WHAT'S BEEN ON THE CAR STEREO RECENTLY - by guest writer Doug.
I do all my music listening in the car.......my daily journeys to and from work allow for about an album each way to be enjoyed....or sometimes not !...here are my thoughts on some of what's been on the car stereo in the last couple of weeks....
Ramones - Adios Amigo...their last studio album from 1995.....and one of my favourites since the second one way back when....this doesn't of course take into account any live albums which are always simply wonderful. It was with a mixture of sadness and joy that I witnessed their last ever London show at Brixton Academy....you always knew exactly what you were going to get and were never disappointed.....Its hard to believe that Johnny, Joey and DeeDee are no longer with us.
Blood Of The Sun - In Blood We Trust (2007)......they were Ted Nugent's backing band and on the evidence here have done the right thing in leaving him behind, as this is an absolute belter....tremendous full on stoner rock featuring some fantastic Hammond organ and soloing throughout. A must hear.
Jimi Hendrix - At The Albert Hall......sheer genius.....don't really need to add anything here.....if you've never really checked him out, find this and prepare to be amazed.
Boris - Heavy Rocks (2002).....another mad Japanese band who were described to me as..." imagine Tony Iommi had been born in Japan"......truly fantastic opening track...mega heavy....the rest of the album doesn't quite match up to it but tries hard.
The Cult - Born Into This (2007).......probably their most consistent album since the monstrously foot stomping, mega riffing and unsurpassable "Sonic Temple" (1989). Previous efforts have all had 1 or 2 stand out tracks amongst a lot of mediocrity but this later offering delivers a number songs that do dwell in the memory. The track "Sound of Destruction" being my personal favourite. Listening to this of course led me to play Sonic Temple...several times.....a true classic. Again, this is required listening. I was fortunate to see them on this tour and marvelled at how Billy Duffy managed to be in a classic rock guitarist pose at all times whilst playing !
Iggy and The Stooges - Raw Power (remix).........if you seriously want to test your speaker system then pop this on !!......once you've heard this Iggy remix you will never want to play the original release again. The guitar sound on every track sounds as though it is about to break apart under the sheer distortion and boost it gets in the mix. Lets hope the new album with James Williamson will treat us to similar, and put to rest the awfulness that was "The Weirdness" album....a most unfortunate lacklustre and uninspiring last outing with Ron Ashton...RIP.
Frijid Pink (1970).......debut album by this Detroit based band which, if you like your early 70's rock very heavy and distorted then this is for you. It contains their one off hit single, a cover of The Animals "House of the Rising Sun"....now....if you're going to do a cover version then put your own spin on it.......and in this they excel.....a classic, filled with huge slabs of guitar and marvellously desperate vocals. The album version is slightly longer than the released single. Whilst on the subject of "covers", the furore surrounding Bauhaus's release of Bowies "Ziggy Stardust" in 1982 comes to mind...they took a frightful slagging from the press due to it being a virtually exact reproduction of the original and the merit of it being released at all became a matter for public debate. This culminated in the most bizarre scenes at their gig at The Lyceum in London in October '82......prior to their set the stage was turned into a sort of living room complete with armchair, sofa, rugs and a lampstand......the band came on and took their seats on the sofa and then a music paper journalist (whose name escapes me) who had been particularly critical of the release took his seat opposite them. They then entered into an onstage debate on the subject which, as you can imagine, was a rather one sided affair given the hostility coming from a packed house of fans. The band eventually stood up en masse and left the stage, leaving the journo all alone to face the music !!.......sorry....I digress....
Electric Wizard - "Black Masses" (2010).......this is really good with some marvellous riffs that drawn you in and you don't want to stop.....first class doom from the best band of this genre......after this I naturally had to listen to their 2000 album "Dopethrone" which has to be the best doom album ever and against which I always compare any new Doom that I get to listen to. If you have never heard this album you absolutely have to......it will make your speakers attempt to leap out of their housings !! You have been warned.
I've also been on a bit of an early 70's kick at present , all sparked of by the excellent documentary on Mott The Hoople on BBC4 a few weeks back.....I bought their singles as and when they were released back then and "All The Young Dudes" would be in my top 5 of all time songs....so my "Best of Mott the Hoople" album has been wheeled out together with some Slade (Greatest Hits and "Alive") and Bowie (1971-74 releases only). These might seem rather at odds with a lot of the stuff I now listen to but I grew up loving these bands and their songs hold so many memories.....and that is one of the wonderful things about music....its ability to bring back strong vivid memories of emotions, places, people and situations.
Well, that's all there is to say for now, so until my next review of "What's been on my car stereo"....
Cheers
Doug
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