Rockin’ Into the Weekend

The late, great Ronnie James Dio.

Many people will be celebrating this weekend – Passover, Easter or just two or three days off from work. Let us be the first to welcome you to the weekend … here are some hard rockin’ tunes to help get you in the right mood.

MP3: “Shout It Out Loud” by KISS (2009 version)

MP3: “Holy Diver” by Dio

MP3: “The Ripper” by Judas Priest

MP3: “Caught In A Mosh” by Anthrax

MP3: “The Number of the Beast” by Iron Maiden

MP3: “Sweet Leaf” by Black Sabbath

MP3: “Cowboys From Hell” by Pantera

MP3: “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” (live) by AC/DC

MP3: “Cities On Flame with Rock and Roll” by Blue Öyster Cult

MP3: “Revolution Rock” by the Clash

MP3: “Kick Out The Jams” by Rage Against The Machine

MP3: “And The Cradle Will Rock” by Van Halen

Review: Masters of Metal, Houston

 

It was a beautifully metal moment: at the same moment guitar god Tony Iommi begins his bone-chilling solo in the song “Time Machine,” a bolt of lightning slashes across the sky above the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.  The Masters of Metal tour rolled through Houston Saturday night (Aug. 23) and despite this impromptu effect, most of the pyrotechnics were on the stage.

Odds and Ends

      

Today we catch up with all the junk cluttering our in-box.  First, a couple of reissues: Blondie‘s Parallel Lines 30th anniversary set, and War from U2.  Blondie was one of the first American punk bands to make an impact at New York’s club CBGB, and they were probably the first to top the charts.  When Parallel Lines came out in 1978, Blondie was a slightly different band with a few more musicians but the spotlight remained on lead singer Deborah Harry.  And rightly so – Harry was an ultra-hot ex-model who put a beautiful face and a not-bad voice on these polished not-so-punk tunes.  “Heart Of Glass,” with its thumping disco beat, hit No. 1 on the charts.  And rockers “Hanging On The Telephone” and “One Way Or Another” were worthy follow-ups.  Anyhow, the 30th anniversary reissue of Parallel Lines includes extra oddities like a French-language version of “Sunday Girl” and remixes of some of the other songs on the album.  Oddly, they didn’t include the original (non-disco) version of “Heart Of Glass,” which appeared on previous CD reissues of the album.  Toss in a DVD of videos and you have a so-so package.  Unless you don’t already own the album that kicked off American New Wave, you can pass this one up.

MP3: “One Way Or Another” by Blondie

Rock Moment: Hear N’ Aid, 1985

In the mid-1980s, everyone was in tune to the plight of Africans starving to death during a famine.  It all started with Band Aid in England, which put out the Christmas single “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” then with USA For Africa artists doing “We Are The World.”  There was very little representation among metal artists, so two members of Ronnie James Dio‘s band approached their boss with the idea to do a metal song for famine relief.

The result was “Stars,” written by Dio with Jimmy Bain (of Rainbow and Dio) and Vivian Campbell (Dio, but later Whitesnake and Def Leppard).  Forty artists from the metal genre gathered to record the single in Hollywood.  Among the artists appearing were members of such bands as Dio, Quiet Riot, Iron Maiden, Twisted Sister, Night Ranger, Judas Priest, Mötley Crüe, Blue Öyster Cult, Journey, Dokken and others.

“Stars” came out as a single, and it appeared on the Hear N’ Aid album with a bunch of live songs from bands like Kiss, Mötorhead and others.   Due to delays with record label red tape, the single and album didn’t appear until 1986 – still, it made about $1 million for famine relief.

Click on the lyric sheet at right to see who sings and plays on the track.

MP3: “Stars” by Hear N’ Aid

Review: “Nostradamus,” Judas Priest

 

It sounds like a perfect concept for a heavy metal band: the story of 16th century seer Nostradamus, who supposedly predicted events hundreds of years in the future.  Judas Priest, the seminal British heavy metal rockers, chose this as the concept for their 16th album.  And the result is Nostradamus, a bloated 2-CD affair that would probably been better suited for the likes of Spinal Tap.  With more than 100 minutes of music here, you get a heavy metal opera that could have been at least half as long.  The real songs are spaced out by frequent one- to two-minute Wagnerian string interludes that are as silly as they are unnecessary.  When you get to the meat of the album, you find only fair-to-middling metal: “Pestilence and Plague,” the ominous “War” and the title track are highlights.  Vocalist Rob Halford only occasionally gets to bring out his trademark metal falsetto, and there simply isn’t enough guitar work from the Glenn Tipton/K.K. Downing duo.  What JP fans want to know is: does it rock?  Sure, in places – but you have to wade though a ton of operatic drivel to get to the rockers.  Nostradamus may have been all-seeing but he probably didn’t foresee this holocaust. 

MP3: “Pestilence and Plague”

Judas Priest official website

Metal Alert: Free Judas Priest!

Heavy metal mavens Judas Priest are set to release their new double-disc album Nostradamus on June 17.  If you can’t wait to hear it, the entire album is streaming for free at VH-1’s The Leak. 

And if that free offer isn’t enough for you, the Priest is giving away tickets to their upcoming tour – fans who pick up a specially marked copy of Nostradamus will receive a free lawn ticket to select shows on the Metal Masters tour with Motorhead, Testament and Heaven and Hell (formerly Black Sabbath).  Supplies are limited, as they say, so go to the Judas Priest official website to find out how to get your freebie.

Nostradamus is a concept album telling the story of the 16th-century prophet and the apocalyptic predictions he made that eventually came true.  The album will be released June 17 in three formats: a regular 2-CD set, a limited-edition hardbound version with book, and a limited-edition deluxe box set with 3 vinyl LPs, two CDs, a book and a poster.

MP3: “Nostradamus”

Judas Priest official website