Vol. 5 Episode 7

I have decided to go to the Temples show instead of the Weekend show next month. I decided this because I have not seen Temples but have seen Weekend. That and I just can’t swing the days off. I have also not been to First Ave in quite a while too.

I will also be going to see The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart next month. They will be at the Triple Rock again but there is supposed to be a slightly different line up in the band. I am excited to hear the changes in sound.

I am also shooting to take my 13 year old son to his first concert this year. His favorite band, Linkin Park will be at our state fair this year (the end of August). Expensive tickets but something special for his first concert.

Record Store Day 2014 release info is starting to leak out. There is finally going to release the cover album for Nirvana’s album In Utero. Whirr will have a track on it.

The Dodos will release a 7” record for RSD2014 with a couple special tracks on it too.

I wish I had some really great new music to review but things that I am expecting are delayed.

Here we go...

Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Blood Sugar Sex Magik

This is the groups fifth album. It was released in 1991. It was a major break through album for the group. The musical styles of Blood Sugar Sex Magik differed notably from the techniques employed on the Chili Peppers' preceding album, Mother's Milk, and featured little use of heavy metal guitar riffs. The album's subject matter incorporated sexual innuendos and references to drugs and death as well as themes of lust and exuberance. Guitarist John Frusciante quit the band mid-tour in 1992 (not returning until 1998) due to his inability to cope with the album's popularity. Blood Sugar Sex Magik is recognized as an influential and seminal component of the alternative rock explosion in the early 1990s. I bought this album on cassette when it was new simply because I didn’t have a CD player yet. I have yet to get it on CD and probably will never do so because I can record any analog content to digital.

There were five singles released from this album. The first single is called Give It Away and was the reason that I got this album. Radio stations refused to play the song initially because they said that it lacked melody. Video channels such as MTV put the song in heavy rotation propelling the song in the charts. Radio stations then relented and started playing the song too. The song for me is an amazing percussive track that makes it unique.

The second single is called Under The Bridge. Vocalist Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyrics to express a feeling of loneliness and despondency, and to reflect on narcotics and their impact on his life. Kiedis initially did not feel "Under the Bridge" would fit into the Chili Peppers' repertoire and was reluctant to show it to his band mates until producer Rick Rubin implored him to do so. The rest of the band was receptive to the lyrics and wrote the music. I like the music for this song but the lyrics are so depressing. This combined with the over playing of the song really turned me off to the song. It just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth even now.

The third single from the album is called Suck My Kiss. Kiedis had this to say about the song, the song was about oral sex and how one boy at his school always seemed to go on about getting it. It is a funky song that I liked but didn’t seem to be the best song in the singles that they put out for the album.

The fourth single from the album is called Breaking TheGirl. The song is a melodic ballad that refers to a turbulent relationship between frontman Anthony Kiedis and his former girlfriend, Carmen Hawk. It is a sad song but the music works so well it is just smooth to listen to. It is a very good song.

The last single if called If You Have To Ask (nudity in the video). This is a funky track that just didn’t have what it took to break through. It didn’t get much air play on the radio or on TV. It is not a bad song it just wasn’t popular.

This is a great album but there is a ton of music on the album. This makes it hard to listen to all the way through.

 

Toto – IV

This is the fourth album from Toto. It was released in 1982 and has been certified triple platinum. The album had an amazing seven singles released and there were only ten songs on the album. I remember the big singles but don’t remember the others as well. They are all good songs though. When this album was new I had no idea who they were but liked what I had heard on the radio. I guess they were considered arena rockers and I didn’t really get into that music much. Listening to the music now, I can appreciate the music more.

The first single from the album is called Rosanna. From Wikipedia, “The song was written by David Paich, who has said that the song is based on numerous girls he had known. As a joke, the band members initially played along with the common assumption that the song was based on Rosanna Arquette, who was dating Toto keyboard player Steve Porcaro at the time and coincidentally had the same name.

The drum pattern is known as a "half-time shuffle", and shows "definite jazz influence".  Featuring ghost notes and derived from the combination of what Jeff Porcaro calls the "Bernard Purdie half time shuffle" (Purdie shuffle) and the "John Bonham beat" (from "Fool in the Rain") with the well-known Bo Diddley beat.”

The second single from the album is called Make Believe. The track is lead by a piano track that reminds me of something that Billy Joel could have written. It is a good song but for me is taken down by the use of synth sounds. I guess that is what you get from an arena rock group who uses all the tools available to make music slow or other wise.

The third single is called Africa. The song is about a boy trying to write a song about Africa but he has never been there and has only seen pictures. The song is lead the whole way by synth sounds and is a slow song. This, for what ever reason, worked very well for the band as the song went to number one in the charts around the world. This is the reason that I got the album, so it did an number on me too.

The next single is called Afraid of Love. The song is more of a rocker than the previous singles. It features standard rock instruments; guitar, bass and drums. It is still a slower song but works pretty well as it is still an arena rock track.

The fifth single is called Lovers In The Night. This is a jazzy piano driven track with an over lay of a rock feel. It is another love track so there seems to be a rock feel in the track too. It is a good track but didn’t have the big hit success that some of the earlier singles had. Not a favorite of mine but still a good track.

The next track that was put out as a single is called I Won’t Hold You Back. This is another slow ballad track that could put me to sleep. It is not a bad track and has its place but I usually just want to hear a pumping track and this is just not it.

The last single from the album is called Waiting For YourLove. This song has a good groove. It almost has a disco feel to it. It is a slower song but there is just something about disco that makes me feel good. Behind the two or three big singles from this album this one is one of my favorites.

As sappy as this album comes off, it is an important album in music history. If you don’t have it get it! If you are a singles person then just get Rosanna, Africa and Waiting For Your Love, great songs.

Cameo – Word Up!

This is the twelfth album from Cameo. It is a great album with awesome funk and R&B sounds. The first single, Word Up!, was the reason that I got the album and is a song that I had forgot about until Korn had covered it in 2004. I thought that was a complete failure. The cover version brought the song back to my memories and about six years later I found the album at one of my local record shops.

There were three singles from the album. The first is Word Up! I remember hearing the song on the radio so it was a big hit for sure as I only listened to the top 40 channel at the time. There was a music video for the song but I don’t remember ever seeing it on MTV. The song is very funky and makes me want to move.

The second single is called Candy. The song compares women to candy repeatedly through the song. I am not a big fan of this but what I do like about the song is the saxophone that plays through a majority of the song. The guitar that comes in and out of the song has a very cool sound.

The third single from the album is called Back And Fourth. The song has a cool funky synth part that I really like. The chorus has a fun call and response style vocal part that adds to the funness of the song. I feel that this song is better than the second single but over all, all three songs are very good.

 
That is all for now...