist’s lead guitar work – the solo in particular – is cracking.

‘Too Late For Love’ runs through many of the usual clichés, but is well arranged with a strong vocal pitched against clean guitar work. A harmony-filled chorus carries itself reasonably well, although it is perhaps not quite as strong as it ought to have been. You know what to expect and, although it’s far from a let-down, it shouldn’t have just settled for being a good track; with the level of quality shown elsewhere, this could have been great. With regards to power ballads, ‘Invincible’ is much better all round. Containing one of Issa’s best vocals it already starts with best foot forward, but a simple arrangement adds to its overall strength. The guitars are played with just enough crunchiness to put this track firmly in the rock bracket, yet extensive use of piano lends the softer passages an extra depth. Melodic rock by numbers it may be, but it’s spot on. Had this been written for any number of artists back in the 1980s, it could have been a hit. Alongside ‘Please Hold On’, this provides ample reason for investigating this release…even if you weren’t especially swayed by Issa’s first attempt.

It may not be edgy, but this album is well-crafted. It shows that Issa had a strong enough sense of vision to take the best elements of her previous work and make them work much better for her this time around. Granted, ‘The Storm’ isn’t as good as the female fronted AOR/melodic classics from the genre’s heyday – of which Robin Beck’s ‘Trouble or Nothin’, Heart’s ‘Bad Animals’ and Cher’s self-titled record are still at the absolute pinnacle – but on its own merits, Issa’s second outing is potentially one of the best examples of the genre offered in 2011.

November 2011

LONE STAR – Firing On All Six

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Not to be confused with the US country pop band of the same name, Lone Star are one of the best kept secrets of British rock. That said, their beginnings are not so great: their eponymous debut is an okay 70s rock offering, but few of the songs stretch the bands talents. It’s only really notable for being produced by Roy Thomas Baker (most well known for his work with Queen and The Cars) and featuring an extended workout of The Beatles’ ‘She Said, She Said’. Very few people would consider it an essential album. By the time of their second release – 1977’s ‘Firing On All Six’ – original vocalist Kenny Driscoll had been replaced by John Sloman and the end result is a marked improvement. Not just for the arrival of an obviously superior vocalist, but for the technical aspects of the release – in terms of production, albums rarely come better sounding than this.

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BUTCH WALKER & THE BLACK WIDOWS – The Spade

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Butch Walker’s album ‘I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart’ led America’s legendary Rolling Stone magazine to proclaim him “one of America’s best singer-songwriters”. With a bunch of solo albums under his belt, plus releases with his former bands Marvelous 3 and Southgang, he’s already knocked up a fair amount of accolades. If you take into account he’s written and produced songs for Katy Perry, Avril Lavigne and Weezer, as well as many others, he deserves more recognition (especially from UK audiences).

His 2011 album, ‘The Spade’ comes loaded with the sharp song writing which his fans have come to expect, even though the music lacks the slickness of some of his previous outings. The lead single ‘Summer of 89’ is stupidly catchy. The chorus which comes loaded with gang vocals and a bouncy riff, which alone would be enough to guarantee a standout track. Walker takes things a step farther, however, with amusing tales of the past: he name checks Kiss along the way as well as throwing us the reminder that “nobody knew Bryan Adams wasn’t cool…the TV just told me he was”. [Bryan’s big undoing was also the thing that undoubtedly made him the most money – we probably never need to hear that Robin Hood song ever again. I’ll still proclaim Adams’s 1984 release ‘Reckless’ to be a genre classic, mind.] Also excellent, ‘Everysinglebodyelse’ has a rousing arrangement which has a more seventies glam vibe. Walker’s song writing and arranging is superb, and his band tight – yet never too tight. A strong chorus and arrangement would have carried this track alone, but the addition of a sax (with overtones of Bowie’s ‘Diamond Dogs’) just pushes the track into the realms of potential cult classic.

In a softer mood, ‘Sweethearts’ adopts a Stones-ish swagger, where Walker gets to air a more retro sound to his voice and playing. The bar-room guitars which swamp this track are just lovely, and played against a great lead vocal (and equally great female harmony), this feels like the tune The Quireboys have often strived to record, but haven’t often managed. ‘Synthesizer’ combines a wry humour with some rather excellent rinky-dinky tack piano lines, which sound like a Paul Williams composition for The Muppets (see tracks like ‘Movin’ Right Along’). Huge influences from seventies pop/rock shine through, but those are tempered with gang vocals very much rooted in the 80s. Although Walker’s lead voice is strong, it’s the combination of his lead with a slightly call-and-response backing which lends this tune its bucketful of charm. In an absolute change in style, Walker follows this classy old style pop rock workout with ‘Dublin Crow’ – a country-rock stomper, heavy on the banjos and twangy guitars. All things considered, it manages to sound well-crafted in the musical department but somehow disposable at the same time. It certainly feels like filler compared to gold standard offerings like ‘Summer of 89’.

With a mix of atonal guitars and hefty thumping drum, ‘Bodegas and Blood’ is less accessible than some of the other songs, and doesn’t have a particularly strong chorus to reel in the listener. As such, it sits beside ‘Dublin Crow’ as something which doesn’t quite reach its full potential. That said, a few of the cleaner guitar sounds during an instrumental break are pleasing enough. After a false start, ‘Bullet Belt’ brings the album something far more aggressive, as Walker spits an angry vocal over pounding drums and a hugely fuzzed up bassline. He avoids pushing the track too far into alternative rock territory by employing a bubblegum pop chorus – with a hint of the sixties in places – essentially pulling this tune in two different directions. The music and verses may aspire to the likes of New York Dolls, but the chorus turns that on its head: the songcraft is slicker and generally more accessible than the verses ever would have suggested. For no-nonsense, guitar driven rock/pop in a radio friendly vein, ‘Day Drunk’ has some good moments, chiefly a retro guitar riff and solid bass, while Walker’s vocal maintains a strong presence. Its chorus is something of a weakness, though, since it’s hard to get the most out a one word refrain, no matter how many multi-layered voices it comes loaded with!

Overall, ‘The Spade’s best strength comes from Walker’s ability to make each of the songs his own. While the subgenres of rock and pop on show here will often sound familiar, he rarely imitates any obvious influences. It’s not a patch on 2008’s ‘Sycamore Meadows’ – Walker would have to really be on form to release another album as consistent as that one – but even so, you’ll find more than a handful of top tunes scattered among this album’s eleven cuts.

September 2011

ALICE COOPER – Welcome 2 My Nightmare

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Over the years, Alice Cooper has made us all think of the darker things in life; those things in life the world doesn’t need: spousal abuse (‘Only Women Bleed’), mental illness (‘Former Lee Warmer’), medication misuse (‘Dead Babies’), necrophilia (‘Cold Ethyl’, ‘I Love The Dead’) and a whole host of other wrongdoings. What else could he offer us? His 2011 release ‘Welcome 2 My Nightmare’ doesn’t bring much that’s new thematically speaking, but then, It doesn’t matter whether or not you’ve heard it all before from Alice. More often than not, he’s able to serve up his schtick with a fair amount of style. Revisiting an expanding on an old concept, however, relies on more than familiarity to make it work effectively… However, with ‘Welcome 2 My Nightmare’, there are various key features in place which make the listener hope that – being the professional he is – Cooper may just pull a decent sequel out of the bag.

Firstly, guitarist Steve Hunter is back in the capacity of guitarist and song writer, while Dick Wagner has co-written some of the album’s material. This pairing had a huge impact on Cooper’s original ‘Nightmare’ (and a few of his other 1970s works), so it seems only right they should have a hand in this sequel somehow. Perhaps most importantly, though, is the presence Bob Ezrin, the original ‘Nightmare’ producer. Factor in a few guest spots from original Alice Cooper band members Dennis Dunaway, Michael Bruce and Neal Smith and ‘Welcome 2 My Nightmare’ seems, at least in theory, to have a lot in its favour.

‘I Am Made of You’ opens with the piano motif from ‘Steven’ – providing some obvious continuity – but then it falls on its face. Once Alice starts to sing, there’s something very, very wrong. His voice has been auto-tuned to absolute extremes. Not through any fixing which needed doing, but autotuned in a very stylized way, as if Alice wanted to somehow prove he was up on musical trends from 2010/11. His familiar sneer is coated in an unnatural shine and pitch altering – one which can be heard on any number of r ‘n’ b records; it’s a bloody awful stylistic move, one for which Cher still ought to be blamed. Such a pity, since the musical elements have a fantastic amount of promise, particularly the piano, occasionally militaristic drumming and classy guitar solo (courtesy of AOR legend Tommy Denander). But, sadly, all the great arranging in the world just won’t make up for the presence of autotune where it doesn’t belong. Also, this number has a brooding tone which would have been ideal for bringing act one to a close –it’s great at what it does, but it doesn’t quite sit right as opening gambit. ‘Last Man on Earth’ is far more fun, with a Dixieland jazz arrangement (and a hint of ‘Some Folks’), which works exceptionally well against Cooper’s overly theatrical vocal (which appears in its natural state here, thankfully). The combination of a searing violin, live sounding drums, tuba and banjo and raspy rock vocal makes great listening, and although it’s provides more tongue in cheek theatrics than hard rock thrills…it’s so, so distinctly Alice.

‘Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever’ takes Alice’s tongue-in-cheek humour and pushes it one step too far, as he “raps” badly over a keyboard driven, semi-danceable arrangement which sounds like someone taking the piss. A choir of vocals which sound like the undead are vaguely amusing, but Christ, once you’ve played it once, the joke’s well and truly over. The closing section dispenses with the frivolity and goes for maximum octane rock, where Rob Zombie’s guitarist John 5 mangles his fretboard. Although the album is supposed to be a continuation of Steven’s horror-filled, childhood nightmares, this isn’t so much a nightmare as throwaway junk. The following track isn’t that much better…‘Ghouls Gone Wild’ resembles ‘Summertime Blues’ crossed with a dose of 70s glam, and tests listener goodwill. Sure, Alice is having fun singing about ghouls with a choir of backing voices – but it’s too far in the direction of disposable. There’s no way this stands alongside anything from the original nightmare. Rather than a piece of music from an Alice Cooper album, it sounds rather more like it belongs in one of the full-length Scooby Doo cartoons. In fact, ‘Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever’ and ‘Ghouls Gone Wild’ are so awful, let’s pretend they don’t exist.

‘A Runaway Train’ is a stomper, reuniting members of the original Alice Cooper band. Neal Smith’s powers the number with an uptempo drum line which fittingly resembles a locomotive. Dennis Dunaway’s bass is unwavering, while Michael Bruce’s lead guitars are shrill and cutting. It’s doesn’t reach heights of the glam-fuelled proto-metal of this band’s past, but it’s a powerful number nonetheless. The album’s lead single ‘I’ll Bite Your Face Off’ is also enjoyable in a self-parody kind of way, showcasing Cooper, Dunaway, Smith and Bruce on an arrangement which borrows heavily from late 60s Rolling Stones. With a tight musical backdrop and reasonable chorus, it’s not quite the anthem it could have been, but it’s entertaining enough. It has a feel-good nature, once which is sure to work even better in a live setting. It’s great to hear these guys playing together once more – and such a pity Glen Buxton wasn’t around to be a part of it all.

By the time you feel things are getting too safe, Alice serves up ‘When Hell Comes Home’ – an ode to domestic abuse. Centring around a piano’s bass notes and a slightly down-tuned guitar, this number has one of the album’s best arrangements, helping to create a slightly perilous atmosphere. Likewise, ‘Something To Remember Me By’ deserves attention (and maybe repeated listens to get rid of ‘Disco Bloodbath’s bad vibes). Sure, some may find this number a little cheesy, but hearing Alice in full-on power ballad mode (a la ‘How You Gonna See Me Now’) raises the bar considerably. His vocal is mature, strong and still as good as it ever was, but it’s the musical arrangement which is the crowning glory. Chock full of Bob Ezrin’s beloved strings and Steve Hunter’s classy, yet subtle guitar leads, this carries more of the spirit of Cooper’s 1975-78 work than any of the other featured material. Fantastic stuff, indeed.

‘What Baby Wants’ – a duet with Ke$ha – is a pop/rock number which makes good use of programmed and live drumming and a solid guitar riff. Cooper and Ke$ha sound great together, surprisingly, and their combined voices make the most of a catchy chorus. The autotune makes a return, but here it sounds more appropriate (although not better). It’s a great example of Cooper’s desire to always look to new avenues and never settle on the Alice Cooper sound. Similarly, who could have predicted that this time around, Cooper would choose to lend his rock chops to a number which contains elements of new country/country rock? That’s what he’s done on ‘I Gotta Get Out of Here’ – a reasonably enjoyable number with pleasing vocal arrangements and an equally pleasing, twangy guitar lead courtesy of Vince Gill. Both these tracks have great commercial potential, even if neither quite attains “classic Cooper” standard.

Closing this nightmare is one of the album’s other essential listens. ‘The Underture’ takes the original musical themes from 1975’s ‘Welcome To My Nightmare’ and presents them as a heavily orchestrated instrumental medley. The guitar leads are masterful, but no match for a full orchestra under the watchful eye of Bob Ezrin. Although ‘Welcome 2 My Nightmare’ has its share of enjoyable numbers, almost everything gets put to shame by this piece of music (sorry Alice, mate, but all you’ve achieved by sticking this on the end is remind everyone how much better the original ‘Nightmare’ was!). Once it’s finished, you have to ask, would it have been more interesting if Cooper and Ezrin released a reworking of the original album for rock band and orchestra, as opposed to constructing a sequel? Possibly.

Alice Cooper’s 1975 masterpiece ‘Welcome To My Nightmare’ is somewhat of a career defining album, so any sequel was always going to have a lot riding on it – and ultimately risk being inferior. Since this album mixes a few new ideas with hints of seventies nightmares past, while also drawing from the sounds of Alice’s MTV years and beyond, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Like Meat Loaf’s ‘Bat out of Hell II’ and Queensryche’s ‘Operation:Mindcrime II’, ‘Welcome 2 My Nightmare’ has some decent moments, but it’s never going to match that original release which inspired it’s creation. It’s most obvious weakness, though, isn’t necessarily the fault of too many bad songs (there are only two definite duds, after all); the potential weakness comes from the cut ‘n’ paste nature of the complete picture. There are different musicians appearing on different tracks, recorded at different times in different studios; the album just doesn’t flow, and as a result, doesn’t feel like a coherent concept album. Stylistically, with its similar construction and overall sound, 1976’s ‘Alice Cooper Goes To Hell’ always felt like a natural successor to ‘Welcome to My Nightmare’ – and even though we now have Alice Cooper’s vision of a genuine sequel, nothing changes that notion…

September 2011

TOMMY STINSON – One Man Mutiny

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one man mutinyTo those without a proper musical education, Tommy Stinson is the bassist with Guns N’ Roses. Everyone else will be aware of his cult legendary status as an ex-member of Minneapolis punk/alternative/college rock band The Replacements and live member of Soul Asylum. In addition, Stinson has recorded solo works and fronted a couple of cult bands. The Bash & Pop album ‘Friday Night Is Killing Me’ (released back in 1993) is essential listening, capturing Stinson’s post-Replacements brand of trashy rock at its finest.

There seems to be an unwritten rule for any musicians once associated with The Replacements, the rule being that most of their post-Replacements work contains a strong echo of that band (it’s even true for the four solo releases by drummer Chris Mars). Stinson’s second solo release, ‘One Man Mutiny’ is no different – and for longtime fans, does exactly what it says on the tin. Across ten songs, TS taps into a brand of rock which combines roots and Americana, but more often than not served up with a liberal bar-room swagger which would make Mick and Keef proud.

With its basic stomp and drawled vocals, ‘Don’t Deserve You’ comes across as particularly heavy handed (even for Stinson), but it’s given a timely lift by some top-notch lead work played in an angular fashion. Hardly Stinson’s finest hour, but it’s an improvement from then on. ‘It’s a Drag’ taps into Stinson’s beloved Rolling Stones fixation, with ‘Gimme Shelter’-esque rhythm guitars, aggressive slide and Stinson’s nasal vocals backed by female harmonies. This is why you’ve always loved Stinson, and although you’ve heard him churn out variants of this kind of thing time and again, it’s what you came looking for when you chose to check out ‘One Man Mutiny’. Since this kind of thing has been effective for Stinson for a couple of decades, there’s no reason for him to change.

With the almost wholly acoustic ‘Zero To Stupid’, Stinson taps into the psyche of former bandmate Paul Westerberg, with a sneering vocal across a country number which celebrates the inability to hold your drink. While the arrangement remains percussion-free throughout, an upfront bass does a great job at marking time, and while a few of the yodely vocals are a little unnecessary, the lapsteel accompaniment brings an element of class, albeit in a slightly inebriated style. The lapsteels carry over to ‘Match Made In Hell’, which is perkier all round thanks to some plinky-plunky ukulele sounds and glockenspiels. While Stinson doesn’t sound as at home here as he does churning out Stones homages, this is enjoyable enough, with his nasal voice well suited to the arrangement.

‘All This Way For Nothing’ also sounds different at first with a bouncy pop arrangement featuring prominent keys, though within a couple of bars, Stinson reverts to what he knows best: the slide guitars kick in and his drawling voice carries a rousing pop/rock number with a simple chorus. The hallmarks of a Replacements related recording are here in spades; if you’re a fan of that band and its various solo offshoots, this’ll grab you instantly. The jangling guitars which drive ‘Meant To Be’ and ‘Sieze The Moment’ are even further in keeping with the Replacements work circa ‘Don’t Tell A Soul’; even the vocal structures lends themselves to something which would have suited Paul Westerberg. You’ve heard it all before, so often in fact that no further elaboration needs be made; even so, in terms of well-rounded, well-written numbers, this pair represent ‘One Man Army’s real gems.

The title cut is a simple acoustic workout which was cut live in a hotel at 3am. After a false start, Stinson’s voice wavers as he stretches his voice and occasionally fudges lyrics as if they’re not quite complete. While not the best cut on the album, it’s raw, intimate nature brings the listener closer to the artist. Not a patch on Paul Westerberg’s similar work from his ‘Stereo’ disc, but it’s not without a certain rustic charm.

Although a little rootsier and more retrained than some of his previous works, Stinson is unlikely to win new converts with ‘One Man Army’. That said, it’s great that he’s returned to studio work and for his army of devoted followers, this release will be essential.

August 2011