Ruminations - May 13, 2013 (2)
by Stephanie Sollow




Some more commentary to share (see part 1)... this from the first volume I compiled in July 1992:

"The Unforgiven" - Metallica - Metallica: Speaking of those current kings of Heavy/Speed Metal, Metallica are represented by four tracks (and trust me on this, Tracy. The songs here are the least speed of their work, though they aren't as speedfreak intense as I was expecting- 85-90 mph not 185-190). The first of the four starts this collection off (and by being first, if you don't like it, you can always fast forward) and no doubt you've heard this ad nausem or something. It's taken from 1991's Metallica (by the way, one of the tracks on here is now playing on the radio, so perhaps you've heard it too. More later) and is called "The Unforgiven." I love the drum intro and the acoustic bit (It may be electric, so we'll say appregio) at the beginning, which is, by the way, not the first time they start out that way. I recommend this album even if Heavy Metal/Thrash/Speed isn't your taste (I never thought in a million zillion years I would be singing Metallica's praises).

Most of the songs on the album are cool (oh that's such an overused word) Their first hit, "Enter Sandman" leads off the album, followed by a thought provoking piece called "Sad But True" which is either about one's alter ego, or one's subconscious. And ... well, I won't go track by track, but another nifty song from this album is "Whereever I May Roam." The weakest track is "Don't Tread On Me," but overall this album is a *****. The track I really like and I think would have been perfect if things were different between Jack and I, and we were still seeing each other, "Nothing Else Matters." I haven't told him that of course. I don't plan on it. [...]

[Unlike part 1, I have made some edits to things that were really unrelated, as I was listening to the radio at the time and make snide remarks about some of the songs... though I don't edit out glimpses into my personal life at the time... oh well. The ***** wasn't an censored word, but my rating. I still dig the album but also still find "Don't Tread On Me" to be the weakest of the tracks. Of course, I didn't think about words of chuggy riffs, which is certainly true about this album (as I think of "Sad But True")... - SS May 2013]

"Death On Two Legs (Dedicated To...)" - Queen - A Night At The Opera: Next track is a bit more user friendly [...]. It's called "Death On Two Legs (Dedicated to...)" and it's by Queen off their excellent (dude!) A Night At The Opera album. I wish I'd discovered it earlier, you know, so I don't look like I'm on the "now that he's gone" bandwagon, or the "because, like, that song is in Wayne's World, duuuude!" bandwagon. To pick out another favorite song would be difficult, because they are all great and all different. Some, as you will hear later, are not sung by Freddy. It's a really well put together album. Not a filler track here at all. It contains the hits "Your My Best Friend" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" I would suggest that you buy this album for yourself. ***** [As it happens, I was playing this again last week - SS May 2013]

"Ghost Beside My Bed" - Altered State - Altered State: Next a track by a band that I know nothing about except that they call themselves and the album Altered State. The track is called "Ghost Beside My Bed" and I heard it twice on KLOS's Stone Trek (you know, "The Best In Progressive Rock"). The album is cool. These guys should be signed to a major...oops, they are. Warner Bros. So, why aren't they being pushed? Why aren't they household names? Not all the tracks are wierdish like this by the way. Some of the best tracks on this are "Do What You Want," and "Heal Me." Even though I'm gushing over this album (and in fact, the band members aren't bad looking at all), I'm only giving it **** because I'm not familiar with every track [...] Yet! I only bought this cassette today (well, now yesterday, since the taping of this). (And now a month ago as of the editing of this letter and it's now *****)(and now, two months later, ******)

"First Impression"/"Cycles" - Animator - Gallery: A band from Indiana called Animator. A Rhino Records discovery (I'll explain that later). This is actually four and five since the tracks melt into each other. The first is called "A First Impression," an instrumental, the second, "Cycles". The album is called Gallery and at times they sound like Hogarth fronted Marillion (oops, guess that gives the genre away doesn't it?) ****½ (could be five pending further listenings) (This weekend (9/12 & 9/13), I was playing my copy of tape two and found myself singing along with their song there. I listen to this at work, so I'm getting more and more familiar with it. Still know nothing about the band).

"Empire" - Queensrÿche Empire: Next up we have Queensrÿche's "Empire" from the album of the same name. This is getting radio airplay, so you've no doubt heard it, but maybe not as much as "Silent Lucidity" which is the only Floyd like tune on the album. "Empire" is easily understood so I won't interpret. I'll say one thing for Geoff Tate, he's got a great voice. Gosh, he even sounds like he's had operatic training (he has). *****½ (maybe I should have had my scale 1-6). [...]. This is a totally killer album. From first track to the last. Not a duff track here. This could easily be one of my favorite albums of 1991. More so than Metallica. Given a choice on a deserted island between this and Metallica's latest, I'd take this. Their Operation: Mindcrime is a very interesting piece of work. I find though, it's one of those that you really have to pay attention to. It's not background music. It's a little paranoid, but ... still, it's got a story that makes you feel dammit! Yeh, this band'll be around awhile. Esp. now that they've gotten rid of the the costumes and make up. On this album, Empire, the other really great tracks are those I'm sure you've also heard on the radio, "Another Rainy Night" among them. [Empire was my entre into Queenrÿche except that I had heard "Eyes Of A Stranger" on the radio, so... I did have a passing familiarity - SS May 2013]

"Keep It Dark" - Genesis - ABACAB: A really obscure band that no one has ever, ever heard of ... Genesis. Who dat? (Ha!) The track here is from ABACAB, but it's not one of their "hits." This is called "Keep It Dark" and some bloke named Phil Collins is handing the vocals (say, doesn't 'e sound like that bloke who did background music for Miami Vice? 'mazing in't?) A quirky cool song. The whole album has quirky tunes plus a few non-quirky (the hits). This song is a cruising along the highway type song, playing it loud (or playing in dark?) ***** [I know this is where Genesis purists think the band lost their way after Wind And Wuthering... maybe I'm "young enough" to appreciate both "eras" of Genesis - SS May 2013]

"Hymn 43" - Jethro Tull - Aqualung> [Next a track by] Jethro Tull from Aqualung entitled "Hymn 43" and basically because of the duh-duh duh-duh of the chorus. It's kinda reminicent of something that Jimi Hendrix did. Of course, this album also has their most famous hit, "Aqualung" along with "Locomotive Breath" and "Cross-Eyed Mary". **** [Deserving of a proper review, of course. A classic.]

"Lucky Man" - Emerson Lake and Palmer - Emerson Lake and Palmer: Next on the menu we have a slice of Emerson, Lake and Palmer from their self titled album (their new release Black Moon is way cool. Long live ELP). The track is called "Lucky Man", and chances are you've heard it before. This song is one of those from my "listening to music legacy" like "Nights In White Satin" by the Moody Blues (not on here). One thing that's a staple (ouch) of Prog Rock is kings and wizards and so on and so forth. So you can see how and why not only I like this but also Arthurian Legends. Here's a little nugget for you that has nothing to do with ELP. Rush are progressive. So was Ambrosia (!!). And, as far as Arthur is concerned, Rick Wakeman, late of Yes and Anderson-Bruford-Wakeman-and-Howe, has an album called something like King Arthur and The Knights Of The Round Table. He's also done some New Age stuff. [Woah, before you start the letters... my impression of "Lucky Man" has always been medieval, as with MB's "Nights..." even if the artists weren't thinking that at all. And yes, I'm now more than certain on that Wakeman album title... - SS May 2013]

"No Second Faust" - Egdon Heath - The Killing Silence: Egdon Heath is band I discovered in a certain section of Rhino Records in Claremont (San B. Co.). They are from the Netherlands and that's about all I know except that ... god they are great. The album is called The Killing Silence and the song here is called "No Second Faust." This song, at the beginning, makes me think of the beginning to Fish's "Shadowplay" and then 2 minutes in, of "Slaint Mhath" from Clutching At Straws (Marillion). But from there on, only what it is. (Why are there no female Prog Rock bands? Heart used to be but that changed with Heart.) The other really cool tracks on this are the title track, "T.T.C" and "Waiting For The Outburst," but...that's just picking three cool tracks at random, because...well...they all are. ***** or ****** if we expand the range. [I still like this album a great deal, from the arrangements to the production. I was impressed that even as they adopted a Marillion-like style, I never really thought of them as sounding like Marillion. - SS May 2013]

"Rings Of Earthly Light" - Eris Pluvia - Rings Of Earthly Light: This long track (17:13) is by a French band named Eris Pluvia (what?) and is on an album called Rings Of Earthly Light. The overall title of the track is also "Rings Of Eartly Light." They sing in English by the way. Their sound is almost classical, almost New Age, and for a brief, fearful moment I thought they were New Age. The various parts are called "a) Earthcore, b) Portrait, c) Sell my feelings, d) Following her in a fantasy lake, e) I reemerged, ancient knight, in presence of metal knights." This I also found at Rhino. And there are some instrumental pieces here and a few more vocals. This is really a mood type album, like ... oh, Mozart, say. It's not blasting down the freeway music, it's curling up with good book on a rainy day (or night) and just letting the music provide the incidental music. Ah. ****½ (I listen to this a lot at work, but I've not listened to it too often, so ... that remaining half star is reserved for when I'm not doing anything else and can just sit back and truly listen. [...]

"Fade To Black" - Metallica - Ride The Lightning: And now, we change themes and put another Metallica tune here. "Fade To Black" off of their album Ride The Lightning and overall my least favorite of their 5 or 6 albums and that's because of the first track, "Fight Fire With Fire," is a bit ... silly in it's approach. And the ironic thing about "Fade" is that it is about suicide (no, I'm not in one of those moods. I'm a happy camper, though [there was some crap going on at work... all moot now - SS May 2013]) and is the last track on side one (cassette, that is), yet, there is still side two, which implies that there is life beyond one's suicidal feelings. Of course, the best two songs written about this subject (anti-suicide) are "The Pass" by Rush and "Don't Try Suicide" by Queen, Presto and The Game respectively. ("Ride The Lightning" by the way is about the death penalty and believe me, it's got me rethinking capital punishment). ****

"Pain Lies On Riverside" - Live - Mental Jewelry: And changing gears again we have a Philadelphia quintet that go by the moniker Live. Actually, you may have heard the following song on the radio, depending on what kind of music you are listening to these days. I don't think they get played on KGB since I've not heard them on KLOS, and not The Pirate either. The album is called Mental Jewelry, and the song is "Pain Lies On The Riverside." I don't know anything about the band really, and I have only heard of them because I saw their video for this song on MTV and was impressed with the vocalist's voice. I go for those deep, hardened ... slightly raspy voices I guess. (In fact, as I peruse this letter again, I'm listening to the CD at this moment.) This band is really tight. Maybe too tight. Very intense. I remember reading a concert review that said they needed to lighten up a bit. The singer also sounds a bit like Mick Hucknall of Simply Red (You know, "Holding Back The Years" and "Money's Too Tight To Mention" [and as I think about now, there's a track that could very well have been done by Tracy Chapman. Not that he sounds like her so much as the style and sound of the song sound like something off her first album. Gosh, I've not listened to that in a while. I think I'll take it with me to work tomorrow.]. [Of course, Live moved to big time, at least for a while. They did relax a bit with Throwing Copper, another strong album... - SS May 2013]

"'39" - Queen - A Night At The Opera: Vocals by guitarist Brian May. [This is actually a clever song; and old world feel, were you might think '39 is 1939, but is, in fact, some future '39.... time-dilation where those who ventured to space come back to find time passed "more quickly" while they were away. There's a certain warmth to the arrangement; May is not as a dynamic a vocalist as Mercury was, but that is perfect for this mellow song.]

"I'm In Love With My Car" - Queen - A Night...: Vocals by drummer Roger Taylor. Sounds a bit like Rod Stewart, don't you think? [Still like this track... a slinkiness to it that evokes images of Corvettes, Ferraris, Maseratis, etc. Cars with curves. I mean, really, you don't envision Yugos, do you? The Thing? The Aztek. However, I was in love with my car... well, not the one I had in '92, not in the same way I loved my '97 Jeep Grand Cherokee and now, my '11 JGC. - SS May 2013]


Not sure why this was not made active at the time, but it is now, two years later - SS/ed. May 2015








Copyright © by ProgressiveWorld.net All Right Reserved.

Published on: 2013-05-13 (1427 reads)

[ Go Back ]
Content ©