80ies metal haters don't read any further,
(http://hardrockhideout.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/warriorpic.jpg)
but for the ones with, jawohl!, guilty pleasures like me:
I just rediscovered Warrior, the one album metal wonders whose magnificent debut in 1985 went ... nowhere except the bargain bins and then - come Nirvana - total oblivion. They also became a cult band among metallists and having bought their debut at a spur of a nostalgic moment a few days ago (I remembered how the hair metal crazy guitaritst in one of my eighties bands would always pest me with the newest band from LA, wishing us to emulate the flavor of the week, and that he coaxed a "these guys are a lot better than your usual stuff" out of me when he played me a tape - yes, we had tapes back then - of Warrior) I now remember why:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z62Fxegy7Q
And before anybody exclaims "these guys sounded like a bastard breed of Quiet Riot, Accept, Dio and Judas Priest" (all true in a way) I draw your attention to the arrangement at 2:44 in the above vid, that is what I call dynamics!
And they could repeat it live, that singer (later on in Steve Stevens' equally short-lived Atomic Playboys)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC-CiZloMnU
had some pipes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR7FhC4Rq6U
I listened to their debut CD today in the car and the dynamics and velocity of the (not strikingly original, I know) music is simply stunning. It's also the most thunderous production (rhythm section is RRRRREAL LLLLLLOUD!) of any 80ies hair metal (cult) classic I've heard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRqw3y2HfW0
Now watch George chip in in a little while and dryly remark how he saw them regularly twice a week in his youth community center in LA when no one had yet heard of them ... :mrgreen:
I think that was the week he fell asleep in women's clothes Uwe!
Either that or taking pics of his "Special Purpose" as reflectioed in chrome pickup covers ;D
I saw this band open for Keel and Loudness after their debut came out. I remember enjoying their show but they disappeared rather quickly it seemed.
metal, a cult classic? every short lived band in metaldom became a "cult classic". i once owned that record, along with many hundreds more of the same type of stuff. to my ears warrior sounds like many of the other records i had. these lps
were part of my record show/online inventory, btw. not for my listening pleasure. :P
This is the music I'm going to play on my bass boat's stereo when I'm water skiing with some honeys on the river. There will be a cooler full of silver bullets and I'll wear a cut off mesh football jersey and have a mullet!
Quote from: nofi on May 08, 2014, 07:24:18 AM
metal, a cult classic? every short lived band in metaldom became a "cult classic". i once owned that record, along with many hundreds more of the same type of stuff. to my ears warrior sounds like many of the other records i had. these lps
were part of my record show/online inventory, btw. not for my listening pleasure. :P
I think their dynamics, the extremely good production (you should hear the remastered CD), the mighty rhythm section, arrangements that leave the singer space and the harmony guitars which have a lot more adventurous combinations than just root + third (or fifth) set them apart. But the music as such is nothing new or original just very well executed. Bit "thinking man's Quiet Riot" (with a little Dokken thrown in for good measure, but who wasn't influenced by iconic George Lynch back then) if that is not an oxymoron ... :mrgreen:
Other metal cult classix are of course Hughes/Thrall, Starz and Balance! You can only be cult if you were a commercial failure.
I got to review all the new metal releases for the Illinois Entertainer for a few years in the '80s. There was so much really BAD metal that came out when it became really popular. Bands that I recall liking, but are long forgotten:
Black'n'Blue
Tokyo Blade
Loudness
Grim Reaper (whom I really liked)
The Hunt (the absolutely worst band I ever heard on record)
Quote from: uwe on May 07, 2014, 04:40:26 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC-CiZloMnU
I always suspected that Steve was largely responsible for the sound of a lot of Billy's solo stuff and this mostly confirms it. Aside from the singer's voice, this could easily be a song by Billy Idol. Which reminds me, after Gen X broke up, ole SS, IMHO, was the second worst thing to happen to Billy. The #1 worst thing was cocaine... actually the 2 of those could have come as a package.
And as much as I like to be hard on him, Steve did some tasteful, I'll-just -hang-back-for-a-second guuitar work on some Billy stuff (though, as counterpoint, he compensated for that with the keyboards).
I have always loved Steve Stevens work. If you want to get a taste of one his passions and little known talent, listen to his flamenco guitar work on Bozzio, Levin and Stevens.
starz were from atlanta but they seldom played here. they couldn't draw flies to a show. so they fled to europe where people seem to love this kind of shite.
the porky pig singer from grim reaper became the north american rep for marshall amps. a better gig i'm sure.
I have that Warrior album on vinyl. And I remember I really liked it back in the day.
Will have to try a bit to see if I can still listen to it without cringing 8)
Nofi, you never learn! The Atlanta Starz you know are not
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a6/Starz.png)
who stem from The Garden State, i.e. New Joisie and evolved from the remnants of one-hit-wonders Looking Glass.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24iMWfiKcDM
(New Jersey) Starz never ever played outside of the US until last year when they were invited to the UK by some nostalgic dieheard fans. For one single gig.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXlnUK6RJe4
I probably only liked them because their guitarist was called Richie, had sideburns and a receding hairline plus a white Strat ... :mrgreen:
(http://www.fullinbloommusic.com/images/richierannotop1.jpg)
No, in fact I dug them because they combined musical clout with huge tunefulness - more AOR than metal really - and Michael Lee Smith, their singer, was visually sort of a butch Jon Bongiovi 10 years ahead of his fellow New Jersian. Unfortunately nearly all their material is blocked on German youtube.
Quote from: Basvarken on May 08, 2014, 12:23:35 PM
I have that Warrior album on vinyl. And I remember I really liked it back in the day.
Will have to try a bit to see if I can still listen to it without cringing 8)
It's utterly cringy in a feel-good guilty pleasures way.
The lyrics are cringeworthy for sure.
"Wielding the axe, the mighty all must die" sounds like a Manowar leftover. Or were they ridiculing them?
Quote from: Granny Gremlin on May 08, 2014, 10:24:40 AM
I always suspected that Steve was largely responsible for the sound of a lot of Billy's solo stuff and this mostly confirms it. Aside from the singer's voice, this could easily be a song by Billy Idol. Which reminds me, after Gen X broke up, ole SS, IMHO, was the second worst thing to happen to Billy. The #1 worst thing was cocaine... actually the 2 of those could have come as a package.
And as much as I like to be hard on him, Steve did some tasteful, I'll-just -hang-back-for-a-second guuitar work on some Billy stuff (though, as counterpoint, he compensated for that with the keyboards).
Stevens
was Billy Idol's sound in his heyday, period. Reputedly, he met him in a NYC music store when Stevens was not noodling riffs but playing the chords of Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side. The guy is a real talent and a shit-hot guitarist.
And he can elevate with his work even - sorry, George! - mediocre singers ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbFY6VeeAn0
Quote from: Basvarken on May 08, 2014, 12:53:11 PM
The lyrics are cringeworthy for sure.
"Wielding the axe, the mighty all must die" sounds like a Manowar leftover. Or were they ridiculing them?
Yes, admittedly, it is a bit Manowar with more clothes on ... :-[ ... sort of the Mad Max version of them!
But I think that lyric just wanted to insinuate that - Bob Dylan-style - a small guitar/axe can surely change the world for the better? :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
It's a bit dragged out....and P.R.O.G...but they hit a nice groove about 9:00 and just after 11:00, you'll hear the nylon strings kick in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn6pDJ5zimA
smith was from atlanta. he is the brother of the rex smith who did the 'the pirates in my pants' with linda rondstat in central park. doing some research after my blunder i see that smith has become a large, hairless fellow.
Hmm... excluding the beard, I'm sure I just saw him in the mirror...? :o
Somewhat the continuing recycling of scripts in the cinema, how about tribute acts, tributing what was originally a tribute act...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m6MKQBok7w
... but for balance, something from his excellent "original material" album, way back when... the solo has a lovely hair standing on end quality when played loud...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBRIpO5D3Mg
Quote from: nofi on May 08, 2014, 03:46:14 PM
smith was from atlanta. he is the brother of the rex smith who did the 'the pirates in my pants' with linda rondstat in central park. doing some research after my blunder i see that smith has become a large, hairless fellow.
While his girth today would be an issue for the teen appeal Starz were supposed to have in the mid-seventies, it wouldn't hamper a career with Molly Hatchet!
Quote from: uwe on May 07, 2014, 04:40:26 PM
Now watch George chip in in a little while and dryly remark how he saw them regularly twice a week in his youth community center in LA when no one had yet heard of them ... :mrgreen:
I saw them a couple times after first hearing their demo on KMETs local band show (hosted by a ridiculously disguised Jim Ladd, who hated metal and felt it was beneath him). I was lucky to live in the center of where the "metal" resurgence happened in the early 80s, so I saw a lot of bands that way. I bought the vinyl when I came home from England in '86 and found the CD a few years back. I liked them but they were never more than cult status in the day or since. To me, they were on the same level as Rough Cutt, another good band that never blew up but had some great ingredients (including Jake E. Lee before he auditioned for Ozzy). Good playing and above average vocals though, so that CD still gets a listen now and then.
Here's a typical calendar from a local club in '83. I saw two or maybe three of the shows listed, and that doesn't count shows I would have seen at other clubs in the area if the bands I liked were playing.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/players/1983_March_Troubadour001_zpsd82c6a3a.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/gcarlston/media/players/1983_March_Troubadour001_zpsd82c6a3a.jpg.html)
Didn't I say so! 8)
Come to think of it, the Troub, the Whisky, and the Roxy really were my community centers!
Quote from: uwe on May 08, 2014, 12:43:12 PM
I probably only liked them because their guitarist was called Richie, had sideburns and a receding hairline plus a white Strat ... :mrgreen:
Stemming from the Garden State indeed - at the 4th of July parade in my wife's hometown last year - along with Starz' drummer.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/lowend1/_DSC01764b_zps2b5f9a00.jpg) (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/lowend1/media/_DSC01764b_zps2b5f9a00.jpg.html)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/lowend1/_DSC01714b_zpsacf2b09a.jpg) (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/lowend1/media/_DSC01714b_zpsacf2b09a.jpg.html)
Did you ever see Riverdogs live George?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnHnfcjgo48
Quote from: Basvarken on May 10, 2014, 02:36:20 AM
Did you ever see Riverdogs live George?
No, with Vivian Campbell's previous gig making him so well known I don't think they played around town in the same way up and coming, unknown guys did. At least I never heard about them doing so. I wasn't in Los Angeles much between 1988-92 so even if they did gig now and then, I never heard about it.
Or any of the other bands Rob Lamothe sang in ?
Mac Meda (also with Robbin Crosby)?
(http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/1195/macmeda.jpg)
Or Aircraft?
(http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/9109/aircraftroxy80.jpg)
To get back on topic:
I think an early line up of Aircraft had some names that would appear in Warrior ten years later (Tommy Asakawa, Parry McCarty)
(http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/9803/earlyrobine.jpg)
is that ben stiller in the middle. :P
I must be not so well-versed in 80s metal as I thought. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that I'm contributing in one way or another to the decline of Western civilization.
aren't we all! ;D
Wives and girlfriends can have somewhat of a civilizing influence, but only so much can be done. ;D
Quote from: westen44 on May 10, 2014, 01:51:13 PM
I must be not so well-versed in 80s metal as I thought. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that I'm contributing in one way or another to the decline of Western civilization.
You?!
Decadence is my business ;D
^
I've tried to improve with age, but I've had my share of decadence. :)
Quote from: TBird1958 on May 11, 2014, 11:51:33 AM
Decadence is my business ;D
Exquisitely understated, my dear Lady... ;)
I believe it is commonly viewed that societies become decadent before a fall...
(Oh Nero... Nero... you forgot your rosin, darling...)
Quote from: TBird1958 on May 11, 2014, 11:51:33 AM
Decadence is my business ;D
But only with style!! :thumbsup:
All those androgynous hair metallists were really amateurs when it comes to decadence and contributing actively to the decline of Western Civilization, this is how it's properly done: This weekend's Eurovison winner ... Conchita Wurst ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBpgIrI9cDQ
The song is a bit too James Bond'ish/Shirley Bassey'ish 60ies drama ballad for me and of course Conchita's agenda played a major role in her/him winning the contest, but she/he won by a huge distance compared to all other contestants. Someone projecting an alternative life style like she/he does topping an international contest would have been unthinkable a couple of years ago. So we are making some headway after all.
Why "Wurst" you cry? "Das ist mir wurst" is the German/Austrian/Swiss idiom for "I don't care one way or another", so it's part of her/his message that it doesn't matter which gender you are, including the one in between.
Yeah right.
Wurst
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/v/t34.0-12/p180x540/10356657_848601405154421_428553840_n.jpg?oh=14866530be08543bfea306ed911185da&oe=53732FCC&__gda__=1400050268_6651b6fd96fcfd233a3efe866440d154)
:rimshot:
You know, you really shouldn't even have known where that picture could be found........
He probably has a folder of bookmarks, labeled "Pushing even the standards of the LBO"
8)
I do love what I've done to this place :gay:
Haha, the wonders of Facebook.
Quote from: TBird1958 on May 12, 2014, 09:16:35 PM
I do love what I've done to this place :gay:
Moral corruption and ethical decay.
Quote from: uwe on May 08, 2014, 12:53:50 PM
Stevens was Billy Idol's sound in his heyday, period. ... The guy is a real talent and a shit-hot guitarist.
And he can elevate with his work even - sorry, George! - mediocre singers ...
This does not disagree with what I said, that first line anyway, is what I was getting at.... I just didn't think it as a good thing. He is (was?) technically very amazing and good at songwriting if you like that sort of very typically 80s LA style, which he was the archetype, if not the architect, of (I do not.... except when PWEI does it ironically later in the 90s, and even then, I just barely tolerate it). BUT Billy didn't need to be elevated by Steve - he was already everything he was going to be by the end of Generation X - remember, his biggest hit, Dancing With Myself, was just the Gen X song re-released on one of his solo albums (I think there was a Steve Steven's overdub or 2, but otherwise it was the exact same recording, maybe he redid the vox too, I don"t remember, but all the other Gen X backing vox are still there etc). The only development post Gen X was that of his ego (cocaine does that) which had a few artistic side-effects such as convincing him that that doing that snarly lip thing every time a lens was pointed his way was a good idea (in a very proto Miley Cyrus way, not half as stupid/annoying though.... she really takes a lot from Billy though doesn't she; right down to the hair ;P).
An ex-guitarist of mine just loved the guy though, down to emulating his tone in the mid-2000s; so dated and doesn't work without big budget LA studio production values on the rest of the song behind it, vs our punk-reggae Clashy thing. I managed to keep that sound off our record by having him use my gear, but eventually he just really missed that Ibanez Strat variant with Floyd Rose and solid state amp. ... then he got a pod and I gave up the whole thing..
Quote from: uwe on May 13, 2014, 06:43:01 AM
Moral corruption and ethical decay.
Wait'll you get to Seattle!
Quote from: TBird1958 on May 13, 2014, 10:07:14 AM
Wait'll you get to Seattle!
There's plenty of humidity decay, too.....
BTW...Gonna take him to Bass NW and fill him full of Starbucks?
Quote from: uwe on May 12, 2014, 10:59:27 AM
All those androgynous hair metallists were really amateurs when it comes to decadence and contributing actively to the decline of Western Civilization, this is how it's properly done: This weekend's Eurovison winner ... Conchita Wurst ...
In the meanwhile the number two of the Eurovision song contest is number one in the hit parades of 14 European countries.
Half of the Netherlands dismissed the song beforehand, because it wasn't sensational enough, no real climax, no bla bla etc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWe8PRsW4T0
I ran across a comment about this in reading about something else several days ago. But not knowing any of the details, it didn't quite make sense to me. I still don't quite know exactly what happened. All I could gather is that Ilse DeLange and Waylon are being treated with some kind of disrespect (it appears,) but I don't know if this is something personal or just has to do with people not liking that song enough.
It's not that they have anything against Ilse and/or Waylon. It's more that a lot of fellow Dutchmen have preconceived dogmatic ideas about how a song for the Songcontest should sound like. :o
Quote from: Basvarken on May 13, 2014, 10:55:02 AM
In the meanwhile the number two of the Eurovision song contest is number one in the hit parades of 14 European countries.
Half of the Netherlands dismissed the song beforehand, because it wasn't sensational enough, no real climax, no bla bla etc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWe8PRsW4T0
It's a nice song, but I understand why people had qualms about it. It's overtly C&W/New Country and in the past stuff like that has bombed if people in national juries and the viewers felt that it was not the "real thing" because the country in question was not really known for that type of music. The German C&W/New Country entry from a couple of years (2006) bombed terribly though it was a well-crafted and catchy, uplifting tune, everybody (in Germany at least) expected great things from it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKvPzL1NSSI
There is a rule for Eurovision winners in general: It's either the big melodramatic musical-type ballad or something extremely catchy, uplifting and fun to watch:
Everybody knew those Swedes would win 5 seconds into their song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XxV8w9jR6Q
And it was the same thing with these Dutchmen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI78Bqp6z6g
Not to mention these Brits and their contribution to impromptu changing skirt fashions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boEph_ic-NM
There are exceptions to the rule of course, but to many contestants "big ballad" and "catchy happy tune presented in a fresh way by a boy/girl group" are still regarded as safe bets.
I don't watch American Idol, but this year at least had this fellow singing some rock, earlier in the season he did a good cover of "Working Man"
by Rush.....
Covering Coverdale!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fnd_emE6Uk
I never liked that song with its drawing by numbers overt Zeppelinisms (even Kingdom Come had some shame and left guitar bow impressions out of their vids), but it's hard to sing and he does a credible job at it.
It ain't the same though unless stockings-attired and blindfolded B-movie actrices roll around on a fur on the sofa while it is being played.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_tfq0qTDDE
That vid was so cringeworthy already in 1987 - as a Purplite I felt ashamed for the "unknown young boutique salesman from Redcar". He was in his mid-thirties when this happened, so no excuses because of youth or inexperience either ... To add insult to injury, not a single one of these posers (Coverdale excepted) had played/sung on the track or the album. In comparison, these guys here were icons of credibility:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A816Rcqmgg
Quote from: uwe on May 14, 2014, 01:22:32 PM
In comparison, these guys here were icons of credibility
Great performance.
Excellent musicianship.
But their stylist didn't do them any favors :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
Quote from: uwe on May 08, 2014, 12:53:50 PM
And he can elevate with his work even - sorry, George! - mediocre singers ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbFY6VeeAn0
No need to be sorry. I've never claimed Vince was a great or even good singer. There are singers, and there are frontmen, and Vince never completely dominated as either one (in my book), but he fit perfectly with whatever chemistry made Motley work as well as they did, being sometimes a good but rarely a great band. When I first saw them he was still more a surf/stoner dude with a bleach job, and that laid back attitude worked well with the whole package. My favorite Motley Crue was more like a heavier Cheap Trick than a metal band, and Vince was more a laid back DLR than anything else.
Bucks Fizz... :-\
Come on, we've had some class material in that competition... here's our winners from '67 and '69...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCs7iZGvK4s
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ew43u2gS0Y
I preferred Sandie!!! Lulu's songwriter stole from Mary Poppins!
But Pet beat them all:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abOzcjxNJ30
Yanks get a honorary mention, girls singing about "silver spurs to pass the time" are always a good thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQiDs9tKZv4
I hadn't realized it before, but "Summer Wine" was the "Milkshake" of its time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGL2rytTraA
I always thought lecherous Lee was on about something nasty! So you can actually drink it?