Candye Kane - Sister Vagabond - #43

Candye Kane - Sister Vagabond

I welcome each new release from Candye Kane. However, with Mrs Kane, you sometimes get a very polished version of the Blues (and whatever else she fancies at the moment), bordering on Easy Listening. But I do like her for her diversity and I don't carry the Blues police badge anyway. The latest CD features a certain Laura Chavez throughout (on guitar) and this lady has also co-written nine out of the thirteen tracks on offer. The other four being cover versions.

What you can hear, is actually an album that is far grittier than any other Candye Kane release I could name off the top of my head. This is still not the heads down no nonsense mindless Boogie Bluesrock offering, but it gets pretty close (at least compared to other releases of the lady). Wether this is her best album of her career (as some reviewer had it) is open for debate, but it certainly makes for a change. The CD sits easily among her top three releases.

The swingin' bit is not lost, not by a long shot. It's coming through as ordered and there is again this relaxing feeling that most of the songs carry across. Top songwiting as usual and the coverversions are not to be sneered at either. "Sweet Nothin's" (the old Brenda Lee chestnut) is a surprise appearance here. And what an excellent version that is. The CD clocks in at about 45 minutes and is well worth every cent. In case you haven't heard of Candy Kane before (things happen that way), you can't go wrong by choosing this one as your entry into her musical world and then you can work your way backwards to the beginning.

Now, if Mrs Kane would just make a live appearance around here in the foreseeable future? It's been a while since I saw her live on stage.

Cheers

Devon

Marketing B.S. - #42

Marketing B.S.

I really believe, despite the fact that I'm one of the minority to actually buy LPs and CDs, that the music industry has earned it's downfall. And every cent of it. As a collector, I realise, I'm being had, because I have to shell out my hard earned cash every second week for an apparently "new" release with a "never before heard" mix (not on Shellac anyway)) and this must have "unreleased" track (which translates as the biggest hit of the artist, but this time it's live [the 574th version], recorded in some dive in the hinterland of Afghanistan). I do not shed a tear when the industry whines about the illegal downloading (although I couldn't care less myself) and predicts the end of music in the near future.

Today I've seen an ad for a rerelease of King Crimson's "In The Wake Of Poseidon". I won't bore you to death with the stupidity in their attempt to sell the same product to the public for the umpteenth time. Just wait a few weeks, there'll be another edition round the corner. But what made my day is the following: "Each copy includes unique code for mp3 download of a copy of an original 1970 vinyl pressing". I rest my case. There's absolutely nothing to say about this anymore.

Cheers

Devon

HeadCat - Walk The Walk ... Talk The Talk - #41

HeadCat - Walk The Walk ... Talk The Talk - #41

A Rockabilly album by the likes of Lemmy Kilmister (Motörhead) and Slim Jim Phantom (ex Stray Cats) with the help of Danny B Harvey is bound to lean more towards Lemmy than any other musician in this setup. Rumble Rockabilly it is, with Lemmy "singing". What works fine for Motörhead is, surprisingly, also fine here. Lemmy's bass pushing everything forward and his vocal style, well, he's just Lemmy. What did you expect? Although Slim Jim and Danny do a good job, they really fall by the wayside. It's a Mr. Kilmister album in disguise. A mellowed down Motörhead affair, you might be tempted to say.

The CD clocks in at just under 28 minutes, which makes me mark this down one notch. Another reason for a slight downgrade is the fact, that only two songs are originals (of which I really don't count "The Eagle Flies On Friday" as such, although they do claim writing credits). Well, I'm almost done with the negative aspects, but there's one more. Really guys, although I rate "Shakin' All Over" as unkaputtbar, you come bloody close to sink this hook, line and sinker. And "Something Else", well, friends and neighbours, I actually do prefer Eddie's version.

Being done with that, I need to say, that the CD is nevertheless a fine entertainment product. This is not going to shake the foundations of the Rock'n'Roll world, but is a welcome addition. An overall rating would be eight out of ten points. The old Cream chestnut "Crossroads", sorry about that, but I almost forgot, is not much of a highlight either. How come I rate this rather high despite having to say so little about it's positive sides? One: It's Lemmy and via his Motörhead dayjob, he has an advantage. Two: The album is fun even with the few negative points thrown in. Three: There's so much b.s. on the market these days, even a halfway decent recording stands out. Go out and buy this from your local record dealer.

Cheers

Devon

Alice Cooper - Welcome 2 My Nightmare - Part 3 - #40

Alice Cooper - Welcome 2 My Nightmare - Part 2 - #40

I'm not yet sure about this album, but it doesn't represent an Alice Cooper album to me. There are a few good songs, but even those don't seem to belong on a latter day AC LP/CD. Just a tad to many gimmicks, I think. The album is musically really torn and not what one could expect from The Coop in 2011. I would have bet some money, that he was to follow the formula of the last couple of albums, but no, what we get is a bunch of ditties that are more easy listening than anything else and don't know how to spell R-O-C-K! O.K. to listen to when you're in your car and have still a couple of hundred kilometers ahead of you.

I'm still hoping I get it, and I'm not fundamentally against it, but I don't see this as THE highlight as some fans would have this to be. An entertaining album, in some ways, but nothing to write home about. On October 16, 2011 I'll be at the Alice Cooper gig in Winterthur. Actually I wanted to take this CD with me on the road (roundtrip about 300 km) but on 2nd thought, I'd rather pick something else. Probably some bootleg. "Go To Hell" comes to mind.

Cheers

Devon

"Dr. Feelgood" Post-1994 - #39

"Dr. Feelgood" Post-1994

Actually, the topic is as dead as a piece of meat on the plate in front of you. I've taken a lot of flak during the last couple of years for expressing my opinion, that Dr. Feelgood simply ceased to exist when Lee Brilleaux died. Everything else is a cover band. I knew right from the start of this debate, that history would prove me right. But seeing Wilko Johnson in an interview in the current Classic Rock magazine made my day.

Question:
You left the Feelgoods as long ago as 1977. How do you feel about the band carrying on these days with the name but without a single original member?

Reply:
I'm quite an articulate guy, but even I don't have the vocabulary to describe the current band. Without Lee (Brilleaux, singer who died in 1994) it's not Dr. Feelgood. The connections are just to tenuous.

Unfortunately, this brought the topic back, which I, by now, had well and truly forgotten, as "Dr. Feelgood 2011" are relegated to the backseats of Rock's history. Not even I get heated up about this anymore. But I had to laugh when I read it and I knew, I was always on the side of the good guys. Wilko, I do owe you one!

Cheers

Devon

Alice Cooper - Welcome 2 My Nightmare - Part 2 - #38

Alice Cooper - Welcome 2 My Nightmare

2011. A new studio album by everyone's favourite artist, Alice Cooper. This is kind of a sequel to 1975's "Welcome To My Nightmare", the debut Alice Cooper solo album. The work comes in a plethora of releases and each different one seems to sport a bonus track, not available on any of the other items. I've said, what I had to say about this. If fans are ripped off in such a way, I don't feel sorry about the decline of the music industry. You reap what you sow.

Right now, I've only the double vinyl issue (on red wax nevertheless) in my possession. The CD with accompanying magazine is still not here (Classic Rock issue), which is total b.s. as well. This was advertised as being out a full month before the albums hits the streets. Stupid marketing gimmick, I bought the Vinyl today (and I believe, the normal CD version was also available). The LP comes with a mini poster and coversized booklet. The latter is quite nice. The poster? I don't know. Kindergarten stuff. The original "Welcome To My Nightmare" doesn't have a cover graphic to write home about, but they have lowered their standards even further. This qualifies easily as one of the most horrible (pun intended) covers. Jesus Christ, what kind of amateurs are trying their "skills" these days. Where have the days gone, when talented people created good graphics?

The music? Much has been made of the fact, that the original Alice Cooper Band was back in the Studio! It was hailed as the second coming of Christ! Original? Wait a minute! Last time I checked, Glen Buxton was still dead ... so much for the claim of "original" ACG. And as far as I've heard, the rest didn't even get to be in the studio at the same time. And worse is yet to come, The living members of ACG are only to be heard on three tracks. Hardly news you need to be aware of. And what's more, wether they have lent their skills to these three songs or not, I wouldn't have noticed anyway. Alice Cooper could have hired any musician to fill out these slots, with no change to the quality. Or he could have used his current standard band on all tracks. Oh well! 

The music needs to grow on you. Starting very slow and a few tracks later drifting off to funfair music and everything else between here and Transylvania, this is not the kind of album you expected of a 2011 solo Alice Cooper. Especially since the last couple of releases had the quality of a fifty ton steamroller. But after a couple of listening sessions, I'm already beginning to like this slice of music. Although this is certainly not on a par with the original "Welcome To My Nightmare", as there's to much missing and the album is still a hodge podge collection with just to many gimmicks thrown in. It's entertaining, yes, but for the most part, don't expect your rockin' Alice. Very mainstream, but sometimes you want to shout "get to the point". As negative as this might sound now, there's some excellent stuff here, but I don't rate it as high as, say, "Killer" or thereabouts. And it doesn't help, when Alice Cooper tries his hands at Disco music (even though he might make a statement here) or with this godawful bonus track on the LP version. I have better Electronica or Industrial music in my collection. Just wonder where this leftover came from!

Buy the album, when you're in a record store the next time and you can't decide wether to buy a hits collection of yesteryear or this here. At least you're on the side of the good guys.

Cheers

 
Devon

Heidi Brühl - Hundert Mann und ein Befehl - #37

Heidi Brühl - Hundert Mann und ein Befehl

I'm not one for German Schlagers (with very few exceptions), but this here is remarkable. I was only aware of the Freddy Quinn version of this Cover (Sgt Barry Sadler - The Green Berets) until someone pointed me this way. Heidi Brühl is singing the song from a women's point of view, although the original German version is from a man's standpoint. I believe, it has nothing much to do with the Barry Sadler interpretation of this song.

  

What's so interesting here is not so much the song itself, but the delivery of the tune. First, Heidi Brühl looks absolutely stunning in this video. Then, this is the video for which the word teutonic must have been invented. This is a top class performance and I very much believe, that this was intended the way it comes across. Ice cold, shivers down your spine, that's what it is. The thing has class written all over the video. In one sweep, the team who produced this piece, has confirmed and denied everything that one believes to know about the Germans. And then the choir set into the dimly lit frame. This is one of the most interesting videos I've seen in a very long time.  Unfortunately, Heidi Brühl died when she was in her fourties (complications after cancer surgery). You don't have to buy Schlager CDs now, but you can still admire this one here.
Cheers

Devon

Test Pressings / Acetates - #36

Test Pressings / Acetates - #36

If you're after test pressings or acetates, here's a word of warning. For years, test pressings and acetates have been on the market, that are not the real deal. There's an industry in the Far East feeding the market with fake "acetates" (I'm speaking of vinyl only, as in my opinion, there are no CD acetates, whatever there might be available). Suddenly you see these items creeping up from places you've never heard about in your life. It's sometimes hard to spot a genuine article, when all you have is a picture on an auction site, and most of the time not a very good one at that.

Test pressings seem to be made from stock copies by way of taking off the label and replacing it with a white label with some fantasy writing or even better, bleaching the original label, so what you have in the end is a white label. But, of course, again, you can hardly spot this before bidding. Just ask the seller for a confirmation, that this is the real deal and if you don't get it, hands off! Of course, once you have the item in your hands, it's apparently easy to see that you've been had. Bleached labels with the original artwork shining through, handwriting the same over a set of different vinyls and the etching in the wax being the same as the one off stock copies.

In view of test pressings and acetates having a premium on them, sometimes very high, don't let yourself being taken advantage of. As tempting as an item might look, make sure you're not going to fall for a fake product.

Cheers

Devon