Tag Archives: Great White

Now Normal Chronicles or: Not Holy

18 Monday May 2020

Posted by in KISS, Video

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Salutations™!!

Today is the 27th anniversary of KISS Alive III. Does this “live” album give me the same feelings that Alive! and Alive II gave me? Well, yes, actually. But, in a totally different way. As I’ve said before, I didn’t get to see any concerts until 1990 (right before my 20th birthday) and it was KISS on the Hot in the Shade tour. That was Eric Carr’s last tour.

For the Revenge album that came out in 1992 (its anniversary is tomorrow), KISS came to Charlotte and Fayettville in NC for that tour, but I missed both of those. So, my friend Fred “Seven” Goza and I drove to Greenville, SC to see them on “Election Day” in 1992. That day Bill Clinton beat Bush I. I had joined a band called The Blue the week before this, Fred was in that band.

Fred and I rode down without buying any tickets ahead of time. We got to the Greenville Memorial Auditorium, which was actually kind of small with only a 7500 person capacity, stood in a long line to get to the ticket counter, wondering if we’d even be able to get tix, and then when we got there, got two GA (that’s general admission) tix for the floor for $10. Heck, the fees for tix today is twice that.

Trixter and Jackyl were the openers. It was the only night for the whole tour that Jackyl was the second band. Two nights later, in Atlanta, Great White joined Trixter as the openers. Three nights prior it was Faster Pussycat and Trixter. I would have much rather seen either Faster Pussycat or Great White than Jackyl. I have never been a fan of them or Jesse James DuPree. Oddly enough, I had to sit through JJD when he opened for Queensryche in Raleigh several years later. Anywhat! I was bored with Jackyl. Trixter was pretty good, though. And, oddly enough (again) with that, two members of Trixter is now in a non-makeup KISS Kover band in which I played their “debut” song in Friday’s video. Heck even before all of that Danger Danger was the opener in the second part of the tour. I loved them on the first show I saw KISS. I’d have dug seeing them.

KISS came on and rocked the house. Alive III was recorded Black Friday weekend in Cleveland, Detroit and Indianapolis. Just a few weeks after I saw them. I kind of wished they would have done what they did with the first two live albums and only had the songs in which fit the era they were in. But, I get why they didn’t. They had to have stuff to appease the “purists.” I think these are very good performances, overdubbed or not. On that, to my knowledge, the only song we know wasn’t “live” was “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” which, like “Hard Luck Woman” and “Tomorrow and Tonight” were recorded during soundcheck with crowd noise laid on top. I don’t care, it still rocked.

Do I think it is as good as the first two? Maybe. Did it have the same energy? Certainly not as raw as the first and not at their height like II, but its own groove. Do I think I am in the majority? Nope. But, remember, my KISS tastes are weird compared to most others’. Anywhat, this is the song I chose for today. It is one of my favorite post-Alive II songs from one of my favorite post-Alive II albums. This is from one of those recorded shows, although I don’t think this is the version (unedited) that ended up on Alive III. Enjoy!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“I am the incubus. I lay the egg in you. The worm that burrows through your brain. But you are the beast that calls me by my name. You send your children to war to serve bastards and whores. So now you know, you created me on the day that you were born.” – “Unholy” (Simmons/Vincent)

Hush Child or: Young Man’s Blues (Eugeology Entry 40)

16 Monday Oct 2017

Posted by in Music Review

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Salutations™!!

Yeah, so I’m late with this, to the tune of five days, but that’s still a better time than what Eugene and especially Jon have made on this list. Nanny nanny boo boo. Oh, and if you didn’t read my blog from yesterday (shame on you!), I got last week’s (okay the week before’s) entry on vinyl because I absolutely dug the crap out of it! Let’s do this one:

ROCK_CITY_ANGELS_YOUNG+MANS+BLUES-506602

@Geffen Records

 

#40 – Young Man’s Blues by Rock City Angels.

Forty! Wow, that’s a long way to come. Most of them have been good, some of them great, some of them not great. This one falls in the “good” category, I’d say. It’s not great, by any means but it’s decent. I will admit, and it goes with the reason this post is late, that I could only give it about four listens and only about three really good listens.

I had never heard of Rock City Angels. They really got nowhere as far as national recognition goes. Probably their biggest claim to fame is that Johnny Depp played with them before he signed on to star in 21 Jump Street. That being said, he was only there briefly and he was one of, get this, 39 different former band members. Yes. THIRTY-NINE! They started in South Florida in the mid-80s, as a punk band, and moved to Los Angeles to record for Geffen and other labels while becoming known on the LA club/venue circuit well into the 90s.

I listen to it and all I can think of is Adam Sandler/Jack Russell (from Great White) is singing. That’s because to me, Bobby Bondage/Bobby St. Valentine/Bobby Durango sounds like a mix of the two. There are times on this album, as well, that he seems a bit out of key, or at least shaky. “Our Little Secret” and “Ya Gotta Swear” are examples of that. He’s a good singer, he just seems a bit strained at times, but that was the thing back in 1988, I’d say. The funny thing is that when the band sounds like Great White is when BStVD sounds the most like Sandler. Unfortunately, BStVD passed away in 2012.

There are some good riffs on the album, too. I’m just not a fan of that sleazy LA sound, mostly. I prefer the slower songs, truthfully. Mike Barnes and Doug Banx hold down the guitar work, bluesy, rocking or otherwise and have a good tone that also fits the sound of the times. Andy Panik’s bass lines are tasteful and not overly riffy. He plays his parts very well and his tone is great, albeit a bit in the background. Jackie D. Jukes has some monstrous drum runs and fills and his drum sound is definitely indicative of that LA sound.

Overall, it’s just not my thing. It’s not something that I’d want to listen to again. There are moments, as I said, but I think 15 songs is way more than was needed. It was a double album. They could have gotten away with 8-10. I’d be happy to drop some filler and keep “Deep Inside My Heart,” “Hard to Hold,” “Ya Gotta Swear,” “Rough ‘N’ Tumble,” “Shout of the Border” and perhaps “Mary” which was supposed to have been co-written by Depp as well as a few others. I’d say those were the ones I liked the most.

Eug, not my favorite thing you’ve given us but I do appreciate the opportunity to hear it. I’d have probably never heard it had you not assigned it. I rate it as decent but overall, there’s much more to choose from. I just couldn’t get into it.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“She’s got a ruby ring, sparkles at a glance. See the man downtown ya know he always loves ta make ya (dance). It’s an adolescent romance and it’s tearin’ up the charts deep inside my heart.” – “Deep Inside My Heart” (Rock City Angels)