Monthly newsletter 2024
#10
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INTRODUCTION
Welcome to The Story of Rock and Roll. This newsletter covers episodes S7E36 to S7E39. These shows are available as podcasts on our website and all major podcast platforms. Quick links to everything TSORR can be found at the end of the newsletter, so feel free to share it with anyone who might be interested.
If you can’t find us, simply search online for ‘The Story of Rock and Roll Radio Show’ and you’ll discover plenty of podcast options. You can always find us at www.thestoryofrockandroll.com and on Buzzsprout. https://www.buzzsprout.com/273305
A big thank you to all the supporters of the show! Our podcasts have been heard in 115 countries, and an incredible 2 958 cities, which I find both amazing and humbling. Thank you to everyone who has ever listened, and I hope you continue to do so.
HIGHLIGHTS
As is often the case the main highlights this month are the new releases. We had new albums from The Dead Daisies and from Seether. Both albums are excellent, and you can get the details in the New Releases section.
THE DIABOLICAL CHALLENGE
Every week, in The Diabolical Challenge, we pick four albums that, you’d find filed under a specific letter of the alphabet if you were browsing in a record shop. This past month we covered the letters L through O. Here are the bands we looked at in each show, and the albums chosen are in the pictures below.
S7E36 = L – Leslie West, The L.A. Maybe, The Lazys, and Linkin Park
S7E37 = M – Marilyn Manson, Mötley Crüe, Meatloaf, and Michael Schenker Group
S7E38 = N – Nine Inch Nails, Niel Young, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, and Nickelback
S7E39 = P – Paul Stanley, Poison, Prime Circle, Piet Botha
L
The tracks played were: ‘One Step Closer’ (Linkin Park), ‘One More Drink For the Road’ (Leslie West), ‘Picture Thieves’ (The Lazys), and ‘She’s Reckless’ (The L.A. Maybe). This was an interesting challenge, as The Lazys and The L.A. Maybe are two of the best young bands to have formed in the last ten years, yet many listeners are unaware of them. The Lazys 2018 album, Tropical Hazards, is a classic and should be in every rock fan’s collection. The band was formed in Sydney but relocated to Canada in 2016 – presumably to be closer to the US market. Dirty Damn Tricks by The L.A. Maybe is a near perfect hard rock album and features the superb vocals of Alvi Robinson. Robinson was once in the running to replace Brian Johnson in ACDC and was fired from his day job after missing work to attend secret audition. As we know, the role went to Axl Rose, but Alvi made it to the final round of auditions. There’s much more to discuss regarding The L.A. Maybe, and we’ll cover that in the next newsletter. In the challenge Linkin Park was most popular due to the significant impact Hybrid Theory had. Personally, I chose Leslie West – his guitar work is fantastic, and with guests stars Zakk Wylde, Slash, Steve Lukather, Billy Gibbons, and Joe Bonamassa, it’s a wonderful album.
M
The tracks played were: ‘Kick Start My Heart’ (Mötley Crüe), ‘The Dope Show’ (Marilyn Manson), ‘You Took the Words Out of My Mouth’ (Meat Loaf), and Rock Will never Die’ (Michael Schenker Group). Bat Out of Hell was the popular choice, and I totally get that. It was two years in the making and slow to take off. With no record company interest in the US or Canada, Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman toured Europe to try and build a buzz. This eventually started to work much like it had for Jimi Hendrix and later Twisted Sister. Similar to Appetite for Destruction by Guns N’ Roses, it took about a year for interest to grow before it exploded. Today Bat Out of Hell remains one of the bestselling albums of all time, 43 million copies sold, placing it just behind Back in Black. I loved the album and played it to death, but then I sort of put it away. Today feel like I killed it in my youth. So, while I respect the nostalgia, I voted for Dr Feelgood. I see this as Mötley Crüe’s single supernova moment, when they finally lived up to, and surpassed, all the hype. It remains their crowning glory. Bob Rock did an amazing job and finally got them to sound great in the studio. The songwriting is first class, and everything about the album is brilliant.
N
The tracks played were: ‘Out on the Weekend’ (Neil Young), ‘This is How You Remind Me’ (Nickelback), ‘Closer’ (Nine Inch Nails), and ‘Stagger Lee’ (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds). On this challenge two thoughts came to mind immediately: first, Neil Young would win easily and second, Nickelback would attract criticism. I was right on both counts, although in fairness, Nickelback didn’t face serious backlash, but their inclusion did raise some eyebrows. With comments like “Nickelback?, Really?”. However I can’t control the alphabet. Neil Young was by far the most popular with Nine Inch Nails a distant second. The result is entirely understandable – Harvest is more than just an iconic album. Many people have fond memories tied to it. Some recall playing its tracks on acoustic guitar around the braai or at gigs, while others associate it with new relationships, breakups, road trips, friendships, hard times, and good times – you name it, Harvest resonated deeply. The album is part of the ‘70s zeitgeist and clearly still holds a special place in people’s hearts. This was also the first Diabolical Challenge to carry a warning, as both ‘Closer’ and ‘Stagger-Lee’ are considered NSFW or unsuitable for children.
P
The tracks played were: ‘Wouldn’t You Like to Know me’ (Paul Stanley), ‘Goeienag Generaal’ (Piet Botha), ‘Life Goes On’ (Poison), and ‘She Always Gets What She Wants’ (Prime Circle). I love these wide-open challenges. The albums were very different – two of them were from South African bands, one of these was sung Afrikaans. Collectively they spanned 34 years, ranging from Paul Stanley released in the 1978, through to Piet Botha’s masterpiece Suitcase Vol Winter in 2012. It was not at all obvious how this would play out.
Paul Stanley was easily the best of the KISS solo albums – although Ace Frehley sold the most, thanks to his awesome cover of ‘New York Groove’. Poison was at their commercial peak with this release; ‘Ride the Wind’, ‘Unskinny Bop’ and ‘Something to Believe In’ all charted, but I steered clear of these and played a track that was the fourth single off Flesh & Blood, titled ‘Life Goes On’. The song features one of my favourite guitar solos ever and showcases what a phenomenally good guitarist CC de Ville is. I ended up playing the solo twice on the show to emphasise the point.
Prime Circle have consistently been one of the top selling and best loved bands in the country, while Piet Botha – well he’s a legend, a South African icon, sort of our version of Lemmy. My pick was Suitcase Vol Winter, and I was happy to see that most listeners agreed.
THE IMMORTALS
In S7E36, we started off with Greta Van Fleet and the final track from their 2021 release The Battle at Gardens Gate. The track is called ‘The Weight of Dreams’.
For S7E37 we went back to the tried and tested, featuring Canada’s finest – Rush – making their third appearance in the Immortals slot. The track was ‘La Villa Strangiato’ from the Rock in Rio triple set. I played the live version which demonstrates the bands musicianship, showcasing great energy and flow. It’s hard to hide any imperfections on a live recording, and it’s clear that the band have this down perfectly. Remember, while listening, that this is a three-piece band. It’s incredible that just three people can create such a full, magnificently orchestral sound. The song is an instrumental based on nightmares guitarist Alex Lifeson had while on tour, and it is apparently in 12 parts. It was the first instrumental Rush wrote and appeared on the 1978 release Hemispheres. By the end of their career, they had recorded eight. Most fans would rate ‘La Villa Strangiato’ as their best.
Every now and then, I find a track that I can’t believe hasn’t been played on the Immortals. ‘Time’ from Pink Floyds crowning glory, Dark Side of the Moon is one such track. It has all the ingredients that make Pink Floyd one of the most successful bands ever, including one of those soaring, definitive Dave Gilmour guitar solos and eternally quotable lyrics thanks to Roger Waters.
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way
Tired of lying in the sunshine, staying home to watch the rain
And you are young and life is long, and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun
And you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it’s sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
Sun is the same, in a relative way, but you’re older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death
Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught, or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over, thought I’d something more to say
On the very rare occasions when I think Pink Floyd may be overrated, I always come back to ’Time’.
The final Immortals track for this month came from guitar maestro Joe Bonamassa. The track was ‘Sloe Gin’, originally recorded by Tim Curry of The Rocky Horror Picture Show fame.
Tim released it on his album Read My Lips in 1978. The song was written by Bob Ezrin and Michael Kamen. Ezrin, known for producing Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Kiss’ Destroyer, and most of Alice Cooper early albums, also produced Read My Lips. Kamen who was the associate producer, is well known for conducting the San Fransisco Symphony Orchestra for Metallica’s S&M album and concerts.
Dick Wagner, a session guitarist with a serious pedigree (Alice Cooper, KISS, and Lou Reed), also contributed to the track, delivering a blistering solo. You can find this version in the link below. The original version is quite theatrical, but thankfully Joe Bonamassa took a different approach. There’s only one Tim Curry after all!
Joe’s version, which we played, is the title track of his 2007 release. It’s two minutes longer than the original, thanks to some extended guitar solos – which is exactly why we listen to Joe – and remains a staple in his live to this day.
NEW RELEASES & NEW DISCOVERIES & SAD GOODBYES
We’ve got a great album from The Dead Daisies, called Light ‘Em Up. I’m so glad John Corabi is back. After reading his autobiography, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades I’ve developed a real fondness for him. He’s as talented as he is unassuming, there’s a genuineness about him seldom found in the rock and roll business. The Dead Daisies are the perfect fit for him, and for me, this lineup is the definitive one. The band has been a revolving door of superstar musicians, including Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Whitesnake), Richard Fortus, and Dizzy Reed (Guns N’ Roses), John Tempesta (The Cult), Bernard Fowler and Darryl Jones (The Rolling Stones), Deen Castronova (Journey). But this line-up – John Corabi, Doug Aldrich, Tommy Clufetos, and founding member and main man Dave Lowy – is awesome.
Myles Kennedy has a new album coming called The Art of Letting Go. I played two tracks and we’ll talk about the whole album next month as its released on 18 October.
The sad goodbye is to Kris Kristofferson, who passed away at the impressive age of 88. I am a fan, though not a dedicated follower, if you know what I mean. Kris was a country icon, but with my focus being on rock and metal, he wasn’t my primary musical interest. However, some people are undeniably great, and Kris was one of them. Certain individuals just have it – that talent and humility, the ability to excel without making a big fuss about it.
If you’re unfamiliar with his background, it’s worth highlighting a few key points. Kristoffersen was a Rhodes scholar, a gifted sportsman, excelling in rugby for Oxford, American football, track and field, and boxing. He also served as a captain in the US military, becoming a helicopter pilot, completing Ranger School and being stationed in West Germany. To his family’s dismay, he decided to leave behind a golden future to pursue a career in music. He backed himself by taking a janitor’s job at Columbia Recording Studios and worked his way up from sweeping floors to becoming a superstar.
I won’t regurgitate his Wiki page – you can read for yourself how remarkable his achievements were. He won Grammy Awards, became a movie star, and of greatest interest to me, was a member of The Highwaymen alongside Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings. A life well lived I would say.
SOUTH AFRICAN SCENE
I didn’t do any interviews or getting any new releases this month but we took a listen to some fantastic SA artists including Piet Botha, Valiant Swart, Prime Circle, Johnathan Martin and Arno Carstens.
CHEERS @#$%’s
The shows discussed in this month’s newsletter can be heard as podcasts S7E36 – S7E39. Feel free to drop me a message on The Story of Rock and Roll Facebook page or via email at thestoryofrockandroll1@gmail.com. If you want to be added to TSORR Central WhatsApp Group, send me your number on this email address and I will send you an invite link.
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