Never Say Die!

It’s not here because I only now discovered this album, or because I bought a new and amazing remaster that changes the game completely.  In fact, I stopped upgrading our original Paris (FNAC) purchased vinyl to 180 grain at Sabotage, so our vinyl version of this album is the one we bought in high school in the 1980s.  I do have a remastered CD (2004 Universal/Sanctuary).

I’m commenting on this because this was on my DP/LZ/BS queue and it came up to listen to.  It’s the last (#8) of the original slew of Black Sabbath albums with Ozzy Osbourne, and its tour was the last with Ozzy, Van Halen being the up and coming band opening for them.  My impression is that it’s generally held in bad repute by 1) non-fans who don’t really like Sabbath and only willing to say good things if the album, e.g. Paranoid, is so obviously musically significant that they would look like idiots if they ignored or criticized it; and 2) Black Sabbath fans who prefer Ronnie James Dio over Ozzy Osbourne.  For them, Heaven & Hell trumps any of the Ozzy albums, even Paranoid or Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath (my favorite).  Us Sabbath fans who do prefer Ozzy to Dio (like me) generally concede it’s a substandard album, but listening to it again, sober on the treadmill, I’ve come to some fresh conclusions.

First off, Bill is drumming like crazy here.  Moreover, the solos on even some of the otherwise less memorable songs is still blazing.  So whatever else might have been going badly for them at the time – e.g. Ozzy leaving and then coming back, refusing to sing any Dave Walker material – when it came time to press RECORD and PLAY THE MUSIC they stepped up and got the job done.  Were they coked up?  Strung out?  Hung over? Who knows.  Somehow they did it.

Actually, I should add a third category of NSD haters: the band itself.  Bill Ward seems to be the only one who defends it, and given his performance I’m not surprised.

Second, the prior albums were so good, that this album was doomed to suffer by comparison.  Only the Beatles seemed to rise to the occasion of consistently outdoing themselves – coming from a fan who prefers the White Album to Dr. Pepper (and I know others who prefer Abbey Road). 

Third, while I hear some jazzy stuff in there – particularly “Air Dance”, which is actually my favorite track, “Junior’s Eyes” being #2 – it still rocks.  In a sense, they wound up like Budgie, pushing in some non-rock directions to break up the monolithic mold of the prior doomy albums.  They recorded the album at Sounds Interchange in Toronto (the Canadian capital) and Rush Jr. aka Max Webster were recording Mutiny Up My Sleeve at the same time.  Kim Mitchell mentions this, though no one in the Black Sabbath camp seems to mention Max Webster.  Then again, Tony was also hanging out with Frank Zappa, who accompanied them on the tour, so perhaps yet another famous mustache-and-SG guitarist had his own influences which no one seems to acknowledge.  Frank Sabbath?  Perish the thought.

Fourth, listening to this not immediately after Technical Ecstasy (#7), but with the benefit of a few proto-Whitesnake albums by David Coverdale, returning to Sabbath was actually more of a relief and welcome rather than a disappointment.  So I may have been more predisposed to be favorable than previously.

The bottom line is that if you listen to it on its own, without trying to compare it to the prior or later albums, you might actually enjoy it.   

Canada Rocks

Our friends upstairs, in the Great White North, haven’t been content to give their bigger, more arrogant neighbors to the south – or their cousins across the ocean - a monopoly on good music.  While a few bark out loudest, I’ll also review the B-list.  I can’t really comment on the rest, but they’re out there.

Rush.  Easily the biggest, at least in my humble opinion.  Bassist-singer Geddy Lee’s voice takes some getting used to, but it is distinctive and not unpleasant.  Unusually for most drummers (guys who “hit things with sticks”), Neil Peart actually writes lyrics, and even wrote a few books.  However, guitarist Alex Lifeson is adamant about replicating his solos note for note, so a Rush concert is basically hearing the studio versions faithfully reproduced. 

            Arising from Toronto in 1968, they quickly shed both drummer John Rutsey (RIP) and their initial Led Zeppelin influence in 1974 with Peart’s addition, to veer off into Ayn Rand prog territory, peaking that era with a prog-rock masterpiece, 2112.  Although that album is my favorite Fly By Night, Caress of Steel, A Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres and Permanent Waves are also top quality.  While Hemispheres (side 1) can be a bit tedious and pretentious, “Trees” and “Villa Strangiato” on side 2 make this album a must-have for Rush fans.

            After 1981’s Moving Pictures, though, the band settled into a skinny tie, techno-rock mediocrity of stellar musicianship and talent with zero passion; that album was not only my introduction to the band back in the early 80s, but also the last Rush album I listen to with any regularity.  Listening to anything from Signals to Clockwork Angels is like digesting a textbook for coursework, not music to be enjoyed.  I’ve seen them in concert a few times (the first tour being the Hold Your Fire tour) and they are much more interesting live than on record, even if they never jam or improvise.  2112 got a full treatment a few years back, but Fly By Night and Caress of Steel get scant attention.  Their 60s-retro-covers album, Feedback, was enjoyable, but then they weren’t doing their own material.

Triumph.  Starting in the late 70s and continuing through the 80s before disbanding – guitarist Rik Emmett still tours and plays Triumph material, albeit in small clubs – this band is more straight up rock and roll.  As Emmett himself said, “I’m a Les Paul-though-a-Marshall kind of guy”.  Drummer Gil Moore also sang; bassist Mike Levine just played the bass, well enough.  Thunder Seven is probably their top album, with Never Surrender a close second.  Stages is a good double live album with an impressive set.  I saw them in concert, front row seats at the Patriot Center on 10/31/86 with Yngwie (who?) Malmsteen opening.  Great show! 

Max Webster.  Led by singer-guitarist Kim Mitchell, this band could be the Canadian Blue Oyster Cult: blending commercial sound with offbeat lyrics and quirky sense of humor, but just enough heavy guitar to give it some balls.  They have 5 albums: Max Webster, High Class in Borrowed Shoes, Mutiny Up My Sleeve, Million Vacations, and Universal Juveniles, of which I have the first three.  I got the first one in Ottawa back in 1991, suffering an appropriate “Hangover” the day after overindulging in 7-8 Canadian (full-strength) Labatt Blues.  They used to open for Rush, and were good friends of theirs, but disbanded in the early 80s.  Kim Mitchell continues a modest music career and radio DJ work.

The rest:  I have some familiarity with the rest, even if they can’t qualify as being as important – in my mind – as the foregoing.

Anvil.   I’d call them a NWOBHM band, except they’re Canadian.  “Lips” Ludlow is their singer/guitarist.  Their sound is standard 80s metal, more on the Judas Priest side than hair metal side.  They have a recent documentary which is Spinal Tap-esque, which makes it even more tragic because it’s all true, not just Rob Reiner’s fanciful comedic rock story.

Black Mountain.  I consider them a stoner rock band, very similar to Crippled Black Phoenix (if you know who they are).  Good, but not everyone’s can of Molson.

Jeff Healey.   A blind slide guitarist – he did a good cover of “When a Blind Man Cries” by Deep Purple.  He’s also featured in the Patrick Swayze movie, “Roadhouse”.  He died back in 2008.

Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush.  Marino is one of those Robin Trower & Uli Jon Roth guys who jam extensively with a very strong Jimi Hendrix vibe.  His concerts – I’ve seen him twice – are 2+ hours of nonstop soloing, which is good if that’s what you’re into.  His studio material seems to be an effort to expand Hendrix’s catalog beyond the three albums he did in his lifetime. 

sHeavy.  I read a guy named Toby Manning refer to Mostly Autumn as “de facto Pink Floyd cover band, even if they deny it.”  You could consider sHeavy as a de facto Black Sabbath cover band, and I’d doubt they’d take much offense to that, much less deny it.  Their original material is indistinguishable from Ozzy era Black Sabbath, and vocalist Steve Hennessey does Ozzy’s voice spot on – so much so that some people hear sHeavy and honestly believe they’re hearing some long-lost Sabbath material.  They don’t seem to tour (!!!) and I saw a live video of them in concert, half of the band looking like they have day jobs and can’t tour.  Anyhow.  If the 8 original Black Sabbath albums with Ozzy are wearing thin, and you want to hear more, by all means indulge in sHeavy.  Electric Sleep being a good start.

Voivod.  From Montreal, Voivod are Canada’s top thrash band. I have their album The Outer Limits, which has an awesome 3D design with glasses. They are talented and smart prog-thrash, and even covered Pink Floyd twice: “Astronomy Domine” and “The Nile Song”. 

Neil Young.   I could never get into Neil Young; the only album I have is Harvest.  If you can’t break out of your blues-box rut, I suppose you’re in Neil Young territory.  He’s undeniably honest and down to earth, and rocks hard enough, but his stuff is material you cite to make yourself look smart.  Kinda like Rush.

Honorable (?) mentions.   Clearly there are more than these.  Helix is a band we got on vinyl (for free) and listened to once (the same stash that got us Defenders of the Faith and Y&T); they get a mention by Ricky of “Trailer Park Boys” as the band he prefers over Rush.  Anyone who’s ever heard “Born to Be Wild” knows who Steppenwolf is.  Loverboy was an AOR band from the 80s which I never paid much attention to while they were around.  Thor?  Gives me the impression of a guy who is actually more talented than his image would imply, but I never delved into his music.  Finally, we all know and dislike Nickelback and Avril Lavigne.   I suppose we can’t be too hard on Celine Dion, but she definitely isn’t “rock”. 

Great White North.  Anyone familiar with SCTV recalls Bob & Doug McKenzie (Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas), the pair of egregiously Canadian guys spouting “hoser” and “eh” to mock the CBC’s bizarre requirement for “Canadian” programming, whatever that is.  “Monday Night Curling” and “Magnum: Prince Edward Island” were other brief comedic efforts in that direction by the SCTV gang.  But the point is valid: how do make “Canadian” music?  Remarkably, with all this Canadian music, none of it gives off any particularly Canadian flavor.  Rush sing about “Trees”, but we have trees and communists here in the US.  I suppose “Toronto Tontos” could be a Canadian reference.  

More Obscure Bands

I suppose Hawkwind and Wishbone Ash count here, but I’ve already mentioned them.  Here’s another few groups worth checking out by anyone who considers themselves a “rock fan”.

 Be Bop Deluxe.  The main character is Bill Nelson, and their most famous album is Sunburst Finish.  This was a British pop band from the 70s, from 1972-79.   The music is standard issue rock from that era, not particularly special or original, but certainly competent and well-made.  Nelson’s guitar work is excellent, and salvages what might otherwise be standard issue 70s pop into something more substantial and worthwhile.  “Ships in the Night” has a reggae feel very similar to the Scorpions’ “Is There Anybody There” from Lovedrive.

 Max Webster.  A Canadian pop band.  The main character: Kim Mitchell.  They used to open up for Rush in the late 70s, but have since broken up; they were active from 1973-81.  Kim Mitchell is still on the radio in Canada.  I have their first two albums, the self-titled debut and High Class in Borrowed Shoes.  MW are somewhat more commercial, a bit like Blue Oyster Cult, even with some quirkiness thrown into the mix (e.g. “Toronto Tontos”).  Mitchell, as with so many commercial guitarists, knows exactly how much bad-ass guitar to throw into the mix to keep it from being just “banal and insipid” garbage.  

 The Sensational Alex Harvey Band.  My buddy Dave described them as “AC/DC with keyboards”, but to me the sound is like a heavier, rock-oriented vaudeville show.  Their top song is “The Faith Healer”.  Alex Harvey himself had a kind of Beano look to him, with striped t-shirts, and his voice is practically identical to early Bon Scott (e.g. “Big Balls”); it’s hard not to suspect that Scott was ripping off Harvey for his vocal style, at least early on.  Guitarist Zal Cleminson dressed in clown makeup, but aside from looking incredibly gay (in both senses of the word) is actually damn good.

 Argent.  Aside from this band, keyboardist Rod Argent is best known for the band the Zombies, whose hit “Time of the Season” was actually released after the band had already broken up.  They’ve since reformed, with Argent, and of course play that song on their reunion tour.  Argent himself teamed up with guitarist Russ Ballard to make several albums of pop-prog-rock.  Argent’s material reminds me of that bizarre candy Willy Wonka invented, the one which changes to completely different flavors.  At one point I’m hearing King Crimson, then Uriah Heep, then Jethro Tull, and some Deep Purple (actually Uriah Heep in more recent years have been accused of sounding more like classic Deep Purple than Purple themselves do these days – Heep Purple?).  They are all over the place.  KISS covered “God Gave Rock’n’Roll To You”, but their original hit was “Hold Your Head Up”.   I purchased a 5-pack of their albums Argent, Ring of Hands, All Together Now, In Deep, and Nexus.  All of them have atrocious album covers.

 Budgie.  I separate this Welsh 70’s-80’s band in to three phases.  First they were very close to being Black Sabbath clones on the first four albums: Budgie, Squawk, Never Turn Your Back On A Friend, and In For The Kill.  By the fifth album, they had loosened up a bit with some more jazzy, even bossa nova feel:  Bandolier, If I Were Britannia I’d Waive the Rules, and Impeckable.  Unfortunately, Bourge quit, and was replaced by John Thomas, right in time (1980) for Budgie to emulate Saxon and Y&T for their NWOBHM eras; these three albums are Power Supply, Night Flight, and Deliver Us From Evil.  They broke up, and eventually reformed around original bassist/singer Burke Shelley.   No mention of Budgie is complete without a reference to Metallica, who covered “Breadfan” as a single (the b-side to “Eye of the Beholder”) and “Crash Course in Brain Surgery” on the Garage Days Re-Revisited EP.   While both songs are good, “Zoom Club” (from In For The Kill) is probably their best song.   Budgie share the tendency of Frank Zappa and Blue Oyster Cult of having extremely odd song titles: “Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman”, “Napoleon Bona Part I & II”, “Hot As A Docker’s Armpit”, “Panzer Division Destroyed”, “If I Were Britannia I’d Waive the Rules”, etc.