Time And A Word

By now I’m sure most fans have heard Yes are touring without Jon Anderson in 2008. However, the real shocker is that he’s been replaced with an “understudy” Benoit David, the singer of a Yes tribute band. And, aside from one phone call by Alan White, neither Chris or Steve called Jon to discuss this change.

However, Chris Squire did have time to visit Neil Schon this summer….hmmmm.

Okay, let’s get right down to the reason all this is happening - money.

Yes had a tour planned in 2008 but it was cancelled after Jon had a severe asthma attack and was diagnosed with “acute respiratory failure.” This means a lot of planned income was suddenly gone. With Jon being 63 years old, not in good health, and obviously not on good terms with Squire it had all the makings of another “drama” in Yes history.

Here’s what likely happened…Squire recently caught Journey in London, got off on the vibe of middle aged rockers suddenly re-engergized by a new lead singer taken from a tribute band - and realized they were making enormous amounts of money doing it.

However, the differences between a band like Journey and Yes are many. Journey has a catalog of pop hits that have a strong appeal to everyone from teenagers, soccer moms to baby boomers. Go to any hair salon, grocery store or turn on nostalgia radio and Journey is always playing. When people hear Journey is coming to town they show up for a good time. Who cares if Steve Perry isn’t there? The new guy sounds just like him. Plus, one thing I have to say about the “new” Journey is they are playing better than ever now, so that kind of thing doesn’t hurt either. Oh yeah, and even though most of these guys are pushing 50, they still give the chicks panty pudding.

Yes, on the other hand, has none of this going for them. At this point in their career, Yes fans consist mainly of diehard dudes who are familiar with their vast, proggy catalog. They’re still waiting to hear “Drama” material or “To Be Over” from “Relayer”. Are those committed fans really going to care about seeing Yes without Jon Anderson? Not only that, but with a blatant soundalike in his place? Probably, but playing to small numbers is not what Squire has in mind.

It’s not like we haven’t seen Yes tour much lately. They toured fairly regularly until 2004 and managed to dust off many essential nuggets from their classic era. Within the past decade they’ve played “Gates of Delerium”, “South Side of The Sky”, “Ritual”, “The Revealing Science of God”, among others. I’m afraid there really isn’t much left for Yes to dust off to make things really interesting, especially without Jon Anderson.

So the question is, will the “new” Yes cater to the diehards and perform obscure material or will they make the setlist more “hits” heavy? The latter seems hard to imagine since they don’t really have many hits to begin with…and the biggest ones weren’t even created with Steve Howe in the band…and we know how much Steve loves playing those Rabin-era songs.

I’ve heard some drooling fans anticipate material from “Drama” (the one album Yes made without Jon Anderson back in 1980). Great, so we finally get to hear the Drama-era material only with a singer who’s imitating Jon Anderson…who wasn’t even on the original album! While “Drama” was an interesting listen, it’s no big deal creatively and doesn’t stand up to the best of Yes with Jon.

Then I’ve heard some excited about the possibility of seeing “On The Silent Wings Of Freedom” from 1978’s “Tormato”, one of the worst Yes albums ever. One of the reasons that album sucked was because it lacked direction and Howe, Squire and Wakeman were experimenting with some of the most obnoxious sounds ever laid down. Maybe “Silent Wings” would fare better in a 2008 live setting…but again, definitely not a great song and only for diehard dudes.

They could throw in more ”hits”: The selist could contain a few weird songs as mentioned earlier along with “Owner Of A Lonely Heart”, “Your Move/I’ve Seen All Good People”, “Roundabout”, “Love Will Find A Way”, “Rhythm Of Love”. I could see Squire wanting to do this because it connects them with a more mainstream audience and that equals a paycheck with some extra zeros.

The bottom line ….this is really pathetic.

I mean, it really looked like Yes were done in 2004 with some lackluster performances and too many DVDs to document it all. If Yes had toured this year with Anderson I may have gone to see them, but only because it had that “last time” feeling associated with it.

Now this…

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. If the new lineup is well received and huge amounts of money is made, don’t look for Jon to return anytime soon.

I’m wondering what effect the blatant disregard of Jon Anderson will have on future projects with Squire and Howe?

One thing is sure, if this “new” Yes fails miserably, look for Squire and Howe to finally make that call to Jon.

Ever since Metallica released their “Black Album” in 1991 I could sense a main ingredient was missing. Perhaps it was the barrage of riffs in their epic songs or the speed metal thrashing that sparked every album.

For the first time their “Black Album” had none of that. Quite the opposite actually when you consider songs like “Enter Sandman”, “Sad But True” and “The Unforgiven” were radio friendly, formulaic fare. Some called it maturing, I called it boring.

They came close last time to recapturing their sound of old with “St. Anger”. But who could listen to that album? It was a muddled production mess. It literally sounded like drummer Lars Ulrich was banging on garbage cans rendering the album totally unlistenable - not one memorable track.

Now, a few years later and few therapy sessions behind them the band kinda sound like their old selves again. I did say “kinda”.

Let’s face it, no matter how hard a band tries, there is no way to recapture youth and the hunger that drives a young band. Those first few Metallica albums are untouchable and there really isn’t anything they can do to top those classics. Not that I think the band believe they can, but some diehard fans seem to foolishly think so.

In addition to their first four releases being great albums, they were groundbreaking at every turn. Forget bands like Slayer and Megadeth. Sure they put out some good material early on as well, but Metallica had something special. They had what those other speed bands lacked - a sense of melody, hooks and the best riffs in town. On every album through ”Justice” they re-wrote the book on what a speed metal band were capable of.

So now, 20 years after ”Justice” Metallica are about to release their new studio album, “Death Magnetic”. It’s rumored to be a return to old. In some ways it is.

There is certainly no shortage of energy here as speed metal thrashing is back in full force. The new album has a sense of urgency not felt since “Justice”. Most every song features a barrage of guitar riffs, often taking songs into new directions when you least expect it.

The sheer power and intensity of this album is, at times, overwealming. Just when you think a song is about over you realize there’s a few minutes left and it winds up pummeling your senses with guitar crunch.

Every member of the band shines here, with guitarist Kirk Hammet handing in some of his strongest solos in many years (there were no solos on the last album). Then there’s Lars who, for the first time since their debut album “Kill ‘Em All”, plays without a click track. How the hell will he play these songs live? His drumming on this album is breathtaking, especially when the band is full throttle (which is often).

I wish new bassist Robert Trujillo was more prominent in the mix, or maybe the album needs more basslines - either way, I wanted to hear more of what he brought to the band but unfortunately the album doesn’t really showcase this.

“Death Magnetic” does have it’s downsides. One is the song “The Unforgiven III”, which didn’t even need the first 2 parts. I’m not even bothered by the fact it has a string section….it’s just plodding and boring.

There’s an instrumental track, “Suicide & Redemption” which would have made more of an impact had the rest of the album not contained so many seven-minute plus epics that feature loads and loads of instrumental jams.

Standout tracks here are ”All Nighmare Long” and “My Apocalypse”, which have more in common with Slayer than early Metallica, due to the jackhammer thrashing and Hetfield’s not so melodic vocals.

The album starts off with three in your face powerhouses, “That Was Just Your Life”, “The End of the Line” and “Broken, Beat & Scarred” - all featuring a traffic jam of riffs and more time changes than a trip to China.

If you’ve heard the first single “The Day That Never Comes”, keep in mind, this is Metallica “lite” compared to what’s in store for the remainder of the album.

Overall, I’d say this album is definitely their best since “Justice”. It doesn’t have the simple, yet memorable melodies, thought-provoking lyrics or tight focus of the early classic albums, but that’s okay. This album does have the ferocity and energy which made those albums great and that’s what I’ve been missing from recent Metallica albums.

“Death Magnetic” is an exhilirating listen, one that can and does change sonically on a dime at any given time. It’s extremely raw and powerful - unflinching in it’s prowess. A welcome return by one of the finest metal bands in the world.

On Tuesday, August 6, 2008 I caught the Regeneration Tour in Universal City, CA. For fans of 80’s pop music it featured some of the better artists to emerge from the era - Naked Eyes, ABC, Belinda Carlisle and The Human League.

Dead or Alive were originally on the bill as well but their tour was cancelled at the last minute due to an unidentified illness by lead singer Peter Burns (Translation = more botox injections). Who cares anyway, I’m glad they weren’t there as it would have seriously degraded the overall quality of the show. A Flock of Seagulls were to replace Dead Or Alive on most US dates, but they didn’t play this show either…again, no big loss. If it had been the original lineup, now that would have been fantastic. But nowadays they’re led by original singer/keyboardist Mike Score and his band of goons that sound pathetic.

With the crap acts trimmed from the lineup, the remaining bands offered up solid, hit intensive sets that made for a very enjoyable evening.

The highlight for me was undoubtedly the headliners, The Human League. Being in the front row was a treat too. Before their set I watched anxiously as roadies completely cleared the stage of all acoustic instruments used by earlier bands only to wheel in one badass electronic setup (reminiscent of Kraftwerk) with electronic drums, computers, keyboards and video screens.

One note about The Human League is they have never gone away. Even when there hasn’t been a new album, they’ve toured consistently over the years making their live performances very sharp. While they haven’t had a U.S. hit since the 80’s, they’ve remained extremely popular in Europe and have released many albums (that have gone quickly out of print). In particular, their last album “Secrets” from 2001 was amazing - a blend of instrumental electronica along with their signature edgy, melodic, pop music.

Since they only had about 45 minutes, their set focused squarely on their hits and concert favorites including “Mirror Man”, “Love Action”, “Sound of the Crowd”, “Tell Me When”, “The Lebanon”, “Seconds”, “Fascination”, “Don’t You Want Me Baby” and their encore of “Electric Dreams”.

The band looked and sounded phenomenal, particuarly lead singer Phil Oakey who never remained in one place for too long - constantly walking (or running) from one side of the stage to the other. Singers Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley remained stationed at their mics most of time but did go backstage three times during the show for costume changes (and each time Joanne’s dress got shorter and shorter).

Another band on the bill was opener Naked Eyes. In the 80’s they were an electronic duo. Sadly keyboard player Rob Fisher died in 1998 leaving singer Pete Byrne to continue the band. Nowadays they tour as a fourpiece with acoustic guitar, drums, bass and keyboard giving their performance more of an acoustic rock feel. Pete played all the hits and even a new song from a forthcoming studio album that was dedicated to his late friend, Rob.

The band ABC performed next, led by Martin Fry the only remaining original member. I was hoping to catch drummer David Palmer but he is now playing with Rod Stewart - and Nick Beggs, who has played bass on past ABC tours, is now back with a reformed Kajagoogoo. ABC is often overlooked as a throwaway English pop but listen closely and you’ll hear some nicely arranged pop songs that require accomplished musicians to pull it off live. For example, the bassline in “Poison Arrow” is killer, very intricate and sadly a lost art. I dare anyone to find me a pop song these days with a bassline like that.

One of the reasons their early hits were so great is due to the work of Trevor Horn (a great bass player himself), who produced ABC’s “Lexicon Of Love” album. By the way if you want to see ABC perform with Palmer and Beggs, be sure to check out a really great DVD called ”Produced by Trevor Horn”, a 2004 tribute concert for Horn.

Belinda Carlisle was next and mixed up her set with solo hits along with Go-Go’s classics. Was it as good as seeing The Go-Gos? Definitely not, but Belinda has just enough material to keep a 45 minute set interesting. Even though, the last time I saw Belinda it wasn’t that good an experience.

I interviewed Belinda in 2001 while she was touring with The Go-Go’s. The interview happened prior to showtime and she was noticeably in a hurry. She was waiting on her hairdresser and refused to take a picture with me! I thought she looked fine…certainly better than those ridiculous photos in Playboy, which had just come out. It looked like they took her airbrushed head and popped it onto a cartoon body…everything from her funbags to the caboose cheeks were sublimely fake. I honestly can’t imagine how she could be proud of that layout.

On the other hand Go-Go’s bassist Kathy Valentine had no problem taking a photo with me. She’s the one who always looked mean, but she turned out to be quite the opposite - very friendly and just “wow” in person is all I can say. In retrospect I should have asked her more questions - after all she did co-write many of their hit songs.

Anyway…the Regeneration tour was a great evening out and trip back in time musically. Each band had contributed, in their own way, to some timeless music from the 80’s. I can’t turn on the radio these days without hearing “Always Something There To Remind Me”. Forget about Human League’s “Don’t You Wan’t Me Baby” - which reminds me, the 10 year-old daughter of a friend referred to it as “the song from that Oreo commercial”.

Many of these songs have transcended any chart positions, stigmas or fads once associated with them. These songs have been re-discovered by a new generation of fans who are embracing much of this for the first time. A Regeneration indeed.

Regeneration Tour Setlist for Universal City, CA (8/6/08)

NAKED EYES

01. -intro-
02. (There’s)Always Something There To Remind Me
03. Voices In My Head
04. When The Lights Go Out
05. Fortune And Fame
06. Can’t Stand The Smiling Faces (new song)
07. (What)In The Name Of Love
08. Promises, Promises

ABC

01. -intro-
02. The Very First Time
03. Poison Arrow
04. How To Be A Millionaire
05. Tears Are Not Enough
06. Ride (from the new album “Traffic”)
07. Be Near Me
08. When Smokey Sings
09. The Look Of Love

BELINDA CARLISLE

01. Live Your Life Be Free
02. I Get Weak
03. Vacation
04. Circle In The Sand
05. Leave The Light On
06. Mad About You
07. Our Lips Are Sealed
08. We Got The Beat
09. Heaven Is A Place On Earth

THE HUMAN LEAGUE

01. Mirror Man
02. Tell Me When
03. Love Action (I Believe In Love)
04. The Sound Of The Crowd
05. Seconds
06. The Lebanon
07. Human
08. Fascination
09. Don’t You Want Me
10. Together In Electric Dreams (Encore)

Five years after they disbanded in 2003, STP are back once more. Really, it’s for the best. When you consider the projects both singer Scot Weiland and the rest of STP have embarked on in the past few years, nothing outside of STP has been as good as what the band created together.

Examples? There’s plenty.

Weiland joined Velvet Revolver, a band consisting of former Guns N Roses stars Slash, Duff and Matt Sorum. While they did crank out some great hard rock, you could hear their limitations. The band were clearly out to rock and there was simply no room for a melodic masterwork such as STP’s “Sour Girl” or the Beatleesque “Lady Picture Show”.

Meanwhile the DeLeo brothers formed a band with Filter frontman, Robert Patrick, called Army of Anyone. In my opinion, this was the best STP side project of them all as their debut album had many impressive songs. However, you can hear the limitations here as well - Patrick simply didn’t have the charisma or range of Weiland.

Scot Weiland released a solo album, “12 Bar Blues” and the rest of STP released an album with another singer under the name “Talk Show”, but neither were that impressive.

Clearly, the songwriting and musicianship work much better when STP are together as a whole. However, one thing about Weiland…he’s a loose cannon. In and out of rehab over the past decade, you never know how long the current project involving Scott will last or what damaging effects it may have on the band he’s in at the time.

When I caught them this past week in San Diego, it was clear the band were back 100% and Scot, maybe 50%.

Suprisingly they opened the show with “Big Empty“, an ominious yet anthemic song from their second album, “Purple“. A ballsy move by any hard rock band playing their hometown. Instead of going for the obvious uptempo opener, their rousing version of “Empty” led perfectly into the pounding “Wicked Garden” from their debut album, “Core“.

Fans of their first album and “Purple” were in for a treat as the band performed many deeper tracks from these albums including “Sin”, “Dead And Bloated”, “Lounge Fly”, “Silvergun Superman” and more. On “Core” you could tell STP had their own sound, but it was too close to the grunge sounds of the time (Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains). On “Purple“, their finest work to date, you can hear STP carve out a sound all their own with phenomenal results. ”Purple“ is a classic, one of the finest rock albums ever made. I’d place it alongside Zeppelin’s “Houses Of The Holy” or Rush’s “Moving Pictures” as one of those uncompromising, wall to wall, pure rock albums.

At the San Diego show, Weiland was obviously “on something”. At times he was very strong vocally and commanding the audience, but other times his voice was way out of tune and he often rambled between songs, as if attempting to give us timely, worldly advice. Great, a guy who can’t get his own shit together advising me on something - no thanks. Luckily, this erratic behavior didn’t swamp the show. 

The band, however, were another story - they were tight and playing much better than I’ve ever heard them. The DeLeo brothers along with drummer Eric Kretz form a solid rhythm section - far more impressive than any band to emerge from the grunge era of the early 90’s.

Main set: Big Empty / Wicked Garden / Big Bang Baby / Silvergun Superman / Vasoline / Lounge Fly / Lady Picture Show / Sour Girl / Creep / Crackerman / Plush / Interstate Love Song / Too Cool Queenie / Coma / Down / Sex Type Thing / Sin

Encore: Dead & Bloated / Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart

Between my reviews of the recent “Snakes And Arrows Live” CD and their show from last summer at Nissan, I didn’t think I’d have much more to talk about when it comes to the current tour. However, with Rush having played two summers in a row, I find myself with more of a grateful attitude, reflective of tours gone by and savoring the moment - “time stand still”, I guess you could say.

It was hot and humid upon arriving at Nissan about 2 hours before showtime. It was then I hooked up with my friend Roger. The gates didn’t open for another hour and by that time, $10 beer seemed perfectly reasonable.

This was Roger’s second Rush show ever, his first was last summer at Virginia Beach. This got me thinking about my first Rush show, which was 20 years ago in Hampton, VA on the “Hold Your Fire” tour. Actually, that show was rescheduled from late 1987. I’ll never forget pulling into the Hampton Coliseum for my first ever Rush concert only to see the words “Rush Postponed” on the message board. It reminded me of that hilarious scene in “National Lampoon’s Vacation” where they drive across country only to find their destination, “Wally World”, is closed. In the movie Chevy Chase took the park staff hostage so his family could enjoy some rides. The best I could do was watch my friend take a whizz on the Hampton Coliseum.

Back at Nissan I got a call from Bobby Standridge, the wildly talented creator of the official video for Rush’s “Malignant Narcissism” and animated Neil Peart video (”A Digital Man”). I’ve known Bobby for a few years by phone and email - we’ve done some business together along with some Rush related projects. We agreed in the weeks leading up to the show to finally meet at Nissan and I’m glad we did.

I met Bobby and his wife, Sue, near the “Meet and Greet” area. Our conversation led to the longevity of Rush and guessing how many more tours were in them. Then he told me about talking to a fan who had just spent some time with Geddy and Alex backstage. He related the band were hopeful for an R40 tour (for those playing at home, that’s 2014.) It’s nice to know Rush aren’t ready to call it quits just yet and judging by their show this past Saturday at Nissan, they still have a lot of “gas in the tank”.

For this leg of the tour they changed out a few songs, replacing some deeper tracks for more classic staples. For example, gone were “Secret Touch” and “Circumstances” and in were “Red Barchetta” and “The Trees”. They also replaced “Entre Nous” with “Ghost Of A Chance” from “Roll The Bones”.

Since “Moving Pictures” is my favorite Rush album (not to mention one of the best rock albums ever) seeing the band perform all but 2 of the songs on this leg was a real treat. On the first leg it was “Permanent Waves” which got the royal treatment with 4 of it’s 6 songs perfomed live.

This gets me thinking about how great it would be to see “Jacob’s Ladder” performed again. Maybe next time.

Highlights from the first set included Alex’s solo on “Mission”, the instrumental jam in “Freewill”, “Red Barchetta” and Alex’s solo in “Dreamline”, a song the band continue to command very well live.

The second set opened with a new video, “Harry Satchel in What’s That Smell?”. It was very funny and disturbing all rolled into one. It makes me wonder if Rush will explore the world of comedy once their music days are over. Their recent forays into television comedy have been classic between Alex’s kidnapping on the hilarious “Trailer Park Boys” and the entire band on the briliantly done “Colbert Report” where the band are finally asked the question, “Have you ever written a song that’s so epic, that by the end of the song you’re actually being influenced by yourself at the beginning of the song because it happened so much earlier in your career?”

For me the second set was phenomenal - I thoroughly enjoyed it. Mainly because, after seeing the band for 20 years, the second set had at least 9 songs I had only seen them perform once. Throw in “Witch Hunt” and “Passage To Bangkok” and there’s another couple I’ve rarely seen.

Rush started the second set with 5 songs from “Snakes And Arrows”, a ballsy move by any band. But when your new material is some of your strongest in decades, why not? Most memorable to me was “Workin’ Them Angels” a song I’ve grown to like more and more over this past year. It’s really classic Rush and among their better tunes from the past 20 years. They perform it live with so much power and passion, not to mention the imagery of soldiers wearing angel’s wings always draws a huge emotional response from the audience.

Another highlight for me was the 4 song punch of “Subdivisions”, “Natural Science”, “Witch Hunt” and “Malignant Narcissim”. The latter 3 were nothing short of amazing, particularly “MalNar” which was menacing. They absolutely rocked it out and probably one of the most enjoyable one and a half minutes of live Rush I’ve ever experienced.

The addition of “Overture/Temples of Synrinx” to the set (which replaced “Distant Early Warning”) was fantastic and the crowd was loving it as well.

Overall, another memorable show from Rush. There were times during the show I thought to myself, “Wow, I may never see them perform this song live again, I need to soak this all in now.” While I don’t think we’ll see Rush hang it up anytime soon, there’s always a song here and there that get retired for good. I never really thought about it until now. Maybe beacuse you simply never know when “the ride” will end. At least, it’s been a great ride. 

As I was telling someone recently, Rush always “show up” if you know what I mean. True, some performances may be better than others, but they’re not ones to have bad shows. You can always count on Rush bringing their best.

Another fan has posted their review along with some nice photos from the show….http://blog.myspace.com/sambhattacharya

Ant
Rushtrader.com

The Police are winding down their long, legendary career in 2008 and actually playing much better than last year. Just released was some broadcast footage from their hometown “Isle of Wight” performance and it’s killer - more energy and chemistry than anything I saw or heard from the 2007 shows. Unfortunately, this DVD includes only two broadcasted songs “Message In A Bottle” and “Can’t Stand Losing You”. There’s also a short interview with Sting and he mentions something about the hometown shows being different than others. I just peeped on their “Rock In Rio” show from last week and looks like they dropped “Syncronicity II” in favor of “Demolition Man”, which they play with renewed enthusiasm. Between these shows and the recent Tokyo broadcast, the latter half of their final tour is being documented fairly well. I still think they’re playing way too short a setlist, which clocks in under 100 minutes.

One night, a few months back, when I wasn’t feeling well and vegging in front of the TV, I happened on this video from Echo and The Bunnymen called “Never Stop”. It was a live performance and very impressive - definitely not the sound I was expecting. I did some research and learned the footage was from a 1983 appearance at London’s Royal Albert Hall. I just got the DVD which is sourced from a broadcast. It’s called ”Lay Down Thy Raincoat And Groove” and it’s a monster show. Relentless drummng, grooving bass…there’s bongos, violins - a memorable live experience with tons of energy and strong performances. From what I’ve read about this gig, it’s regarded as their defining moment. I have another show from the Bunnymen recorded just 4 months prior and it pales considerably from this one.

Another interesting find was Berlin “Live At Hollywood Park” 2007. Normally I could care less about Berlin in 2007. This band has been done for years and only singer Terri Nunn remains from the original lineup. However, I’m a sucker for non-broadcast, proshot videos. This is a one camera, proshot direct from a satellite feed. To me, it’s a true bootleg in that someone intercepted what appears to be in-house only video. Another interesting aspect of this show is the setlist. Apparently Berlin’s last release was a covers album and you’ll find a few here from the fairly good “Erotic City” (Prince) to the ridiculous “Dope Show” (Marilyn Manson). There’s also “Never Let Me Down Again” (Depeche Mode). Not a great show by any means, but interesting for fans of bootleg recordings in general.

Lately I’ve noticed some 2007/08 re-broadcasts of shows from the 80’s, particularly Rockpalast. This is great news as we’re finally getting some quality upgrades of classic shows. One I came across was Men At Work from 12/2/82. This one showcases the band’s unique strengths quite nicely. They are often portrayed as a whimsical 80’s act with a couple of dorky hits. However, if you really pay attention to their playing, here especially, you’ll find a truly solid and talented band all around. As I’ve said before, “they don’t make them like this any more”. An interesting note here is the material from their second album “Cargo” which hadn’t been released yet. The album was finished in 1982 but held back until early 1983 due to the success of their debut album. Oddly the song “Overkill” is missing from the re-broadcast - however, the picture and sound are given a nice upgrade.

Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton played a few shows at Madison Square Garden in February and there have been some nice audience sourced shows to document the event. The one I have is from 2/26/08 and taken from 2 audience cameras. The audio is pretty good and overall a very watchable show. Great to see Steve and Eric together again after so many years. This reunion was long overdue with the catalyst being Steve’s appearance at Eric’s 2007 Crossroad’s Blues Festival. When deciding on the setlist for this tour, I hear they picked songs from each other’s catalogs. This made for an interesting setlist, including Eric’s “Forever Man” and Steve’s “Split Decision” among other highlights. It would be nice to have an official release from these shows, but so far, nothing has been announced.

Journey is very proud of their new lead singer, Arnel Pineda. So proud, in fact, they took him into the studio and re-recorded their classic hits with him on vocals!

Why didn’t they just pay Steve Perry a visit and, one by one, kick him square in the nuts? Well, because that doesn’t sell albums (although it would have made a great YouTube video).

But seriously, who does this? While it’s not uncommon for bands to re-record their own material with the same singer, I can’t think of ANY band that has re-recorded their hits with another lead singer.

It’s a disgrace and Journey should be ashamed of themselves.

Say what you want about Journey, but they have written some timeless music. Stuff that radio stations still play heavily and will for decades and generations to come.

I don’t have any problem with them recording new music or even a live album with Arnel. He’s obviously earned it. But why tarnish the legacy of Steve Perry’s work with the band?

Arnel can sing…and sing eerily similar to Perry, but come one….he’s not Steve Perry.

Listen to a song like “Lights”, their love song for San Francisco. Perry’s vocals are dripping with emotion and sincerity about a place the band calls home. On the new Arnel version he sings it note for note, but gone is the heart that made the original a classic rock staple.

By this point, it’s pretty obvious that Neil Schon is desperate to keep Journey alive. They don’t have time to waste finding a lead singer with his own style so they can write good music and begin Journey down a new path. Journey is too pre-occupied trying to find Steve Perry soundalikes - if you don’t believe me just listen to the last couple of post-Perry singers, Steve Augeri and Jeff Scott Soto.

Journey is all about recapturing and recycling the past to make money. Aside from the blasphemous re-recordings of their hits, the new Journey album, “Revelations“, features a disc worth of new studio recordings. This new disc makes a great frisbee if you’re looking for some outdoor fun this July 4th.

And what’s worse is people are actually buying this stuff! “Revelations“ debuted at #5 on Billboard, their first hit album since 1986′ “Raised On Radio”.

If there is any money to be made from re-recording history, what band will be next?

Will Styx redo their hits with the dickhead they’ve been parading around for the past 8 years? Maybe Boston will give it a try. Don’t laugh…they’ve already taken one page out of Journey’s comeback handbook….their new lead singer was found doing Boston karaoke on YouTube.

I wish I could make this shit up folks….

A truly sad day for any fans of George Carlin. He was one of my hereos.

Although he had been around since the 50’s, it wasn’t until the mid 80’s that I began taking interest in him. His ability to combine humor with politics, history, language and culture was awe-inspiring, hilarious and educuational at the same time.

His radical point of view forced me to think about things in a different way. For example, in the early 90’s he was already going after recycling and the environment…

“The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles…hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worlwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages…And we think some plastic bags, and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet isn’t going anywhere. WE ARE!”

In the 80’s I would rent his stand-up performances on VHS and then began following his various HBO Specials up until recently.

Looking back on his long caeer, I feel the material from the late 80’s to early 90’s was his sharpest, most creative and hilarious ever. This is quite amazing because it means Carlin peaked creatively while in his early 60’s.

Most of the memorials you’ll see on TV news focus on his “seven dirty words” or extensive drug use during the 70’s.  I think the media focuses on those two because they’re taboo subjects and it makes them sound important (they’re not!). Reminds me of a Carlin bit about weathermen and how they’ll seriously forecast a ”rain event”. Saying “event” makes it sound important - it isn’t!

Anyway, there was alot more to Carlin than the drugs he used in the 70’s and that “seven dirty words” routine. He had a brilliant mind with a very cynical, yet realistic view of the world as a whole. He also didn’t spare anyone in his standup routines. Environmentalists, Women’s Libbers, golfers, US Presidents along with their wives, stupid kids and even God were all mocked mercilessly.  

My favorite Carlin bit would have to be “Airline Announcements” from 1992’s “Jammin’ In New York”. I would also say it’s probably one of the best standup routines ever.

Carlin, you are missed but your brilliant mind remains with us forever.

Growing up I thought Billy Idol was a bit over the top for his own good. He dressed like a wannabe tough guy with the leather, spikes and curled lip but to me it came across as phoney. I honestly thought I could kick his ass upside down given the opportunity! It’s funny when I look back on it now because compared to alot of boring crap that’s being released today, Billy Idol’s back catalog is like gold. Sure, the tough guy look was gimmicky but his music is proven timeless, some pretty damn good actually. Check out “Prodigal Blues”, “Don’t Need A Gun”, “Eyes Without A Face” or even “Sweet Sixteen” as prime examples of well written pop songs.

You’d think by age 50 Billy Idol would be hanging it up, as should Boy George or Meatloaf. However there’s a new crop of aging rockers that are simply kicking ass in their 50’s.  Billy is certainly one of them as proven by his 2005 performance at Germany’s Rock AM Ring festival.

I recently checked out the DVD of this show and was blown away. Not only was Billy in good voice, his enthusiasm and passion for rocking out was incredible. On top of that, his band is amazing here led by guitarist Steve Stevens, who played and co-wrote with Billy during his golden 80’s era (”Rebel Yell”, “Whiplash Smile”).

Stevens offers up many intricate, sometimes effect-laden sounds piercing throughout this performance. He opens ”Eyes Without A Face” with some tasty, melodic acoustic guitar before diving into sheer electric power to fill out the song’s super charged mid-section.

Drummer Brian Tichy and bassist Stephen McGrath are always locked in tight, pounding out ferocious grooves that breathe new life into Idol’s classics.

They even manage to pull off a cover of Van Halen’s “Jump”, much to my surprise. With Idol’s conviction and Stevens’ rapid fire guitar, it fits comfortably with the material they wrote together.

Overall, a very impressive show and hopefully not the last we see of Idol with this lineup.

John Rustey, the original drummer for Rush, died on May 11, 2008 from an apparent heart attack in his sleep. At this time it’s hard to say what other factors may have contributed to his early passing as Rutsey always led a very private life.

He was Rush’s mystery man and a trivial figure in their history. By trivial I don’t mean insignificant. His short lived tenure has always been compared, constrasted and critiqued due to his now legendary successor, Neil Peart. I believe Neil’s crucial role within Rush has only fuled the mystery and interest surrounding Rutsey.

Questions like “Who was Rush’s original drummer?” and “What would Rush have been like if Rutsey had remained in the band?” have more to do with Neil than John himself. Because of the drastic changes that took place lyrically and musically upon Neil’s arrival, we’ve always been somewhat fascinated by the period in the band when Neil wasn’t there.

Speculation aside, Rutsey was a vital part of Rush’s early history. He was their drummer for six years, performed live many times and even played on their self-titled debut album, released in March 1974. It was “Working Man” from this album that caught the attention of Cleveland’s WMMS Music Director, Donna Halper. Halper’s persistance and love for the band got them airplay and eventually a fanbase in the States.

I interviewed Halper in 2005 and she mentioned Rutsey already had plans to leave Rush the very first time they played Cleveland. “He was a diabetic and had a tough time being out on the road”, she remembers. “John was thinking of leaving the band and the guys were already debating about what direction they wanted to go in musically.”

One thing is for sure - if Rutsey were never in the band, chances are Neil Peart would have never been a part of Rush either. If Rush’s first drummer were someone else, that person may have remained with the band, recorded a few albums and then who knows what could have happened. Rutsey was a very important figure in their history, both in terms of what he did to help the band record their debut album and the “set up” role he (unintentionally) provided for Neil.

I am interested to see what Rush does, if anything, to pay tribute to their former bandmate being they are now on tour. Currently, they’re not playing any material from the debut album but it would be nice to drop in something, perhaps “Working Man” or “Finding My Way” (just please don’t bring back “In The Mood”).

John, we hardly knew ya, but I know alot of fans are grateful for the role you played in contributing to the Rush we know and love today.