Stairway to Eleven Episode #9: Motley Crue, Yes, Blue Oyster Cult

00:00:00There's a podcast that's sure all that rocks hard is gold. And they're climbing the stairway to 11. When they get there, they know the record stores are all closed. But online they can get what they came for.

00:00:30Oh, and they're streaming the Stairway to Eleven.

00:01:00So bust out the aquanet, put on the eyeliner, and get ready for Motley Crue's Shout at the Devil. Motley Crue released their second album, Shout at the Devil, on September 23rd, 1983. This was their breakthrough album, and despite the eventual infamy of some of the band members, Shout at the Devil was, and still is, an album to be reckoned with. This album is dark and dirty, and while it may have been the start of the album,

00:01:30of hair metal madness, their look in 1983 was ferocious. I remember seeing this cover and going, dang, those chicks look crazy. But seriously, between the album title, the pentagram on the cover, and their sort of post-apocalyptic Mad Max look, Shout became a huge hit and started their path down notoriety by angering conservatives with their supposed satanic look and music. Three out of the four band members have been in the news for various and sundry bad boys and

00:02:00I act and I've had to roll my eyes many times but I still believe in the first two albums and I'm definitely looking forward to hearing the forthcoming Mick Mars solo album. Let's set aside the drama and debauchery for a few and talk about the songs that made this album such an 80s hard rock classic. It's no secret if you listen to our other podcast how I feel about Motley Crue and all the bands during this period. Not a fan. I think they're posers. I think they

00:02:30They dress up with all their chains and stuff to look tough.

00:02:32And they're all like five foot three.

00:02:34Anyway, with that said, I do like this album.

00:02:37I'll be eating some crow too.

00:02:39Don't worry.

00:02:40No, I, I, I make fun, but I'm not a fan of these guys.

00:02:45Although I do like Mick Mars.

00:02:46I've always liked him.

00:02:47Yeah.

00:02:48But I, I, this I've always liked.

00:02:50And the first one, I think the first one's all right too.

00:02:52Yeah.

00:02:52I think it's good.

00:02:53It doesn't have, it's not as dark and dirty, but the songs are good.

00:02:57Yeah.

00:02:58Yeah.

00:02:58So this is a band I never got into. I couldn't stand glam or hair metal. I also never cared for Vince Neil's vocals. I always felt like bands like this co-opted, distorted and corrupted what Van Halen did. But I wanted to give this a fair shake and try to hear it without all that baggage. So I tried to be very objective. Thank you. Yes. And you will find. There's a lot of baggage. There's a lot of baggage. But there's also.

00:03:28Some appreciation here. Some whipped cream on top? George, yeah. George, you're, you know, it's not going to be all... In vain? Yeah. All right. So the first track is called In the Beginning. This intro track is one of the coolest intro tracks of all time. I'm known for skipping first tracks that appear to be intros, but this is a killer intro. I was like 12 years old maybe when this came out, and in a pre-Slayer, Rain and Blood era, this was a really dark record.

00:03:58And the ominous music combined with a distorted narration, which always reminded me of a megaphone, was super inspiring and totally set the tone for the title track that followed it. It has been written that those who have the youth have the future. Being a 12-year-old George that I was, I was like, hell yeah, we do. Anyway, let's bust out the Aquanet and get this party started.

00:04:23Yeah, just real quick. To me, this sounds all too familiar to David Bowie's future legend off the album Diamond Dogs. If you don't know what I'm talking about, give it a listen. It's a quick intro. It's very similar in eeriness. Obviously not the same content that they're talking about. But I couldn't help think after a minute and, what, 30 seconds or whatever. It's a pretty short intro. I was like, oh, man, I wonder if somebody's a Bowie fan in the band. Oh, I'm sure several of them are. Yeah, it really reminds me. If you go back,

00:04:53and listen to the first two tracks, especially as Diamond Dogs, the title track after it, which is interesting because the next song coming up is the title track of the album. It just has a similar feel. So if it's a nod to Bowie, then it's very cool. If they stole it, then damn them. Damn it. Yeah, I don't have a whole lot more than that. I totally agree. It quote sets the tone, unquote. And it does kind of lend an air of epicness. Yeah, it's like if I heard it now, I'd be like, yeah,

00:05:23I would ever skip. But at 12 years old, I was like, this is cool. I mean, now it's kind of cheesy, but like back then, and I don't know, it does kind of sound badass. Yeah. All right. Moving on to the first real track, track two, Shout at the Devil. The song is a banger. It opens heavy and immediately kicks into the gang chanting, shout, shout, shout. Mick rips off a tasty riff and then the verse kicks in.

00:05:53I will about Vince since these days, but the man was on top of his game for this album. Shut up, TR. And this track will always be a classic that I will never fail to bang my head to. Also, I know Nicky is credited as songwriter on, I believe, most, if not all of their songs. But these songs in this album owe their dark, crunchy goodness to Mr. Mick Mars. His tone on this album is, I hate to say it, sick.

00:06:23Super Commercial After This Album Has Got Some Freaking Teeth. If Someone Told Me They Need A Song To Headbang To, This Is Where I'd Steer Them. Maybe. I don't disagree with you at all. I actually do like this song a lot. I liked it when it came out. And it is a banger. And it's sets the tone because this album has kind of a, I'm not saying bad production. It has a raw production.

00:06:53And it suits the content of the album. It suits the sound they're trying to go with. It suits the atmosphere they're going with. And it works. Plus, McMarr's guitar sound, he sounds evil on the album, his playing. And it just works. So I do like this song a lot. You mentioned about Nicky Six and all the credit he gets for writing the music. I will give him this. He's my least favorite member of the band. Because I don't think he can play to save his life. And I'm not the only one, apparently, who feels that.

00:07:23in the music world. It's pretty prevalent. It's kind of universal, people who are inside. Now, I will say he can write good songs. He can write catchy songs. I'll give him that. He's a good, he can write songs he thinks people will like. However, I agree with you, George. I wonder how much of Mick Mars is not credited on all their albums, especially the early stuff. You figure that Nicky probably theoretically came up with a simple bass line. Boom, boom. And then,

00:07:53Tommy lays down a beat and Mick comes in and spruces it all up with guitars. Sure. I wonder if the credits on these albums back then are more lyrical credits more than anything else. And so when they do the dividing up the music, it's because lyrical credits versus musical credits are completely different money wise. Yeah, you get more money for lyrical credits. So I do believe he probably is writing all the lyrics is my guess or a majority of them.

00:08:23Did you do any Wikipedia-ing of these guys? Because I did not know this until this morning or yesterday. Nikki Sixx was in a band called Widow with Blackie Lawless. And they used a lot of satanic imagery. And when they split and went separate ways, Nikki asked Blackie if he could use some of the imagery like the pentagram that they put on, which like, yeah, Blackie.

00:08:53Blackie Lala's owns a pentagram? I don't think so. But anyway, he asked him if he could use some of that stuff. And Blackie said, yeah, go knock yourself out. You know, you paint yourself in the corner with that kind of imagery. So I did not know that. I thought that was interesting that they actually played together or were in a band together. Right. Now, this is before he actually joined up with Tommy Lee and the original guitarist, I'm guessing, because Nikki Sixx is not the originator of the band. He came in. They brought him in after they decided to,

00:09:23I guess Tommy Lee liked him because he liked his look but the other guy I can't think of his name now the other guitarist did not like him and he actually left the band because of that I'll have to look up his name I can't think of it it's been a while since I read the dirt yeah so my comments on this definitely a rocking song I still don't care for Vince Neil's vocals the riff is great though the gang vocals the fist pumping I mean definitely has all that and the other day

00:09:53I kind of woke up and John,

00:09:56you'll appreciate this.

00:09:57Cause this is my tie to another song.

00:10:00The first one of the night.

00:10:02Yeah.

00:10:02I,

00:10:02so I woke up and I was like,

00:10:05this reminds me of Dio's invisible.

00:10:11Cause the kind of the cadence.

00:10:17Yeah.

00:10:18It's like very similar to invisible.

00:10:22Now that you say that.

00:10:23Yeah.

00:10:24I was like, and so then I like A beat them and they're not like, it's not the same key. It's there's, and there's plenty of differences, but, but the cadence of the way he delivers the vocals and some of the riff is pretty similar. I don't know. It's a very basic song. It came to me. Yeah, it is. And that's why it's not too out there to say like, Oh yeah, this is similar to some other simple rock song. But anyway, that, that was something.

00:10:53I woke up like I was I don't know it's weird it's like when you wake up in the morning and like there's nothing in your mind and all of a sudden like this comes in and it's just like wait a minute that's the same that's this sounds like invisible and then I go down stuff run downstairs and listen bring it up on the thing and okay all right let's see here yeah because you know you got to get past all the when the circle stays unbroken and you're lucky man and then you got to get to the main part where it really kicks in yeah

00:11:23It's like, oh yeah, that's right. This is, yeah, this is pretty similar. All right. So let me completely boil your minds. All right. Imagine Dio singing. That would have been awesome. You'll never get that. Actually, I'll tell you what, I wish he had, because honestly, like this whole album could have used a different vocalist and I probably would have loved it. Well, okay. Here's one for you. Then Vince Neil singing rainbow in the dark. What?

00:11:53Vince Neil singing Rainbow in the dark boy oh man how to ruin something in 20 seconds should have never said anything now I can't hear that song again anyway oh boy all right track three we've got looks that kill killer Mick opening riff I meant to mention I meant to mention this in the album intro but this album is really a pretty good barometer of what Holly

00:12:23weird in the 1980s was all about. It was makeup and hairspray and overindulgence and danger and all that comes through in the songs on this album. I never cared much for the lyrics for this song, whatever, but the song rocks and it still stands up to me. And come on, in a decade of gang vocals, this one on this track is still pretty good. I agree. This is by far my favorite song from the band. And I think this is the most polished song on the album, actually.

00:12:52just in terms of the songwriting for it. I would be curious how this song would sound had they had different production. I like it with a raw sound, but it just sounds more slick compared to the rest of the songs. It is the best song written. I actually don't mind Vince Neil's vocals on this one because he's not having to go too high like he did on Shout Out the Devil at the beginning. The riff is great, like you said, George. It's probably this and a couple other songs now about the closest they're going to get to being

00:13:22in terms of the metal sound. The first two songs, not the intro off this, and then there's another two songs later in the album. That's about as close as they ever got. And if they had stuck to that formula, yeah, they'd still probably be pretty big, not as big as they got, but they would be considered more of a hard rock slash metal band for the 80s. When this came out, it was definitely considered metal. It was at the time, especially these two songs we just talked about. It's at this point in the album, I realized,

00:13:52How good of a guitar player Mick Mars is. I'm not saying he's a technical wizard, but he's very good at what he does. And he creates some great riffs. He has some great tones. He does have some kind of neat harmonies and melodies he throws in, especially on this song, I think. It's also quite apparent that you can't hear anything Nikki Sixx is doing, really, on this album. And I say that because, and TR will know what I'm referring to here, and George, actually you will too, but for different bands. I'm going to tie Metallica and Dream Theater into this.

00:14:22Oh man, here we go. And justice for dreams. Yeah, exactly. Oh man. Yeah. I know where you're going now. Yeah, I think you do. Yeah. It's very apparent that Nikki is not great because Tommy Lee's bass drums are pounding throughout this album. They thump constantly. And it's Metallica did that to Jason Newstead where all you hear is Lars's bass pedals and his bass drum.

00:14:52and justice for all and mike portnoy when he was with dream theater now back with him was notorious for putting his bass drum out ahead of john miyung's bass which is crazy because john miyung's an amazing bass player that's what i was going to say the difference here is like the between the two guys bass players that you can't hear miyung is like 20 trillion times better than yeah it's not a bad bass player he's a decent no but i'm talking about nikki six and i it became apparent to me at this point that

00:15:22I wonder if and I'm not a super fan of Tommy Lee's I think he's extremely overrated he's good for what he does but that's not saying he's great but he's a thumper on this album and I noticed that and it might be the production too because it is a darker more raw sound or raw or I don't want to just be redundant with the errs there but I just noticed that at this point but by far I agree George this is a great song I love this song when it came out I love the video is this the video where Mick Mars' legs were on fire or Nikki Sixx's

00:15:53I believe so yeah I'm not sure about that one yeah I think I actually have yeah I have some comments about that myself so yeah I said this is another awesome riff and the video was on MTV all the time an early 80s metal video with women in cages and more leather and studs than Rob Halford's closet did uh is this the video also where Mick Marr spit up blood no I don't recall that being in this video which one what do you remember

00:16:22Or is that shout at the devil? He does it in one of the videos. I don't know. Early videos. All I can think of is Gene Simmons doing it. I could have sworn that Mick Morris did it. No, I'm not. I think he did. I don't think it was in this video. This is like they're holding torches and they're like scaring these women into the get into this cage or whatever. Get in your cage! And then the queen of the priestess of the lioness woman comes out and they're all chasing after her. I mean, it's so ridiculous.

00:16:52I got another tie-in for you, TR. You all join us. This video is when Rocky like a Hurricane met Planet of the Apes. Yeah, that's pretty accurate, I think. With the cage in Rocky like a Hurricane and Planet of the Apes to herd the humans into the cages. Damn dirty apes. You spoke. Yeah, you're not going to get this kind of quality on every podcast, trust me. Exactly. That's right. They're not saying it's real quality. No, it's just a quality.

00:17:22Aquality. Bad is a type of quality. I will say up to this point, I do like this album. All right. Yeah, I guess I would say the same. Then I won't call you a track four. Oh, thank you. Which is Bastard. Not gonna lie, 12-year-old me heard this song in a pre-appetite for destruction world and chuckled. He was like, Bastard. Because there wasn't a whole lot of cursing in music up until Appetite for Destruction blew the

00:17:52doors off of that. And then gangster rap came along and the floodgates opened.

00:17:57That seemed very tame. It was cool.

00:18:01This song rips. It's one of my faves on the album and an album full of faves, really. Definitely bringing the danger and sleaze factor in this one. L.A. in the 80s would eat you up if you weren't careful. And this lays out there perhaps as a warning for potential hopeful transplants. Anyway, if I said McMars, that tone.

00:18:21Yeah, I agree. I do like this song again, too. It's got a nice kind of punk meets 80s metal at that time. It's definitely got a punchier sound. Again, I agree. I love mixed sound on this. The raw sound, the raw production really works for this kind of a song. Again, I'm going to keep thumping on the thumping from Tommy Lee throughout this whole album. It's really apparent again on this song, and it just kind of drives me nuts because either drummers, you can't hear them, or they're too loud.

00:18:50And it just can't seem to find that space sometimes. And so I agree. I actually thought Vince Neil's vocals on this song were in a better range for him. He didn't really do too much. He didn't go too high, which was when he doesn't go high, then I can listen to him. I don't necessarily dislike him as much as it sounds like TR does, but I, I'm not a fan though, either. When he goes high, I'm kind of a little too high. So, and like I said, the previous song up to this point, I think the album has been, it's been good. I like this song too.

00:19:20Yeah, definitely a rockin' song, killer solo, great riff. And I agree, John. I hadn't thought about it, but most of the songs up to this point, I've had some note about I really can't stand Vince Neil's vocals. I don't like his vocals. And in this song, I didn't write a note about that. So I must not have, I must have been, I agree. Like, I think when he's singing in a more normal range, I think it's kind of acceptable.

00:19:49But like he when he starts doing that high stuff it all goes into his nose and it just becomes this nasally thing that I just I can't stand it too bold so so yeah I would have to agree I think like because I didn't I didn't find his vocals offensive on this song no I think when he's in his in the mid-range and he stays there and doesn't venture too high or too low I think he works well he works for what the music wants

00:20:19Yeah. All right. Track five, God bless the children of the beast. Another interlude. This one with a gothic tinge to it. Beautiful guitar work by you know who. Not the kind of thing you would find on later albums and surprisingly fitting intro to the next song, which is a cover. And it kind of ties back into the intro track. Sorry, not the next song, but the music and the God bless.

00:20:51That part kind of ties back into the intro again, I think. Okay. I have to ask, I actually like this song too, again, because it's Mick Mars' feature of it, and I think he's got some nice stuff he does on this, but it sure feels like a filler song to me. I don't see them as a band that highlights Mick Mars' guitar playing like that. I'm glad they did. And so that's why when I say filler, I'm not saying it in the negative context that we know, oh, there's a lot of filler on this album.

00:21:18Is this something they threw in at the end? I didn't read enough about the album. I don't know. Was this something planned? Did he fight for this to get it on the album? Was the band cool with him doing it? I don't know the history of this song. I agree. It ties in to the next song kind of like the way the intro did with Shout of the Devil, but I never understood why the song was here because they don't seem like a band that features, at least on album, a solo highlight. They do live. Tommy's got his spinning drum set thing and Nicky lights himself on fire or whatever.

00:21:49or whatever he does running around to the click track. But I just, I gotta stop. I'm sorry. I don't, and I'm not being negative about this song. I actually like, I feel like there needs to be more of this stuff from Mick Mars. I hopefully get that on his soul. I hope so. And again, I'm not saying he's a God, but he does some really nice things that I appreciate the way he plays. Yeah. I love this. In fact, like this was one of my favorite tracks on the whole album. It's got a really cool 12 string intro.

00:22:19It's an excellent instrumental tune. I agree with you. The fact that they even featured him is kind of surprising to me, especially given how they treat him. Yeah, like some of the stuff I read about, because obviously I never really followed this band, but I read up on it a little bit. And yeah, he's always been just kind of like, I don't know, kind of marginalized in this band, apparently. And I can't understand that because this guy's probably one of the most

00:22:49those talented guys in the band like and that's the problem he is the most talented guy in the band so

00:22:54they're like jealous of him and they're he's more of an introvert they're extremely extroverted yeah and

00:23:03it's just two different camps yeah and for the record i'm not saying he's the angel and they're all the

00:23:07devils in the band i'm sure he's got his fair share there's fair share stories of his debauchery too

00:23:13but he just always seemed to be a little more reserved because he is older than all of them he's in his

00:23:18while the other guys are in their mid-60s.

00:23:22He's considerably...

00:23:23Yeah, he's like 10 years older than that.

00:23:25For that period of time, it wasn't unusual.

00:23:28But when you had a lot of young musicians coming out to L.A.,

00:23:32they're all roughly the same age, most of them,

00:23:34from that period on Sunset Strip.

00:23:37And he just was standing out as he's a lot older, different.

00:23:41His style of music they grew up on is considerably different

00:23:45than the music that all these younger guys grew up on. Absolutely. All right. Track six, Helter Skelter. So here we've got a cover of the Beatles. At 12 years old, I hadn't yet heard the original version of this song. And in retrospect, this is a pretty bold choice for this type of band covering the Beatles. But I've always loved this version. The Beatles version of this is definitive, but I'll go so far as to say that this version is at least above

00:24:15U2's version from Rattle and Hum. And that's a good version. Given the song's related history with the Manson family and the fact that all that took place in Motley's hometown of L.A., this feels like it fits. It just fits the album and the town. Yeah, so we'll go back to my comment about filler on the album. Hear me out. Hear me out. Okay. Was this, I really do have a serious question. If there's any listeners out there who knows when we post this, please comment. Honestly. Because I can guarantee

00:24:45I'm not going to go back and look. And that's not, I just, I got too much stuff to do. But I'm curious about this because was this something they planned to put on the album? Did they, because the reason I mentioned this, how many times have we mentioned this about Fair Warning with Van Halen? Like, oh, at the end, they just threw some stuff on because they had to finish off the album. I think it was the last, out the door was the last thing that they put together and it's, what, or one foot out the, whatever it is, one foot out the. Yeah, one foot out the. Yeah, and, but it's only, it's not even two minutes long and they just threw something together real quick at the end. Right, yeah.

00:25:15These two songs back to back, which fit together nicely, were these planned or did they have, did they just not have enough material at the time or the material they had that didn't like, so they wanted to get something else on the album. It's just a question I have. I'm not, you know, to me, like when it comes to like covers, usually like there's somebody at the record company saying, Hey, we need a hit or we need to, you know, get something out there. Right. Did they not like the rest of the material? Right. I don't know if it got pushed on them or what.

00:25:44It's a good choice for a cover for them, I agree with you, George. You guys, if you've heard, again, back to the other podcasts, I really don't like covers that much. Most of them, I think, are not well done or they're exactly the same. This one, I don't mind. There's a few that I do like, and I agree. It's nice to hear the U2 version and then Motley Crue's version. They're slightly different, even though it's really hard to do something different with this song. It's a pretty straightforward song in terms of what they're doing.

00:26:12I actually liked Mick Mars' guitar solo in this. And it's at this point in the album I realized he has all these cool guitar solos, but he doesn't overdo it. He keeps it kind of contained. He goes off. He doesn't go off to the point where it's like, okay, it's all about this guy. Yeah, exactly. He doesn't draw attention to himself at all. No, and I think that kind of adds to his persona a little bit. I thought his solo on this was great. So I may everyone know if you're a Rocks fan of this song and the history of this song. Well, it's funny because I said,

00:26:42Definitely a rocking version, but not my favorite tune. I've never really cared for Helter Skelter. I don't know, just as a song. I just don't really, I don't know. I always felt it was kind of a strange Beatles song. Like it didn't really fit into me with the rest of their stuff. And it fits that album because that whole album is. That whole album is. I've never really, yeah. And I'm sure purists would probably break me over the coals, but I just, I never really liked the White Album. There's like maybe. Oh, goodbye. Thanks for playing.

00:27:12They had made that like a single album and called out some of the block that kick and

00:27:17Blasphemy!

00:27:19Then maybe, you know

00:27:21Certainly not my top favorite Beatles album

00:27:23I'm sorry, but it just does not rate that level

00:27:27Yeah, I mean, obviously great songs on that album, but

00:27:31there's a lot of other stuff on that album

00:27:33So to me, though, I felt like this seemed unnecessary

00:27:37Like it, to me, this did not fit in with the rest of the album

00:27:41I felt like it was like

00:27:45I don't know it felt like

00:27:48like

00:27:49what I said like the record company

00:27:51put some cover on there

00:27:53so we can get some attention to this thing

00:27:55it just kind of felt like

00:27:58a song that

00:27:59they did a respectable version of it

00:28:01like it's definitely good

00:28:03but it feels unnecessary

00:28:05with the rest of the songs on this album

00:28:07like I don't know

00:28:09To me, it felt like, why are you doing this cover song when you've got a whole bunch of songs that are establishing who you are as a band? This seems to be kind of like a compromise of some kind or like, oh, we had to because the record company said we needed to put this on there. I felt like it seemed unnecessary on this album. I would have rather heard another original track on this album.

00:28:39album rather than this song. I don't, I mean, like I said, it's a rocking version. They did a great job with it, but why? So you kind of have a similar approach to me as to what was the reason for this being on the show. Yeah, I agree. However, I agree with George. I think it fits the time and the scene in LA, but it also fits the image they're trying to portray. Yeah, maybe. They're trying to be badasses with the makeup and like you said, the chains and leather, and they're trying to look like if we get into a street brawl, we're going to kick your ass.

00:29:10kind of look.

00:29:11Yeah.

00:29:12I feel like this song.

00:29:13That wouldn't be the case, obviously.

00:29:14But I agree with you, George.

00:29:15So I think it kind of fits a little bit for that reason.

00:29:17Yeah.

00:29:18I feel like the sound of this song is just one more ride in the fun park of Motley

00:29:23Cruise burning garbage or burning garbage fun park.

00:29:27Like burning dumpster going down.

00:29:29That's not a that's not a comment on the band, but a comment on the apocalyptic video.

00:29:35Looks like.

00:29:35OK, that would come later.

00:29:38The burning dumpster.

00:29:39Yeah.

00:29:40The Dumpster was only half full at this point in their career. Yes. Yeah. But it was burning just as hot. Yes. All right. Red hot. Yes. Just like track seven, red hot. Sorry. It's all right. No worries. I think every track on this album is classic. And while I don't think this track brings much more than a ton of attitude to the party, I do think that Vince's vocal hooks navigate this one home and make it a potential earworm.

00:30:09This is what it sounds like to get by on a snarl and a riff. Okay. So here's my first quote about the comment about this. This song reminds me of Brownville Station, Smoking in the Boys Room, as well as Judas Priest Exciter off of Stain Class. It has that little bit of a vibe from both songs that I thought of. Yeah, it's a raw sounding fast paced, maybe another one of their songs that kind of ventures into that metal world. I thought Mick Mars again, great riff.

00:30:40We keep saying that on every song. And it's at this point, I'm still liking everything on the album. I haven't worn out yet. It's a short album. It's only what, 36 minutes long, I think. And that's what those two intro pieces. The guitar solo thing is not an intro piece, but with those two interlude intro thing going in with a cover, that takes even more time away from it. But again, still not digging the upfront bass pedals from Tommy Lee. That's just me. I'm a former drummer.

00:31:08So you just have to accept that. I kind of like how punchy his drums are. They get a little punchier. It's funny. I'm glad you brought that up. They get punchier for me as the album goes on, I noticed. And maybe it's because the songs up front, like Shout Out the Devil, Bastard, and Looks Like Kill, I think are the better written songs for this type of music are up front on the album. But that's just my opinion. But yeah, I kind of got this weird smoking in the boys room meets Exciter.

00:31:38to the song.

00:31:39And I'm just a little bit.

00:31:42And by the way,

00:31:43staying class,

00:31:44red hot,

00:31:45I believe that's part of the title of the song on the album.

00:31:48Yeah.

00:31:48So that's it.

00:31:48I'll pick it up from there because John,

00:31:51I said the same thing.

00:31:52This has a Judas Priest feel,

00:31:54but I have to say I like white heat,

00:31:56red hot better.

00:31:58I do like the solo in this one,

00:32:00especially the harmonized section.

00:32:02I think it's funny.

00:32:03You,

00:32:05somebody stole my notes.

00:32:07That's funny.

00:32:08So that's the second time I've heard this. Do you guys agree? I don't think Mick Mars gets enough credit for his harmonizing. And I'm not a guitar player, but I had no just a few terms, words. It just seems like he does some different things that other guitarists weren't doing in this scene. What I'll say is considering that he was the only guitarist in this band, I think when you've got a kind of a lot of bands of this style would have two guitars, right? Like, and you would have.

00:32:38And you would have somebody there going, okay, let's get a harmony going in this year. And then they'd work on it and you'd get that. But he had to come up with that on his own to kind of try to thicken it up or like to kind of give it a little bit more of an interesting kind of thing. So, yeah, I agree, John. Like, I feel like what he does in that regard really does lend a really nice flavor to what goes on in these songs.

00:33:08And I liked what he was doing. I've gained a whole appreciation for

00:33:13Mick Mars. I really, like I said, I never got into this band. So to the more I listened to this record, it was like, wow, okay, this is pretty rocking. And I'm not saying other guitarists in the LA scene weren't good. There were plenty of great guitarists on the scene, like Warren Demartini. Is that his name? Warren Demartini from Rat. Yeah. Who was a fabulous player. And I wasn't a super Rat fan, but I always, when I watched him, I was like, this guy can

00:33:39So I'm not saying that there weren't other great players. T.R., you hit it on the head for me. A lot of those bands had two guitarists. And very few bands were like a band like Night Ranger. Yeah, I brought Night Ranger into it because their first album rocks. But they had probably pound for pound the two best guitarists you could have. And they're both lead guitarists. Whereas other bands had a rhythm player and then they had a great lead player.

00:34:06Right. So, yeah. Okay. You clarified a little better for me. I'm not, I can't do guitar shop talk. Pretty good job there. I'd say. Yeah. I know a few things. I wanted to mention that you brought up smoking in the boys room. And I, I don't know why I didn't think of that when we were talking about Helter Skelter, but I was like, they did a cover on the next album as well. Smoking in the boys room. And I'm like, and to me anyway, that was the first song I heard off that album. So I would, I think that was released before home sweet home.

00:34:36I think so I think you're right and so they led with the the cover on that album so again something they like to do where they told to do it I I feel like that one was one maybe I'm wrong maybe there's a crew fan out there it feels like that one was their choice yes I would agree with that yes and I felt like that yes I would agree like it feel that felt more natural for them to do and they kind of made it their own and they I felt like that was their own and they I felt like that was their own and they were their own and they

00:35:06that was a better choice for them. This kind of felt like it was forced on them and they did it. I mean, they did it. Like I said, they did a very respectable rocking version of this. But yeah, when it comes down to it, like if you're going to rate their covers, like Smokin' in the Boys Room had a much better, more natural feel for them. It's also their Van Halen moment because they act kind of goofy in the video and everything. And it just, it makes me feel like Van Halen would have done that.

00:35:37All right, track eight, too young to fall in love. Now is as good a time as any to mention the misogynistic elephant in the room. You better do it now because there's plenty more. This song takes a lot of flack for some implied violence towards women, and I totally back up that assessment. Now I'm killing you, watch your face turn on blue. Those words caused a lot of controversy, and in no way do I,

00:36:06Back Them Up or Condone Them on this. However, I have to say I've also never spent the time to dig into the lyrics to see if there's any meaning in it beyond young rock stars abusing women. Everything else about this album is covered in a coat of dirt and slime, so okay, let's just acknowledge that the songs display questionable taste and move on, because this song is super catchy and unfortunately is another one of my favorites on the album. Jog it up to being 12 and not knowing any better?

00:36:36If I can watch a slasher horror movie and know it's not right to kill people, I can listen to a Motley Crue song and know that you don't treat women like that. Could have been about his dog. Clearly, I'm struggling to justify this one. And that I know is an Axl Rose reference. Yeah. So. Used to love her. Used to love her, but had to kill her. Yeah. It's about my dog, man. Like, that's all I had to say. No. Ah, it's about his dog. Makes more sense about his dog than it does a woman. I know. Yeah.

00:37:06I remember this song when it came out and it's a catchy song. It's kind of a mid-paced song, which is interesting considering the chorus on it. It's probably the second best written song on the album overall musically. I think it's got a catchy chorus and interesting groove to it. Again, mid-paced. It isn't overdone the chorus too, which is kind of nice. I will give Motley Crue this credit in the world. You don't hear that often from me when it comes to this band or any of these bands in this

00:37:36They were really good about their gang vocals. They didn't overdo them too much. It was like three or four guys instead of 30 or 40 guys. Yeah, no, that's the difference. Yes, three or four guys translating to three or four guys. And a lot of European power metal, it's three or four guys translating into 30 or 40 guys. And yes, that's a good point. So they don't over scream. Maybe I'm wrong, but it just doesn't seem like you do as much as some of the power metal bands have done that followed.

00:38:06So I'll give them that. There was other bands that liked to do these gang vocals that were more annoying that just kind of rubbed me the wrong way at this period. And this, again, this band doesn't do it too much. At least I don't think they do. So, and I kind of wish that this song was a little slicker on the production side, a little more polished. I think it could have been an even bigger song for them. But again, it fits the style of the album, which is a kind of raw, kind of hitting that nerve a little bit in the tones.

00:38:35Yeah, another hit that I remember being on the radio, definitely a cool riff, and the guitar tone is killer. The solo rips. Yeah. To be honest, George, I didn't even pay attention to the lyrics, so I didn't even. Yeah. For longest time, I didn't either, but then when the controversy arose about it, or at least I read about it later, I was like, oh, yeah, that's kind of a not nice thing to do to somebody. But it's a song. There's very little context.

00:39:04And like I said, if you're a sociopath, psychotic person, and you hear this and you want to do that to somebody else, that's probably a bad thing. But I think I'm a mature adult and I can listen to a song like this and understand that this is entertainment. Yeah. What's funny about this whole conversation is that an album like this will get a sticker slapped on it. They'll sell probably another $100,000, 100,000 more records in the US alone just because of the sticker on it or for them.

00:39:35But let's be honest

00:39:37Is this really

00:39:38And I'm not justifying anything

00:39:39I'm just putting it in context

00:39:41Is this any worse than another genre

00:39:43That followed in the 80s

00:39:45Where it seemed like that was coming up

00:39:47In every song all the time

00:39:49I mean it could just be like an S&M kind of thing

00:39:51I don't know

00:39:52I mean it seemed to me

00:39:54If you were selling

00:39:56And you were popular

00:39:57It was

00:39:58You looked the other way

00:40:00But if it was other bands

00:40:01You took a beating for it

00:40:03Which was the time. I mean, look at Twisted Sister. They took a beating for, was it Under the Knife? Yeah. And let me explain what it's about, but you wouldn't. So I don't disagree with you, George, but like TR, the lyrical content of this album was not what I was thinking about. It's not the high point. Yeah. So just saying. Yeah. I mean, yeah, for the most part, I don't really pay much attention to the lyrics beyond like whatever I have to yell in the chorus while I'm pumping my fist in the air.

00:40:33Yeah, I think that's the one thing Nikki Six does do well is he finds the right lyrics for the chorus. Yeah. If he's writing the lyrics, because I will say those are pretty catchy. Yeah. I mean, you can listen to anything from their career, whether you like it or not. And you could acknowledge that it's a pretty catchy chorus. I mean, the word, the words he uses, they all seem to kind of, they're memorable. So I'll give him that much. Yeah. All right. Track nine, Knock Them Dead, Kid.

00:41:02Like everything on this album, this track has a sound that you just didn't have before this album. It broke ground with every song and this one does too. It's not one of my favorites, but as I listen back to it, my head is bobbing and it just has this groove. Mick and Tommy are locked in and Vince is snarling machismo like he has it in spades. I didn't have any complaints. Yeah, I'll be real brief too. I like the riffage again. It's cool, but it's at this point I realized Tommy Lee's not really

00:41:32He's really very diversified in his playing. He kind of does the same thing all the time. And I wish he did a little something different. I wish he added some different fills. He's pretty much a mid-paced player. He doesn't go too fast and he doesn't go too slow. He just kind of dumps along. And he gets a lot of credit for his stage antics. But I just, this is the song where I started to wear thin with the album a little bit. I agree, George. It's not one of my favorite songs.

00:42:02It's not a bad song at all. I need a little more variety. And I think this is where I started to hear the same song over and over again a little bit with this one. So this album is really stuffed with excellent riffs. And this song definitely is an example of that. And my next comment was this. The music is the best part of this song. Is that your comment?

00:42:32on all of them.

00:42:33Yeah.

00:42:36I mean,

00:42:36if I could throw the vocals out and some of the lyrics,

00:42:40I mean,

00:42:40this musically,

00:42:42this stuff is incredible.

00:42:44There's some stupid lyrics and some really awful lip vocals on this album that really kind of killed it for me.

00:42:50But let's go to the next song.

00:42:53Yeah.

00:42:57Hemingway.

00:42:57He is not.

00:42:58Yes.

00:42:59Yeah.

00:43:00All right.

00:43:01So track 10, 10 Seconds to Love. For a band known for their debauchery, there were surprisingly few tracks about women on the album. But this one takes a page out of the Kiss handbook and heads straight for the seedy side of town. That said, this love gun still rocks pretty hard. And it's catchy. But if you're looking for something deep and meaningful, you took a wrong turn about 10 tracks ago. It rocks.

00:43:30There's not much more to it. I expect this was one of their early tracks where they would divide up the audience into like two and go, you know, make them each sing along. It has that like drum and bass breakdown at like the three quarter mark. And they're like 10 seconds. And then you have to say 10 seconds. And then you have to say 10 seconds. Nobody can't see my hand gestures. I mean, you can, but you know what I'm talking about, right? Yes, I agree. I don't have too much to say about this song.

00:44:00other than some of the things you said. Again, Mark Morris stands out again for me because he doesn't overplay and it's not overdoing things. And yes, I said that this is the first time on the album I actually physically noticed Nikki Sixx's bass playing during the 10 Seconds Love gang chant. It's the three quarters of the way through you mentioned, George. It's the first time I can actually hear him playing now, finally. And I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the production.

00:44:30They did the production that way. All right. No, I won't say it anymore. Tomato, tomato. Yeah. So I guess they like their love as quick as possible. Yeah. Gotta go beat some dudes up later. I gotta get out of here. Let's get this over with so I can get on to the other stuff. This sounds like a slightly, like George, you called it, like this sounds like a slightly more metal version of a Kiss song. This is about as trite and juvenile as it gets. This almost sounds like a Steel Panther song.

00:45:00It's actually more a parody of this kind of music than the actual parody songs. This was Steel Panther before Steel Panther. Yeah, before they were Steel Panther, they played music like this. Yeah, I'm sorry. Like, I'm sure like if this had hit me back then, maybe I would have thought this was cool or something. But man, this is like, are you kidding me? Ten seconds to love. Which kind of reminds me like a CD version of Indiana Jones with No Time for Love, Dr. Jones.

00:45:28It's time for love, Dr. Jones. 10 seconds to love, Dr. Jones. Get it going. We gotta get out of here. This belongs in a museum. You, Dr. Jones, belong in a museum. Okay, that's all I gotta say about that. All right, Jay. I'm proud to be the Jay of this podcast. The last and final track, Eleven, Danger. So this has always been one of my surprise closet favorites. It's a bit more like the first album than the rest of the tracks.

00:45:58a leftover from Too Fast for Love, which is also good. This is a cautionary tale of life in LA in the 80s, and the chorus really drives that point home. These guys wear 80s LA like a badge of honor tattooed on their chests, and they just want to let you know that their town will eat you alive if you aren't careful. 40 years later, yeah, it's a bit of a cheese fest, but I don't care. I still love it. And Mick Mars.

00:46:27Yeah, I found it interesting that they chose this point in the album to have a semi-ballad type song. And it's kind of interesting, George, you brought up what I thought of, and Tiara, I wonder if you thought the same thing too. This song kind of does tell the story of Sunset Strip in the 80s and how it would chew you up and just grind you down hard. And I kind of felt like it was a little bit of a soundtrack to the era a little bit.

00:46:55I thought again,

00:46:57Mick Mars,

00:46:57we keep bringing them up.

00:46:58I thought he sounded great.

00:46:59I thought Vince Neil over saying a little bit on the song.

00:47:02I have no complaints about Tommy Lee in the song,

00:47:05you know,

00:47:05talking about kind of just played a,

00:47:08he played a decent song.

00:47:09I thought.

00:47:11So on their first album,

00:47:13the last track on the album was called on with the show,

00:47:17which is actually one of my favorites on the album.

00:47:19And that is a story,

00:47:20a cautionary story,

00:47:22kind of like this is a cautionary story.

00:47:24Maybe this is like their thing for the first two albums anyway, where they put this track in this position, just like Metallica was like, all right, we're going to put the instrumental track at the end. And so I don't know, but I'd never noticed that until you mentioned that. I like the picked intro riff. I like the music to this tune. Not so much the vocals. Danger in Hollywood just sounds funny to me. Here in Hollywood. Hollywood, yeah.

00:47:54Yeah, like it's the, it just sounded funny. Like, oh, it's cheesy, but. Danger in Hollywood. Like it's, if they had just said like in LA or someplace like not Hollywood, it might've sounded a little more authentic. Would Redondo Beach work better for you? Yeah, maybe that would be better. Santa Monica. Danger in Santa Monica. Yeah, exactly. That's how it sounds to me. Danger in Hollywood. Come on. It's like, you think of the big sign and you think like, oh, everybody's a star. Like, I don't know. I get it. There's a greasy, grimy,

00:48:24But when you hear Hollywood, you don't think about seedy anything. You just think about Hollywood, like the stars and the spotlights and all this. Unless you're a greasy old man who listened to a lot of hair metal in the 80s, and then you think L.A., you think dirt and grime. If they had said danger in Los Angeles. No, see the saints of Los Angeles. But there's danger in Hollywood.

00:48:55Yeah. I don't know. It just didn't. It just sounded funny to me. Like, okay. Yeah. Like. I love this song. It's like danger in Disneyland. Oh, there is danger in Disneyland. If you want some of those rides, man. Yeah. Okay. That's that. That was my take on it. Well, they're not going to say danger in Malibu. Okay. Come on. Although it would have worked. Danger in Malibu. Danger in Beverly Hills. Yeah. That's where they want to be. Yeah. That's where they ended up.

00:49:24All right. In my opinion, this was the pinnacle of Motley Crue. The first two albums are stone cold classics. And from here on out, I'm not going to lie. I do like a smattering of tracks from the other albums, but nothing ever came close to Shout at the Devil again. And while certain members of the band continue to try their hardest to make me regret loving this album, I remain a fan of Shout at the Devil. So there. Yeah, I like this album. I mean, I'll always take shots at this band.

00:49:54So my time is expired. But I have to give them credit for this album, especially again,

00:50:00I keep talking about them, but yeah, it's got a nice edgy raw sound to it.

00:50:07And it kind of fits for their, this period of their first two albums.

00:50:11And then from there it gets slick production and big budgets and a lot of

00:50:17hairspray and a lot of lighter singing ballads. But up to this point,

00:50:22I actually don't mind the band.

00:50:23Yeah. Yeah. Overall, I may have been a little harsh on this album. I actually ended up liking it a lot better than I thought I would. That's what I was hoping. If I could get an instrumental version of this album, I think I would really, really like it. Or just have Dio's AI voice transposed of all the songs. Oh, dude. That would be awesome. Danger here in Hollywood. You're better start. But every song has to start with just that.

00:50:53Synthi keyboard and him just singing as a quiet intro acoustic guitar only exactly yeah I I've I'm done beating this drum but yeah I would really like this if they had a different singer but I realized like I had no idea how cool Nick Mars was and how many really great riffs are on this album I was really kind of surprised about that so would you listen to this again I probably would

00:51:23Not all of the songs, but there are definitely a few songs on here I would definitely want to listen to again. You'd be like, yeah, okay, I want to hear some McMars. Throw that on. Yeah, definitely. And now that you mention it, I'm kind of curious about what his solo album might sound like. Yeah, very curious. I have no idea what he would come out with. Do you know anything about it? Is he going to have any vocals? I don't know. I had heard something about it a while back, and then I didn't hear about it again until yesterday.

00:51:57I don't know how much of it will

00:52:01be contingent on how he is physically

00:52:03he probably is not going to be able to tour

00:52:06obviously but I wonder if he

00:52:07doesn't have any issues but if he ever wanted to

00:52:09play shows I know that's almost out of

00:52:11the question completely for him I think

00:52:13he could do like a one-off maybe yeah

00:52:15like you know he and Ozzy could do one-offs

00:52:17together they're both going to have to be

00:52:19seated in chairs or hey Phil Collins

00:52:21does it he did it yeah

00:52:23Yeah.

00:52:24So.

00:52:25Yeah.

00:52:26No, it's a good choice, George.

00:52:27I mean, it was fun.

00:52:27Yeah.

00:52:28It brought back some memories.

00:52:29And I actually do like most of the album.

00:52:31So.

00:52:33Excellent.

00:52:34All right.

00:52:35All right.

00:52:35Moving on to our second album of the evening.

00:52:38TR, what do we got?

00:52:40This album is Yes.

00:52:43And the album is Drama.

00:52:45Released on the 18th of August, 1980.

00:52:49This is the 10th studio album for this British band that began in 1968.

00:52:53The band had undergone numerous lineup changes over the years, but this was the first album without singer John Anderson. His distinctive vocals and personality were always a key component of Yes. However, tensions in the band over musical direction led to keyboardist Rick Wakeman and vocalist John Anderson leaving. This left guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire, and drummer Alan White in need of new bandmates. Enter Trevor Horn and Jeff Downs.

00:53:23from new wave act the buggles they were using the same manager as yes and soon got linked up with chris squire the remaining members of yes were moving in a more aggressive direction musically and with the addition of horn and downs yes's music evolved to a much edgier rocking version of itself i like what emerged on drama especially after their album tornado which i feel is one of their weakest outings while this album only has six tracks they don't suffer from some of the

00:53:53the bloat and self-indulgence found on some of their more progressive works from the early 70s. To me, this sounds crisp and fresh and inspired. It's one of my favorite Yes albums. This is when I discovered that Chris Squire was really the most integral member of Yes. He brings the balls to the sound. If there was any doubt about this, it would be proven further when various members of the band got together as Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howell. How what?

00:54:23How you like me now? Can I just aside for a moment? Sure. You mentioned something in the intro that I did not realize until like three quarters of the way through the album, which was like, that's not John Anderson. And it's in my notes, so I need to cut this out so I can play it later. But yeah, I was like, John Anderson's vocals are not as annoying as they usually are. And I was like, because he's not singing quite as high.

00:54:52It has to be part of it, George. You can't leave this out. Believe me, I talk about it. Okay. But I wanted you to know this now because you mentioned it. What are your opening comments, George? So I like to give TR and John grief that my favorite Yes album is 90125 because it has Owner of a Lonely Heart on it. And that's a very good 80s rock song. But listening to this album,

00:55:22I understand what was lost between this album and that album.

00:55:26They are very different.

00:55:29I've never been a big Yes fan, though I am not prog-averse, but it just never clicked.

00:55:34So I was apprehensive going into this album.

00:55:38Let's see how I fare.

00:55:40I have just a few brief notes.

00:55:43I am a big Yes fan, like TR.

00:55:46However, Yes can grate at me at times because it's just Yes.

00:55:52And if you're a Yes fan, you know what that means. Oh boy. You're a Yes man. So however, this is without question one of my favorite Yes albums. It is the direction I wish Prague had gone in the 80s. Yeah. I wish this had lasted longer than 1982. Now this album came out in 1980 and there were a few bands from the 70s that were doing this kind of change. Yes on drama.

00:56:22Rush up to Signals and a band called Saga, if you don't know who that is, who were in this similar vein of they were prog bands embracing the 80s. And then 1984 came and the wheels came off for all the prog bands. Yes was in 1983, obviously, although I do like 90125. Not to be confused with 90120 Beverly Hills. Yeah, I was going to make a joke and call it that, but I didn't.

00:56:51I was going to say that Beverly Hills 90210 album. I will say real quickly, this is going to come up at some point. We're going to talk about the singer Trevor Horn in the band. I actually like him on this album, and I think they needed to switch things up a little because of the stuff. Yeah, no, I totally agree. That was what I was going to ask earlier was, are you telling me that the dude singing on this album killed the radio star? Yes. That's right. Okay.

00:57:21I gotta listen to this again because I freaking love that guy and he's a well-respected I think musician yeah and even more so producer yes that's I was gonna get to it so my last few things about this album are I think it's a very underrated yes I think it's a dismissed yes album because it doesn't have John Anderson on it I think John Anderson would have been terrible on these songs yes I agree and I have proof of that yes come

00:57:51Yeah, I know exactly what you're going to say. Good. And we're on the same page. Yeah, we are. I just think he would not have been good. I find this album very underrated. And it's very proggy, but it's kind of new wavy too at the same time. So it's that nice niche period between the 70s and the 80s, late and early, where, I don't know, I mean, like the police and like the clash, not the clash, but like bands,

00:58:21that had that like post-punk pre-pop sound that was sparse and sharp but catchy and yeah i mean yeah there's a lot of similarities in this album this is gonna piss a lot of fans off but there's a lot of similarities with this and brush where they were going in the early 80s they were embracing new things they were adding different type of keyboards and since they were going in a different direction

00:58:51While they were still progging out, but the songs like TR mentioned, he brought up a good point. These songs were edgier and rock, had more rock bass. They were rockier. That's not the right word. That's not the right way to say it. There's a little rock here. Big rock, little rock. And then there's just the rock. I think that's a great point you brought up, TR, that they were embracing a rock, more rock-infused sound, and they were still pretty proggy. This album's got a ton of prog on it.

00:59:21Oh yeah. And we'll, we'll talk about that. And then afterwards, I want to just to cut, not to cut you off. I want to find out from TR where this ranks in the pantheon of yes albums. I know you probably have a, you can't number two. He doesn't have a pantheon. Yeah. I've got a, he's got two albums to listen to. So, but I'm curious to where you put this. So I'm still wrestling with that, but maybe by the end, I'll have it. It's going to change tomorrow. Yes. Actually. Yeah. I have to,

00:59:51one more thing is that when it finally dawned on me, which you'll learn later in the show based on my notes, that this was not John Anderson, I was like, why would TR pick a album that didn't even have John Anderson on it? What is going on here? Isn't he the guy? I can't believe he would do that. This is like saying, we're going to do Judas Priest and we're going to do Jugulator. Okay, I like Jugulator. So do I. Here we go. So do I. But I like Jugulator. No, but.

01:00:21The point is, it's not what you would think you would go with. No. There's a reason why. Yeah, there is. And we'll get into that. All right. Carry on. So here we are. The first song, Machine Messiah. What a leadoff track. Epic with multiple parts. It starts quietly with Hal playing a riff that grows in volume. His tone is gnarly and gritty, and the initial big riff when the drum

01:00:51and bass come in is heavy. This is the heaviest I had ever heard Yes be. How is throwing all kinds of pyrotechnics in on the riff, playing all over the neck, and then it smooths out to allow the vocals to come in. Horn sounds a little like Anderson, and Squire's backing vocals further give it credence. Lyrically, it sounds kind of profound, but I'm not entirely sure what they really mean. But Yes has always been able to write lyrics like this.

01:01:20I'm not fully understanding what this is about. It winds into a staccato section after the first portion of the lyrics and then goes into an entirely different segment where the band sing friends make their way into systems of chance. This builds to a portion where they all jam with the keyboards taking the riff, then the bass, then how, then all of them together. It spirals down back to the original heavy riff to be followed by a quiet breakdown section,

01:01:50and strummed on acoustic guitar with atmospheric keys. How comes back in like at the beginning of the song and we're off again. It goes to the final lyric section and builds again to the final machine messiah segment. It almost feels ritualistic. The song ends as it began with how shredding furiously to fade out. All right, then slightly less rational is my description, but less enthusiasm, maybe. Oh, no, I

01:02:20I said the song starts off all heavy and doomy. I know this can't last. Some cool synths though. And then the vocals. Followed by a tornado of Prague. Was that a piano falling down the stairway? Kind of Floydian epic monster riffs just past the middle of the song. Okay, the eye of the tornado has passed and we are back in the windstorm. That was probably that quiet part you were talking about.

01:02:51All right. Somebody stole my notes again. You just rattled off like five things I was going to say, which is awesome that you heard. Yes. Awesome that you heard these things. I'm cool. Let me start out by saying this is where old yes meets the new yes on this album, especially this song. This is by far the most prog song on the album, not because it's 10 plus minutes long, but it really is the most prog song in song structure.

01:03:20about this intro.

01:03:22It is this big, booming, but just looming sound.

01:03:26It just grows in stature.

01:03:27It keeps getting bigger.

01:03:28And yeah, this is, yes, doing doom metal.

01:03:32I had to double check that I was listening to the Red Album.

01:03:34Yes.

01:03:36Hold on, fans.

01:03:37Like George said, we're going to get to the Prague Forest here in just a second.

01:03:41We got to get over the mountain with the doom first.

01:03:43And it's really kind of funny how you have this slow pace to start.

01:03:47This is also one of the early proto-prog metal songs.

01:03:52This is one of the songs that influenced bands like Dream Theater.

01:03:55They played this song live before. They're big fans of this stuff.

01:03:59This along with Russia during this period, these are the things that they were in Kansas that they were gleaming to.

01:04:05And this is definitely one of those songs.

01:04:06I love the mix of the proggy side with the new style.

01:04:10There's no new wave on this song yet for this album, but it's a prog monster.

01:04:15And it's, there's a reason why this is one of the favorites off the album. I love that I hear so many nods to other albums in the keyboard section. Jeff Downs is not the Rick Wakeman of this band. He's not that type of player. He can shred a little, but that's not his style. But I do hear these interesting little nods to Close to the Edge or Going for the One. They don't sound like those songs, but there's nice little bits that remind me of those albums, which I always thought was kind of cool. He's very good at creating atmosphere.

01:04:45Like I said, a technical shred. He wasn't Keith. He's Keith Emerson. He's not, but that's what I like about him because he's really focuses on. I can do some shredding, but I like my atmosphere. Definitely more technical than Tony K. The original keyboardist from yes. Everybody is more technical than Tony K. Tony K was great at creating soundscapes. That's his thing. So, and this is probably Jeff Downs best moment on the album. I thought during, throughout this song, I think yes, excels when they, they stick to 10 minute songs. There are,

01:05:15the exceptions like Close to the Edge and Ray Lair. And then there's albums I Wish Never Came Out that are hailed as the greatest prog album ever. And it's really not. Tales from Topographic Ocean is really not that great. It's overblown. But this song seems to really hone in that 10-minute period. And I will say, George, you mentioned something else, but maybe we had at different points of song. It's very Floyd-ian at the end. The sounds of the atmosphere in the last minute and a half remind me of Animals a little bit.

01:05:44I was thinking more of the wall where it's like

01:05:50boom boom you know like yes big sounds

01:05:54they were just like big chords that's they were like long

01:05:58drawn out dramatic chords yeah yeah so go back

01:06:02and listen to the last minute and 30 and I just love the atmosphere Jeff Downs

01:06:06creates it just kind of reminds me of that wish you were here and animals period

01:06:10where there were just amazing atmospheres not so much the

01:06:14like rock going on. So,

01:06:17and if I've babbled on about this song,

01:06:19so much,

01:06:19just because it sounds great.

01:06:20Yeah,

01:06:21it really is.

01:06:22Yeah.

01:06:22This is one of the anchor points of the album.

01:06:24I mean,

01:06:25one of the top parts of this album,

01:06:28in my opinion,

01:06:30maybe possibly the best song of the album.

01:06:32We might disagree there,

01:06:34but yeah,

01:06:34but that's okay.

01:06:35One of the best,

01:06:36I will say.

01:06:37Yeah.

01:06:38All right,

01:06:38moving on.

01:06:39So the next song is called white car.

01:06:42This light, short piece is a bit of a palate cleanser after the fireworks of the opener. The main lyric portion sounds buggly, but the parts before get a bit of prog treatment from the rest of the band. I said more of an interlude than a song, but it was cool for what it was. Best song on the album. Really? No, I just said that because you guys said that about the last one. Just being silly. Thank you. I'm not going to lie to you. This is a cast.

01:07:12off for me on this album. This is, to me, I was like, okay, whatever. And from what I've read about it, that's kind of how it developed. It was just kind of, was it Downs and Horn in the Studio or whatever, and they just kind of threw it together. And yeah, it's boggled up and everything. There's no doubt about that. Yeah, had I known, I would have even, it would be my favorite song. I mean, the funny thing is, is there are songs on this album, and I don't want to give away too much here, but like, you can tell like the parts that the Buggles wrote,

01:07:42And then they said, okay, guys, this is what we got. And then the rest of the band was like, okay, we can prog this up pretty good. Just let us do this first part. You do your little middle part, and then we'll do the rest of it. That's weird. I think I know what song you're talking about. Okay. All right. Anyway. All right. So the next song is Does It Really Happen? Squire sets the tone with a driving bass riff that just sounds so ballsy.

01:08:11The drums give it extra splash and drive. Again, the lyrics don't make much sense, but they sound profound somehow. Hal has a sliding guitar riff as the first verse comes in. It's kind of a rollicking sound, and then it moves to the chorus, which is catchy. Another verse and chorus, and then back to the bass riff with more lyrics in a somewhat proggy section that goes into an acapella section of the chorus. They go back to the first verse, and it seems like the song is going to end up.

01:08:41But this is more rocking. The last minute and a half is Squire just jamming on the bass. I love it. I said more heavy guitars. Stop tasing me. The vocals are okay again. I think I prefer when it isn't gang vocal harmonies whatever. Cut to the present. This is me starting to realize that something sounds not like John Anderson.

01:09:12What? I was like, I just like it better. Who is this guy? I said, the music is, of course, crazy good. Not sure what else to say, but it is crazy good. John, I think this is where you're going to talk about how John Anderson really should not have been on this song if he had done it. You didn't have to leave that for me. You could have brought that up if you wanted to. But yes, this is, I will go on record and say right now, this is my favorite song off the album, but it's one of my favorite songs.

01:09:41My 10 favorite Yes songs of all time. I absolutely love this song. This is everything I wish Yes had continued doing, at least for a little bit in the 80s. TR did his best to describe it. I can't do any better than him to describe how incredible Chris Squire sounds at the beginning of this song with his bass intro. He's a pick bass player, and generally I know to purist that's the pick bass player, but he doesn't.

01:10:11in such a way he's not such a bass player as he is a lead bass player he leads the band he steve howles is an incredible guitar player but a lot of their songs are bass led and you can go all throughout their history to hear how he does this and he shines on this song he just if you thought that he wasn't there anymore because the band changed because they brought in two new members and a new singer you were sorely mistaken because he

01:10:41shines on this song and i have to say george i do disagree with you regarding

01:10:46the multiple vocals i actually think this is where chris squire absolutely shines he's never a lead

01:10:52vocalist but when you have multiple singers he outshines everyone he sings with because his voice

01:10:59is great for melody with everybody else and i can't tell you how many times during that acapella

01:11:04section tiara mentioned i think of like the middle section of starship trooper where he almost

01:11:10becomes the lead vocalist during that acoustic part where he's singing with John

01:11:14Anderson and Steve Howe off of the album, the S album. It just reminds me of how great of a melody singer he was with everybody else. As a standalone, I wouldn't really want to hear him sing, but when he's singing with everybody else and harmonizing, I think he's incredible. And I think he really shines on this album. And you're correct, George. This is at the point in the end when you're like, wait a minute. This is Trevor Horn's the lead singer on this album.

01:11:39What the heck is going on here? This is kind of like when I got, I'm going to tie this into Marillion. Oh man, here we go. This is just like when I got Seasons End and I was like, this doesn't sound like Fish singing at all. Who the hell is Steve Hogarth? And when did he join the band? And that's, George, you're spot on. This is the moment where it becomes apparent. Something's different. Did I diss somebody's vocals?

01:12:09I feel like oh no I just said that much of a fan of TR could think of all the other songs that I'm referring to I just think Chris Squire yeah this is incredible yeah and I think when you start to and this was never more apparent than after he passed like his vocals are so unique and they are such an integral part of yes and you don't realize it because they're always in the background

01:12:40But once you realize how crucial they are, and just the tone of his voice, and the way he sings, and how well he sings, he's actually a very good singer. Steve Howe is a terrible singer. He obviously could harmonize pretty well, and a lot of times when they were doing multi-part harmonies, it was good for him to be in there. But if you've ever listened to any of Steve Howe's solo albums, where he's

01:13:09He just sings himself. He's terrible. I'm sorry. I mean, I'm just like Joe Satriani. Terrible. Joe Satriani is better. No. Yeah. Way better. So, so what I'll say is that I totally agree, John, like Squire's vocals until you actually kind of reckon with the fact that like how, how just integral apart, like he's always sung on yes songs, right? Like,

01:13:39All the way back to everything. He sings on every song. Everything, yeah. He's always there. And he lends this kind of texture to the vocals that when you don't have it, it's very apparent. And after he passes, like his vocals not being on there and his bass not being on there really kind of makes you feel like what's the point of yes anymore? Yeah, I agree. I mean, like I said, if you go back and listen to Starship Trooper, the part where it starts where,

01:14:09is a part of us. Oh, yeah, exactly. Yeah. It stands out. And then actually, I think he makes John Anderson sound better because then the highs aren't that high. He kind of brings it down. But to finish up with this song real quick, speaking of John Anderson, I'm so glad he's not on this album because this is not a new song. This is an older song that they were messing around with during the Tormato sessions, which is a dud of an album, I think. There are just a few good songs on it.

01:14:39Like on the Silent Wings of Freedom, which by the way is another great Chris Squire bass song. Yeah. But this song was originally called Everybody's Song. And it stinks. Yeah. I don't like it. Anderson singing on this. It's horrible. Yeah, it's terrible. And he doesn't get it. And it just, you can, what a difference. Like when you listen to like that, that outtake of Anderson singing on some of this riff, and then you hear this, it's almost unbelievable.

01:15:09Yeah, he just meanders. Yeah, he would have really brought this album down. There's no way that this album would have sounded as crisp and fresh as it does with Anderson on it. I hate to say it, but that's the truth. There's a song coming up in a little bit, because there's not many songs in the album, where it's glaringly apparent he would have butchered the song even worse than this song. So on that note, I'll just say, and this is another

01:15:39This is another song that I could see a band like Dream Theater

01:15:43really sinking their teeth into.

01:15:46Just like, wow, this is what we're looking for.

01:15:48Yeah.

01:15:48All right.

01:15:49So the next song is called Into the Lens.

01:15:53This starts jaunty, syncopated, and proggy,

01:15:56but then it gets a lot more straightforward.

01:15:59I have to admit, when I first heard this,

01:16:01I thought the I am a camera line was kind of dumb,

01:16:05but it grew on me.

01:16:06I like the breakdown in the middle of the song.

01:16:09Howe is doing some cool things on guitar in this song. Take techniques that he would also employ in Asia. And this is another song where it sounds like the Buggles kind of brought like the main vocal line and lyric. And then the rest of the band said, OK, we can prog that up. I think that's actually what happened, isn't it? I think this was a Buggles song, wasn't it? Originally? Yes, actually. They ended up recording it later, I think. But I think it was Jeff Downs and Trevor Horn all the way to start. Yeah, I agree.

01:16:38Yeah. And then the rest of the band said, okay, let's, let's prog this up. I am a camera. That makes more sense now that it's a bugle thing. No, it's I am a camera. Here's where the dawning happens. I think what I like about this album compared to others I've heard is that the music is very tight and focused. Earlier stuff kind of makes me think of musical mush just because I don't know, maybe I'm making assumptions based on old memories, but

01:17:08It just seems more focused like a camera or maybe the style just changed a bit by the time we got to 1980. Long pause. Okay. I finally figured it out. This isn't John, but it sure does sound like him. I was going to mention how cool the Wakeman synths were, but I see that it wasn't him either.

01:17:38Well, then, carry on.

01:17:41Yes, this is Yes Meets New Wave. Definitely. I agree with ETR. And I do believe that is the story. I think that they, Jeff Downs and Trevor Horn had this song that they were working on, and it's very apparent. You can hear when there's a prog injection in there, and you can hear when there's kind of a new wave. It's not, I hate to say post-punk, but that's what a lot of these bands were called, post-punk.

01:18:06New Wave was the word I was looking for, or phrase rather, for when I was talking about like the police and whatever.

01:18:12Right, yes. And it's true. New Wave was...

01:18:16Yeah, that was happening then.

01:18:17Happening, and these bands were embracing it. And I thought this was an album where they embraced it without it going off the rails. Now, I know a lot of Yes Purists will disagree with that. They're entitled. They want to hear The Ancient play eight times in a row at a concert. So that's what they like.

01:18:34Again, I'm digging on the album, Tales from Top of Refugee Ocean. With that said, I like this song. There's times I'm like, man, I wish this was just two different songs because it really is. It could be two different songs. However, there are some great moments in it. I do love some of the things they try to do. I get a little bit of Sound Chaser off of Relayer and some of his bass playing around the three minute, 45 second part, which is kind of nice. There are a lot of nods to previous albums in here.

01:19:04they're done in such a way that they're quick. They're in and out, which is kind of nice. They're like saying, hey, we're still here, but we're doing something different. There are plenty of great Steve Howe moments. He's such a good guitarist, and he's so unique. I just shouldn't sing lead. That's all we're saying. You're a nice guy, but no. Yeah, I can see where fans, older fans wouldn't like this song as much because it does kind of blend, does blur the lines a lot. Yeah.

01:19:34The funny thing is, I kind of like how they put it together. Like, it doesn't sound, while these are two styles that you would not ever put together, they make it work. Yes, I agree. I mean, it doesn't sound, while you can tell, like, which style is which, they blend it together in such a way that you feel like, yeah, this works, and it complements the song by having both of these different elements in it.

01:20:02And I think that you could say that about this whole album, which I think is what really makes it work. And it just injects that freshness into this band that like really needed to go in a different direction after a couple of kind of lousy albums. Whoa, a couple? You don't like going for the one? No, I should say that's true. Tomorrow feels like a couple of bad albums. Yeah, it does. Exactly. All right, let's get into the next track. It's called Run Thee.

01:20:49I can't say this song title without singing it in Iron Maiden.

01:20:55Run through the light.

01:20:59You know, completely change the song by one word, you know, instead of run to the hills. What if it was run through the hills? Run towards the light. Through the light, yes. You know, could have been different. Anyway, it's a good song. What can I say? I'm still kind of reeling from the personal epiphany of the last track. And the fact that this album was apparently just thrown together before heading out on tour is kind of a what? That's impressive. Yeah, agreed. I have a real soft spot for this song.

01:21:29I really do. I love this song. I love the atmosphere on it and the atmospherics. This is, again, I wouldn't say they're going full new wave, but they embrace it in a proggy way, which is kind of nice. Trevor Horn sounds eerily close to John Anderson on this. However, and I will read the lyric to you, Tiara, I think you would agree with me on this. I think John Anderson would have butchered this song from the very beginning because Trevor Horn has a very, he, on this

01:21:59This song is very crisp and to the point. So when it opens up with, you know, I asked my love to give me shelter and the way he says shelter, he breaks it up and he says, and all she offered me were dreams. John Anderson was like, no, she offered me were dreams and birds and flowers. And he would just keep going on and on. And it's like, we're already in the third. Yeah. Come on, dude. Yeah. Like catch up with you. And I really think Trevor Horn. This is the song where he, I think, does a great job.

01:22:29of kind of going in the direction yes had never gone in before. This song is definitely different. But there's some great fretless bass on here that just you're like, that's Chris Squire. Then you're like, I'm looking at the liner notes here and says he's not playing bass on this song. Trevor Horn, the guy who plays John Anderson. What? The guy who plays John Anderson. What is going on with this album? Yeah, right. And there's some nice stuff at the end of the song. I love the fade out. It's just this

01:22:59really cool.

01:23:30So, well, oh, go ahead. Let me just say one last thing. I can't believe we're on the last track already. Boy, time flies. And that brings us to Tempest Fugit. That's cheeky, George. Yes. That's cheeky, isn't it? I see what you did there because Tempest Fugit is Latin. Poor time flies. This song is less than five and a half minutes, but it has the feel of something longer and more epic.

01:23:58It's proggy but compact somehow. After an initial cool riff that starts the song, it goes into an even cooler riff driven by Squire's bass. Howl's tone is searing through this part, but then he uses a cleaner tone for the rhythm downbeats. Downs uses a vocoder for the yes parts. The song moves and has drive, and the frenzied guitar riff right before the two-minute mark sounds challenging to play. I like the jazzy yes chord.

01:24:28a cool song to finish the album in. I can only say cool music so many times. All the players are so far above my mere human ability that all I can do is sit back and marvel at their ability to create such controlled chaos. I like that. Controlled chaos, because that's what Chris Squire's bass sounds like on this song. This is one of his signature bass play. He's used this, the basic riff,

01:24:57that he plays because he's the lead bass player on this that he's used for years in his solo on stage when he does his solo called The Fish and he goes off and plays all these different parts like Sound Chaser for Real Air. This always gets thrown in there and it's always really cool to hear it. You're always like, please just play the whole song. John Anderson, you jerk. Just sing it. Because he's never wanted to do other parts of Yes when he sings. And it's understandable as a lead singer. But anyway,

01:25:27I love this song again I think Trevor Horn kind of conjures him a little bit more on this song

01:25:33there's great vocals between the rest of the band when they sing together there's a slight kind of ska feel on the guitar playing on this a little bit it has there's a little bit of police type reggae which yes they didn't play reggae itself but they embraced the reggae vibe and ska thing I don't think was ska even a thing at this point or were they

01:25:57kind of those bands that was starting to create that sound from England. And it's, you could hear it. You hear it on signals from Rush. You hear it on this song a little bit. And his guitar playing is really sharp like that. And it's kind of cool. And my comment here is makes me wonder if the police influenced them on this song. And I'm, I would guess that they did at that point because the police were one of the biggest bands in the world at this point, only going to get bigger, which is crazy. There's a lot of twists and turns. There's some great guitar work.

01:26:28This, like you guys said, a short song that packed a punch. It feels like it's just an epic song. It's a great way to end. So my questions are, is this song good? Yes, yes.

01:26:57Does Quist Squire slay? Yes, yes. Was this a great song to end the album? Yes, yes. I don't know what I'm referring to. That's the opening lyric. Yes, yes. And then you could hear the background. The bass is rumbling and getting ready to get big again. Very cool. It kind of, the bass playing almost reminds me a little bit of Heart of the Sunrise. The way it builds, it goes up, up, and it comes back down. And this song has a little bit of that. It doesn't sound, anything

01:27:32like I like yes just as much as you do. That's right. Yeah. And I had to bite my tongue for all the tales for traffic, oceans bashing that I had to endure. I told you if every song on an album was 10 minutes, it would have been their greatest album ever. I totally agree. Oh, no, we got to go. It doesn't need to go. We got to meander for another five or 10 minutes. I found some more percussions.

01:27:57Let me add five more minutes. Let me just kind of bash on it. Yeah, okay. Okay, that's cool. I'm going to just sing here in the corner for an hour. All right, let's wrap it up here. This version of Yes toured following this album. Trevor Horn had a hard time singing the earlier catalog and the band split up in early 1981. Subsequently, they reunited with John Anderson and he never really wanted to sing these songs, so much of this material didn't get played live until 2008 when they replaced Anderson with singer Ben

01:28:27David, who had been singing in a Yes tribute band. They replaced him in 2012 with John Davison, and he's still their vocalist. In 2016, they actually played all of drama in its entirety, along with sides one and four of Tales from Topographic Oceans, John. I know, it's just such a bizarre tour. So now for the three hours? Yeah. Oh, well, this was a dream set list for me. Squire was definitely missed since he had passed away in 2015.

01:28:57I saw them live and I lost interest in their studio output since Squire's passing. To wrap it up, Drama is an excellent Yes album that showed the band could really rock. To carry on there, I said this is much more of a rocking album than I anticipated going in. The playing is beyond ridiculously good. I liked it. I suspect for you guys this was like the last hurrah before the wheels fell off with 90125.

01:29:27Which I did my research and realized that this was supposed to be, or that rather, was 90125 was supposed to be a separate band called Cinema. Yeah, that's true. They didn't want it to be Yes. But then they brought John back in. John came in, it's like, well, okay, we gotta do this. But I get it because, I mean, I like the stuff on 901, or I like Owner of a Lonely Heart and one or two other ones.

01:29:55But after I finished this album, just as a little test, I went straight into that. And I was like, oh, yeah, it's just like a monkey beating on a rock compared to drama. I was like, okay, I get it. It's a drastic change. More drastic than Metallica between Injustice and the Black Album. A monkey beating on a rock. I'm just saying that it was not nearly as technical.

01:30:25The Beating on the Rock. It's like the most robotic monkey beating on the rock. It's like those little monkeys that got me clapping. George is just like one hand clapping, but he was pounding on the rock. I am the sound of one hand clapping. I'm going to have to take umbrage with what you said. I actually like 90125 a lot. Yeah. I didn't think you did because every time I say Owner of a Lonely Heart, you give me crap. Because Owner of a Lonely Heart is like the song.

01:30:55It's become pretty much their best known song. Yeah. Well, like amongst like in the popular, like among non yes fans, it's become their stairway to heaven on the radio for me. And so I like it. However, I like the live version better because they have the intro from make it last attached to the beginning of owner of a lonely heart. But songs like hold on changes. It can happen. Oh, yeah. Arts. I digress then. I crap. Those songs are awesome. I did not know that you actually liked.

01:31:25The Albums, the album, it was just the song. I saw them three times on that tour. And I will take umbrage. I do think Trevor Rabin is a great guitar player. I don't care what old Yes fans say. Yeah. But I agree. I really wish they were called Cinema. I just do. And I really wish we got that 20-minute song that we'll never, ever hear that's never been leaked online. So anyway. It was probably just something off of topographic. Oh, no. Hey, look, I love some of their long songs. Close to the Edge.

01:31:55and Gates of Delirium are two of the 10 greatest prog epics ever in my mind. I don't, yeah. It's just, and I do like the revealing signs of God. It's just, all right, does it have to be 23 minutes long? So anyway, real quick to my points on this, I love drama. It's definitely one of my favorite Yes albums. I don't care that there's a different singer. I think he was right for this album. But he'd been right going forward. That's a whole different story. But for this particular album,

01:32:25It worked really well

01:32:26I thought Jeff Downs

01:32:27did a decent job

01:32:28He didn't have to be Rick Wakeman

01:32:30He didn't have to be

01:32:31was it Patrick Mraz

01:32:32Didn't have to be those guys

01:32:34That's okay

01:32:35It works

01:32:36And I think it's a great album

01:32:37I wish they would have

01:32:38continued with this sound

01:32:39I wish Rush would have

01:32:41continued with that sound

01:32:42And I wish the band Saga

01:32:43would have continued

01:32:44with this sound

01:32:45a little bit longer

01:32:45than they did

01:32:46before they fully embraced

01:32:48the 80s

01:32:49We can debate whether

01:32:51those albums are good or not

01:32:52on a different episode

01:32:53But I think it's a great album

01:32:54Yeah, I think you make a good point because I really kind of wish that this lineup had done at least one more album. One more. At least one more. Because I really wonder what that would have been like if they just had that chance to kind of explore that sound just for a little longer. Because I think when you've got like, when you think about the people that were in that band and you've got Rick Wakeman, you've got John Anderson, you've got a number of

01:33:24different people bringing music to that band. I'm sure it was like a battle for people to like to kind of get their stuff kind of into the band. And when you take out two big songwriters and two, it gives more room for, this is where like basically Squire and Howe had to really step up to be the primary songwriters of this band.

01:33:53other than of course the horn and downs stuff that they brought in as buggles. But like when you think about like how much Squire and Howe had to do on this album because of the lack of the songwriting that you would have gotten from Wakeman and John Anderson, I think it almost benefits the band because you don't have all these ideas and stuff getting crammed in.

01:34:22And I think that's why this kind of sounds more focused and more taught. Because it just, it's leaner. And you've got one primary idea that's coming through, or maybe two. And they, I think sometimes some of the Yes music at that time, prior to this, was starting to suffer from multiple, like everybody's playing and it's just, it's too much.

01:34:51They had to trim the fat, no doubt. I agree with you. I will say what's interesting, you brought up something about them being leaner and more to the point and more direct. It's obvious that this album ended up leading to a Prague supergroup that became a very popular and now a meme, unfortunately, thanks to 40-year-old Virgin, which is kind of funny. But this kind of led to the formation of Asia. Yeah. With Jeff Downs and Steve Howe getting together with Carl Palmer and

01:35:21And I'll be honest, you can hear a little bit of the crossover between the two, not as proggy on Asia's first album, but it's there a little bit. So no, but, but how's guitar style definitely is translated over to Asia. Like the things that he was doing in Asia, he was doing on this album. Yes. It started here. Yeah, I agree. All right. So before we wrap this up, TR, where does this fit? I asked this question earlier, where does this fit on your? Yes. Just, and you have to,

01:35:51to say just for today, I can live with that. So I will say this is definitely top three. Oh, yeah. All right. One is obviously Tales from Topographic Ocean. I don't know if I would put that up there. I don't. And I don't. It's so hard for me to rate these because honestly, each of these albums, each of these Yes albums kind of has a whole different mood and vibe. And there's different great things about each one. For right now, who do you got ahead of it?

01:36:20I don't know who I would put ahead of it.

01:36:23It just seemed like number three.

01:36:25Yeah, exactly.

01:36:26It's like there's got to be something.

01:36:28There has to be a one or two.

01:36:30Yeah, I mean.

01:36:30I know what one of them is.

01:36:32One of them has to be Close to the Edge.

01:36:33I know that you love that.

01:36:34Well, yes.

01:36:35Close to the Edge is an excellent album.

01:36:38And, you know, the thing is, is like there are parts of other albums like Fragile and the Yes album that are pretty good.

01:36:46But like as a whole cohesive album, it's like, I don't know if I'd put it all the way up there, but there's certain moments in those albums that are like, wow, this is really outstanding. And then again, like, yeah, there's parts of albums where you're like, man, this is really incredible. I love this part. But like Tails, it's, you know, if they maybe cut out some of this 10 minutes of meandering, I might have thought this was like the most awesome thing they ever did.

01:37:13Ritual would have been their best song ever had they done that.

01:37:16Yeah.

01:37:17So.

01:37:18Yeah, I can't.

01:37:18Well, I'll commit real quick.

01:37:19I just, okay, you do it.

01:37:21All right.

01:37:21And then maybe you'll see.

01:37:23Why not?

01:37:23Okay.

01:37:23So I don't have, I flip flop on my number one.

01:37:27It goes back and forth.

01:37:28So I have a 1A and 1B and they flip flop.

01:37:311A and 1B, not, this is not the order today.

01:37:34They're just, they're up there.

01:37:36It's Close to the Edge and Relayer.

01:37:37Those are my two favorite yes albums.

01:37:39Okay.

01:37:40Generally Relayer gets the nod because I think the Gates of Delirium

01:37:43is their best song they ever wrote. That's just me. My personal opinion. But then I listened to NUNI and Siberian Catru and I'm like, that's better than the second side of Relayer. So that's my 1A, 1B. I would put the Yes Om at 3 because the Yes Om was similar structurally to drama. Only six songs, a couple short ones, some long ones. But I do like the deeper tracks. Like, can't even think of the song now. Perpetual Change. Yeah. I kept thinking of Perpetual Motion.

01:38:13I mean why and then this is where it gets dicey drama kind of pushes up to four because as much as I love fragile I can get rid of the fluff on fragile too yeah there's some fluff on there you know five percent for nothing I would rather take nothing thank you yeah mood for days great and the fish are great I like those songs we are having to get dumped in the here goes John Anderson with the trees again but so it it's four a and four b with me when it comes

01:38:43of fragile and drama.

01:38:45Okay.

01:38:46I'm starting to understand what Matt feels like on the other podcast.

01:38:50Oh, wow.

01:38:52On that note.

01:38:55All righty.

01:38:56So we have our third album.

01:38:59I'm really curious to see what you guys think about this because I picked a different album.

01:39:05For my album, again, it's in that range of 1980 to 1983 that I just can't get out of.

01:39:12I got to move on I got to break out of this at some point but there's so many good albums

01:39:18I went with Bloyster Colts Fire of Unknown Origin released in 1981 on June 22nd recorded in the spring in 1981 it was the band's I believe eighth album yes I'm having trouble reading my notes because it's late in the night and it was the last album to feature all the original members that started with the first album not all physical original members

01:39:43Some people like to talk about that guy. He played like one note in somebody's garage. He's the original guitarist. Not that kind. These are all the five band members that have been with the band since the first album. This was the last one to feature them. It was a return to form for the band, at least on a commercial level, with the song that kind of broke out as one of their big songs called Burner for You. I'm sure you've all heard that if you're into classic rock. It's probably their most consistent album since their album Secret Treaties that came out in 1974.

01:40:12All the band members contribute on this album. Not only are they all great musicians, but they all contribute to writing. And there are three different singers in the band, although one, Eric Bloom, sings the majority of the songs on this album. It features some great musicianship from their guitarist, Buck Drama, which is not his real name. Or Dharma. Drama sounds better. I just got done with the album, Drama. Yeah. Spell check. Jerk. So, Dharma.

01:40:42Thank you.

01:40:42Thank you.

01:40:43Which now makes me think of the show lost when I know.

01:40:46Yeah.

01:40:46The Dharma initiative.

01:40:48Exactly.

01:40:49What was that all about?

01:40:50The album as an interesting history in that.

01:40:53They were paid to do the soundtrack or at least some of the songs to the.

01:40:59Animated film,

01:41:00heavy metal,

01:41:00which came out at that time,

01:41:02which was based on the kind of adult racy animated magazine,

01:41:07heavy metal,

01:41:09but ended up only having one track on the sound.

01:41:12track itself, which was not intended for the album to begin with, which is kind of interesting. You probably wouldn't know a lot of these songs if you're not a Bullister Cult fan, but I think this album's packed with some of their great songs in itself. There are some songs you've probably heard if you are a classic rock fan. We'll get to those in a bit. But again, there's only one super standout on this album, which is Burner For You. And for a band that's been around for 50 plus years, they only have a few songs that people probably know.

01:41:42off the top of their head if they're not big fans of the band. Three. There's really three. That's it. Godzilla, you've heard that because he picks up a bus and he throws it back down. Go Godzilla. And you all had a fever for some cowbell for Don't Fear the Reaper. So you've heard those songs and you've heard Burner for You, but that's about it. Yep. Sadly, this band's underrated and they're mischaracterized as a metal band. They're not a metal band. They're heavy and they've influenced a boatload of metal bands.

01:42:13They have. They've influenced even bands like Opeth that TR and I have seen a gazillion times. I know, George, you like some of their stuff. Yeah. They've influenced just about everyone in hard rock and metal, and you may not know it. With that said, let's get into it. Anyone have a, actually, before we go, do you guys have anything to say about it? When we were picking albums after the last episode, John was acting all like, oh man, I hope you guys don't hate this one too much.

01:42:42And I got worried. Like maybe he was going to choose. Yes, but I did that. But when he said blue oyster cult, I was like, bro, I'm all in all in. I'm not as well versed in BOC as I would like to be, but I've always been a fan in one way or another for as long as I've been into rock music. So I was ready to dive into the tracks on this one that I did not know. Cool. They are. So BOC is a band.

01:43:11I never really got into.

01:43:13I know the hits and thought some of their songs were pretty cool,

01:43:18but didn't get any of their albums.

01:43:21My buddy Alex has always liked them and tried to get me into them as did my buddy Colin.

01:43:28And they were both convinced that this would be a band that I would get into.

01:43:32I can't explain it,

01:43:33but I just never got hooked.

01:43:35That's the who.

01:43:36This album has many of the ingredients of what I would like.

01:43:40Multiple Guitars Produced by Martin Birch, tracks used in the movie Heavy Metal. So I was eager to give it another try. And I'm grateful that John picked this album. I'm really glad to hear your friends have been trying to get you to like them because this is a band. Either you like them or you don't. However, when I say you don't, it doesn't mean you hate them. You just can't get into them. I don't know any fans that like, oh, I hate Boyster Cult.

01:44:10It's like, I just never got it. And that's a completely different thing. And there's a reason why. They're kind of weird. They are. They're kind of strange. They're a little quirky. They're quirky. Quirky is the best way to describe this band. And you stole my damn notes. And that's pretty much how to describe them. And no better album to show that than this one, which is a quirky album. It's strange. It's weird. And it's great. At least I think it is.

01:44:39So let's kick it off. The album opens with Fire of Unknown Origin, which is the title track. This was originally intended for their fourth album, Agents of Fortune, from 1976. It was a B-side kind of, and it never really gained any traction. The original is just okay. It's not that great. This one's a killer tune. It's a great opener of hard rock mixed in with those early 80s synths. This is a band that really embraced that synth sound. But they kind of did it in a cheeky way a little bit.

01:45:11There's a bit of sense of humor with this band. They're not goofy. I think they take themselves seriously with their playing and songwriting, but they don't take themselves seriously at all. I think they have a little bit of fun with some of their lyrics. They go in different places, and this is no better place than... This is actually the best place to start when it comes to that. There's a driving base to it. There's these swirling synths, and you think the song's going to go one way, and then here comes some great guitarists.

01:45:39Guitars.

01:46:09with this eclectic flair all mixed into one. The lyrics, I believe, are written by Patti Smith. I think you've all heard her. What they're about, I have no idea. I've heard some people say that she wrote them about Jim Morrison's death. Some people say this is about extraterrestrials, dying in a car crash or a disease or any other kind of unknown death. Or smoke another one. Maybe it just represents that burning passion that consumes people. Who knows? It's up to interpretation.

01:46:38But the most important aspect of this song, and I mean this is the most important, you can set this in stone. George will appreciate this. This song was used in season one, episode 17 of the television show, Supernatural. Entitled Hell House, the episode. Writer Trey Calloway is a longtime Boyzor Cult fan. Thank you, Trey, for including this wonderful song.

01:47:08in the greatest television show ever. Yes, it is. Dean and Sam would approve. Hell yeah. So I didn't have a lot to say. I said there's a nice solid beat. I liked the synths contrast. I disagreed with you on the, you said it was very hooky. I didn't, I'm not disagreeing with that, but I said it was a subtle vocal melody, but cool. Like it wasn't shout, shout, shout.

01:47:39I would agree. Yes. It's a very subtle. It's subtle. But it's subtle in a way that makes you go, hmm? You know? And I don't remember why I said this now because I don't remember the words, but I said I can't help make a lyrical comparison to the Ramones KKK took my baby away. No, I can get that. Yes. And then I ended with solid album opener. Yeah. And I think Hooky,

01:48:08What I mean, are catchy meaning once it grabs a hold of you, it does not release you. Yeah, no, I can agree with that. And it builds and kind of becomes. Yeah, so I can attest to that. And so this has a cool groove and a driving beat. It's pretty catchy. And I found myself randomly singing the chorus during the day as I was getting prepared for this. It's kind of insidious because like initially I listened to this and I thought, oh, yeah, it's pretty good. It's all right. You know, whatever. Subtle.

01:48:38And then later it was just like fire the new origin took my baby away. Yeah. And then like it gets in your mind. It's almost melodramatic a little bit too without being over excessive. So and I'll get to this later but like there's an element to Mark. Is it Mark Bloom? Eric Bloom. Eric Bloom. Yeah. So there's an element to Eric Bloom's vocals where I feel like he's a decent singer.

01:49:08But there are some tracks on this album where it feels like he's singing, but his vocals aren't like as powerful as they could be. They do not extend themselves as vocalists at all. Yes. And that was like one of my biggest disappointments of this album. And I'll get to some of that later. But like this track, some of the vocals on this track kind of seemed a little weak to me. Like it just seemed like it could have been a little subtle.

01:49:37I don't know how to explain it but just it seemed like and I know he also plays guitars yes and I know like he was more probably more of a guitarist than a singer when he joined this band because I think like they you know discovered he could sing and it was like oh why don't you be the singer and so I kind of feel like yes he's the lead singer from this band and he's the main the primary singer for this band but I don't feel like he sings because he can and it's like but I don't know how to sing it but I don't know how to sing it but I don't know how to sing

01:50:07I don't think he was like a real singer like I think he was like I don't think he was like classically trained as a singer oh no I agree and you can tell that like I mean he's an adequate singer and there are certain songs on this album where he sings really well and I'll get to that later but this song it was kind of like man like if you just put a little more into it it kind of probably would have even been better if you just tried a little yeah just try a little harder yeah I and I wonder if

01:50:37This band is a band that realized we shouldn't extend past what we are capable of doing. Huh. And it just makes me wonder that sometimes because the vocals from all three singers on this album, nobody pushes it. They know they kind of stay in their lane. They're and yeah, they're adequate, right? Like it's like this is acceptable. This is like, okay, nobody's a bad singer by any means. No, but nobody's like really a great singer either. You know what I mean? Like there's no there's no deal. Yeah, exactly.

01:51:07Yeah. So, but there's no Vince Neils either. No, thankfully. Oh, so, and then the only other thing I've mentioned about this is it, and I don't even know why, because it doesn't really sound like it. It sounds nothing like it, but it, and maybe it's just like the keyboard sounds or the vibe of this song, but it reminded me of street of dreams by rainbow, which came out a little bit after this. I don't know why it doesn't. It's, it doesn't sound like it.

01:51:37But for some reason, like, I,

01:51:39and I think the fact that it's just,

01:51:41maybe it's the tones of the keyboards and the other,

01:51:44just the recording quality and everything of that.

01:51:47It's just that same period of time when that was recorded.

01:51:51And maybe Martin Birch did that album. I don't know,

01:51:54but it kind of reminded me of that for some reason.

01:51:57The interesting thing about this song is that when you hear those sense at

01:52:00the beginning, you're like, Oh no, you kind of do that.

01:52:04And then you hear Buck's guitar come in right after that entry. He goes, oh, no, this is gonna be cheesy. And then they go to the next section. He does this really cool guitar thing. And then you're like, okay, that part that I thought was cheesy is kind of cool now. It kind of goes with us. And that's how this, I agree. That's how this song got me. At first, I was like, I don't know if I like this. And then after the third play, I'm like, oh, my God, my head's exploding. I love this song so much. And I think that's the subtle catchiness of this song. Yeah. These are all great comments.

01:52:34I wanted to hear all different stuff from how I feel. I will say, this is one of my early albums. This is one of the ones, like my first 10 final albums I ever bought. This was one of them. Nice. Yeah. So, or was it Someone Chained the Evening, the live album? One of the two, I can't remember, but this was up there. So the second song on this album is one of their biggest songs, and it wasn't even intended for the album. It was supposed to be on a book. Dharma's solo album called Flat Out, but he was convinced by the manager.

01:53:03I've also read the band convince him but they convinced him to include this on the album and boy was that a smart choice because this song blew up for them and sadly this is one of the only songs that blew up for them up to this point I should say because everything after this gets a little sketchy for me but if you haven't heard it I'd be surprised if you're a hard work fan this is burning for you how could you have not heard this this is a staple still on on radio today it's a

01:53:39I never get tired of hearing of this song right but it's like deliverance from

01:53:44opeth like Tara every time she plays something different then it starts and then it's like

01:53:51and then like halfway through yeah when they come in at the end yeah and then I'm like my neck ah because I'm head

01:53:58And that's what this song is for me. As soon as it starts, you're like, because I've heard it at least a thousand times. Then you get to the middle song. You're like, this song is so freaking good. It's unreal. It's such a well-written song. It's incredibly played. There's really not much to say about it. If you haven't heard it, it was heavy rotation on MTV when it was there. And this is one that features Buck Darmond vocals. This is one. He sings on two of their three biggest hits, which is

01:54:32It's just a great hard rock song. It's structurally written really well. Everything is placed. Everything from intro to verse to bridge to chorus to solo to ending the song. It's all done. Again, I'm not big on lyrics, but I find their lyrics kind of interesting. I think this one, again, is longing, pursuit, passion for love. I mean, it's interesting that these are their first two lyrical contents, and then they get a little weird. A little. Slightly a little.

01:54:58It's just a great song. If you haven't heard it, go listen to it. It's... Do it now! And it's also a sad song because it makes me realize, why wasn't this band bigger? Because they're so influential. They had so many great albums. But this is all people now, unfortunately. So... This was the monster single on the album, I said. I've loved this one for decades. It's catchy as hell. Again, the drum and bass are tight. Guitar hangs out on the side.

01:55:28and then it kicks into overdrive and i would say this probably gets as much airplay as don't fear the reaper possibly more i mean i hear them both but i feel like i hear this one more frequently but maybe that's just my xm channel well i think it gets classic rock and then it also gets the 80s channel so i think it kind of spills over to a couple different channels which i think you're right i think it does get more airplay and it might even be like a more

01:55:58pop song than

01:55:59Oh, I agree. Don't fear the reaper. I mean, don't fear the reaper is kind of a like

01:56:04it's got that solo that's like in a different key. I mean, it's just it's weird. Like it's a little different and it's a little more progressive than this song is a little more niche. Yeah, but yeah, definitely the hit and for good reason is catchy throughout the riffs are killer. The harmonized dual guitar leads and a great solo. I have the 45 of this and I played it.

01:56:32It's a standout. So we move to the third song, which is the song that was included on the heavy metal soundtrack. And that is the song Veteran of Psychic Wars. This is a kind of bombastic synth-soaked song with marching drums throughout it as the foundation. The vibe is bleak but powerful. It's a great,

01:56:57twist on the album, but a great song that kind of just takes you to a different place. Now it's become more sci-fi all of a sudden on this album. Things just got weird really fast and I kind of dig it. If there was a soundtrack for a science fiction film at this time, this might be included on it. Oh wait, there was. It was called Heavy Metal. What? I'm talking real science fiction like with real actors. Come on. Okay. But you could see this song being used. It's like baseballs. No, it's great.

01:57:26I actually thank you and your wife are making whoopee that's a newlywed game reference for you older folks yes I actually TR I think on this song I think Eric Bloom's vocals really do match because I don't think he does too much he doesn't try to do too much and I think it kind of gives it more of a dramatic and dynamic feel it's not over the top but it kind of fits you kind of feel like you can understand who the protagonist is in this song yeah

01:57:56which kind of is cool. The song lyrics were written by cyberpunk godfather Michael Moorcock. Is that his name? Really? Yes. He's the Elric guy. That's more fantasy. Yeah. I stole some stuff from online. I borrowed some of this stuff. You know, I didn't realize that. That's interesting. That makes sense. He's a science fiction author and editor of the New Worlds magazine. I did not know that. As much as like B.O.C., I'm not a super fan. They have super fans that really do.

01:58:26a lot about this band. I'm not one of them. I just love a lot of their stuff. To me, it was great that they included this on the heavy metal soundtrack. It fits. It's one of the better songs on the soundtrack, even though I love almost all the songs on that soundtrack for as weird as they are and for them not being very metal. And it's a true Boister Cold classic, in my opinion. So I said that this was another well-known track. I don't know if it actually is, but I was aware of it anyway. But to be honest,

01:58:56I never really heard it all that much so it was kind of cool to focus on it. After focusing on it I said it's a very cool tune that maybe isn't as commercial as radio would favor. It's got sci-fi storytelling but it has really cool atmosphere that backs up the storytelling and I was curious but now that you've mentioned Michael Moorcock maybe not I was thinking that given the year that this came out is this possibly a commentary on post-Vietnam PTSD?

01:59:27I believe yeah I think there's I could be mistaken but I thought that was some people speculated that about the song yeah because just the the I don't know the the feeling that it comes through in the lyrics yeah I mean I think that's probably tied in but I it seems more of like a relationship song right like where somebody's in a relationship with somebody else that is just energy vampire yeah maybe

01:59:56Because at the end, it's like he's saying, is this victory? Basically, like somebody has kind of defeated him. And that was my interpretation of it. Maybe like, I mean. I was all like Starship Troopers on this. Maybe that, well, it could be. I don't know. I mean, like, but my interpretation was more of like, almost like a relationship. And like being in this relationship with somebody that just like has like mentally drained you completely. I don't know. That's an interesting thing.

02:00:26about their lyrics, I think they're really open to interpretation because you can gleam a lot of stuff from their lyrics. Yeah. You wouldn't be wrong necessarily. Right. Yeah, exactly. There are multiple interpretations, I guess, that you could take of this. Right. No, I could see what you're saying. Yeah, definitely. Huh. Okay. Cool. So I, I said, obviously, again, the track used in heavy metal, which is cool. I remember thinking. And ironic.

02:00:56Yeah, exactly. The fact that they didn't even intend this for that movie, but they used it for it. I remember thinking that the lyrics were kind of weird, like, don't let these shakes go on. I mean, I don't know. That was kind of weird to me. PTSD, man. But they make sense with the whole vibe of the song. The rat-a-tat of the drums give it a militaristic feel, which is fitting. I really like the guitar solo section. All right. So move on to song four, Soul Survivor. It's a short song coming in.

02:01:26is at four minutes. It's a little bit slower song. It kind of starts off with this steady bass and drum beat and then kind of switches into some swirly synths. The chorus is somewhat bombastic, and it sounds to me like they've got another singer on there. Oh, yeah, that's right, they do. Carla DeVito, who I guess was at the time somewhat of a well-known singer. But it's kind of unusual to hear female vocals with the BOC song.

02:01:54thematically,

02:01:55it's kind of a follow-up storyline to the veteran of psychic wars.

02:01:59Again,

02:01:59I'm borrowing this information from other people's opinions on the songs,

02:02:03because I really don't know how to interpret their lyrics sometimes,

02:02:07because you're right.

02:02:08You are that sometimes you do the yes of hard rock.

02:02:12Some of their lyrics.

02:02:13Yeah.

02:02:13They just,

02:02:14some,

02:02:14they don't make sense.

02:02:15And that's,

02:02:16I think kind of the charming aspect of the band where they don't necessarily take themselves fully serious.

02:02:22I mean,

02:02:22come on,

02:02:22they wrote a song about Godzilla.

02:02:24Yeah.

02:02:25It's like the greatest monster song ever written.

02:02:27Yeah.

02:02:27So I wouldn't say this is one of my favorite songs off the album,

02:02:30but I,

02:02:31and it seems like two different songs a little bit from the verse versus the chorus a little bit.

02:02:37Yeah.

02:02:37The chorus is a little more bombastic and bombastic might be a bombastic might be a bombastic description of that because it's not that big,

02:02:46but the chorus is a little bigger and it's a decent song.

02:02:49I like it.

02:02:50And it kind of breaks up the vibe a little bit of the album and takes you down a notch just to kind of give you a, okay, we've had three big songs to lead off the album and let's slow it down a little. So I was not familiar with this one, but it didn't take long to dig its hooks into me. And to me, it sounded that like lyrically, it could be a sequel to veteran because it kind of continues. It's like I was in the psychic war. Now I'm the sole survivor.

02:03:20I don't know, but I really love the upfront bass playing on the whole album so far. It's very not Jason Newstead on Metallica and Justice for All. Or Nikki Sixx on. Yeah. And then there's the line, Cursed with Second Sight. Is this a possible future inspiration for Maiden's Seventh Son? Perhaps. Yeah. So the chorus is pretty catchy, but the rest of the song didn't do too much for me.

02:03:51The Solo was cool, and I liked the guitar tones on this song. But John, I'll agree with you. It felt like, when I listened to this song, I kind of felt like they had this catchy chorus, and they're like, what do we do with this? We got to kind of fill it out somehow. And they added the rest of the song to it. And you got to get through the lyric to get to the catchy chorus, it seems like. I don't know. That's how I felt when I listened to this.

02:04:19Like that, hey, we got this cool chorus, and it's catchy, and it's going to stick in your mind. But the rest of the song kind of just like, I don't know, it kind of vanished for me. I don't know. In retrospect, the Soul Survivor chorus kind of reminds me of a Rainbow song. Not a specific one, but just like it could have been one. Soul Survivor. I don't know. Ignore me. I think the influence of Martin Birch is pretty apparent on the song. Yes, I agree. And I think,

02:04:49that shows. Yeah, I don't disagree with ETR at all. I actually like Darren the Verse, which there's not really much to the verse musically, but I do like the kind of synth atmosphere that they create on it, which is now a complete opposite of the quirky kind of, I wouldn't say cheesy, but those type of synths off of Firerunner and Origin. I mean, they kind of run the gamut here on things that they're doing, which they never stick to one thing, which I think is interesting about this album because that becomes,

02:05:19It's even more apparent that they're going to switch things up again with the fifth song, which is called Heavy Metal, The Black and Silver. It's the shortest song on the album. I love this song. This is a song that I really gravitated towards as a kid because it's the heaviest song on the album. It's their most metal song on the album, even though they're not a metal band. And I just love the jagged, kind of rough, abrasive guitar sounds that Buck creates on this song. I think it's great. It's got, again,

02:05:49Some interesting vocals. I'm not as harsh on Eric Bloom. I don't think you're being harsh on him, but I kind of think he's a little better. Maybe not great, but I like him on this song for some reason. It works for me. The bass is kind of thundering in the background. I think it becomes apparent they're all great musicians. Outside of Buck, I don't think anyone stands out as like a virtuoso. I think he's an underrated guitar player by like leaps and bounds, but they're all really good musicians and they sound so good as a band. And it shows.

02:06:22The Iron Sun, Crossing the Universe Through the Black Holes by Adrian Berry. Don't know it. Kind of interested now about it since I found that out. This song's kind of cool, so maybe I'll check it out. And it's also the third song released in 1981 called Heavy Metal. We've got the song Heavy Metal off of the Heavy Metal soundtrack and also off of the album.

02:06:49called Standing Hampton by Sammy Hagar. Oh, yeah. We also have a song called Heavy Metal. Taking a ride on heavy metal. Mr. Don Filder. Yeah, that's so wrong. Off of what album? The album Heavy Metal. Yes. From what movie? The movie Heavy Metal, I think. That decided not to use Heavy Metal in their soundtrack. So I just thought it was really funny.

02:07:19that we have three songs off of these. Three songs that came out right around this time that are all called Heavy Metal. That's why I thought it was ironic that there's a song from this album on the Heavy Metal soundtrack, but it's not that one. I don't think that was, I think this song might have been inspired by the Heavy Metal soundtrack and being involved, but I don't think this was ever intended to be part of that album or part of that soundtrack. I'm not sure about that. I've never been able to find enough information about what was and wasn't.

02:07:49It's supposed to be on the album outside of one song.

02:07:51But apparently they were tagged to potentially do the soundtrack,

02:07:55which would have been kind of interesting if they did.

02:07:58One thing I did not know is that this song apparently is part of a continuum of works

02:08:03that make up something called Cold Light, which was an epic,

02:08:08which is represented on a bunch of different songs from the band, as I understand it.

02:08:13I could be wrong.

02:08:14I got this from a site called Genius.com.

02:08:16Somebody posted that.

02:08:17So I don't know if that's true or not.

02:08:19I just thought it was kind of interesting that's all I got for the song other than the fact I just love it it's the shortest song I know it's not a fan favorite but I think it's a great deep cut for the band yeah I remember hearing this one on the old 80s radio show metal shop you guys remember that and I taped it off the radio so I had this on an old cassette tape definitely the riffage is on the heavier side and it's another one that still gets some radio play and I liked the use of feedback towards the end

02:08:48So I said, oh man, this rocks. This sounds like Dio Lead Rainbow. Bloom's vocals sound the best on this song. This should have been in the movie. This might be my favorite track on the album. And John, this is what I was getting at. Like Bloom sounds like he really put his whole effort into like really singing on this.

02:09:17Whereas on the other songs, it's kind of like he's singing it, but it's not like he's really concentrating on making the vocals perfect. And I get that. You don't need to make everything perfect all the time. But on this song, you can tell like it was like, I don't know if someone was coaching him or like, hey, you need to really put something into it. But like his vocals on this sound phenomenal. And I really wish that.

02:09:47I really wish that had kind of permeated the other songs because I think it would have really given this album a little more of a boost if his vocals had been this good on the rest of the album. It just makes me wonder how much Martin Birch had to do with this on the vocals. I kind of feel like that because this like I said it sounds like Dio Led Rainbow which Martin Birch would have been all over and I kind of think that this was like their rainbow song.

02:10:16Like, it's like, okay, let's do a song on this album that kind of has a rainbow feel to it. Okay, yeah, let's do this. Heavy metal. I mean, he sounds like Dio on this. Like, not perfectly, but like, certainly like that range and like the, even the inflections. I mean, it sounds like Birch was coaching him to sound, this is what you need to sound like, do this. And I think it sounds awesome. Like, this is probably my favorite track on the album, because I think, I really wish like more of the album had been like this, because it was,

02:10:47I've thought this was excellent. Clearly my rainbow comment was a song too early. Yeah, maybe so. All right. So now we're going to move into the song that was actually intended for the heavy metal soundtrack. And that is Vengeance the Pack. Now, this is an interesting song because it is actually sung by the bassist, Joe Bouchard, who it's at first I didn't realize it was him singing. Then I had to go back and listen again. I was like, oh, yeah, he's just slightly different.

02:11:17than the other guys a little bit and again doesn't overextend himself singing but it opens with this kind of cool almost 19 early 80s horror film soundtrack you know kind of vibe that then it shifts into these kind of large catchy riffs there's a kind of a bombastic chorus to it the guitar solo is simple but it's classy has kind of a dreamy feel when it comes in and i just like how the song kind of weaves back and forth and does all these different things

02:11:46The middle section again continues with this kind of dreamy

02:11:51real feel on the vocals and then out of nowhere

02:11:55Birch shows up and says we're going to do some maiden

02:11:59we're going to get a giddy up on this song and it almost becomes

02:12:02maiden-esque this gallop that they do

02:12:04which is kind of cool because you're like

02:12:07okay where did that come from on this song and it kind of

02:12:11when I first listened to it I was like ah there's too many things going on

02:12:14I absolutely love this song now I could see where somebody might not but I kind of dig it it's kind of a sneaky list and it grows on you with time maybe a little sneaky and cheeky so now yes I mentioned this was originally intended for the movie heavy metal but it was next because apparently the producers felt that the song which described a 17 minute part of the film they didn't like the fact that the

02:12:44described and told the story in five minutes. That really doesn't make any sense to me, but they nixed it for that reason, apparently. And I'm sure I'm leaving out some details, but I just seems an odd thing to say, ah, we don't like this song because it tells the 17 minute portion of the movie, which is all different storylines like the magazine. They did it in five minutes. Screw those guys. Okay, whatever. So. So this is interesting. This is the first, this is the first for me, but.

02:13:14I didn't hear this song. I somehow missed this song. I just looked and the version on my phone does not have this song on the album. So I don't know if it didn't get copied or what, but I got nothing because I haven't heard it. Oh, no. I'll try to help you out here, George. So, yeah, written for the heavy metal movie but not chosen for the film. It basically tells the story of the Tarna segment.

02:13:43This would have been better than Devo's Through Being Cool, even though I like Devo. With the good! Yeah. I don't know. I felt like this was a cool song, but I can understand how, like, if you're going to have the song play and it tells everything in five minutes what you're going to do in 17, it might, I can see how that would be like, okay, if we're giving away the whole story in five minutes, I don't know.

02:14:13Maybe if you have it toward the end, like maybe that would be, that would work. Right. But I guess it's kind of weird because you would never play the whole five minutes during the movie. That's true. You play the parts of it. And so the idea is you would have to listen to the album beforehand. Now, you know, the story in five minutes. Yeah. Yeah. But I would think, Oh, but the movie's even longer. So I'm even more interested in this. Well, yeah. Although, so here's, so we talked a little bit about lyrics and.

02:14:43Some of the things like, so you said that you didn't think they were goofy, but I kind of feel like they were goofy. Like there are certain things that are goofy. And wait, that's not as much on this song. But there is one line in this song that I thought I thought I said their lyrics were kind of goofy and quirky, though. No, but you said you said that they were quirky, but they didn't. They weren't goofy. Oh, no, no. I meant goofiness. I said they were completely not taking themselves serious.

02:15:13I think there's a method to their madness I guess is what I need to add to this. Okay that's fair I mean yeah and I agree I mean so. I think they know what I think they know what they're writing is yeah as opposed to just slop and junk together for their lyrics. I can go with that I think there's a line in here that like kind of bugged me and it's when he that some of this is kind of like and I'll pull a John here and I'll relate it to some

02:15:42other album that has nothing to do with this. But there were parts of this song where they're just kind of pushing a bunch of words together to tell a story to fit it into the to the song and the lyric that was reminiscent of like Genesis from like Battle of Epping Forest where it's like there's too many words in this. There's too much that they're trying to squeeze into this lyric that they that it doesn't sound like you can fit it all in.

02:16:12And the one thing that really bugged me was instead of using the word stab, when he says he sticks, he says he sticks the sword and like, I don't know, I can't remember what the lyric was, but it had something to do with sticking the sword in the bad guy. And instead of saying stabbing, he said like, he sticks the sword as she sticks the sword in the thing. And it's just like, I don't know. It just sounded dumb. It's like, why don't you use the word stab or something like more kind of brutal than like sticks it in like from a,

02:16:42I stab at thee. Yeah, exactly. It's like, why wasn't it like stabbed? And so, so that was kind of like a disappointment on my part. Like, I don't know, it just hit me kind of the wrong way. But anyway, this was on the B side of the Burnin' For You 45. So I had a little bit of familiarity with it because it like, it was on the flip side of that record that I wore out. So anyway, I did like this song, but there were parts of it that I felt were like, okay, you're trying to put too much

02:17:12any words to tell a story into this song. And it sometimes just felt like a little bit like, okay, you're squeezing too much into this. Is this the heavy metal song? Soundtrack one. Vengeance of the Pack. No, that's what I meant. The one that was for heavy metal. Yes. Oh, yes. Correct. So they packed in too many lyrics in five minutes, which is why I got it cut. Yeah. Maybe. Yeah. The funny thing is there's really in terms of lyrical lines, there's not a lot of words. It's just, it just goes,

02:17:42goes on and on and on. But like songs like a Genesis song, like the lines on the stands would be huge. There'd be a lot for each line before you got to the next line of the stand. Yeah. Yeah. That's kind of how I felt about it. Like they were just like, then she did this and then she went to this and then did this. And then it's like, okay, you're saying a whole lot here, buddy. It's just like, it just seemed like they were packing so much into it. And I get it. They're trying to tell the story, but it just like, it just sounded like they were trying too hard to like pack it all in.

02:18:11I think the line you're referring to is I'll put an arrow in his head is that what you're referring to no no later on when she he sticks her with the sword he sticks him with the sword or she sticks the sword in or something like that slide it in straight to the top I'm actually reading the lyrics I don't see that anywhere about stabbing someone with a sword they don't use the word stab that was the problem well I don't see anything that says sword though all right don't oh there he is she sticks him with her sword yeah she

02:18:41Sticks him with the sword. That sounded like lame to me. She sticks it like eh. It's very British. I stick you with my sword. I stick you. It's just like stabbing. You could have said the word stab there. She stabs him with the sword. That would have been a more brutal term. The song needs to be more stabby. Got it. Maybe she's petite here. I don't know. I don't know why that

02:19:11Why that got to me, but that just got to me. I don't know why. It's stupid, but that was just like, stick someone with a sword? Come on. Don't stick anyone with a sword. Welcome to the Neurotic Music Podcast. Yeah, thank you. I was just going to say, is it a double entendre? Oh, maybe. Slide it in. Exactly. Yeah. From the band Whitesnake. Anyway, let's move on. We've got a few more songs. So the next song called After Dark. This is a perfect example.

02:19:41of the quirkiness of this band. It's this kind of punky vibe with all these synths all over the place and all wrapped up into a rock song. It's the perfect song if you're looking for when this band gets weird, this song is weird. It really is. It's got this punchy tempo, which is kind of nice. Another killer guitar solo on this I really like a lot. And lyrically, I've read this about vampirism, maybe, I don't know.

02:20:10Isn't there a movie by that name? After Dark, I believe so, yeah. Vampire movie specifically. Yeah, but if you read the lyrics, you can get some of that from there, but you can get other things. I think their lyrics are very interpretive, to say the least. But there's not much really to say. It's kind of a cool little punchy song. You know, it's not one of my favorites off the album, but it's decent. I liked how they used synth that would fit in perfectly with 80s pop.

02:20:52But this was like in the perfect spot.

02:21:09It's like I could hear the drums. It's not drawn on everything out. It's nice and punchy. Yeah. And I think you can thank Martin Birch for that too. His balance has always been good on his albums. Thank you, Martin Birch. I know you're dead, but thank you. Thank you. So I said, this song is okay. The guitar solo is rocking, but this song didn't really grab me. And I'll agree. Like the lyrics, after dark, I need you. After dark, I want you.

02:21:39After Dark. It's just like, okay, we're saying After Dark and we're throwing some kind of other stuff that's pretty basic. I don't know. I just felt like they could have done a better job with the lyrics. It's catchy. There's catchy parts to it, but it didn't really grab me. It's kind of stock. Yeah. You gotta remember, I really think that's the grandmaster plan of this band is that if you take their lyrics too seriously, you might be spending too much time.

02:22:10You've already spent too much time. Yeah, and I'm not digging on UTR. I think that's... No, I know. I get it. But I think that's part of the mad scientists of the band. It's not just a band writing shitty lyrics. Yeah, and I will say this, though. There is a catchiness to it, right? I mean, even though it may not be all that profound, the words sound kind of good together, right? Yeah, it's a little bit of what I talked about with Nikki Sixx.

02:22:39I found a way to put good words together for these choruses.

02:22:43They work.

02:22:44But yeah, I agree.

02:22:45This song has grown on me a little bit, but it's not one I'm going, hey, I got to put After Dark on first.

02:22:50All right, so the next song, which was mildly successful for the band at the time when it came out, is a song called Joan Crawford.

02:23:00So let's get weird, because this song is weird.

02:23:04Like I said, mildly successful.

02:23:06It did a decent job on the Billboard charts.

02:23:08It's a dark song, and it deals lyrically with the famous actress Joan Crawford. If you know anything about her, then you kind of get where this is going. It's somewhat tongue-in-cheek, especially with the lyric that Joan Crawford is risen from the grave. Oh, no, she's back. I hope she doesn't have any wire hangers. It's like a Misfits song. Yeah, I'm glad you said that, because my take was it reminded me a little bit of how Meat Loaf had

02:23:40It's got the big panel in it that kind of stands out and drives it and it feels show-tuney. But now that you mention the Misfits, I kind of see that too. I was never a super fan of this song, but the more I listened to it, the more I liked it because it is so strange. And it's a fan favorite. Fans love this song. And it just, that lyric, Joan Crawford has risen from the grave is so bizarre. But after a few listens, you're like, Joan Crawford has risen.

02:24:08from the grave. You're like, yeah, she's back. Yeah. You're all pumped up, smashing beers on your head, you know, kind of thing. It's just a weird song. Yeah. I love it. I heard this for the first time on Sirius XM like a year or two ago. I'd heard about it, but I hadn't heard it. And I heard it and I thought it was a hoot about the mother of the year, Joan Crawford from Mommy Dearest. A real terror, it sounds like. So that it's fitting that it's a horror themed song.

02:24:39And it's great. I mean, everything about this song, I like. I like the classical style beginning of the song. And the lyrics are a little too goofy for me. Yeah. You need to lighten up, buddy. I can't. I just, it's hard. This, the song is definitely catchy, but I feel the lyrics let it down. And what's with the sound effects solo? I mean, I don't know. Could you hear this in Rocky Horror?

02:25:08Oh, God, yes. Yeah, for sure. Yes. Yeah, and maybe that's why I have a problem with it. Like, again, that's like a kind of a musical, right? A little bit. I get the sense that this song endears the band to many of its fans, but I kind of see unfulfilled potential. Like, I feel if they had a really great lyric, it would have been an even bigger mega song. If they called it just Cindy Crawford. That's risen from the grave.

02:25:38Yeah. Get with the 80s. Come on. No. So I don't know. I think you know what you're being right now, TR? And you're fully entitled to feels like you're being a prog fan right now. Maybe so. I think you are. Maybe I am, but I just don't know what it is. Or you know who else you're being? You're being John when it comes to hair metal. Here's a prog joke for you. You're being a tool. Oh, I just saw them last night. Really?

02:26:08Yeah, I did. Wow, I didn't know they were playing. We can talk about that later. I think the goofy lyrics, but with the dark theme and then the kind of show tuning music kind of just adds to this band. It's just they know what they're doing. They're not just on a whim doing this. But that's, I totally get it because I didn't like the song at first and now I love it. So, yeah. I mean, it's definitely catchy. Don't get me wrong. Like, you're right. Like, it's catchy.

02:26:38I just feel like it would have been even better if it had been something more profound than that like I guess it's I don't know maybe I'm just expecting too much or like maybe I'm putting too much on this that Winston Churchill has risen from the grave nobody has to rise from the grave I think you should ask your two buddies who are BSC fans and I would be willing to bet you they would say you don't have much of a history with the band I mean their whole history is chalked with stuff like this yeah

02:27:08They wrote a song about Godzilla. Think about that for a second. They have other songs called Hot Rails to Hell and all that. Just all these bizarre titles to songs that make no sense. Yeah, and maybe I just need to get over it and just accept it for what it is. And maybe at that point, I'd probably love this band. I just, I don't know. For some reason, I just kind of get hung up on some of this stuff. Okay, look at it this way. You have to dig into the Blue Oyster Cult catalog or the Motley Crue catalog. Which is it?

02:27:38I'd pick probably blues. There you go. Fair enough. All right, let's wrap this up. We got one last song left and it's called Don't Turn Your Back, which is kind of quite a left turn from the song we just heard to a very kind of the final track of a catchy, straightforward song with the driving baseline, but kind of, I don't want to call them delicate vocals, but kind of subdued vocals from Buck Dharma. He comes back. They're very reserved, but they're somewhat effective. And it's,

02:28:08It's just a slightly different song. We're going to tone it down a notch and kind of close out the album. Lyrically, supposedly, it's about paranoia. I have a question mark on all the lyric descriptions because I think, again, they're all interpretive. The one thing that's nice about this song is there's an absolute killer guitar solo in this from him. There's this kind of driving, groovy bass line that kind of comes in with these atmospheric scents. Again, I can see where some people might not like this because this isn't necessarily a quirky song.

02:28:39This isn't kind of a weird song like the other ones on the album.

02:28:43But for some reason, I love this ending.

02:28:46But it's kind of a soft fade out, if that makes sense.

02:28:49They're not closing the album on a bang.

02:28:52Meaning it's like, we're going to end.

02:28:55It's not one of those kind of endings.

02:28:58It's just a nice gradual closeout.

02:29:01And I dig it.

02:29:03But I can see if people don't.

02:29:05Yeah.

02:29:05So little known fact, this track was originally titled. Don't turn your back parentheses on the reaper, but they dropped that because they were like, yeah, we did that already. But I thought this was a competent track. Sorry. I like the lead plane. It doesn't suck me like the rest of the tracks do, but I wouldn't label it. Not good. But it just wasn't the album.

02:29:35I'm closing bam that I was looking for that apparently John was looking for too oh yeah it's not a explosion ending it's just okay we're done we'll see you guys catch you tomorrow on the next album yeah I said the jazzy chords are kind of cool this song doesn't really go anywhere for me the guitar solo is excellent but another song let down by the lyrics it's not very melodic I don't know I just I get it

02:30:05It is kind of a just a little smooth kind of trail off kind of song. I don't know. I think and this is just me thinking right now talking speaking out loud about like, you know, I kind of feel like if you kind of changed some of the order, you probably could have had a better ending with a different song. And then this could have been kind of a maybe earlier on in the album to kind of break

02:30:35it up a little from some of the other

02:30:37rocking songs like you kind of

02:30:39put this somewhere else

02:30:41Joan Crawford would have been a good ender

02:30:43I kind of think so George I feel

02:30:45like maybe you have

02:30:47like it would have

02:30:49felt more like okay yeah this is

02:30:50the end of the album this kind of feels

02:30:53like they kind of tacked it on and it's like

02:30:55okay what is this and

02:30:57it's okay and everything but I don't know

02:30:59I've this is an interesting

02:31:01exercise for me listening to UTR

02:31:03because this band features

02:31:14Incredible.

02:31:35I'm having fun right now. No, but you know what? You're not wrong. But yet on this album, the lyrics are just crawling up your backside. Yeah, I don't know. It's so funny. And I don't know what that is. And we talked about this in an earlier episode of like, why do you like what you like? Exactly. Why don't you like what you don't like? And it's like, there's no logic to it. I mean, I agree. Plenty of stupid lyrics on UFO albums, right? Oh my God. Come on. Yeah, come on.

02:32:04And it's like, yeah. And, but at the same time, it's like, I don't know. Why would that, like, why would that get in the way here? Right? Like you're right. Buck Dharma, Donald Roser, amazing. Right? Like this guy. He's so good. And so he's incredible. And some of the stuff that he does on this album is outstanding, but yet like I'm getting hung up on the lyrics and it's like, give me a break. Right? Like, and so, yeah, I, I'm glad you said that because honestly I need to like, I need to

02:32:34I need to get checked.

02:32:37What is the expression?

02:32:38You can't see the forest through the trees.

02:32:40You can't see the trees through the forest or something like that.

02:32:42See the forest for the trees.

02:32:44Yeah.

02:32:44And that's what, and that's what this is.

02:32:46It just cracks me up.

02:32:47You're not wrong.

02:32:48I would, I completely can abide.

02:32:52Look, I, I do the same thing for,

02:32:54I got my own things that I've just never let go either,

02:32:57but I just, I'm having a good laugh about it because.

02:33:00I am too, because it's like,

02:33:01you're revealing something that like,

02:33:04I know I'm being stupid about this. No, not being stupid. It's just something that hangs up on it. It is. I mean, I'm getting hung up on like the dumbest little things on this album. And it's completely irrational because to be honest, like my final comment about this is overall, this album grew on me with multiple listens. And I have no doubt, like if I listen to this even more, it's going to be like something that like sticks in my mind. Like a lot of these songs that I just like kind of thought were like toss away tunes.

02:33:34Like Soul Survivor, that was another one where that chorus infiltrated my mind. And even after Dark, initially that song really didn't do much for me, but the more I listen to this album, the more it's like, yeah, this is a pretty cool tune. I don't know where that's coming from, but it's really weird because the first time I listened to this whole album, I was like, eh, okay, yeah, heavy metal, that's a cool tune. I like that.

02:34:03And I like, there's a couple other tracks that are kind of interesting. And then the more I listened to it, it was like, man, like this is like getting into my brain somehow. Like it's getting in there. It's like you're a veteran of the psychic wars. It has infiltrated your brain. You found that fire of unknown origin. Maybe I did. It's burning for you, baby. Don't turn your back on it. I won't because this is the pact I have. Or if you do turn your back, Joan Crawford's going to rise.

02:34:33I better look out for that. So I have to say real quick, if you guys are Seinfeld fans, this TR describing, this reminds me of the episode where George is trying to figure out a way to get this girl, this woman to be kind of hooked on him. And so he just says his name, Stanza, like that. And she just can't stand it. But then she can't stop saying his name and humming it later on. That's awesome. That's great. So just my final notes on the album, I purposely chose a quirky

02:35:03a strange album because I'm going to continue down that path now for some of my selections so I thought this would be a good one to break in because there are some hits I adore this album because it's part of my upbringing from like I said that early 80 to 83 period which was me from 12 to 15 where I cut my teeth on a lot of albums that have stuck with me that's why I picked so many from this period which I need to break out of a little bit but I'm a good Bloister Cult fan I'm

02:35:35I really appreciate everything they do. I have specific albums I love a lot. I think their live stuff, whether it was recorded in the studio or actually from the live tapes, it all sounds great. I just think they're a fabulous band that I wish more people would give more time to. And I think this is a great album to break into if you aren't sure where to go because Secret Treaties is a great album. I don't know if you get that necessarily right away.

02:36:03because they are not a straight down the middle band. They're a little off center. And there's a humor to them. And there's also an edge and fabulous playing. And Buck Tormer just so... We talked about McMars earlier. We're talking about Buck Tormer. He's just that good. He really is. And he's extremely influential to so many guitar players. That's all I got to say. I think it's a cool album. If you want to venture into a band that was considered heavy metal,

02:36:33that never was heavy metal for one minute other than maybe two or three songs. Definitely get lumped in. Yeah. So and the greatest. I'm sorry, George. I apologize. And the greatest logo ever in hard rock and metal. The hook and ladder is no hook and ladder. What's it called? The hook and cross. Excuse me. Yeah. Which is just so we were kids. You would see that everywhere all the time. So very cool. If you don't know what it is, look it up.

02:37:05So I think this album was great. It is deservedly a classic and maybe a bit underrated, as I think the band themselves kind of are. People know the hits, but they don't dig deeper than that. And that is something that I have been meaning to correct and was able to at least in part do so with this. So thank you. Yep, I agree. And I kind of spoke my piece about it. And I'm glad, John, that you,

02:37:32You did pick this one because I really I did enjoy like listening to this and like I said it's definitely grown on me and I think it will continue to do so. Like a fungus a fungus a fungus a mold. Like a monkey beating on a rock. You can't see this but they're both striking a rock with different arms. Or wait actually the same. No it was the same arm but like in different places. Yeah.

02:38:02which makes no sense but I don't know all right awesome I'm glad you guys were able to get through it and enjoy it so it was picked for a reason yeah so it was a very good pick as were they both so I enjoyed it yeah I actually enjoyed yeah I did too I really I'm glad that you guys picked the ones you did and I enjoyed listening to those and giving them a fair shake not that I wouldn't have I probably I was probably more biased against Motley Crue

02:38:32But I'm glad that you picked it because it was better than I expected. And as was even the Boyster Cold album, I actually ended up really liking that a lot. Keep that in mind next time I pick an album. Oh boy. Here we are at the end. Yep. I do want to just make a couple of notes because we did mention Tool. And I just saw their opening

02:39:02show in Baltimore last night. And it was phenomenal as always. I've seen Tool since what? 2004 or 2001, I think was the first time I saw them on the Lateralis tour, which was amazing. They always have phenomenal visuals behind the band. The band was tight. They had a band opening for them that I was

02:39:32I was really excited to see. And that's elder. Oh, wow. Yeah. Elder is opening for them on this leg of the tour. And they were, they, it was great because first of all, I really like elder a lot. My buddy Colin put me onto them and I felt like this was a great opportunity for them to expose themselves to a lot of rock people that maybe might not have known about them. I'm picturing them in trench coats now.

02:40:02They're not exposing themselves so much as their music. There you go. And so it was, they did a great job. The people that were there early, I think enjoyed them. I certainly did. It was great to see them get a bigger audience. I had seen them on, like, they did a solo tour earlier last year where they were the headliner. And I saw them like, like a club setting at a place called Underground Arts in Philadelphia, where they were the headliner.

02:40:32they were the headliner. And for them to be playing like the Baltimore Arena or whatever it's called now, CFG Bank Arena or whatever in Baltimore, that's probably one of the, I mean, unless they did a festival show, which they probably done, is probably one of the bigger audiences that they've actually played in front of, which I thought was really cool because Elder definitely deserves to be heard. I really like them a lot. Yeah, I'm surprised. I would not have expected them in that.

02:41:02setting, but that's great for them. Yeah, it was good. And they sounded great. And, and of course, Tool put on a great show as always. Danny Carey is a beast. That guy's just incredible. All the people in that band are phenomenal. And the, like I said, the visuals were incredible. And so, yeah, it's, it's Tool is always a good show. I don't know. It's one of those bands where it's like, so my buddy Alex went with me and he was just like, Hey, you want to go to Tool? And it's like, yeah, okay. I'm in.

02:41:32And so we went and I always like going to see Tool and everything, but it's like, it's kind of like the musical box, which is the Genesis tribute band that I've seen so many times. I end up like feeling like I've seen them so many times. Do I really need to go see them again? And once I'm there, I'm like, who am I kidding? This is, there's every, this is where I need to be. This is outstanding. This is a really awesome band and definitely needs to be,

02:42:01seen and heard. So it was a great show. I enjoyed it a lot. And so if this gets out in time for people to go out and see Tool and Elder, definitely go check them out. You know, since we're talking about stuff like that, I think since last episode, I have been to a show and that was Madonna in DC, which is tangential to this podcast enough to mention, but she, she is in the rock and roll hall of fame.

02:42:31Yes. And with good freaking reason. I mean, the last time I've seen her twice now, which is not something I ever thought I would say in my life, but, but I have, and she topped herself. This was absolutely hands down the most amazing musical performance I've ever seen. It really is. I mean, she was doing like a, a retrospective kind of tour where she,

02:43:01covered stuff from all her eras. And first of all, she does sing, which I give her props for because she does so much on stage to be able to do that and sing. The dancers, the stage show. Okay, she went on two hours late intentionally. This was the second night of the tour. The first night of the tour was in New York and she went on two hours late and they were like, ah, she went on two hours late. Clearly by the second night, it was intentional. And I think it's to mess with people's heads.

02:43:31to get them in this late, tired state of mind. Because that's where I was. I was like, this is my bedtime and you're not even up yet. Oh my God. And it was such a sensory overload of just every faculty that it was mind blowing. I mean, like towards the end of the show, I was just like, stop, I can't take anymore. It's too much information. It was amazing.

02:44:01Yeah, I know. John's flexing his shoulders like, it's good things not the Metalheads podcast. No, I was just going to say, I actually went to a show since our last episode as well, too. And mine's relevant to the podcast. Oh, and mine's not. Thank you very much. We haven't talked about Madonna as an album. Yes. Have we? We have. We have not. But maybe we will if you keep talking like that. Well, the point I was going to make was, Jen and I went and saw Zebra when they came through.

02:44:31Oh, that's right. Yes. That's the point I was trying to make. And we saw them at Rams Head in Annapolis, which is a tiny little place. And every time you think you pick a good seat, they're like, yeah, it's gonna be great. Then you realize you're sitting on top of like, eight other people and you can't move and it's really tight. And it was like that again, of course, but it was really cool to see them in a small venue. It was my first time seeing them in 38 or 39 years, which is really depressing considering how great they were.

02:45:01They Are Alive. Yeah. So. And John, you, so I also saw them like a little before you did, but the Keswick Theater in Philadelphia. And when I looked at the set list, you got a couple of, you got a couple of Zeppelin tracks that we didn't get at the show I saw, which I know they'd be really good at doing Zeppelin tracks. I'm kind of disappointed we didn't get those. Yeah. So just real quick on our show, we got the song Last Time in the Encore, which I was really,

02:45:31psyched to see them play. And we also got can't live without, which I don't think they had done much on the tour at all. And then at the end, I think we were supposed to either get cashmere or stairway to heaven. But we, since if you don't know the Rams head in Annapolis, it's a small place, but you can hear them talking on stage. I mean, it's dinner seating basically. And it holds, I think like 350 people, maybe max. It's small. It's small. Even though the, it's an odd.

02:46:01It's hard to describe. It is odd, yeah. The stage, it's like there's more chairs to the right of the stage right. And we were on the all the way stage left by the actual dressing room. We were the last scene there. And I thought it was going to be great. And I was like, this is going to be super. We're not going to get blocked. And we had some blocked view, but the band like literally walked by me a couple of times. I actually shook hand with Philly. She'll like the show. It's like, duh, kind of thing. At one point at Dirty Encore, they were getting ready to play their final

02:46:31And you can hear Felix saying, I'm sick of playing that song. We're doing something different tonight. You can see them all laughing on stage and everything. And he's like, apparently Felix doesn't want to play this song. So instead of playing one song, they played two Zeppelin songs. We got Heartbreaker and Since I've Been Loving You. And I was just like, this is so fucking cool. Yeah. So anyway, so yeah, there you go. I think we are at an end for today. Thank you. If you are still listening, we will.

02:47:01Be back next time with another episode for you of Unknown Origin. Number 10 is coming up. Yep. Big old number 10. Number 10? Oh wait, that was supposed to be this episode. Number 9? Number 9! Alright. Awesome. We'll talk to you next time. Thanks, guys. Alright, rock on. Bye. Peace.

02:47:42Субтитры создавал DimaTorzok