At the beginning of the 90s, it seemed almost impossible to watch MTV’s ‘Headbanger’s Ball’ or listen to the BBC Friday Rock Show with Tommy Vance (RIP) without encountering Ugly Kid Joe. Their best-known singles ‘Everything About You’, ‘Neighbour’ and ‘Cats In The Cradle’ were huge. Despite such success, the band’s time in the sun was relatively short-lived. By the time of their fourth studio release, 1996’s ‘Motel California’, the media were indifferent at best and even though some fans praised that disc, the band’s glory days seemed so distant. How fickle the finger of fame.
Tag Archives: hard rock
Ugly Kid Joe: UK autumn tour dates
After being available as an import for a year, Ugly Kid Joe’s 2012 comeback release ‘Stairway To Hell’ is finally getting a UK release in October 2013. The new version of the release will also include a full-length DVD featuring a making of segment, two previously unavailable video clips and footage from the band’s appearance at the 2012 Download Festival.
FRANK PALANGI – I Am Ready EP
At the beginning of this second EP by New Yorker Frank Palangi, the music ambles a little, while his voice – subject to some slight filtering – fills the space. If you’d never heard Palangi before, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d stumbled upon yet another US rock/pop singer-songwriter, especially with the choice of sleeve art…
GIUNTINI PROJECT – IV
Tony ‘The Cat’ Martin rarely gets any credit for his time in Black Sabbath between 1987-90/1993-97. That’s a pity, since he always did his absolute best with the given material, while tackling a job that – in rock terms – was the epitome of “dead man’s shoes”. Maybe those six studio records would now be better respected if they’d been issued under a different band name? We’ll never really know for sure. In many ways, this fourth release from Italian guitar maestro Aldo Giuntini – the third to feature Martin – is similar to those largely unloved Sabbath records in that many of the tunes come at a stomping mid-pace with a gritty guitar sound – perfect in many ways for Martin’s vocal range. While it’s a record with no real relevance at the time of its release [and certainly a far cry from the “breath of fresh air” promised in the press materials – what were they thinking?], it certainly would be unfair to suggest that ‘IV’ doesn’t have a good stab at providing some old school entertainment.
WHITESNAKE – Made In Britain/The World Record
During Whitesnake’s 2013 co-headlining tour with Journey, the band were sloppy. Guitarists Reb Beach and Doug Aldrich bought a fair amount of weight to the live sound, but their constant gurning was a little embarrassing. Not as embarrassing as the vocal performance from David Coverdale, however, who – at least during their London show – failed to hit any big notes anywhere near in tune. During most of the ‘Forevermore’ songs he sounded like Cookie Monster, while on the squealier material (such as ‘Still of the Night’) hearing his cracked voice constantly struggling was just painful beyond belief. Thankfully, drummer Tommy Aldridge was an absolute powerhouse performer throughout; but despite previous claims made by Phil Collins that a bad band with a good drummer would still sound good, watching this once great band falter and fumble, you’d surely have to disagree.