Soul Asylum's Greatest Hits compilation 'Black Gold' is one of those albums that reminds you what rock and roll is all about. Thankfully focusing on their more recent output, this compliation keeps you hooked, from the rock-out that is 'Somebody to Shove' to the quieter 'Runaway Train', the only Soul Aylum song most people know and like. After listening to this album I think most people would change their minds. This album has a number of previously unreleased live tracks, such as the excellent 'Closer to the Stars', which remind you that Soul Asylum built their fan base around their live performancesmore…. There is also a reworking of the Victoria Williams song 'Summer of Drugs' which could not fail to have you tapping your feet to the driving rhythm. In short, this is a great album from a great band, and a must for anyone who loves music.
BOYANPURE.....This cd is an excellent tribute. The only thing i dont get is why so many people dont like the death metal cover songs. Megadeth is a thrash band that inspired these bands, theyre just paying their dues to them, and plus if it sounded exactly like Deth, why make a tribute? There is not one song on there that i dont like, but my favs would have to be "Go To Hell" anf "Peace Sells". Also, deserves notice is Fairlight's awesome cover of "Hanger 18" they mixed in some keyboards and it makes it sound so good. buy this tribute if you love Megadeth and dont mind death metal vocals
A Great Tribute to the Scorpions featuring Bands Like Helloween, S.O.D., Therion and Children of Bodom. This tribute is well worth adding to your archives of metal. Inspired by the pioneers of metal, you can't help but like this one. Take away Therion's cover
The Iron Maidens are an all female Iron Maiden tribute band from Southern California, founded in 2001 by members of Wrathchild, another Iron Maiden tribute, and Phantom Blue, an all female band. They perform material from every era of Iron Maiden's history. The band has gained a larger fanbase and become more successful over the past few years, both in America and abroad, particularly in Japan. The current lineup: Aja "Bruce Chickinson" Kim (vocals) Linda “Nikki McBURRain” McDonald (drums)
Heather “Adrienne Smith” Baker (guitars) Sara “MiniMurray” Marsh (guitars) Wanda "Steph Harris" Ortiz (bass) Former members: Jenny Warren (vocals) Elizabeth Schall (guitar) Melanie Sisneros (bass) Josephine Soegijanty (guitar) Official Site: www.theironmaidens.com Myspace: www.myspace.com/theironmaidens
BOYANPURE@MULTIPLY Another tribute release from the Cleopatra label with the German hard rock band the Scorpions receiving the honors this time around. All twelve tracks contain the same band lead by George Lynch on lead guitar with a different vocalist on each cut from various heavy metal bands including LA Guns, Kik, Faster Pussycat, and Quiet Riot.
Track:
1. Here I Am (Rock You Like A Hurricane) - Kelly Hansen (4:40) 2. Still Lovin' You - Steve Whiteman (4:55) 3. Falling In Love - Marq Torien (4:08) 4. Big City Nights - Kevin DuBrow (2:57) 5. Blackout - Stevie Rachelle (3:49) 6. No One Like You - Jizzy Pearl (3:59) 7. The Zoo - Joe Leste (4:57) 8. Steamrock Fever - Phil Lewis (3:56) 9. In Trance - Kory Clark (Space Age Playboys / Warrior Soul) (4:23) 10. He's A Woman, She's A Man - John Corabi (3:22) 11. Holiday - Paul Shortino (4:36) 12. Lovedrive - Taime Down (Newlydeads / Faster Pussycat) (4:44)
BOYANPURE@MULTIPLY...... The Scorpions are one of the most successful bands of the 80's rock era. Many of the stars of that era pay tribute to the band on "Covered like a Hurricane." It's been described as hit or miss. Is this a hit or a miss in my opinion?The first thing you must realize when picking up this album is that George Lynch is the guitarist. To many that means you will hear fantastic guitar playing. To me, it doesn't. I'm not a big fan of George Lynch and doubt if anybody would hail him as a spectacular guitarist if it wasn't for Don Dokken. George has a real problem playing things accordingly of late and that shines through not only on his Dokken cover album (and it is a cover album) but also on this album. Some of the guitar licks have been changed leaving you both with a new style to get used to but also a small "wait, that's not how it goes" feeling at times. That said, lets put aside the fact that George Lynch isn't on my Christmas Card list and focus on the vocalists participating.
Kelly Hansen, from Hurricane, is simply amazing. Hurricane is an unsung hero band that never got its just due. His rendition of Rock You like a Hurricane is tremendous, almost as good as the original!
Steve Whiteman, of KIX, does a nice job with Still Loving You. Somehow he managed to drudge up the emotion intended for the song fairly convincingly. The only negative aspect of the song is the production. During the final half of the song, it sounds slightly fuzzy. Being involved in recording myself, I know why that is. They had it turned too loud when they mixed it. It doesn't hurt the song much but should be noted.
Marq Torien, of Bulletboys, does a tremendous job with Falling In Love. This one may even be better than the actual Scorpions song. Even George Lynch deserves a lot of credit for his guitar work on this one.
Kevin DuBrow, of Quiet Riot, performs Big City Nights. Apparently he performed it from the building across the street from the recording equipment. I cannot fathom what exactly happened on this track but it has the sound of chaos in it at parts. You know, the sound that is around you right before you crash your car or while you're on your way down after tripping over your shoelace? That sound. Kevin sounds strong in it, but whoever mixed it did a very disappointing job.
Stevie Rachelle, of Tuff, does a great job with Blackout. They even have the shattering glass at the end! Stevie has impressed me on each and every tribute album performance. The man can sing!
Jizzy Pearl; of Love Hate, Ratt, and formerly of L.A. Guns; does a stellar job as always. One of these days, sadly maybe only in 50 years, people will look back at the archives and hear Jizzy Pearl for what he is. Jizzy has the most classic hard rock/metal voice I have ever heard and that certainly shines through in No One Like You.
Joe LeSte, of Bango Tango and Beautiful Creatures, does a fairly good job with The Zoo. Bruce Dickenson, of Iron Maiden, did a cover of The Zoo a few years back that I feel was better than this cover. I think Joe is a tremendous singer but I don't think this was the song to have him do to shine best.
Phil Lewis, of L.A. Guns, performs Steamrock Fever. Phil has a unique voice and I consider myself one of if not the biggest L.A. Guns fan there is. However, the sound of chaos returns on this track. From what you can hear through the poor production and mixing, Phil sounds strong and the song sounds good. I don't know who is to blame for the volume of this track being out of whack but it certainly is and it takes so much steam out of the song, pun intended.
Kory Clarke, of Space Age Playboys, sounds fairly good doing In Trance. It's a great song and production is what it should be.
John Corabi; of Motley Crue, Ratt, and Union; performed He's a Woman, She's a Man. Great job all around. Good song and good production. Corabi sounds as good now as he did on the Motley Crue album on which he appears.
Paul Shortino, from Rough Cutt, performs Holiday. I am not a big fan of this song to begin with so I can't fairly judge the song. Paul sounds good but the song never picks up. The Scorpions version picks up for the second half of the song, this one does not.
Down, from Faster Pussycat, does an okay version of Lovedrive. Faster Pussycat has turned to overly produced metal as opposed to their raw style of previous years and Down's voice reflects it. Also, George Lynch does not stay true to the guitar tabs by any means.
Overall, it is not bad, a hit for the most part. Tremendous musicianship from members of L.A. Guns backing up George Lynch's all over the place guitar work was an added bonus. Songs to check out are Kelly Hansen, Steve Whiteman, Stevie Rachelle, John Corabi, and Jizzy Pearl's tracks. I have to believe if production had been professional on all tracks, all tracks would have been great. But, it was certainly an issue. I really was most upset that Kevin DuBrow's track got mangled because from what you can make out, he sounded great. I guess I'll hold out for Quiet Riot's Guilty Pleasures part two. Hey, a guy can dream, can't he?
If you like any of the lead singers I mentioned, pick it up. If you like George Lynch's guitar work (post Dokken), you should check this out (or learn sign language). If you are an ignorant music fan that has nothing better to do than be condescending to the hair metal genre, shut it. Go watch MTV and be told who you are supposed to like this week.
The Good McAuley (MSG) and Schenker (MSG) reunite for their cover of "Run to the Hills". Robin is in great voice, and you have to wonder why he isn't using it elsewhere. Michael's improve runs really define the track. Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) tackles "Wasted Years" with George Lynch (Dokken). Dee can hang on the verses, but when it's time for the chorus, he can't nail it. Lynch is one fire as always. Ripper Owens (Iced Earth) comes closest to duplicating the high-pitched wails of Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson on "Flight of Icarus", although it comes off sounding like a Judas Priest cover (wonder why that is?).
Chucky Billy's (Testament) vocals delivery on "Fear of the Dark" is pure evil. Anytime Lemmy (Motorhead) does a cover song, it truly becomes his own. That's all I can really say about "The Trooper". One of my favorite vocalists, Jeff Scott Soto (Yngwie Malmsteen) nails the highs and the lows that make up "Aces High". For someone that wanted to run away from the whole metal scene, Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme) is unstoppable during his guitar solos. Wow! I never thought I'd hear Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow) covering Iron Maiden. He can't hit the high parts, but adds his own brand of bluesy tones to the chorus. Ritchie Kotzen (Poison) gives the Iron Maiden axmen a run for their money during his showcase here.
It's no surprise that Chris Jericho (Fozzy) is on this album, most of his original Fozzy material sounds like Maiden stuff. He's paired with Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big) who is quite impressive. John Bush (Armored Saint) and Scott Ian (Anthrax) decide to cover a more contemporary track from the group, "The Wicker Man". John's another great vocalist that doesn't get half the credit he deserves.
The Bad All-star tribute? I think they left out "80's". Mark Slaughter's (Slaughter) version of "Can I Play with Madness" is crap. I didn't know he was still around. For crying out loud, Paul Di'Anno (ex-Iron Maiden) really needs to go on with his life and put his two album career with Iron Maiden to bed. I can't believe he's covering himself with "Wrathchild". Paul, maybe you could team up with Neil Turbin (ex-Anthrax) and Al Atkins (ex-Judas Preist) and tour on the 1 or 2 albums you had with bands that became big after you were dumped from them?
The Verdict Usually these Bob Kulick tribute albums are crap, but in recent years they've come a long way. I mean, he's still spelling wrong wrong, but the quality is much better. Iron Maiden and most heavy metal fans would be proud of this one.
I know tribute albums are a dime a dozen these days, and most of them are just not worth it, but every once in a while you come across a real winner. Holy Dio is perhaps the best tribute album ever. Instead of the usual cast of unemployed 80's metallers giving halfhearted performances (Paul Di'Anno and Steve Grimmet, I'm talking to you!), Holy Dio is chock full of A-list metal bands paying tribute to the mighty Ronnie James Dio. Bands like Blind Guardian, Fates Warning, Gamma Ray, Hammerfall, Doro, and Yngwie Malmsteen are among the artists on this great release. Most of the bands on this 2-discmore… set are traditional metal and power metal bands, but that is a given considering Dio's influence on that genre. The bands cover classic songs from Black Sabbath, Rainbow, and Dio, and do so with lots of style and energy. I'm sure it's blasphemous to say this, but Blind Guardian's version of "Don't Talk to Strangers" might just be better than the original! This excellent (and much deserved) tribute to Dio is a must-have for Dio fans, power metal fans, and just metal fans in general. It can't possibly disappoint.
BOYANPURE@MULTIPLY Tracklist [CD 1]:
Don’t Talk to Strangers - Blind Guardian Kill The King - Primal Fear Egypt(The Chains Are On) - Doro Children of the Sea - Jag Panzer Sign of the Southern Cross - Fates Warning Rainbow Eyes - Catch the Rainbow Long Live Rock n’ Roll - Gamma Ray Country Girl - Swano Tagtgren Gates of Babylon - Yngwie Malmsteen
Tracklist [CD 2]:
We Rock - Grave Digger Man on the Silver Mountain - Hammerfall Holy Diver - Holy Mother Kill the King - Stratovarius Still I’m Sad - Axel Rudi Pell Heaven and Hell - Enola Gay Neon Knights - Steel Prophet Shame on the Nights - Solitude Aeturnus The Last in Line - Destiny’s End Temple of the King - Angel Dust
If Fleetwood Mac, Humble Pie, and Foghat were never formed, Free would be considered one of the greatest post-Beatles blues-rock bands to date, and Fire and Water shows why. Conceptually fresh, with a great, roots-oriented, Band-like feel, Free distinguished itself with the public like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple did (in terms of impact, only) in 1970. Free presented itself to the world as a complete band, in every sense of the word. From Paul Kossoff's exquisite and tasteful guitar work, to Paul Rodgers' soulful vocals, this was a group that was easily worthy of the mantle worn by Cream, Blindmore… Faith, or Derek and the Dominos
