This will probably annoy some of the Manson fans out there but most of his stuff sounds the same to me and as much as I enjoy it I’ve never really spent the time to play a single album over and over. I’d like to see him live though.
Smash – Offspring
I’m not sure why I bought this album. I suspect it was for the lyric below. I’ve not really listened to it.
Drivers are rude
The Offspring
Such attitudes
But when I show my piece
Complaints cease
Something’s odd
I feel like I’m God
You stupid dumbshit goddam motherfucker!
Slippery When Wet – Bon Jovi
I’m not really that sure where to start with this album. It has been such an influence on me since I bought it in the 80s sometime. I was about 14 or 15 when I got this. I guess I bought it after seeing something on Top Of The Pops or hearing one of the singles a lot on the radio. This was the beginning of my descent into metal. I will have played this album over and over again. There was a time period when I had this projecting from the speakers and I was using a rowing machine because I must have become self-conscious about my body. As I write this I’m getting the feels for around Brize Norton camp which was 1987 so let’s place this in summer the of ’87. My discovery of Iron Maiden and AC/DC would have been around this time too.
The keyboard opening of this album amazed and still amazes me. I love it. The way it links in with the main riff of Let It Rock is brilliant. The song itself is a slow and heavy celebration of everything about the genre.
I’m not that much of a fan of rock ballads and I think I pretty much tolerate them nowadays but historic me loved them and always wanted a decent ballad on every album. This album has them and they are good if disturbing. Without Love explains that “she” is not young, but still a child and also a prostitute – the 80s were troubling for lyrics and anything approaching female equality in movies and songs. If this communication gets read in Cornwall I’m sure I’ll be corrected if I’m wrong about anything within these words. Never Say Goodbye makes me want to slowly bleed to death these days but it would have affected me emotionally when I was a moody teenager. It celebrates fucking in a car, I’m pretty sure.
Social Disease starts off with sound effects from a porn set and I always gave a wry smile at that point in this album. It felt rebellious and bad to be listening to something this rude. Nowadays who cares? I’m sure there are plenty of folk who will be shocked by what exists but now I’m older not a lot shocks me. Even stuff made to shock doesn’t shock me. Partly I think it is because “I’ve seen things” and so extreme stuff can get shrugged off but I also think it’s about my politics. There’s that idea that as you get older you become more conservative and selfish [although I could argue they are the same thing]. I find I become more and more left wing as I get older. Anyway, this song is a good’un.
Want a happy song? Then Wild In The Streets is for you. Such an upbeat and happy tune. I’m sure there’s some cowbell in there at the beginning. If it isn’t then it should be, I reckon I could write songs better than Jon. This is another song about fucking in a car. I guess that must have been a thing that happened.
Get the crowd going and waving their hands with Raise Your Hands. I have no idea if I’ve ever seen them play this live but it’s an upbeat song with a great chorus and obviously written to be played live and get the crowd going. Always include a list of all the places you want to visit so you can shout out to them on the world tour. It’s lovely.
I’ve played You Give Love A Bad Name on stage and it was great fun. A good song. We played it terribly. But it was still fun. Oh, do you remember those days? When people could gather in safety and enjoy something collectively. I so look forward to those days again but I will be sad that people will forget the pain and suffering that this government caused through inaction and incompetence. Don’t you go telling me that it must have been a tough job and they did their best – it is quite clear that their best isn’t up to the job of governing. They are a shit-show of people and should be replaced. A pandemic isn’t the time to push your petty ideas of social change. Fuck them.
I think I’ve played Living On A Prayer too. I seem to remember asking for a count in to the song from the drummer and then completely ignoring that count and playing at my own speed. There’ll be a version of it somewhere on my YouTube channel I guess. Everyone loves a song where they can pretend to sing the chorus. Just watch out for the key change. Oh, and fuck key changes. I’m convinced they are lazy writing and mean you could think of a way to change your song. I know people love them but to me they are like fade-endings. Lazy. Yes, I’m being critical of skills that are far ahead of mine and I should say anything but I have!
Go and get this album. Try not to worry about the 80s lyrics and learn the history of rock.
Slipknot – Slipknot
Back in the day I remember watching Chris Evans’ television show TFI Friday and I’m pretty sure I quite liked the show. It was a good mix of fun and frolics. One Friday though things were going to change. They showed a band called Slipknot. I think they played Wait And Bleed. I don’t know. All I know is that it was fascinating and amazing and such a different sound to anything else I had seen. Oh, they also wore boiler suits and masks but that didn’t bother me. There were probably complaints about the music but who cares. I bought the album and it was this one.
I listened to this album yesterday while I was experimenting with a computer monitor set up and it turns out that the last few songs aren’t that great. I’ve checked the track listing and there are some demo versions on my version of the album and so I won’t count those because Get This was there as a very pleasant surprise.
All you need from this album are the first five or six songs which is good because I didn’t really recognise any after Tattered & Torn. In my opinion everyone should have this album. I don’t think many will like it but it’s an important piece of art. It won’t make you feel good and it will assault your ears but you’ll be a better person once you’ve experienced it.
742617000027 – A nice start to this album because it sets the mood.
(sic) – A pretty sweet song. This batters you brutally around the head. Wait, what’s that? Scratching in a metal album, what is going on? “Fuck You All”.
Eyeless – Something about eyes I guess. I’m not a lyrics person but rather the beat, pace and riffage get me. This has a few greater moments. When you get to shout out “Nothing” and then “Motherfucker”.
Wait and Bleed – look, some people love it. It’s a good song but it’s not up there. I’m not sure why it lacks for me but it does. I’m happy when they play it but there are others that are better.
Surfacing – I love this song. It’s fantastic. I think I want it played at my funeral.
Spit It Out – another great song. What is that sound at the beginning? This one makes two of my favourite songs called “Spit It Out”.
Fuck it all! fuck this world!
Michael Crahan / Christopher Fehn / Paul Gray / Craig Jones / Nathan Jordison / Corey Taylor / Mickael Thomson / Sidney Wilson
Fuck everything that you stand for!
Don’t belong! don’t exist!
Don’t give a shit!
Don’t ever judge me!
Slip Of The Tongue – Whitesnake
Whitesnake were MASSIVE in 1987. I’m really it’s David Coverdale and assorted guest members of the band, a bit like Megadeth being the two Daves and another two. What happened in 87? Well, Whitesnake created a fucking monster of an album which I haven’t written about yet. This album though was the next one. This is what happens when you employ Stevie Vai and let him “Vai-up” your sound. There is not a problem with Vai-ing up your sound and I guess this album stars the voice of Coverdale and the sounds of Vai. It’s a good, slutty album. It perfectly encapsulates what cock-rock and slut metal is completely. Songs about sex and easy women, headlining the Monsters Of Rock Festival and general classic 1980s sexism. You know that trope with a woman writhing around on the bonnet [hood] of a car? That was Whitesnake.
Let’s look at some of the song titles shall we?
Slip Of The Tongue
Kitten’s Got Claws
Cheap and Nasty
The Deeper The Love
Slow Poke Music
This album also has a remix of Fool For Your Loving because it’s a good song and nothing sells or makes an album better than you putting on a remix of an old hit. I don’t have a problem with it.
I never saw Whitesnake. MH, best mate at school, saw them before this album and after the 87 smash hit. The band had different members then. Check out the list of members on Wikipedia. Mind you, they did/do have Tommy Aldridge on drums and that guy is a legend.
Coverdale has an amazing rock music voice.
Slave To The Grind – Skid Row
When I bought this album I was initially disappointed. I felt that Skid Row had moved from the LA Sound to a heavier, deeper almost thrash sound. But, after all these years I recognise this as a great album. I prefer it over Skid Row with the heavier sound and lower cock-rock influences. I fondly remember seeing the band a few times in the early 90s and this brings me back to those times. Watching Sebastian Bach tell Brent Council to fuck off and then play “Get The Fuck Out” to a crowd of 60,000 in Wembley Stadium was great. The band had been warned not to play that song and Bach read out the letter to the crowd. Good times.
This is an excellent album and I enjoy it still. There are great songs, a ballad- cos that’s what rock does, and heavy not-quite-thrash songs.
Monkey Business is great.
Slave To The Grind is great.
Get The Fuck Out – is a song for 2020, and good.
Riot Act would require a lot of mosh-pit.
Mudkicker is heavy and bouncy.
Look, someone has put this on YouTube. I was there, man. Wait for the incitement to riot! But it was a great show.
“You’re standing too close what the fuck’s with you, you ain’t my old lady and you ain’t a tattoo, no need to whimper, no need to shout, this party’s over, GET THE FUCK OUT”.
Slam – Dan Reed Network
Well, this is a biggy for me. This album was a large influence during my late teens and early twenties. I first saw Dan Reed Network when they supported Bon Jovi in Wembley Arena, I think. I enjoyed their set enough to then spend some money and buy Slam. I have played this album often. It is a mixture of rock and funk with some incredibly beautiful songs. I had a big urge recently to listen to this album and as I don’t have any analogue playing devices anymore I bought the album from iTunes. I guess one of the things about this collection of songs is that so many of them are just lovely, they send a shiver down my spine, they make me feel emotions which I would normally do my best to avoid. There’s quite a connection to SR also with this album. The Bon Jovi gig is memorable for getting a lift from a friend and them drinking cans of Guiness on the drive down the M11. This is a wonderful album.
Skyscraper – David Lee Roth
I am pretty sure that I bought this album just for the songs “Just Like Paradise” and “Damn Good”. Both of these are great songs and wasn’t DLR in Van Halen? I haven’t listened to this in a long time.
The song Damn Good was once on a compilation tape that I owned produced by a friend back in the days when music cassette ruled. I can remember listening to that song in the music department at Leventhorpe. There was a funny record button on the tape player and when I pressed it the sound output decreased, but at the same time, while playing it recorded the microphone input over the song. It was a clever little tape player but it messed up my tape version of this song.
Skynyrds Innyrds – Their Greatest Hits – Lynyrd Skynyrd
I pretty much just bought this album so I could have a copy of Freebird.
Silver And Gold – A.S.a.P
Way back in the past Adrian Smith decided to leave Iron Maiden and do his own thing. This was a little sad for me as I had always preferred Smith to Murray for some reason and I wondered what Maiden would do to replace him. Smith then went on to produce this solo album and I bought it, except that I didn’t really. At some point Jannick Gers joined Maiden and then Smith came back so now they have three guitarists. Not a classic line up but the longest running line up I guess.
Smith released the single Silver And Gold from the album Silver And Gold and I went to Our Price in the Harvey Centre in Harlow to buy the single on CD. In those days people weren’t trusted to browse real CDs and so the cases were in the shop and the CDs were kept in cardboard wallets in the back of the shop. I guess we were all thieving bastards back then. I took my CD case for the single up to the counter and the person went to the back to get the music disk. Once I’d paid my money and left the shop I looked inside the case and would you believe it?, the shop person had put the CD for the same named album in the case instead of the single CD. I had won “shopping”!
As an album this is, for me, OK. I don’t listen to it often and while I don’t mind it, it’s not something I normally seek out. Sometimes while I write these I have the album playing in the background but I couldn’t even be bothered to do that this time!
