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Post by Erik Rupp on Mar 15, 2014 13:08:00 GMT -5
The conventional wisdom states that Grunge and Heavy Alternative music killed, "Hair Metal," after a decade of excess in the 80's. That's the conventional wisdom. The facts are, of course, more complex than that, and far more interesting. First off, there was no such thing as, "Hair Metal," in the 80's. Almost all bands in the 80's, regardless of genre, had big, overly styled, overly hairsprayed hair. It was part of the 80's - bigger was better. The only Metal bands that didn't go for the big hair were the Thrash or Speed Metal bands, and even a handful of those got caught up in the style of the day on occasion. Second, the excess that most people think of when they think of 80's Metal is the Pop Metal scene, and rightly so - but that's not the only reason why Heavy Metal was not as hip at the very beginning of the 90's as it had been just five years earlier. There were other key factors that contributed to an overall view of Heavy Metal as a lesser genre. Less hip, and lesser in quality. What factors? Well, let's start at the height of the Heavy Metal scene around 1984 or so. Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and DIO were all riding high. All three of the early to mid 80's Metal Giants were on a run of high quality, big selling albums. Metallica was just starting to make some noise with their new album, Ride The Lightning. Motley Crue was still a great band in the middle of their Shout At The Devil tour. KISS had just made a miraculous comeback after being as UN-hip as they possibly could have been in 1980 and 1981. RATT was just breaking with a great album, and there were several other examples of a genre at the height of it's powers. Things couldn't possibly have been going better. And that's part of what would become the genre's problem four or five years later - things couldn't get any better than they were in 1984, and, well - they didn't. Everything was going well for Hard Rock and Heavy Metal as a genre. Hugely successful albums, well attended arena tours, and a general high quality of music is what you'd hear more often than not from Hard Rock and Heavy Metal bands in 1984. Van Halen scored a huge hit with 1984. RATT came Out Of The Cellar and scored multi-Platinum sales (and deservedly so). Judas Priest scored another hit with Defenders of the Faith (a good album, not as good as it's predecessor, but still good enough to hold up well against some strong competition). DIO proved to become a huge arena attraction even to those who were The Last In Line thanks to the album of that title (which followed up an even better album, Holy Diver). Iron Maiden scored huge with Powerslave, and Metallica made a lot of noise with Ride The Lightning. And that's only part of what was going on at that point in time. After going from strength to strength starting in 1980, Hard Rock and Heavy Metal as a genre seemed to be unstoppable. But it almost was stopped. It was certainly slowed. How? Why? What changed to bring down a juggernaut? The well documented answer of the proliferation of Pop Metal by some rather greedy and opportunistic major label record companies in the late 80's was clearly a part of it. A lot of albums that were released and promoted heavily didn't deserve the treatment. Several of those bands were of marginally good quality, while several others were pretty weak, but even if all of them were good the market became oversaturated, and a backlash was inevitable. But that's just one cause of the downfall. There were others. Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, DIO, Iron Maiden. Those were the big boys at the beginning and middle of the decade. Black Sabbath dropped off first, following the departure of singer Ronnie James Dio. The albums released after his departure were all good, but the revolving door of musicians (eventually leaving guitarist Tony Iommi as the sole original member of the band) turned a lot of fans off. So much so that most Sabbath fans didn't even pay attention to the band after 1983. They didn't know or care that new Black Sabbath albums came out, even if the albums were good. Judas Priest and Iron Maiden shared declines that were amost mirror images, although Judas Priest's was a little more dramatic. In 1986 both bands bought and extensively used guitar synthesizers on their new albums (Turbo for Judas Priest, and Somewhere In Time for Iron Maiden). Both bands came up with musical styles that were a little more mainstream and accessible than their previous albums. However, Judas Priest went farther than Maiden did, and toyed with Pop Metal a little. To make matters worse, Turbo was filled with cliche ridden songs that really seemed cheesy - even at the time. It's not a bad album, just not all that good, either, and following up two classic Priest albums like Screaming For Vengeance (1982) and Defenders of the Faith (1984) Turbo sounded weak all around. That turned off a lot of their fans. Somewhere In Time, however, was still a very strong album for Iron Maiden, and few of their fans were turned off by the adjustment in musical direction. But the fact that there were, "Synths," on Somewhere In Time still rubbed some fans the wrong way (others really enjoyed the expanded musical palette that Maiden could draw from). But most Maiden fans saw Somewhere In Time as a step down from the Number of the Beat/Piece of Mind/Powerslave era. DIO came out of the gate incredibly strong in 1983. Holy Diver is still considered to be one of the greatest straightforward, old school Heavy Metal albums of all time, and it's follow up The Last In Line was almost as good. They had nowhere to go but down. Sacred Heart (from 1985) also featured expanded use of keyboards, to the benefit of some of the songs on the album, but to the detriment of others. Overall, the album was strong, but a noticeable step down from it's two precessors. Dream Evil (1987) was darker, and more ominous (as well as being better than Sacred Heart), but it was also denser and more ponderous. It was a serious album, and it didn't find as big of an audience as DIO's first three studio albums. By 1990 when DIO had a totally new band line-up and they released Lock Up The Wolves, the musical quality dropped just a little more (less in quality, more in a lack of originality), and Ronnie himself chose to go with too many slow or slow-ish mid tempo songs, something his fanbase didn't like. The overall songwriting quality on the album was good, but, again, a half step down from his previous albums. DIO, the band, was in musical decline (a slight decline in quality, but a more noticeable decline in originality), which led to sales declines. The classic bands from earlier in the decade had lost much of their luster by the end of the 80's. Iron Maiden's 1990 tour supporting No Prayer for the Dying was less successful than their tours earlier in the decade. Their albums became less fan friendly (following Somewhere In Time with the equally good, but much less accessible, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, and then the weaker quality of No Prayer for the Dying). The mighty juggernaut that Iron Maiden was just five years earlier was slowing down. Judas Priest attempted to get back to basics with Ram It Down, and they came close to hitting the mark - but still missed. Yes, it was a significant improvement over Turbo, but it still wasn't as good as Defenders of the Faith, which itself wasn't as good as Screaming For Vengeance. Utilizing a drum machine, the album sounded mechanical and artificial, and some of the songs were excessively cheesy. Priest was also slowing down both in quality and success. So with the big boys dropping the ball, who would pick it up? Well, in the mid 80's a huge number of Van Halen's musical disciples started hitting the record bins. RATT and Dokken both showed some Van Halenisms, but put their own spin on the style. It was the next generation that saw the Pop Metal style hit in full force. Bon Jovi took the visual image of a Pop Metal band, added more keyboards and just a bit of Springsteen, and became one of the biggest bands of the decade. Def Leppard went from a band filled with Thin Lizzy, UFO, and AC/DC fanatics in 1981 to a slick, Pop Rock band by 1987. Hysteria was a huge hit, but it watered down the genre, alienating a lot of fans who wanted more aggression, energy, and crunch in their music. After that, bands like Danger Danger, Firehouse, and Warrant took the Van Halen template and mixed it with Bon Jovi's, creating a watered down, frivolous style of Hard Rock that record company A&R guys and executives loved. That was the kind of stuff they could market and sell! Never mind that they were signing a bunch of bands that had no business putting out albums... 1987 also saw the release of two hugely successful Hard Rock albums, Whitesnake's self-titled album, and Guns 'N' Roses' Appetite For Destruction. Both of those albums were of high quality and had artistic merit. The albums released by their copycat followers weren't quite so good. It was just more product for the major labels to promote and sell. Product. Product overload. By the end of the decade the decline of the big name Heavy Metal bands from the first half of the 80's (Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Dio, Black Sabbath) didn't help matters much. On the other hand, the heavier side of things saw some interesting and outstanding bands & albums. Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer - The Big Four. They changed the landscape. The kind of teenagers and young adults who got into Sabbath during the Dio era, and into Priest, Maiden, and Dio right after that, were now being attracted to the heavier and more aggressive styles of the Big Four. These fans had less enthusiasm for the former giants of the genre. They wanted their Metal louder, faster, and heavier. The fragmentation of the genre's fanbase had begun - something from which it would never fully recover. Once Metallica hit the jackpot with The Black Album, and Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden all hit it big ushering in the Grunge era, it was all over for more melodic, commercial Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. All over for roughly seven or eight years. Sure, Bon Jovi continued to score hits. Aerosmith scored some (thanks in most part to their Pop crossover), and the heavier Metal bands still sold well (including the trendsetting and uncompromising Pantera), but the good times of the 70's and 80's were over. Interestingly, in the early 2000's traditional Hard Rock, the kind from the 70's and 80's, made a fairly strong comeback. Not to the place where the music had been just 12 or 13 years earlier, but to a place where bands were viable to tour in large theaters, arenas, and amphitheaters. New albums would hit the top of the charts for a week as fans would flock to the record stores to buy them in that first week. And the perception that Hard Rock and Heavy Metal from the 80's was frivolous, cheesy, nonsense was fading. In the end, Europe and Japan hardly wavered in their support for old school Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, and that allowed a lot of really good bands to develop outside of the United States. New, younger bands were playing either traditional Hard Rock and Metal, or a new style of Hard Rock and Metal that was heavily influenced and inspired by the old school. So even though the 1990's was a tough decade for the genre, ultimately it survived and surpassed Grunge in popularity. Few in America would have seen that coming in 1993, but it happened.
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Post by Erik Rupp on Mar 7, 2014 0:00:19 GMT -5
Check this out...
That's impressive. Their last album (Karma) was very good. Pull (from 1993) was excellent. Their first album was pretty good, too. This could be their best yet if this song is any indication.
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Post by Erik Rupp on Feb 27, 2014 22:31:48 GMT -5
This is really cool. These guys are great, and this is a great promo video. Who says cellos don't Rock??!!??
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Post by Erik Rupp on Feb 25, 2014 19:56:40 GMT -5
When it comes to radio drama there were dozens of truly great shows: Dragnet, Gunsmoke, Richard Diamond, X Minus One, The Six Shooter, and as part of that list Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar would have to be included. Some might argue that the 1955/56 season of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was actually the best radio drama of that era. I might actually be inclined to agree with that assessment. At the very least I'd say it's among the top five for sure. Why? Well, after a year off (the show had run from January of 1949 until September of 1954 with three different actors playing the title role - Charles Russell, Edmond O'Brien, and John Lund), the show was completely retooled. Instead of the usual half hour format once a week, the show was slotted in for a fifteen minute mini-episode every weeknight. This gave the show over an hour of airtime for each episode (the episodes would run in five parts for a week long episode), and that gave the producer (Jack Johnstone, also the show's director) and the writing staff (which also occasionally included Johnstone) a chance to really flesh out both the characters and the plots. Suddenly, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar went from being an above average detective show to an outstanding dramatic show that happened to be about an insurance investigator. Bob Bailey became the new Johnny Dollar as the show reappeared on the airwaves in October, 1955, and a better actor for the role would have been impossible to find. Bailey had just come off a couple years in another radio detective show, Let George Do It, which was itself a good show. Edmond O'Brien may have been the best actor to play Johnny Dollar (he did win an Academy Award, after all), but Bob Bailey was arguably the best Johnny Dollar (an argument that he usually wins among old time radio fans). Jonstone had previously worked on The Six Shooter with James Stwart in the title role (aka Britt Ponsett), and that show was well known for being a little different than the usual Western radio show. That show, like the 1955/56 season of Johnny Dollar, was well known for it's outstanding drama (and, occasionally, some light comedy to go with the dramatics in the story). Johnstone's style carried over to Johnny Dollar extremely well, and the writing staff (which included John Dawson - aka E. Jack Neuman, Robert Ryf, and Les Crutchfield) was in perfect sync with Johnstone. It was lightning in a bottle - the right actor, producer/director/writer, and writing staff, as well as a phenomenal supporting cast (which often included the great, and very busy, Virginia Gregg, as well as the great, and just as busy, John Dehner). Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar had been elevated into greatness. With 75 minutes each week instead of 30 the plots were more intricate, and the cast of characters much larger. Johnny Dollar, himself, also became more well rounded and human. Every aspect of the show had been improved greatly, even the theme music. Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar became not only better, but more popular than ever. Fortunately for fans of classic radio drama, most of that season has survived intact (with only a couple of the 15 minute segments missing). But not only did the episodes survive intact, most surived in nearly FM quality sound. Sadly, in late Fall of 1956 CBS decided to scrap their five night per week format that Johnny Dollar had been using, and the show reverted back to a 30 minute show once a week. It ran like that (continuing the elite quality as much as the 30 minute format would allow, with Bob Bailey still in the title role until 1960 when CBS moved all radio drama to New York City. Bailey, not wanting to leave Southern California, dropped out of the show and was replaced by Bob Readick, who was a decent, if undistinguished Johnny Dollar. For the final year of the show Mandel Kramer was, "The man with the action packed expense account, America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator," Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Kramer was considered to be a slight upgrade from Readick, but he was no Bob Bailey. Interestingly, the weakest (and most generic) of the Johnny Dollars was the first man in the role, Charles Russell. Russell wasn't bad at all, he just came across as a standard issue private eye. Edmond O'Brien brought more personality and flair to the role, and John Lund was almost as good, but it was Bob Bailey who really elevated Johnny Dollar into a great character. But despite the fact that 12 of it's 13 years featured the show in a weekly, half hour format, it will always be the one year that the show ran for fifteen minutes every weeknight for which Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar will be remembered most. Truly a great show.
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Post by Erik Rupp on Feb 20, 2014 7:56:38 GMT -5
This was the first episode featuring Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar and also the relaunch of the series after a year off. They changed the format of the show from a 30 minute show once a week to 15 minute episode every weeknight (five part episodes). The change resulted in, arguably, the best radio drama ever. By going to the 5 part episodes the writers were able to really flesh out both plots and characters, and Bob Bailey was ideal for the role. Here is, "The McCormack Matter."
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Post by Erik Rupp on Feb 19, 2014 23:46:39 GMT -5
Jake E. Lee is back. He's been in a self imposed exile out of the spotlight for a rather long time. Too long. But once he saw just how much his fans missed him and wanted him to return he wasted no time in putting a new band together and recording a new album. Actually, it was intended to be a new solo album with a different guest singer on each song, but once he was well into recording the album he decided to get a full time singer to sing half of the album and have the guests do the other half. That's a prospect for a lack of unity or cohesiveness on an album with tons of potential for disharmony when singer's styles don't mesh well one song after the other. In this case his new singer is Darren 'D.J.' Smith, a former drummer. His struggles during the band's very first gig were well documented online, but he did improve significantly over the next couple of shows. But what really counts here is his ability in the studio, and in that environment he did a fine job. He may not be a great singer, but he's more than adequate. Is he as good as the late, great Ray Gillen? No. Not even close, really. But, to be fair, Gillen was a great singer and songwriter and a lot of singers fall short of that standard. Jake's most unfortunate decision when it comes to the Red Dragon Cartel album is the use of producer Kevin Churko. Churko produced the last two Ozzy albums, arguably the worst albums in Ozzy's catalog. Now there is the Ozzy connection to Jake, of course, and Jake has said that he had been contacted previously about rejoining Ozzy's band (but turned down the offer). Does working with Ozzy's last producer signal a shift in Jake's attitude? He's indicated that he'd actually consider rejoining Ozzy IF Sharon updated the songwriting credits on Bark At The Moon to include Jake for all the work Jake put in to writing those songs. He doesn't even want money - just the recognition that he wrote much of that music. Fair enough. But what about this album? It's good. There are spots here and there that are very good, but there's nothing great here. The audio production is OK, but the guitar tone (something that had always been one of Jake's strengths) is not all that great. It's just OK. The guitar tone to open the song, "Deceived," is partucularly bad (and eq'd all wrong - totally thin and midrangey, sounding like it was recorded over the phone). The song itself is, thankfully, one of the very good tracks. Intentionally recreating the, "Bark At The Moon," (the song) style it may be the best on the album. The one thing that Jake made clear was that he wanted this to be a modern album, and overall that is what he achieved. Unfortunately, songs like, "Shout It Out," while taking old school riffs and combining them with modern production and vocal stylings, fall short of the standards that Jake set back in the 80's. The good? "Feeder," (featuring Cheap Trick's Robin Zander and Tom Peterson) is another very good track. "Wasted," (featuring original Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di'anno) is also really good, with a down and dirty Hard Rock/Metal hybrid style (and a good vocal from Di'anno). "War Machine," is a VERY Black Sabbath-esque kind of song. (Is Jake really auditioning for the Ozzy gig here?) This one sounds like something that could have been included on Black Sabbath's 13 album. "Redeem Me," (featuring Sass Jordan) is a good soulful Hard Rock song. And the Best Buy exclusive bonus track, "American Dream," is an above average track on the album (making that the version to buy). Noteworthy is the solo paino instrumental, "Exquisite Tenderness," which was the first song Jake ever wrote. It's nice, and, amazingly, it actually fits in with the rest of the songs on the album fairly well. As for the rest of the album? Mediocre to OK at best. Utterly skippable at worst. But the most important thing here is that Jake is back, and is getting his playing and songwriting chops back in shape. Next time out we could be in for something special. This time out we didn't get that something special, but got something hopeful instead. 3.75/5
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Post by Erik Rupp on Nov 5, 2013 20:25:12 GMT -5
Few bands find a way to retun to truly classic form the way Stryper has with their new album, No More Hell To Pay. No More Hell To Pay is a great Stryper album. Whether or not you like Stryper is almost irrelevant - they have made one of the best albums of their career more than a quarter century after their commercial peak. That's noteworthy. Their last all new studio album, Murder By Pride, was a very, very good album, and among their best, but this album significantly raises the bar from that one. Michael Sweet, Robert Sweet, Oz Fox, and Tim Gaines (the entire original line-up) made it a point to come up with an album that sounds like classic Stryper plopped down into 2013. Take the 1985 version of the band and transport them in time to 2013 and No More Hell To Pay is what you'd get. It's the classic early Stryper sound with just a slight nod to what is current. "Revelation," is a majestic opening song, one loaded with both the typical Stryper vocal melodies & harmonies and some fairly heavy guitars. This is a great song, period. Michael Sweet's voice sounding almost exactly like it did in the mid 80's (he's lost maybe the top note or two on the high end of his range, but other than that he sounds almost exactly like he did back then - with a slightly richer quality to his voice), and the rest of the band sounds like they haven't missed a beat over the last twenty five plus years. The title track which follows is just as good. The twin lead guitar harmonies between Michael Sweet and Oz Fox still sound great, and despite the fact that this is the second mid tempo song in a row the album feels like it's opening with a ton of power to go along with the powerful melodies. And then comes the fast, uptempo track. "Saved By Love," is nothing short of great when it comes to melodic Metal. Michael Sweet's vocals are particularly powerful here, and his gritty near screeching in the chorus is powerfully effective. "Saved By Love," is definitely one of the album's highlights (of which there are several). But after this track things get interesting. Stryper covering the Doobie Brothers? Yes, that's what's up next, and it's the obvious song for Stryper to cover - "Jesus Is Just Alright." It's a radical reworking, and from a Pop Metal standpoint it's appropriate, but, unfortunately, they strip all the looser 70's California Rock elements out of it. Gone are most of the, "Doo doo do doo do doo's," and in their place is a tighter arrangement that focuses on power and energy as much as melody. About halfway through there is a Hammond organ present, which brings things a little closer to the early 70's roots of the song, but that is short lived. It's not at all bad, it's just lacking in the looser swing and laid back vibe of the Doobies' original version. "The One," is a power ballad, but it is fairly moody and dynamic. It's not the saccharine sweet ballad that Stryper was known for writing in the 80's. Not bad. Pretty darned good for a power ballad, really. Fortunately, they get back to the heavier side of things with a full on Heavy Metal track in, "Legacy." This is a song firmly rooted in 1985. You can hear bands like Loudness and Malice echoing in this track as much as Stryper's own 80's output (particularly the Soldiers Under Command era). It's upbeat and has a nasty attitude. It's not a great track, but it is a very good one and it sounds really good in context of the album as a whole. And then the Soldiers Under Command go, "Marching Into Battle." Make no mistake, that title intentially referenced their first full album. While the song has it's roots in that album, it is a tad darker and heavier than anything from their 1985 release. The verses and bridges are excellent, but the chorus is merely good. A great chorus can rescue a weak verse, but the reverse is not true. The chorus here isn't really weak as much as it just, well - is. It's OK. As a whole, the song is good, but with a better chorus it could have been great. But if it's great that you want (and we all do) then look no further than the next track, "Te Amo." WOW. This is classic Stryper all the way. Upbeat, exciting, melodic, and powerful, this is another of the album's highlights. At this point I would be remiss if I didn't mention just how well the entire band plays on No More Hell To Pay. The lead guitar work is fantastic, and Robert Sweet and Tim Gaines are absolutely locked in as a rhythm unit. The entire band sounds like a young, hungry bunch of musicians, not a bunch of guys in their early 50's. The hits just keep on coming with, "Sticks And Stones," a mid tempo stomper that finds a great blend between big melodic (almost Poppy) choruses and thunderously heavy drums & guitars. Great stuff. The naysayers will be surprised at how Stryper has turned, "Water Into Wine," on this album. This song is another of the mid tempo tracks, and again it's got a big chorus - a great big chorus. It's hard not to smile once you get to this point of the album if you've been a fan of any of Stryper's previous albums. Even if you haven't been a fan this may very well be the album that changes your mind about the band (in a good way). This song grooves along really nicely (there's almost a bit of funk in that groove), which makes this yet another of the album's highlights. "Sympathy." With an song like this on an album like this they won't need any. It's another very mid 80's sounding song, and like the other songs on this album that sound like they're from that era it is very well written and delivered with conviction. This would have been a hugely popular song in 1986, but in 2013 it's likely going to just be a favorite among their remaining fanbase. Still, with album sales the way they are now that's just a reality. Even so, this is a great song and deserves to be heard by a wider audience than it is likely to get. By the time we get to the album's final track it's clear that Stryper has a, "Renewed," energy to go along with their passion for the type of music that they play. This is a band that sounds like they're having fun. "Renewed," is an uptempo song with a ton of that renewed energy and it just sounds great from top to bottom. This is really good stuff. The only possible flaw through the album is the snare drum sound. It's passable, but less than great. The guitars, bass, and the toms & kick drums all sound great, but the snare sound is merely OK. Having done some studio recording I know how hard it can be to get a top notch snare sound, but I have to think that they could have done better than this. Oh, well - the album is killer and being overly critical of this snare drum sound is really just nit picking. I've heard a lot worse. Their last all new studio album, Murder By Pride, was a very good Stryper album, but No More Hell To Pay is a great Stryper album. And the more I think about it the more I think that this may very well be their best album ever. How's that for the pleasant musical surprise of 2013? 4.5/5
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Post by Erik Rupp on Oct 27, 2013 20:32:49 GMT -5
Surprisingly good. Compelling. Entertaining. All of the above applies to the first full movie pairing of Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Escape Plan. Now, had this pairing taken place in the late 80's or early 90's it would have been a huge deal and a massive blockbuster. That, however, was 20+ years ago, and both of these action stars are well past their primes, which is likely why Escape Plan hasn't exactly set the box office on fire. On the other hand, they both can still deliver the goods, even in their mid 60's, and they both get a chance to shine here. No, no one is going to nominate them for Academy Awards for their performances in this movie, but both are solid from an acting perspective (very solid, and Arnold even gives a good, nuanced performance). From an action perspective? They definitely still have that presence and the needed physicality to pull off action scenes. The story is fairly simple. Stallone plays Ray Breslin, a security specialist who breaks out of prisons for a living. He is able to find the weak links in the security for most prisons he tests. It is an ability that has made him a fairly wealthy man. It is also an ability that brings a C.I.A. representative to his company looking to verify the security of a brand new, "Escape proof," prison that holds some of the worlds most dangerous people. Off the records and outside of any one country's jurisdiction, of course. When he gets there things fall apart. He has been sent in under an alias, and as the prison answers to no specific government (it is privately contracted) he finds himself trapped with no way out. His evacuation code is laughed at and he is told that he will spend the rest of his life there. At this point Schwarzenegger's character of Emil Rottmayer befriends him and becomes his one trusted ally as both of them work together to come up with an escape plan. Despite the fact that the movie features two of the biggest action stars of all time this isn't a pure action movie. This is also a fairly good prison drama with a solid supporting cast including Jesus Christ himself, Jim Caviezel, as the warden, and the great Sam Neill as the prison doctor. The dramatic aspects of this movie work well, with solid motivation for most of the characters involved. But let's not kid ourselves - people want to see action from these guys, and on that count the movie delivers. There are a few good fight scenes, and a slam-bang finale, so it is a good combination - good action and good drama in a well written and directed movie. After the first batch of reviews came in I was expecting to be entertained, but not super impressed. Walking out of the theater I was actually quite impressed. Escape Plan is a very good movie, and had it been released in 1991 or 1992 it would have been a huge hit and even gotten some good reviews. But in 2013? There's too much of the, "Been there, seen that," mentality among many critics for them to actually be able to enjoy the movie as much as they could if they hadn't seen the last 20 years worth of action movies (including several from Stallone and Schwarzenegger). So the bottom line is merely this - Escape Plan is a very good movie. It's got good (not great, but good) drama and some good action scenes. What more can you realistically ask for from these guys? 4/5
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Post by Erik Rupp on Oct 26, 2013 11:57:39 GMT -5
In 1982 it seemed to insiders as if Thin Lizzy might hang it up. Their album sales were declining a little, and among those in the know it was clear that Thin Lizzy main man Phil Lynott had a serious drug and alcohol problem (which he did, and which would ultimately contribute to his premature death in early 1986). Lesser known was guitarist Scott Gorham's own drug and alcohol problems. Gorham knew that they were both headed for a big crash and burn if they didn't get off the tour/record/tour/record cycle, so he tried to convince Lynott to put an end to the band, at least for a while. Lynott agreed to call it a day for Thin Lizzy - but not until they did one final album and tour. Lynott had several new songs already written and he wanted to release them. Gorham agreed to one final go round, but that was it. In working on the new album it was clear from the beginning (right after the previous tour, actually) that guitarist Snowy White wasn't a perfect fit for the band. He was OK, but not quite the right guy for the job. Not like Brian Robertson and Gary Moore had been. Thin Lizzy needed a new guitar player, but Phil had someone in mind. John Sykes had worked with Phil in the studio on a song long before Lynott and Gorham had agreed to the final album and tour, and Lynott really liked what he heard from Sykes. When Sykes came in to audtion for the band it was clear that he was the perfect guy for the job. Sykes was a huge Thin Lizzy fan, and he brought a renewed energy to the band that reinvigorated everyone. He also brought a heavier sound to the band, giving them an edge that they hadn't had in years. He had the energy and passion of Brian Robertson, the technical skills of Gary Moore, and a heavier style than anyone had ever brought to Lizzy previously. While the writing for what would become Thunder and Lightning was almost completed, Lynott heard Sykes playing a riff in the studio that he just loved. Within 20 minutes the framework for, "Cold Sweat," had been worked out. It would go on to become the album's signature song. The writing for the album was complete. Chris Tsangarides was brought back to produce the album (he had co-produced and engineered their previous album, Renegade), and he tapped in to Sykes more Heavy Metal style when it came to the album's production. This wasn't Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden, but the sound was heavier than anything fans had ever heard from Thin Lizzy, and (for the most part) they loved it. The album does sound very good for an album recorded in late 1982. But what makes Thunder and Lightning (the album) so special is the songs. Phil Lynott was writing like he had something to prove. He had renewed vigor and an enthusiasm for the music that hadn't been heard since Bad Reputation back in '77, and nowhere is that more evident than on the frantic title track that opens the album. "Thunder and Lightning," (the song) is a blistering slice of early 80's Heavy Metal played with reckless abandon. Co-written by Lynott and Lizzy drummer Brian Downey, "Thunder and Lightning," threatens to get out of control and stumble all over it's face every second of the way, but, somehow, just barely manages to stay upright. Lynott spits out the lyrics at such a rapid fire pace that they are barely distinguishable, but like the song staying in control, his delivery is articulated just well enough to be understandable - and entertaining as hell! Thin Lizzy had been reborn! Following such a wild song is always tricky, but Lynott and company managed to find just the right song in, "This Is The One." Brian Downey pounds out the beat with the snare on all four beats in each bar, giving the song a pulsing, almost march like beat. While the song isn't as fast or frantic as the album opener it isn't much less heavy. It's loaded with good riffs and great vocal melodies - and some nice leads traded off between Sykes and Gorham. At this point it was clear - Thin Lizzy was relevant again. The boys really were back in town! Now, anyone who has followed Thin Lizzy or owned more than one of their albums knows that Lizzy isn't just a Hard Rock band. Thin Lizzy dabbled in lots of different styles, and a great example of that is the haunting and beautiful, "The Sun Goes Down." This is a fairly mellow song with Downey relatively gently hitting rim shots and playing some well placed, tasteful kick drum to propel it forward with a fairly quick, but gentle, pace. This song takes elements of Rock, Blues, and 70's Adult Contemporary and combines them in a smooth blend that works amazingly well. This is a truly great song that transcends both genres and time. And then the album goes to hell. Not musically, but topically as but Phil gets religiously philosophical on, "The Holy War," pitting God against Satan in a battle for humanity's collective soul. Again, Lizzy sounds heavy, but melodic (as was typical throughout their career when they got heavy), and the song is very tasteful. The beat is almost funky and the riffs are tasteful. This is another great song that was a concert highlight on tour. And then we get to what was Side 2, Song 1 - "Cold Sweat." This was the song that came out of that riff that John Sykes was playing in the studio that Phil liked so much. It is the best song on the album, and one of the 5 or 6 best songs of Lizzy's entire career. It is a powerful old school Heavy Metal song with a ton of melody and flair. The riff follows a similar pattern (same notes, too) as the riffs for, "Jailbreak," and the previous album's, "Hollywood (Down On Your Luck)," but somehow manages not to be a full on rip-off of those previous songs. One can only wonder how good a full album co-written by Lynott and Sykes (with further input from Gorham, Downey, and keyboard player Darren Wharton) could have been had Lynott not died. "Someday She Is Going To Hit Back," is a song that, at the time, sounded somewhat futuristic with it's slightly unusual, multi-layerd vocal parts and keyboard use. Some of the chord and note progressions used also sounded a little unusual (fairly Progressive Rock based) and that made it sound potentially futuristic, too. As it turned out, Hard Rock and Heavy Metal didn't go in that direction, but the song was still ahead of it's time. And it's very good, too. Lizzy gets back to basics with, "Baby Please Don't Go," a song that that sounds like it could have had it's roots in the writing sessions for the Jailbreak album. Had a more primitively produced version of this song been included on Jailbreak it would have fit right in and been one of the album's highlights. It's that good, and that classic sounding. The song bounces along (to a degree), not unlike, "The Boys Are Back In Town." Fans of the Brian Robertson era of Lizzy loved this song, and with good reason. There is a very slight New Wave flavor to, "Bad Habits," that ties it firmly into the early 80's, and it is a song that sounds like an obvious follow up to the Renegade album. The use of delay on Phil's vocal's is very effective, and the song is infectious even if it isn't as good as some of the other songs on the album (it's a solid album track that holds up well, just not as good as most of the other songs). Then things get eerie. Prophetically eerie. Phil sings to his mother of his dying from a heart attack and a drug overdose on, "Heart Attack." The song is supposed to be about heartbreak from a breakup, but some of the lyrics are telling. Phil seemed to know that he was headed for a bad end, but was unable to get off that path. The fact that the song is so damned good makes it that much more poignant. We're listening to a man sing about his death three and a half years before it would happen, and the cause of his real life death would be eerily similar to what we hear in the song. It's a little creepy now (and really has been ever since Phil died in early 1986), but it's so good that it is too compelling to pass up. Musically, Thunder and Lightning is a great album - one of Lizzy's best. It is a must have album for anyone who likes Thin Lizzy at all. And the Deluxe Edition is the must have version of the album. The bonus disc features (oddly) six songs from the previous tour with Snowy White, but as the performances and recording quality are so good that doesn't really matter. We get spirited live performances of, "Angel of Death," "Don't Believe a Word," "Emerald," "Killer On The Loose," "The Boys Are Back In Town," and, "Hollywood (Down On Your Luck)," and these live versions are very, very compelling as well as entertaining. But the real highlight of Disc 2 are the demos for ALL of the songs on Thunder and Lightning. Most feature full vocals, some feature verse and bridge vocals, and, but in the case of, "Someday She's Going To Hit Back," it is just the instrumental base of the song. The other selling point for the Deluxe Edition is the fact that the album has been remastered. The original Japanese CD release of Thunder and Lightning was fairly good for the time, but it doesn't have the impact that good (non-brickwalled) modern remastering jobs have. In fact, on that version of the CD the song, "Cold Sweat," is overly muddy and sounds pretty bad. Subsequent mastering jobs were better, even on, "Cold Sweat," but this one is different. Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham remastered the Deluxe Edition in 2011, and their remastering job is a noticeable improvement on most of the songs, but on a couple they really botched it. "The Holy War," sounds a little harsher in the midrange frequencies (and lacks enough bottom end to compensate at all), and, "Cold Sweat," sounds like a mediocre demo. "Cold Sweat," on this release is all mids and lacks a solid bottom end. It sounds cardboardy and lacks not only the bottom end, but good highs, too. It sounds like the final mix of the song was played through a little 15 watt practice amp and sent to tape from there. I don't know how they thought that this sounded better than previous versions (the mastering of the song on the UK CD single for, "Dedication," was much, much better), but in any case they failed miserably on this track - the best track on the album. Still, this is a must have version of the album for the other reasons I noted above, and it's probably best to have it as a companion CD to a previous version. The Original Songs - 4.75/5The Remastering - 3.5/5The Bonus Disc - 5/5
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Post by Erik Rupp on Sept 23, 2013 19:45:08 GMT -5
This is a pretty cool song. Just imagine Malcolm Young of AC/DC collaborating with The Knack in 1980 and you've got a pretty good idea of what it sounds like.
This is the first new Coney Hatch song in almost 30 years.
Good stuff...
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Post by Erik Rupp on Aug 28, 2013 12:39:25 GMT -5
1. Licence To Kill - This is a taut thriller with a fantastic performance from Timothy Dalton. His performance is subtle in places, dymanic in others, but always realistic. You really feel Bond's pain in this one, and root for him to get revenge. John Glen made the most of a small budget with this one, with some great action sequences. The pacing is excellent as editor John Grover gives the movie a chance to breathe in between the action sequences, highlighting the great character moments in the film. Robert Davi is also excellent as the villain of the movie, Franz Sanchez, a mirror image of Bond. 2. Dr. No - Bond came to the big screen for the first time in this exciting thriller loaded with suspense and adventure. It is, essentially, an international detective movie, and on that count it is done very, very well. Sean Connery nails the role from the beginning thanks to some help from director Terence Young (who did a phenomenal job on this one and it's follow up).
3. From Russia With Love - Terence Young, Sean Connery, and company take everything good about Dr. No and make it better in the first Bond Sequel. So why is it listed below Dr. No? The locations were more scenic in Dr. No, and that movie was just fresher. Both movies are great, but Dr. No just looks and feels newer and fresher. On all other counts, though, From Russia With Love is a slightly superior movie. You can't lose with either one.
4. Thunderball - Overrated at #4? Maybe. Maybe not. It is the follow up to From Russia With Love that Goldfinger wasn't. Goldfinger was a left turn that hinted at the Roger Moore era. Thunderball is a step back on to the path tread by both Dr. No and From Russia With Love. It's also a slight step down in quality from those two, but not by much. Terence Young returned to the director's chair for this one (after having to miss Goldfinger due to scheduling conflicts), and he did another great job. Adjusted for inflation this is by far the most successful Bond movie ever at the box office.
5. Skyfall - And this is the most successful Bond movie at the box office since Thunderball. Daniel Craig has made the James Bond role his own. He hasn't tried to emulate any particular previous Bond actor, but he does show bits of both Sean Connery and Timothy Dalton in his performances. Skyfall is an amazing film to look at as it was beautifully photographed by Roger Deakins (under the direction of Sam Mendes). The action scenes in this one are definitely among the best in the series, and despite a couple lapses in logic the overal plot and script is excellent.
6. Casino Royale 7. The Living Daylights 8. For Your Eyes Only 9. Tomorrow Never Dies 10. Goldeneye 11. You Only Live Twice 12. The Spy Who Loved Me 13. The World Is Not Enough 14. Quantum Of Solace 15. On Her Majesty's Secret Service 16. A View To A Kill 17. Octopussy 18. Never Say Never Again 19. Goldfinger 20. Diamonds Are Forever 21. The Man With The Golden Gun 22. Die Another Day 23. Moonraker 24. Live And Let Die
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Post by Erik Rupp on Aug 28, 2013 11:51:56 GMT -5
Fifty plus years of Bond, James Bond. 007. Amazing. The enduring legacy of Ian Fleming's iconic character has far exceeded even his wildest dreams when he first created the character sixty or so years ago. Fleming did an amazing job of creating a character that would resonate for decades and generations that would follow his introduction to the world in the first 007 novel, Casino Royale. From the plain, ordinary name, James Bond, to his personality and his skillset, to the supporting characters, Ian Fleming got it right from the word, "Go." Translating that character to the big screen was a challenge. Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli and Harry Saltzman both believed that they were up to the challenge, and when they combined forces to make James Bond movies they got everything right, too. Director Terence Young was an inspired choice, as he imprinted some of his own personality on the character. Sean Connery was tutored by Young in how to be James Bond. The lessons he learned from Young were put to good use over 6 official Bond movies (and one unofficial one, years later). Over the decades six men have played James Bond on the big screen. Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and, currently, Daniel Craig, have all brought their own take on the character to their respective 007 films. Each Bond actor has done well in at least one area, although Lazenby's inexperience did show a bit at times. The Bond phenomenon (both literary and cinematic) has developed legions of fans over the last six decades, and favorite books and movies among those fans varies fairly wildly. Some Bond movies have been better received at the box office or by the critics than others, but all of them have a lasting appeal. Even the weakest James Bond movies still have a strong entertainment value. That was something that both Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman wanted to make sure was always there - entertainment value. They achieved that goal, a goal still pursued by Broccoli's daughter, Barbara, and his stepson, Michael G. Wilson, as they carry on the tradition and produce the movies as part of a moviemaking family business. Certainly, some Bond movies are iconic for varying reasons. Dr. No is iconic as the movie that introduced James Bond to the big screen (and is a fantastic, stripped down adventure/suspense movie). Goldfinger is iconic as the movie that really introduced the famous gadgets to the Bond series, and is (adjusted for inflation) one of the most successful Bond movies ever at the box office. Moonraker is iconic as the Bond movie that took the character (and the series) over the top in terms of outlandish storylines. (James Bond in space!) But which ones are the best? And which ones leave something to be desired? That, of course, is a matter of personal taste and opinion, but that won't stop us from giving you the Vista Records rankings of The Best To Worst James Bond Movies.
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Post by Erik Rupp on Aug 25, 2013 22:50:09 GMT -5
Shaun Of The Dead. Hot Fuzz. Simon Pegg. Nick Frost. Edgar Wright. We're putting the band back together! Yep, they put the band back together, alright, and the results are pretty much what you'd expect. The World's End is a smart, witty, funny movie that holds up fairly well dramatically and features some excellent performances from everyone in the cast. And yet... Something's off. Just a bit. And I think I know what it is. Simon Pegg's character - the lead in the story, of course - is an unlikeable loser. Nick Frost actually has the best role in the movie this time out. Both of these guys are extremely talented, and both give fantastic performances in The World's End, but the tone of the movie is off, somehow. And I honestly think it comes down to the fact that Simon Pegg's character in the movie, Gary King, is just unlikeable, and is a complete loser in an arrested state of development. He is perpetually the same guy he was at 18. He hasn't grown, he hasn't grown up, and he isn't really much of a nice guy. The character doesn't have much going for him other than Pegg's bravura acting job in the role. He's over the top without going too far over the top. He almost makes The King likeable. Almost. The story is good (five friends set out to relive their final night together as a group, only they want to get it right this time - but something is amiss in their hometown, and over the course of their journey they find out exactly what that is). The acting is good. The direction is good. And the script is good. All of it is very good. Except the main character. Making your lead an annoying, unlikeable loser and having it not hurt the movie is always a challenge. It's been tried before, and more often than not the attempt ends in failure. The World's End is as close as you can come to having it all work without achieving complete success as is possible. They really came close to pulling it off. So close that the movie is still fun, funny, and even thought provoking at times. The movie is still something of a success. It's entertaining as hell for the most part, and there are plenty of laugh out loud moments along with those thought provoking moments. But after the sheer brilliance of Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz I really expected a knockout. A home run. A game winning goal. A last second touchdown. Instead I got a winner, but the win (over being a poor movie) isn't as overwhelming as I had expected. Still, even though this is the weakest of the three movies this team has made it is a wildly enjoyable movie (for the most part) anyway. I just hope that they get the band back together at least one more time to see if they can avoid any major flaws such as the script concept in The World's End (the concept being, "The main character is an unlikeable loser, but the audiences like him anyway"). Other than that flaw The World's End really comes through big time. 3.75/5
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Post by Erik Rupp on Aug 15, 2013 15:56:26 GMT -5
Steve Vai's first collaboration with DiMarzio, the DP159, "Evolution," humbucker, was a hot, bright pickup that produced a tone that really cut through and stood out. But for most guitars the Evolution's tone lacks a good bottom end. I had an Evolution loaded into an Ibanez AR305, and while the tone did cut through, it lacked the fat sound that a Les Paul type guitar should have. The Evolution has a fairly articulate sound (each string comes through pretty clearly - more than with many pickups), but it was a little bright and thin for that type of guitar. Vai recogized this and had DiMarzio come up with a new pickup that he could load into his Ibanez guitars to get a fatter, more Les Paul type sound. The result was the DP166 Breed pickup. So did they achieve their goal? Yes. The Breed is a great pickup if you're looking for a fat sound. Interestingly, it has a little lower output than the hotter Evolution pickup, but it doesn't sound any less powerful. The tone is big, fat, and clear. It has a certain crispness to the sound, but doesn't get harsh on the high end. And the low end doesn't made the sound mushy, either. It's a punchy low end. When playing the guitar clean, the Breed sounds fairly warm and has a nice tone. It is a pickup with a wide range of stylistic uses. From Classic Rock to Country to Metal, the DP166 works well with all of them. It also comes in several colors and cover options. I went with the gold cover (which looks like the chrome cover above, only gold, of course). It is one sweet looking pickup. But, it is the sound that really counts, and in that category the DP166 is a huge success.
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Post by Erik Rupp on Aug 15, 2013 12:53:15 GMT -5
King Kobra's self-titled 1985 debut album is considered to be one of the better Melodic/Pop Metal albums of the 1980's. Produced by Spencer Proffer the album combined bombastic drumming (courtesy of band leader and drum legend Carmine Appice) with some solid guitar riffs and catchy, melodic vocals. The result was a classy slice of mid 80's Hard Rock. The album wasn't a big hit, but it was noticed by many Hard Rock fans at that time. The second King Kobra album saw the band drastically shift gears towards a more keyboard driven, Pop oriented sound, and they even went so far as to create one of the first Rap/Metal songs in, "Home Street Home," (not bad for that kind of thing, and pretty good for the era, but very dated now). Unfortunately, "Home Street Home," was arguably the best song on the album as the rest was really faceless Pop with some guitars thrown in (not nearly enough). Since then Carmine rebooted King Kobra a couple times with less than stellar results. Then he got the idea a couple of years ago to reform the original band and put out a new album. Well, most of the original band. Original lead singer Mark Free literally isn't the same person anymore and wouldn't quite fit in the band these days. So Carmine recruited former Rough Cutt and (short time) Quiet Riot singer Paul Shortino to be the new voice of King Kobra, and they got to work writing and recording a new King Kobra album. The results, the self-titled King Kobra, were excellent. The album was arguably as good as their debut, and was just the next logical step from that album. King Kobra had finally delivered a second worthy album. Not satisfied with that, Carmine and the band decided to make another album, and the results can be heard on King Kobra II. Unfortunately, while the first comeback album was top notch for the old school Melodic/Pop Metal style, King Kobra II falls short of that quality on a couple levels. First, the songwriting isn't up to snuff. Sure, there are some good songs here, but there are too many mediocre songs to overlook. Where the last album was pretty much top notch from start to finish, King Kobra II is much less consistently good. Second, the audio production isn't quite as good, either. It's not bad, but it sounds like a lower budget album than the previous one. It may not have been recorded on a lower budget, but it sounds like it was. The guitar tone is very often the ultra crunchy early 80's indie guitar tone, overloaded with midrange. While solid mids are needed to keep a guitar tone from getting mushy, overdoing it sounds cheesy and low budget. The drum sounds aren't as good as those on the previous album, either. Again, there is too much emphasis on the mids (not as much as the guitar tone, though) and a little too much reverb. The end result is a mix that sounds fairly good, but definitely like an independently recorded, low budet album. It's good for that kind of thing, but the last album sounded better and more professional. But, what about the song specifics? Here's the track by track, blow by blow play by play... "Hell On Wheels" - This is a raucous, uptempo song with some passable riffing and vocal melodies. The chorus hook is good, but not great. As an album opener it works well. "Knock 'Em Dead" - Remember those songs from the mid 80's that were inspired by both Judas Priest and Motley Crue? If you do then this upper mid tempo song will feel very familiar. Again, the chorus hook is good, but not great, and the riffs are solid, even if very well worn. "Have A Good Time" - Things get interesting here. This sounds like something heavily influenced by early 70's songs from both the Rolling Stones and the Faces. The chorus is catchy and the groove is infectious, but, again, this is a well worn song - this kind of thing has been done many, many times before. A lack of originality isn't a killer, but if you're going to go where everyone's gone before at least do it better than most that have done it before you. This is a good song. It's just not quite a great one. "The Ballad Of Johnny Rod" - Now that's more like it. No, they didn't even show a shred of originality on this one, but what they did was to take some well worn ideas and do them really, really well. This is a ZZ Top-esque shuffle with some double-bass flair thrown in by Appice. This may actually be the best song on the album. Even the mix is better on this song than on most of the other tracks. "Take Me Back" - Ballad. Acoustic gutars. Tambourine. Bombastic, but not heavy chorus with some pedal steel guitar thrown in. Hammond organ. Good vocals from Shortino. Very much influenced by a lot of songs from the 70's. Mediocre song. "When The Hammer Comes Down" - Carmine opens this one with some of his trademark drumming, and the band kicks in with some very 80's guitar riffing. They seem to be going for groove and attitude here with this mid tempo track. On that level it is a wild success. As a song it's fairly good, and it's more infectious than it has any right to be thanks to that groove and attitude, but it's still not as good as it could have been with a little more work on the vocal melodies. "Running Wild" - No, not the Judas Priest song, although that might have worked better. Again we get a decent song with a fairly good groove and some solid riffs and vocal melodies. We've just heard this before, only a little better. Not a lot better, though - this is a fairly good track. Just not as good as it could have been with a little more work. "Got It Comin'" - When the song starts you can be forgiven if you thought that King Kobra was covering a KISS song (again), the KISS song in question being, "Lick It Up." But, no, the song becomes something totally different, something very Poppy and almost modern Country in style. It's OK. Seemingly an obligatory change of pace song, only a change of pace wasn't needed. "The Crunch" - A slow-ish mid tempo song with a ton of groove and a little bounce. The influences range from Led Zeppelin to 80's Pop Metal. Again, a decent song that isn't terribly special. It's enjoyable despite it's lack of upper tier songwriting. It works well in context of the album as a whole. "Deep River" - Another slower mid tempo song that starts out by altering, "Kashmir," just enough so that the riff isnt' a complete steal. This is a fairly funky, halfway bluesy track that is one of the highlights of the album, despite the borrowing from Zep. "Don't Keep Me Waiting" - Hmmm... For the first bar this one sounds like they're going to cover KISS', "Tears Are Falling," and after that the rest of the song sounds like they're trying to write that kind of song with a nastier attitude. An on that count it is a wild success. Kind of a KISS/Guns N Roses hybrid, with more 1985 KISS than 1987 Guns. This is a very good song. "We Go Round" - Maybe it's just me, but the opening sounds a little like Cheap Trick, and not their harder edged stuff, either. The rest of the song is a Pop Metal/Power Pop/Bryan Adams combination. Mediocre. It's kind of a sad way to close out the album. A really strong, harder edged song going out with a bang would have been a much better way to go. So there you have it. The band certainly plays well, and Paul Shortino sings well, but the album isn't as good as it could have, and should have, been. Where the previous album, King Kobra, was a winner by knockout, this one has to settle for a narrow split decision win. (Carrying the boxing metaphor a little farther, only one judge gave the decsion to KK, with the other two calling it a draw.) At least it's better than Thrill Of A Lifetime and King Kobra III. 3.5/5
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Post by Erik Rupp on Aug 8, 2013 13:33:39 GMT -5
Here's an early Bob Bailey Johnny Dollar 5 part episode. This is another great example of how good the show was when they did it five nights a week, fifteen minutes at a time for one long episode.
This is The Molly Kay Matter...
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Post by Erik Rupp on Jul 28, 2013 19:12:17 GMT -5
After X-Men Origins: Wolverine was released to middling reviews and fan opinions Fox decided to up the ante for the next Wolverine movie. First, they hired James Mangold to direct. This wouldn't be another B List director running the show, this would be a major upgrade in the form of a respected director who was well known for his dramatic work. Second they hired a pair of writers who had done some fine work in recent years. Mark Bomback had written Live Free Or Die Hard, which was much, much better received than the recent A Good Day To Die Hard, and he also wrote the screenplay for Race To Witch Mountain, which was a fun family movie that really delivered the fun. Scott Frank, the other writer hired to work on The Wolverine, had written Dead Again (Kenneth Branagh's supernatural film noir), Out Of Sight (the fantastic crime movie starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez), and Minority Report, among others. This was a solid pair of writers handling this one. Third, they went with the classic early 80's Wolverine comic book mini-series where he travels to Japan. A new setting to bring something new to the X-Men series. But even with the best of intentions and the best of plans things can go wrong. Not in this case. In this case most everything went right. The cast is excellent (Hugh Jackman just OWNS the role of Logan/Wolverine, and the rest of the cast here brings a lot to the table), the direction was very good (although there is a little too much, "Shaky cam," used in the movie, but not so much as to be a big distractinon), and the script brought enough suspense and excitement (as well as character development) to make this one of the better comic book movies of the last decade. Actually, The Wolverine is probably the best Summer movie thus far. It far exceeds Man Of Steel and Iron Man 3, and edges out Star Trek Into Darkness and Pacific Rim for the combination of quality storytelling and pure entertainment. The Wolverine picks up a year or so after X-Men The Last Stand. Logan (Wolverine) is camping out in the Canadian wilderness, trying to cope with the fact that he killed the woman he loved (Jean Grey, the Phoenix) in order to save countless lives. He dreams about her constantly, only they may not just be dreams. Unable to deal with killing Jean, Logan has decided to give up being the soldier, refusing to kill anyone again. This, of course, doesn't last too long, as events force his hand, events which take him to Japan. He learns that the Japanese soldier whom he saved in Nagasaki during the dropping of the atomic bomb there is dying and wants to see him. This soldier, Yashida, has become a wealthy businessman and makes Logan an offer he can and does refuse - give up his healing power and his (near) immortality to Yashida. His refusal leads to a battle for power and wealth among the Japanese, including Yashida's granddaughter, Mariko. An attempt to kidnap her is thwarted by Logan, but he makes a startling discovery (spoiler alert) - his healing power is gone. This leads to some good drama as Logan has to deal with near death injuries for the first time. He has become so used to being able to shake off gunshots and stabbings that he really doesn't know how to deal with being hurt. In the end we find out who is responsible for the kidnapping and assassnation attempts, and we get a rousing finale. Don't worry, though, there is plenty of action in between. It's just done at a pace that actually allows for some drama and character development. The pacing is just right. And, of course, The Wolverine is a movie for Hugh Jackman to carry, and carry it he does. He is, again, excellent as Logan/Wolverine. This was a role he was born to play, and it's hard to imagine anyone else playing it. Fans of the X-Men movies will most likely enjoy The Wolverine quite a bit, but even those who haven't seen the X-Men movies will find a lot to enjoy here as the movie is presented in such a way as to not leave the newcomer feeling lost. The crowd reaction at the showing I went to was impressive - a loud round of applause! The Wolverine really is a fantastic comic book superhero movie. It is told in such a way as to elevate it above the norm. Sure, there is the standard superhero finale, but it fits in with the movie. And after the first batch of credits there is a scene that practically steals the show. That scene alone is almost worth the price of admission. If you want to see an exciting, entertaining, fun Summer movie, The Wolverine is the one to go see this year. 4.5/5
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Post by Erik Rupp on Jul 27, 2013 0:49:47 GMT -5
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Post by Erik Rupp on Jul 25, 2013 16:41:05 GMT -5
Here's a great five part episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar from February, 1956. Bob Bailey stars as, "The man with the action packed expense account," freelance insurance investigator, Johnny Dollar.
Because Johnny Dollar was presented in fifteen minute segments monday through friday during Bailey's first season as Johnny Dollar (1955-56) the producer and writers were able to fully develop both characters and plot points in a way that just couldn't be done in a half hour show - or even in a one hour show. This is a great example of just how good Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar became when this format was used. Sadly, the network only stuck with this format for one year - but it was a great year!
Here is The Fathom Five Matter...
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Post by Erik Rupp on Jul 20, 2013 11:36:02 GMT -5
So out of all of those important or noteworthy albums, which are the Ten Most Important Heavy Metal Albums Of The 1980's?
Here is the Vista Records list...
Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell AC/DC - Back In Black Ozzy Osbourne - Diary Of A Madman Iron Maiden - Number Of The Beast Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance DIO - Holy Diver Metallica - Kill 'Em All Slayer - Show No Mercy Motley Crue - Shout At The Devil Def Leppard - Pyromania
Now (while some are) those aren't all necessarily the, "Best," albums from the decade or even from those bands' catalogs. They are, however, hugely important for varying reasons.
It is interesting to note that all of those albums came from the first four years of the decade.
That's our story, and we're sticking to it.
[Michael Kelso] I'm sticking to my original story! [/Michael Kelso]
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