Pearl Jam's Backspacer

I haven't reviewed anything in a while, but this past week I have been listening to the newest release from one of my favorite bands, Pearl Jam. The new record, titled Backspacer, is the first since their self titled effort in 2006.

I didn't really embrace the 2006 disc, but I'm not sure if I didn't like it, or if I just didn't listen to it enough. Pearl Jam sometimes requires a few spins before it really starts to grow on me. I often go from liking to loving a lot of their music.

However, I found Backspacer to have more of an instant effect on me compared to any of Pearl Jam's other releases with the exception of some of their earliest efforts. The songs are a little more melodic and may be easier to take to for those who do not usually embrace alternative bands and perfer straight up rock and roll.

Having said that, I don't want to be misleading. This is still very much a Pearl Jam record and a great one at that. Eddie Vedder is unmistakable as always. He may be one of my favorite vocalists. I have always loved Eddie's haunting vocals on slower and, well, haunting Peal Jam tracks. There are a few of those on here too including Just Breathe and The End.

And of course there are plenty of straight up in your face rock tracks including a great opening number called Gonna See My Friend, as well as The Fixer, Supersonic and others. It's a very solid rock record that I enjoyed on the first listen that should also have some staying power with me too.

Grade A. Favorite tracks: Gonna See My Friend, Supersonic, Just Breathe.

As an aside, I have always listed my favorite tracks when reviewing a CD. I am not sure if I should do that because it often changes. However, the tracks listed are certainly those that are striking me as favorites at the moment.

Have a great week!!

CD Review: Manraze, Surreal

I have been curious about this one for a while and a couple of weeks ago I finally got around to picking it up. Manraze is a trio that features Phil Collen of Def Leppard, Simon Laffy (formerly of the 70’s band Girl, which also featured Collen) and Paul Cook (formerly of the Sex Pistols).

The three of these musicians, for the most part, offer us some straight up in-your-face rock and roll. Gone are the overproduced and slick sounds that we are accustomed to hearing from Phil Collen in Def Leppard, this is raw material. And although it’s all fine rock and roll, there are a variety of different styles and influences coming through here.

It opens fast and furious with a great track titled This Is It. From here it moves into the first single, another catchy rock and roll track called Turn It Up. Twenty years ago this would have likely been a huge hit. From here the track Runnin’ Me Up offers a bit of a reggae and groovy feel and it’s also a great song. The next track changes gears again and brings us a smoother pop song called Every Second of Every Day. And that’s what this album is like, different styles coming through on each track, but all in all, three guys giving us great music.

One of the things I like about this album the most is Phil Collen handling the lead vocals as well as lead guitar. He does a great job on both. As for Def Leppard, throughout the album there are times when comparisons can be made. Every now and again a chorus or Collen’s vocals are unmistakably ‘Def Leppard’ish’. But it’s only at times, and this is not Def Leppard 2. Manraze are playing their own sound, and as I said before, it’s far less produced than what would be heard on a Def Leppard album.

Overall, a very solid effort, and from what I have been gathering, it has been getting a lot of great reviews. I’ve always loved Def Leppard and hope to hear a few more albums from them. But I hope Phil Collen can also continue to find the time to do both, because I would love to hear more albums from Manraze too. Grade B+.

Favorite tracks: This Is It, Turn It Up, Skin Crawl, Runnin’ Me Up

They're baaack...

I could keep this review short and sweet by saying, simply put, this album kicks ass! But allow me to elaborate somewhat.

Metallica was the band that first turned me on to metal, and it was their album, And Justice For All, that really did it for me. This recording takes me back to those days. It’s all there, from James Hetfield’s guitar riffs, to Lars Ulrich’s unmistakable drums, all blended together into a collection well crafted epic metal masterpieces. In fact, a lot of these songs are hovering around the 8 minute mark or longer.

The album starts off with an awesome track, That Was Just Your Life. In true metal fashion it starts off with a slow guitar riff, but soon plunges full steam ahead and sets the tone for the rest of the ride. I could go into a detailed description of every song on this one, as they are all great.

I will briefly mention the track, Suicide and Redemption, a great instrumental track clocking in at over nine minutes! I’ve always loved it when bands throw in an instrumental number, and this one delivers!

I will also mention the first single from the record, The Day That Never Comes. I started to hear about this one prior to the album’s release and it has been compared to the song One from And Justice For All. Although I think One may always remain my favorite Metallica song, or one of my favorite songs period, I won’t dismiss The Day That Never Comes either. It is one of the album's ten great tracks!

One of my favorite tracks is All Nightmare Long. It’s another epic masterpiece that hits just under eight minutes. In fact, one of the things I love about this record is the length of the songs. Of the 10 songs here, only one song can be considered short, My Apocalypse, and is in the 5 minute range, but it’s also a decent track.

Metallica fell under a lot of critisim the last number of years, but I was never so hard on them. However, something about this new release just feels right, which makes some of their previous releases feel a bit wrong. On this album Metallica are back, as good, or better than they ever were before. Grade A+

Favorite tracks: The Day That Never Comes, Judas Kiss, All Nightmare Long, Suicide and Redemption

CD Review: Alice Cooper's Along Came a Spider

Alice Cooper is back with a brand new concept album titled Along Came a Spider. The concept here presents all songs from the point of view of a serial killer who goes by the name of Spider.

The biggest surprise I found after listening to this one a few times is how much I liked it. I didn’t really know what to expect here, I thought I would enjoy it on some level, but not nearly as much as I do. As I played this one through for the first time I thought, this is not bad, but I began to like it more and more after each listen.

Most of the songs are catchy, the guitars sound awesome, and I love the raw sounding drums as Alice’s scratchy voice takes us through the life of Spider. The whole the album has kind of a raw sound; nothing overproduced or too polished. It sounds like a young band on the verge of a great career. As usual, the theme of the concept album is secondary; this album sells itself to me on great rock and roll. However, for a concept album, the theme itself is mildly entertaining.

The album starts with a couple great tracks, I Know Where You Live and Vengeance is Mine, but it doesn’t slow down for me there, and in fact some of my favorite tracks come later in the disc. There are even a couple great ballads on here in the songs Killed by Love and Salvation.

I have tickets to see Alice perform live later this fall. I am sure his set will consist of mostly classics, but whatever he decides to give us from this latest release will be fine with me. Grade B+.

Favorite Tracks: Vengeance is Mine, (In Touch With) Your Feminine Side, Killed by Love, Salvation

Danko Jones' Never Too Loud Review

Canadian rockers Danko Jones are back with their newest release titled Never Too Loud. I was looking forward to this one, as I had come to like the sounds of this band over the last few years. For those who may be unfamiliar, they are a hard rock trio from Canada who formed in the mid 90’s and have been flirting with mid level success ever since. Their music is hard-hitting, no-nonsense and fun rock. They sing about girls, relationships, being on the road and are a great party band. Not a party band in the sense of Poison, but a party band with more of a heavier edge.

After playing their newest recording off and on for about a month now, I can now safely say that I am a little disappointed. The album starts off with some great tracks. Code of the Road, City Streets and Still in High School all work for me in typical Danko Jones’ fashion. The next track on the disc is a bit of a departure from the rest and is an acoustically driven upbeat fun song called Take Me Home, which I also enjoy. However, somewhere close to the middle of the record, I start to lose interest. The songs all kind of blend together for me and nothing stands out. They are mediocre tracks at best and I don’t see myself having the desire to play this one from start to finish anymore.

However, I still recommend checking this band out if you are unfamiliar with their music. Perhaps start with some of their previous releases, such as Sleep is the Enemy, We Sweat Blood or Born a Lion. And there are also at least a few tracks on this one worth checking out. Grade C+.

Favorite Tracks: Code of the Road, City Streets, Still in High School, Take Me Home

A couple of quick CD reviews: Foo Fighters and Sloan

The great music keeps rolling along. Here are two quick reviews of a couple albums I have been listening to this week.

Foo Fighters’ Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace was out in 2007. I didn’t get around to picking it up until a couple of months after its release, and didn’t get to give a few good start to end spins until a couple of months after that. What wasted time it was because this is one great record. The Foo Fighters continue to display their talents as musicians and songwriters, as well as their show off their diversity. The album has great melodic rockers, slow and mid tempo acoustic numbers and even some sultry piano. I can’t say there is a weak track on here. Grade A+

Favorite Tracks: The Pretender, Let it Die, Stranger Things Have Happened, Summers End, The Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners

Hailing from Canada’s east coast come alternative rockers Sloan. Not sure how many readers outside of Canada are aware of this band, but they have been recording and touring in the great white north since the early 90’s. Their most recent release is titled Parallel Play and simply put is one great fun summer record. There are many times during this album that I can picture 5 people in a convertible, swaying their heads back and forth in unison as they drive to the beach. But to clarify for those not familiar with their work, this is not the Beach Boys. This is for the most part uplifting alternative rock and roll. Grade B+.

Favorite Tracks: Believe in Me, Cheap Champagne, The Dogs, Living the Dream

Revelation and other Journey Memories

Journey is back with another new singer, a new album, and some old stuff repackaged and re-recorded all in a two CD set called Revelation. I never considered myself a big Journey fan. My memories of Journey mainly consist of a greatest hits cassette that one of my friends owned and insisted on playing in the car on a few college road trips, much to the dismay of the rest of us. Every time the cassette was inserted I used to shudder at the thought of hearing Don’t Stop Believing one more time. However, despite of this, there was a time or two we could have created one of those classic movie scenes where everyone breaks into song, similar to Bohemian Rhapsody in Wayne’s World or Elton John’s Tiny Dancer in Almost Famous. Picture five guys crammed into a Chevy Cavalier with bad moustaches and bad mullets wailing Don’t Stop Believing to the top of our lungs. I digress.

I am not sure if there is a lot of buzz about this latest Journey offering or not, but it seemed like everywhere I turned, I was reading something about the new album. Curiosity got the better of me and echoes of Don’t Stop Believing from days gone by would not stop running through my head, so I made the purchase. It contains a CD of brand new material and a second CD of all the old hits. But it’s just not the old hits digitally re-mastered and put into a new case, they actually went into the studio and re-recorded them all with their new lead singer, Arnel Pineda. Take that Steve Perry.

No mistake, the new material makes for a fun album. Listening to it made me feel like I was in the early to mid 80’s again. The guitars, keyboards and high-pitched vocals are all unmistakably Journey. There is a good mixture of upbeat tunes with the classic sounding Journey ballads. Towards the end of the disc, I find it starts to wear a little thin for me, but before it’s done there is an interesting instrumental track called The Journey (Revelation) that I like. If you are a fan of Journey, I don’t think you will be disappointed here.

The second CD contains all the songs that you would want to hear at a Journey concert, Don’t Stop Believing, Faithfully, Open Arms, Anyway You Want It, etc. In re-recording these hits they’ve stayed very true to the originals, but the sound quality has naturally improved and they have a bit of a fresh feel to them. Arnel Pineda does them all justice, and many times it sounds as if Steve Perry himself is still on vocals. It makes for another very fun disc.

Overall, a strong offering and it was better than what I ever expected it to be. This one will definitely get some playing time from me. I even attempted to serenade my wife in the car with the new version of Don’t Stop Believing in the background. Steve Perry or Arnel Pineda I was not, but at least my moustache and mullet are gone. I give the album a grade of a strong B.

Favorite Tracks: Never Walk Away, Like a Sunshower, Change for the Better, The Journey (Revelation) and yes…Don’t Stop Believing.

Life, Death, Love and Freedom by John Mellencamp

Wow!! That was my first reaction to this latest recording from John Mellencamp, Life, Death, Love and Freedom. I haven’t paid much attention to Mellencamp since I last owned The Lonesome Jubilee in the late 80’s. I’ve heard all the singles since, and some of the other songs, but never really embraced any of it. However, I was in the mood for something a little different, and picked up this one on a whim after reading the review over at Layla’s Classic Rock Faves.

This album is truly unique and if I had to pick only one word to describe it, it would be haunting. Gone are the pop radio friendly singles and what’s left is a folk rock collection of powerful, emotional and raw songs. The opening track, Longest Days, is a stripped down acoustic gem. It sets the somber and dark tone that follows right through to the end of the album. In some earlier posts I talked of my affection for Blue Rodeo and Neil Young. For the same reasons I like those artists, I like this recording. For the rest of the summer, it will be this CD that I listen to when I am sitting on the deck as dusk turns to dark and relinquish in the peacefulness of the quiet evenings that I enjoy so much this time of year.

If you are looking for something to put on at a party or have a sing-a-long to in the same vein as R.O.C.K in the USA, Jack and Diane, Pink Houses, or the many other popular Mellencamp tracks, then forget about this one. But if you want to sit back and be taken away in the melancholy of some great music and lyrics, then purchase this disc. For what it is, it is a near masterpiece. Grade A+

Favorite Tracks: Longest Days, Young Without Lovers, Jena, Mean

A Couple of Quick Judas Priest Reviews

Judas Priest has been back with Rob Halford on vocals now for some time. They have released two albums since his return, 2005’s Angel of Retribution and 2008’s Nostradamus. They are one of my favorite metal bands and here are my reviews of these most recent two efforts.


Angel of Retribution
It’s amazing to think with a body of work as impressive as Judas Priest that I could sit this disc, put out just over 30 years after their first, close to the top. This is classic Priest all the way. It opens with a killer first track, Judas Rising, and it pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the ride through. The double kick on the drums, crushing guitars and Halford’s screams are all there. Track two, Deal with the Devil, is just as heavy but a little more melodic in nature and is one of my favorites. But it doesn’t stop there, pick any track on this one, and I can say something good about it. It does end with an odd number, a long epic song about the Lochness Monster. There is an excellent mid-tempo track called Worth Fighting For and a slow acoustic song called Angel. They all work. If you like Judas Priest, I feel confident in saying you will love Angel of Retribution. Grade A+.

Favorite Tracks: Judas Rising, Deal With the Devil, Worth Fighting For, Revolution, Angel

Nostradamus
Nostradamus is a monstrous piece of work. A two CD set concept album based on the life of the prophet Nostradamus. Every time I hear of an upcoming concept album I get excited, but I’m not sure why. I always end up caring very little about whatever the concept is and simply enjoying or disliking the music, just as I would with any other record.

Nostradamus has that usual effect of a concept album on me and I find myself paying little attention to the theme at all. However, this album is still a great accomplishment. With two CDs of mostly strong songs you shouldn’t be disappointed. However, be warned if you enjoy the heavy stuff, this one is a little more mellow, and it is a different Priest album for sure. Make no mistake, this is still metal, it is still Priest, but there are more of the heavy thumping mid-tempo tracks and slower songs throughout. Overall, I enjoy Nostradamus, but not near as much as their previous release. The concept doesn’t work for me, but the music in most places does. The first disc in this set is the stronger and my favorite tracks are listed below. Grade B.

Favorite Tracks: Prophecy, Revelations, War, Visions, Conquest

Runnin' Wild in the Summer

The last few days I’ve been playing Airbourne’s Runnin’ Wild CD in my car. This may prove to be a bit of a mistake during the summer months, as my foot tends to fall a little too hard on the accelerator when listening. It’s just that kind of disc. Turn it on, turn it up, and try to take your time – it will be difficult when listing to Runnin’ Wild. Hailing from Australia, Airborne offer us sounds of much needed no nonsense hard-hitting rock and roll. Running Wild is a fantastic listen from start to finish.

There are going to be obvious comparisons to ACDC. The raspy voice of lead vocalist Joel O’Keefe, the catchy guitar riffs and even the solos sound “ACDC’ish”. Despite of this, it still sounds fresh to me. There isn’t a ballad or mid tempo track on the album, it’s one ear catchy hard rocker after another. If there is one criticism of the album, it is just that, the band starts to sound a bit like a one trick pony. But hey, it works for ACDC, and I love the sound of this band, and I love this album. Grade A.

I look forward to hearing future albums from Airbourne and hope their success and following continues to grow in North America.

Favorite Tracks: Stand Up for Rock and Roll, Runnin’ Wild, Diamond in the Rough, Fat City

Motely Crue's Saints of Los Angles

The Crue are back with a band new album and tour to boot. I have given the entire CD a few complete listens now and my first thoughts are the bad boys of rock have put out a decent recording, but not a classic Crue album by any means. The album is titled Saints of Los Angles, and most of the songs have recognizable themes to match this name. There are typical Crue lyrics to keep their image in tact from “I’d rather be face down in the dirt with a bullet in my head” to “This ain’t no love song, this is a f*** song”.

The album does not contain any fist pumping, head banging anthems, as Motley Crue have been famous for over the years. However, there are also no songs here that stand out as very weak either. For me, it plays as a collection of mediocre songs. It is heavy, for which I will give credit to the band, and there is no attempt at obvious commercialization here.

However, I still feel after another few plays, this one may not find its way back to my CD player very often. Decent, but not super. Grade B - .

I am going to miss Motley Crue’s performance in Toronto this summer by about two weeks, which disappoints me. Any readers have plans to see them this summer, or have done so already? If so, drop me a line.

Poison's Latest Release Disappoints

Poison, one the 80s best party bands, offers up 13 cover tunes on their latest release, Poison’D. I must admit, when I heard about this project I was looking forward to it, but unfortunately it disappoints. A couple of years ago Def Leppard also released a cover album titled Yeah. This record offered a collection of mostly slightly obscure cover songs and was not one cliché after another. The songs sounded great and the album was pleasantly fresh and exciting. Poison’s attempt brings forth the opposite affect.

The songs here sound nothing better than a cover band on a Saturday night in a small town bar. The selections consist of mostly already overplayed clichés such as Little Willy, What I Like About You, Just What I Needed and Squeeze Box. Again, maybe it’s just personal taste and circumstances talking here, because I’ve heard the aforementioned songs, and others on this album, belted out many a night in a smokey nightclub, during a string of summers working in a small Canadian town.

I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Poison, because back in their prime, I was also in mine, and partied to their music often. Unfortunately, I have nothing really good to say about this recording. I give it a D.

This is a band I would love to see perform live and I am guessing still put off a very fun show. I would love to hear from anyone who has seen them in the last couple of years and what your thoughts were on the experience. Drop me a line if you have.

Songs from the Sparkle Lounge and other Def Leppard thoughts

For years now Def Leppard fans have been waiting for “the album”, as in a return the pop/rock melodies and harmonies that made them for a while, arguably the biggest band in the world. Songs from the Sparkle Lounge may be it, or as close to it as fans will ever get. In many cases bands that have sold as many albums as Def Leppard, have at least one or two albums that defined them, and although they have created strong material since, have never fully matched those signature recordings. In Def Leppard’s case fans will never get another Hysteria or Pyromania, but Songs from the Sparkle Lounge offers a collection of melody drive rock songs that will surely have some lasting stay in your CD player, IPOD or MP3 player.

The album starts with one of the stronger tracks, Go and then leads in the commercial pop driven sounds of the first single, Nine Lives, featuring country recording artist Tim Mcgraw. From here the album offers the second single and another catchy tune called C’mon, C’mon. This album certainly won’t give us 7 singles as Hysteria did, but after track three I continued to find a collection of songs that I liked more and more with each listen. Many of them have catchy choruses, Def Leppard harmonies, and an odd sound bite here and there as we heard on some tracks back in the Hysteria days (Rocket, Love Bites, Gods of War). This album gives us just one ballad, a song called Love. After many listens through the Sparkle Lounge, this is the one track that doesn’t work for me, and I now find myself skipping that one track only. The song does go into some interesting directions, almost epic in places. I’ve heard it compared to Queen and the similarities are definitely there. But whatever reason for me, it is my least favourite.

Another strong point from this latest Def Leppard offering is as I am listening, I can hear the band performing these songs live and really selling them. I hope on their current tour they offer a few tracks from the Sparkle Lounge, because many of these songs would definitely lend themselves well to a concert performance. One thing Def Leppard always had going for them is the ability to put off a great live show. I’ve only had the opportunity to see them once back on the Seven Day Weekend Tour, supporting the Adrenalize album. But from reviews I have read over the years, even some of the band’s critics have a difficult time knocking their live show.

Def Leppard have put out some decent albums in the past few years. I thought X was decent, and Yeah, although all covers, was an awesome listen. Excluding Yeah from the list, and ranking Def Leppard albums comprised of original material, I place Songs from the Sparkle Lounge in 4th in my list of favorites as follows: Hysteria, Pyromania (very close second), High and Dry, Songs from the Sparkle Lounge. As a grade I give Songs from the Sparkle Lounge a strong B+.

I will be getting the opportunity to see Def Leppard live again later this summer and will post my thoughts on the show here. That same show will also feature Billy Idol as the supporting act, another who I am very curious to see perform and will also offer my opinions for you all.

Great Music Found on Bon Jovi’s Lost Highway

Dare I say best Bon Jovi album ever. No. But I must admit, that after the first listen I was leaning in that direction. This is a very strong offering from the band, and certainly their strongest effort in the last 10 years or more. The band is to be credited with staying in the spotlight, evolving and yet staying true to themselves. And this album is an excellent representation of that. There is unquestionably a matured sound, but it is still Bon Jovi. I always admire when a band can pull off this feat.

The one thing that brought this album down for me was the overall mellow feel it has after a few listens, which is why I quickly changed my “best Bon Jovi album ever” thoughts. This is just personal taste however, and although the songs are strong, and there are upbeat tracks, I would prefer an overall livelier feel.

The album opens with the strong first single, Lost Highway, and then moves into one of the best Bon Jovi songs recorded in a long time, Summertime. It is an upbeat feel good rocker that is sure to get you tapping your feet. I hope this one remains part of their set list. It would also make a great single and video, but unfortunately I am guessing we may be treated to a string of ballads to hit the airwaves and video channels. I have never been a big fan of Bon Jovi’s ballads, not even back in the Slippery When Wet and New Jersey days. Lost Highway has plenty of them, and it is why the album will not rank up with Slippery or New Jersey for me.

However, this is personal taste only, and this is still most definitely a fantastic record. I am giving it a grade of B, but I am sure there are many who will score it higher. I think by giving us strong recordings and great live shows, Bon Jovi has shown no signs of slowing down and are to be commended for it. I suspect they will be around for many years to come.

Favourite Tracks: Lost Highway, Summertime, Whole Lot of Leavin’, Any Other Day.