Former YES guitarist/songwriter Trevor Rabin has a new album out soon. Rabin, who was largely responsible for much of YES’ 1983 comeback album 90125, and the hits “Owner Of A Lonely Heart” , and 1987’s “Love Will Find A Way”. Rio features 10 tracks (LP), and a 2-disc version with 3 more. The first 2 singles can be heard below, and the album includes a wide variety of songs, guitar sounds, synths, and harmony arrangements . Lots of other good and interesting tracks here, prog, pop, rock… Favorites include the ballad “Oklahoma”, and the fast paced country flavored pop of “Goodbye”. I am not familiar with much of Rabin’s previous solo work, but I am quite certain that anyone that enjoyed the albums he made with YES (as I did) with dig this. Check out the 2 videos, as well as the links below.
Trevor Rabin, the South African guitarist, singer, multi-musician, writer and producer, releases ‘Rio’, his first solo album of vocal material in 34 years on October 6, via InsideOut Music.
Although he has carved a lengthy and diverse career, Johannesburg-born Rabin is best known for membership of the band Yes over a 12-year, four-album spell that began in 1983, his smash hit song ‘Owner Of A Lonely Heart’ of the same year topping America’s Billboard chart and inspiring the iconic prog-rock band to cross over into a far larger audience. Rabin was inducted to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with the band in 2017 and more recently teamed up with former Yes members Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman in the trio ARW.
EUROPE is back with a new single titled “Hold Your Head Up” (not the Argent song!). The band’s last release was 2017’s Walk The Earth. The video is out (see below) –
The video offers a glimpse into the brand-new documentary that the band have been busy filming with producer / director Craig Hooper (Deep Purple / Saxon) for Coolhead Productions simply entitled EUROPE – THE MOVIE. The film will tell the story of the band, from formation until present day, telling of their rise to success in the mid ‘80s, through hard times and heartache, to coming back in the millennium, and the current successes the band has achieved. This is set for release in early 2024.
“Hold Your Head Up” was recorded last month at the Atlantis Studios in Stockholm with producer Klas Åhlund (Ghost, Robyn), it is a punchy up-tempo rocker with reminiscent elements of early EUROPE. The song was mixed by Stefan Glaumann (Rammstein, Def Leppard) who also mixed EUROPE’S ‘SECRET SOCIETY’ album.
“‘Hold Your Head Up” is an up-tempo guitar driven rocker about pulling through in difficult times and the influence my father had on me to always do my best and persevere,” offers Joey Tempest. “It’s been six years since our last release ‘WALK THE EARTH’ recorded at Abbey Road, and we had a great time in the studio with producer Klas Åhlund. He really brought out a hungry, engaged band that’s ready to continue an amazing journey. We can’t wait to play this song on tour and incorporate it on our next album. We’re very proud of this track.”
EUROPE are currently undertaking a “Time Capsule” tour which includes 21 concerts across Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Norway, Sweden, France, The Netherlands, and the UK, including two nights at the famous London Palladium. These anniversary shows will consist of a career retrospective “evening with” performance featuring all the hits together with deep cuts and fan favorites from all of their 11 studio albums.
Robert Jon & The Wreck have an excellent new single out, with the upbeat rockin’ “Stone Cold Killer” . Check out the video directed & animated by Marco Pavone, or the single HERE
A teaser from their forthcoming album slated for release next year, “Stone Cold Killer” showcases the unique blend of rock, blues, and country that has garnered Robert Jon & The Wreck widespread acclaim. The single emerged organically from a rehearsal jam, and, as guitarist Henry James Schneekluth remarked, was recorded “without too much fuss and pretty minimal adjustments” at The Village Studios in Los Angeles with esteemed producer Kevin Shirley in April.
the California band is touring the US soon, see dates below:
US FALL TOUR 2023 11/16/23 – MONTEREY, CA – Golden State Theatre* 11/17/23 – EL CAJON, CA – The Magnolia* 11/18/23 – SCOTTSDALE, AZ – Scottsdale Center For The Performing Arts* 11/19/23 – ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Isleta Resort & Casino* 11/25/23 – Boca Raton, FL – Funky Biscuit 11/26/23 – Jacksonville, FL – Underbelly 11/28/23 – Charleston, SC – Charleston Pour House 11/30/23 – Greenville, SC – The Radio Room 12/1/23 – Cornelius, NC – Boatyard 12/2/23 – Elkin, NC – The Reeves Theater & Cafe 12/3/23 – Richmond, VA – The Tin Pan 12/5/23 – Baltimore, MD – The 8×10 12/6/23 – Warrendale, PA – Jergel’s Rhythm Grille 12/7/23 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom 12/8/23 – Westland, MI – The Token Lounge 12/9/23 – Aurora, IL – The Venue 12/10/23 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th St Entry *SUPPORTING THE MAVERICKS
Former ARGENT member John Verity has penned his own story, titled This Rock ‘N’ Roll Won’t Last You Know! Well after 50 years in the music business, Verity played guitar, sang and wrote on Argent’s Circus and Counterpoints albums, and went on to form Phoenix, Verity, as well as release a number of solo albums, and just recently released – an album with. Del Bromham (Stray), titled Live at Last (which can ordered at http://www.johnverity.com)
From the late ’60s til 1970 British hard-rock/blues/prog band SPOOKY TOOTH released 4 albums before breaking up. In 1973 the band reformed, tho’ with changes in the line-up, notably with new guitarist Mick Jones. In about 18 months from the spring of ’73 until the fall of ’74, Spooky Tooth underwent more personnel changes while recording 3 albums. 1973’s You Broke My Heart, So I Busted Your Jawwas a strong album featuring favorites “Cotton Growing Man” & “Old As I was Born”. That album was followed later in the same year by Witness, which included standouts “Oceans Of Power”, “All Sewn Up”, and epic heavy closer “Pyramids”. By the time The Mirror was released in October of 1974, keyboardist/vocalist & songwriter Gary Wright was the only original member. Original singer Mike Harrison (RIP, 2018) had left after Witness, and was replaced by Mike Patto (ex Timebox, Patto). I gotta say I like all three of these albums, even if they are a very different band through personnel. The Mirror is the best of the 3. The line-up aside from Wright, Jones, and Patto, included Val Burke (bass) and Bryson Graham (drums). Wright & Jones would produce the album with the (by now) legendary Eddie Kramer.
Overall, The Mirror was a more mainstream progressive, hard-rock album, and it’s a wonder how they didn’t have any big radio hits off this one, or that The Mirror didn’t catch on more. Instead it marked the end of the band. But Spooky Tooth was a unique band, with 2 vocalists / keyboard players, and backing harmonies that gave the band a bit of a gospel/soul feel on occasion. The Mirror kids off with the prog-rocker “Fantasy Satisfied”, a great blend of guitar and Hammond organ, and probably my favorite Spooky Tooth song. I wonder if this ever got radio play!? And why it’s still not featured on FM classic rock radio. This record holds a lot of different songs, all worth checking out. Other favorites would be the title track, “I’m Alive”, “Hell Or High Water”, “Two Time Love”, and the ballad “Kyle”. Not a bad cut here. Gary Wright (RIP) would be credited on all but one track, as a writer, with Jones co-writing on 3, and Patto on 3, as well as contributing the funky-rock tune “The Hoofer” (used as a B-side at the time). There were a few different singles from this album (see below), from various countries, and there is also an excellent live recording from the band in Cleveland from this tour, which includes 3 tracks from The Mirror.
Unfortunately, The Mirror wasn’t a major hit LP for the band, the first of the reformed band’s 3 not to crack Billboard’s top 100, tho’ it did make it to #88 in Canada! The band split following a tour with Mick Jones soon joining Leslie West’s band, then forming Foreigner, Mike Patto (RIP 1979) formed Boxer – who released 3 albums, Gary Wright had huge hits with “The Dream Weaver” and “Love Is Alive” a few years later, Bryson Graham (RIP, 1993) went on to record with Alvin Lee and Jim Capaldi, among others; Val Burke went on to record with Stan Bronstein’(Living On the Avenue) and Willie & The Mighty Magnificents (Play That Funky Beat).
The Mirror came in a die-cut cover, with artwork & design by Ruby Mazur, who did numerous covers throughout the ’70s. If you don’t have this album, I highly recommend it as one of the ’70s greats and very overlooked.
“I felt at the time (Spooky Tooth)-as much as I liked the kind of music we were doing-that we were getting bogged down. We were getting a little over -involved and not quite direct enough or close enough to get the point across. And I suppose that I wanted to get the music across in a more direct way” (Mick Jones, Record World, 1980)
THE MIRROR – Spooky Tooth – Producers: Gary Wright, Mick Jones, Eddie Kramer – Island ILPS 9292 The raw power of Spooky Tooth emerges on the reformed group’s new LP as never before, with a scintillating flash and a bedrock underpinning that defy even Newton’s law of gravity. Impeccable harmonies, great hooks in the tracks, careful dynamics and precision arranging characterize this record, by far their best to date. The special synthesizer effects on “Hell Or High Water” are excellent, reminiscent of the Who at their best. We also dig “Fantasy Satisfier” and “Higher Circles.” (CashBox, 09-74)
SPOOKY TOOTH (lsland IS004) Hell Or High Water (3:32) (Ackee – WB, ASCAP – M. Patto – G. Wright) Spooky Tooth is in fine form on their latest release which exemplifies the Spooky Tooth style. Heavy tight instrumentation is complemented by very good vocal harmonies and a together record. The haunting disk is a sure shot and should be reckoned with come hell or high water. Flip: The Mirror (5:21) (Ackee – WB, ASCAP , (CashBox, 74-09-28)
SPOOKY TOOTH -The Mirror, Island, ILPS 9292. Another group with just one original member left, Gary Wright, Spooky Tooth, in their Island Record debut, bring home some solid rack vibrations. Album is packed with new material, and should receive a strong reception on the FM level. While instrumentals can get cluttered at times, the group’s overall energy and finesse carries through. Vocals by various members offer good diversity with quality. Best cuts: “Kyle” “Mirror.” “Hell Or High Water,” “Woman And Cold” and “Two Time Love” Dealers: One of the best packaging efforts this year, along with musical contents, rate strong display for this LP, (Billboard, 74-08-24)
Legendary guitarist Steve Hackett presents his brand new live audio/visual extravaganza, with the release of ‘Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live in Brighton’, out now!
Steve comments of the new live release: “Foxtrot was a milestone for Genesis, a breakthrough artistically. I’m as proud of it today as I was at it’s its inception. I’m thrilled now to bring that album back in its entirety on tour, and the live release has super quality performance, visuals and production. It’s a real feast… Enjoy!”
Filmed & recorded live on his 2022 UK tour, in the coastal city of Brighton, UK, this release documents Steve and his band celebrating the 50th anniversary of the much-loved Genesis album ‘Foxtrot’. Played in full, this album features fan favourites including ‘Watcher Of The Skies’ and ‘Supper’s Ready’. The show also features a set of Hackett solo material, including ‘The Devil’s Cathedral’ from his latest studio album ‘Surrender of Silence’, and the powerful ‘Ace of Wands’.
Mixed by Chris Lord-Alge & mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, the album is now available to order on Ltd 2CD+Blu-ray & Ltd 2CD+2DVD, both including bonus behind the scenes interviews, as well as 5.1 surround sound. A Ltd Deluxe 180g 4LP edition will also be available. Order here: https://stevehackett.lnk.to/FoxtrotAtFiftyHackettHighlights-LiveInBrighton
Track-listing:
1. Intro / Ace of Wands
2. The Devil’s Cathedral
3. Spectral Mornings
4. Every Day
5. A Tower Struck Down
6. Basic Instincts
7. Camino Royale
8. Shadow of the Hierophant
9. Watcher of the Skies
10. Time Table
11. Get ‘Em Out by Friday
12. Can Utility and the Coastliners
13. Horizons
14. Supper’s Ready
15. Firth of Fifth
16. Los Endos
Steve Hackett & band continue their busy touring schedule with further “Foxtrot At Fifty & Hackett Highlights” dates in North America beginning in October. For the full list of dates, head to: http://hackettsongs.com/tour.html
Steve Hackett is joined live by Roger King, Rob Townsend, Nad Sylvan, Craig Blundell & Jonas Reingold, as well as on occasion special guest Amanda Lehmann.
Alex Machin of Canada’s A FOOT IN COLDWATER has a brand new single out titled “Till They Bury Me”. This catchy rocker was penned by Machin, autobiographical, with the lyric video featuring photos from his personal life and professional life (on stage & off). Machin’s vocals sound as good as they did 50 years ago when ‘Foot was taking off. Fellow Foot In Coldwater bandmate Danny Taylor plays drums, The singer also plays bass, and on guitar is Toronto player Gus Papas – “He had a couple of solo albums, one titled ‘Convicted’ that was released in America on Epic Records. He toured extensively and came close to breaking out in the States. Danny played drums on that record. “ Papas also co-wrote a track on Alex Machin’s 1984 project Champion (released as Champion featuring Alex Machin). An album that didn’t get off to a good start with the label going bankrupt the week of it’s release (“That’s a very long and painful story.”, AM), but it is highly sought after by A Foot In Coldwater fans.
A Foot In Coldwater released 4 albums in the ’70s, and had a huge hit with the ballad “Make Me Do (Anything You Want)”, in 1972., The band has played several reunion gigs since their initial split in 1977 – “We are still planning on having A Foot in Coldwater resurface at some point in the near future. For now I am busy having fun writing songs in my studio, putting them out and hoping that people enjoy them. ”
*Check out the new song, as well as the links below!
This 6 disc set of British rockers MAGNUM collect the band’s first 5 albums (on Jet Records), as well as includes loads of bonus material – outtakes, alternate takes, singles, live EPs, etc.. An awesome collection, and if you are not familiar with the band, since only a couple of these early albums saw release originally in Canada or the US, this is a good place to start. The band’s 1978 debut album Kingdom Of Madness is an absolute classic from beginning to end with standouts like “In The Beginning”, “All That Is Real”, “The Bringer”, and the title track. Magnum in those early days consisted of songwriter/guitarist Tony Clarkin, singer Bob Catley, bass player Colin (Wally) Lowe, keyboard player Richard Bailey (who also added flute on occasion), and drummer Kex Gorin. Interestingly, disc 2 of this box consists of archived recordings – 4 tracks from the band’s earliest sessions in 1974, as well as outtake material from 1976 and a great take of “Kingdom Of Madness” from ’79; these were previously released by Jet Records in 1993 as Archive. Magnum II, though I don’t find this as stunning as their debut, was still an excellent album, with classics like “Changes”, “If I Could Live Forever”, “Firebird”, and the Yes-influenced opener “Great Adventure”. This disc contains 5 bonus tracks, largely taken from single releases.
The band had recorded a new album in 1980, but Jet Records (at the time) opted to release a live album – Marauder. Bonus tracks on Marauder (here) include live tracks from the band’s 1980 Live EP, as well as Invasion-Live, which was recorded in 1982 on one of the band’s few tours of North America, where they opened for Ozzy Osbourne in the US. Recorded in 1980, and not released until 1982, Chase The Dragon was the band’s 3rd studio album, and marked a number of firsts, such as featuring Rodney Matthews cover-art, new keyboard player Mark Stanway, and their first to be released in Canada. CTD featured a bit more mainstream approach with favorites like “Soldier Of The Line”, “The Spirit”, and “Walking The Straight Line”. Bonus tracks on this disc include the non-LP single “Back To Earth” and it’s B-side “Hold Back Your Love”, as well as few other live tracks (more from Invasion) and oddities. The last album for Jet was 1983’s Eleventh Hour. A bit of a slide backwards, not so much musically, but with no North American release or singles. Eleventh Hour did feature a number of excellent tracks, with more of a hard-rock edge – “The Great Disaster”, “So Far Away” and “Hit And Run” all stand out, as does favorite “The Prize”. This last disc features 4 extras, notably the somewhat southern feel of “True Fine Love”, featuring slide guitar and piano.
A great collection of one of England’s finest, with undoubtedly some of their best studio albums. Following this period Magnum would go on to sign with FM (in the UK) & Polydor for a proper worldwide release of their legendary On A Storyteller’s Night album. Kex Gorin left the band before Storyteller’s Night, and would go on to record with Robin George, Leo Lyons, and Stanway (Guy Stanway). Gorin passed away in 2007. Magnum split in 1995, but resumed in 2001, but without Wally Lowe (retired). Richard Bailey (who’d previously been replaced by Mark Stanway) went on to work with Phenomena (Tom Galley), as well as Alaska and Whitesnake. Plenty of early pics included in the insert, with a brief history of the band’s early years. *For more check out the press release below, and to order go to: https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/magnum-great-adventure-the-jet-years-1978-1983-6cd-box-set/
Magnum originally formed in Birmingham in 1972 around guitarist and songwriter Tony Clarkin and singer Bob Catley. Although a one-off single for CBS in 1975 failed to bring their singular brand of progressive but highly melodic hard rock to the masses, they eventually found a home for their debut – ‘Kingdom Of Madness’ (CD1) – on Jet Records in 1978, joining ELO, and later Ozzy Osbourne. The album had actually been recorded two years earlier, but the band were heavy enough to take advantage of the growth in popularity of hard rock and heavy metal in the late 1970s.
‘Magnum II’ (CD3) followed in 1979, promoted by the singles ‘Changes’ and ‘Foolish Heart’. Produced by Ten Years After’s Leo Lyons, who had previously produced UFO’s first three albums for Chrysalis. Regular touring with the likes of Judas Priest and Blue Öyster Cult built up a loyal following across the UK.
When their second album didn’t quite match the success of their debut, Jet recorded their December 1979 show at London’s legendary Marquee Club for release as a live album. ‘Marauder’ (CD4) made a suitable stop-gap until Magnum’s third studio record, and is expanded here with a further nine live bonus tracks.
Although recorded in 1980, ‘Chase The Dragon’ (CD5) didn’t get released until 1982. An early career peak, as well as one of the band’s formative masterpieces, the wait was well worth it, as it entered the UK Top 20, peaking at a creditable No. 17.
‘Eleventh Hour’ (CD6), their fourth and final studio album for Jet, was released in 1983. Tellingly it was their first not to feature any singles.
After leaving Jet, Magnum went from strength to strength, releasing their best seller, ‘On A Storyteller’s Night’, in 1985, before signing a major label deal with Polydor Records.
The classic Remember The Future was originally released in 1973, consisted of just the title track – Parts one and two. Nektar was/is a legendary British progressive rock album, with Remember The Future being, arguably, the band’s best album. This 5 disc box set includes a number of bonus tracks – live and single edits, as well as a live show from early ’74, a blue-ray disc including a new 5.1 surround sound & stereo mix from the original tapes & TV footage, as well as a new essay and booklet. Coming November 24. *Check out the link below to order… and to read the official press release: https://glassonyonpr.com/2023/09/01/nektar-remember-the-future-4cd-blu-ray-box-set/
Legendary rock drummer Neal Smith (Alice Cooper) released his latest album in the spring. Killsmith Goes West is the fourth album under the Killsmith name, and is different to past Killsmith releases with a somewhat country & western influence throughout many of the songs, and is perhaps, Smith’s finest and most album to date with songs like “Shaughnessy Highway”, ” Evil Wind”, and “Pull It Out Smokin”. *Check out the interview, as well as the links below!
What inspired this whole idea of putting together a country & western styled album?
I’ve been writing songs since the original Alice Cooper group was together, and even before that – in other bands, so when you write songs sometimes the songs come out of nowhere, and they don’t really fit anything, any project that you’re working on, and you just set them aside, and over time I had them and they weren’t really in the style, the real heavy rock – that I would do, and then Killsmith came along, and that was real heavy metal, you know the first couple of Killsmith albums, and even the third one – The Green Fire Empire. And I just had the scope of songs, and I just wanted to try something a little bit different. There’s still some songs – “Pull It Out Smokin”, “Evil Wind” – that still have a real rough edge to them. I had written about 15 songs for this album, and then there were 5 that I pulled off because they were just over-the-top normal heavy rock, so I pulled those off and I wrote a few more and then I had a total of 10 new songs on the album. Some of the songs are brand new, and some of the songs are brand new in the last year or so. It took 3 years to record the album through the pandemic, but there’s one song on there “Coffee, Beer, and Borrowed Time” – that song was actually written in 1980. And that’s one of those songs that just sort of happened, and then there was no place for it. It has sort of a country vibe to it, and that along with the Killsmith normal vide of being edgy and heavier, I call it ‘outlaw rock’. And it does have more of a western feel to it than country. And all of a sudden the songs started taking on a mood of their own , and I followed that – we’re from Arizona, and Arizona is the 48th state, so it was really the last of the wild country. So, even the Alice Cooper we had a song like “Desperado”, and “Raped And Freezin” – a couple of songs that were influenced by the area of the United States that we were from. So this is sort of expanding on that idea, there’s references to Mexico, references to Townsend, Arizona, and New Mexico. It’s all about places I’ve lived, and even when I was growing up in the mid-west, in the Akron area of Ohio, central Ohio, part of my upbringing, my mother liked live music, and there was a place called Fixler’s Ballroom near Sharon Center, Ohio, where we used to go, and they had a live band. So, I was influenced not only by the rock of the late ’50s and early ’60s, but I was influenced by the big bands, like swing – because my mother loved the Glen Miller Band, and also the live country music. So I was exposed to that with live bands, so that’s all been part of what’s influenced me over the years – as a drummer, and a musician, and a songwriter. So these songs just came to me, I wanted to go that extra mile. What’s does that mean? That means A- I wanted to get a fantastic country guitar player – Arlen Roth, who has done many country albums over the years, and was gracious enough to play on 4 or 5 of the songs. Gary Oleyar who is a fiddle player also played great country and western fiddle on several songs – which gave it that extra push over the top for what I was looking for, and that mixed with what I already had, and storytelling – country and western always has a story with it to begin with , but I like the classic novelty 16 Tines, Big Bad John, Raw Hide, back in the 50s and 60s there was some songwriters like Johnny Cash, Frank Lane, Johnny Horton, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Hank Williams, – they were great storytellers as well as great songwriters. And I wanted to try and get that element into the music too, so it all came together, 10 songs that fans enjoy. And very different for me to try something like that. So far it’s been very successful.
Can you recall any other specific bands or albums, bands you might’ve seen or albums your mom might’ve had around the house!?
Well, even on Hee-Haw, some of the best guitarists that were ever in country (I can’t think of all the names right now), but man – Chet Atkins was on there occasionally, and they were just phenomenal guitar players. And I’m a big fan of Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, but I mean it’s all rock, blues, jazz, and country roots – that’s what all this music is. And Roy Clark was another amazing guitar player from that era, and (of course) Waylon Jennings, who was also from Phoenix. So a lot of these great players were from the south-west, where we were from and I was aware of them, and I saw them mostly, I didn’t really buy the music, but I’d hear them on the radio occasionally, those novelty western songs that stood out, but actually seeing them on TV – live on TV, some of the greatest guitar players – I mean Roy Clark, Glen Campbell, when these guys got up on stage and played (and it’s all over youtube, and thank goodness for youtube), that was all part of. And Rick Tedesco, a guitar player that I write and work with on the latest Killsmith albums, he’s sort of a soak-sponge, and he soaks this all in, and he as some really fine country & western licks that he plays on the album too. So that was something, a direction I was trying to go, but a little harder, so it’s got more of a country-outlaw kind of feel to it. So there was plenty to took at and watch and be inspired by back in the day, that’s for sure.
That’s interesting because some of the guys you mention like Johnny Cash and Glen Campbell were country stars, but they almost kind of cross over to a lot of rock fans as well.
Oh they did cross over, they had a lot of cross-over hits, but I went the other way – I went from rock over to more of that outlaw-country kind of feel to it, but with a harder edge and harder story lines on it, with a lot of the subject matter in the songs. that’s a good perspective.
Can you tell me what inspired some of the songs, some of the stories, because there’s lots of great song titles alone, which when you look at it, it makes it interesting to get started!?
There’s some songs that I thought of in the middle of the night, like “Shaughnessy Highway”, “Shaughnessy Highway” is about a guitar player, and it could’ve been about any of the guitar players we just talked about, but it’s a fantasy band and he’s a big superstar, his band’s superstars, and unfortunately this has happened a lot over time, people like Glenn Miller are lost to airplane crashes and other disasters, and the principal person in the story is killed in an airplane crash and he’s a guitar player in one of the biggest bands in the world, and his wife gives directions to her house, and if you park out front of her house she plays his music all the time keeping his music alive, because she’s kept alive and happy, though he’s gone, listening to his music. So it’s kind of a taboo subject to talk about, but Killsmith and Alice Cooper we always touched on subjects that normal people would think were a little taboo – like “Dead Babies” . Things that you really had to dig in and find out what that meant, it wasn’t anything other than child abuse and not protecting your baby against poison. So, that particular song I thought of in the middle of the night, “Sunsets Of Gold” is another I thought of in the middle of the night, it just kind of comes to you and pretty much the song writes itself . A song like “Evil Wind” was inspired not by the early spaghetti westerns with Clint Eastwood, but like Pale Rider , where it’s a mystery as to who this character really is. Is he alive? Is he a ghost? And “Evil Wind” that’s kinda inspired by those thoughts of the wild west. And “Tequila, Tamales & A Woman”, that’s another – like Hang ‘Em High, that’s another Clint Eastwood movie. That’s the inspiration, but the story is different, there’s a card game in Nogales, Arizona, and somebody cheats at cards, and the subject person shoots the person and kills him when the person draws a gun on him for calling him a cheat, but the hanging judge doesn’t look at it that way so he sentences the guy to be hung in the morning and he gives him a last wish, and his last wish is for tequila, tamales, and a woman. So he’ll die a happy man in the morning, but that’s his last wish. And again it’s from the late 1800s, and the wild west. So if you listen to any of the songs, I have one “Tattooed Cowgirl”, that’s kinda like a Thelma and Louise or somebody from Kevin Costner’s tv show Yellowstone, you know – a bad ass chick that you don’t want to mess with, but you’re drawn to. So, just things that are a little bit different for me to work with. And always an inspiration to go in a new direction, but always keep the attitude very strong and keep the subject matter very strong; always like paint a picture and tell a story.
In preparing for this did you revisit some of that old music ?
No, not really, because songs just come to you. And I’ve listened to enough music in my 75 years here on this planet that I know what influenced me, and once I write the song – it’s basically done, so how do I put the sweetening on the song to give it more of a country, more of a western flare. I always listen to what the song wants, and the players that I have come in and add to, like the country and western guitar, or the harmonica where that’s needed, or fiddle – they pretty much are on their own’ I may give some slight direction, but it’s all about what is just very organic as the song grows, and natural for the song. And I think that’s the best way for me to do it, I found. So it’s not anything that I think about, it’s just listening to the song and saying ‘you know, this here this needs a little fiddle part, this needs a little country guitar part, just a little like d-tune.’ and that’s how it comes about. It sort of happens after the bed-tracks are laid down, the arrangement is there, just ‘what does the song need to finish it off’. It’s like the icing on the cake.
You mentioned Arlen Roth and Gary Oleyar. Can you tell me a bit about where you met those guys and if you’ve used them before?
No. Actually Rick Tedesco – the engineer and guitar player that I’ve worked with in his studios, Guitar Hangar Studio here in Connecticut; he found those 2 gentlemen and invited them to the studio. So he knew them. Rick is a great resource for me. He’s helped me – with Glen Buxton’s guitar from Love It To Death through School’s Out, the SG Custom that I found the body stripped down without a neck , he helped me rebuild it into an amazing guitar. It took about 2 years to rebuild it. So he has a lot of great resources. He has a great guitar store in the Danbury area of Connecticut called The GuitarHangar, and the studio called The Guitar Hangar. So he knows a lot of people, great guitar players, and he’s a great guitar player too. And Stu Daye, he’s an old friend of mine; he actually played on my Platinum God album. He played the slide guitar. He lives in London, and we sent the tracks to him and he polished them off and put the slide guitar on “Tattooed Cowgirl”. So, I had a lot of great guitar players that helped me out. And Stu is an old friend of mine, so that was through me, but Rick Tedesco found Arlen and Gary.
I remember Stu’s name from your Platinum God album, and you’d mentioned him previously. I actually picked up an album of his, he had done with Corky Lang from the early ’80s…
The band was The Mix, right!?
Yeah. And they did one of the Billion Dollar Babies’ (Battle Axe) songs.
Yeah, there was a song I was writing one time, and Stu was around, and he loved the song, and put it on one of his albums.
Do you plan on going out and playing any of this stuff live?
I have a couple of songs on YouTube right now, and I may do a video or 2, but right now I have no plans to tour. If I do anything it’ll be on youtube or on NealSmithRocks.com – that’s my website. This is also the 50th anniversary of the Billion Dollar Babies album, and they have a deluxe special edition that’ll be out next year. But this year you’ve probably already heard Killer deluxe edition or the School’s Out deluxe, which have come out. So there’s a lot of good stuff going on, and I’m excited about it. I have another, like I mentioned my next Killsmith project will be my fifth Killsmith album; there were songs I took off the Killsmith Goes West album – which I also thought was a great title because I do spend the winters in Arizona, You know the band got together there in the mid ’60s; I moved out there from the mid-west in the early ’60s. So I’ve been going out there every year for almost the last 50 years. So about 5 or 6 years ago I bought a winter home out there in Mesa, Arizona, so I love it out there. I go out and play golf. And of course, Alice and Michael Bruce are out there and I get together with them a lot, and a lot of the writing that I do, and a lot of the writing that has been on Alice’s last 3 albums we’ve written out there.
Do you think that doing something so different this time around with Killsmith that it kinda gives you the opportunity to do something further afield, or something you haven’t done before?
Yeah, I don’t know. Like I said, the songs that I had on there they kinda fit, they were a little more hard-rock. But because I have some ideas for the next title, and it’s not going to be Killsmith Goes West 2, that’s for sure , but I do find something very creative about that, and also it’s a testimonial to our roots, which are in Phoenix, Arizona, and the south-west, and that’s a good thing. Too many people don’t look at their..- especially in rock, they have roots; I mean with the Alice Cooper group, we were very different – our roots were in horror movies, horror films, and movies from the past. But you never know where your inspiration is going to come from. But no matter what I do I want to feel excited about it, I want to feel refreshed. But what I really want to do is to do all I can to get as many people as possible to listen to it, I’m very very happy about the album, and very happy about the feedback I’m getting. And a lot of solid rock fans were turned off by the idea but it’s not a country record by any sense of the imagination; it’s definitely a Killsmith album, but it has, as I said – like on the Killer album we had “Desperado”, and on the Billion Dollar Babies album we had “Raped And Freezin”, and these are those songs that talk a little bit about the south-west, where we’re from geographically, but Goes West is a little more – it was like our influences on steroids. I took it a little further. And that will always be around. I may have one of those songs that I took off the album to keep it at 10 songs that really fit well. But let’s see what happens. I’m pretty happy. Some of the songs I went back and listened to them, and I’m always doing tributes to… like Billion Dollar Babies 2023, that’s a big deal, and I wrote a song for the next album called “Party Never Ending” – That’s the Alice Cooper group! And it’s like people have said over the years about the band breaking up, well the band never really broke up, we took a year off, everybody stayed friends, and encouraged each other on solo projects, and that was a big deal. In no way, I mean we were best friends and we weren’t going to get in any bog lawsuits about Alice going out solo. Anybody coudd’ve gone out solo, but he was very fortunate, and he did a great job. And I’m proud of everybody in the band, you know – Michael Bruce and Dennis Dunaway, they have great solo projects – they’re great songwriters; Glen Buxton, unfortunately we lost him way too soon in 1997, But the ghost of GB is always around, he will always be a part of no matter what we do. So I’m excited to do new music, and keep writing as long as I can.
Outsider Rock 