In the ’70s band’s released live albums usually to cap off a period in their career or to commemorate a memorable show or performance; live albums [for the most part] came less often. Uriah Heep released 1 classic double-live set in 1973, and though the band continued into the 80s, 90s, and are still recording and performing [prior to Covid 19] there was no further live albums until 1986 when 2 posthumous live sets were released, and a new live album in 1988. But at the start of the new millennium a whole series of live albums started being released, in leu of any new studio albums for most of the decade, as the industry changed. And since 2009, there’s been a whole pile of new live recordings [many of these issued as official live ‘bootlegs’. This is my own ranking of Heep live albums, based on performances, set lists, and sound. I was going to stop at 10, but continued on with those that had some historical significance to longtime fans. Unfortunately there’s no live releases from the ’80s Heep period, closest being the “Live In London [1985]” video release, and a few live tracks on the back of B-sides and “The Best of Part 2” compilation. Here’s hoping we’ll see more more live archived releases.
Live January 1973
One of the greatest live albums of the 70s – when live albums meant a bit more. Live January 1973 caps off Uriah Heep’s period with Mercury Records in North America, and for many fans – capped off their greatest period, with the ‘classic’ line up at it’s peak. I often have a toss up between my 3 favorite Heep live albums, but put this first for the magic of the band pulling off classics like Sunrise, Tears In My Eyes, Circle of Hands, July Morning, and The Magician’s Birthday – All in the same show! Plus the singles – Gypsy, Easy Livin, and Sweet Lorraine! Performance on this show was legendary – David’s vocals, Lee’s drumming [check out Sweet Lorraine!], the solos, and the Rock n Roll Medley – which a few band’s did around this time and band’s like Queen would pick up on and make one of their own in their live sets. The packaging set a standard – with the stapled program and collage of old reviews and press articles, all a brilliant package that legendary photographer Fin Costello would go on to sorta replicate in Kiss ‘Alive’ [Kiss citing Heep’s Live album as an influence for their own].
Live In Europe ’79
Released in 1986, well after this line-up of the band ceased, but originally recorded with the intent of a live album. I loved John Lawton as a singer for Uriah Heep, although I am not crazy about the latter 2 albums he sang on – due to the band’s lighter / more poppier direction. John’s vocals was the best thing about this era. He also wrote a couple of the era’s heaviest and most memorable songs [Free N Easy, I’m Alive..]. When I first got this 2 LP years ago, I immediately liked John’s take on the classics like Easy Livin’ and Stealin’, though it took me longer to warm to the change on the softer songs like The Wizard & July Morning. But what I like most about this album is the sheer power of the band’s sound at the time, and how much of the Lawton era songs came off stronger than the studio versions and fit so well amongst the early classics. The original 2 LP gatefold sleeve lacked a bit in band pics, but looked great; the 2 CD remastered version is outstanding for the extra material and info.
Future Echoes of The Past
What an amazing set of Heep classics and “neo classics” [as Bernie Shaw refers to the newer material]. One thing that I really like about Heep [especially during the Shaw/Lanzon years] is the band’s confidence and enthusiasm to play a wealth of songs from their album. Nothing more annoying than going to see a band you enjoy with a new album, that only plays 1 new song! Heep regularly plays 5+ songs from the latest album they are promoting. – Sonic Origami was the new album at the time of this recording [one of my favorites!], and the band would include 8 [of 13] songs from it. Brilliant performances on classics like Sweet Freedom, Sunrise, Rain, and Bird of Prey [besides the usual], and a killer start with Between Two Worlds, with Bernie hitting that high note at the peak of the song. I remember talking to Dave White [Heep webmaster] before this came out, and that “Uriah Heep : 2000” would be such a cool title for this. Originally came in a 2CD set, numbered with signed booklets. This one needs a new vinyl reissue!
Magic Night
In 2000 the band started doing yearly special shows near the end of the year – which would include a few guests, a special set list, and eventually be issued as a CD/DVD via Classic Rock Productions. Of the series, “Magic Night” – recorded in 2003 remains my favorite. A pretty career wide set of songs, including stuff from almost every Heep era [save for Conquest] -a selection of acoustic tracks, John Lawton on 2 tracks – most notably sharing vocals with Bernie Shaw on Been Away Too Long, which is the highlight of this recording for me, plus a couple of early 80s Peter Goalby era rockers. The CD would feature 16 tracks [excluding July Morning & Lady In Black from the accompanying DVD], and a new 2-LP reissue of this features 15 tracks [also lobbing off Too Scared To Run] – a full reissue of the entire show would be nice. Beautiful cover-art from Rodney Matthews [best known for album covers by Magnum, and whom would do a couple of other Heep covers in this series, as well as one for John Lawton].
Acoustically Driven
This show featured the band playing an acoustic set, with an added string section, and a special guest Ian Anderson [on a couple of tracks]. The band pulled out a number of previously unplayed [and/or not played in years] gems, most notably 2 from the Different World album, and older ballads like Circus, The Easy Road and Why Did You Go, as well as fan favorites The Shadows And The Wind and Blind Eye. Nothing heavy here, a very different Heep feel and atmosphere. Originally a 16 track [the last one being a medley] DVD/CD , and recently issued in full on 2 LPs. Cover-art by Roger Dean.
The Magicians Birthday Party
This year end show was plugged as some sort of ‘reunion’ show as it would be the first time Ken Hensley would play with the band since he left in 1980. It also included guest appearances from John Lawton and from Thijs Van Leer of Focus [on flute]. An excellent 15 song set, which would bring back a few old classics like Paradise/The Spell, Tales, I’ll Keep On Trying, and Free N Easy. Hensley features on most of the latter half of this set, making for memorable performances of Circle Of Hands, and July Morning, but for me it’s John Lawton who provides the highlights of the show [again] with his performances on Sympathy and Free N Easy. Hnesley would rejoin the band on stage in Russia in 2015; hopefully someone will give that an official release some day, and Lawton would also fill in for Bernie Shaw Another Roger Dean cover, originally in a 15 song DVD/CD package, and more recently issued on 2 LPs with just 12 tracks.
Live At Koko
The band’s most recent live release, recorded prior to the release 2014’s “Outsider” and issued on CD/DVD and 3-LPs in 2015. A solid hard-hitting set and performance – featuring tracks from each of the 4 Bernie Shaw era studio albums, plus 2 Outsider tracks [performed before the album’s release]. So well recorded, with No guests, and very few slow-downs in the set. Outstanding version of Traveler In Time, as well as a blazing instrumental titled “Box Wah Box”.
Live In Armenia
Great 2 LP [+ CD/DVD] set from a 2009 show, released in 2011. Sounds great [another production by Mike Paxman, who produced Heep from Wake The Sleeper To Outsider, and mastered a number of the live ‘official bootleg’ releases]. Features 7 cuts from Wake The Sleeper, which all sound awesome here, as well as the usual half dozen Heep classics, and Sympathy. Fantastic cover-art by Ioannis.
Live in Kawasaki
From the ‘official bootleg’ series. I dig this album for the fact that the band performs Demons And Wizards in it’s entirety [in order], with Micky Moody [ex Whitesnake] guesting on slide guitar on a few tracks. I think the band does an outstanding job recreating the band’s classic 1972 album. As well, this includes 4 tracks from Wake The Sleeper, Love In Silence, Rain, Free N Easy, the standards, and a few others — 21 tracks total! Recorded in 2010, issued the following year. The Japanese edition [released in 2013] includes 2 more classics. Another great cover from Ioannis [who did Heep covers from Wake The Sleeper to Into The Wild]. The band also performed Demons & Wizards in full at 2010’s High Voltage Festival in London [UK], with Moody guesting again.
Spellbinder
Originally recorded and aired for radio broadcast in Germany. I had a tape of this broadcast and absolutely loved it, in large part for the set list, and the inclusion of my favorite Heep song Circle Of Hands, I thought it was just a fantastic take and performance by the band, and in particular – Bernie Shaw. Devil’s Daughter was a great opening track then, and the set included Words In The Distance – before it was actually released in ’95 on Sea of Light [the band was playing this in ’93 as ‘the new song’, when i saw them on the Total Recall Tour in North America]. Originally a CD release, but in recent years has been issued as a 2 LP set.
Live At Shepperton ’74
Not originally recorded for a live album release. This is the soundtrack to Heep’s 1974 US TV show ‘Don Kirschner’s Rock Concert’, recorded in London at a special performance. Not a full show, but more so to promote the band’s then-upcoming Wonderworld album, so it featured 4 songs from that album, as well as a few previous hits, and the Rock N Roll Medley. The single LP came in a simple white sleeve with the name & title printed on the outside, and no photos. A few other issues came later with different covers. The sound wasn’t great [being recorded and edited for TV], but in 1997 this performance would be remastered, with added outtakes [some retakes of a few songs at the show]. I like this album largely for the performances of the 4 Wonderworld tracks – which sound better than the studio versions to me.
Live In Moscow
In 1987 Heep was restarting with a new lead singer, and a fairly new keyboard player. The band’s status had dropped in various territories following the Equator album, and a few more personnel changes – particularly in North America. But on the other side of the world, Uriah Heep was still a huge deal, and the band would be invited to be the first western rock band to perform in the then Soviet Union, performing 10 nights in Moscow. The band was a huge deal in Russia, treated like huge stars by the people there, and being well documented by the UK rock press. Originally released as a 10 track LP in a beautifully printed red gatefold cover [w/ lyrics, photos, and liner notes by Paul Henderson], with 3 of the 10 tracks being brand new songs. The sound wasn’t very strong, with the equipment in the USSR back then not so great. A later remastering of the album would improve the sound and add 3 more songs from the live tapes.
Worth checking out:
King Biscuit Flower Presents..
Electrically Driven 2001 : The Official Bootleg
Live In The USA 2002
Between Two Worlds : Live in London 2004
Live At Sweden Rock Festival 2009
Official Bootleg Series [2008-2011 series]
In late ’99 I received the “The Ladder”, the new Yes album at the time. I really liked it at the time, a bit different, lighter, more diverse instruments, but I enjoyed the songs like “It Will Be A Good Day” and “If Only You Knew”, and the Roger Dean cover-art is one of my favorite Yes covers. [And recently reissued on vinyl, which sparked my interest in revisiting it]. At the time I got to interview drummer Alan White for this release. Alan joined Yes in ’72, and has been there ever since. Aside from Yes, the guy has had an amazing career – playing with John Lennon, George Harrison, and Joe Cocker.
Check out more at – http://alanwhite.net/
January 2000: ‘I recently had the privilege and honor to interview YES drummer Alan White.
The band is currently out in support of their latest album “The Ladder” – which is being hailed as their best since “90125” by many fans and critics. [See my review in December issue of Universal Wheels for more].
The band now comprised of White, guitarists Steve Howe and Billy Sherwood, keyboardist Igor Khoroshev, founding members Chris Squire and Jon Anderson. For more info on Yes check out YesWorld www.yesworld.com, Notes From The Edge at www.nfte.org.’
Q: Congratulations on the new album.
AW: Thanks very much.
Q: I think it’s probably the best [Yes] album since ‘90125’.
AW: Yeah, there’s a lot of good stuff on it; we enjoy playing it.
Q: How have things been going?
AW: Excellent. I just got back from doing a clinic last night; I was teaching last night down in Sacramento, so i had a busy day yesterday, and I’m just kind of doing paperwork today.
Q: So, you guys are pretty scattered out!?
AW: Yeah, John lives in San Wanabispo [?}, Billy’s in LA, Chris is in New York, Steve’s in London, and Igor lives in Boston.
Q: How has reaction been to the album as far as the critics, and the fans?
AW: Really good. I’ve seen a lot of positive things towards it. They’re saying it’s a mixture of pretty much what we tried to do, and what it seems it’s coming across to the people like that, is get some elements of the 70s, the 80s, and the 90s all rolled in to one package there. And it’s kind of like a modern version of all that material. So there’s elements and sounds from the 70s and 80s, but played much more in a 90s style.
Q: Yeah, that’s what I gathered. I hear a lot of ‘classic’ Yes in there on the guitars, vocals, and harmonies and that. You guys are doing a lot more of this album in the live show as opposed to the last album, correct?
AW: Yes, we started piling up a list for playing on stage, and because of the nature in which we made this album , we actually played it live in rehearsals and quite a lot of classics while we went and recorded. So again in rehearsals for touring, a lot of that material sounded really good straight away. We do like 6 numbers.
Q: You guys did this album with Bruce Fairbairn, and from what I understand of him he did a lot of Hard-Rock stuff like Aerosmith, Loverboy – a lot of bands I wouldn’t associate Yes with.
AW: Right, but he was a big fan of the band; he also understood the band’s music, and he always wanted to get his teeth around something that was challenging like this – a more progressive type band. I think it was a perfect relationship we had, and unfortunately, as you know – it never worked out in the end for him.
Q: How much of the end did you guys have to finish after he passed away?
AW: They were about 3 tracks in to mixing when he had his heart-attack. But the engineer, who we had been working with [Mike], he actually had been working with Bruce for about 10 years, and kind of knew how he wanted the album to sound; so basically he wanted to carry on and finish the project.
Q: How do the songs come together with you guys, because I notice that you share the songwriting credits. What can you tell as far as the ‘breakdown’ of who brings in the melodies, or the lyrics – that sort of thing!??
AW: We all throw things ‘in to the pot’, as it were. I usually come up with some keyboard chords, and rhythms and stuff like that, and John comes up with melodies and lyrics, and Chris….People have different kind of things they bring to the table all the time, or if somebody brings something to the table – another guy will change it in kind of another direction. So, it’s very amicable.
Q: Billy and Igor haven’t been with the band for very long, have they?
AW: No. Actually, Billy’s been around the band for about 10 years, but he’s been a full member for about 3 or 4 years now.
Q: Is Igor a full member?
AW: No. He’s still a sideman, but he’s contributed a lot like in the writing on the last album, and changing chords and stuff like that. So, he’s on a good salary – let’s put it that way!
Q: How does it work now that you have 2 guitarists in the band, and how does that work out on stage?
AW: Pretty good actually. Steve Howe is going to be Steve Howe, and he has a very definite style. And some of the material we do from the 80s Billy kind of latched in to that a lot more – some of the stuff that Trevor Rabin did, stuff like that, and Billy comes to the table with his own material too. He comes from more of an 80s standpoint, where as Steve is probably more 70s.
Q: Is there a comparison between Billy and Trevor?
AW: No, they’re very good friends actually. It’s not a case of that. It’s that Billy feels he’s good at emanating what Trevor did in some of that music, and no there’s no comparisons drawn between them.
Q: You guys got a lot of different sounds on this album with all the guitars, keyboards, and ‘world instruments’ – what can you tell me about that?
AW: We actually had a percussioner come in, and played a vast array of world instruments that we wanted to use on certain, and we only used about as half as many as anticipated. We had that kind of ‘world feel’ to some of the drumming and stuff like that. We wanted to get across Caribbean / Afro-American rhythms, but in a progressive kind of way, a progressive style; and that was the idea behind all of that.
Q: What was the atmosphere of the making of the album before Bruce passed away, because it’s a very positive – musically and lyrically, kind of uplifting. !?
AW: We spent like 6 weeks writing prior to Christmas of ’98, and then we had Christmas off, and then went back in to the studio in February and did a couple of more weeks of rehearsal, and just slammed in to the album. There was a great vibe between everybody. We were all living up in Vancouver, and we’d all get up and go to work every day, and that’s a very good positive way to make an album; as opposed to some albums where everybody lived around the area, and you lived your home life and then had to go in to the studio every day. So, when you’re living away from home it tends to go faster.
Q: Was there a ‘happy’ feel about the album as the recording went on?
AW: Yes there was. There was a very uplifting kind of sense. Bruce took the helm, and he was very good sitting behind the board, making decisions, where as opposed we might have been scratching our heads for a while, Bruce would say “no no -that definitely doesn’t work, you should do this in this direction…” And he had good control over what was going on in the studio. It lead to us being more positive while we were in there because we thought “well – that’s outside ideas listening to it, we should take that advice and just take that path”.
Q: What stands out as far as favorite tracks on the album, and what’s receiving the most attention?
AW: Different people like different things. At the moment they’re playing “Home World” a lot, and you know, I like tracks like the Caribbean tracks. For me it’s very hard to say because to me they’re all so different because you kind of live every track, ya know. I have a kind of feeling for all the tracks myself. Home World to me is a stand-out track, it’s a combination of the 70s and what the band used to be and a very modern way that we played it in the 90s.
Q: I love that, as well as “If Only You Knew”. Like I said, it’s just got a great feel to the whole thing.
AW: Absolutely. And you know down the line, I think come the end of the year here we’re thinking of doing a version of some of those songs, as well as some classic songs with an orchestra. Those songs are perfect for that sort of thing.
Q: You guys are on a big world tour, is there any chance you’ll be recording for a live album?
AW: Actually, we did a thing for ‘Direct – TV’, that was playing just before Christmas, that we did at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. And I think down the line we’ll be making some more live recordings and probably another video – as a whole show done properly. I think we’re looking at that right now.
Q: Can we touch a bit on some older albums?
AW: Sure……..
Q: The Drama album, was that an odd album to make with the line-up changing?
AW: Yeah, in some senses it was because it was really started by Steve, Chris, and myself. Jon wasn’t involved at that time, and we just went in to rehearsals and we were rehearsing in Munich with the idea to do a new album. In the next studio was Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, and they were fans of the band, and they kept coming in and listening to us, and finally one day Trevor said “I’ve written a song that you guys can do really well”, and then all of a sudden we were playing the song, they’re both kind of in Yes. We had a meeting, and then we went in the studio and recorded. That was another album where a lot of people gave a lot of music from a lot of different areas; it was compiled really by all of us, and we had a great time. I think it’s kind of an underrated album, to tell you the truth. I think it’s one of the band’s better albums.
Q: In the 70s you guys got in to a lot of really lengthy things, big productions like “Tales Of Topographic Oceans” and those type of albums, like “Relayer” – where you had really lengthy tracks and big progressive movements, and you got away from some of the shorter things…
AW: The norm – yeah. Rebels. ha ha. I think that there was so much musical talent in the band at the time that we wanted to try something new, and try and find a new avenue, and that’s what we came up with – which became known as Yes music, and I don’t think there’s many people that can emulate some of that stuff because it’s pretty difficult to play, some of that it. We just went down our own avenue that way, and created our own style even more.
Q: Did you feel any of it got a bit excessive, because in the late 70s you had the punk thing and that stuff that was kind of rebelling against the establishment bands, like yourselves.!?
AW:I think this band came from more of a musical kind of “let’s test ourselves out, as long as we’re making something that looks, ya know – the future.” We were more interested in that kind of area.
Q: Was there any stuff recorded after the Drama album, with that line-up, that never got out?
AW: There’s a few tracks that were done, that are still around actually with Trevor and Geoff on them. I don’t know if they’ll surface, maybe on a compilation album or something.
Q: Is there a lot of stuff in general in the vaults that could be released at a later date?
AW: There is some live stuff from that period and other periods that haven’t been released yet; but I think right now we’re concentrating on really getting this unit working because it’s playing very well on stage, and everybody feels good about it.
Q: The “90125”, as opposed to the late 70s stuff – that was a more direct, more of a rock album….
AW: It was more 80s, it had more of a rock approach even though we had Yes elements in amongst it, and one of our most successful albums of all; and we just happened to hit on the right button with “Owner Of A Lonely Heart” – and it gave that album a lot of sales and a lot of play.
Q: Was it a hard album to follow up?
AW: Not really, I don’t think, because I thought “Big Generator” had some material that was as good as some of the material on 90125, and it did pretty good. It was just a different album, you know, we’d moved on down the line a couple years and that. But I wouldn’t say it was that hard to follow up, no.
Q: In the late 80s you guys got in to doing other things and that…..
AW: We did Big Generator and then the tour, and then we did the “Union” tour in ’91. That was all of us on stage together.
Q: That was a big production; I guess that’ll never happen again!?
AW: Well, I don’t know. You never know down the line how many players will come out of the woodwork, and we can do another tour like that. Everybody was very amicable, and got on together, and we just got on with the tour.
Q: Do you still have a lot of contact with former members – like Trevor, Tony Kaye….
AW:As a matter of fact I saw Trevor a couple of days ago. I haven’t spoken to Tony for a couple of years, he kind of disappeared for a while. But, yeah – we talk and see each other occasionally.
Q: Is Eddie Offord still around?
AW:I haven’t seen Eddie for quite a few years; I think it’s been 3 or 4 years since I last saw Eddie. The last thing I heard was he’s in California mixing a few local bands, trying to get local bands off the ground and that.
Q: Do you do a lot of studio work?
AW:I do some, but when I’m home here in Seattle, I tend to like to spend time with my family. I have a home studio up here, and I can do some writing. I have a lot of friends in bands and the music business around here, but I tend to keep away from doing too many sessions.
Q: Your pre Yes days, working with John Lennon and that, any fond memories?
AW: Sure. It was a great period of my life, that was a great stepping stone up to playing with a band like Yes. I used to tell people I was so young and naive at that time, I was like 20 – 21 years old and I was going to play with people like that, and doing sessions all around London, and it was ‘passed’ almost before I knew what was happening. And you had to pinch yourself on down the line to let yourself know you’d been part of history like that.
Q: Are guys on-line?
AW: Yes. In fact I got a call today saying that they’re changing some of our web site names. They’re registering all of our names for our own web sites, because most of the time we go through ‘Notes From The Edge’. They sift through all the information and then give us all the relevant stuff.
Q: Do you go out on the web and explore a lot?
AW: Yes. I have a son who’s 17 in February and my daughter’s actually on it right now, she’s on amazon.com looking for a new stereo system for her room. ha ha….
Q: Your proudest moment as a member of Yes from the past?
AW: Actually one of the main proudest moments is when you really finish an album that you’re really proud of, like some albums that never got as much attention like for instance “Talk” – which was an album that I thought was great, but it didn’t get the attention that some of the old albums did. But, walking out in Madison Square Gardens and playing 7 nights in a row, like we did in the past, and we still got the record there I believe today for consecutive nights. And receiving Grammies; we got a Grammy for 90125 and that was real exciting.
Q: Do you follow much of the music scene these days?
AW: Yeah, I keep up with it. I don’t tend to run out to clubs to see new bands all the time, but I see enough of the stuff.
Q: Do you follow the progressive scene much?
AW: Yeah, absolutely!
Q: What do you think of it?
AW: A lot of bands that were kind of ‘honed’ on what we used to do in the past, and now they’re gone their own journey in the 90s. But I think there’s some great music out there, but there’s so much of it I couldn’t isolate much, but I mean Dream Theater and people like that have been around for a while and obviously did that. I commend it, for people who are trying to do something different.
Q: Favorite drummers – either influences or out there today!?
AW: You know what, there’s so many people that play so many different ways. I like the Steve Smiths of the world, and Leonard White, and some of the fusion guys I loved a lot, and I things from them within my style. There’s guys in the past that I liked a lot – Andy Newmark, Steve Gadd – all those guys influenced me from a distance in different ways, but there’s a lot of great players around today.
British band Sweet got their start recording singles by the songwriting team of Mike Chapman & Nicky Chinn. This era of pop hits saw the band consisting of Brian Connolly (lead vocals), Andy Scott (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Steve Priest (bass, vocals) and Mick Tucker (drums, vocals) dressed in glam outfits, make-up, etc.. and a number of hits like “Little Willy”, “Wig Wam Bam”, “Teenage Rampage”, “Blockbuster” and “Ballroom Blitz”. The band was a huge success in Great Britain and Europe during that very early ’70s period. With the success of the singles “Little Willy” and “Ballroom Blitz” in North America, the band’s future albums would start seeing regular releases in Canada and the USA, but by then the band was moving away from the pop songs written by Chinn & Chapman, and were writing their own material, which was more hard-rock, even early metal, while retaining the band’s trademark backing vocals.
I never got in to Sweet beyond the ‘Greatest Hits’ stuff many years ago, though I’d had a few LPs, but in recent years, motivated by a few of their heavier tunes I’ve filled in the gaps in my collection and am enjoying that string of classic Sweet albums from 1974-’80. It’s unfortunate that the band was really forever dumped in that pop and bubble-gum category, as the band really could rock as heavy as any of the biggest hard-rock bands of the decade. Skip past the bands early ‘hits’ and dig deeper in to their albums tracks, there’s some amazing stuff. Also, do yourself a favor and do Not get the North American version of their best known album “Desolation Boulevard” — get the UK or German [or whatever] version – with the proper track listing…or find the 2017 CD box set “The Sensational Sweet”, which covers all the band’s material up until the departure of singer Brian Connolly. There is a smaller 4 disc box that includes the bands Polydor albums (78-82).
Following the band’s break-up in ’82 Sweet splintered in to a few different versions, each featuring 1 or 2 members. Andy Scott kept the band name going in the UK and Europe (originally including Mick Tucker) – this version of Sweet released “Live At The Marquee” (which featured Paul Mario Day, original Iron Maiden singer, as well as keyboard player Phil Lanzon, ex of Grand Prix and soon to be of Uriah Heep). Tucker left the band in ’91, and sadly passed away in 2002. Brian Connolly had his own version of Sweet going in the mid 80s and in to the 90s as well, releasing 1 album “Let’s Go” in ’95. Connolly passed away in early ’97. Bass player Steve Priest formed his own version of Sweet in the US in 2008, originally featuring guitarist Stuart Smith (who’s playing style was influenced by old friend and mentor Ritchie Blackmore), as well as singer Joe Retta. Priest’s Sweet released 1 live album in 2009, and toured throughout North America. Smith & Retta eventually left (Retta was in Smith’s band Heaven & Earth). Priest passed away June 4. Andy Scott’s Sweet remains active in Europe, having released a few albums over the years.
Anyway, I wanted to pick a set of classic Sweet songs, not from the band’s Chinn-Chapman days, but from their own penned material. As a hard-rock band in 70s, perhaps Sweet was the most underrated, and at their peak produced some incredible albums. Let me know what you think…
Set Me Free
The band’s first real album of almost all self-penned tracks [2 Chinn-Chapman, and 1 cover] was 1974’s “Sweet Fanny Adams”, and from this point the band began being a serious hard-rock band, as opposed to ‘bubble-gum’ or simply ‘glam’. “Set Me Free” written by guitarist Andy Scott is an early fast paced metal anthem; inspired by Scott’s liking of the heavy rock approach of Deep Purple (with a familiar sound to Purple’s “Flight Of The Rat”). It pre-dates Maiden, Motorhead, and numerous others that came soon after.
Sweet FA
Another very heavy track from Sweet Fanny Adams. Love the production of this, with Andy Scott’s guitar, the band’s high pitched backing vocals, a few changes in pace with the addition of a synth riff… Mick Tucker was such a heavy drummer, who really was so important to the band’s hard-rock sound.
Fox On The Run
The band’s 2nd North American release (first for Capitol) was a very different LP to what the rest of the world got — which was the actual “Desolation Boulevard” 9 track album, consisting of 5 band songs, 2 Chinn-Chapman tunes, and 2 covers (including The Who’s “My Generation). Canada & the USA got a compilation of new tracks, tracks from Sweet Fanny Adams, and a few singles (most notably “Ballroom Blitz”). Although I prefer the well known single version of “Fox On The Run”, the album version was fairly different – no synths, more guitar, as well as a cool solo, and a less polished production; but still a good album track. Fox On The Run was covered in 2009 by original Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley.
Someone Else Will
A B-side from Desolation Boulevard sessions. A mid tempo heavy rock track, in the vein of “Foxy Lady”. Pretty bold lyric intro, and daring content for the time. Great guitar break; reminiscent of Hendrix.
Action
My favorite Sweet tune, classic keyboard intro, killer lead vocal, big backing vocals. A huge hit, and even if you think this is a bit ‘pop’ – turn it up, it simply rocks. Kinda like ’80s pop-metal years ahead of it’s time; no wonder Def Leppard did a great cover of this in the ’90s. From “Give Us A Wink”, arguably the band’s best album (tho’ on some days I may choose “Off The Record”); the North American version of this LP added Andy Scott’s ballad “Lady Starlight”.
Cockroach
Also from Give Us A Wink – a really heavy album overall, and I had a hard time narrowing it down to just a few tunes from it to put here. But “Cockroach” has that same attitude as Sweet FA and Someone Else Will. Brian Connolly had an amazing ability to really add such an attitude and character to these songs. The guy at his peak during Sweet’s mid 70s run was one-of-a-kind, and so underrated in discussions and lists of great lead singers from the decade. Love Andy Scott’s solos on this track as well; guy was playing ‘metal’ as well as anyone then and after.
Live For Today
Rockin’ classic from “Off The Record”; great lyrics, they even managed to drop the ‘F’-bomb on this – in 1977. This is a great record, lots of kick-ass rock. North American version of this LP added the track “Stairway To The Stars”, and had a slightly different running order.
Windy City
Also from ‘Off The Record’. A heavy riff and big rock tune, also inspired by someone’s Deep Purple / Blackmore influence (note the riff pretty similar to “Woman From Tokyo” on this one). Still – a track that sits comfortably alongside any of the heavy classics from the likes of Purple or Sabbath in the 70s.
Love Is Like Oxygen
From “Level Headed”, this was edited down and was a huge hit single. Love the album version, with the instrumental mid section, classic Sweet – with a fantastic chorus, and with more prog & pop leanings than the band’s heavier rock sound. Unfortunately, I don’t find much on Level Headed that I really love, as the band had started to adapt some of that California acoustic rock bs – so not much in the way of rockers here. Also the last to feature singer Brian Connolly. A shame he’d be gone from the band soon after this, and his health and career would never recover. Sweet would carry on, but their glory days were pretty much over. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sweet+love+is+like+oxygen+long+version
Mother Earth
The first album from Sweet as a 3 piece was “Cut Above The Rest”; a solid album. The band continues more in to pop and more keyboards making for a more prog direction on this classic, clocking in at nearly 7 minutes, a bit laid back, a great production. Although Steve Priest and Andy Scott were fine singers (and did a great job on this track), the band really missed that distinctive character & vocal that Brian Connolly brought on some of those later albums. Ronnie James Dio did have talks with the band, but nothing came of it.
Too Much Talking
1980’s “Water’s Edge” (aka “VI” in North America, with different cover art) saw the 3 piece Sweet carry on in to a more pop direction. Not a huge fan of this album (or the next), but it had a few highlights, in particular this one. “Too Much Talking”, with Andy Scott on lead vocals; a cool pop rocker, penned by Sweet touring guitarist Ray McRiner. great little riff, a memorable chorus, and a solid production. Neat piano break that leads in to a brief heavy guitar solo. Piano from Gary Moberley who’d play on a few later Sweet albums, contribute a few songs, and tour with the band. A bit more tidy pop-rock, but the closest thing to the band’s earlier classics like Action. This would’ve made for a better single than the more lightweight “Sixties Man”.
Identity Crisis
The last album by the band, as they return to the basics, a more raw sound – guitar, bass, drums.. no keyboards or big productions. With the band’s slide over the past few albums “Identity Crisis” would only be released in Germany, Mexico and Peru [!] – No UK or North American release at all. The title track (and single) was a strong catchy rock tune, and good vocal from Steve Priest (who handled the majority of the leads after BC left). The band demo’d Russ Ballard’s “Where Do We Go From Here” (anyone have this?) at the time, but chose not to record it for the album! (Russ Ballard covers in the early 80s were highly successful by numerous bands).
Released in 1988, Second Sighting was the follow up to the debut album from former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, titled Frehley’s Comet – which was really a band album along with drummer Anton Fig [who left soon after], bassist John Regan, and Tod Howarth – who wrote, sang leads, played guitar & keyboards. I saw the band in ’87 when they opened for Alice Cooper in Buffalo, NY, still got the ‘Ace Is Back’ tour shirt!
The first album did all-right, and featured the autobiographical anthem & fan favorite “Rock Soldiers” [co-written w/ Chip Taylor, “Wild Thing” writer]. It also featured a few other great tunes in a cover of Russ Ballard’s “Into The Night” and “Calling To You” – a remake [and slightly altered] of 707 ‘s “Megaforce” [previously penned by Howarth & Kevin Russell]. The debut was also co-produced by Ace & Eddie Kramer. Kramer would not be around for the 2nd of album, and Jamie Oldaker would join the band on drums. I picked up a promo copy of Second Sighting soon after it came out, at a shop in Toronto. Second Sighting is my favorite of the 2 albums. It’s a bit more radio friendly for the time. With Frehley’s Comet being a band, Howarth is credited on 5 songs, and Frehley on 4 [though strangely his name is added to the credits of a covered song, he didn’t write it, but ‘reworked’].
Criticized at the time for having 2 different styles in the band [Howarth – Frehley], I really liked the mix of both of their songs and change of vocals from track to track]. This is a great set of songs with Ace’s anthems “Insane” & “Juvenile Delinquent”, as well as Tod Howarth’s more commercial rock in “Time Ain’t Runnin’ Out” & “New Kind of Lover”, as well as the ballad “It’s Over Now” – that should’ve made for a big hit single, considering the era. There was also a decent cover of Streetheart’s “Dancin’ With Danger”, rocker “Loser In A Fight” – which finally saw the 2 singers trade off lead vocals, and Ace’s closing guitar epic instrumental “The Acorn Is Spinning”. My own favorites here are Insane [co-written with Gene Moore – http://www.monsterrockband.com/bio.html ], Time Ain’t Runnin’ Out [love the keyboards & the chorus here, would’ve made a great single], and Juvenile Delinquent.
Too bad a third album was never done with this line-up, as Howarth left the band after the tour, with the record company wanting the next album to be an all-Ace Frehley album [and it did come out as an AF solo album Trouble Walking]. Tod Howarth went on to record a number of solo albums, and in recent years formed Four By Fate with Jon Regan. Their 2016 album Relentless featured a remake of “It’s Over Now”, as well as covers of John Waite’s “These Times Are Hard For Lovers”, and Derringer’s “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo”. Ace Frehley would go on to record several solo albums since, with 2018’s Spaceman being one of his best. Second Sighting was reissued on CD by Rock Candy [UK] in 2013, with a lengthy essay featuring an interview with Tod Howarth, and various photos; tho No ‘bonus’ material was added, nor were the lyrics included in the booklet [original LP came with lyrics on the inner sleeve].
*There was also a live EP [Live +1] released prior to Second Sighting, and 2019 saw the [US] Record Store Day release of Live – an exclusive orange vinyl album consisting of 6 tracks recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon in ’87. As I said above – I did interview Tod Howarth way back for a couple of his solo albums; I need to find these [I have them still in the envelope he sent back then].
For Immediate Release Intelligent Music Project V “Life Motion” Featuring Members of Rainbow, Toto, Asia and River Hounds Featuring Simon Phillips (Toto /Protocol), Ronnie Romero (Rainbow), John Payne (Asia) and Richard Grisman (River Hounds) In these interesting times, when life puts a forced pause on us, most of all we need to lift our spirits, […]
For Immediate Release Legendary Alice Cooper Group Drummer Neal Smith To Release New Album of Retro Pop Songs “POP 85/95” Legendary Alice Cooper Group drummer Neal Smith will be releasing a new album on June 1st, 2020. Neal’s new Retro Pop album is titled “POP 85/95” signifying the music style and time period in which […]
Styx was one of my earliest favorite bands, that period from Equinox until Paradise Theatre was an amazing run. Dennis DeYoung released “Desert Moon” in 1984, which I liked at the time, followed by 2 more solo albums in the next few years. In the ’90s he got in to Broadway and theatre tunes, and I had kinda lost interest by this time. The next few Styx albums weren’t so hot either. However, I did pick up Dennis DeYoung’s “Live In Los Angeles” [2 CD set of Styx songs] in 2014, and was amazed at just how good he sounded, and his band. A better live album than Styx’s “Caught In The Act” 30 years prior. And that brought me back to DD and Styx. I loved the last Styx album [minus Dennis], and picked up his 2009 album “One Hundred Years From Now”, which was a good album.
“26 East, Vol 1” sees DeYoung going back to a more Styx sound, particularly with the harmonies, and a bit more guitar. The opening track “East Of Midnight” coming off like a classic 70s Styx production. There’s plenty of theatrics though, with memorable songs like “Run For The Roses”, “A Kingdom Ablaze”, and “Damn The Dream”. There’s always a number of ballads with DeYoung, most notably here is “To The Good Old Days”, sung with Julian Lennon. The album ends with a return to the Paradise Theater on “A.D. 2020”. At 73, time has been good to DeYoung’s voice and energy. An interesting album, which lots to get into. Old Styx fans will dig most of this. Volume 2 should be interesting.
“26 EAST: Volume 1”
RELEASE DATE: May 22, 2020
Former Styx frontman Dennis DeYoung is back with his sixth original solo studio, album “26 East: Volume 1.”
“26 East” was the address where DeYoung grew up in Roseland on the far south side of Chicago. This is where Styx was formed in his basement in 1962. Across the street lived the Panozzo twins, John and Chuck, who along with DeYoung would go on to form the nucleus of the band. The cover artwork features three locomotives traveling through space, representing the original members leaving Chicago on their journey to the stars.
“On this, I decided to write songs about my journey from humble beginnings in my basement on Chicago’s far-south side to the very top of my chosen profession.” the singer states.
While DeYoung previously announced this will be his last album, more recently he revealed that “there were so many songs written that Serafino Perugino, CEO of Frontiers, suggested dividing it into two albums rather than one,” DeYoung states. “This is Volume 1, which sounds pretentious to me, but the marketing folks wanted you to know there are going to be two of them, so hey kids, there are two of them; this is Volume 1!”
One of the special moments on “26 East” is a tribute to DeYoung’s musical idols, The Beatles. “If you know me, you know of my love for the Beatles and their effect on my life and millions of other musicians.” DeYoung notes that the Beatles-inspired track is a duet, and he recruited Julian Lennon, son of John, to duet with him. “I wrote an email to him and was just about to send it when I listened one last time and suddenly realized Jules should not sing this song,” he explained. “It was my story not his.” Instead, DeYoung went to his piano and wrote an entirely new tune for he and Lennon to collaborate on. Calling their recording session a “dream come true,” DeYoung said the new duet sounds “even better than I had imagined.” The collaboration with Julian Lennon came about when DeYoung wrote a verse and chorus of a song with Lennon in mind. Lennon heard the demo and said he would be honored to participate. Lennon’s vocals were recorded in October at Mission Sound in Brooklyn, NY.
DeYoung shares, “The moment we sang together in the studio it felt magical. I wrote the song specifically for our two voices. I had never met Julian previously but I have been an admirer since Valotte.”
The process that brought forth the album begining in the first place started when Jim Peterik, a fellow Chicagoan and nearby neighbor, sent a song to Dennis.
“If not for Jim Peterik’s encouragement, talent and prodding I would not have recorded this music,” said DeYoung. “He once told me the world needed my music; to which I replied ‘have the world text me for verification.’ We collaborated from the get go, happily and seamlessly and at this time we have written nine songs together of which five will be on Volume 1. Just two Chicago guys doing what they do best, making music and having a laugh.”
Tracklist:
East Of Midnight
With All Due Respect
A Kingdom Ablaze
You My Love
Run For The Roses
Damn That Dream
Unbroken
The Promise Of This Land
To The Good Old Days
A.D. 2020
Line-up:
Jim Peterik: Guitar, Bass, Keyboard, Vocals and Vuvuzela
August Zadra: Electric Guitars, vocals
Jimmy Leahey: Acoustic and electric guitars
Craig Carter: Bass, vocals and invocations
Mighty Mike Morales: Drums and all day sound checker
John Blasucci: Keyboard’s
Mike Aquino: Electric Guitars
Kevin Chalfant: backing vocals
Matthew DeYoung: Drums on “To The Good Old Days”
Ed Breckenfeld: Drums on “Unbroken”
Zoe and Austin Orchard for Ring Around The Rosie
The Chicago Children’s Choir and conductor Josephine Lee
Dennis DeYoung: Keyboards, fake drums, fake bass, fake news and some vocals. Oh and Vuvuzela
Mastered by Dave Collins, Dave Collins Mastering. L.A.
Having just written a review of the WASP era from 1989 to ’95, I decided to take this double album back out and give it a few proper listens. I bought this 2 years ago [in different formats] with great expectations, and not understanding what it really was [my mistake, though I likely would’ve bought it anyway]. I then realized that this is all re-records… OK… And as I’ve said before – I loved the original album when it came out [still do], so why a new recording of it all [?], and a few previously non released tracks. My first impressions were that it was more polished [losing some of the aggression], and the changing of some of the lyrics [removing profanities] was a bit of a turn off. So I’d put the album away for some time, not enthused by the whole idea. Having said that, the current edition of WASP does kick ass, which [on here] also includes Doug Blair [guitar], Mike Dupke [drums, who has since left the band], and Mike Duda [bass] – albums like “Babylon” [2009] and “Golgotha” [2015] were fantastic releases! Blackie’s songwriting since 2000 never gets dull, and his voice is still strong. If anything, the man’s passion that he pours in to his songs and recordings has only gotten more intense. So, while on a WASP kick this past week, I thought I should pull it out give it a few listens, as it’s an end to The Crimson Idol story. Kosh returned to re-do the cover-art as well, adding a bit more color.
Despite my original response to this album, I have to say this is a great production. The sound is cleaner than the original, the mix is excellent and with a bit of keyboards that definitely give this a big movie soundtrack feel, though it possibly lack’s a bit of the raw edge of the original. The performances are pretty flawless. Doug Blair does a superb reworking of Bob Kulick’s original guitar leads. Blackie still sounds great, but not as angry this time around, the words seem to be clearer upon listening, and I find the only noticeable aging in his voice during some of the softer parts, such as the acoustic verse that starts the last song.
There is a few previously unheard songs that were either left off or not competed at the time of the original album. 2 are more so interludes tying in with the story as they clock in at under 2 minutes [each]. “Miss You” did appear on Golgotha, from 2015, but in interviews Blackie claims the song was the first one written for The Crimson Idol way back, but was never finished then, so it suits the story here quite well, and it’s a solid heavy ballad; a bit longer than the Golgotha version. “Michael’s Song” is one short passage, a sweet tune with acoustic guitar and synths – reminds me of “Euphoria” from ‘Unholy Terror’, and ends with the breaking of something [a mirror, perhaps?]. The other short tune is titled “Hey Mama”, which is just synths [playing the orchestra role] and vocal. Now, interestingly, my black vinyl copy of this has 2 – side ‘C’s , so I put on side D first and lo and behold – there are the 2 best ‘new’ tracks! “The Lost Boy”, a bit of a rocker, which would sit well right after “Hey Mama”, and definitely sounds like it always belonged on The Crimson Idol, musically. Best surprise here though is “The Peace”; it’s a ballad, but it’s moving – musically and lyrically; it’s uplifting, and regardless of it’s place in this story, it’s a fitting song for the times. Great vocal and harmonies, orchestrated synths… features Frankie Banali on drums [which makes me think some of this track is leftover from ’92]. There’s a little dialogue between Jonathan and the Mirror before the final epic “The Great Misconceptions of Me”. Not sure why the 2 B-sides to the original album weren’t worked in to this[?]. Blackie’s also altered a few words in “Chainsaw Charlie” [and elsewhere] to remove the profanity the original had. I wasn’t crazy about this upon hearing it, as it takes away a good bit of the anger in the song, and the effect that the original language delivered.
Glad I pulled this out, It’s a great double LP set. There’s also the DVD of the film, I imagine I’ll get around to watching it some day, but really, for me, I’m happy with the music telling the story [a book would’ve been cool].
The Headless Children was WASP’s fourth studio album. It came after a few personnel changes, a plan to change the band’s direction, and [according to Blackie Lawless] – 15 months of work on it. This review looks at that album, as well as the next few WASP albums; a very successful few albums, and my favorite period of the band. There’s also some insight to the albums’ artwork from the legendary Kosh, who would do a number of WASP covers starting with The Headless Children.
Prior to The Headless Children WASP had released 3 albums within 3 years, a lot of the same type of tunes about sex, partying, rebelling… The first featured the band’s first hit “I Wanna Be Somebody”, but the 2nd [“The Last Command”] was an improvement in sound and songs, and it did better on the charts. By the third album [“Inside The Electric Circus”} the band sounded rushed, and the album lacked enough quality material. There was a live album to cap off the era [“Live…In The Raw”].
By the 3rd album the band’s song ideas were getting old [for some], particularly for Blackie Lawless who wrote most of the material [produced, and wound up on the covers!] It was one Lawless would later tell Kerrang magazine he did not like – “I knew it was a transitional period and I also knew it was one of the biggest piles of shit ever made by any band in the history of the recording industry! There was nothing on it. It was made by a tired band. It was made too quickly, in nine weeks.” Gone also would be the shocking stage show and in came a new direction with the lyrics, more varied songs, and a tidier sound. The ‘new’ WASP would take on social and political issues, while managing to present them with still a good bit of shock value on 1989’s “The Headless Children”. I bought this when it came out, pretty sure on cassette [first], as I had it in my car stereo for a long time. And, although I enjoyed the first 3 albums, I couldn’t believe how much better this sounded, and with less cringeworthy titles, lyrics, and photos.
From the band’s beginning WASP had undergone a number of personnel changes, most notably the loss of founding guitarist Randy Piper. By the time of The Headless Children, the band consisted of Lawless, Chris Holmes [guitar], Johnny Rod [ex King Kobra], and Frankie Banali [on loan from Quiet Riot].
Released in the spring of 1989, The Headless Children was an improvement in sound and production, as were the songs on a whole other level – in structure and lyrics. The album’s artwork would be the first of many WASP albums done by legendary artist Kosh – who’s lengthy career included hundreds of credits from acts as The Beatles, The Who, Aerosmith, Bad Company, The Eagles, King Crimson, Tom Petty, Jimmy Buffett, and tons more. https://koshdesign.blogspot.com/ & http://www.facebook.com/koshart
The album cover alone was huge step forward, with an eye-catching cover, and [thankfully] – no photo of Blackie on the front, giving a bit of mystery as what may be inside.
Kosh – “I met Blackie after there was some animosity between the band and the Capitol art department. WASP was brash and unruly, while the label seemed unable to handle a heavy metal project as far as imagery was concerned. Capitol called Kosh. I became the middle-man and brought the project into Kosh Design Studios, which I handled personally – mainly because I felt I needed to assuage Blackie’s suspicious attitude and deliver!”
“Headless was the first cover that threw me into the realms of heavy metal art. It was quite a challenge coming from my rock background. The imagery came from research – the skull being somewhat iconic. It was all hand drawn by myself. Blackie was adamant about which characters should appear. Naturally, we ran into legal hassles at Capitol. However, these were overcome with editing the layers of xerox characters’ faces.” – Kosh
The first of 3 singles was “Mean Man”, a track written about guitarist Chris Holmes. The singles all charted in the Top 30 in the UK, but this one likely saw no air play with the use of the word “motherf**kin'” in the lyrics [chorus]. The EP release [complete with a photo of Holmes on a motorbike frame, ready to party], would feature 2 excellent non-album tracks – one being a heavy rendition of Jethro Tull’s “Locomotive Breath”, and the other being “For Whom The Bell Tolls”.
Opening track “The Heretic (The Lost Child)” is my favorite here, an epic track, with plenty of changes, and extended solos, clocking in at over 7 minutes. Perhaps the heaviest WASP track ever. The song is about the problems of gang warfare and crack. One of 2 tracks that are co-written with Holmes [w/ Lawless] “With the exception of ‘Mean Man’ , which is about Chris (Holmes), this is a very serious, socially conscious record. I don’t want to preach to the kids, but I think guys in my position have a responsibility that’s previously been ignored. Plus, I’ve gotten tired about writing songs about my crotch.” – BL, Circus mag. 1989.
A cover of The Who’s “The Real Me” is a pleasant surprise, which is given an awesome performance from Banali & Johnny Rod [this is a heavy bass tune], and Lawless’ vocals give this classic Who tune a new life and personality. It would introduce Blackie’s fondness for Pete Thownsend’s writing and concept album “Quadrophenia” – which would influence writing on later albums.
“I sent him [Pete] a copy of the tape, figuring I’d never hear from him, but a couple of weeks later I got a letter saying how much he liked it, including ‘The Real Me’ … So, I met him at Radio City Music Hall and we took a photo and talked. I learned the craft of writing lyrics from him, and to sit and talk with him was great.” – BL, in the press, July, ’89
Again, the single/EP release would include 2 non-album tracks – “War Cry” and my own pick for best outtake – “Lake Of Fools”, a sinister tale of a place in the after-life, with a heavy and lengthy jam for a good half of it.
The title track is a dark and heavy song that starts pretty spooky, and features a classic Hammond riff courtesy of Ken Hensley, formerly of Uriah Heep. Hensley guests on this album, playing keyboards on a number of tracks.
“A song like ‘The Headless Children’ is the ultimate anti-war song. It has a very apocalyptic feel to it, and it’s very timely with what’s going on in the world these days.” – BL , Hit Parader, ’89
“I mentioned to Johnny what a huge Heep fan I was. Johnny said that he used to play with him and asked if I wanted him to give him a call. Ken was my hero. Johnny called him and he came out to LA. He was great! I just can’t say enough about him. He played on our record and I was so pleased to have him involved.” – BL, Metalexpressradio.com , 2012
“Ken was an icon at the time, and a real great person. He looked at me not [any worse than, or] no better than him, straight. I loved that.” – Chris Holmes, Eonmusic, 2018
“It was a weird experience working on The Headless Children because I did the whole album without hearing any vocals. In the rehearsals, Blackie hadn’t finished the lyrics, so I never heard him sing one song. In the studio I went in and cut all my parts and still hadn’t heard any.” – KH, UHAS magazine, 1992.
“I’d say 95% of that stuff was either demoed or rehearsed before he came in. It was pretty much ready to go before he got there.” – BL on Ken Hensley’s involvement, ’97
“Thunderhead” begins with a cool piano intro [played by Lawless], that builds up with synths and distant vocals to a quick pause before the song’s guitar riff kicks in. The song which deals with heroin addiction, and is highlighted by Chris Holmes’ guitar solo, as well as numerous ‘guests’ who join in backing vocals. There’s also a spoken word bit, mid-song, that plays up the tale of an addict. Co-written by Holmes. “I was supposed to sit down and write all the solos out, but I’m not into that. The way I learned to play guitar was first ‘Smoke on the Water’ on two strings, then I learned to play a 1, 4, 5 blues progression; ‘Johnny B. Goode’, and then play lead guitar to it. So, you learn how to jam, and that’s how I learned to play lead guitar. But Blackie always wanted stuff structured. I had to show him, and I told him I worked on the solos, but I never did. I went in and I just played what I felt.” – Chris Holmes on ‘Thunderhead’, Eonmusic, 2018
The nuclear arms threats of the 80s is addressed in “The Neutron Bomber”. A solid heavy track which took direct aim at President Ronald Reagn [RIP], with the line “here comes Ronnie”. But, Reagan was out of office by the time the album came out. “This is an angry album, but it’s saying something important. That may be a little hard for our longtime fans to deal with at first, but when they hear the music, they’ll know what I’m talking about.” – BL
An acoustic prelude titled “Mephisto Waltz” lead in to the ballad [and single] “Forever Free”. Again, something very different sounding from WASP then, with a catchy guitar intro, acoustic guitar, harmonies, organ, all building up nicely. Something that should’ve been very accessable to radio formats at the time and larger audiences, but despite the video, and the song’s UK charting, it didn’t break through as a huge hit in North America…Perhaps since it wasn’t issued until the band was done, with Chris Holmes leaving at the end of the tour, and Blackie moving on to a new project. “It’s about someone that I lost who was close to me, and if people think it’s too soft I don’t care – I like the tune.” – BL, Kerrang, ’89
Further on was “Maneater” – a nod to Harley Davidson motorcyle riders, and the anthem “Rebel In The FDG” to close out the album. ‘FDG’ being short for “f**king decadent generation”. Both tracks are hard hitting, fast paced, and full of WASP energy, with plenty of blazing guitar, probably appealing big-time to the older fans, and really, 2 of my favorites on this album.
With Chris Holmes leaving at the end of The Headless Children Tour, WASP essentially broke up, with Blackie Lawless announcing soon after that he was working on a solo project.
What started as a solo project and a concept album, eventually would retain the WASP name. Legendary guitarist Bob Kulick [Kiss, Meat Loaf…] was enlisted. – “Blackie did ask me to join the band, but the circumstances were not right for me. I needed to be a full time member, in terms of merchandise and the whole thing. I didn’t want to be just a hired gun, so to speak. I loved what I did on Blackie’s records and I would have loved to have played with him, but at the time, I had he opportunity to produce a bunch of stuff, and then producing became a big part of my career, and I opted to do that.” – Bob Kulick, RockMusicStar Interview, 2017
Ken Hensley also returned to work on the new project, but would not wind up in the credits. “I started working on Blackie Lawless’ solo project, which was a concept album, and I don’t know what’s happened to it because I haven’t heard from Blackie in a while.” – from the UHAS, 1992.
Frankie Banali would also return to record on the new project. Stet Howland would also be credited on drums, and be part of the touring band that year, along with Johnny Rod, and [guitarist] Doug Blair [more on him another time].
“The Crimson Idol” was released in June of 1992, preceeded by the single “Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Morgue)”. The album would feature artwork by Kosh, featuring [presumably] the story’s main character on some sort of crucifix…or was it!?
Kosh – “That was my idea. It was a visual pun. Is it a bed or a crucifixion? Again, it was all a Xerox paste-up. I presented the comp 7 feet high on the office wall, not so subtly lit from the floor. It came to life and glowed.”
The artist also claims The Crimson Idol as his favorite WASP design – “I must confess I have a soft spot for Headless as it was my first foray into the genre. However, The Crimson Idol is my favorite – being so stark, yet so descriptive of the operetta. One gets the message at first glance. And then you look closer…”
I bought this CD when it came out; in fact I remember having to return the CD to the local Sunrise – at least twice, as it had static running through it. I also got one of the limited edition signed, red vinyl LPs from my uncle at the time. Both copies I still have.
The album was based on the story on a fictional character named Jonathan Aaron Steel, who wanted attention / approval and love of his family, and figured he’d get that through becoming a famous rock star, but the road to becoming that star, sacrifices, and deals he’d make, and things he’d wind up doing were all too much. Each song introduces a new character or a step in his life / career, and it all comes crashing down in the end. The album’s lyrics have Blackie singing the story from every character in it, with each track being part of the journey, and /or meetings with a new character — If that makes sense, but it helps to have the CD or LP sleeve to follow along.
“I’m a Who fan, but i wouldn’t say that I was any more influenced by Quadrophenia than any record that I would like by any other band.” – BL, ’97
“Chainsaw Charlie” is the record company excutive / owner who expects Jonathan to sign his life away. It’s a fast paced, hard rocker, with a chainsaw intro, plenty of changes, angry vocals, killer guitar,.. clocking in at 7 and a half minutes. A classic Blackie Lawless/WASP song, with a few profanities used in describing the character of Charlie. The single reached the top 20 in the UK, withe EP featuring the spoken “Story Of Jonathan”, as well as the non-album track “Phantoms In The Mirror”. “I always felt like using profanity was a weapon, and you use it at the right times… It’s got to be used at the right strategic point to create the effect that it does. On The Crimson Idol the only song that has any profanity is ‘Chainsaw Charlie’, and it’s so powerful when it comes up, it really stands out. If you do it all the time, like some bands do, then it has no meaning.” – BL, ’97
The Crimson Idol would feature 3 further singles, “The Idol” – a power ballad, and center-piece of the album [IMO], with the EP version including “The Eulogy” (left off of the album), as well as Part 2 of “The Story Of Jonathan”.
Bob Kulick on his favorite piece from the album [Metal-Temple.com], 2017 – “Definitely “The Idol”. There are two one-minute solos that are, to me, some of the best playing that I’ve ever done. You know, musicians talk about the groove of a song, how the notes can sit inside there for whatever reason and I guess that my David Gilmour approach to it was exactly what he was looking for and hence that solo kind of sores above all the other stuff that I’ve done.”
A live EP featuring “I Am One” was released. The track is a great rocker here, and the album version is intro’d with some ‘live’ feel, as Jonathan greets various cities before the band comes in hard & heavy – like a show opener. The EP was recorded at the “Monsters of Rock” festival in the UK [this can all be found on video via youtube], and also features “Chainsaw Charlie”, “I Wanna Be Somebody”, and “Wild Child”. The back cover would feature the band’s UK tour dates for later that year.
The ballad “Hold On To My Heart” was also issued as a single. A soft ballad, much in the same class as “Forever Free”. The EP would feature a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “When The Levee Breaks”, as well as live acoustic takes of “Hold On To My Heart” and “The Idol”.
“It was a difficult experience in that Blackie Lawless, having a band, was really a solo artist. At that point, when Chris (Holmes) was no longer in the band, it was basically Blackie’s thing under the moniker of W.A.S.P. He always came out with a band and so everybody viewed it as a band, but in reality it was his thing, and so he was very specific about what he wanted. I had a great time playing all those solos on “The Crimson Idol” – “The Idol”, “Chainsaw Charlie” and some of those other tunes, including “Hold On To My Heart”. Being two New Yorkers we really bonded well, but you know, it was difficult in that he had a definite idea of what he wanted. He let me play what I wanted to play and he would let me know what he liked and what he didn’t like, and fortunately it turned into something special.” – Bob Kulick, Metal-Temple.com interview, 2017
On Ken Hensley’s participation – “He played on a lot of stuff, but by the time I got finished with that record everything was turned inside out that I ended up playing. I’d say there’s not one song on the record that wasn’t rerecorded at another time, in a different key. And that’s the reason his stuff was scrapped, because he didn’t have the time to come back and re-do it. So, I had to re-play it for him. …I recorded that album in a different way. I didn’t have a band to rehearse with, so when it came time to singing the stuff I was uncomfortable with the keys of most of the stuff. It was either too high or too low. So I had to start moving stuff around, and to do that I had to almost start from scratch again.” – BL , ’97
From the beginning with “The Titanic Overture”, through to “The Great Misconceptions Of Me” – which finishes the album [clocking in at 9 and a half minutes], The Crimson Idol was quite a production. Love the performances, the numerous changes, though it always came back to a certain musical passage and lyrical line, as part of the story. A bold step for Lawless at the time. In 2007 WASP undertook “The Crimson Idol” tour, and in 2018 he released the soundtrack to the film, the double album titled “Re-Idolized”, with the songs being re-recorded, and adding 6 more that weren’t on the original album. [Oddly missing are the B-side titles – The Eulogy and Phantoms In The Mirror].
Kosh also re-did the artwork for this release [and it came in multiple formats, including regular vinyl, colored vinyl, and picture disc!]. Frankly, I prefer the original album – as it was, not that the rerecords are sub-standard, but The Crimson Idol was a favorite for me when I got it upon release, and there’s no repeating that feeling 25+ years later. I also find it difficult to listen to the new version of “Chainsaw Charlie” with Blackie’s lyrical changes that basically censors himself by replacing the harsh words, with friendlier terms that just lose the original tone and effect. But, anyway…maybe more on this in the future….
“Headless Children was the biggest record we ever had, and The Crimson Idol is hot on it’s heels right now. I imagine that over time The Crimson Idol will be the biggest selling record that I’ve ever had, unless we have some huge record in the future. It’s one of those records that keeps selling. It’s not a mainstream record, it’s not for everybody. It’s a really intellectual record, you know – it’s going to appeal to a niche market, but as new fans develop that record will continue to do well. As far as a body of work – it’s definitely my favorite!” – BL, ’97
The following year saw a compilation titled “First Blood, Last Cuts”, which featured a number of remixed early tracks, as well as 4 from The Headless Children, 3 from The Crimson Idol, and 2 new tracks – “Rock And Roll To Death” and “Sunset And Babylon”, both with Frankie Banali on drums. The latter was issued as a single, and video, paying homage to the sunset strip. Lita Ford also plays lead guitar on this track. With each variation of the single {7″, 12″, pic-disc, CD] – came different B-sides [demos of early WASP tracks]. Rock And Roll To Death was a great Chuck Berry type riff rocker, with Bob Kulick on lead guitar. Oddly the song would turn up on the next studio album.
“I did those [remixes], and I think they’re better than the originals. I was always unhappy with some of those original mixes. And I always said ‘if I got a chance to re-do them – I would’. And to me the remixes on those kick-ass on what the original stuff was.” – BL
Kosh on the saw-blade cover [and “Neon God” inner sleeve] – “I rendered them, but they were Blackie’s ideas. Things had changed by now. It was no longer the era of draw, cut and paste. We had Photoshop!”
During an interview on Headbanger’s Ball, promoting the compilation release, Blackie Lawless announced that WASP would cease to exist as a band after this album and promotional tour, and that he would be moving on to a new chapter in his career. He also mentioned that he’d be starting an album under his own name in the coming weeks. Time would tell that escaping the WASP name wouldn’t happen.
Soon after Blackie Lawless was working on [again] what was intended to be a solo project, but “Still Not Black Enough” came out in 1995 as a new WASP album. It would not see release in the US until 1996. The album’s dark cover with a crow on it was done by Kosh, and the track-listing differed from the US version to the UK & European version.
“Blackie more or less let me run wirh my ideas. I would comp them up oversized and he’d get some idea of the directions in which we could go.” – Kosh
The recording once again featured Banali on drums [w/ Stet Howland on one track], as well as Bob Kulick on lead guitar. Also credited is electric violin player Mark Josephson, and a couple of backing singers.
Admittedly, this is not an album I pull out often. Not that it’s bad; it’s got a lot of good songs on it, and it’s a nice change, but overall it just feels like a lot of different songs that don’t really flow together, like someone had started different albums and in the end just threw everything together. There’s a few ballads, a few kick-ass rockers, a definite feel of The Crimson Idol on a number of tracks, a more personal feel in the lyrics, and a few covers. “It wasn’t leftovers, but the vibe of it was definitely an extension of The Crimson Idol; my head was still heavy in that space at that time.” BL on ‘Still Not Black Enough. ’97
The original UK/European release featured 10 tracks, including a cover of Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody To Love”. “Black Forever” was chosen as a single, and 2 different CD versions were issued in the UK – with 2 different extra tracks – one featuring the non-album tracks “Skin Walker” and “One Tribe”, the other featuring 2 AC/DC covers – “Long Way To The Top” and “Whole Lotta Rosie”.
The first half is the rockin’ side, with tracks like “Scared To Death” , “Somebody To Love”, and the title track. Side 2 features a few ballads – “Keep Holding On” being very reminiscent of “Hold On To My Heart”, and personal favorite “Breathe” [my wife & I used this for our wedding]. The latter would be left off of the US release. “No Way Out Of Here” closes out the album, another solid rock track. I could do without the political “Goodbye America” (with it’s spoken intro) and the repeat of “Rock And Roll To Death”.
Still Not Black Enough came out in ’96 in the US, and featured 13 tracks. It dropped “Breathe” and added 4 others – 3 of the non-album tracks from the UK CD singles and a cover of Queen’s “Tie Your Mother Down”. This album got very little promotion, with less major magazine features, fewer releases in various formats and countries – making this a hard to find album now, if you didn’t get it when it came out. I received the CD at the time through a local music paper I contributed to. I’m sure I must’ve had a press release at some point, and I would’ve reviewed it, but there didn’t seem to be much happening with it – in the press, defintitely not on radio, as if this album was just dropped off. I did come across an MTV clip of Blackie with his arm in cast, which would answer why there was no touring around this release. (He also mentioned he’d be continuing to use the name WASP at this point). Gotta wonder [and I doubt] if Any of these songs were ever played live [!?]
“We were caught in a crossfire. What should we do with that record with Chris and I working together? We didn’t want that record to cloud the issues, so to speak, with what we’re doing now. It became a sacrificial lamb. We slide it under the door and hoped no one would notice. I hate to say that because I did serve it up as an offering. I couldn’t go out and promote that record and make this record at the same time. Plus the attention would have taken away from this project.” – BL, HardRadio.com, 1997
Still Not Black Enough marked the end of an era for WASP. The band started out with a more serious approach with The Headless Children, changed personnel for The Crimson Idol, and ended on a quiet note, almost as if Blackie was burnt out and needed a new spark or direction [again]. The one constant being Frankie Banali, who’s heavy drumming style suited these albums perfectly. The band’s next chapter would see further changes in personnel, musical styles, lyrics, and attitude.
Uriah Heep entered the ’80s on a downward slide. Conquest was released in 1980, and following the departure of Ken Hensley, and eventually the whole Conquest line-up – the band had split up in ’81. Mick Box would revamp the band welcoming back Lee Kerslake, and adding Bob Daisley [bass], John Sinclair [keys], and lastly singer Peter Goalby. the latter had not been chosen in previous auditions [in favor of Sloman]. Producer Ashley Howe highly recommended Goalby this time, and the band got to work on a new album. Abominog was released to strong reviews, and the single “Thats The Way That It Is” [penned by Paul Bliss] – charted in various countries, including the US where the video for the song was in regular rotation on MTV. the band toured extensively – everywhere, making a very respectable return to North America. the band’s follow up was “Head First” –…
Outsider Rock 