After Mickey Thomas joined Jefferson Starship in 1979, they entered the most commercial phase of their career, with Thomas always seen as a key figure in pushing the band in a more pop direction (culminating in its Starship incarnation). It’s not entirely fair to blame Mickey Thomas for that, since he joined the band on the cusp of the new decade, and lots of bands turned rather more poppy in the 80s, so it likely would have happened to Jefferson Starship too, with or without the help of Mickey Thomas. Although all of a very 80s persuasion, some of his work with that band is great, however, with ‘Freedom at Point Zero (1979), ‘Knee Deep In The Hoopla (1985) and ‘No Protection’ (1987) all worth investigating.
Noel Gallagher to release two solo albums
Earlier this week, Noel Gallagher announced the title, tracklisting and release date for his eagerly awaited solo album.
‘Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ will be released on October 17th and feature the following tracks:
Everybody’s on the Run /Dream On / If I Had a Gun / The Death Of You And Me / (I Wanna Live in a Dream In My) Record Machine / AKA…What A Life! / Solider Boys and Jesus Freaks / AKA…Broken Arrow / (Stranded On) The Wrong Beach /Stop The Clocks
In more surprising news, Gallagher also announced he was working on a second album to be released in 2012. The currently unnamed project will be a collaboration with psychedelic duo Amorphous Androgynous (aka electronica duo Future Sound of London), who previously worked with Gallagher on a 22 minute remix of the Oasis track ‘Falling Down’.
METALLICA: Pro-shot footage from Sonisphere, Sweden 2011
While all ‘Big 4’ thrash bands have their place, Metallica have long outgrown Anthrax, Slayer and Megadeth in terms of worldwide popularity. Their commercial success arguably peaked with their self-titled 1991 black album, and they struggled to make consistently decent album for over a decade afterwards. With their post 1991 output barely represented in an epic-length performance, perhaps Metallica aren’t so sure of their late 90s/early 00’s work either. The absence of anything from the nasty ‘St Anger’ speaks for itself.
You can’t go far wrong with a Metallica performance that’s heavily weighted towards their 80s work and even though James Hetfield’s voice isn’t quite as edgy as it once was, this headline set broadcast on Swedish TV is no exception. Hit the lights…
SLAYER: Pro-shot footage from Sonisphere, Sweden 2011
In a weird parallel of Anthrax’s summer tour, Slayer too took the festival circuit without one of their key members. In this case, the band were forced to complete various dates without guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who became ill after contracting a flesh eating virus (which may have been caused by a poisonous spider bite, according to some sources). His place for this show (and various others) is taken by Exodus man Gary Holt. Hanneman, meanwhile has made a good recovery and even performed encores at a California show back in April.
Watch the complete Slayer set + pre-show interview with Tom Araya below:
MEGADETH: Pro-shot footage from Sonisphere, Sweden 2011
As the band with the closest links to Metallica with regards to the thrash metal ‘Big 4’ (with frontman Dave Mustaine being an ex-Metallica guitarist), in some ways they have the most to prove. Of the ‘Big 4’ thrash bands, they’ve arguably been the band with the most unstable line-up, with Megadeth at times seeming no more than “Mustaine + some blokes”. The reinstatement of former bassist David Ellefson in 2010 helped a little, but even so, as a band, they don’t have much of a public face.
This set from Sonisphere appears somewhat workmanlike, with the audience visibly unmoved at times. This isn’t helped by the vocals being too low in the mix. It’s a shame things didn’t work out better, since with regards to the ‘Big 4’, Megadeth have recorded some of the best songs. Their ‘Rust In Peace’ and ‘Countdown To Extinction albums, in particular, are on a par with Metallica’s best, and certainly far superior to most of Metallica’s 1991 output…