This should really be called Chinese Democracy by a man called Axl and some mates. how long did we wait for this album? I think I have played it twice. I just don’t care anymore.
BTO’s Greatest – Bachman-Turner Overdrive
If I have to be honest this is not the greatest of that wonderess of bands Bachman-Turner Overdrive. If you want to hear their best stuff then just get the Not Fragile album and remove “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”.
However, as a start this is good. It does contain some stuttering song about blue eyes and it’s a shame as although it is their most well-known song it is not one of the best. My personal highlights are:
- Hey You
- Roll On Down The Highway
- Freeways
- Let It Ride
- Rock and Roll Nights
I guess it is hard to create a “Best” album. Music taste is so subjective. I do not think this ranks anywhere high. See my review of Not Fragile in about six months time to get an idea of what I think of a great album. This album doesn’t even have “She’s a Devil” because as we all know: “Her hair is the colour of fire”.
Broken – Nine Inch Nails
The first NIN album in this list. I’ve seen them twice but never really got into them around university time. So, The Downward Spiral wasn’t my first Nine Inch Nails album. This one, along with Fixed, was my first NIN album. A friend was giving away some music as he had just got a new girlfriend and needed the space in the house to put her stuff. I got some NIN and Rammstein.
This is a very good album. It has that raw, industrial sound that I really liked for about 15 years. NIN along with Ministry really broke new ground and paved the way for bands like Slipknot.
Highlights:
- Pinion
- Wish
- Last
- Happiness in Slavery
I do happen to think that the Fixed album has better versions but this is still great. Well worth putting on at any time but mostly an autumn album. Definitely not for the summer time!
Old Dog, New Tricks
Reviewing my iPhone music has certainly shown up some weaknesses with my brain. I was aware of the limitations of my memory but this has brought it into sharp perspective.
All the songs and albums I have been listening to for many years have been absorbed completely by my brain. I know what the songs are called, the good bits, the lyrics, the bad bits, the drumming, everything.
All the music I have listened to more recently, even though I have listened to it a lot just hasn’t really sunk in. I know the songs when I hear them but they aren’t “recorded” in my brain.
One of the reasons could be that my memory forming neurons worked better when I was “growing up”.
It could be that I’ve just been listening to the stuff for so long that it just had to sink in to my grey cells.
Another could be that I tend to listen to songs now when I am driving or running and I can’t see my iPhone to see the album cover, song title or lyrics.
Whatever the reason I don’t seem to remember new songs and lyrics although when I listen to them I remember [There’s a PhD in there somewhere].
Boston – Boston
There’s something about the energy and flair of a first album that normally shocks you awake. I’d only really known “More Than A Feeling” from this album for years because it’s on every bloody rock compilation collection.
However, I started playing Rock Band about 5 years ago and the song “Foreplay, Long Time” was on the game. I found this to be a genius song. It’s brilliant and operatic and full of riffs that make you want to dance. So, it was time to check out the whole album. To be honest I kinda started on a Boston freak time trying to get all their music, which was a bit harder than you might think.
There are eight songs on this album. They are all brilliant. They all deserve special mention but I won’t because of my old age / new song thing. Every one is a classic. I love how easy and great to listen to it is. I also think the songs are pretty predictable but the thing is there that before this band and some others around the same time this sort of song didn’t exist. It’s predictable because this band wrote this stuff in the first place.
Get it, play it. LOUD. In the car.
Born Dead – Body Count
I guess I bought this because I really like the first Body Count album. I don’t think I’ve really listened to it.
Bonfire – AC/DC
There comes a time when all bands sell-out. I think they have to, it maintains their income and produces the goods for the record company. Metallica have done it loads and I find a lot of their stuff nauseating. AC/DC by all measures have done it too. Branded Monopoly and anything else that you want but I don’t see it as selling-out. I see it as giving the fans what they want. For some reason it’s different for AC/DC [there’s cognitive dissonance for you!].
Bonfire is a collection of music from the Bon Scott days of AC/DC [when they were at their best]. The discs are split up into the following:
- Back In Black [not Bon but it’s there]
- Atlantic Studios
- Paris I and II
- Volts
The Atlantic Studio recording is of them live in the early days. It’s great. Really raw and lovely. The Paris CDs is just the CD version of the video “Let There Be Rock”. Volts is a collection of rare recordings from the early days.
I bought the Let There Be Rock video in about 1989, over an Easter break. I remember watching it. Videos were new to me and this was AC/DC live. At the end after the concert when the screen goes black and “To Bon” is written on the screen I cried. It’s hard not to. The world lost an extreme talent the night he died. On my return to school after the break Steven, who was the other AC/DC nut in my year group, had also watched the video. He had shed a tear too. The soundtrack is lovely. It’s nice to hear slightly different versions of the songs.
Volts is good but it freaks me out hearing classic songs with different lyrics.
If you are a Bon Scott fan then this is grade A merchandise.
Body Count – Body Count
I’m sorry. Who?
Ice-T?
Singing metal?
What?
That’s right. Ice-T has a band called Body Count and they play metal. Ice-T “sings” his stuff. This is a great album. It makes me laugh and slightly sad at the same time. Ice-T definitely has a message to portray and it seems to be one about the desperation of black people in society and getting laid. It’s funny how these things fit the music but when written down they just don’t scan very well.
My favourites:
- Body Count’s in the House
- Body Count
- KKK Bitch
The Blues Brothers [Original Soundtrack] – Various
This, first and foremost, is not metal. It’s not even close. However, everyone should have a copy of this and have seen the film at least three times. While I was in the sixth form at school there were a group of people who were very “Blues Brothers”. They loved the film and thought it was really good. They would quote it now and then and I was happy for them. I had never seen it.
While at university I attended a couple of the City and Guilds College Union Engineers’ Balls. Part of the night’s celebrations would be a posh dinner and dance and taxis around London. Then we would return to the student union and spend the rest of the dark hours of night there with music, drinks, food and films. The student cinema would show “The Blues Brothers” [it was a tradition]. So my first experience of this was at some god-awful hour of the night and feeling slightly worse for wear. It is a great film and one that I bought on video to watch in my own time. My latest copy is on DVD to explain and show people that although it is a “musical” it isn’t a “musical”. It’s a great film.
This is a soundtrack to a great non-musical-musical film that has cult status. It’s great.
Blue Murder – Blue Murder
When Whitesnake had their massive eponymous album in 1987 they went through so much strife that the band didn’t survive. The guitarist went on to form Blue Murder and they produced this album. I bought this on music cassette from the Our Price shop by Harlow bus station. It was in the rock section and one of those albums you look at, look at the band, look at the titles of the songs and then think it should be worth the money. This was a bargain!
The sound is so British and heavy. The songs are pounding slow beats of pure rock heaven. The style is similar to 1987 but the feel is much more heavy. I really like it. It still gets played quite regularly which is good for an album 20 years old. My highlights would be:
- Riot
- Sex Child [slightly worrisome though]
- Valley of the Kings
- Blue Murder
- Ptolemy
The British sound of the 1980s is one of my favourites. I love the NWOBHM style and this is what it evolved to become.
Blow Up Your Video – AC/DC
It’s hard to inform you just how much of an influence this album has been! I bought this when I was 16. AC/DC had charted with “That’s The Way I Wanna Rock & Roll” and I really liked it. So, I bought the album. I then recorded it onto tape and I’m pretty sure I took that tape on our last family holiday to the island of Jersey where we stayed at the Hotel Central. I remember listening to these tracks while I stayed in the hotel’s annex on my own. This album has provided the soundtrack for my introduction and descent into metal and for the summer of my GCSEs and 1988.
Once you get into a band you want to listen to all of their stuff. I started to buy the back catalogue, all of which will be mentioned in these communications.
Blow Up Your Video is not the best AC/DC album but it is one of the better ones. All the songs are classic AC/DC with catchy rock’n’blue riffs and good lyrics. Strangely, not many of the songs here are to do with sex. There isn’t a song a will skip when I listen to the album. The only thing is that AC/DC don’t play any of these songs in their live set which is a shame!
My highlights are:
- Heatseeker
- That’s the Way I Wanna Rock & Roll
- Kissin’ Dynamite
- This Means Way
This album just means so much to me.
Blood Sugar Sex Magik – Red Hot Chilli Peppers
I have a feeling the Chilli Peppers along with some other bands mentioned before are somewhat over-rated. I bought the album What Hits? and I really liked it. The songs were fast and raw.
I bought this album. Now, I can recognise it is a good album and I can almost see why people rave about it and the Chillis but they just don’t do it for me and so are over-rated.
“Suck My Kiss” and “Give It Away” are my favourites. The rest don’t bother me. I really disliked the Chillis when they became super popular (it’s in my psyche to dislike popular stuff) and stuff like “Dani California” etc just makes me want to puke.
Blade Runner – Vangelis
Every now and then you need a bit of chill-out music. Where would someone like me turn for that?
Films.
Most of my classical and easy listening knowledge comes from music in films. Blade Runner is an excellent film made atmospheric by the music contained within.
This is that music. Simple.
Blackout – Scorpions
In the late 80s those cheeky Scorpions had a massive hit with “Winds Of Change” from the Crazy World album. I bought that album – no bad songs there just classic straight talking rock.
After a while I bought this on music cassette. The cover has a man screaming with his eyes being impaled with eating forks. Just sayin’!
Look, this was released in 1982 and I listen to it still. The songs are really good and catchy. It’s not ground breaking rock, in fact it’s rather derivative, but it is a very well constructed album and brilliant. How many great German bands are there? [quite a few in these pages].
There isn’t a bad song. My personal favourites are:
- Blackout
- Can’t Live Without You
- Now!
- Arizona
- China White
There you have it. I’m a fan of the Scorpions. Not enough to have a tattoo but a fan.
Black Ice – AC/DC
This album proved to be a return to greatness for the grandfathers of rock. This band have been around for so long and made some less-than-brilliant albums that all hope had been given up. I heard about this album while listening to the Bruce Dickinson rock show on BBC Radio 6 Music. He was raving about how good he thought it was and what a return to form it showed. I was curious. Bruce is a big AC/DC fan and so he couldn’t be wrong.
This is a complete wonder of an album. It doesn’t have the gritty rawness of the Bon Scott albums but it is crafted and written brilliantly. It has everything you could want. Blockbusting riffs, brilliant drums, good lyrics and thundering bass. It’s great.
All the songs are good. Well worth putting on in the car for a summer drive. It’ll cheer you up.
Bitter Sweet and Twisted – The Quireboys
This album came along with “A Bit Of What You Fancy” when I downloaded it from iTunes. It really bugs me when joint albums are downloaded. I don’t like them being stored on my phone as one album so I mess with the properties to make them into the original versions.
I’ve not listened to this album.
A Bit of What You Fancy – The Quireboys
At sometime in the sixth form someone saw The Quireboys support another band. That’s all the memory I have about why I would know this band. I bought this album on vinyl and I would classify it as good old fashioned British pub rock and roll. This album is well worth a listen. I like the melodies and the singing. This is definitely a summer album. I can imagine playing this in the garden with the sun glaring down and saturating the whole village in glorious shine.
I listened to this album so much in my formative years that I think all the songs are ingrained. My favourites are:
- 7 O’clock
- Sex Party
- Long Time Comin’
This was a great purchase.
Biohazard – Biohazard
You go through life aware of some bands who really influenced other bands or perhaps they were there at the beginning. Then, you hear a collaboration song by that artist and think, hey, that’ll be good.
It’s ok. I’ve listened to it twice. Probably won’t listen to it again. Not fussed by it.
Bind, Torture, Kill – Suicide Commando
If it is screwed up dance music with a twisted feel then this is the right place to come. Part of my journey into aggrotech, this album was the first Suicide Commando album I downloaded. It’s really good. All the songs have a great beat and excellent melodies. Some might find the content and vocals a little distressing but then perhaps that is what some art is about.
Much like some comedians try to “push” the boundaries and you sometimes find yourself laughing at things you find repulsive I think it’s like that for all art. There are those who like to think they are pushing the boundaries of taste and I guess they do. If you can cause a bit of controversy and get people talking then you have done your job. Can I often see what these people are trying to do? Yes. Do I find it bothersome? Sometimes but then that’s the point isn’t it? I also recognise it for what it is, people trying to shock. I used to think that I didn’t really have limits, but it might be an age thing or it might be that I do have limits but never really recognised them before.
I saw a band recently, Sheep On Drugs, they were ok, but they were also trying to be arty. They burnt paper with words printed on it and also ripped their t-shirts off. The female member of the group had black tape over her nipples and then sprayed black paint on her torso. Did I find it interesting? Not really, more a curiosity. What was she trying to say? Was I shocked? No, not really. Having read the transcripts of the of the COUM TRANSMISSIONS [and they did it 30 years ago!] I don’t often find lightweight stuff like this shocking.
Anyway, back to the music. I like this album. It’s good. It also falls into the category of new and my poor memory doesn’t bring the songs into my head from a list of titles but when I hear them I recognise them. Perhaps that is a problem with listening to things while I run. I can’t see the artist, what the song is called or the cover work. Years ago, I would listen while thoroughly reading and taking in the album artwork. not anymore.
Hey, I like this. OK?
Big Sexyland – Revolting Cocks
The continuance of the transformation started by such electronica bands as Throbbing Gristle. The Revolting Cocks took samples and an industrial sound a little further and produced an album of lovely political songs that challenge perceptions of music.
Personal highlights:
- 38
- Union Carbide
- No Devotion
This band led into Ministry, Nine Inch Nails and todays shouty metal. It’s very good.