Sammy Hagar - Sammy Hagar & Friends

Sammy Hagar, aka the Red Rocker, has had a long and storied career outside of Van Halen playing with numerous and various musicians along the way.  In 2013, he released a collection of songs with some of these friends.  Of the nine studio tracks, there are three originals and six cover songs.  The album reunites Sammy with his former Montrose bandmates Denny Carmassi and Bill Church on three tracks.  Sammy does a cover of Bob Seger's "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" with his backing band The Waboritas.  The most impressive cover song is his interpretation of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus".  Sammy is playing along with Chad Smith (Chickenfoot), Michael Anthony (Van Halen/The Circle) and Neal Schon, who Sammy played along with in Hagar Schon Aaronson and Shrieve in 1984.  They recorded a live album and played a few shows in San Francisco but a planned studio album never materialized.  On "Personal Jesus", the song is converted from the techno original into a "Bluesy" romp complete with background singers who provide the extra soul and depth to the song.  The guitar work by Neal Schon is exceptional and the solo fits in perfectly as if it was originally part of the song.  The album is rounded out by two live tracks taken from a Ronnie Montrose tribute concert from 2012.  The two tracks again feature his former Montrose bandmates Denny Carmassi and Bill Church who are joined by virtuoso Joe Satriani.  This album like most recent Sammy Hagar solo work sets a tone and mood which would go perfectly with an ice cold beer and relaxing chair to back an enjoy.

RUSH - Hold Your Fire

September 9th also happens to be the 30th anniversary of Hold Your Fire the 12th studio album by RUSH and the fourth album in the "third chapter" of RUSH.  I have to admit that Hold Your Fire is my least favorite RUSH album and their weakest output in their entire career.  The album itself followed the same production formula as Power Windows.  It had Peter Collins producing again, engineered by Jimbo Barton, recorded in England and Montserrat but the results were vastly different.  While Alex mentioned in "Beyond the Lighted Stage" that Power Windows was the album that lacked guitars and brought their sound more "to the middle" and almost easy listening, in my opinion that analysis is really designated for Hold Your Fire.  During the recording of Power Windows, Geddy switched to Wal basses from Rickenbacker and Fender and Alex started using Paul Reed Signature (PRS) guitars instead of Gibson or Fender as his primary instrument.  The greatest switch was done by The Professor himself which saw him, after an extensive search, change his drums from the Tama Artstars to Ludwig Super Classics.  The Ludwigs had a flatter tonality than the Tamas and he also switched from open end tom-tom's to closed-end but the most striking change was the color.  He had moved away from the candy apple red to opalescent white with sparkles and a hint of pink.  Blah.  Hold Your Fire was written with the fact that Compact Disks were the dominant media instead of LP's or cassettes, so they had 78 minutes "to play with" so Hold Your Fire is the first RUSH album with more than eight songs.  As for the songs, "Force Ten" opens the album on a strong note and is a better song live than on the record.  Over the years, RUSH has "beefed up" the song and have made it better overall.  The second single "Time Stand Still" was the first to feature a guest singer, Aimee Mann.  The song is not quite a duet but her excellent vocals do highlight throughout the chorus and there is vocal interplay within the chorus and verses.  After these songs, the rest of the album declines on a slope of mediocrity.  Open Secrets just seems to meander and never build any momentum.  Second Nature is a sugary ballad that does not inspire the listener because the song does not sound inspiring.  Prime Mover starts off showing "signs of life" but quickly falls off into Alex playing monotonous notes before any chords, again the song does not seem to go anywhere and quickly you are hitting the next song button.  Lock and Key makes you okay now we are getting somewhere only to be disappointed with the fact the only "action" is in the chorus and a 30-second guitar solo.  Mission, like Force Ten, came across as a better song live than on the album and while it suffers from the same sins as the early songs because it works well live, it is the third best song on the album.  Turn the Page also starts out strong but quickly fades as the keyboards/synthesizers dominate the song and put Alex is back of everything.  The last two songs are hardly worth mentioning other than Tai Shan is simply the worst song RUSH has ever written.  I understand that it was inspired by Neal Peart's trip to China but the song itself is more appropriate for a Peter Gabriel album than RUSH.  As for High Water, it follows the same rhythmic formula as Mystic Rhythms but lacks that vibrance and energy that the latter has.  Even the album art work was uninspiring especially in comparison to the three most recent albums art work.  I have read online that Hold Your Fire is a favorite for a great many fans but I always come away thinking "what am I missing"?  At the end of the day, even though the album is weak, I still saw RUSH three times on that tour and love each or every show.

While Signals, who shares the same release date, has aged very well.  I can not say the same thing about Hold Your Fire.

RUSH - Signals

Signals was released 35 years ago today and cemented in the "keyboard era" for RUSH.  Some might disagree and say that Signals was the beginning but if you go back and listen to Moving Pictures, you will hear the prevalence of keyboards throughout. Signals also had the unenviable task of being the follow up to the monster Moving Pictures which catapulted RUSH into super stardom.  To create that buffer between studio albums, RUSH released Exit...Stage Left towards the end of 1981.  Once released, Subdivisions became an instant classic and the video highlighting division and isolation within a high school setting had regular play on Mtv.  The next three songs "The Analog Kid", "Chemistry" and "Digital Man" can be seen as a metaphor for RUSH's transition as a band going and growing from a power trio of guitar/bass/drums into the coming digital age with the addition of keyboards/synthesizers/electronics.  The Analog Kid has been played on and off on recent tours, Chemistry was only played on the Signals tour and Digital Man was resurrected on the Snakes and Arrows Tour.  Side Two of the album, "The Weapon (Part 2 of the Fear Trilogy)", "New World Man", "Losing It" and "Countdown" were as strong, if not, stronger than the first side of the album.   In 1994, when Mobile Fidelity re-issued Signals on it's Ultragold format from "Original Master Recordings" it omitted the last verse from "The Weapon" which created some controversy.  The band said that Mobile Fidelity did not use the original masters because RUSH does not/did not record "alternate versions" of any songs but the label stood by the recording.  New World Man became another radio staple and could claim to be the only "hit single" RUSH has ever written.  While a collection of 5/6 songs are played regularly on radio, New World Man is the only RUSH songs written with "radio friendly" synthesizer opening, guitar hooks and clocks in at 3:43 which is a station programmers dream.  Losing It is the first RUSH song to have a guest player on it.  The violin solo was played by Ben Mink, Geddy Lee's close friend and member of FM.  Losing It has the distinction of having no bass lines written for the song.  All of the bass was played on keyboards and when RUSH added the song to the R40 tour, Geddy Lee commented how he had to go back and write in the bass to the song.  When RUSH did play Losing It, it gave Signals the compliment by being the only RUSH album other than Moving Pictures to be played in its entirety.  One could argue that they played all of Hemispheres on that particular tour but it is unknown if they played Hemispheres (Cygnus Book II) in total.  The last song, "Countdown" highlights the launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia of which the band were guests to watch.  Excerpts of mission control's countdown and the shuttle's lift off interplay with the song and the line by one of the astronauts can heard saying "we have enjoyed the music Bob...thank you" and the song would be used on later shuttle mission as a "wake up" song to the crew.

What can be said definitively on this 35th birthday of Signals, is that it has aged very well.

Cheap Trick - The Latest

If a band is lucky enough to enter their third or even fourth decade, they are usually on one of the following trajectories; one primary member remaining touring under the band name and consistently touring while playing the "greatest hits".  Two, enlist a new singer who sounds a lot like the singer that made them popular or a band with largely current members who crank out either sub-par new material or release an album of cover tunes just to keep the band relevant.  A band which, as of 2008, bucked this trend was Cheap Trick.  Cheap Trick was relevant in the 70's with a slew of hits and a popular "Live at Budokan" release.  In the 80's, they released successive albums which had a radio ready singles with kept them on the air and drove record sales.  They reached the pinnacle in 1988 with the release of the "The Flame" which received regular rotation on Mtv but also welcomed the return of original bassist, Tom Petersson, which provide creative spark.  Unfortunately, the 90's brought on grunge and musical tasted changed drastically.  From 1990 to 2003, Cheap Trick released a string of albums which garnered little to no attention other than 1997's release (Cheap Trick) which had the notoriety of having their record label go bankrupt at the same time of the album's release.  The early 2000's Cheap Trick had a hit with the opening theme song for "That's 70's Show" but it did not translate to the release of new material.  The bands fortunes changed in 2006 with the release of "Rockford" and culminated in 2008 with the release of "The Latest" where they were putting out great songs regardless if radio noticed or not.  "The Latest", in my opinion, is the strongest release by the band since their first four albums which elevated the band to superstar status.  From the opening of "Sleep Forever" the continued strength of Robin Zander's legendary voice was apparent.  The next three songs "When The Lights Are Out", "Miss Tomorrow" and "Sick Man of Europe" give continued credence that Cheap Trick are the heir to The Beatles pop sensibilities but with a harder more guitar-focused edge.  And like all good pop songs, the longest song clocks in at 4:16 which fits within radio formats.  "Miracle" is the traditional pop ballad but still rocks.  Unfortunately, it is also the last album to include Bun E. Carlos as a member of the band because his drumming is a highlight and you realize that there is a lot more to his drumming and his sense of rhythm and timing then just being the "guy with the cigarette hanging from his mouth".  By the end of the album, the listener comes away realizing that this veteran rock band put together a kick ass collection of material which should have been celebrated and praised by everyone in the music/radio industry and not just by their fans.  

Chickenfoot - Chickenfoot

Released in 2009, Chickenfoot is the "super group" of Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony and Chad Smith.  From the opening notes of "Avenida Revolucion" I knew that this album was going to be a monster but it also made me realize two other things.  First, since the group is comprised of half of Van Halen (Hagar) that this disc should have been what the next VH album should have been with Sammy as the singer.  Second, while Eddie Van Halen is and was a groundbreaking guitarist in the late 70's and early 80's, it is clear that he has been surpassed in that department and the music for Van Halen was written to highlight his excellence and not for the betterment of the group.  Throughout the Chickenfoot album, it is clear that Michael Anthony is a better bass player than what was presented from his Van Halen days and that can be traced back to Joe Satriani.  Joe can easily write an instrumental with guitar solos that will go for the jugular like "One Big Rush" but this album shows he can do that and write as an equal for the group as well.  My favorite track on the CD is "Get It Up" which combines all of the elements mentioned along a great guitar hook.  The disc also highlights that Chad Smith is an excellent hard rock drummer.  He brings elements from Red Hot Chili Peppers but then takes it to another level.  The CD was re-released in 2012 with a bonus studio track "Bitten by the Wolf" and four live tracks which originally released on the Europe-only Chickenfoot LV.  The album is a must-have for a music enthusiastic collection.

RIP - Walter Becker

Walter Becker, guitarist/bassist/songwriter, of Steely Dan passed away this morning at age of 67.  He and Donald Fagen wrote numerous classic songs including "Hey Nineteen", "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" and "Aja".  The duo utilized a collection of superior studio musicians in crafting their early albums and did not tour.  Steely Dan initially disbanded in 1982 after they released their "Aja" album.  Walter would re-join his Steely Dan bandmate on his subsequent solo albums and the band reformed to release two new Steely Dan albums in 2000 and 2003.  They also regularly toured throughout the years.  Steely Dan recently played the Classic East and Classic West festivals without Walter due to an undisclosed illness.

John Petrucci - Suspended Animation

I have to admit that I was late to join in on the excellence is Dream Theater.  My first, and favorite DT album, is "A Dramatic Turn of Events" and from that moment I was hooked.  I actually first heard John Petrucci as a solo artist as part of the G3 tour with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai on the subsequent CD release from the tour in 2009 even though his solo album was released in 2005.  The CD, which is currently out of print, highlights John's heavy metal/prog prowess that is present in Dream Theater but the CD also shows off his "softer side" on Wishful Thinking which if it had lyrics added could have easily been a "power-ballad".  Of the nine tracks on the CD, the average length clocks in at just over 7 minutes with the shortest timing in at under 5 minutes and the penultimate piece an eleven and a half minute exercise.  All in all, the album has the right mix of tempo, melody and guitar virtuosity desiring more.

ZZ Top - Texicali

This 4-song EP was ZZ Top's first release in nine years since 2003's release of Mescalero and is the first four songs of La Futura which would be released later in 2012.  It is comprised of three deep-blues tunes "Gotsta Get Paid", "Charteuse", and "Consumption", as well as, a ballad 'Over You".  Texicali continues the "Texas blues" style of stripped down guitar, bass and drums which is what the band built upon in the 1970's and early 1980's and is a stark contrast to the mid-1980's songs which made them a Mtv staple.  The MP-3 can be purchased here: ZZ Top - Texicali

RIP - David Bowie

The sad news that David Bowie had passed away at the age of 69 was reported this morning after an 18 month battle with cancer.  His latest and last album, Blackstar, was released on Friday which was also David's 69th birthday.  David Bowie was one of the few artists that over a long and distinguished career had "multiple personalities" and released music that he wanted everyone to hear whether it be the early 70's psychedelic, the Ziggy Stardust period, the Berlin years, the 80's pop, Tin Machine or '90's industrial. He also worked with Iggy Pop, wrote Mott the Hoople's greatest hit "All The Young Dudes and co-wrote one of Queen's most popular songs and sang with Freddie Mercury on "Under Pressure".  David Bowie was an extraordinary talents.  He will be missed.

I will review Blackstar at a later date.

Enter...Stage Right

As it is now 2016, I thought it was time to restart the Music Corner.  Over the past 5 years, I have listened to my entire collection, from 2011 to 2013, one time through.  Afterwards, I decided that it was time to digitize the entire collection.  At the same time, I discovered two great new sources for music.  The first being the public library.  I figured since my taxes go towards the funding of the library, why not make use of it.  What I found was not only a vast collection of new and recent titles but a significant number of back catalog and out of print titles which are not available on iTunes or Google Music, etc.  The second discovery was Freegal Music www.freegalmusic.com which is also available through your public library.  Freegal Music has the entire the Columbia.Sony catalog and other labels (Shrapnel, Frontiers, RCA, Arista) which either are owned by Columbia/Sony or distribute through them.  So, if you have the patience to download 5-6 songs per week, the albums and artists available are truly amazing.

Here are a few titles which I downloaded recently;

My tastes in music have always been eclectic but I still do not like Country Music.  Going forward the Music Corner will have not only reviews but select few of my recent downloads and current total of titles available in the Music Corner.
Since the time I started to digitize my collection, it has grown from approximately 900 to just under 4200.  So, stay tuned...

Queen - Greatest Hits and Classic Queen

A couple of months ago, I made the decision to start going back through my collection of music that I have accumulated over the years and actually begin listening to it.  I know that it is a novel concept but with the pathetic state of FM Radio these days and realizing that there is only so much of "Mike and Mike in the Morning" that you can listen to on the iPhone, I opened up the proverbial vault and begun digging in.  I choose to begin with Queen due my kids wanting to hear the "mama mia; mama mia" song and thankful they were not talking about ABBA.  In the 1990's when artists were converting their catalogs onto CD, Queen's catalog and especially their Greatest Hits were noticeable absent due to the fact that they had no US label to release any albums.  Queens' Greatest Hits which originally came out on record and cassette in 1981 was one of the top selling Greatest Hits albums but was only available as a pricey import  from the UK.  In 1991, they signed with up Disney's Hollywood Records and now had distribution in the US.  The two albums were released after Freddie Mercury's death and Hollywood Records split off Bohemian Rhapsody from the UK version of Greatest Hits and released "Classic Queen" first.  Besides Bohemian Rhapsody, Classic Queen concentrated primarily upon the songs that were released in the 1980's through 1991 and mixed in a few older songs "Stone Cold Crazy", "Keep Yourself Alive" and "Tie Your Mother Down" for good measure.  If Classic Queen showed anything it was that Queen has the ability to write and construct great songs which should have received airplay in the US.  In the early 80's, Queen achieved unparalleled success with "Another One Bites the Dust" by crossing over to R&B stations.  Whether it was this crossover or Queen's abandonment of rock oriented music (see Flash Gordon soundtrack and Hot Space) that led to Queen's decline in the US, songs like "Hammer to Fall" from The Works,  "A Kind of Magic", "One Vision" from the Iron Eagle soundtrack, "I Want it All" from The Miracle or  "Headlong" from Innuendo should have mustered greater airplay than they did.  Innuendo was released by Hollywood Records and Queen did see the beginnings of a resurgence in the US thanks to a outstanding album and for being prominently included in the "Wayne's World" movie and soundtrack.  Unfortunately, Freddie Mercury's death in November 1991 ended any comeback that Queen was mounting.  The Greatest Hits album was released second and contained the remaining songs from the UK Greatest Hits and added newer songs "Body Language", "Don't Stop Me Now, and "I Want to Break Free".  Between the two compilations the only song that should not be included is "Body Language".  "Body Language" is not only a bad song but the only without any discernible guitar, acoustic drums or bass, it does not qualify as a Queen song.  Otherwise, the album is flawless showing off Queen's hit making ability without "selling out" their sound.  Both disks are a good appetizer to Queen's full menu and should be an introduction to some of their best albums; Night at the Opera, Day at the Races, News of the World and The Game, just to name a few.  Since Freddie's passing, the Queen catalog has been remastered and suffered through the release of multitude of greatest hits compilations.  Queen - Classic Queen is out of print and has been reconfigured into "Greatest Hits II".  If you are searching for an introduction to one of the innovative bands in recent history, I would strongly recommend these two albums, Queen - Greatest Hits and Queen - Greatest Hits II as a beginning point into an outstanding catalog of music.

'Til Tuesday - Welcome Home

In 1985, 'Til Tuesday were a band that were quickly rising to the levels of stardom that most bands hoped for.  The title track from "Voices Carry" was receiving solid rotation on the radio (102.7 WNEW), the video for the emponymous track was part of the Mtv (remember when they played music) regular video play list and they were opening for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers on their "Pack Up The Plantation" tour.  The stars and planets seemed aligned for Aimee Mann & Co.  They released their second single "Love in a Vacuum" which did not garner the same attention as "Voices Carry" and shortly thereafter the music industry moved on.  This is where the tradegy begins for 'Til Tuesday.  While a large number of groups/performers have huge breakout success with their debut releases and then hit that proverbial "sophomore slump" both commerically and creatively.  'Til Tuesday's second release "Welcome Home" shows remarkable growth musically by the band and lyrically from Aimee Mann.  Add to this top notch production by Rhett Davies, "Welcome Home" should have solidified 'Til Tuesday's position as a group worth listening to and their musical careers.  From the opening track "What About Love", you immediately hear the pain and angst in her voice as she strains to sing "What about Love/What about making room for two/What about love,baby/What about you".  As with most of Aimee's songs, they take on an autobiographical tone.  On the opening track, the guitar playing of Robert Holmes is more prevelant than at any point on "Voices Carry".  The lush keyboard textures that Joey Pesce add enhance and do not overpower.  "Coming Up Close"  should have been the song that put 'Til Tuesday over the top instead of being largely ignored.  The next four tracks; On Sunday, Will She Just Fall Down, David Denies and Lovers' Day are probably the best songs that Aimee Mann and company had written to date.  To me, David Denies is the best track on the CD.  It has a power that had not been performed on any 'til Tuesday track previously but did not loose the sense of yearning and heartbreak that Aimee communicates.  The remaining tracks; Have Mercy, Sleeping and Waking, Angels Never Call and No One is Watching You Now round out the album well.  While the songs do not have the power and intensity of the first six tracks they do well on their own merit.  Aimee Mann is the type of singer and performer in the same mold as Chrissie Hynde when the Pretenders first hit the scene, she did her type of music because it pleased her and whether anyone liked it or not did not matter.  It was up to you get a board.  This CD is one of my 10 desert island discs and should be one of yours as well.  'Til Tuesday - Welcome Home

Emerson, Lake & Powell

This was supposed to be the Emerson, Lake and Palmer reunion album but due to Carl Palmer's commitment/obligation to ASIA, Cozy Powell sat in on drums (with Carl's blessing).  From the first track, The Score, it is evident that Cozy Powell is not Carl Palmer and to a large degree that is a good thing.  Cozy Powell was a traditional hard rock drummer having played with Rainbow and Deep Purple to name a few bands and he brings a new found energy that had been lacking on the last recordings (Works Vol.1 & 2, Love Beach) before they had broke up.  Also, while I conisider Carl Palmer a good drummer, I have found after listening to ELP, Asia and few other recordings of his, that he has difficulty keeping simple 4/4 or even 3/4 time.  Sometimes the ability to keep it simple is the best method.  The first five tracks, The Score, Learning to Fly, Miracle, Touch & Go (only song to get any radio play) and Love Blind are fast paced, prog rock mixed with hard rock drumming listening that make you not realize that couple of songs are 9 and 7 minutes long.  Unfortunately, it is the last three tracks; Step Aside, LayDown Your Guns and Mars, The Bringer of War, where the wheels fall off.  Step Aside is a jazz tinged number with Cozy Powell playing the brushes on the drums and he sound out of his element which in my opinion he was.  Lay Down Your Guns just plods along and when the song is over, you are thankful it is.  Finally, Mars, the Bringer of War is actually a remake and was first done by King Crimson in the early 1970's which Greg Lake was a part of.  The song is prog rock at its glory, it is bombastic, over the top and complex to it is core.  My CD version has two extra tracks; The Loco-Motion, a remake of the 1960's tune which was first destoyed by Kylie Minogue and does not offer anything special here.  The other track is an outtake, Vacant Possession, which is a good song but understandable why it was left off the record.  So why buy this CD?  In truth, you don't need to like every song on a disc to own it.  As I mentioned, the first five tracks are great and I would bet that anyone familiar with Touch and Go can have the opening keyboard sequence play in their head as you read this.  The disc can be purchased here: Emerson, Lake and Powell

New Beginning

After taking 2010 off, it is time to revive the Music Corner.  Stay tuned for a new layout, format and reviews of obscure and current music.  The Czar