Technicolor Horror Story or Faith No More – Sol Invictus

May 18, 2015May 18, 2015 / ds barrett / 1 Comment

fnmsolinvictus

So much more than just another ‘alt-rock’ or ‘metal’ band Faith No More could pack influences into music so tightly I would have no other choice but to call it ‘genre skipping.’ Crazy as that sounds they do it in individual songs. Funk, hip hop, metal, and even easy listening soft rock balladry naturally bounce around so well you’ld think they were a basketball.

Add that to the fact that Mike Patton is the best living rock vocalist on the planet (seriously, he has a vocal range that stretches six octaves) and you have a powerful explanation as to why music fans are salivating at the mere thought of a new Faith No More record.

Eighteen years between records and Faith No More not only picks up from where they left off, but do it as if both a love letter to fans and kiss off to anyone else. In fact, the feel of Sol Invictus is far more reminiscent of Angel Dust than the commercially lauded The Real Thing. The result is an album that just seems to go in whatever direction the wind is blowing at any given moment. Which isn’t to say that Faith No More lets anything get away from them, but rather that the transitions seem natural.

The title track opens with a bit of a circus atmosphere before breaking off into atmospheric melody. “Superhero” takes medal riffs and builds them towards a climatic cliff that is followed by the sinister “Sunny Side Up” which comes off as the proclamations of a narcissist. Characters are littered throughout Sol Invictus creating a type of epic short story one might imagine as the work of Flannery O’Connor or Richard Bachman. Listening to “Black Friday” as it describes living in the “age of the mercenary” comes with the realization that hope is a matter of perspective. Faith No More may not have created a pop masterpiece, but they have made a record that tells dark stories of broken people in vivid sonic colours. Sol Invictus is an album that stays with you long after the needle has lifted, and compelling enough to keep you up long after your head hits the pillow.

For you fans of vinyl, Faith No More have given you a couple options. Sol Invictus can be ordered in clear (limited edition) or black 140 gram vinyl and of course their web store also has a variety of bundles to make a true music geek happy.

TAKE THAT, FOUR OF A KIND! or Queens Of The Stone Age – … Like Clockwork

May 15, 2015 / ds barrett / 3 Comments

To say that …Like Clockwork was a loved record would be an understatement, it was pretty much universally praised as a great record. In hindsight Josh Homme was screaming to the world that Queens Of The Stone Age were now the greatest hard rock band since “fill in your own blank.” Almost two years since its release and “I Sat By The Ocean” can be heard almost daily on the radio. Josh Homme must have had an inkling it was great before it was even released because he handed fans an abundance of options to not only purchase it in multi formats, but four different vinyl versions as well. Three of those wax options were on the very day of release.

1) 2x vinyl 12” that plays at 45rpm with a red cover

2) 2x vinyl 12” limited edition (10000 copies) 150 gram vinyl plays at 45 rpm with a blue album cover

3) 2x vinyl 12” limited edition 180 gram vinyl plays at 45rpm with an oversized gatefold cover containing a 20 page book

Then, with the album already selling very well came Record Store Day/Black Friday and the band put out option #4; the so called Black On Black Friday Edition. Limited to 2400 copies the cover art was in black and inside was a 180 gram vinyl record.

Now the funny thing about these options, are the crazy prices that vinyl resellers are asking for them. In some cases, sealed copies of the black cover and the blue cover editions have asking prices of over a $100.00 but used copies can be found for under $35.00. Funnier still were that I found people asking $35.00 for a new copy of the standard red cover edition and the deluxe book set for another $100.00. The reason I find this funny is that the bands own website still has these for sale for less money. WAY LESS! The standard vinyl is $19.99 and the deluxe is $44.99 American.

Honestly, if you’re looking at purchasing …Like Clockwork on vinyl, go to your local record store before you start thinking about the online re-sellers. Great sounding new records are still available. I’ve even seen a couple of the blue covers kickin’ around at regular prices.

Like Riding A Rollercoaster Blindfolded… or Crocodiles – Boys

May 12, 2015 / ds barrett / 2 Comments

A touch of psychedelia, a smidge of shoegaze and sounding like they spent a whole lot of time in a garage playing covers of The Shondells is the basic Crocodiles recipe. So the real question, if one dares to ask, is this any different from the plethora of bands also trying to mine this vein?

Well, yes and no…

Heading into summer lets use baseball as an analogy. Major League Baseball has thirty teams all trying to attain a single goal – win the World Series. There are a lot of both good and bad teams that resemble one another but only the best really stand out while the rest are merely background noise until the playoffs arrive.

The Crocodiles are contenders.

Many bands have similar sounds but the pure catchiness and fun they exude is what keeps bringing me back for more. Hell, if they hired Rick Rubin to produce they would likely end up sounding like The Cult during the Electric era.

As it is, their brand of ‘riff-riding’ gives them a different team from others. They’re not as angry or skillful as Detroit’s Dirtbombs and they’re not as trippy as California’s Best Coast, but they carry your attention down the stretch.

“Crybaby Demon” starts things off with a “She Sells Santuary” guitar intro that takes a left turn towards the Happy Mondays. “Do The Void” plays with a 90’s alt-rock sludge guitar than breaks towards a early 70’s Banana Splits party. To a certain degree, listening to the Crocodiles is a bit like riding a rollercoaster blindfolded – it’s a great adventure and half the fun is not knowing where the hell you’re going next.

You can get the new Crocodiles album Boys on multiple formats at all those places music is being sold.

I Really Want This! Sweet Relief: A Benefit For Victoria Williams – Various Artists

May 11, 2015 / ds barrett / 1 Comment

Back in ’93 I was given an album to review that became a best friend of sorts. Surprisingly it was a compilation record (which usually just don’t stand up due to inconsistency) of songs by an artist whose music was only known previously to musicians and music geeks, but it knocked me over. One song after another caught my imagination with vivid imagery and music that could be both morose and uplifting within the same moment. It was brilliant, which is something you usually can’t say for a record recorded by “various artists.” However, what holds it together is the artist to who the album was benefiting – Victoria Williams.

“My sister got bit by a copperhead snake in the woods behind the house” is the first line that pops out the old speakers as Soul Asylum breaks into “Summer Of Drugs” and I as listener was hooked. By the time Evan Dando (of the Lemonheads) sings “Frying Pan” I’ve decided I want to play guitar. By the conclusion I’m looking for a bullhorn so I can tell any and everyone within earshot that they have to listen and buy this record. Williams’ songs are so detailed in character that songs feel like you’ve both read an exceptional short story and listened to a new musical experience. Despite the different styles of the various artists performing the songs, the original vision of the songwriter herself remains potent and shines through any genre leaping in the album itself.

If you don’t know the story, Williams star was on the rise when she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Having been bogged down with debt from increasing medical bills a virtual who’s who of 90’s alt rock and beyond joined forces to help her and others out. The Sweet Relief Charity Fund was set up to help musicians in need of expensive health care.

More than 20 years have gone by and Pearl Jam is still playing their contribution “Crazy Mary” live, and my CD still has a home within twelve inches of the stereo. So, you can see my love for this record runs deep, and I want a vinyl copy… I just didn’t think that one actually existed. That is until the other day when I just started putting album titles into the discogs search engine and… oh my, it exists. But damn… only in European used stores that would raise the price with shipping to over a hundred bucks.

So, I hope that it gets re-issued on vinyl eventually or that the ghost of Ed McMahon shows up at my door with an oversized check.

Sweet Relief can still be purchased at your better record stores on CD and has two follow up LP’s.

Sweet Relief II: Gravity Of The Situation – The Songs Of Vic Chesnutt

And

Sweet Relief III: Pennies From Heaven

Check them out, give ‘em a listen, and maybe you’ll want to drop a few dollars to a worthy cause.

P.S. – Here’s a video of Victoria Williams covering the great Sam Cooke

Learn To Pull The Trigger or Matthew Sweet – 100% Fun

May 10, 2015 / ds barrett / Leave a comment

A life time ago it seems I was getting the opportunity to interview some of my favorite artists for the now defunct id Magazine. In this case, it was the summer of 1995 and I was in my new overheated cheap rent apartment having just finished university. Sitting beside the phone random chords were filling the air as I strummed my guitar for no one but myself to hear. Once the phone did ring I was talking with Matthew Sweet for the better part of 30 minutes about his recently released album 100% Fun.

I wish I could reprint the article, or even remember the questions and answers, but it was a different time. While I have the interview on disc, it is one of those old 2.5 inch plastic jobs that haven’t been used in computers since before the turn of the century. The actual interview was recorded on a mini cassette, but I have no working player to even hear it with. So all I can tell you is this… he was super nice and patient with me when I asked him for the chords to the song “Someone To Pull The Trigger” from his previous record Altered Beast.

I hadn’t been playing guitar for all that long and I really wanted to learn how to play this song, but unlike the current version of the internet, you couldn’t just Google or YouTube to get answers – so I asked.

Remarkably, he laughed and started giving me the chords in enough detail to allow for a beginner, even giving me alternate and easier ways to play them. I’m guessing I thanked him for both the interview and the guitar lesson, but honestly, I don’t remember how things ended other than I was sweating in an overheated south facing shit-hole with a lovely view of the Humber River, trying to learn how to play a Matthew Sweet song that I really loved.

As the summer continued, “Sick Of Myself” was in heavy rotation at CFNY (the Edge) and I found myself turning off the radio when the song ended and picking up my guitar for another shot at figuring out my one and only guitar lesson. Unfortunately, I think I stopped trying when I finally attempted to add my own vocals and scared all the birds away from my balcony.

Anyway, 100% Fun is a classic power-pop record full of chiming guitar, powerful hooks and sing-a-long choruses that hide a wee bit of darkness and self loathing in the overall lyrical content. It is a record I keep coming back to year after year, and is one of my favorite albums to hear on those long drives. It is being re-issued later this month on 180 gram wax by Music On Vinyl over in Europe. I’m sure you can order it at your favorite local record retailer or online store.

Sweet is also working on a new record that will hopefully arrive at my door before the annual Christmas specials have me contemplating an apartment on the moon.

On The Subject of Bucket Lists and Bands #1 or Dressy Bessy – Holler & Stomp

May 9, 2015 / ds barrett / Leave a comment

Sometimes you need a bit of candy to see you through the dark corners of life, and sometimes music itself needs to be lit up in bright colours if only to liven things up after a downpour; that’s when Dressy Bessy entered.

After the dreariness that was rock music in the early 90’s and the arrogance that was Brit-pop in the mid 90’s some kind of intelligent fun was needed. No one wanted a return to the days of hair-metal but what could fill the void?

Well the 90’s did provide us with some direction with power-pop bands like Shonen Knife, the 5,6,7,8’s, Matthew Sweet and The Posies, but another step was needed, and Dressy Bessy jumped right into my heart.

The dual guitar work of Tammy Ealom and John Hill provided promise to this music stalwart while Ealom’s delivery and lyrics had me dreaming of the sunnier side of things. Sure they sang songs of sunshine and their tones were 60’s surf/garage/Phil Spector poppy, but they just weren’t being over the top in their quest to relate. Instead it was sunny skies, sarcasm and observational humour used in a similar style to Cracker that had me fall for them. The only problem for me is that they never seem to make their way north to Toronto and they are pretty high on my bucket list of bands. Dressy Bessy just looks like they would be a whole lot of fun to see live.

Anyway, after my initial discovery of their music back in ’99 and then getting the old mail order CD’s from their various record companies and distributors over the years – I finally see the vinyl for Holler & Stomp.

It is gorgeous.

150 Gram Pink Splatter Vinyl

It sounds absolutely fantastic; especially on a summer day with a margarita, a comfy chair and a nice bit of shade. Which is kinda the point when I listen to their music; it’s a cool escape.

You can order it here. You can also hear a great song from Holler & Stomp below… Enjoy Folks!

Where To Buy S#!t vol. 1 – Last Gang Records

May 8, 2015May 27, 2015 / ds barrett / 1 Comment

Whenever possible I usually try to direct people to a bands website or their label to purchase their record. The reasons for this are pretty simple. One – the actual band gets money flowing directly to them, or at least to the people who work with them. Two – the coolest deals are to be found in these places.

This is the case with Last Gang Records.

The label started as a way to get the music of Metric out to the public and from that point on they’ve grown to support a virtual ton of great acts that include: Metric, Death From Above 1979, K-OS, The New Pornographers, Billy Talent, A.C. Newman, Lindi Ortega and many many more.

As a hunter for cool vinyl to go with the music I love, they usually offer outstanding wax for music fans.

On a post from a few months back, I mentioned The New Pornographers most recent release Brill Bruisers. Last Gang produced four vinyl versions of 175 copies each in different colours. They also included a 3D poster of the neon light cover and 3D glasses to make the thing leap off the page. It was very cool.

Then yesterday I’m checking out different web stores and BANG!

There it is, the lost Metric record on vinyl for the first time. Grow Up and Blow Away was recorded from 1999 to 2001 but due to record company bungles (not Last Gang – they didn’t even exist at the time) it never saw an official release until 2007. It took seven more years for this beautiful piece of wax to get produced. It is on blue marble translucent vinyl and once again, compared to the download, the vinyl sounds way better.

Check out the Last Gang line up here, and if you like, you might just want to get on their mailing list. AND (I almost forgot) If you live in the Greater Toronto Area you can opt to pick your purchase up and save on the delivery charge. Just make sure you make a quick decision as these offers do sell out pretty quick.

“Should I Stay or Should I… well you know the rest” or The Clash – Combat Rock

May 7, 2015 / ds barrett / Leave a comment

The problem I always run into when dealing with classic albums and their vinyl re-issues is the sheer amount of arguing that goes on between audiophiles on which version is definitive and blah blah blah. I mean honestly, there were twenty-nine different vinyl versions of Combat Rock covering (almost) every continent on the planet during its initial release. I don’t have the time or inclination to read a music-geek argument about the South Korean release being superior to the Brazilian edition which may or may not have better quality vinyl than the Yugoslavian wax. I find myself yelling at the poor monitor “I just want to know if the re-master sounds good.”

So here is what I found out…

Throughout 2012 Mick Jones was working on re-mastering the entire Clash catalogue for a 2013 release. Three editions of Combat Rock hit the streets along with other vinyl re-masters covering the entire Clash catalogue.

The first version was put out by Columbia Records for the European market on 180 gram black vinyl. The second was released by Music On Vinyl in the Netherlands which also has a pretty big online and mail-order presence and the third was put out (on 180 gram vinyl again) by Sony (Epic) for North American distribution.

All 2013 vinyl was released using the newly re-mastered Mick Jones analog source tapes. Actually, there is a really good Rolling Stone interview that has Mick Jones describing the process. It’s pretty cool.

If you are looking to get a copy of any of The Clash records on vinyl, the 2013 versions are widely available through record retailers both locally and abroad. Oh yeah – the re-master sounds good… real good!

More Than Meets The Eye or Django Django – Born Under Saturn

May 6, 2015 / ds barrett / Leave a comment

I’ve never really found a soft spot for electronica, and I’ve never worshipped at the altar of Kraftwerk. I say this because it seems that when you have bias against the master, you’re just not going to like the apprentice; except, like in life, things aren’t always that straight forward. Where you might hear Kraftwerk I hear Depeche Mode; where you might identify with echoes of Primal Scream I hear whispers of pre ‘wall of sound’ rock ‘n’ pop and when you say Animal Collective I mention Pink Floyd.

All this means is that influences as descriptors gets old fast and the music has to stand on its own merits. Certainly their Mercury nominated self titled debut managed that in spades, but can they continue to do so?

Well, yeah!

Opening track “Giant” is a slow burner that rides waves of psychedelia to create an atmospheric mood pool. The second song “Shake and Tremble” starts with a “Peter Gunn Theme” like riff before breaking into a minimalistic early rock style you might think was Phil Spector producing a lo-fi record.

Each song has these elements that contain little nuggets of influence and sound that seem to drift up and down as if they were a bubble in a light breeze. A funky base leads to a carousel, or a synth line turns all 60’s go-go dance.

Born Under Saturn is like taking a drive (as a passenger) in a convertible with a blindfold on; you don’t know where the hell your going but the journey sure feels incredible.

The other cool thing about this release is the work that Django Django has done to impress their fans. While you can get Born Under Saturn in multiple formats you need to check out the bands vinyl option with Rough Trade, it is absolutely gorgeous.

What I Got, I Gotta Get It… or Red Hot Chili Peppers – Blood Sugar Sex Magik

May 5, 2015 / ds barrett / 3 Comments

It’s pretty hard to imagine the 90’s without the funky sounds of the Chili Peppers making dancers of even the most inept “two left footers” in the alt-rock clubs. Thank goodness jumping up and down with your arms in the air was an actual dance move (the “Pogo” – look it up) back in the day or I’d have been stuck at the bar all night.

What seems remarkable (other than me actually dancing) is that other than during its initial release in 1991, no vinyl version of Blood Sugar Sex Magik was put out until 2009 and it wasn’t re-mastered from its original analog source until 2011. Then things went into temporary overdrive.

Between 2011 and 12, five vinyl versions of Blood Sugar Sex Magik hit the streets. On November 25, 2011 (Black Friday/Record Store Day in North America), the first two limited versions were put out as a two disc set on red 140 gram vinyl. The North American version was gold number stamped while over in Europe the numbers were printed in black dot matrix. Both copies also included inserted lyric sheets. Despite it only being a few years back, the resale market has gone a bit insane with prices. Discogs has the North American version listed for $170 with one E-Bay re-seller asking $300.00 American dollars for it. The European release has an asking price of 189.00 dollars at discogs and none available at E-Bay. A two disc black 180 gram vinyl version was also released that same day but commands only regular record store prices for purchase.

Following the initial release, two more copies hit the market in 2 disc sets also in 180 and regular black vinyl. My advice is hit your regular record store. You should be able to get a great sounding 180 gram vinyl edition for a reasonable price.

I’ve heard both the 140 and 180 gram versions and they sound fantastic. Just don’t skip your needle when you start doing the ‘pogo’ too close to the stereo.

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