Breakin' Outta Hell - Airbourne

Oh hey, 100th blog post! Here's to another 100 over the next few years!
I've been looking forward to this album since I heard the title track (even though I had the same feeling about their last album and was ultimately disappointed). Apologies for the lack of album reviews recently but my aim is to write an average of one or two album reviews per month for the rest of the year.
Anyway, enjoy!

Before I start this review, I should begin by explaining my main problem with their last album (Black Dog Barking). It was an OK Hard Rock album but only if you listened to random tracks now and then as opposed to the whole collection as an album. I liked some of the songs off it but would only recommend buying those tracks instead of the album. Sadly, it's the exact same situation with Breakin' Outta Hell. There are a couple of brilliant songs in a sea of mediocrity. One of these stellar tracks is the album opener, title track and lead single, "Breakin' Outta Hell".
It has a great riff, an explosive mix and a true Hard Rock chorus designed to cause serious throat damage when you belt it out full volume at a live gig. Unfortunately, with the bar set so high, the rest of the album needed to deliver an equal amount of musical aggression and energy instead of slumping back into the foot-tapping Hard Rock that usually plagues Airbourne albums, this one included. Granted there are a few songs that up the tempo and deviate from the norm, such as frenzied rocker "Thin The Blood" and riff-based powerhouse "When I Drink I Go Crazy" (the latter seemingly inspired by the band's earlier material, which is always welcome in Rock), but they're few and far between.
The other album highlight is the album closer, "It's All For Rock N' Roll". It's a strong, anthematic love letter to Rock music although even that drops the ball by fading out at the end. However, it's more of a memorable track than any of the bland, basic 4/4 120-130 BPM songs that the band just fucking love to write ("Get Back Up" and "I'm Going To Hell For This"). The slower songs on the album make decent background music if you're driving or doing housework but the band have already given us three albums of plodding riffs and rhythms. The album cover, name and title track all suggested that they were going to take things further and challenge themselves by turning it up to 11 and releasing their heaviest album yet, especially since frontman Joel O'Keeffe has acknowledged that fans love faster tracks. Instead, it's just Airbourne being Airbourne.

If I had to single out the biggest change, it wouldn't be the heavier tracks; it'd be the lyrics. Airbourne have never really taken themselves seriously with their lyrics but there's something about these songs that just seem sillier than others. When I first read the tracklist, I thought it read like a Spinal Tap record ("Do Me Like You Do Yourself") only without them being a parody. I'm not saying the band have to write about politics or war but when you're listening to a proper band singing "When I was a boy, I played with my toy, every single day, ooh it was a joy", it removes you from the music. I would expect that kind of ridiculous line in something by The Darkness, not Airbourne.
Luckily, it's not all bad. The band have been influenced by the right sources, as some of the better songs have echoes of contemporary Hard Rock bands such as Audioslave and classics such as AC/DC about them ("Rivalry" and "It's Never Too Loud For Me", respectively). I'll admit that AC/DC is an easy comparison to make but in the same way Rush and Triumph are often compared for being Hard/Prog Rock power trios from Canada, you won't find a better band to compare AC/DC to than an Australian Hard Rock group who are making a career out of releasing the same album over and over again.
However, the main difference between AC/DC and Airbourne is that AC/DC were capable of releasing solid albums containing iconic Rock hits across different decades. Airbourne sound like they're already running out of fuel for entire records and their first album only came out nine years ago. This album needed more songs like "Never Been Rocked Like This", a track with a good riff and a slightly grittier edge. It's still Airbourne but it's not a carbon copy of 60% of their previous material. It might not be as awesome as the title track but it doesn't have to be; it's a great song and it sounds like it belongs on this album, if only to further enhance some of the more powerful tracks.

Overall, Breakin' Outta Hell will probably please fans of generic Hard Rock who want to stick this album on whilst occupying themselves with odd jobs around the house. It could've done with less songs about sex and more inspired by aggression or power like literally everything about the album suggested before you listened to it. If it was advertised as another plain old Airbourne album, I would've been a bit more understanding and probably praised it for the tracks I discussed.
Instead, it feels like they (or the record label/producer, probably) wanted to make people think it was something heavier to get more sales, so I give it a 5/10. It's OK, I didn't strongly dislike any of the songs but I was bored by quite a few of them. Buy this album if you loved any of Airbourne's previous albums and just want more of the same. Listen to the album if you like the band/genre and purchase the songs you really like individually. I imagine a tour promoting this album would be worth getting tickets for, as Airbourne strike me as a band who really bring the thunder live, but can't get it above a couple of flashes and a dull rumble in the studio.
Maybe album number five will be the one where they take a step forward with the asskicking...but it'll probably just be the same as the rest of them.

Tenology: More Terrible Rock/Metal Lyrics

It always seems to be the way when you're compiling a list of some sort. You gather a bunch of examples that you spend quite a bit of time looking for, sort them into a handy blog post and then a few days later, even better examples fall right into your lap!
This blog post has been months in the making, as I wanted to spend longer gathering even better examples of truly rubbish lyrics from great Rock and Metal songs. If there are songs with shoddy writing that you feel I've missed, feel free to let me know on Twitter or the comment section, although keep in mind that I may have already covered your song choices in the first of these posts.
Anyway, let's get cringing!

1. "Pour Some Sugar On Me" - Def Leppard

"Step inside, walk this way,
You and me babe, hey hey"

I was surprised to learn the crappy edit of the song with this intro is the actual album version!

Def Leppard aren't lyrical wordsmiths by any standards but as long as they're capable of pumping out top quality music, that isn't a problem. However, there are times when that belief is put to the test, such as in the intro to their signature song. There are stories about this song being written and finished in an hour or so whilst on a break from recording other tracks and I'm tempted to believe them with lines like this. It's as if they couldn't be bothered to think of anything better to rhyme with "way" so opted for the Krusty The Clown ending. It's not even the only shit lyric, as someone on Twitter once pointed out that the song about sex officially stops being sexy at the line "one lump or two".


2. "The Jack" - AC/DC

"She's got the jack, she's got the jack
She's got the jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack"

This song makes Rock Or Bust sound like bloody DragonForce

Give me any 40 minute Prog odyssey over this shit as I'm convinced "The Jack" is quite possibly the most boring fucking song in all of Rock. I know AC/DC albums tend to have uninspired filler tracks but this takes the absolute piss. Ignoring the fact that the band couldn't think of any clever or even bad lyrics after "she's got the jack" and decided to just repeat the line until you feel like jacking your life in yourself, the lyrical matter of this song doesn't match the music at all. It's a slow Bluesy number that is such a poor fit for a song about a girl with the clap; maybe that's what they were going for just to be cheeky but instead, it comes across as dirge.


3. "Death Or Glory" - Iron Maiden

"Climb like a monkey,
out of hell where I belong"

This lyric is the main reason I don't listen to this song that much anymore

Usually, Iron Maiden tracks (whether filler or singles) have great lyrics and even if they are overusing the theme of war, those songs can still drive a point home regardless of when that point was first made. However, this song has one line that removes listeners from the greatness of the music and feels like it doesn't belong with the rest of the lyrics. "Climb like a monkey" sounds like something out of an Ozzy Osbourne track, not an Iron Maiden one. Shame too, as the rest of the song is awesome.


4. "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" - The Clash

"If I go there will be trouble,
And if I stay it will be double"

Never liked this album cover, not sure why.

I think this argument was first brought up in a book by Al Murray (could be wrong) but I've always felt the same way about these lyrics too. Surely, if that's the dilemma The Clash are facing, the logical answer is to go! "If I stay it will be double" means that they're in a worse situation if they stay, so why the fuck are they so confused about this? There may be some underlying metaphorical bollocks about the connotations of "it will be double" but the denotation implies they'll be worse off if they stay. Good thing I started watching Stranger Things, otherwise I may have forgotten about these lyrics!


5. "What Difference Does It Make?" - The Smiths

"So what difference does it make?
So what difference does it make?
It makes none..."

Shittalking lyrics in a Smiths song? Fuck, I've got some explaining to do!

I'll admit, this entry is probably more of a personal pet peeve than me pointing out genuinely rubbish lyrics but stick with me! Morrissey is kind of like a musical Banksy; people can go on for days about all the poetic statements he's made about his beautifully grim view on life but when all's said and done, he comes across as a massive bellend, more so than Sting or Bono in my opinion. However, we're not here to talk about his alliance with vegan nutjobs PETA or his attitude towards his past/superior work, just these lines in this song which MAYBE a more humble musician wouldn't have included.
Call me pedantic but I have a massive problem with lyrics that answer their own rhetorical questions; imagine how much shittier that last track I talked about would be if The Clash sung "Should I stay or should I go? I should definitely go" in each chorus. It comes across as patronising, like we couldn't work out what Morrissey was fucking getting at without him spelling it out seconds later...and yes, I'm aware of the irony of that last sentence. At least Johnny Marr's guitar is a constant redeeming factor here, as is the case with most decent songs by The Smiths.


6. "Soul To Squeeze" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

"Doo doo doo doo dingle zing a dong bone,
Ba-di ba-da ba-zumba crunga cong gone bad"

Probably the most RHCP-y song of all RHCP songs

Usually, Red Hot Chili Peppers songs have fucking great lyrics and even if you can't make out all of the words, they all mesh perfectly with the music and rhythm. However, I can remember hearing this part of the song and finding myself removed from the music. To me, the only band that can get away with fitting vocal nonsense to great music is Tenacious D (hence their absence from this list). For a band known for amazing lyrics, this string of gibberish is especially worthy of a place in this post although I probably would've included it even if they had the lyrical genius of a Poison song.


7. "Civil War" - Guns N' Roses

"What's so civil about war, anyway?"

Guys, have you heard? War is bad! GNR figured it out!

Yeah man, what IS so civil about war? That's, like, such a clever observation dude and get this; why do Universal Studios only ever show the Earth if they're UNIVERSAL Studios?
Aren't all glasses technically 3D glasses?
Is your mind blown yet, brah?
OK, in what I assume were Axl's last words before recording this bollocks, let's get serious now. I'm not sure what the worst thing about this lyric is; the fact that Axl is questioning his own message about all wars being civil wars, the way it's still trying to make the song seem like it gives a fuck about other people despite being all about Axl telling us how much HE doesn't need war or the pathetic, patronising tone Axl takes when he utters this line during the outro. The rest of the lyrics are pretty shocking too, although not in the way Axl intended. When you have verses singing "look at the people dying, look at the women crying" or some shit and then try to round the song off with a pseudo-philosophical question about war, you've got a perfect candidate for this blog post.


8. "ABC" - The Jackson 5

"Sit down girl, I think I love you,
No, get up girl"

It might not be "Rock" but I would argue it's a Funk/Pop-based Rock subgenre so it counts, damnit!

I've always hated this song about a teacher trying to chat up a child who doesn't know her basic alphabet as sung by a four year old but this lyric is the final straw for me. It's fucking annoying and makes no bloody sense; plus it makes Michael Jackson's teacher sound like an absolute prick, berating a young girl for doing exactly what he's ordering her to. People give modern Pop artists like Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj shit for singing truly awful lyrics written by six studio producers to make as much money off idiotic teenage girls and teenage boys trying to get with idiotic teenage girls as possible but...well, you get the point I'm making.


9. "Bad Bad Boy" - Nazareth

"I'm a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad-bad boy"

I'll admit this is similar to a previous entry on the list but it's still worthy of this list

If you've heard this song, you'll probably already think it's annoying anyway. If you haven't heard it, it's quite possibly one of the worst Hard Rock songs in existence. As soon as the slide guitar comes in and you realise it's yet another shitty rendition of the Blues chord progression, you know you're in for a godawful track. However, I'm not here to discuss this song's quality, just the lyrics.
They're serviceable for the most part but towards the end when the band ran out of ideas, it goes from shit to shite. Dan McCafferty starts singing the word "bad" over and over, similar to when Dave Grohl sings "The Best" in "Best Of You" - Foo Fighters, only this time it's grating and sounds like it goes on for fucking ages. They could've improved this song by...hmmm...well, not writing it, I suppose.


10. "Teenage Dirtbag" - Wheatus

"I've got two tickets to Iron Maiden, baby
Come with me Friday, don't say maybe"

Apparently, this song came from an actual album! Who knew?

Another song I fucking despise. To be honest, I could've copied the entire song's lyrics down as the whole thing is stupid but I chose these two lines for reasons I'll explain a bit later. It starts off with a dork singing about a girl named Noel, given a boy's name just to allow for a shitty rhyme, and he laments the fact that she's going out with a dick. If this song were written now, everyone would hate the lead singer for being a "nice guy", although he claims that this jock brings a gun to school so I'm not really sure who I'm supposed to hate here; someone who may shoot up a school or a whiny pussy bitching all the way through this song.
Anyway, by the end of the track (during the lyrics I've quoted), the girl he fancies approaches him at the prom and asks him if he wants to go see Iron Maiden with her. Leaving aside the fact that if the romance was genuine, this would NEVER HAPPEN, the cynical part of me thinks this is basically just the girl mentally screwing with the dork to get his hopes up. However, the lyrics or band aren't nearly clever enough to give that impression. Fuck Wheatus and fuck this song.


Chances are I'll hear a song with worse lyrics than any of these in the next week so, similar to what I'm doing with one of my Showdown posts, I'll add any extra songs to the end of this post until I reach 10 tracks with shitty lyrics; then I'll paste them all into another blog post.
If you have any recommendations of songs with terrible lyrics, let me know via Twitter or the comment section. Apologies if I forgot any feedback I received from the last one of these posts (as I know somebody messaged me). Next week, album review(s)!

Rapid Fire: Blue Oyster Cult, Rush, Deep Purple

Bit late posting this one but I'll definitely make sure I get another one up this week.
Last time I did a Rapid Fire post, I picked three big albums from the 90s all belonging to different popular genres of the decade. THIS time, I've picked three albums not only from the same decade but also belonging to the same genre; Hard Rock.
Whilst all three albums aren't necessarily iconic hits from the 70s, I chose these three because (in my opinion) they stand out in the band's careers. I could've picked various classic Hard Rock albums from this decade but I don't think I'd have as much to write about them. Anyway, I'll leave you to decide whether I picked the right albums!

1. Tyranny And Mutation - Blue Oyster Cult

If asked to name a Blue Oyster Cult song, most people will go for easy choices like "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" or "Burnin' For You". Some might go for less obvious choices such as "Godzilla" or "Astronomy" but it's incredibly doubtful anyone will pick any tracks from this album. It was their second album released and even though it spawned many deep cuts that would become fan favourites, none of the tracks would become iconic Classic Rock or Hard Rock hits. It's a shame too as this album has some right crackers!
Album opener "The Red & The Black" kicks things off to a feisty start, showing the band hadn't spent all their energy on writing a solid debut. It's a perfect track for anyone who's into guitar-driven Rock, thanks to the fretwork of Buck Dharma (my favourite guitarist), and fortunately the rest of the album follows suit. Tyranny And Mutation contains a variety of different Rock subgenres but at its core, it is a Hard Rock album done right. Whilst it may not contain any instantly catchy songs or riffs that the band would become known for in later years, it's high quality material from start to finish.
Whether it's the band's take on Blues Rock ("O.D.'d On Life Itself"), Heavy Metal ("Hot Rails To Hell") or even borderline Psychedelic Rock ("Wings Wetted Down"), each track fundamentally "rocks". There's also a good amount of Classic and Hard Rock, such as "Mistress Of The Salmon Salt (Quicklime Girl)" and my personal favourite track on the album "7 Screaming Diz-Busters". All in all, though, it's a must-listen for any fans of Riff-Based-Rock and 70s Hard Rock.

1. The Red & The Black

2. O.D.'d On Life Itself

3. Hot Rails To Hell

4. 7 Screaming Diz-Busters

5. Baby Ice Dog

6. Wings Wetted Down

7. Teen Archer

8. Mistress Of The Salmon Salt (Quicklime Girl)

ALBUM RATING - 8/10

2. Rush - Rush

The debut and self-titled album from a band arguably more associated with Progressive Rock and the 80s. Again, most fans will likely list tracks off Moving Pictures, Permanent Waves or 2112 when it comes to picking great Rush songs. Some might choose "Working Man", easily the most well known Rush track off the album, but when I first listened to this all the way through I was surprised to hear so many great Hard Rock tracks. That could explain why it tends to get ignored, as it's pretty far away from what most people would consider to be classic Rush.

Not only is it the only album with original drummer, John Rutsey, but most of the songs are about general themes such as love and friendship ("Need Some Love" and "Take A Friend") as opposed to the blend of philosophy and Sci-Fi the band would adopt thanks to Neil Peart. The lack of significant Prog Rock elements and the increase in Blues Rock factors almost make it sound like a lost Led Zeppelin album, something many Rock fans would kill for.

It's not the best Rush album but it definitely doesn't deserve to be forgotten about, which is its current fate. Seek this album out if you like 70s Rock, particularly early 70s Hard Rock. Whilst I'm at it, you might want to listen to the first half of Caress Of Steel too. I know it's often regarded as Rush's worst album but it only really gets dull when it gets to the 11 minute tracks. As for Rush (album)? It starts and ends strong, which is more than I can say for Moving Pictures.

1. Finding My Way

2. Need Some Love

3. Take A Friend

4. Here Again

5. What You're Doing

6. In The Mood

7. Before And After

8. Working Man

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

3. Machine Head - Deep Purple

The only album on this list which is generally regarded as the band's "best" or at least a standout effort. It's probably my favourite Deep Purple album out of the ones I've listened to and it's definitely got a solid collection of great Hard Rock tracks starting off with the absolute belter of an album opener "Highway Star". It's not just one of Deep Purple's greatest songs but it's quite possibly one of the greatest Hard Rock tracks in the history of the genre, boasting awesome work from each band member from Ian Gillan's roaring vocals to Richie Blackmore's Classical-inspired guitar solo.
The rest of the album never quite reaches that same high, in my opinion, but that's not to say it fails to impress. By this point in the band's career, they'd established themselves firmly in the Hard Rock category after a Psychedelic Rock start and if you like your Hard Rock with epic riffs and organs, there's bound to be at least a couple of other tracks up your alley here. Chances are those tracks are the other two well known songs off the album, "Space Truckin'" and "Smoke On The Water", the band's signature song with quite possibly Rock's most iconic riff (even if the rest of it is largely uneventful).
For me, this album could've done with another track containing the same amount of power and pure Rock as the album opener, as the closest Machine Head comes to that again is seven minute Blues number "Lazy" and even that's pushing it. They probably chose "Highway Star" to kick things off with a bang but neglected to think about whether they were prematurely blowing their load. If you haven't heard any of the previously mentioned tracks, I'd recommend listening to this album. Otherwise, you're unlikely to get much out it.

1. Highway Star

2. Maybe I'm A Leo

3. Pictures Of Home

4. Never Before

5. Smoke On The Water

6. Lazy

7. Space Truckin'

8. When A Blind Man Cries

ALBUM RATING - 6/10

If there are any albums you'd like me to discuss or if you have any suggestions for decades, genres and/or bands to cover on the next Rapid Fire post, let me know in the comment section or via Twitter.

I'll be posting again this week (probably not another Rapid Fire post though) so keep your eyes peeled for more from me!

How To Tell If A Band Is In It For The Money

Time to kick off September with a short little opinion piece!
When dealing with fans from practically any mainstream Rock band, you'll always have a bunch insisting that said band have sold out. Whether it's a Grunge band going Alternative or a Thrash Metal band going Heavy Metal, any stylistic changes to a band's sound will always result in grumpy fans arguing that they've lost their way and "forgotten about the real fans".
So how can you tell if a band have really sold out or if they're simply adapting their material into a new sound because they don't want to become stale? How can you tell if a band are still going because they care about their fans enough to challenge themselves into recording quality music or because they need some way of paying off various mortgages and lawsuits?
Hopefully, this blog post will help answer those questions!

Let's start with one sure-fire way of telling if a band is after the cash; deluxe albums.
I've mentioned my hatred of deluxe edition albums via Twitter and this blog before, something I doubt I will ever apologise for. Deluxe editions are something I can tolerate if they were released decades after the original album, containing never before heard demos or various edits/live versions on a second disc. If a band chose to rerelease their material in order to introduce younger fans to a classic album whilst also giving older fans something new to enjoy, that's understandable...provided it happened before services like iTunes and Spotify came about.
However, now there's a trend of bands releasing deluxe editions alongside the standard editions. Not only that but the deluxe editions contain brand new studio versions of tracks that, for some reason, the band chose to omit from the original album. Any band that does that is categorically doing it for the money or, at the very least, isn't big enough to tell their record producers (who are absolutely in it for the money) not to cash in off their fans.
So what should a band do if they have too much material to fit on one album but don't want to rush through writing a new album for the sake of three filler tracks? Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you...the double album!

Let's look at a few recent examples. Iron Maiden released their first double album this time last year, claiming that their decision was based around having longer songs that wouldn't all fit on one disc. Since they wanted to release all of the music they'd written in one package, they chose to make The Book Of Souls a double album. No deluxe edition, no Best Buy version, just the album you paid for. Iron Maiden are definitely in it for the fans and a love of their craft.
Now let's look at an upcoming album, Metallica's long awaited Hardwired...To Self-Destruct; also a double album. They first teased this album a couple of years ago with the track "Lords Of Summer", a solid Thrash tune that followed the Metallica formula and got fans excited, even though they only officially released a demo version of it (if you're not counting the times fans filmed them playing it live). Cut to a month or so ago where Metallica announced the date, title and lead single off the album; title track "Hardwired".
It's a mediocre album opener, title track and lead single compared to "Lords Of Summer" that sounds like it was one of the last songs written for the album after Hetfield and Hammett ran out of the epic riffs they usually load their songs with. But enough dishing about that, let's dish about something else. Turns out "Lords Of Summer" isn't on the main tracklist. Instead, it's been relocated to the first track on the third disc of the deluxe edition, shortly before a shitload of random crap from the studio, certainly worth the £6 extra you'll have to pay!
Hey, Metallica, the whole point of a double album is to include ALL the songs you record. If you've got too many to fit even on a double album, maybe don't wait eight goddamn years between album releases! Alternatively, release one as a non-album single and wait until the next album to release the other (assuming you've only got a couple of extra tracks spilling onto the deluxe edition, which is always the fucking case). The point is Metallica may have some integrity and their new album will probably be good but as far as squeezing hardcore fans for more pennies goes, they're as crooked as a crone's fingers and that's WITHOUT the whole Napster thing entering the equation.

Another way of working out if a band are actively trying to make their album as commercial as possible is by counting the number of versions of each song. Some bands will record an album, release it and not touch those tracks until it's time for a live or remastered album. Others will release demo versions, live versions, single edits, clean edits, alternate takes, extended cuts, deep dishes, stuffed crusts, hot dog stuffed crusts, burger stuffed crusts, tearaway cheesy bites, quadruple stuffed bacon and oreo wrapped crusts and studio outtakes.
You could argue most of these are for the fans (especially hot dog stuffed crusts) but when a band releases a clean single edit for radio play before the extended and/or explicit album version, you know they want that chart money. The best example I can think of right now would be Tenacious D recording two different versions of their Rize Of The Fenix album; one with original lyrics, the other with clean, radio/licensing friendly ones. I'm assuming the reason for this is because of the financial loss they took after The Pick Of Destiny album, tour and film so I can forgive them for wanting to make a bit of dosh back by playing it safe.
I suppose now's as good a time as any to remind you that there's nothing wrong with more modern bands starting out wanting to make more money so they can take off and have more creative freedom for future records. Hell, there's nothing wrong with a band wanting money at all. I mean, this is their career. However, there will always be a difference between a worker who has a genuine love of what they do and one who is counting down the hours until clocking off. When it gets to the point that these clockwatchers are conning the fans with old rope masquerading as rare studio cuts, that's when you can put the tiny violins away.

Finally, the last surefire way of telling if bands are in it for the money is the amount of Greatest Hits tours they go on. Most tours are in aid of promoting a new album (not a cynical money grab as it's still providing a service and giving fans what they want) and some bands will fill a live setlist with hits because they're playing various festivals, the perfect venue for fan favourites. However, bands that repeatedly go on tour just to play the same twelve chart singles without any new material are fuelled by a desire to make enough cash to afford a new car.
The difference between these bands and bands that go on anniversary tours, plugging a rerelease or remaster, are that the latter bands will be playing filler tracks that they haven't played live in decades. Most fans, old and new, won't have heard these songs live before and the band will have to relearn them after years of neglect. That requires effort on their part, unlike acts that are going through the motions on stage each night because it's all they know and all anyone else wants.
Of course, some fans can argue that they only want to hear the hits and that the band are giving them exactly what they want. Guess what? Those aren't fans. Fans can name filler tracks, fans are aware of a band's career outside of maybe two well known songs. If you go to see a band on their own tour and spend the entire gig waiting for them to play their signature song at the end, you're a glory supporter and have no right to dictate what a band includes on their setlist. On an unrelated note, there's a difference between fans who see a band live just to hear one song and fans who see a band live only knowing one song but hoping to discover more.

There are, of course, other ways to tell if a band are more interested in cash than reaching new fans (for example, excessive licensing to shitty ads/TV shows/films/games) but they're more or less alternate versions of what I've just said and I'm not interested in undermining everything above, thank you very much.
Be that as it may, there's a chance I may have missed some glaring signs that a band have made the transition from Rock icons to marketing whores. If that's the case, feel free to educate me via Twitter or the comment section. Don't tell me about reality TV shows though as they only create/promote Pop bands and the only Pop bands not in it for money are in it for fame and awards too.
I hope you enjoyed reading this piece and if you're wondering when I'm going to start reviewing new albums again, the answer is hopefully this month and the next!

The Beatles: Rock Band

I feel like it's been a reasonably long time since I did a proper video game post so I've chosen to ease readers in by combining gaming with one of history's most famous and highly regarded bands; The Beatles.

In 2009, to coincide with the entire Beatles back catalogue being remastered and subsequently rereleased, Harmonix (creators of the Rock Band franchise) took a colossal gamble and licensed 45 songs by one of the most expensive bands to license commercially to include on their own band-centric game. Previous band-centric games in the modern music game genre were Aerosmith and Metallica (both Guitar Hero) so it was a pretty significant step up for music fans.
For the next few months after the game's release, Harmonix released three of the band's albums as DLC (Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Rubber Soul...no Help!, sadly) and "All You Need Is Love" as a single. I won't be discussing the tracks included in those packs but I will be discussing the 45 on-disc songs (including two put together to make one playable track), giving my verdict as to whether they were a good choice for the game, just like I've done in the past with Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, Rock Band 4 and Guitar Hero 3: Legends Of Rock.
Before I discuss these songs, I'd like to say a few words about this game.
It's fucking fantastic.
The art, the gameplay, the use of previous unheard Beatles recordings to give the game a more natural feel in between songs, the new features introduced that would continue to be used in future RB games to come and the fact that it even exists when most companies wouldn't dare take the financial risk.
Even though there are songs I dislike and I may truly lay into some of them, I want to thank Harmonix for making this game. If you haven't played it and like The Beatles, I strongly recommend it even if you're new to the rhythm music game genre. Unfortunately, all the DLC for the game has since been removed but at least the soundtrack is awesome...right? Time to find out!

"A Hard Day's Night" - The Beatles
An exceptionally strong start! One of the band's most well known songs with a great guitar chart and a pretty fun little solo too. There was no way this song couldn't be in the game in one way or another but I'm glad it made the main tracklist instead of DLC. THUMBS UP!

"And Your Bird Can Sing" - The Beatles
One of many songs I hadn't heard before I played this game, although unlike some of the others in this list I can't say I'm too happy about that. It may have more guitar than some of the band's bigger known hits but it seems a little too short and dull to deserve a place on this soundtrack. I don't want to use this argument too much but with all the Beatles tracks absent from this game, songs like this making the cut make are even worse. THUMBS DOWN.

"Back In The U.S.S.R." - The Beatles
I knew how this song went but I'd never actually heard it before this game. Needless to say I was very happy with the end result, not just because it's a great Rock track but because it has a surprisingly fun guitar solo. I suppose this deserves a space on the tracklist just as much as the previous song, although at least this one has better guitar and the game does need some sort of difficulty curve. Seeing as how The Beatles weren't known for furious solos or complex riffs, finding tricky guitar songs that were enjoyable to listen to must've been fairly challenging. Luckily, this song ticks both boxes so it's a firm THUMBS UP!

"Birthday" - The Beatles
A solid tune with a take on the classic Blues chord progression on guitar. About halfway through, the song unknowingly inspires Cheap Trick's entire career so even if you're not a huge fan of the song or don't think it's fun on any instrument, it deserves points for that. For me personally, I give it a THUMBS UP just because it's not offensive to play or rubbish to listen to.

"Boys" - The Beatles
I suppose Harmonix wanted to include a selection of music from the key beats of The Beatles' career, including several songs from their Cavern Club days. I wouldn't call this an impressive choice or a fun song to play if you tire of the Blues chord progression easily so I'm afraid it's a THUMBS DOWN here.

"Can't Buy Me Love" - The Beatles
Another big hit that most casual listeners should know. If memory serves, this song was actually more challenging than I originally assumed. It might be that reason or it might be the fact that I really like this song that resulted in me having a blast whilst playing it so it's an easy THUMBS UP, although to be honest it deserved one just for being a big name song by the band.

"Come Together" - The Beatles
An unusual album opener for Abbey Road but a top notch song. It may not have a lot going on in the guitar department but as I mentioned earlier, the game needs a difficulty curve. As much as I'd personally love a game full of moderately challenging to insanely tricky tracks, easy songs are needed for new players and this track fits the bill perfectly. Plus, you gotta love that bass! THUMBS UP.

"Day Tripper" - The Beatles
One of the first Beatles songs I can remember listening to and falling in love with. It may have a pretty flimsy solo but that epic riff is enough to carry the whole song. Plus, I know Ringo gets a lot of shit for being a mediocre drummer but I love his work on this track. The song is great to listen to and it's even better to play, so here's a well earned THUMBS UP.

"Dear Prudence" - The Beatles
For a softer more psychedelic song, this track has a damn fine guitar chart. I discovered this song thanks to this game and even if it's not likely to be featured on any Greatest Hits compilations, it deserves a spot in the game for sounding different and being fun. THUMBS UP.

"Dig A Pony" - The Beatles
One of the songs that appears at the end of The Beatles' career just as they were starting to get back into Rock again. Another song that casual listeners will probably be introduced to thanks to this game that has a pretty fun guitar chart. Definitely a THUMBS UP, even if I still have little to no fucking idea what the song's about.

"Do You Want To Know A Secret" - The Beatles
Ooo boy, this song is pretty shit, huh. If it's not clear from what I've written so far, I'm not a huge fan of the early work from The Beatles. To me, the greatest albums were released in 1964 and 1965 and whilst I understand the need to get a collection from each significant musical style, this song feels a little too short and pointless to deserve a spot. THUMBS DOWN.

"Don't Let Me Down" - The Beatles
From early Beatles to late Beatles now. I can't remember much about the chart (so I'm assuming it was unimpressive) and after listening to the song again, I'm not overflowing with love for it. THUMBS DOWN.

"Drive My Car" - The Beatles
Album opener off Rubber Soul and a fairly solid song with a typical Beatles sound and a neat little solo. Of all the songs off Rubber Soul, I'd argue that "Nowhere Man" deserved a place over this track due to its inclusion in the Yellow Submarine film and the fact that Harmonix planned to release the rest of Rubber Soul in its entirety as DLC, meaning this song still would've been playable. However, I'm not annoyed about its inclusion. It's OK, I guess, and I don't feel robbed of a better track since I've played the rest of Rubber Soul too. THUMBS UP.

"Eight Days A Week" - The Beatles
Not the best song to play on guitar but a decent track overall. I'm torn between whether this or "I'm A Loser" would've been a better choice, as "I'm A Loser" sounds like it'd be more fun to play on each instrument whereas "Eight Days A Week" is the more well known song. Both tracks would've been great inclusions anyway so THUMBS UP.

"Get Back" - The Beatles
Possibly the most famous track from the end of The Beatles' career so it definitely deserved a place in this game. The fact that it has some sweet guitar sections only add to it being a great choice so it's an easy THUMBS UP.

"Getting Better" - The Beatles
Meh, not an impressive song or chart but probably chosen to be an easy track for beginners. I'd argue that there are enough songs from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in the game (especially since the rest of the album was also released as DLC) but if I had to swap a song out from the same album, I'd choose "When I'm Sixty Four" for the same reasons as "Nowhere Man" but unlike that previous example, I'm giving this song a THUMBS DOWN.

"Good Morning Good Morning" - The Beatles
Despite being a different song to the last one, my verdict is identical. No idea why it was included when album DLC was planned and the relatively unimpressive chart makes it easily forgettable. THUMBS DOWN.

"Hello, Goodbye" - The Beatles
This is a fantastic example of an easy but well known Beatles song that deserves to be in the game. I love the track, even if I'm not fond of playing it on Expert, and if I was learning to play the game then I'd be happy to start off with this one. THUMBS UP.

"Helter Skelter" - The Beatles
This was probably about as heavy as The Beatles got so it earns an inclusion on the on-disc tracklist just for being a fairly well known and unique song in the band's back catalogue. As for the guitar, I can't remember too much about it but I'm pretty sure it was quite fun to play. It's definitely fun to listen to so THUMBS UP.

"Here Comes The Sun" - The Beatles
Fun fact: I always thought this was a solo George Harrison song before this game. Now that the fun's over, let's talk about this track. The guitar chart is surprisingly awesome and the song is all kinds of brilliant so I can tell you right now that it gets a THUMBS UP. One factor I haven't really discussed is the background that plays during the song, as the Abbey Road Studio recordings all contain weird and wonderful animations, often themed around the song like some kind of trippy music video. If you're good enough to play the chart and pay attention to other things on screen, you're in for a real treat with this particular track.

"Hey Bulldog" - The Beatles
OK, I'm definitely biased on this one but I was so fucking hyped when this song was announced. Easily my favourite track in Yellow Submarine and one of my favourite Beatles riffs. The chart is quite challenging for the inexperienced player so even though it's not a hugely iconic Beatles track, I say it deserves a THUMBS UP...but again, that could be my personal taste talking here.

"I Am The Walrus" - The Beatles
From what I recall, there's not a lot of guitar in this track but it's still a fairly active chart. However, it's arguably the poster child of the psychedelic phase of The Beatles' career, along with "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" although it's more fun to quote this song. I don't particularly care for it myself but I still believe it's a solid inclusion. THUMBS UP.

"I Feel Fine" - The Beatles
Brilliant guitar-centric chart with a nifty little solo and plenty of HOPOs. As for the song itself, I bloody love it. Great work from each band member, good song structure and right in the middle of the popularity scale, meaning some casual listeners will probably be introduced to it thanks to this game. THUMBS UP.

"I Me Mine" - The Beatles
...yeeaahhhhh not sure why this was included. It may pick up a bit after that dull intro but if the best parts of your song are a take on the Blues chord progression, it's probably not worth shouting about. I would've personally preferred "Let It Be" or maybe "Hey Jude", even though it was a single released around this album, but I guess most players wouldn't be down with a seven minute song featuring very little guitar or even challenging piano. Still, even with that in mind, doesn't change my verdict of a THUMBS DOWN.

"I Saw Her Standing There" - The Beatles
Probably the best early Beatles song and their most well known along with "Twist And Shout". It's not a song I would willingly seek out but I usually enjoy listening to it. I can't remember too much about the chart but it sounds like it's not too dull. Even if it was, this track still gets a THUMBS UP for previously mentioned reasons.

"I Wanna Be Your Man" - The Beatles
There's something about this song that makes it sound like a hastily written B-side so I'm not entirely sure why this was considered a worthy song to include. Maybe it's because they needed another song from the With The Beatles album but if Help! only got one song on-disc, this album could've done too. THUMBS DOWN.

"I Want To Hold Your Hand" - The Beatles
Not a fan of this song but I can't deny it's a well known non-album single. If personal taste was more important, I'd probably choose a song like "Love Me Do" or "She Loves You", as those are just as well known and probably equally as fun to play (at least the latter one, anyway). Yeah, gonna give this a THUMBS DOWN as it definitely belongs on game based around The Beatles' music, although not if it's at the cost of better songs that were arguably more deserving of a space.

"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" - The Beatles
THUMBS DOWN. Hey, look at that! I got my point across without pissing about for a tediously long period of time.

"If I Needed Someone" - The Beatles
Looks like we're into the dregs now. Nothing remarkable about this track from Rubber Soul and definitely more of a DLC song than an on-disc one. Shame. THUMBS DOWN.

"I'm Looking Through You" - The Beatles
One of my favourite Beatles songs and my number one favourite track to play on-disc. Very fun guitar chart and a great sound. I'm surprised I only heard it first on this game, as it deserves to be more well known than other Beatles tracks by far. THUMBS UP, finally!

"I've Got A Feeling" - The Beatles
Quite a good song, even if it's not an instant classic. You can hear traces of this song peppered throughout early 70s American Rock so I suppose it earns a place for inspiring better songs. Truth be told, I can't remember too much about the chart but as evidenced by this blog post, there are worse songs on the Let It Be album that made it on-disc. THUMBS UP.

"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" - The Beatles
I've never liked this song or understood the reason for it being popular outside of naming it as some sort of reference. The guitar chart is pretty dull too BUT along with "I Am The Walrus", it's an iconic Psychedelic Rock track so THUMBS UP purely on whether it deserves to be in the game.

"Octopus's Garden" - The Beatles
What the fuck is this song? Aside from a moderately fun guitar chart, which is almost certainly the reason it was included, the track is just silly. It sounds like something off Yellow Submarine but was actually part of Abbey Road. I'd never heard of it until playing this game, which is probably for the best. There are definitely other Beatles tracks that have fun guitar and were missing from the game so it's a THUMBS DOWN unfortunately. Poor Ringo.

"Paperback Writer" - The Beatles
If I had to pick a number one favourite Beatles song, this would probably be it. Epic riff, great lyrics, short but concrete structure, a superb mix throughout and musically speaking more than likely helped inspire Stewart Copeland when he was composing music for the first three Spyro The Dragon games, but I can't prove that. It may not be the most fun chart but after some of the previous songs, it shows The Beatles had the power to fucking Rock on occasion. Oh yeah, and it's a pretty well known tune. 100% THUMBS UP!

"Revolution" - The Beatles
That crunching guitar intro is probably the main reason this song is in the game, even though the rest of the song is mediocre at best. I think I can remember it having a decent guitar chart and it's definitely better known than some of the random album tracks that were chosen for this game. Fuck it, I'm feeling generous. THUMBS UP.

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/With A Little Help From My Friends" - The Beatles
As if I even need to list reasons why this should be in the game. It's not a favourite of mine but it's classic Beatles and adding "With A Little Help From My Friends" makes it a much better chart than splitting it into two mediocre tracks. THUMBS UP.

"Something" - The Beatles
Another track that I thought was just a solo George Harrison one before this game. Since Abbey Road was the first album DLC for this game released, this track easily could've been cut for that. Then again, the section change in the middle is quite fun and it's hardly an obscure Beatles song. I'm going to go with my gut on this one and it's saying THUMBS DOWN in favour of better tracks that didn't make the cut.

"Taxman" - The Beatles
You can usually tell the tracks penned by George Harrison for their heavy use of guitar and this is no exception. Maybe the solo could've done more work before they recorded it but the guitar and bass combination throughout works well. Yeah, I like playing this track. THUMBS UP.

"The End" - The Beatles
The only unlockable song in the game and a damn fine track to end on. Short but packed with fun guitar, plus it's the most appropriate track they could've picked to end the game on. I'm glad they included this instead of only releasing it in the album DLC so it's a hearty THUMBS UP from me.

"Ticket To Ride" - The Beatles
Have I mentioned how fucking outraged I am that this is the only song from Help! in the entire game? This isn't even the best song they could've picked. Sure, it's a serviceable guitar chart but why the hell did they neglect to put the title track in? The guitar chart alone sounds awesome and I'd argue that it's more well known than this song. I wish the entire album could've been DLC for this game, as "The Night Before" and "Another Girl" would've been really fun too. Ah well, THUMBS UP for some Help! love, even if it's a minuscule amount.

"Twist And Shout" - The Beatles
Bleh, can't stand this song. Too similar to 50s music for me and John Lennon's raspy vocals just don't do it for me here. However, it's arguably their most famous song and it's certainly their most famous cover version so it belongs on The Beatles: Rock Band. It's a reluctant THUMBS UP.

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - The Beatles
I can imagine Eric Clapton listening to this and thinking "Wow, I want to be just as dreary and dull as this!". Well that man worked hard and now his music is perhaps the most boring in Rock history, but enough about Eric Interesting Clapton. This might be a fairly well known track but I wouldn't have lost any sleep if it was missing and, to be honest, I doubt many others would either. THUMBS DOWN.

"Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows" - The Beatles
O...OK, I guess an unnecessary modern remix of two Beatles songs can make the cut over a bunch of original classics. Do I even need to say THUMBS DOWN?

"Yellow Submarine" - The Beatles
Well, this needed to be in the game. No, it's not their best song by any stretch but you can't have The Beatles without this tune. Guitar chart isn't much to marvel at but that's not the point; it's the song everyone associates with the band. THUMBS UP.


By my count, that's 29 Thumbs Up to 15 Thumbs Down, making the setlist a clear winner.
Next week, it'll be non-video game posts again!

Showdown: Homages/Rip Offs 3

Apologies if you've read most of these on my previous Homages/Rip Offs post but you can consider this my extra post for the month.
The aim of this opinion-based post is to compare two separate songs by different bands and establish whether I believe the latter was written as a homage to the original, a shameless rip off or its own entity that just happens to sound like an older tune. If you think I'm being too harsh with my comparisons or believe I've missed a better example by either band in the round, let me know via the comment section or Twitter.

ROUND ONE: Mason Williams vs. Electric Light Orchestra
Classical Gas - An instrumental piece that uses an orchestral accompaniment whilst the main melody is played on an acoustic stringed instrument. It's a lovely tune with various easily recognisable guitar sections that will stick with you even if you only listen to the track once or twice. So what am I comparing it to?
First Movement (Jumping Biz) - An instrumental piece that uses an orchestral accompaniment whilst the main melody is played on an acoustic stringed instrument. It's a pretty deep cut in ELO's back catalogue but if you can make it this far into their slog of a debut album, you're rewarded with a nice little Folk track that seems to be heavily inspired by "Classical Gas", often going as far as to straight up copy some sections.
VERDICT - If it's not a homage, ELO must have done a bit of cheeky copying to come out with this track. Whilst I love "First Movement (Jumping Biz)" arguably more than "Classical Gas", I have to give the win to Mason Williams here for coming up with the tune that gave birth to my personal favourite. Plus, he didn't ruin Jeff Lynne's career by trying to sue him back in the early 70s.

ROUND TWO: Budgie vs. Red Hot Chili Peppers
Breadfan - For a Hard Rock band, Budgie didn't really play an awful lot of Hard Rock compared to bigger bands from a similar time period like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. However, when Budgie DID write a heavier song, it was a fucking belter. "Crash Course In Brain Surgery" could be one of my all-time favourite Hard Rock songs and the majority of "Breadfan" (killer riff definitely included) is so awesome that it deserves more recognition.
Around The World - I'm starting to get more into this band after listening to By The Way and The Getaway but I don't know if I'll ever listen to Californication, the album in which this is the title track of. However, I do quite like the intro and middle of this song...you know, the bits where Flea plays a tweaked version of the "Breadfan" riff on bass before the band break into a completely different song.
VERDICT - Budgie, easily. Both songs sound like two different tracks spliced together but at least both parts of Budgie's track are great, as opposed to the short lived intro and bridge of the RHCP one.

ROUND THREE: Judas Priest vs. Iron Maiden
Running Wild - I accused Judas Priest of borrowing from two different songs in the last Homages/Rip Offs post so it's time to give them a bit of well deserved praise for a change. Killing Machine is a great album and this is one of the album highlights (along with "Hell Bent For Leather", of course) but once again, it's the intro we're looking at here. Fans of Iron Maiden will immediately know what I'm getting at here but I still have to spell it out.
The Wicker Man - I bloody love this band but even I can't deny that it's practically the same fucking intro. Whilst I probably prefer this song overall, one of my favourite aspects of this track is the intro riff and now all I can think about when I hear it is how Judas Priest came up with it almost 30 years earlier.
VERDICT - It's tricky, as Judas Priest deserve the win for coming up with the riff first but Iron Maiden did write the better song. I'm giving the win to both Judas Priest and Iron Maiden for those reasons, even though we all know I probably would've just awarded it to Judas Priest if an inferior band had copied them.

ROUND FOUR: Rush vs. The Darkness
Red Barchetta - It may be a fan favourite but I'm not overly fond of this track. It's good but I wouldn't call it great compared to some of Rush's other songs like "Freewill" or even filler tracks off the first two albums. I will say that it's very Rush, though; it's a perfect microcosm of their Prog Rock sound, all backed up with a simple but powerful recurring four note tune.
Stuck In A Rut - Whilst this may be a completely different song in almost every aspect, there is one small but undeniable similarity. The Darkness couldn't help but accidentally use the same four note/chord combo for their chorus melody, albeit jazzed up a little bit to make it sound more like Aerosmith than Rush.
VERDICT - I like both songs for different reasons so, again, both Rush and The Darkness get the win for this round. I'm not sure if The Darkness intentionally copied Rush here, as they played "Tom Sawyer" through the speakers before they played when I saw them live but they may have heard this track after recording the Permission To Land album.

ROUND FIVE: Deep Purple vs. KISS
Burn - I've talked about this song enough on this blog but for those who can't remember, it's my all-time favourite track. Classic riff, great lyrics and excellent performances from each member of the band. That's all that needs to be said, really.
I Stole Your Love - The band have acknowledged that the main riff from this song was inspired by the riff from "Burn" so whilst it's not as identical as some of the comparisons on this list, it earns a place for being a homage. It's not as heavy as the Deep Purple track but as far as Hard Rock songs go, it's a decent little number that pisses all over most of the band's well known material. In fact, Love Gun is a pretty sweet album if you ignore the fact that it's KISS behind it.
VERDICT - Even though I like both songs, Deep Purple take the victory here for simply writing the better track.

ROUND SIX: Prince vs. Magnum
Little Red Corvette - Nope, still not sold on Prince. To me, his 80s Pop songs are about as iconic as literally every other generic 80s Pop song, this track included. The part of the song I'm comparing is the chorus, specifically the vocal delivery of the song's title. I have no idea if the rest of this song has any other similarities to 80s Pop or Rock because I can't bring myself to listen to more than about 40 seconds of it. Again, I'm still welcoming any recommendations of Prince tracks that show off his amazing guitar skills; please educate me on this man.
On A Storyteller's Night - Outside of recalling a couple of tracks from this album and "Too Many Clowns" released a couple of years ago, I couldn't tell you anything about Magnum. One thing I can tell you is that the chorus from this song, you know the bit where he sings "keep your nightlight burning", sounds a little too close to the Prince chorus for comfort.
VERDICT - Ugh, I don't know. Both songs are rubbish but I suppose Prince deserves to win just for beating Magnum to the punch by a couple of years. I was about about to make a "Punch And Judy" pun there but realised that was a song by Marillion, another relatively mediocre 80s Rock band..."Hooks In You" is pretty good though...and "Incommunicado".

ROUND SEVEN: Black Sabbath vs. Blue Oyster Cult
The Wizard - Black Sabbath have been mentioned quite a few times in these posts; probably because they're responsible for so many iconic riffs and melodies. This one isn't among that band's best riffs but it's pretty damn solid, even if it is played alongside a harmonica. Unfortunately the mix isn't great, seeing as how Tony Iommi's guitar is quite tricky to hear under the shrill noise of the harmonica, but if you listen closely, you can make out the riff in question.
Cities On Flame With Rock & Roll - I absolutely love this song, from the epic riff to the two solos. One of Blue Oyster Cult's best but quite clearly inspired by the previous Black Sabbath track. However, since the song is about the awesome power of Rock, maybe it was intentionally supposed to sound like a great example of Rock, similar to "R.O.C.K In The U.S.A." - John Mellencamp containing aspects of tunes by Neil Diamond and The Troggs.
VERDICT - "Cities On Flame With Rock & Roll" is clearly a homage, meaning the fact that Black Sabbath's song came first has no relevance in my books. Blue Oyster Cult get a well deserved win.

ROUND EIGHT: John Lennon vs. Oasis
Imagine - Out of all the post-Beatles careers from the Liverpool Four, John Lennon's is probably my second least favourite (did Ringo even have a solo career?). That being said, "Imagine" is a great lyrically driven song with an iconic piano melody carrying the majority of the song. It's not complex but it doesn't need to be as the song's message is the star.
Don't Look Back In Anger - Arguably Oasis' most popular song after "Wonderwall" and one of the highlights from the (What's The Story) Morning Glory album, along with the album opener and title track. It's no secret that the Gallagher brothers were heavily inspired by John Lennon and it really shines through in this song, seeing as how the first piano chords are basically a reworked version of the "Imagine" melody. However, the rest of the track stands apart from the 1971 hit so that's where the comparison ends.
VERDICT - I'm still on the fence as to whether this is a homage or a sly rip-off but at least Oasis came through on the rest of the song, even adding a solid guitar solo for good measure. "Imagine" is easily the far more influential song and even though I think I'd rather casually listen to "Don't Look Back In Anger", the win has to go to John Lennon.

ROUND NINE: T. Rex vs. Foo Fighters
Ballrooms Of Mars - Not a favourite of mine by any stretch but as far as softer songs by T. Rex go...yeah, I'm still not sold on it. It's too slow for my tastes but you don't have to like any of these songs to hear comparisons. The part of this song we're looking at is the introduction, or rather the combination and tone of instruments.
Up In Arms - I doubt Dave Grohl listened to this song and decided to copy it so I'm filing this under "Neither Homage or Rip Off", although you have to admit that both songs start off pretty damn similar. Luckily, this track gets a much needed energy injection around the 50 second mark and becomes a completely different song without lasting long enough for Dave to get all shouty. A highlight on The Colour & The Shape along with "New Way Home", easily trumping the lead singles off the album in my books.
VERDICT - No question, Foo Fighters win this. I don't believe they copied T. Rex and they wrote the better song, easy win.

ROUND TEN: Killing Joke vs. Motley Crue
Love Like Blood - Time to end the third of these posts with another semi-tenuous link. After the drums first come in, there's a guitar and bass melody that continues for the majority of the song. You could argue that this is where the song truly starts, as the guitar/synth intro don't really do much except establish the chord sequence. Either way, that guitar/bass melody and their particular rhythm is the key factor here.
Dr. Feelgood - I once read a review where someone accused this song of being a horrible rip off of "Walk This Way" - Aerosmith which, compared to this link, is fucking pushing it. Instead of copying them, I chose two songs that I actually think sound alike...at least as far as the guitar rhythm in the introduction goes. As is often the case, the rest of the song stands far apart from Killing Joke's track but it's weird to hear two different songs from two completely different bands with one similarity, especially when compared to the other Killing Joke song I discussed on this blog which Nirvana clearly copied.
VERDICT - I like both songs (one a hell of a lot more than the other) and there's only about four years difference between both tracks so I don't think it's a question of Motley Crue ripping off Killing Joke. However, I do think it's a question of which song I prefer in general which makes Motley Crue an easy winner.


The other post for this week will likely be video game related but I'll try to tie it into Rock music as well. If I hear any other tracks that suit these posts, I'll be sure to include them underneath; knowing my luck, I'll probably hear another five in the next couple of days.

Album Openers: Dos & Don'ts

I'm aware that I've written about Album Openers before but this time, I'll be looking at what mistakes to avoid when arranging your tracklist as well as reminding you of examples where an album has picked a spot on opening tune.
Once again, this is a work of opinion and there may be exceptions to the rules that I've forgotten about but if that turns out to be the case, feel free to educate me in the comment section or via Twitter.

DO make sure it reflects the rest of the album
Even if the band have released one or two singles from the album before it drops, the album opener will be the first thing fans listen to when they eventually purchase the record. Whilst lead singles are designed to get people interested in the album so they want to buy it, the album opener is only truly enjoyed after the sale is complete. If your album opener is weaker than the rest of the album (or is a shining diamond in a 40 minute slog of shite), you're already setting listeners up for a bad experience.
The same can be said if your album opener stands apart from the rest of the songs. Got an album full of Riff Based Hard Rock? Open on a "Highway Star" or "Rock Brigade" type number, something catchy with plenty of awesome guitar. Got an album that's meant to represent a return to your older work after a dodgy previous album? Open on a song that showcases hallmarks of your classic sound, "The Threat Is Real" or "The Getaway" being great examples. It sets the expectation for the listener and if they like what they hear, it'll make them more excited to listen to the rest of the album.

DO try to save your title track/lead single for later
Sometimes, these tracks make great album openers. "Help!" immediately springs to mind but that's an example of an album opener that follows the other Dos on this list. However, for the most part, title tracks/lead singles are better saved for later on. See, most albums have two or three main beats. Album opener, title track & lead single. These are your three most important songs and since your average album has about 8-12 songs, you want to space those out appropriately.
Combining two leaves a lot of filler tracks which can cause problems for mediocre bands so the safest option is to leave them until later, although more talented bands that are sitting on a goldmine of quality material can get away with this. For example, Metallica could get away with "Enter Sandman" due to it representing their slightly more commercial sound in The Black Album, not to mention the fact that when all's said and done, it's a pretty sweet track.

DO pick a brilliant song
This should go without saying but I know there are some musicians or casual readers who'll assume an artist will think "Well every song on the album is brilliant, otherwise why would I release it?" and use that as an excuse to pick any song to open the album. Trust me, if a band comes out with that, they're full of shit. Producers might try that one on but there's nothing wrong with having favourites in your own collection, or at least thinking "Yep, that song is not as good as that one". The album opener shouldn't just be any old song that sounds OK, it needs to be a highlight. However, it's important not to confuse what I'm saying here with the next paragraph...

DON'T pick the best song
Rookie mistake, this. For the same reason that you should avoid opening an album with your title track, opening the album on your greatest song sets the rest of the album up for disappointment as you'll never be able to reach that peak again. Granted that opinion is subjective and one fan's "best song ever" is another's "shitty sellout track" but there are some albums where you can tell the producer has singled out the strongest song to open a relatively dull or unimpressive album. On an unrelated note, here are some random albums!
Bark At The Moon - Ozzy Osbourne.
Redeemer Of Souls - Judas Priest.
Wasting Light - Foo Fighters.
Hidden City - The Cult.
The Ritual - Testament.

DON'T start with conversation/an outtake
Yes, I know I claimed "Kielbasa" - Tenacious D is a great album opener and yes, that starts with pointless conversation. However, I did claim that the rest of the song makes up for the weak intro and if it just started with the main melody, it'd be so much better. There are other album openers that contain a false start or a few seconds of pointless feedback/warming up, wasting time before the song starts, and those always hinder the listening experience. Sometimes album openers are a short tune that plays before the TRUE album opener ("The Hellion" before "Electric Eye", for example) and those are fine, provided they either don't go on too long or aren't too short to deserve their own track.

DON'T feel the need to show off right away
This is similar to an earlier point but applies more to individual band members. If the guitarist wants to push themselves and create a solo that will inspire young musicians for decades to come, they don't need to pack it into the first song if it doesn't fit. Start with a solo that's appropriate and write a song with an opulent three minute guitar odyssey for the second half of the album if that's what you want; just don't assume that if you have a point to prove as a new musician that it needs to be made in the first four minutes of the album.

I'm aware I still have a post to make up for and I am currently writing one that I'll publish when it's ready. For now, it's just one post for this week. Hope you enjoyed it!

Rapid Fire: Pearl Jam, The Offspring, Metallica

Apologies for the lack of posts but I've been spending my time listening to a load of old albums I've been meaning to catch up on, some of which are included in this post.
Similar to the first Rapid Fire post, I'll be briefly discussing three albums (this time, all from the 90s!) and giving my verdict on each of them. I may consider doing similar posts to this where I link the three albums via genre or decade...or I'll keep on doing three random albums that I've listened to, who knows.

1. Ten - Pearl Jam

I listened to this album a while ago and wasn't hugely impressed. I'd heard it was widely regarded as their best work (even though it is their first album) and contains at least three of their signature songs along with fan favourites in the form of filler tracks. In reality, it's good but if anything it's more responsible for shaping the sound of Alternative Rock, particularly from the Seattle region. A combination of Eddie Vedder's vocals and a variety of soft and heavy riffing from Mike McCready made it easily accessible to 90s listeners and revisiting it, it still holds up today.
I can't say I'm totally down with that, as I'm a bigger fan of the Riff Based Rock of the 70s, and whilst this album features plenty of epic riffs, they're all located in the three lead singles (hence my indifference to most of the filler tracks). In my eyes, it's definitely a solid album but much like a summer blockbuster with all the impressive CGI-filled action scenes in the trailers, Ten suffers from being arguably too reliant on mainstream Alternative singles. "Even Flow", "Jeremy" and "Alive" are fantastic tracks but once you've heard them, there's not really a good reason to stick with the album unless you're a fan of more soulful Rock.
Luckily, this album doesn't make the same mistake Aerosmith made in the 90s, having the band members decide that they're actually more sensitive than the Rock N Roll rebels who sung about getting sucked off in a lift. Even the softer tracks have an abrasive side, making this a good Rock album and a great Rock debut, although it's no Boston or On Through The Night.

1. Once

2. Even Flow

3. Alive

4. Why Go

5. Black

6. Jeremy

7. Oceans

8. Porch

9. Garden

10. Deep

11. Release

ALBUM RATING - 6/10

2. Smash - The Offspring

Another notable album from the 90s in the form of Pop Punk outfit, The Offspring. Say what you want about this particular genre of music but The Offspring know how to make a fun album, unlike some of their peers. Sure, most of the tracks sound the same apart from the token Ska Punk track ("What Happened To You?") and sometimes Dexter Holland's vocals grate a little bit ("Bad Habit") but much like Disturbed and Motorhead, if you like their general sound then you'd be wise to give their albums a proper listen.

Much like the previous album on this post, singles released from Smash stray from that sound into more chart friendly territory ("Come Out And Play" and "Self Esteem") but these songs are still great in their own way. As for the filler tracks, they've got more energy than a toddler on Red Bull and speed, boasting frenzied guitar work and frantic drumming perfect for as many fisheye lens Jackass montages and Tony Hawks Pro Skater soundtracks as you could ever dream of.

This album will probably lose its appeal quickly if you like the kind of variety Prog Rock or Indie/Alternative bands tend to offer but if you're prone to the occasional bout of Pop Punk, this is a good album to dig into. I would argue that it's as good as Ixnay On The Hombre, their less successful follow up album that's more or less the same release only without the chart friendly mainstream Rock tracks.

1. Time To Relax

2. Nitro (Youth Energy)

3. Bad Habit

4. Gotta Get Away

5. Genocide

6. Something To Believe In

7. Come Out And Play

8. Self Esteem

9. It'll Be A Long Time

10. Killboy Powerhead

11. What Happened To You?

12. So Alone

13. Not The One

14. Smash

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

3. Metallica - Metallica

I'd been putting off listening to this album for so long due to the negative reaction in the Metal community. Now I've finally listened to it start to finish, I have one question to ask: why the fuck do people hate this album? It may not be as Thrash as Ride The Lightning or ...And Justice For All but it's a decent Metal album! This is a good example of a band trying something new and creating something that doesn't suck, unlike every band that "experiments" and always ends up creating something that everyone fucking hates because it's half arsing two genres.

Keeping in line with the mainstream Rock theme, this album saw Metallica bringing Metal to MTV with "Enter Sandman", a song with an epic riff that everyone shits on even though it's probably the heaviest and most awesome song about sleep you'll ever hear. It also gave us a power ballad in the form of "Nothing Else Matters", a song that sounds a shitload better if you speed it up 25% (as first proven in this handy blog post here!), and a bunch of Heavy Metal singles inspired by Westerns ("The Unforgiven") and even some of their old material ("Sad But True" essentially being the "Blaze Of Glory" to "Harvester Of Sorrow"'s "Wanted Dead Or Alive"...you still with me?).

However, if you judge the album entirely on those tracks, you'll probably think it's fairly mediocre. Nobody ever seems to talk about the filler tracks though, as those are easily the album highlights. "Holier Than Thou" and "The Struggle Within" could easily belong on previous albums but I guess it's easy to ignore them when you're too busy getting pissed off about a band not releasing Master Of Puppets 2. Bottom line is you should give this a fair try before dismissing it, as I feel like all the naysayers are responsible for me holding out on The Black Album for so long. Not only is it a solid collection of great tracks but the tracklist has been arranged in the optimal way, making each track flow well into the next...again, another point that's never mentioned in the "LARS SUCKS!!!!!" forum threads.

1. Enter Sandman

2. Sad But True

3. Holier Than Thou

4. The Unforgiven

5. Wherever I May Roam

6. Don't Tread On Me

7. Through The Never

8. Nothing Else Matters

9. Of Wolf And Man

10. The God That Failed

11. My Friend Of Misery

12. The Struggle Within

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

I may get a second post up this week but if not, I'll get one up next week. Also, check out the Showdown post before this as I've been updating that with even more tracks recently.