Kerrang! Kompilation - Vinyl rip

Liner notes

  SINCE it's launch in june 1981, Kerrang! has grown from a monthly Heavey Metal supplement into a quality bi-weekly mag championing the cause of rock music on an international level.Development has been both strong and steady, and stretching the scope of the editorial base to include Bands and artistes not strictly aligned with the HM cause yet strident enough in attitude and intent to warrent coverage nonetheless.
Big country,U2 and the Alarm,for example - energetic, occasionally downright stirring in attack - as well as those casting seed at what might be termed the more "progressive"end of the field,the likes of Marillion,Genesis and Pallas.Anyone who's successfully carved a niche within the wide world of rock, though the roots of the magazine will continue to rest squarely on the heavey side of the fence ... now and forever.

With mainstream media outlets in the uk having little or no understanding of HM or its audience and with US TV and radio stations suddenly reducing airplay time for music of this ilk, it's clearly important that Kerrang holds its ground;a knowledgeable,sympathetic supporter of both the established and the up 'n' coming, the stars of body and the twinkling lights of tomorrow... which is pretty much the logic behind this double LP and the Komplementary Kerrang video cassette.

The trouble with a lot of compilation albums (and that includes compilation albums highlighting the work of one artiste only) is that individual numbers tend not to stand up too well when taken out of context - unless of course the tracks are all singles anyway, and even then ...But here the strength of material, on a production and content level, and the vigorous outlawing of anything even vaguely resembling a 'filler' successfully overcomes the problem.

If it's not good you can rest assured that it's not featured, and although this particular offering excludes the more extreme ends of the Kerrang! editorial stance, it does encompass bands of ranging nationality and style (not to mention waist and hairlines), clearly undermining the oft aired notion that all heavy rock sounds the same.
It doesn't. There's no more repetition here than in any other musical form - in act probably less, due to the greater skill and versatility of the people involved

Alongside those at the center of the Jazz and classical arenas heavy rock musicians are undoubtedly the most accomplished, and theres plenty to prop up tht belief on this release, traditional British steal rubbing well armored shell with its altogether flashier American cousin, heavy on image as well as beat...

From the UK there is Iron Maiden(Voted Kerrange! readers top band of 84), Whitesnake, Gary Moore and Marillion, tried and trusted artistes of genuine quality, as well as newer names such as burgeoning heart-throb Robin George, already building a pedestal for himself in the States, Irish brothers Pat,John and Tommy McManus, collectively known as Mamas Boys and the melodically muscular Tobruk, a battling six piece currently based in Brum.

All get something good off their chests here, while upholding the cause of Maple leaf Mayhem are Helix and Triumph, natives of Kitchener and Toronto respectively, hard hitting, hard touring outfits who know how to hold a crowd ... then squeeze a little tighter.

From Europe come the Scorpions, Germany's no 1 rock act, and Krokus, original Swiss based but now looking more US setup than anything else; both, in fat, have spent a lot of time across the water of late so it's interesting to compare them with bona fide Stateside artistes featured on this package, a whole plethora of names veering madly in predilection and pace.

Meatloaf and Manowar, for example, effectively mixing decibels and Drama in two quite different ways, the former with 'Sailor to A Siren, raised several notches by a quite superb Bob Kulick guitr break, and the latter with 'All Men Play On 10', an uncompromising statement of animal intent that could well serve as an anthem for the whole HM movement.

Of similar disposition are Los Angeles outfits Warrior and Armoured saint, loosely militaristic in image and mind-numbing in musical precision, with Seattle-seated Queensryche a brisk hike to the left, combining azure-eyed Teutonic aggression with a warm melodic flare that seems to glow brightest in the realm of the epic,'Take Hold Of The Flame', a number from the band's first album, 'The Warning', is just that, admirably representing what could b described as the 'European' end of the US rock spectrum, with Kiss, Bon Jovi and Keel flying the stadia sized colours altogether more typical of American metal

The 'Big in Japan' looks and the sassy swagger, the sliced up T-shirts and the ever present pout, these three know exactly how to turn a gig into a party (or is it the other way round?);particularly Kiss, out of make-up but never out of mind,who along with a selection of other rock staples including the fan club and the highly powered merchandising system virtually defined this sort of presentation.Not surprisingly, therefore, they still do it better than anyone else, though since their Phoenix-like rising out of costumes and 'mask' others have been slipping on similar shoes down the theatrical end of the store

W.A.S.P. and Madam X to name two, both LA- based and both with an ear for the Metal/pop anthem, though if the OTT approach isn't quite to your taste you can always grab a slice of Stone Fury and Alcatrazz - the latter fronted by ex Rainbow/MSG vocalist Graham Bonnet, of course - who live up to the rocklist implications of their names with considerable aplomb, mind less on image than mainstream power

And what of Billy Idol, the expatriate Englishman in a way, he might be considered the odd man out - in his home country at least.
Through a past association with Generation X and the infernal UK habit of sticking music - all music- with a label' he's constantly been thought of as a 'punk' and as such of zero interest to those more inclined towards long hair and denim than a spiky top and bandaged up bottom.
Well, he's still got short hair, he still curls his lip (a lot) and he still seems to hover on the darker side of the tracks. But in America - where he's now very much a major artist - he's perceived purely and simply as a Rock performer backed to the hilt by the diminutive Steve Stevens, a sensational guitar ace with a calling cad style.

'Rebel Yell certainly needs no help to stand straight and tall, particularly if played at the appropriate volume.
I mean, there's no point being half-hearted about this; rock is clearly meant to be listened to LOUD and is actually  structured to sound more dynamic than other types of music, so reinforce the stereo and crank it up! With 24 tracks (almost 100 minutes) of prime rock roast to carve from- cover versions and originals alike - this 'Kerrang! Kompilation' should help make a good party or clear a bad one , and with an artful touch of craft and the assistance of a willing adult the colourful gate-fold sleeve can easily be converted into two equally colourful hats!

What more can i say? play hard, play often, and if you never buy another record this year.. you must be in the music business 

DANTI BONUTTO (Deputy Editor , Kerrang!1985)

The Tracks

Record 1

01      Iron Maiden   - Aces High      4:31     
          Written By - Steve Harris
02     Kiss  -      Heaven's On Fire     3:18    
          Written By - Desmond Child , Paul Stanley
03     Whitesnake  -      Slow An' Easy     6:08    
          Written By - David Coverdale , Micky Moody
04     Manowar  -      All Men Play On 10     3:54    
          Written By - Joey DeMaio
05     Scorpions  -      Rock You Like A Hurricane     4:18    
          Written By - Herman Rarebell , Klaus Meine , Rudolf Schenker
06     Helix      -      Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'     3:22    
          Written By - Joey Levine , Ritchie Cordell
07     W.A.S.P.  -      L.O.V.E. Machine     3:54    
          Written-By - Blackie Lawless
08     Stone Fury  -      Break Down The Walls     4:09    
          Written By - A. Call,  Bruce Gowdy , Lenny Wolf
09     Gary Moore  -      Victims Of The Future     6:11    
          Written By - Gary Moore , Ian Paice , Neil Carter , Neil Murray
10     Bon Jovi  -      Runaway     3:54    
          Written By - George Karak , Jon Bon Jovi
11     Alcatrazz  -      God Blessed Video     3:28    
          Written By - Graham Bonnet , Steve Vai
12     Meat Loaf  -      Sailor To A Siren     4:41    
          Written By - Paul Jacobs , Sarah Durkee

Record 2

13     Keel  -      The Right To Rock     3:22    
          Written By - Bryan Jay , Kenny Chaisson , Marc Ferrari , Ron Keel
14     Triumph        -      Follow Your Heart     3:32    
          Written By - Triumph
15     Tobruk  -      Wild On The Run     4:25    
          Written By - Woodward,Mick Newman
16     Marillion  -      Assassing (Seven Inch Single Version)     3:25    
          Written-By - Marillion
17     Warrior   -      Fighting For The Earth     5:29    
          Written-By - Joe Floyd
18     Robin George  -      Heartline (12" Dangerous Mix Version)     5:33    
          Written By - Robin George
19     Billy Idol  -      Rebel Yell     4:45    
          Written By - Billy Idol , Steve Stevens
20     Mama's Boys  -      Don't Tell Mama     4:21    
          Written By - Pat McManus
21     Queensrÿche  -      Take Hold Of The Flame     4:54    
          Written By - Chris DeGarmo , Geoff Tate
22     Armored Saint  -      Can U Deliver     3:34    
          Written By - G. Sandova,Dave Prichard , Joey Vera , John Bush , Phil Sandoval
23     Krokus  -      Ballroom Blitz     4:01    
          Written By - Chinn And Chapman
24     Madam X        -      High In High School     3:36    
          Written By - Bret Kaiser , Christopher Doliber

Record 1

Record 2

I'M BACK

I'M BACK

Got back late last night then threw the wife; kids and cases into the house and made a bee-line for the pub(I had been travelling for the best part of twelve hours) after a bit of shut eye and a little unpacking I came up to my den to listen to some of my vinyl purchases, about 30 albums in total nothing particulary special mostley just replacing old knackered albums  but i did get a couple of gems (in my eyes anyway) which may end up getting a post at sometime ,after i have cleaned them up a bit, the first album by Pavlov's dog being one of them

Thanks to Roby for keeping the blog going in my absence

Onwards to the next post 

Abominogjnr

John Sloman's Lone Star - 1978 - Riding high (Unrealised third album)

Lone Star 1978 Line-up :

John Sloman- Lead Vocals

Paul Chapman- Guitar

Tony Smith- Guitar

Rick Worsnop- Keyboards

Pete Hurley- Bass

Dixie Lee- Drums

Track list :

01- Skytrain

02- The writings on the wall

03- One for the money

04- Miss demeaner

05- The fool's gold

06- Riding high

07- Can i live the night

08- Travelling man

09- Painted face

10- Longer in the night

This is the third album of Lone Star, unrealised for management problems during rehearsals for the album. The label finally pulled the plug and the band split in 1978.

This album was later released on the Zoom Club label in 2000.

A little curiosity: during the realisation of the album, John Sloman celebrated his 21° birthday (as remember Tony Chapman in the notes of this album).

Link

Cheers

Kahvas Jute - Wide Open

Ok ,  I am still on holiday and have managed to find a friendly laptop, which enables me to post this.

Strangely enougth i have just bought this on vinyl in virtualy mint condition for a fiver along with another twenty or so pieces of  plastic that i have collected so far.There are a couple of albums that may be of interest to the blog if only for one song

After forming in 1971, Kahvas Jute earned an immediate reputation on the live scene and issued their only album, Wide Open, in January the following year.The album remains a classic progressive rock album, exemplifying their expansive tunes and outstanding guitar work. "Free"/"Ascend" was issued as a singlein July 1971. Guitarist Tim Gaze left the band and they continued as a three-piece, traveling to the U.K. in June 1971, where they made little impactand broke up. Bassist Bob Daisley played with several heavy metal bands and appeared as a session player for guitarists such as Yngwie Malmsteen andStevie Vai. Dennis Wilson eventually revived Khavas Jute in May 1973 with drummer Dannie Davidson and bassist Scott Maxey. They supported Bo Diddleyon his Australian tour in October 1973. In March 1974, Maxey was replaced by Peter Roberts, but by May, the band changed its name to Chariot.


Kahvas Jute came together from the remnants of Mecca (Bob Daisley and Dennis Wilson) and Tamam Shud (Tim Gaze and Dannie Davidson), and in 1970 they were the first of their kind in Australia, maybe the world. In 2005, they are possibly the last of their kind and, though a series of heavy, guitar-based rock genres has existed in the years between, I would describe Kahvas Jute as one of a kind. Though they started in 1970 with intentions of emulating the music coming out of the UK at the time – The Hendrix Experience and Cream in particular – what they ended up becoming was something as unique as, yet apart from, those major influences.

The Kahvas Jute rhythm section began its journey as Bob Daisley and Dannie Davidson in 1970, experimenting with and extrapolating on Hendrix and Cream power pop constructions. In 2005 it is Bob Daisley and Mark Marriot, invested with a whole new set of influences and experience. This rhythm section exists in a parallel engine room universe of their own making, inhabited only by themselves.

When Kahvas Jute stepped out of the Tardis in 2005 and started playing “Free” from the Wide Open album, my skin tingled. The freshness, the enthusiasm, the clarity of intention, the shear joy of executing a creative vision, poured from the Basement’s little stage. In 1970, the songs on Wide Open represented a departure for Dennis Wilson from the power pop of Mecca, apparent in songs like “Black Sally” and “Side Street Man” from Mecca’s final single.

In the years since, Dennis has performed with numerous bands of his own (Dennis Wilson Band, Deltoids, Catch 22) and other people (Le Bop, Doc Span Band, Under Rapz with Steve Gilpin) as well as writing and recording material with Chariot and Swanee, and releasing two solo albums and singles. He features on recordings by Loaded Dice, Screaming Tribesmen, Electric Pandas, Ol’ 55, Jackie Orszaczky and Olivia Newton-John. His songs have seen live performances by the likes of ex-Steely Dan members Elliot Randall and Jeff “Skunk” Baxter. His music appears in the Cannes award-winning movie “Going Down,” as well as the ABC TV series “Four Corners”, and episodes of Steve Irwin’s “Crocodile Hunter” and “Croc Files”.

Tim Gaze’s adventures since 1970 are no less spectacular. He has enjoyed a long career as one of Australia’s pre-eminent and most sought after session guitar players/vocalists. His music features on the surf film soundtracks “Morning Of The Earth,” (1972), “Band on the Run” (1982), “Sultans 2 – The Power Strikes Back,” and the subsequent “Sultans” 3, 4 and 5. He has written for, recorded and performed with Miss Universe, Ross Wilson, Ross Hannaford, Ariel, Stevie Wright, Tim Gaze Band, Rose Tattoo, Skin Game, Brothers of the Bell, Big Secret, Gyan, the Peter Wells Band, a re-formed Tamam Shud, The Bushwackers, The Blues Doctors, The Hoochie Coochie Men and Jimmy Barnes.

For Bob Daisley, his song “Ascend” represented the beginning of a songwriting journey that has taken him around the world, and his songs onto the albums of artists such as the patriarch from the reality TV sitcom The Osbournes, Widowmaker, Uriah Heep, Black Sabbath, Mother's Army, Warren DeMartini, Stream, Gary Moore, and of course his twenty first-century Australian projects, The Hoochie Coochie Men, Living Loud (not to mention guesting on kazoo and melody bass on a track on The Zarsoff Brothers 2005 album “Mixed Business”) and - full circle - the fresh-from-the-Tardis version of Kahvas Jute.

A progressive hard rock combo based in Sydney and active initially between 1970-74. Their album “Wide Open” is renowned for the stunning guitar playing and the strength of the songwriting. The band went on to become one of the finest acts of the era, but they never recorded again until mid 2005 when they decided to reform and try out a few new songs , much in the vein of their original album.

Musically, the album fits somewhere between the likes of Cream and Blodwyn Pig, with nods in the direction of Led Zeppelin, the Jeff Beck Group etc. It's a very English sound, but far from being a slavish copy of the overseas role-model the album bears a uniquely Australian flavour. The tightly structured songs and the superb guitar work of Dennis Wilson and Tim Gaze combine to place the record head-high in the progressive stakes. Furthermore the whole shebang is held together by the restlessly exploratory bass style of the great Bob Daisley and the muscular, yet agile drum patterns of Dannie Davidson.

There was no hype to the band, just an unpretentious bunch of musicians capable of producing inventive and enduring music. Not only did the band earn a reputation as one of the best live bands of the period, they also released one of the great Aussie progressive albums in Wide open. As the title suggests, Wide Open is a free-flowing, expansive blending of rock, jazz and blues, with a touch of folk thrown in for good measure, a hard-as-nails progressive blues rock extravaganza strong on rhythm and melody, and bristling with exceptional guitar interplay.

After their demise in 1974 Wilson joined Chariot, Davidson went on to session work and Daisley moved to England and became bassist with outfits like Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow ,Gary Moore Band, Widowmaker and Ozzy Osbourne 's Blizzard Of Ozz.There is much discussion that Bob Daisley is the highest record selling Australian artist of all time...

Link

Wicked minds- Double dose

Another post of a band that is very influenced by our best Band: Uriah Heep.

This time, not only guitar, bass and keyboards are very "Heepy", but the lead vocalist too, in some range of his voice, is similar to David Byron.

Two others connections with our best band:

1- The cover of Gipsy in the first album that i post: for me this is the best version of this song after the original that i've never heared (listen to it and comment, please)-(Colin, this is one other shot for your UH connections vol. 3);

2- In the second album posted (the fourth in their discography) the group writes some notes who describe all the songs of the album (Do you remember the first five UH's albums, all with notes by Ken Hensley?). I report here how they begin the song's presentation:

"Witchflower is our fourth studio record. We think that the song writing, perfomance and sound make this one our best work since the beginning even thought, quoting Ken Hensley cover notes from "The magician's Birthday", we thought the same about previous records and we'll probably think the same about the new ones to come (...)."

I think that this group is really the reincarnation of UH's classic line-up !!

Definitively, as my friend Colin said about Moonstone Project (Another italian band), Classic rock is still alive!!!

Wicked Minds- 2004- From the purple sky

Line-up:

Lucio Calegari- Guitar, backing vocals

Paolo "Apollo" Negri- Keyboards

Enrico Garilli- Bass

J.C. Cinel- Lead vocals

Andrea Cancarotti- Drums

Tracklist:

01- From the purple skies

02- The elephant stone

03- Drifting

04- Across the sunrise

05- Forever my queen (Pentagram cover)

06- Rising above

07- Queen of violet

08- Space child

09- Gipsy (Uriah Heep cover)

10- Return to Uranus

PS: The real masterpiece here is song number ten, a long electric ride of 18 minutes, with so much change of times and very beautiful vocal harmonies.

Link

Link -repost- to song 10 (Corrupted)

Wicked Minds- 2006- Witchflower

Line-up:

Paolo "Apollo" Negri- Keyboards
Enrico Garilli- Bass
J.C. Cinel- Lead vocals, guitar
Andrea Cancarotti- Drums

Guest musicians:

Gianni Azzali- Flute, Saxophone
Tony "Face" Bacciocchi- Congas

Tracklist:

01- Trough my love
02- Witchflower
03- A child and a mirror
04- Here comes the king
05- Before the morning light
06- Burning tree
07- Shadows train
08- Black capricorn fire
09- The court of the satir
10- Sad woman
11- Scorpio odissey
12- Soldiern of fortune (Deep Purple cover)

Link


If you like classic Uriah Heep (73-76), then you'll love Wicked Minds. I mean that they really, really sound like Heep, from the Wah wah drenched guitar to the Hensley like hammond and analog synth. The band does thrown in some mellotron and flute to give some additional flavor. The drumming is even better than in Heep, offering greater variety and technical prowess. I should also mention that the production on those albums is great. Everything is clear when it's supposed to be and a powerful wall of sound when it needs to be. They can definitively play with power in that funky Heep style. But they do have too a lighter side, as reflected in the acoustic tracks.

PS: a very big thank you for this post to blogger "Error 404" of "Orexisofdeath.blogspot.com", a blog full of lost gems of the past (and of today, as this post) that i recommend to all the readers of this blog.

Cheers to all

Wishbone Ash -Twin Barrels Burning

Twin Barrels Burning saw Wishbone Ash parting company with long time record company MCA Records, with the album being released on AVM Records, a label set up by the band’s manager John Sherry.  It also saw the introduction of bassist Trevor Bolder (ex-David Bowie, Uriah Heep), who had toured with the band in support of the Number The Brave album following John Wetton’s departure.

Recording sessions for the album took place at Jimmy Page’s Sol Studio, Cookham between June and August 1982, Berkshire and were produced by Ashley Howe (a colleague of Trevor Bolder’s from his Uriah Heep days) with engineer Stuart Epps.  The sessions marked a drastic change in musical direction for the

band, with a sound that eschewed the classic Wishbone allmarks of harmony and melody in favour of a more direct, heavy-rock sound (the album coincided with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement which was sweeping the UK at the time and had spawned the likes of Iron Maiden, Saxon and Def Leppard).  As Trevor Bolder says, “At the time Laurie was edging the band towards heavier rock along the lines of AC/DC or ZZ Top.  He was very much into ZZ Top and I think you can hear that influence on the album.”

All four members of the band contributed to the songwriting (although Trevor Bolder’s name was, at his insistence, left off the album credits due to a dispute he had with his publisher). As with Number The Brave, Andy Powell and Laurie Wisefield handled the bulk of the lead vocals (except for   "Hold On", which was sung by Trevor Bolder).                                           American Cover

The guitar playing on Twin Barrels Burning was, as always, admirable and Trevor Bolder proved to be a worthy successor to Turner and Wetton in the bass department.  Vocally, however, there were real deficiencies, with Powell and Wisefield’s vocal ranges being unsuited to the heavier musical style, both sounding strained and uncomfortable at times.  Lyrically, every heavy metal cliché in the book was dragged out with references aplenty to fast cars and chicks on tracks such as "Can’t Fight Love", "Engine Overheat" and "Genevieve".  The album’s cover, depicting a fast car accelerating, was designed by Ian Harris, a friend of Andy Powell.

The change of musical direction did not stop the album from achieving Wishbone’s highest chart position since New England, peaking at number 22 on the UK chart.  Certain elements of the music press gave the album rave reviews, in particular UK heavy metal magazine Kerrang.  However, while the album may initially have seemed a success, the band’s new direction alienated many long-time supporters and would be the band’s final album chart placing.

The Tracks

1) Engine Overheat 

2) Can't Fight Love 

3) No More Lonely Nights 

4) Wind Up 

5) Streets Of Shame 

6) My Guitar 

7) Hold On 

8) Genevieve 

9) Angels Have Mercy

The Band

Line-up: Andy Powell (guitar/vocals)

Laurie Wisefield (guitar/vocals)

Steve Upton (drums)

Trevor Bolder (bass/vocals)

Produced by: Ashley Howe, Stuart Epps 

(except My Guitar produced by, Nigel Gray)

Guess what i am sat here in Edinburgh with What was my best man and he has given me access to a pc so here is my first holiday post

ENJOY

The Link

Uriah heep- Live at 2 British Rock Meeting- Germersheim 1972 (Bootleg)

This bootleg is contemporaneous of "Demons and wizard" (May 1972). To be honest, the sound quality is not too good in some songs, with up and down of the volume here and there.

As you can see in the pictures, this is a bootleg taped during a big festival in Germany with all (or so) the biggest english bands. For how i know, this bootleg includes the entire set of UH exhibition. The little gems are, for me, Rainbow Demon and the long version of Gipsy, that is a proto version of the same song from "Live January 1973" with beautiful solos from Hensley, Box and Kerslake






Line-up:

David Byron- Lead Vocals
Mick Box- Lead Guitars, Backing Vocals
Gary Thain- Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
Ken Hensley- Keyboards, Guitar, Backing Vocals
Lee Kerslake- Drums, Backing Vocals

Link