The Cult - Electric

Well we have arrived at Number 12

The Cult - Electric
Electric saw The Cult move further away from their goth roots by enhancing their more hard rock influences. By bringing in Rick Rubin (Beastie Boys/Slayer) to the controls
this made the album more abrasive sounding. Billy Duffy's guitar was put at the forefront due to Ricks unfussy approach to production.
Opening track 'Wildflower' certainly starts things with ablomb. This was possibly the best AC/DC song that they (AC/DC) never wrote. The rhythm section of Jamie Stewart (Bass) and newcomer Les Warner throughout 'Electric' was effective and simple.
Video Of Wildflower
Many of the songs on the album were very boogie orientated like 'Peace Dog','Bad Fun' and 'Electric Ocean'. The latter is very hard not to play air-drums along with (I have tried not to, but to no avail).
'Lil Devil' is the strongest track on the album a crunching main riff with a secondary lead underneath. All The Cult wanted to be at that time is typified in this song which is probably Ian Astbury's best vocal as well.
The first single from the album was the groovy 'Love Removal Machine', another strong track with Ian going all Jim Morrison on it. It served as a good preview for Electric. At the time it shocked fans and the Press who were expecting 'Love mk 2' but to me it was the time I fell in love with The Cult.
Listen to around 3.31 on the track and just bang your head.
'Aphodisaic Jacket' was the only composition on here that would not have been out of place on their previous effort 'Love'.
'Memphis Hipshake' closed the disc, an undiscovered gem that was often overlooked but should have been a classic, Very blues led and well paced.
Electric did however have a stinker on it, a cover of Steppenwolfs classic 'Born To Be Wild, a pointless track to record, but I can see why it's here as The Cult were trying to break the US market at the time. It was quite usual for bands to include a cover on their albums in an attempt to sell more. However this version is truly awful.
I think The Cult achieved what they needed to do with this album and it was also a great audition piece for Rick Rubin to produce AC/DC (Which he finally did in 1995 with the tepid Ballbreaker).
Before meeting Rick, The Cult had completed the follow up to 'Love' already. It was to be called 'Peace' and had many of the same tracks on it as Electric. It  was scrapped as the band wanted a more rockier sound. The album did see the light of day in the early 90's as the 'Manor Sessions EP'.
It does sound a little strange to hear 'Wild Flower' et al as if they were a continuation of the 'Love' sound. Well worth a listen.
Manor Session Version Of Wildflower

Why I ♥ This Album

Being aged 16 in 1987/88 I was unfortunate in that I looked young for my age, so going to pubs was a no go for me as well as some of my friends. So it was mainly parties at people's houses that gave me the opportunity to drink, smoke and generally misbehave. One such party was at Liz and Katherine Howe's house on the Weyhill Road in Andover. I had gone with my best friend Des as he was courting Liz at the time.
We had stopped off at Little's newsagent next door to get some supplies.

Little's Newsagents as it is now!

The party was quite kicking, I put on some class tunes on the stereo, I had taken a cassette with Electric on one side and a new release by
a new LA band called Guns'N'Roses on the other (What ever happened to them?). People politely asked me to take the GNR off and turn the cassette over.
The Cult went down so much better. The party was memorable for me as it was the only time in my life where I ever been punched in the face!
The story goes in a scene reminiscent of Kevin & Perry having a party - "bigger boys came" (bigger as in they were in their 20's) and began to take the partying to another level. Anyway one of the 'bigger boys' had an almighty row with someone on the landing. I poked my head around the corner to see what was occurring. In his frustration he was hitting the walls and bannisters and then of course he saw another target appear from around a door.
He connected really well with my right eye, the pain wasn't that bad but the swelling came up really quickly. He left the party quite sharpish.
I learned a valuable lesson that night, that girls liked to ply people, who are hurt, with sympathy and attention. I loved it.
Here endeth the lesson!

The Black Crowes - Shake Your Money Maker

No. 11 is a classic disc from 1990

The Black Crowes - Shake Your Money Maker
Hailing from Atlanta Georgia in the US, the brothers Robinson and their band of merry men debuted with their take of the southern blues and hard rock.
The band wore their influences on their sleeves from the riffs of Aerosmith and The Faces to the vocal swagger of Mick Jagger. This was the most definitive album by The Crowes.Latter albums wandered away from good songwriting into blues jams and mainly lost the plot. The pace on this debut was never captured again until 1999's 'By Your Side' collection.
The band released four singles from this album; the opening two rock out tracks 'Twice As Hard' and 'Jealous Again'and the bittersweet ode to an Atlantean friend hooked on heroin 'She Talks To Angels'. The fourth of which was 'Hard To Handle', which was their take on the Otis Redding classic and it was this single that broke them into the mainstream. It is the defining track on the album and a stroke of genius, as I believe that the melody was actually taken from a Buddy Guy song.
Live Version Of Hard To Handle From 1990
The album is also full of other strong tracks and not just the singles, the very stones 'Thick n Thin', the raw 'Struttin' Blues' and the other ballad 'Seeing Things'.
The disc finishes with the song 'Stare it Cold' a look into the future as they ripped this off for the first single of their next album 'Remedy'.
Not an original album by any stretch of the imagination, but one that knows how to party!

Why I ♥ This Album

Many of the tracks conjur up significant memories. During 1990 this album was not left off the turntable at many a party,
including the few we had over at Karen Ruse's parents house, which was located in the base at Middle Wallop.
Karen was a great friend of mine for nearly a decade, always there to pick up the pieces when things had gone wrong and a great listener. Not just for me but many of the others in our circle of friends. She caught a lot of flack for this from jealous girlfriends who didn't really understand the relationship Karen had
with people.
I met Karen not long after my first long relationship finished. I must have been about 18/19 years old and was basically like most lads of that age, just for a good time.
I promised Karen all sorts of things just to make her mine and looking back I realise that I was a bit of a git and quite childish as I still tried to play the field. After coming out of a long term relationship I wasn't in a place where I wanted to settle down into another.


Karen & I at the London Astoria


My behaviour really did hurt Karen and for that I will always be truly sorry, and in Karmic terms it did indeed come back and bite me bad (See the Soul Asylum post).
After that Karen was a strength in my life and didn't hold too much of a grudge against me, most of the time. She was sometimes fiery (must have been the red hair) and would not stand
for any BS from anyone. Sometimes that strong facade would be lowered down and the vunerable side would show.
If I could have had a best woman at my wedding as opposed to a best man then Karen would have got the job. I think it was during the months leading up to my wedding that I begun to lose touch with Karen, as obviously I had a lot going on and she had met a guy called Simon and was building her relationship with him.
We both got back in contact with each other around 2008 via Facebook, and the great news was that she was still with Simon.
Then Clare Swaddling began to arrange a pub reunion for the following Febuary in Andover at The Angel. So that Saturday I arranged to stay at my mum's, I had the dog's bed (another story entirely) and was ready to party!
I was feeling quite nervous about the whole thing as I hadn't seen everyone for about 12 years, how would they react? Did they still remember I was a bit of a git (or as I like to call myself a heartbreaker) back then?
The good news is we all got along and had a good time, Karen and I just picked up from where we left off.
Thank you Karen for being such a good friend x

Reunion At The Angel

Alice In Chains - Dirt

We've reached no.10 in the journey

Alice In Chains - Dirt
Alice In Chains in my opinion were the best band that came out of the 'Grunge' scene, and Dirt was my favourite album of theirs.
AIC were unashamedly from a metal background, unlike many of their contemporarys from that scene who were influenced by Punk. On Dirt they come across like a modern version of Sabbath but were brutal, fierce and truthful throughout the album. Vocalist Layne Staley laid himself bare of the horrors of heroin addiction through many of the lyrics on the disc. This all could have sounded self obsessed and tedious without the great musicianship of the remainder of the band; especially from Jerry Cantrell with his attacking and flowing riffs and harmonised co-vocals. The rhythm section were no slouches either and were immense on all the songs.
One of my favourite songs of all time features on this album. It is the last track 'Would?'a song about the late Andrew Wood vocalist of Mother Love Bone.
It is a touching tribute and a song that features AIC at their best. Showing their individual styles but also being at one as a band. When I first heard this song in 1992 on MTV's Headbangers Ball I was just mesmerised and drawn in by the hypnotic bass, drums and harmonised vocals.
Official Video Of Would?
I began to count down the months until the album release.
'Rooster' is another highlight on the album, the acoustic start, the build and tension to the chorus, then it's kick out the jam time...'Junkhead is another powerhouse performance from the band.
'Godsmack' is a true classic standing above the rest of the album due to its more uptempo beat, almost funky vibe. The opening 2 tracks 'Them Bones' and 'Dam That River' are possibly the best openers of any album, period!
Let me know if you know better.
In 2002 when Layne died of a fatal speedball (a cocktail of heroin and cocaine), music lost one of it's most unique and talented vocalists for a generation.
I had my reservations when it was announced in 2006 that Alice In Chains were reforming - how could it work without Layne? All credit to the band and new vocalist William DuVall, they made an outstanding comeback album in 'Black Gives Way To Blue'.

Why I ♥ This Album


My Alice In Chains 'Live' Experience
March 1991, I had a car full of people on our way from Andover to Basingstoke to catch a train to Hammersmith London. We were going to watch a triple bill of newcomers Alice In Chains, UK upstarts The Almighty and headliners Megadeth.
We had just got onto the A303 road and the temperature gauge of my car was going through the roof. I couldn't understand why, admittedly the car was old, but had been in very good working order. I even checked oil and water before we left.
So we pulled up at the Buck Services about 3 miles outside of Andover. Myself and my friend Ben Holmes got out of the car to inspect what was happening, we popped the bonnet and saw what the problem was. The rag that I had used to wipe clean the oil from the engine dipstick had been left on top of the engine and had now
worked its way to the fanbelt and starting-motor!!.
Ben had got under the car to try and pull the rag out but to no avail. None of us were very mechanically minded.
Back then I didn't really believe in fate but wow something happened. A van pulled into the garage and I couldn't believe who I saw getting out - 'Dennis Olliphant'!
Den lived 2 doors away from my family when we lived in Basingstoke. He was a great friend to both my mum and step-dad but we hadn't seen him in about 8 years.
So here was a handy-man/mechanic (did I not mention that?) in this petrol station. I just hoped he recognised me after all these years. I was 11 years old last time he saw me, now I was 19, skinny with longish hair and ripped jeans etc..
With a sigh of relief he did! It took a few minutes for him to dismantle the starting motor and fan belt and we were ready to rock n roll!
We were now running about 40 minutes late, but still plenty of time. So we were about to set off when Ben realised he didn't have his ticket for the gig.
He had placed it in his back pocket and it must have fallen out whilst he was under the car. We looked all over the garage forecourt but no one could find it.
I offered Ben my ticket instead as it was my fault the rag had caught up in the engine, but Ben, being the generous person he was, said no. It was with a very heavy heart we had to drive Ben back to Andover and begin our journey again.
We arrived in Hammersmith obviously a little late. I rushed into the Odeon just in time to catch Alice In Chains perform the last song of their set 'Man In A Box'.
It sounded great.
That is my Alice In Chains 'live' experience.
Big thank you to Den Olliphant for being there and no thanks to the rag!

After posting this on the evening of the 8th, the following morning I found out that bass player Mike Starr had died, RIP and thanks for the memories.


Mike Starr RIP



Cream - Disraeli Gears

No.9 takes us back to 1967

 

Cream - Disraeli Gears
This is the ultimate 1960's psychedelic album for the ultimate 60's power trio. 'Disraeli Gears' was the second release from the supergroup, Cream.
The spine of the group was ex-Yardbird guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker, the trio is completed
by Jack Bruce on Bass. Cream's first album was very blues based but with this disc they experimented with a more psychedelic sound due to the invention of the wah wah pedal as well as other forward moves in music technology.
The album opens with the 2 most famous tracks, 'Strange Brew' (was this about strange hallucegenics being placed in a teapot??) and the classic 'Sunshine of your love'.
'Sunshine Of Your Love' riff is so well known it came as a surprise to me that the song was wriiten by bassist Jack Bruce. However the lyrics were a collabaration between Bruce, Clapton & poet Pete Brown.
Pete was, I believe to be the unsung hero of Cream, and he wrote many of their lyrics on their albums but
remained under the radar when the accolades came around.
Track 3 is 'World Of Pain. I particularly like the interplay of the twin vocals of Clapton and Bruce, a great light and shade that gave Cream a uniqueness and diversity. A trick later used to good affect by Alice In Chains.
'Dance The Night Away' floats along nicely.
Cream like the Beatles gave each member of the band,a singing chance, hence the Ringo-like track 'Blue Condition' sung by drummer Ginger Baker. No one can doubt what a legend Ginger Baker is as a drummer, Singing however was not his strong point.
'Tales Of Brave Ulysses' is my favourite track on the album, lyrically, obviouslly about Homer's Odyssey. As a fan of myths and legends I connected so much to this track.
Clapton went bluesy on the following song 'SWLABR' which also in my opinion was Jack Bruce's best vocal on the album.
On Disraeli Gears as with many 60's albums, the band covered other artist's songs. The first being a solid Clapton arrangement of Blind Jo Reynolds blues standard 'Outside Woman Blues' and also the closing track 'Mothers Lament' a sort of drunken piano sing-along. Very Derek & Clive.
A great album that really has stood the test of time and one that Clapton has never matched in his illustrious recording career.
1968 version of Sunshine Of Your Love

Why ♥ Love This Album
In 1990 music was a big part of my life. My friend Des had told me about a local band in Andover (where I lived at the time) called 'The Sleeping Policemen'. He even gave me a tape of a live recording of them. I remember playing the tape and hearing a rough and raw version of the Judas Priest classic 'Living After Midnight'.I was quite impressed.
Well a little while after this I was asked to audition to sing for Durins Bane (basically the new version of the policemen). I felt a sense of pride at this, people knew how much I loved music and was very passionate about it and I felt this was a great reward for all my knowledge. I had one big hurdle though I had never sang before. Grasping for advice, Chris Holt stated that leading up to the audition I should hum all the time to warm and strengthen my vocal cords. People must have thought I was mad as all I did was hum at them.
For the audition I had to learn a couple of rock standards, one of which was 'Sunshine Of Your Love', and vocally not a great stretch to sing.
 I met the band in the Lardicake pub the night before. Stuart on drums, Mike on bass and Graham on guitar - great guys and as I found out far superior musicians compared to my singing than I expected. The audition was at the Church on Smannell Road in Andover. Well to cut a long story short I was in!!!! yay!!!. Later I found out, that I was the only person they asked to audition and I got the gig due to owning a car. Graham needed transport for his Marshall stack to rehearsals and gigs as he didn't drive at the time.
No matter I was on a high, I am now a rock n roll singer in a real band. Bring on the sex, drugs and rock n roll (well 3 out of 3 was a good score)! We would rehearse every sunday and then retire to the pub to discuss world domination.

My first gig with the band was at the Coronation Arms in St Mary Bourne to a converted crowd of drinking buddies and friends. I sang only a few songs, mainly the originals that the band had written. However I felt we had gone down a storm.
I do have to say the adulation didn't last long. A couple more gigs and I was asked to leave, I had been found out! As many of the people that know me also know I cannot sing for toffee.
My wife is always surprised that I sang in a band... "really?" she asks.
I couldn't believe they decided to get a proper singer in, it was like sacking David Lee Roth and bring in Ronnie James Dio.
As it turned out my replacement Dave became one of my best buds and was a sound bloke.
The band recorded a great demo called 'Mr Good Friday'and they should have powered on to greater things, but alas they will also be known as the biggest cult band in Andover
Cheers to the man in the corner.
Check them out http://www.reverbnation.com/durinsbane#!