First blogging in a long while - today about one of my favourites, Bob Dylan.
I wanted to talk about some of his lesser known compositions, that can be found on various out of print soundtracks, obscure and long-deleted 45's and compilations! Part one today, part two some other day!
The title of today's blog comes from the chorus of a soundtrack song, the title song of the movie Band of the hand. Dylan wrote and recorded the song in 1986, while on tour with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and vocal backing group The Queens of rhythm, who all participated on the recording. Furthermore, Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac happened to in the neighbourhood and also contributed backing vocals. Much more rocking than much of what had come from Dylan the previous 3-4 years, the song sounds perhaps a bit more like Tom Petty than Bob Dylan. But it helped get Dylan back into playing rock music, which he would follow up on in 1987 by initiating a tour with the Grateful Dead. The lyrics were inspired by the movie, and spoke of confrontation with gang mentality and mobsters.
The song was released on the soundtrack album, which also contained the score by Michael Rubini, and was also released on a single backed by a piece of soundtrack music. It has never been officially released on CD, but is available on a few of Dylan's bootlegs. As the tour continued, the song found it's way into the set list at a few of the concerts. But following the 86 tour, it was apparently never played live again.
Continuing on in 1987, Dylan recorded 3 songs for a movie he also starred in, called Hearts of fire. The movie was apparently intended to start Dylan off on a career as an actor but it was so horrible that noone really considered such a thing again until decades later.
But the soundtrack had some great moments, not least 3 previously unreleased Dylan songs.
The two originals Night after night and Had a dream about you baby were fine mid-80s Dylans ongs, but the real barn-burner of the soundtrack was his cover version of John Hiatt's song The Usual. A great rocking track, which he also performed in the movie, it belongs with Band of the hand as two of the strongest Dylan performances of the 80s and can be seen on youtube by typing in Bob Dylan + The usual. The clips are taken from the movie, of which this song was definetly the best part. The rest of the soundtrack wasn't bad either but as it's been out of print since it was released pretty much, and usually runs up in price on ebay to at least 50 dollars, I'd advice Dylan fans to seek out his contributions elsewhere. Had a dream about you baby was re-recorded for the Down in the groove album, whereas the other two songs were never officially re-released. All can be found on the bootleg Hard to find vol. 1 tho.
And while we're on that particularly bootleg, it includes two rare tracks that have only been released as singles and on a hard to find compilation. One is Rita May which is a nice 70's sounding song with violin and a catchy chorus. The other is the song George Jackson that Dylan recorded two versions of, released as the a and b-sides of a single. A with a band, and b acoustic. The song was about the Black Panther member Jackson, who was imprisoned and then shot dead while in prison. It followed the tradition of Dylan recording songs in tribute of what he felt were wrongly convicted or mistreated prisoners. The band version, and Rita May, can both be found on the 3 CD compilation Masterpieces.
All these songs are considered rarities as they haven't found widespread release on CD and some not even on vinyl, but they're well worth checking out for Dylan fans.
To be continued...
lørdag den 15. august 2009
onsdag den 15. april 2009
Spring of doom!
It's holiday, the weather is lovely and heavy, molasses-thick sounds are seeping from my speakers... with fresh albums by some of the biggest and best doom bands around, this is truly the spring of doom! Let's investigate further...
First up, a two-pronged attack from Sweden! Preceding a new Candlemass album, mainman Leif Edling has released his first real solo album, Songs of torment, songs of joy.
Opting to 'sing' on all the songs himself might not have been the wisest choice, but man - those riffs are still carved from molten rock! Just check out the guitar/hammond organ in 'It is not there' and marvel at the eerie atmosphere on most of the album. To me, the vocals let the whole deal down a bit. With a proper singer this could have been lethal! Overall tho, the organ is used well and some haunting background choirs appear here and there around Leif's whispered/snarled vocals, and as a whole it is a good, heavy album. I give it a solid 7 out of 10, because when all is said and done this is still a riff-master at work!
Candlemass weigh in with the second album featuring new singer Robert Lowe, and the album (Death Magic Doom) is a good continuation from the recent ep Lucifer Rising.
It sounds like Lowe has been involved more in the way the vocals go this time, and the songs seem to fit his voice better than some of the tracks on the first album he was on.
Opener If I ever die and songs like Dead Angel are great uptempo metal tracks, but the slow deliberate Candlemass style shines through in songs like Hammer of Doom and the eerie closer My funeral dreams. Try as they might to update the candlemass sound, I will still always prefer the albums with former singer Messiah Marcolin, but this album is the best yet with the new lineup. I award it 8 out of 10 for it's crushing, clear production and the awesome songs Candlemass always deliver.
In England, one third of the dark brotherhood of british 90's metal is stirring again. My Dying Bride released their 10th album, For lies I sire, in late March. With this band, no news is good news, but the album does bring back something that I, personally, have missed a lot in MDB's sound. The violin! Albums by MDB are always a depressing, lamenting trawl through the human hearts dark corridors, and the melancholy violin just adds to that. One song, Chapter in loathing, harks back to the bands death metal beginnings, which I'm not a big fan of. But the rest of the album is pure misery and all the better for it. The acoustic guitars that sometimes sneak in remind me of passages of the album 'The dreadful hours', which was a latter-day favourite. Aaron Stainthorpe's vocals ensure that this band always sounds suitably english, and that is part of the big charm of bands like MBD, and the other two 'dark brotherhood' bands, Anathema and Paradise Lost. A return to form, 9 out of 10!
Already some legandary names, but here comes one that will appeal more to people who like their Doom mixed with desert-dry stoner rock instead of gothic splendour.
Yes, the former Obsessed, St. Vitus and Spirit Caravan leader, Wino, has returned and is bringing a brand new solo album. Punctuated Equilibrium is the title, and Wino himself handles vocals and guitar as usual. Lots of uptempo tracks on this one, with some great solos thrown all over the place, and it seems like Wino is on top form. I would have liked it to be a little more doom-like, with some slower tracks with massive riffs and all, but it is a good rockin' album from start to finish pretty much. Could perhaps have been a little better considering it is the man's first album in his own name, but still - worthy! 7 out of 10.
Soon to emerge is also a brand new Black Sabbath album, with Dio on vocals! Of course it will be under the name Heaven & Hell, and judging by the first leaked track Bible Black, it is going to be fantastic! Review to follow when available!
First up, a two-pronged attack from Sweden! Preceding a new Candlemass album, mainman Leif Edling has released his first real solo album, Songs of torment, songs of joy.
Opting to 'sing' on all the songs himself might not have been the wisest choice, but man - those riffs are still carved from molten rock! Just check out the guitar/hammond organ in 'It is not there' and marvel at the eerie atmosphere on most of the album. To me, the vocals let the whole deal down a bit. With a proper singer this could have been lethal! Overall tho, the organ is used well and some haunting background choirs appear here and there around Leif's whispered/snarled vocals, and as a whole it is a good, heavy album. I give it a solid 7 out of 10, because when all is said and done this is still a riff-master at work!
Candlemass weigh in with the second album featuring new singer Robert Lowe, and the album (Death Magic Doom) is a good continuation from the recent ep Lucifer Rising.
It sounds like Lowe has been involved more in the way the vocals go this time, and the songs seem to fit his voice better than some of the tracks on the first album he was on.
Opener If I ever die and songs like Dead Angel are great uptempo metal tracks, but the slow deliberate Candlemass style shines through in songs like Hammer of Doom and the eerie closer My funeral dreams. Try as they might to update the candlemass sound, I will still always prefer the albums with former singer Messiah Marcolin, but this album is the best yet with the new lineup. I award it 8 out of 10 for it's crushing, clear production and the awesome songs Candlemass always deliver.
In England, one third of the dark brotherhood of british 90's metal is stirring again. My Dying Bride released their 10th album, For lies I sire, in late March. With this band, no news is good news, but the album does bring back something that I, personally, have missed a lot in MDB's sound. The violin! Albums by MDB are always a depressing, lamenting trawl through the human hearts dark corridors, and the melancholy violin just adds to that. One song, Chapter in loathing, harks back to the bands death metal beginnings, which I'm not a big fan of. But the rest of the album is pure misery and all the better for it. The acoustic guitars that sometimes sneak in remind me of passages of the album 'The dreadful hours', which was a latter-day favourite. Aaron Stainthorpe's vocals ensure that this band always sounds suitably english, and that is part of the big charm of bands like MBD, and the other two 'dark brotherhood' bands, Anathema and Paradise Lost. A return to form, 9 out of 10!
Already some legandary names, but here comes one that will appeal more to people who like their Doom mixed with desert-dry stoner rock instead of gothic splendour.
Yes, the former Obsessed, St. Vitus and Spirit Caravan leader, Wino, has returned and is bringing a brand new solo album. Punctuated Equilibrium is the title, and Wino himself handles vocals and guitar as usual. Lots of uptempo tracks on this one, with some great solos thrown all over the place, and it seems like Wino is on top form. I would have liked it to be a little more doom-like, with some slower tracks with massive riffs and all, but it is a good rockin' album from start to finish pretty much. Could perhaps have been a little better considering it is the man's first album in his own name, but still - worthy! 7 out of 10.
Soon to emerge is also a brand new Black Sabbath album, with Dio on vocals! Of course it will be under the name Heaven & Hell, and judging by the first leaked track Bible Black, it is going to be fantastic! Review to follow when available!
lørdag den 31. januar 2009
Who are... City Boy!
Sorry to my reader(s?) for getting so far behind on my blog. Here's the year's first post then!
In the 'Who are' category of bands that time passed by, now we come to City Boy.
What ?
Formed in England in 1975, out of the previous folk band Back in the band.
Notable members included guitarplayer Mike Slamer (later of such bands as Streets and Seventh Key) and singer Lol Mason. The band released 7 albums between 75 and 81, 6 of which are now available on CD thanks to Renaissance Records.
Sounds like.. ?
The band that City Boy remind me of most is another english band, Queen. It's not that the vocals sound like Queen's but more the way that City Boy were all over the place with their songs, like vintage Queen. On their biggest selling album,1979's The Day The Earth Caught Fire, there are songs that if not for the lead vocals could be mistaken for Queen. Listen to the title track for instance, with those cascading riffs and background vocals. One of the group's two 'hits', along with the poppier 5-7-0-5 from the 1978 Book Early album, the song defined City Boy's flamboyant rock style. Large choruses, big arrangements and album-oriented rock instead of single-oriented. The style of the day was punk - with short sharp and organic sounding songs about life and anti-establishment. While big bands like Queen were able to survive, many of the other 'proggy' bands like City Boy and Be Bop Deluxe failed to gain the success they had hoped, and are not remembered much today. Which is a shame, because the music on display is often really good. The best years of the band were 77 to 79, in which time they released their 3 most 'rock-oriented' albums. After two more albums followed, which both leaned more on pop like in the band's early days, but with occasional diamonds such as Life on the balcony from 1980's Heads are rolling.
Discography
1975 - City Boy
1976 - Dinner at the Ritz
1977 - Young men gone west
1978 - Book Early
1979 - The day the earth caught fire
1980 - Heads are rolling
1981 - It's personal
Best and worst
The Day the earth caught fire is the album to recommend, but all the albums have good songs if you can stand the eclectic style that Queen employed on albums such as 'Jazz'.
I haven't heard more than 1-2 songs from It's personal so I can't comment too much on that, but as previously mentioned the 77-79 years is where it really came together for the band. Unfortunately they did not reach the big leagues and are relatively obscure today. For semi-obscure rock, this is a great band to check out, especially now that most of their output has been reissued on CD.
In the 'Who are' category of bands that time passed by, now we come to City Boy.
What ?
Formed in England in 1975, out of the previous folk band Back in the band.
Notable members included guitarplayer Mike Slamer (later of such bands as Streets and Seventh Key) and singer Lol Mason. The band released 7 albums between 75 and 81, 6 of which are now available on CD thanks to Renaissance Records.
Sounds like.. ?
The band that City Boy remind me of most is another english band, Queen. It's not that the vocals sound like Queen's but more the way that City Boy were all over the place with their songs, like vintage Queen. On their biggest selling album,1979's The Day The Earth Caught Fire, there are songs that if not for the lead vocals could be mistaken for Queen. Listen to the title track for instance, with those cascading riffs and background vocals. One of the group's two 'hits', along with the poppier 5-7-0-5 from the 1978 Book Early album, the song defined City Boy's flamboyant rock style. Large choruses, big arrangements and album-oriented rock instead of single-oriented. The style of the day was punk - with short sharp and organic sounding songs about life and anti-establishment. While big bands like Queen were able to survive, many of the other 'proggy' bands like City Boy and Be Bop Deluxe failed to gain the success they had hoped, and are not remembered much today. Which is a shame, because the music on display is often really good. The best years of the band were 77 to 79, in which time they released their 3 most 'rock-oriented' albums. After two more albums followed, which both leaned more on pop like in the band's early days, but with occasional diamonds such as Life on the balcony from 1980's Heads are rolling.
Discography
1975 - City Boy
1976 - Dinner at the Ritz
1977 - Young men gone west
1978 - Book Early
1979 - The day the earth caught fire
1980 - Heads are rolling
1981 - It's personal
Best and worst
The Day the earth caught fire is the album to recommend, but all the albums have good songs if you can stand the eclectic style that Queen employed on albums such as 'Jazz'.
I haven't heard more than 1-2 songs from It's personal so I can't comment too much on that, but as previously mentioned the 77-79 years is where it really came together for the band. Unfortunately they did not reach the big leagues and are relatively obscure today. For semi-obscure rock, this is a great band to check out, especially now that most of their output has been reissued on CD.
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