Shout Out: Sweet Fanny Adams and Desolation Boulevard - Sweet

I know I said I'd be writing a Rapid Fire post but after a bit of thought, I decided to adapt it into a Shout Out post. But not just any Shout Out post, oh no. This time, it's a...
DOUBLE SHOUT OUT POST!
Yes, I couldn't decide which of these two brilliant albums to dedicate a post to so decided to write about both of them! First up, we have Sweet Fanny Adams, an album that's an essential listen for fans of 70s Hard Rock!

Most bands that choose to adapt their sound to appeal to a different audience tend to do so after about six albums. Not Sweet; they did it after just one. Not only that but they also changed their name from The Sweet to just Sweet. Granted there were three years in between the release of Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be and this record but the band also released some of their most popular singles in that time such as "Block Buster", "Little Willy" and of course "The Ballroom Blitz". These singles teased the band's transition from Bubblegum Pop to a heavier Glam Rock style of music but it wasn't until this album that the band begun to fully embrace Hard Rock...with a bit of Glam here and there.
Album opener "Set Me Free" was an explosive entrance onto the Rock scene, clearly taking influence from contemporaries at the time such as Deep Purple and The Who. The band only continued to keep things heavy with tracks such as "Rebel Rouser", a spiritual successor to "Hell Raiser", and title track "Sweet F.A.", a song with a heavy gallop and percussion throughout. Even the Glam infused tracks are heavier than your typical Top Of The Pops numbers with songs like "AC-DC" and "Into The Night" focusing more on raw vocals and rhythms than sing-a-longs and catchy riffs.
An important thing to remember whilst listening to this album is that it came out in 1974, around the time that Queen were just starting out (Queen II, which contained the complete version of "Seven Seas Of Rhye", was released just one month before Sweet Fanny Adams). Both bands pioneered vocal and guitar harmonies in Hard Rock although only Queen got the worldwide acclaim for their music. Whilst I think that Queen made better decisions over the course of their career and earned their fame through genuine talent, it's a shame that Sweet didn't even earn a fraction of their popularity despite being documented influences for Brian May's guitar work. What I'm trying to say is that Sweet Fanny Adams is a great album; highly underrated and one that I recommend to fans of 70s Rock.

1. Set Me Free

2. Heartbreak Tonight

3. No You Don't

4. Rebel Rouser

5. Peppermint Twist

6. Sweet F.A.

7. Restless

8. Into The Night

9. AC-DC

ALBUM RATING - 9/10

Of course I couldn't talk about Sweet Fanny Adams without also mentioning the follow-up album, Desolation Boulevard.

There are two versions of this album available, one released in 1974 in the UK and one released in 1975 in the US. The US version had a different tracklist, containing tracks off Sweet Fanny Adams and more radio-friendly versions of hit singles, whereas the UK version was 100% new and all Rock. I'm gonna be talking about the UK version. To say it was released literally in the same year as Sweet Fanny Adams, the fact that the album is clearly a different beast is impressive. Album opener "The Six Teens" showcases this with acoustic melodies paired with the electric guitar harmonies, not to mention the tempo changes later on. Sweet were back and in that short space of time between album releases, they'd learnt a thing or two!

The general songwriting quality is still great and contains a decent amount of variety, alternating between heavier Glam Rockers ("Turn It Down") and softer melodic numbers ("Lady Starlight"). However, there are three tracks that need singling out. First up is "Man With The Golden Arm", a cover of the theme by Elmer Bernstein that would be a great track if not for the five minute drum solo. It's ambitious but a little too masturbatory for me. Then there's a cover of "My Generation", the album closer that does a damn good job of recreating the energy and passion of The Who's original. Whilst the bass solos may not have the same appeal, the band still do a grand job of the song...up until it all goes to shit 50 seconds before the end.
Finally, there's the single-most important reason to listen to the album. "Fox On The Run". If you've heard this song before, chances are it was the rerecorded version for the 1975 version of this album; the one with synth and added backing vocal harmonies. This original version is more of a Hard Rock song with a much better guitar riff, TWO guitar solos, some fantastic percussion, raw vocals and great bass licks throughout. It's a shame that this version isn't more widely known as I would argue that it can go toe-to-toe with any of AC/DC's top songs. Whilst the 1975 album may have had a stronger tracklist due to the inclusion of multiple Sweet Fanny Adams songs, this album deserves a shoutout for the Hard Rock version of "Fox On The Run" alone. Now we just need an album with the full version of "Show Me The Way" too.

1. The Six Teens

2. Solid Gold Brass

3. Turn It Down

4. Medussa

5. Lady Starlight

6. Man With The Golden Arm

7. Fox On The Run

8. Breakdown

9. My Generation

ALBUM RATING - 6/10

Both albums are available as extended versions on Spotify and iTunes so you now have no excuse not to enjoy these cracking records!

Shout Out: Miracle Of Sound

Jesus, I've really let myself down with the lack of posts lately. Time to get right on that!

Kicking the rest of the posts off this month is a brief shout out to Miracle Of Sound, a one-man band who doesn't sound dreadful and look like a robot made of terrible musical instruments. The man in question is Gavin Dunne and he writes/plays a variety of songs that belong to Rock, Pop, Metal and other musical genres all related to video games, TV shows and/or films. However, the main difference between Miracle Of Sound and those bands that write Legend Of Zelda tributes that rip off melodies from those games and feel like the lyrics were compiled by an AI algorithm full of generic Zelda references is that this guy's music can stand on its own feet.
Some of the songs feature heavier lyrical references to the games than others (e.g. "Nord Mead" and "Another Round Of Gwent" relating heavier to Skyrim and The Witcher than, say, "Jet Fuel Heart" to Ratchet & Clank) but even then, the songs are great to listen to and don't feel as uninspired as many of the others literally Spotify and Youtube. However, the greatest aspect of Miracle Of Sound's music is the ability to capture the essence of the game/show without using melodies ripped straight from them. The song "My Shooting Star" comes pretty close with the use of slide guitar from Firefly but at the end of the day, it still sounds like a damn fine song.
If you're an active gamer who seeks out new titles rather than simply replaying the classics, you should probably check out Miracle Of Sound on Spotify or Youtube, as he has eight different albums full of original tunes and he's probably written about something you love. I mean, you should go ahead and check out the ones about games/shows you don't watch as they're incredible well written, but you know what I mean. Normally, I'd post a tracklist and highlight songs I really like from the album I gave a shout out to but since there are too many songs to write about here, I'm just gonna leave it with you to find this guy and give the songs that you're interested in listening to a try.
Yeah, I know this is a short and relatively unsatisfying post but if it introduces just one more person to Miracle Of Sound, it's done its purpose.
COMING SOON: Rapid Fire and video game posts!

Shout Out: The Mission - Styx

Continuing the trend of discussing albums from 2017 that I weren't aware of until after I'd written about the best/worst albums of 2017, here we have a new record from Styx!

OK, I'm quite late on this one but I still feel like it deserves some attention, seeing as how I only found it through the Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify and not any of the lists about 2017 album releases I read over the last couple of years. However, I'm not reviewing it simply because I don't have an awful lot to say about it, at least not in the usual depth I go into on album reviews; hence, Shout Out! Usually Shout Out posts are dedicated to albums I really love but occasionally, I write one when I just want to bring it to people's attention. This is one of those times.
The Mission is a concept album about mankind's journey to Mars with some narrative fluff in between; your typical Prog Arena Rock affair. Whilst this may not have the passion and youthful energy that earlier Styx songs contained (arguably due to the lack of Dennis DeYoung), the band have pulled an ELO and written music to accommodate their age. The majority of tracks are slower, more atmospheric ("Radio Silence", "Time May Bend") but there are a couple of faster paced rockers in there, such as true album opener "Gone Gone Gone" and "The Outpost". Whilst there are a couple of unnecessary filler tracks designed to bridge songs with musical narrative ("Ten Thousand Ways", "All Systems Stable"), it's still a strong album that feels like it was written with the intention of creating great music, not forcing the creators back into the mainstream or making undeserved money off idiotic music magazines and their fans touting the talents of has-beens.
If you like albums that you can chill out to and listen to in the background, The Mission is perfect for you. It starts off with excitement and peacefully mellows out for the rest of the journey, not unlike the launch of a rocket to space (an artistic decision that was hopefully intentional and not me reaching). If you want an album full of "Lorelei"s and "Blue Collar Man"s, you'll be disappointed. I suppose the album opener did a poor job of setting standards from that perspective but hey, that's what I'm here for! There are far more egotistical, unnecessary examples of Prog Rock concept albums out there, although for someone like myself who prefers Rock music that actually Rocks, it's not an album I'll be revisiting any time soon.

1. Overture

2. Gone Gone Gone

3. Hundred Million Miles From Home

4. Trouble At The Big Show

5. Locomotive

6. Radio Silence

7. The Greater Good

8. Time May Bend

9. Ten Thousand Ways

10. Red Storm

11. All Systems Stable

12. Khedive

13. The Outpost

14. Mission To Mars

ALBUM RATING - 6/10

Aaaaand that's me all caught up on blog posts for the month! Bring on April...and May...and June...just keep bringing on months until everything ends.

Shout Out: A Hat In Time (Original Game Soundtrack) - Pascal Michael Stiefel

Apologies for another video game post so soon after the Guitar Hero 2 one but I miscalculated the timing of future album reviews, meaning I have to wait a couple of weeks to review the new Judas Priest album...so time for some filler!

A Hat In Time is easily my favourite game of 2017 and definitely one of my all-time favourite platformers too...but you probably could've guessed that I love the game, what with it being here in a Shout Out post. I could've picked many top tier game soundtracks to write about ranging from classics like Ocarina Of Time to underrated gems like Tearaway Unfolded but for this short little post, I chose A Hat In Time mostly because it's a soundtrack that continued to consistently amaze me all the way through my playthrough of the game. In my experience, many game soundtracks have at least one period of downtime where the music isn't to my liking; one hub world or significant portion of the game where the music is a weaker than the rest of the soundtrack. Not A Hat In Time!
I can't think of a single beat in the game's natural progression that suffers from that misstep; every chapter, every environment has at least one brilliant tune from the classic overworld music of Mafia Town to the incredible boss battle tune in the Dead Bird Studios world. There might be weaker tunes or variations that pop up now and then but you don't have to wait long to hear another belter. Also, if you don't like one of the songs during certain key levels, there are unlockable remixes that you can swap main tunes out for. Granted most of the remixes aren't as good as the originals but it's still quite fun to hear a Disney-fied version of the Snatcher boss theme or the electro-swing remix of "Train Rush".
The game's composer, Pascal Michael Stiefel, is mostly known for creating remixes of game music so there are a few familiar melodies tweaked just enough to make them into new songs. There are elements of the Song Of Storms in "The Windmill Peak" level and I literally had to check to make sure the music from "Picture Perfect" wasn't lifted from Super Mario Galaxy or one of the many Mario Kart games. However, the main takeaway here is that the soundtrack does a perfect job of capturing the tone of each level, whether it's chilling edge-of-your-soiled-seat horror levels set in Queen Vanessa's Manor or joyful platforming and exploration of each village in the Alpine Skyline world. It's a delightful soundtrack that I strongly advise checking out or just full-on purchasing, as it's only $9.99 for 78 tracks.

1. Main Theme

2. Title Screen

3. File Select

4. New Adventure

5. The Mystery Track

6. Welcome To Mafia Town

7. Welcome To Mafia Town (Remix) [Feat. Qumu]

8. Time Piece Released

9. Barrel Battle

10. A New Friend In Mafia Town

11. Mafia Town Is Asleep

12. She Came From Outer Space

13. So, What's The Plan

14. Mafia HQ

15. The Badge Seller

16. Mafia Boss' Big Showdown

17. Mafia Boss' Big Showdown (Remix) [Fear. AdulescensF]

18. Heating Up Mafia Town

19. No More Mafia Boss

20. Scootin' Through Mafia Town

21. Deadbird Studio Reception

22. Dead Bird Studio

23. You Are Now Legally A Bird

24. The Ratings Are In

25. Picture Perfect

26. Picture Perfect (Remix) [Feat. Carlos Eiene]

27. Murder On The Owl Express

28. Who Dun It

29. Tick Tock

30. The Phone's Ringing

31. Metal Bork

32. The Conductor's Train

33. Train Rush

34. Trainwreck Of Electro Swing (Remix)

35. The Big Parade

36. Turn On The Pyrotechnics

37. The Annual Bird Movie Award

38. Dead Bird Studio Basement

39. Dead Bird Studio Is Closed

40. The Battle Of Award 42

41. Heart To Heart

42. Subcon Forest

43. Scootin' Through Subcon Forest

44. Snatcher's  Contractual Obligations

45. Oh It's You

46. Subcon Village

47. Subcon Village (Remix) [Feat. Echorobot]

48. The Fire Spirits

49. The Subcon Caves

50. Toilet Of Doom

51. A Forsaken Place

52. Entering Vanessa Manor

53. Vanessa Wants To Play

54. You're Safe Now

55. Your Contract Has Expired

56. Your Contract Has Expired (Remix) [Feat. Cameron Munoz]

57. The Tower Of The Goats

58. Alpine Skyline

59. The Birdhouse Peak

60. The Lava Cake Peak

61. The Windmill Peak

62. The Twilight Bell Peak

63. Alpine Skyline At Night

64. The Weather Has Cleared

65. Clocktowers Beneath The Sea

66. Scootin' Through Clocktowers Beneath The Sea

67. Clocktowers Beneath The Sea (Remix) [Feat. AdolescensF]

68. Mafia Of Cooks Time Rift

69. Battle Of The Birds Time Rift

70. Subcon Forest Time Rift

71. Alpine Skyline Time Rift

72. Roll The Slots

73. Judge, Jury And Executioner

74. You Are All Bad Guys

75. Get Lost

76. Little Help From My Friends

77. Goodbye Everyone

78. The End

ALBUM RATING - 9/10

I haven't checked out the album of B-sides and additional remixes from this game yet but since it contains music from the upcoming DLC pack (including New Game +, local Co-Op mode and a brand new chapter, ALL FOR FREE!), I'll have to seek it out soon.

Shout Out: Doctor Who Series 3 (Original Television Soundtrack) - Murray Gold & The BBC National Orchestra Of Wales

I've written about orchestrated music twice before on this blog; once when looking at an album of orchestrated Rush songs and again when discussing various covers by the Vitamin String Quartet. This time, I'm dedicating a short blog post to one of my favourite (if not my number one favourite) television score in recent memory.
The orchestrated soundtrack to the third series of Doctor Who.

Whilst the music in Doctor Who has mostly felt incidental at best (with the exception of several character themes between the first and fifth series), I remember actively recalling the musical stings and melodies from the third series almost as clearly as the plot twists and striking visual imagery the show provided. However, the shining diamond on the crown jewel that is the soundtrack has to be album opener and recurring tune "All The Strange, Strange Creatures". I can remember hearing it for the first time in a special effects reel (along with subsequent trailers for the series) and feeling exhilarated. To this day, I still think it's the best piece of music Doctor Who has ever given us...except maybe "I Am The Doctor". I just wish the main melody went on longer than 1:23, kind of like it does in this version.
The soundtrack also introduces us to new character themes in the form of "Martha's Theme", "The Master Vainglorious" and "The Doctor Forever", a magnificent piece that perfectly encapsulates Tennant's Doctor with a sombre, magnificent introduction shortly before a whimsical section full of life and joy. Variations on these pieces appear throughout the series to emphasise certain character moments but the multitude of episodes each contain their own unique score to give each chapter of the series its own feel or to punctuate iconic scenes with music unlike anything else in the show so far, e.g. "The Carrionites Swarm" or "Smith's Choice".
Some of these tracks were used in later episodes whilst (I believe) none of the pieces from the first two series' were used in full throughout this one. However, there are some upgraded tracks with added depth and additional melodies such as "Boe" (wondrously used twice in the series, exactly the right amount to deliver maximum impact) and two specially written songs; one for the lacklustre Daleks In Manhattan/Evolution Of The Daleks two-parter entitled "My Angel Put The Devil In Me" and the other for the lacklustre Christmas special Voyage Of The Damned entitled "The Stowaway", somewhat of a sneak peek as the soundtrack was released before December 2007.

Overall, series three may not be everyone's personal favourite (although it does contain Blink, an episode that Whovians and casual fans unanimously believe to be the single greatest episode the show's ever given us) but I'd be surprised to learn that it doesn't contain at least one piece of music that you don't get some kind of pleasure from, whether it's the racing thrill from "The Runaway Bride", the light-hearted cheese of "Gridlocked Cassinis" (that's often used as background music in the UK version of The Apprentice, if you're interested) or the beautiful "This Is Gallifrey: Our Childhood, Our Home".
The only downside to the soundtrack that stops it from being absolutely perfect is the lack of a few tunes used throughout the series and occasionally in the next one (musical sections similar to "The Doctor Forever" used at the end of The Lazarus Experiment and The Family Of Blood). However, I would still strongly recommend this soundtrack to anyone who likes Doctor Who and wants a single collection of some of the best music the show's ever used.

1. All The Strange, Strange Creatures

2. Martha's Theme

3. Drowning Dry

4. The Carrionites Swarm

5. Gridlocked Cassinis

6. Boe

7. Evolution Of The Daleks

8. My Angel Put The Devil In Me

9. Mr Smith And Joan

10. Only Martha Knows

11. Smith's Choice

12. Just Scarecrows To War

13. Miss Joan Redfern

14. The Dream Of A Normal Death

15. The Doctor Forever

16. Blink (Suite)

17. The Runaway Bride

18. After The Chase

19. The Futurekind

20. YANA (Excerpt)

21. The Master Vainglorious

22. Martha's Quest

23. This Is Gallifrey: Our Childhood, Our Home

24. Martha Triumphant

25. Donna's Theme

26. The Stowaway

27. The Master Tape

28. Abide With Me

ALBUM RATING - 9/10

Yes, it's not really Rock or Metal (although "The Futurekind" and "The Master Tape" feature some heavy riffing). Normal service on the blog will be resumed relatively soon.

Shout Out: Vitamin String Quartet

Just managed to get one last post in before February! However, as you can probably tell, it's a bit of a rushed one.

I've mentioned the Vitamin String Quartet once on this blog before but if you aren't aware of them, they're an American/Canadian outfit that covers popular songs from a variety of Pop/Rock based genres using nothing but percussion and string instruments. Their material has been used in a few TV episodes now and then but their work is still largely ignored by mainstream media, presumably due to the fact that their basically a stripped down covers band.
Anyway, this is my way of giving them a thumbs up to anyone who reads my blog. Whilst their material may not always be superior to the original versions, some of their covers are fucking ace and arguably better suited to the tone of the song with acoustic strings than full on electric instruments. Normally I'd discuss the album that I've giving a shout out to but if you read the title of this post carefully, you would've noticed that I'm recommending the band itself, not one of their many, many, many albums.
The main reason for this is because this band doesn't exist to release hit singles or solid albums like your conventional band; they release a shitload of covers for you to dip into, listening to songs you know and/or like to hear how they sound with strings. Naturally I'd recommend searching through the entire Spotify catalogue of Vitamin String Quartet but if you don't have the time or patience, I've compiled a mini playlist containing some of my favourite string covers that get progressively better as you advance through the list.
There's also material from the Midnite String Quartet and String Tribute Players who are basically inferior versions of the VSQ thrown in too.

Apologies for the lack of a proper blog post to finish January but I'm guessing we all have more pressing matters to be worried about right now. On the plus side, at least you have a soothing collection of string covers to enjoy as the world goes to shit!

Shout Out: Blue For You - Status Quo

I was originally planning to write about the soundtrack to Tearaway Unfolded, a PS4 title that's easily the most innovative and imaginative platformer I've ever played, but after hearing of the death of Rick Parfitt (Status Quo guitarist), I felt like writing this post instead.

If you're reading from America and aren't sure who Status Quo are, they're basically the UK's version of Cheap Trick; all-round, solid Rock for your dad to enjoy. Their most well known tracks are probably "Whatever You Want", "Sweet Caroline", "Rockin' All Over The World" and "Down Down" and, unfortunately, they're not exactly the best tracks to showcase the talent of the band. They're fairly basic Rock songs that rely on simplistic chord progressions and lyrics that sound like the songwriters took an early lunch before recording them. In other words, they're boring.
HOWEVER, despite generally conjuring images of Greatest Hits albums and appearances on The One Show when I think of them, Status Quo are also a band with a collection of great deep cuts and filler tracks that piss all over their signature songs, many of which belong on this album from 1976.

Blue For You opens with "Is There A Better Way", a firm Hard Rock album opener that wouldn't sound out of place on a Blue Oyster Cult album. Hell, maybe that's where they came up with the idea for the album's name but in all seriousness, despite not containing the frills and technical talents of finger-blistering solos and the like, it's a solid tune that keeps you engaged from start to finish. The album is full of these kind of tracks, even going a few steps further with faster tempo tracks like "Rolling Home", "Ring Of A Change" and one of the album's popular singles, "Mystery Song".
There are also slower Rock tracks that sound more like the Quo everyone knows such as "That's A Fact" and lead single "Rain". These provide a welcome break from the better tracks and help add some more variety to the album. Sadly, the album's title track is a bit poor unless you get a rock-on for Bluesy numbers (probably the more likely reason behind the album's name rather than the earlier comment) but considering the majority of songs on the album are belters, I can forgive a misleading title track.
If you like your Rock to actually Rock, I recommend Blue For You. You'll probably find it tame if you're accustomed to modern Rock bands with more energy and louder mixes but if you compare the music on this album to other songs from the same year, you'll find this album can hold its own. Also, whilst I'd normally just discuss the basic album as it was released, this time I'm recommending the 2005 reissue for containing B-sides and a single edit of "Mystery Song"...mostly because that seems to be the only version you can get now that isn't extortionately priced but also because it's worth it. Below is a tracklisting for that version, along with my personal favourites off the album.

1. Is There A Better Way

2. Mad About The Boy

3. Ring Of A Change

4. Blue For You

5. Rain

6. Rolling Home

7. That's A Fact

8. Ease Your Mind

9. Mystery Song (Album Version)

10. You Lost The Love

11. Mystery Song (Single Version)

12. Wild Side Of Life

13. All Through The Night

14. Wild Side Of Life (Demo Version)

ALBUM RATING - 8/10

RIP Rick Parfitt. You may not have been Jimi Hendrix or even Tony Iommi but you made Status Quo Status Quo and you will be missed. After Christmas is done with, I'll seek out more Quo albums to get stuck into.

Oh yeah, Merry Christmas! Next week, I'll be back with the last blog post of 2016!

Shout Out: 70s Studio Albums - Bad Company

Last week, I saw Bad Company on their Swan Song tour and bloody loved it. I loved it so much that I decided to revisit the first five studio albums by the band (all the albums released in the 1970s) and do a quick shout out to each of them, as they're all worth listening to.
I haven't listened to Rough Diamonds, released in 1982 as the last album with the band's original line-up, but I'm sure that's got some great tunes on it too like "Electricland". Anyway, time to start with the band's self-titled debut.

Bad Company is one of two albums responsible for giving us iconic Classic Rock hits by the band, starting off with album opener "Can't Get Enough", an upbeat rewrite of Mick Ralph's "One Of The Boys" chord sequence from his time with Mott The Hoople ("Ready For Love" is also a Mott The Hoople cover that's often attributed to being a Bad Company original). However, the album doesn't peak there. It also contains "Movin' On", "Rock Steady", "Seagull" and of course "Bad Company", all hits among the Classic Rock community but none more so than the title track.
It's a great listen from start to finish with a healthy variety of music and some fantastic production values for its time (it was released two years before Boston's debut!). If you like any of the songs off this album, you'd be wise to give the rest a listen as well. An incredibly strong debut from this Classic Rock supergroup!

1. Can't Get Enough

2. Rock Steady

3. Ready For Love

4. Don't Let Me Down

5. Bad Company

6. The Way I Choose

7. Movin' On

8. Seagull

ALBUM RATING - 8/10

Of course the only problem now is how to top this with the follow up album.

The solution? Straight Shooter.

I would say on average, Straight Shooter is just what the band needed to survive. It may not contain as many iconic Classic Rock staples but the few tracks that were released as singles are, in my opinion, superior to the ones on the debut. Album opener "Good Lovin' Gone Bad" shows listeners that Paul Rodgers and (bad) co still know how to deliver good old fashioned Rock but it's the next track that pulls out all the stops. "Feel Like Makin' Love" combines soft acoustic guitar melodies and romantic lyrics with heavy power chord riffs and a chorus about shagging; two opposing ends of the Rock songwriting spectrum that come together absolutely fucking perfectly.

The album also contains "Shooting Star", a beautiful tribute to what would become known as the 27 Club, "Weep No More", a Bluesy number for fans of material from Paul Rodgers' other well known band Free, and "Wild Fire Woman", a sturdy Classic Rocker with an "OHHHHHH THAT song!!" chorus. Whilst Bad Company was firmly in the Classic Rock category, Straight Shooter delves into Hard Rock territories meaning the album is better suited for fans of both genres rather than one or the other. Fortunately, it's still a well written collection of great material regardless of personal taste.

1. Good Lovin' Gone Bad

2. Feel Like Makin' Love

3. Weep No More

4. Shooting Star

5. Deal With The Preacher

6. Wild Fire Woman

7. Anna

8. Call On Me

ALBUM RATING - 8/10

To me, Bad Company and Straight Shooter are the band at their peak but even if you're not a Bad Company fan, I'd still recommend the first three albums if you can enjoy Classic Rock...well, the first half of the third album anyway. It may not have created as many hits as the first two albums but Run With The Pack is still, at its heart, a Bad Company album.

Much like the debut, this album contains a modest number of great tracks that are fairly well known but nothing quite as awesome or iconic as any off Straight Shooter (although that's just my opinion). Among the great tunes are riff-based album opener "Live For The Music", Folk Rock number with strong Neil Young vibes "Simple Man", Classic Rock single "Honey Child" and piano heavy title track "Run With The Pack". The album has a grander sound with the increased use of strings and piano as an accompaniment to the Rock, as well as an increased number of slower songs. This probably attributed to the diminished acclaim but make no mistake, it's still a solid record.
Other than that though, it's probable that the singles off this album didn't receive the same attention that tracks like "Bad Company" and "Feel Like Makin' Love" got due to the more common lyrical nature of those songs in comparison. Despite this, Run With The Pack is a good listen if you haven't heard many of the tracks but if you prefer the band when they're rocking out, you may be disappointed with the softer sound of this album.

1. Live For The Music

2. Simple Man

3. Honey Child

4. Love Me Somebody

5. Run With The Pack

6. Silver, Blue & Gold

7. Young Blood

8. Do Right By Your Woman

9. Sweet Lil' Sister

10. Fade Away

ALBUM RATING - 6/10

The next album in the band's career is somewhat of a buried treasure, as none of the songs on it are Classic Rock hits but several of them are great Rock songs. Swaying more towards the Hard Rock side, Burnin' Sky is the band slowly clawing back some of the energy they lost in the last album...but did they claw back enough?

Clearly realising that their last album was a little too delicate, Bad Company decided to turn it back up to whatever it was on during their debut album's recording sessions. Album opener and title track "Burnin' Sky" may be a slow burner (so to speak) but the heavy organ and strong riffs, along with the lyrical themes, create a suitable introduction to what should've been a Hard Rock album. However, even though the tracks sound heavier on the surface, they're lacking the same energy and power that tunes off the first two albums boasted with pride.

There's something about the filler tracks that feel formulaic. The guitar riffs sound like lesser versions of earlier songs and tracks that deviate from this head in the wrong direction, such as pointless interlude "Knapsack" and seven-minute Steve Miller Band wannabe "Master Of Ceremony". What the band needed was to go even further with the heavier riffs, as Heavy Metal was becoming more popular with the rise of bands like Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and Scorpions whilst Classic/Hard Rock bands such as Queen, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin retained their power.

1. Burnin' Sky

2. Morning Sun

3. Leaving You

4. Like Water

5. Knapsack

6. Everything I Need

7. Heartbeat

8. Peace Of Mind

9. Passing Time

10. Too Bad

11. Man Needs Woman

12. Master Of Ceremony

ALBUM RATING - 6/10

OK, this may have started off well but by now you're probably wondering why I like this band so much considering their last two albums were disappointing. We're at the last album of this blog post now and if you listen to Rock radio, you'll probably recognise a few of these tunes as Bad Company slowly started to get back on track with Desolation Angels...no really, I mean it this time.

If you like at Rock bands that start off well, building up a solid fan base before trying something new and losing some of those fans (which is pretty much any band that's released more than three or four albums), they always end up "going back to their roots". Or, in layman's terms, "releasing music that fans actually want" which is often the first few albums of theirs. Desolation Angels is no exception as Bad Company scrapped the idea of being fully Hard Rock and instead went back to feel-good Classic Rock, albeit retaining some of the ideas they adopted along the way.

Album opener and lead single "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" showcases this mix of old and new pretty well, blending guitar melodies and soulful vocals with use of synthesisers and heavier drumming. The album features a good variety of songs too, ranging from upbeat Classic Rock with a modern twist ("Evil Wind", "Rhythm Machine") to softer tracks with less frills and needless accompaniments than tunes off Run With The Pack ("Early In The Morning", "Crazy Circles"). All in all, it's still not quite as great as their first two efforts but it was a good imitation.

1. Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy

2. Crazy Circles

3. Gone, Gone, Gone

4. Evil Wind

5. Early In The Morning

6. Lonely For Your Love

7. Oh, Atlanta

8. Take The Time

9. Rhythm Machine

10. She Brings Me Love

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

I'll have to give Rough Diamonds a listen at some point but I'm definitely glad I listened to these five, even if I didn't love every minute of it. Overall, Bad Company might be a band that were more reliant on their hit singles than album quality but at least there's hidden gold to be found in the river of their first five albums. You won't waste all your time listening to them but at the same time they're no Queen, even if Paul Rodgers did try to join their band for a bit (remember Queen + Paul Rodgers? Come on, at least they tried to do something awesome).

Shout Out: The Traveling Wilburys Collection

I've been meaning to listen to these guys again since they appeared on Spotify without any fanfare but after doing a bit of research, I thought it might be best if I did a Shout Out blog post discussing their only two albums, or rather their 2007 compilation album featuring all of their tracks (including a few bonus ones).

Disc One of this three disc collection covers the band's first album, The Traveling Wilburys Vol 1. Before I talk about it, I should explain why this Folk Rock band are worth giving a toss about. The Traveling Wilburys were a supergroup of five established solo artists that released two albums, one in 1988 and one in 1990. The band consisted of George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty and probably would've recorded more material if not for the fact that the group's unofficial leader (Harrison) died in 2001. Plus, with Roy Orbison already being dead, a third album wouldn't feel like it came from the same band that gave us this collection.

Anyway, their first album was less Folk oriented and featured easily accessible Rock penned by George Harrison and Jeff Lynne. You'd be forgiven for assuming this was more of a Jeff Lynne side project than a brand new collaboration, as several tracks contain the typical ELO sound without the elaborate orchestra/synth effects ("Heading For The Light"). However, there are tracks containing clear influences from the rest of the group too, such as one of the few Folk tunes "Congratulations" sung and presumably mostly written by Bob Dylan and "Margarita" containing synth elements you'd expect from 80's Tom Petty, when it's not borrowing ideas from "You Better You Bet" - The Who.

There are two tracks that stand out though. Album opener "Handle With Care" and album closer/signature song "End Of The Line" (ignoring the two bonus tracks on the 2007 collection), as both songs successfully blend each member of the band's talents into creating the closest thing we have to The Traveling Wilburys' iconic sound, particularly in "End Of The Line" where each band member has a go at lead vocals. Overall, this album doesn't have much in the way of iconic Rock songs in the same way that each band member has in their own discography but considering the first and last tracks are well known enough to extract an "OHHHHHHH it's THEM!" from anyone who listens to them, it's an impressive debut.

1. Handle With Care

2. Dirty World

3. Rattled

4. Last Night

5. Not Alone Any More

6. Congratulations

7. Heading For The Light

8. Margarita

9. Tweeter And The Monkey Man

10. End Of The Line

11. Maxine (bonus track)

12. Like A Ship (bonus track)

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

Next up is the band's second album, Traveling Wilburys Vol 3...yes, you read that right, they deliberately named their second album Traveling Wilburys Vol 3 just to fuck with people, which is kind of brilliant if you ask me. The album itself is also a worthy follow up, despite losing Roy Orbison to a serious case of death, and what it lacks in easily accessible Rock it makes up for in easily accessible Folk. There's a certain quality to the album that makes it sound like something you'd listen to outdoors in your garden as the summer sun sets; it's very upbeat and pleasant, something the first album arguably lacked in comparison.

What's also notable is how the album seems to have shifted from sounding like it came from Jeff Lynne's fingers to George Harrison's. Indian influences have crept in ("The Devil's Been Busy") and whilst these guys were never a guitar band, it feels like the instrument has essentially replaced Roy Orbison as the fifth member. Album opener "She's My Baby" brings in Gary Moore on lead guitar to help confuse listeners into thinking they're about to enjoy a Rock album and even Folk tracks like "New Blue Moon" feature clearer guitar melodies than you'd expect from songs of the same genre.

I would personally rate the second album slightly higher than the first for delivering a strong follow up to a decent debut. The fact that Roy Orbison's crooning isn't present is one of the album's strengths and it's a shame they couldn't get their affairs in order to record a third album before George Harrison died eleven years later. Fortunately, the band ended their short lived career on a high note and whilst there are supergroups who were more successful and more likely to earn a place in the annals of Rock, this band deserve recognition a hell of a lot more than outfits like Chickenfoot.

Also, as a sidenote, the 2007 reissue features an ace cover of Del Shannon's "Runaway" with an introduction that sounds as note-perfectly close to the original as quite possibly any other cover version I've ever heard. This doesn't affect my verdict of the album as a whole but I thought I'd bring it up, just in case any of you are after a great cover version to tuck into.

1. She's My Baby

2. Inside Out

3. If You Belonged To Me

4. The Devil's Been Busy

5. 7 Deadly Sins

6. Poor House

7. Where Were You Last Night?

8. Cool Dry House

9. New Blue Moon

10. You Took My Breath Away

11. Wilbury Twist

12. Nobody's Child (bonus track)

13. Runaway (bonus track)

ALBUM RATING - 8/10

In the same way I'd recommend Rainbow to any fans Mk II/III Deep Purple, I'd definitely recommend The Traveling Wilburys to any fans of George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and, to an extent, Bob Dylan. The band manage to cobble together their own sound by blending the musical talents of each band member but none of their unique voices or skills get lost in the mix, providing a well-rounded musical experience.

Shout Out: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Soundtrack

I hope you liked my write-up of the Uncharted 4 soundtrack as I've only gone and written a less in-depth version of that about a different game!

First of all, I should apologise for the lack of detail in this post surrounding each track. I admit that I haven't finished this game yet but I have listened to the free soundtrack that came with it and I feel like I've heard most of these songs in-game anyway. Sadly, some tunes I've enjoyed hearing in the game aren't available on this soundtrack but I'm sure there's a deluxe edition I can look for somewhere. Anyway, if you haven't played it yet, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an RPG set in Medieval times in a world of monsters and monster slayers, known as Witchers. The game is mostly travelling, completing quests, fighting groups of bandits/monsters and playing an addictive card game known as Gwent.
Unlike Uncharted 4, which had just the one composer, this soundtrack has three: Marcin Przybylowicz, Mikolai Stroinski and Percival Schuttenbach. Also unlike Uncharted 4, a game hat blended two disctinct sounds of pirate themed music with a typical action/adventure score, the soundtrack for this game is well and truly Medieval. No electric instruments, no contemporary orchestras, just an epic and occasionally whimsical score that fits the gameplay perfectly. There's a healthy mix of dramatic and dynamic battle anthems ("Silver For Monsters...", "The Eyes Of The Wolf") and upbeat jovial tunes or soft atmospheric ones ("Cloak And Dagger", "King Bran's Final Voyage"), both standing out as highlights of The Witcher 3 as you enjoy the gaming experience.
Even some of the lighter tracks that aren't meant to be heard as you decapitate waves of Drowners and Ghouls have a sinister undertone to them ("The Nightingale", "The Vagabond"), perfectly matching the dark tone of the game. There isn't a single dull or repetitive note in this collection of music and all in all, it's an excellent soundtrack that belongs in this excellent game. Even if you haven't played The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, I'd recommend giving some of the highlighted tracks below a listen as it's a cracking selection of music if you're into your "olde" soundtrack. Maybe tracks 1, 16, 26 and 30 for a short and healthy variety?

1. The Trail

2. Geralt Of Rivia

3. Eredin, King Of The Hunt

4. Wake Up, Ciri

5. Aen Seidhe

6. Commanding The Fury

7. Emhyr Var Emreis

8. Spikeroog

9. King Bran's Final Voyage

10. Silver For Monsters...

11. Whispers Of Novigrad

12. The Nightingale

13. City Of Intrigues

14. Hunter's Path

15. Widow-Maker

16. Kaer Morhen

17. The Eyes Of The Wolf

18. Witch Hunters

19. ...Steel For Humans

20. Fate Calls

21. The Vagabond

22. Cloak And Dagger

23. Forged In Fire

24. Yes, I Do...

25. Welcome, Imlerith

26. Drink Up, There's More!

27. After The Storm

28. Blood On The Cobblestones

29. Farewell, Old Friend

30. The Song Of The Sword-Dancer

31. The Hunt Is Coming

ALBUM RATING - 9/10

Next week, I'll be in Whitby for six of the seven days so I apologise if I don't get a chance to post the next review. However, I have it planned so it's just a matter of finding time to write and publish it.

Shout Out: Uncharted 4: A Thief's End Soundtrack

Just a quick shout out post today but there'll be some proper album reviews coming in the next few weeks.

I know it's another video game related post but the soundtrack isn't your typical game music. Anyone who's played at least one of the Uncharted titles will back me up when I say they're an incredibly cinematic series of games and the most recent release is no different. It's essentially a playable Action/Adventure film and the soundtrack reflects this beautifully. Taking the reigns from Greg Edmonson (previous Uncharted composer) is Henry Jackman, who's recent works include Captain America: Civil War and X-Men: First Class.
I usually find it quite difficult to take in the soundtracks from these kind of linear games as I'm usually so focused on the hectic gameplay that I miss the score and don't get a chance to soak it in unless I play the game again. However, this is the first time I've gone out of my way to seek out and listen to this kind of majestic orchestral soundtrack completely after playing a game purely due to the level of great tracks I recall hearing throughout my play-through.
First up, we have "A Thief's End". I'm guessing Henry went with that name instead of "Nate's Theme 4.0" because unlike previous versions of "Nate's Theme", the changes are more significant to the point that it's practically another tune. Sure, there's the classic melody in there but it's a lot darker, less upbeat and more fitting to be named after the last game in the series. Following this is a progression of tunes named after chapters from the game they appear in, such as sneaking around an auction house ("Once A Thief...") and battling mercenaries in the game's exciting opening boat chase ("Cut To The Chase").

Since the game's plot is based around lost pirate treasure, you can expect to hear a swashbuckling touch throughout certain tracks ("The Twelve Towers", "New Devon") but seeing as how the game also involves mystery and action, the majority of tracks rely on a mix of ominous sounding strings designed to accompany dialogue without overshadowing it ("At Sea", "The Thieves Of Libertalia", "Hidden In Plain Sight") and dynamic scores perfect for gunfights and escaping deathtraps ("Meet Me In Paradise", "Race To Libertalia") Naturally there's also a mix of contemporary instruments subtly blended in with the traditional orchestra  ("The Grave Of Henry Avery", "For Better Or Worse", "No Escape") but it all comes together perfectly.
I suppose the only downside is that when compared to soundtracks from film franchises such as Pirates Of The Carribean or Indiana Jones, those scores will easily triumph over this one due to being more focused on their respective genres. For example, the nautical score to Pirates is more memorable due to the catchy motifs and character based soundtrack as opposed to Uncharted 4, which is mostly based around specific moments and scenes in each chapter aside from a few familiar sounding tracks ("The Brothers Drake", "Brother's Keeper"). Henry Jackman has created an excellent score but one that belongs to two different genres, meaning the music as a whole isn't strong enough to be regarded highly in either category.
However, this is only an issue if you like one type of soundtrack but not the other, which must only be a select few. If you like boisterous seafaring soundtracks and suspenseful action scores, you'd be foolish to miss this one because as far as game soundtracks go, it's superb. Grand enough to fit the story and definitely not a step down from previous entries in the franchise. In fact if anything, it's made me want to revisit more of Henry Jackman's AND previous Uncharted soundtracks!

1. A Thief's End

2. A Normal Life

3. Lure Of Adventure

4. Cut To The Chase

5. Reunited

6. Once A Thief...

7. The Grave Of Henry Avery

8. Those Who Prove Worthy

9. The Twelve Towers

10. Hidden In Plain Sight

11. At Sea

12. Marooned

13. Meet Me In Paradise

14. The Thieves Of Libertalia

15. Sic Parvis Magna

16. The Brothers Drake

17. Race To Libertalia

18. For Better Or Worse

19. New Devon

20. Avery's Descent

21. No Escape

22. Brother's Keeper

23. One Last Time

24. Epilogue

ALBUM RATING - 8/10

Are there any orchestral film or game soundtracks that you'd like me to discuss on this blog? Feel free to recommend them on Twitter or here in the comment section!

Shout Out: The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays The Music Of Rush - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

It's been a while since I did a Shout Out post so here's a quick one until I can either review a new album or write a fun opinion post.
I haven't really talked about the relationship between Rock/Metal and orchestral music on this blog in detail before, which I guess is understandable. Sometimes it works incredibly well and you get a score so epic that even your goosebumps get goosebumps when listening to it and sometimes, to paraphrase Slayer's Kerry King, it's just masturbation on the band's part. However, for the most part, I'm in favour of not only mixing orchestrated music with Rock but also full-on orchestrated covers of Rock music, hence this blog post.

If you dedicate a little bit of time to searching for the right albums on Spotify, you can find many Rock-based orchestra cover albums (not the Vitamin String Quartet, I mean full orchestra although they're great as well) that are worth a listen. Most of them are compilations and contain a variety of different iconic Rock tracks but this post was written to recommend one in particular.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays The Music Of Rush.
This album contains nine of Rush's biggest hits between their 1974 debut and 1982 album Signals translated into a grand orchestral score. Even if you're not a huge fan of the original Rush songs, the covers are perfectly arranged as if they were written specifically for a feature film and do each track perfect justice. There's also good use of vocals in a few tracks, whether it's the single line tail ending "2112 Overture" or the choir used throughout the chorus of "Subdivisions", giving the tracks a little more of a live feel to them.
As the cover art would suggest, there's an air of mysticism about the covers as well and the choice of instruments reflects this. Not only that but as the album progresses, the tracks become more whimsical and fantastical too. The choice of tracklist order means that you'll probably get the most out of this collection by listening to the whole thing from start to finish rather than just picking out your favourite Rush tunes first and giving the others a listen afterwards, although there's easily repeat value to be had in revisiting your preferred covers afterwards.

Whilst there are dozens of bands that deserve the honour of having their music covered by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, there's something about Rush's music that seems to fit the bill more than, say, Metallica or R.E.M. If you could argue that Rush's original music could accompany travelling through space, these dynamic covers would easily accompany travelling into the unknown anywhere in (or outside) the universe due to the mix of traditional orchestra instruments and contemporary Rock-based ones. After all, you can't have a Rock/Orchestra album without some guitars and kit percussion!
One of the best tracks that showcases the blend of these styles is probably "Red Barchetta", breaking into a back-and-forth between acoustic strings and electric riffing shortly before an extended solo that I would rate higher than Alex Lifeson's on the actual record. If I had to find a fault in this collection, I'd have to say that it could've done with a couple of extra tracks, as this album follows the tradition of Rush compilations by choosing a significant portion of songs from Moving Pictures. This wouldn't be a problem if there were more than nine songs, as it would've been good to hear "Time Stand Still" or a faster track like "Bastille Day" too.
Overall though, this is a fantastic collection of orchestrated Rock. A must-listen for fans of both genres and hopefully there'll be a Royal Philharmonix Orchestra Plays The Music Of Rush, Part 2 out in the future, even if all their best known tunes are on this album. That being said, they could always cover the rest of "2112" or more modern tracks like "Headlong Flight", maybe even "YYZ" (I know it's from Moving Pictures but that doesn't mean it can't be split onto a second covers album)?

1. 2112 Overture

2. The Spirit Of Radio

3. Tom Sawyer

4. Subdivisions

5. Closer To The Heart

6. Red Barchetta

7. Limelight

8. Working Man

9. Fly By Night

ALBUM RATING - 9/10

What Rush songs would you like covered by a full orchestra? In fact, which Rock/Metal songs by any band would you love to hear given the same treatment? Let me know on Twitter or the comment section and feel free to request any blog posts you'd like me to write or think about writing too.

Shout Out: All Studio Albums - Iron Maiden, part 4

Time to conclude this mini-series with the three latest albums, excluding The Book Of Souls which I've reviewed already. After coming back with Brave New World in 2000, Iron Maiden decided to give fans more of the same rather than experiment or completely change everything about their sound.

Dance Of Death may have the appearance of an off-the-wall album that takes crazy risks with the style and sound but all in all, it's quite a straightforward record. This is apparent after listening to album opener, "Wildest Dreams". It's quite similar to previous album opener, "The Wicker Man", in structure and sound, suggesting the band's desire to keep things the way they are for now. After all, it's not compulsory for each album to be completely different to the last.
Many songs deal with the topic of war in one form or another, whether it's wars from many generations ago ("Paschendale") or more modern conflicts ("Face In The Sand") so naturally, the songs dealing with heavier topics have a more magnificent sound. The album is also the first to have an acoustic track ("Journeyman"), ending the record on a softer note instead of an epic one like previous albums. My main gripe with the album is that there's nothing particularly special about it if you're not into the longer tracks.
It definitely sounds like they focused more on writing impressive songs over the seven minute mark with lots of layers to the music than on creating shorter tracks with the same impact as "The Number Of The Beast" or "Aces High". This isn't a problem with Dance Of Death exactly, more a problem for people who prefer the band when they're playing short and sharp tracks...like me. However, this album & its critical reaction is possibly the one most responsible for Iron Maiden's recent obsession with epic tracks.

1. Wildest Dreams

2. Rainmaker

3. No More Lies

4. Montsegur

5. Dance Of Death

6. Gates Of Tomorrow

7. New Frontier

8. Paschendale

9. Face In The Sand

10. Age Of Innocence

11. Journeyman

ALBUM RATING - 4/10

If you thought the band would take a break from the darker songs about war for now, boy were you in for a disappointment. In 2006, another three years after the last album, Iron Maiden released A Matter Of Life And Death. Once again, it may not be a concept album but...well, I think the cover speaks for itself.

Having successfully found their groove and settled comfortably into their new sound, the band return for another confident display of roaring guitars and screeching vocals. "Different World" starts the album off with a bang and if Dance Of Death had more tracks like this, I probably would've given it a slightly higher rating. Considering this is the band's 14th studio album and each band member has been recording for nearly 30 years, there's no sign of battle fatigue in the guitar solos or any of the individual performances. Sure, Bruce's vocals have changed since 1982 but they haven't substantially dipped in quality and he can still scream out a good chorus!

This album is another one for fans of Somewhere In Time or Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, one for people to listen to at home where they can appreciate each note, as the album wasn't mastered so it contains no studio alteration; what you hear is what the band played. Aside from a few tracks which change tempo and speed up throughout, many of the songs on the album take it steady and sound more solemn than the last two records. I suppose you could label this as more Prog Metal than Heavy Metal, although there are a few of those tracks on the album ("The Pilgrim") and even a few that blend the two ("Lord Of Light").

A Matter Of Life And Death isn't a strong candidate for anyone's favourite album. Even Top 5 would be pushing it, unless you prefer Prog Metal, but it's still good. It's well written and better performed than some material by bands still in their youth. It'd be ignorant of me to say this is their strongest material since Piece Of Mind or an earlier album but it's definitely a testament to the band's lasting appeal and talent.

1. Different World

2. These Colours Don't Run

3. Brighter Than A Thousand Suns

4. The Pilgrim

5. The Longest Day

6. Out Of The Shadows

7. The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg

8. For The Greater Good Of God

9. Lord Of Light

10. The Legacy

ALBUM RATING - 6/10

Between 2006 and 2010 (when the next album was released), Iron Maiden released Flight 666, a documentary about their Somewhere Back In Time tour. In this film, the band talked about how the audience for their gigs tends to stay the same age as kids now are starting to get into the band. It was that reason they decided to revisit older songs, so the fans could see these tracks played live for the first time. With this in mind, you'd have thought they'd be more inclined to write new shorter tracks with the same energy to give new fans what they wanted. Instead we got this.

When this album first came out about five years ago, I actually reviewed it and basically said that it's one of my least favourite albums. There were a few songs on it that I enjoyed but the majority weren't to my taste, although I acknowledged the appeal other fans might have for it. For starters, the album opener probably should've been split into two different songs. "Satellite 15... The Final Frontier" starts off with about four minutes of apocalyptic drums and bass before kicking off what would've been a really solid album opener without the intro.
Whilst the critics couldn't praise this album enough (arguably in an attempt to validate themselves as intellectuals), I remember feeling an immense disappointment with this album. It felt like there were several ideas that I could've enjoyed if they were tweaked slightly such as the drumbeat for "Starblind" or just trimming the length of a couple of tracks. I could talk about each track individually like I did before but honestly, I still believe this album suffers from how long it is.
A lot of the power and energy some of these songs deserved is lost once they enter the ninth minute (or sooner, depending on how tolerant you are towards Prog Metal). I could endure the longer tracks on previous albums but it's a lot harder to do so on this album. I'm not entirely sure why, as there's nothing especially wrong or flawed with the material. It's just a bit tiring now, like listening to a child telling their fifth story that just goes on and on and on and on. Even the shorter songs feel uninspired, as if they were designed just to be to be filler between the epics.

1. Satellite 15...The Final Frontier

2. El Dorado

3. Mother Of Mercy

4. Coming Home

5. The Alchemist

6. Isle Of Avalon

7. Starblind

8. The Talisman

9. The Man Who Would Be King

10. When The Wild Wind Blows

ALBUM RATING - 5/10

I could (and probably will) change my mind about this as I get older/wiser but for now, here is my personal ranking order for all 16 Iron Maiden albums from highest to lowest:

1. Powerslave

2. Piece Of Mind

3. The Number Of The Beast

4. Somewhere In Time

5. Iron Maiden

6. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son

7. The Book Of Souls

8. Killers

9. Fear Of The Dark

10. Brave New World

11. No Prayer For The Dying

12. A Matter Of Life And Death

13. The Final Frontier

14. Virtual XI

15. Dance Of Death

16. The X Factor

I'm aware some of the ratings I've given the albums on this blog don't match up with the order I've listed them above. Chances are I'll change some of the ratings at a later date but for now, this is how I would rate the albums. Thanks for reading all/some of these posts! I'm not entirely certain about what to post next week but I do know it'll be Iron Maiden related, as we're not out of September yet!

Shout Out: All Studio Albums - Iron Maiden, part 3

Continuing on from part 2, I'll be discussing the band's career throughout the 90's and early 00's here. Since the band had released what is generally considered to be their first "bad" album (even if I don't fully agree), they needed to get back on track with another great release.

Fear Of The Dark is a little bit darker than previous albums, featuring songs with more sombre lyrical themes and different musical styles. Album opener "Be Quick Or Be Dead" was likely picked to lead into the record because of the aggressive chorus and fast tempo typically found on Speed Metal tracks, as it's a great start to a relatively slow album. Sadly, the band haven't quite captured the same energy that the stellar material from the 80's had. In a way, this is quite good.
It's a respectable decision to continue to produce art your way rather than buckling under commercial pressure and just giving into what you think people want, which is what makes Iron Maiden different to Def Leppard. Instead of writing another Powerslave the band continue to develop their sound and even though they made a few mistakes along the way, namely in the form of a power ballad ("Wasting Love"), at least they're willing to try.
Most fans will know this album for the title track alone, as it's probably one of the band's best songs despite coming from a remarkably average album. Overall, there are several decent tracks but as I mentioned in the last post, decent tracks aren't enough when the band have created several years worth of amazing songs. This album is more likely to be someone's favourite if they're into Metal with a grander sound and mature lyrics, as there's plenty of that on Fear Of The Dark...even if some of the song titles sound plain silly.

1. Be Quick Or Be Dead

2. From Here To Eternity

3. Afraid To Shoot Strangers

4. Fear Is The Key

5. Childhood's End

6. Wasting Love

7. The Fugitive

8. Chains Of Misery

9. The Apparition

10. Judas Be My Guide

11. Weekend Warrior

12. Fear Of The Dark

ALBUM RATING - 6/10

Having lost Adrian Smith during pre-production for the last album, the band suffer another line-up change as Bruce Dickinson decides to walk in favour of a solo career. Replacing him was Wolfsbane vocalist Blaze Bayley, a sort of cross between Di'Anno and Dickinson without any distinct vocal traits of his own.

If you thought the last album was a little bit too moody, you probably won't think much of The X Factor. Everything right down to the grotesque album cover feels dark and depressing, although this is generally considered to be down to Steve Harris' ongoing divorce during the writing process. 11 minute album opener "Sign Of The Cross" starts off with a Gregorian chant and after nearly 90 seconds of this, a melancholy riff introduces us to Blaze's hushed vocals. If I'm honest, there are far better ways to open a Metal album with a new line-up than something that sounds too dark to be played at a funeral.

"Lord Of The Flies" probably would've been a better choice for album opener, as it actually makes me want to listen to the rest of the record and has a great performance from each band member...except Blaze, who sounds like a parallel version of Bruce who's making up how to sing each line as he goes along. This album returns to the progressive format with longer song lengths and frequent tempo changes but since most of the songs start with the same atmospheric guitar/bass intro, the amount of songs that you could call filler is higher than ever before.

Even the better songs on this album aren't significant when compared to other popular Metal tracks released before 1995. It's genuinely difficult to remember more than about three different songs on The X Factor after listening to them and regardless of whether you're into Metal or Iron Maiden specifically, you could easily miss this album and not lose out on anything. THIS is the first "bad" Iron Maiden album in my books, not No Prayer For The Dying.

1. Sign Of The Cross

2. Lord Of The Flies

3. Man On The Edge

4. Fortunes Of War

5. Look For The Truth

6. The Aftermath

7. Judgement Of Heaven

8. Blood On The World's Hands

9. The Edge Of Darkness

10. 2 A.M.

11. The Unbeliever

ALBUM RATING - 2/10

As much as I'd love to say that this was the last album with Blaze Bayley on vocals, there's one more fans had to sit through. Virtual XI was released three years later to tie into both an Iron Maiden video game and the 1998 World Cup, for some reason.

Having got over their personal problems, Iron Maiden return with a slightly more energetic offering. "Futureal" is a perfect album opener following The X Factor and probably the one song where Blaze doesn't sound poor behind the mic. The rest of the album isn't half bad either, as each song has a slightly more distinct sound from the last. The quality of each track is also more in touch with 80's material and even though the second half of the album starts to trot out the homogenised intros en masse, at least the first half is enjoyable.

It's not the band's best when it comes to songwriting, especially when you compare the opening riff of "Don't Look To The Eyes Of A Stranger" and Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box", but for fans of the long Maiden tunes, this is probably somewhat of a guilty pleasure. If you can ignore the vocals and focus on the music, you might get something out of it.

Virtual XI deserves points just for giving fans hope, more than anything. If Iron Maiden released another X Factor or No Prayer For The Dying, they could've gone out with a whimper and become another Deep Purple, periodically touring capital cities after releasing a Greatest Hits/live album every five years or so. Fortunately, this album is indisputably better than the last one and proves the band are capable of slowly returning to glory after a down period, even if it's by taking baby steps.

1. Futureal

2. The Angel And The Gambler

3. Lightning Strikes Twice

4. The Clansmen

5. When Two Worlds Collide

6. The Educated Fool

7. Don't Look To The Eyes Of A Stranger

8. Como Estais Amigos

ALBUM RATING - 3/10

In 1999, the band kicked out Blaze Bayley and Bruce Dickinson returned to the mic, bringing ex-member Adrian Smith along with him to become the third guitarist for the band. This is still the current line-up for Iron Maiden and it doesn't appear to need changing any time soon.

Brave New World marks the start of Iron Maiden's journey into the third decade of their career (ignoring demo tapes and gigs before their first album's release) and thankfully, it's a good start! Album opener "The Wicker Man" is just what fans needed to remember why they fell in love with the band in the first place, hearing all three guitars going at it with Bruce confidently belting out each line again. Whilst the main responsibility for songwriting tends to be with Steve Harris, Bruce is no slouch when it comes to writing himself. His return meant both his vocal AND creative talents could be put to good use again.
As is often the case on highly regarded albums, there are longer tracks for the Prog Metal enthusiast ("The Nomad" and "Dream Of Mirrors") and shorter tracks for casual Metal fans ("The Mercenary" and "The Fallen Angel") but all in all, the whole album is enjoyable regardless of which type of song you prefer. Anyone who compares it to earlier albums like Piece Of Mind or Somewhere In Time is completely wrong though; it's a completely different sound and use of musical structure to those albums. It may have similar traits of Iron Maiden albums in the past but as the title suggests, it's the band exploring a new millennium with different expectations of musical talent and Metal.
It's a bit of old and a bit of new, creating something relatively unique and more memorable than anything from the Blaze era, for sure. Above all else though, this album is a return to form. It's a great band that's back on track after some four albums that collectively missed the mark. If you listened to Brave New World after Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, it might not sound as great due to the lack of disappointing material you've had to endure in the middle. However, if you ignored No Prayer For The Dying and listened to this one after Fear Of The Dark, it would probably sound like a flawless transition.

1. The Wicker Man

2. Ghost Of The Navigator

3. Brave New World

4. Blood Brothers

5. The Mercenary

6. Dream Of Mirrors

7. The Fallen Angel

8. The Nomad

9. Out Of The Silent Planet

10. The Thin Line Between Love And Hate

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

Since I've already reviewed The Book Of Souls on this blog, the last part of this Shout Out will only contain three albums: Dance Of Death, A Matter Of Life And Death and The Final Frontier. Probably should've thought about that before writing these, as I could've done three parts with five albums each. Ah well.