From Straight to Bizarre (Zappa, Beefheart, Alice Cooper and LA's Lunatic Fringe)

As we all know Frank Zappa was not one to conform to the man.  Frank felt oppressed by society and would do anything he could to express his God given freedoms.  From Straight to Bizarre is a documentary film, recently released, which chronicles Frank Zappa and the formation of his own music label. Feeling the constraints from the label he was signed to at the time (Verve), Zappa and manager Herb Cohen decided to form their own label, so that Frank could express his art without the censorship of his former label. 

Zappa and Cohen formed the Straight and Bizarre label and signed the most fucked up/controversial artists that they could find.  Not many went on to great fame with the exception of the Alice Cooper Group.  The rest of the artists just had cult followings, as did Zappa himself.  This documentary dives into the whole story of how the label was started and how it was developed.  The majority of the film is made up of archival footage of Zappa back in the day.  There are also some current interviews with people that were associated with Zappa and the label. Not a bad film, but did run a bit long.

Bottom Line - An interesting behind the scenes look of the formation of Zappa's music label, but at 2+ hours, it got a little winded.

-Ragman was intrigued, but wondered if it would ever end.

UFO - Seven Deadly

Veteran rockers UFO are back in action in 2012 with their latest release Seven Deadly, which marks the bands 21st studio release.  Unfortunately, UFO albums have been hit or miss over the past several years.  I've always liked the band, but didn't totally get into them until 2004, when guitarist Vinnie Moore joined the band.  I really dug the first record (You Are Here) they did with him, but since then, it has been a crap shoot as to what you would be getting. 

Seven Deadly kind of falls into the mediocre bracket for me.  The songs are tired and just come off sounding stale.  Not sure if the band just put this one together too quickly or if they had the wrong producer.  The songs lack the crispness they deserve and just come up short.  It didn't help that the lyrics are pretty cheesey too, which hurt the final product.  I know the band has been doing it for 40+ years, but this is the first record that sounds like they have.  The band sounds tired and just like they are going through the motions.  The only real highlight on this one for me was Vinnie Morroe's guitar playing.

Bottom Line:  A classic hard rock band that sounds like their a classic hard rock band. Die hards may get this one, but the casual fan may be turned off.

Standout tracks: Angel Station, Mojo Town and Burn Your House Down.

-Ragman was hoping for more from this one... Maybe next time.

Sunstorm - Emotional Fire

Rarely does veteran hard rock vocalist Joe Lynn Turner disappoint, and his latest release Emotional Fire will keep that trend going; well, sort of...  Emotional Fire is Joe's 3rd release with his side project Sunstorm.  The CD is an AOR orgasm ready to spew into your ears.  Wow that was graphic, wasn't it?  No seriously, this is some serious melodic rock from one of most powerful voices in the industry.  Some of the songs penned for this one, you might have heard before, because they were recorded many moons ago, by Cher and Michael Bolton.  Don't let that scare you off, because Joe gives them the hard rock treatment. 

Emotional Fire is an 11 song platter of AOR hard rock.  Joe sounds great, and so does the band, but there was something lacking on this one for me.  The songs are good, but lack the punch they need to be great.  The production is polished, courtesy of Dennis Ward, but comes off a little syrupy for my tastes.  There are times of brilliance, but not many.  Some of the tunes come off stale and dated.  Not a bad CD, but not a great one either. 

Bottom Line: Melodic hard rock with not enough punch.  Turner sounds great and appears not to have missed a beat, but unfortunately the material doesn't hold up as well as his vocals.

Standout Tracks: Emotional Fire, You Wouldn't Know Love and Torn in Half.

-Ragman wants some new original music from Mr. Turner.

Pretty Maids - It Comes Alive (CD/DVD)

I can't tell you how long I've been waiting for a live package from Pretty Maids.  They have been a favorite of mine for years.  It seems like forever since they started talking of doing a live DVD, but for some reason it never materialized, but finally in 2012 it came to fruition.  The band is now celebrating their 30th year anniversary with a stellar CD/DVD package called It Comes Alive (Maid in Switzerland).  The band had a plethora of material to pick from, and that is just what they did for this live best of package.  The band did it right by making this an audio/visual package for fans.  This a cool thing for fans that have not been lucky enough to check out the band live. 

It Comes Alive is a monster set from these Danes that encompasses their entire career.  The band sound and look great.  The CD has a nice sound to it which gives you that live feel, but it was the DVD portion of this package that really kicked my ass.  Seeing the band perform classics like Future World, Yellow Rain and Walk Away were just mind blowing.  The DVD is filmed really well, and gives you a sense of being in the front row.  I would love to see this on BluRay. 

The CD is a nice complement to the DVD, but it was the DVD that stole the show for me.  Pretty Maids is a band that like lots of fan participation, which is evident in this package, so the visual portion of this set will help you get into tracks like Savage Heart more, because the the crowd take the chorus for most of this one.  You would never guess that vocalist Ronnie Atkins and guitartist Ken Hammer have been kicking it for 30 years, because they sound as fresh in 2012 as they did when they started in 1981. 

 

Bottom Line:  Longtime coming from the Maids.  A killer set of greatest hits, performed with precision.  Really cool to finally be able to see this band play live.

Standout Tracks: Hell on High Heels, Walk Away, Here Comes the Night, and Clay.

-Ragman is loving this package.

Podcast #135: Parodies

It takes a real man like Steve Blaze to clue you in: Sleeves are for pussies.Do parodies of heavy metal/hard rock bands hurt or help the cause?  Join Genghis and Ragman as they discuss everyone from the originators (Bad News, Spinal Tap) to the most recent bands (Steel Dragon).  Can you really take a band like Steel Panther seriously?  Tune in to find out what the boys think.  Next, join Liliian Axe guitarist Steve Blaze, who checks in for an update. Steve discusses the band’s latest CD, The Days Before Tomorrow, as well as the addition of new vocalist, Brian Jones.

DVD of the Show:  The Comic Strip Presents - Bad News

Beer of the Show: De Ranke XX Bitter (Brouwerij De Ranke)
	Appearance: 3.0 Aroma: 3.0 Palate: 2.0 Taste: 1.5 Overall: 2.0	"Bitter, bitter, bitter - with a lot of aftertaste."

Featured Tracks: Coldspell - Eye of the Storm; Bad News - Drink 'Til I Die; Street Legal - Warriors of Genghis Khan; Spinal Tap - Hell Hole; Strange Fruit - All Over the World; Steel Dragon - We All Die Young; Lillian Axe - Show a Little Love, Take the Bullet, Death Comes Tomorrow, Bow Your Head, My Apologies & Dream of a Lifetime

Classic of the Show: Spread Eagle - Switchblade Serenade

Genghis' Pick of the Show: Beyond the Bridge - Where the Earth and Sun Meet

Ragman Pick of the Show: Steel Panther - Why Can’t You Trust Me

- Ragman is on a roll...

Podcast #135: Parodies