Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Better fine tune the costumes, guys

After whetting my appetite on the relatively clean-cut and "safe" music of the Beatles and Monkees in the early 70's, I then graduated to the hard rock of American freak show  KISS. A world of modern music was opening up to me now. Friends at school talked about bands that their older brothers and sisters listened to, and that was how I learned about the cooler artists out there. With a little more cash to play around with, I picked up the boxed set called The Originals, which comprised the first three KISS albums: their self-titled debut disc, Hotter Than Hell, and Dressed to Kill. I lapped up all of that heavy rock and wanted more. It was at this time that I started building an LP record collection. Albums by the likes of ELO, Rush, Angel, Supertramp, Led Zeppelin, BTO, Black Sabbath, and Max Webster were among my follow-up purchases. 

But KISS was truly my introduction to hard rock and heavy metal, as the band was for so many others youngsters around the world. To this day, early KISS classics like Strutter, Deuce, and Black Diamond remain among my favourite songs. When their fourth album, Destroyer, made its appearance, I was thunderstruck. This was the mother of all KISS albums, as far as I was concerned. Still is.

Destroyer did not enter my vinyl record collection but rather my small assortment of 8-track tapes. Man, did I play that thing like crazy. Almost every day, sometimes more than once a day, for months on end. From the bottomless opening riff of Detroit Rock City, through the melodic vocal and guitar performance on Flaming Youth, to the glam-raunch finale of Do You Love Me, the whole album rocked so solid it was scary. With the exception of the pretty little ballad, Beth. 

That same year (yes, '76 was a double-whammy treat), Rock and Roll Over hit the record shops. This was back in the day when artists were encouraged (or maybe forced by contractual obligation) to punch out songs and albums at a furious rate. Thankfully, KISS had a deep creative well to draw on at that time. The quality of music was pretty consistent, if a bit formulaic after a while. Rock and Roll Over wasn't quite the enduring classic that Destroyer was, but a good chunk of the record was loaded with strong songs. A few standouts were Take Me, I Want You, and Hard Luck Woman. And terrific graphic design on the album cover. I'd put that one on my wall. Maybe I should.

Then in 1977 came Love Gun, with fewer memorable tracks, but hey, this was still early enough in KISS' career that it became the final entry into the sextet of their classic era studio albums. Some of the better tunes were Christine Sixteen, Shock Me, Love Gun, and Plaster Caster. Yes, there was a bit of life in this somewhat rehashed-sounding set. Along with the vinyl LP came a special surprise: a toy (cardboard) "love gun"! (pictured below) What a silly thing. I didn't exactly go around playing with that toy, but stashed it among my "collectibles", only to be lost or thrown out years down the road. No biggie.

And that was the last KISS album I would buy, other than upgrading my early favourites to cassette tape in the 80's and then to CD in the 90's. Believe it or not, I never owned or even heard KISS Alive in its entirety until decades after my intro to the band. I do own it today, but now knowing just how un-live the record was (a lot of studio tinkering was done to fix performance mistakes), I rarely care to listen to it. Plus I've never been much of a fan of live albums. I'll take Destroyer over Alive any day of the week. Such "sweet pain"....

Ford Driving the Mystic Mile

Blues sounds better from a chair, right?

In the mid-80's and early 90's I was bitten by the blues-rock bug. Stevie Ray Vaughan kicked off those festivities - I grabbed every album that guitar slinger put out and listened relentlessly. Other artists I admired at the time were Jeff Healey, Jimmy Vaughan, some Robert Cray, and a California lad named Robben Ford. Ford really caught my ear with his jazz-inflected electric blues-rock, which had quite a distinct sound from Stevie's. While these two guitarists shared a little of the jazz influence, Ford took it to another level and made it more a part of his overall fusion style. 

The one Ford album I owned back in the 90's was Mystic Mile. I played that nearly as much as my Stevie CDs, but as my interest in the blues genre waned in the mid-to-late 90's, I let many of these albums go. It wasn't a tough decision; this stuff simply ran its course with me and I moved on to other musical obsessions, namely rap, jazz, electronica, and opera. Yes, you read that right.

I can barely recall the music now, but I believe Busted Up and Politician (a cover of the song by Cream) were favourites off the Mystic Mile album.

And I was lucky enough to catch Robben Ford in concert in '95, at the peak of my interest in his music. Opening act Sonny Landreth wasn't quite my thing but it was interesting enough to warm up the crowd for the blazing, energetic Ford performance. The show was definitely a drinking party, but it was also a chance for every local guitarist to study at the feet of this master picker who was named one of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century" by Musician magazine.

Here's the ticket stub:

The Horror.... The Horror

When I was a comic book kid, I latched onto a couple of monster series, Tomb of Dracula and Werewolf by Night. I remember when the Dracula comic hit the stands in spring of 1972 - I snapped up issue #1 and collected that title for quite some time. These books weren't quite horror but more action... sort of like Dracula as a superhero. Sort of. Same goes for Werewolf by Night, which debuted its first issue in fall of '72. Those two were my favourite of the old school (the only school I knew at the time) of monsters. The Universal Studios movie monsters, that is.... or was.

My interest in these comics stemmed from my love of the old movies I saw on television as a youngster. The monster films of the 1930's and 40's were pretty "kid safe" by the time I learned about them in the 70's. Cool-looking creatures lurking and stomping around shadowy castles. What else could fire the imagination of a young boy more than that stuff?

With favourites like Dracula, Wolf Man, the Frankenstein monster, and the Mummy tucked up into my noggin, I sought out anything I could find from this scary genre. Sure, I gave myself nightmares, but back then, scary dreams were a welcome addition to my viewing "entertainment", especially since home video didn't exist yet.

Anyhow, I soon added a couple of nice big reference books to my shelves. The first one I got was by Denis Gifford, the greenish book with yellow title pictured below. A few years later I added the one by Alan G. Frank, featuring a bloody good photo of Christopher Lee as Dracula on the front cover. 

Oh, and jumping back in time a bit again, my very first horror-oriented book purchase was a neat little guide to movie monster make-up. I bought that through the Scholastic Book program at school. Man, was I stoked for that book. Funny thing though.... as much as I liked looking through the book, I never once did myself up in any of those make-ups for Halloween. Probably just too difficult or expensive at the time. And not the sort of thing my folks would help with either. I did, however, dress myself as Dr. Jekyll's alter ego, Mr. Hyde, one Halloween. A fairly easy costume, I think: I made myself a top hat and walking stick, and I think my mom might have helped with the cloak. And I must have dabbed creepy make-up on my face to look a bit hideous. 

And to add a little ambience to my bedroom, I bought myself a couple of Aurora monster model kits. It seemed to be a rite of passage into early adolescence to build monster models, at least for this fan. I recall at least one friend who did the same thing. I assembled and painted the Dracula and Wolf Man kits and loved seeing parts of the models glowing in the dark at night. I actually hung onto those two kits all these years. The Drac kit has needed repairs now and then, for it was a bit fragile with the bats hanging from the tree branches. The Wolf Man kit was a sturdier piece of work and has weathered the decades quite well. My paint job on these things wasn't the greatest, but hey, I loved them way back then. Painting, especially for three-dimensional subjects, just didn't come all that naturally to me. So I made up for that by slathering bloody red on the monsters' faces - when in doubt, add blood!

It wasn't much longer until I discovered the Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. I had trouble locating the mag in my smallish city, so I wasn't able to accumulate much of a collection. But each issue was fun and informative.... silly and crazy captions were added to stills of the great monsters of yesteryear. In fact, between Famous Monsters and my reference books, I learned a lot about movies I would not even see until decades later, when I began building a serious movie collection. Yes, though I was bitten by the horror bug as a young lad, I am still a fan.... and very young at heart. 

Toons To Go

Anybody out there remember the first portable personal music players? Those were handheld transistor radios, like the one pictured below. I had one that looked a bit like this model, and it even had a single monaural earphone that allowed for private listening. Yeah, real hi-fidelity sound. But back then, when this was the best you could get, there was no complaining about it. On my little radio, I usually tuned into the local radio station, which naturally sent out the strongest signal. This must have been in the mid-70's or so, when I was tuning in the likes of KC and the Sunshine Band, Donna Summer, and Abba. I wasn't crazy about much of this stuff, but it was something to listen to while I sat in the sun in my backyard on a warm summer afternoon. 

Then the whole idea of portable music became unimportant to me when full albums, on record and tape, entered my life. It was far cooler to listen to an artist's latest LP release in its entirety, hopefully on a decent home sound system. Fast-forward to the very early 80's: my younger brother actually beat me to the purchase of a Sony Walkman (or was it a portable stereo of another brand?), the first of a wave of personal stereo cassette players to hit the market. I remember borrowing it once or twice, but I never felt a strong urge to carry music around with me while I was in high school. There was always music playing wherever I went.... friends' homes, parties, record stores, musical instrument stores, arcades, wherever. 

It wasn't until I finished high school and was in my first year of college that I picked up a more affordable brand of personal stereo. It might have been a Sanyo or something like that. That unit was actually very durable and lasted me several years. I certainly put it through its paces, too, listening to hours of music on bus trips back home and around Toronto, and even patching it into my home audio tape machine to copy borrowed tapes, adding to my collection and making the ever-popular mix tapes. 

After about fifteen or so years, that Sanyo snuffed it. And that was my cue to finally snag a Sony, a gently used and nicely-priced Sport model (pictured below, top left, bright yellow), at a consignment shop. That little baby still runs like a Swiss watch, though I never use it any more. Then a friend gave me his Panasonic portable CD player. The next generation of personal music. Now mind you, I didn't really need that player very much, and it didn't get a lot of use. 

Once I got into distance running, I found that having some music often helped get me through a long haul. I tried both the tape and CD Walkmans, but neither was very comfortable to carry nor built to handle the vibration of my activity. I bought a cheap little FM receiver (pictured, bottom left), but it only pulled in a weak signal and was more disappointing than anything else. 

Not many years ago, I received an early version of the iPod shuffle as a gift, but running with it in the rain shortened its life significantly. I got it working again, but after more problems and inconvenience with this sucky Apple product, I gave it up. What met my requirements better was an inexpensive Sansa Clip MP3 player (pictured above, bottom right). This gadget is both easy to load up and to carry while moving around - especially running. I've been through my share of personal music gadgets, and for now, and for however long the Sansa holds up, I'll stick with it. A far cry from the big clunky Walkman!

Hey, Hey, We're the Beatles

Hairy Beatles Frighten Young Lad

After my introduction to the world of records through a couple of Monkees purchases back in the mid-ish 70's, I decided it was time to buy my first Beatles record. After all, I'd been smitten by the music I heard in the movies Help! and A Hard Day's Night, which I'd seen on TV. 

The year is fuzzy in my memory, but I must have been no older than about twelve or thirteen. It was shortly after Christmas, and I had some cash in my pocket, a gift from a thoughtful old great-aunt who lived in Detroit. That dough was earmarked for my record purchase. Finally, the Saturday came when my mom was going to drive me to the department store, a Walmart, I believe. The record department was daunting, since I had never set foot in one before this moment. My Monkees purchases had been made in the schoolyard, simple casual transactions with no paper trail. 

So here I was facing bins of records arranged in alphabetical order. Straight to The Beatles section I went, but there I found precious few of their discs to choose from. In fact, the first ones I looked at didn't even look like the Beatles! Hey, they were supposed to wear suits and ties, mop-top haircuts, and have smiling, clean-shaven faces. Instead, I was looking at a quartet of rather serious-looking, hairy-faced hippies on the front covers. Years later, I would understand the importance of those off-putting albums (the cover art, that is) called Hey Jude and Let It Be. For now, though, I wanted the familiar faces and music that I knew from the movies I'd seen. I came upon an album with a fun design on the cover: a grouping of several brownish-tinted (sepia tone to a grownup me) photos of the "young" band with big, bold funky lettering proclaiming this The Beatles' Second Album. I snapped it up and headed to the cashier with no further thought. I didn't know song titles or anything yet, so this was as good a place as any to start. I slapped down my ten dollar bill, which more than covered the cost of the record, and then walked out of the store the proud and happy owner of Beatles music. 

I played that record endlessly, loving every riff and vocal harmony. The order of the tracks is so ingrained in my mind that whenever I hear one of that release's songs on the radio or while I am out somewhere, the moment it ends, I begin to play the album's following song in my head. From Roll Over Beethoven to She Loves You, the Second Album packed a terrific rock'n'roll punch. Even Motown covers like Devil in Her Heart and Money, transformed by the Fab Four, became fast favourites.

Years after I'd done away with my record collection, I regretted parting with that Beatles album, among others. For portability's sake, I had scaled down to the cassette tape format not long before heading off to college. I did gradually replace all of my favourite vinyl with tapes, and the Beatles were among the first additions to my new collection. And this U.S. released Second Album (not one of the UK originals released by the band, this was a re-compiling of songs for the North American market) was among the first tapes I sought out. 

Even though the arrival of the CD medium brought to me, and the rest of North America, all of the Beatles music, these were the "proper" versions of the albums - the original UK versions. For over twenty years I was fine with my Beatles CD collection, but for some odd reason I still pined for that Second Album (for purely nostalgic reasons, I'm sure), which really was just an assemblage of songs from various UK albums. Which I already owned. But to hear those songs in their Second Album sequence, with that distinctive album artwork to gaze upon, was all I wanted. Then just a couple of years ago, I found on the internet that very album on CD. Finally! And in addition to the glorious echo-y original mono version I knew so well, a stereo version of the album was included. I won't be selling off this disc!

Yes, Yes, and Yes

Right, now try to look really awkward for this photo, chaps.... perfect!

My Rush (the band) fixation for much of my life was slightly challenged by my adoration of the music of Yes. These British progressive rock giants formed in the late 60's and went on to wear flamboyant and far out stage clothes in the 70's, then screwed around far too much for the rest of their career. Oh, and they entered the history books, along with Genesis, as the grandfathers of prog-rock.

I first heard Yes' music on my favourite FM radio station in the mid-to-late 70's. A little late by some standards, but I had just reached my early teens by then, the age when music becomes everything to a young man. Roundabout and I've Seen All Good People were among their first songs I learned to appreciate. I was a casual fan for a while, but some years later, while in college, a friend played me some of his Yes tapes, stuff I had never heard before - like the Drama and Going For The One albums. Incredibly complex and yet artistically genius music. This was to be my true indoctrination into the world of Yes. That's when I began collecting and obsessing over their albums and seeking out information (this was pre-internet, too, folks) on the band. 

It was in 1983 that the chart-shattering album 90125 hit the record stores and the airwaves. Even though there were some major line-up changes in the band (such as the exit of guitar god Steve Howe) and their sound altered drastically, I loved this new release. I, and my equally rabid Yes fan best friend, would have gone mental if we'd been able to see the band on the 90125 tour.... but sadly, it was not to be.

But fast-forward a few years to the Big Generator tour, and there I was, sitting in the audience, with my beloved proggers before me. Then a couple of years later, I scored great tickets to see an even better, more "classic" version of the band. This was on the tour supporting the one and only album by Anderson Bruford Wakeman and Howe, as the assembled members had renamed themselves. I suppose there were legal issues over the band name "Yes" at the time, possibly concerning lead singer and guitarist Trevor Rabin, who took over on the 90125 and Big Generator discs. ABWH were the nucleus of the "new" band, with hired hand Tony Levin (from King Crimson and Peter Gabriel) on bass duties. It would have been perfection if original bassist Chris Squire had come on board. 

Anyway, ABWH performed a stunning show. The audience enjoyed pristine sound, even in the outdoor venue, a small, almost intimate section of a football stadium... on a beautiful summer evening. I was entranced hearing so many of the oldies played with such technical flair and artistic gusto. It was certainly a night to remember. Drummer Bruford impressed us with a display of his poly-rhythmic virtuosity on a largely electronic kit. Naturally, Wakeman blew the lid off the joint with his mad scientist keyboard-synth assault. And last but not least, Mr. Howe, strummer-supremo, left me aghast at his fluid soloing and versatile riffing on an assortment of electric and acoustic twangers (a technical term). 

I would go on to see Yes again, in yet another incarnation some years later, but this gig stands out among all of the Yes shows I've seen. It was truly like watching them play in my living room. Like a dream come true, I guess you'd say. 

Best concert tour program.... ever

Saga Continues

Hey, it was 80's, okay?

Saga began as a Toronto-based progressive rock band in the late 1970's, and though their success was derived mainly from record sales and radio airplay in Canada, they did build a strong following in Europe through diligent touring. I remember first hearing their songs Wind Him Up and Don't Be Late on the Toronto rock radio station Q107. I was enthralled by their mixture of heavy guitars, metronomic percussion, and wildly symphonic keyboards and synthesizers. Add in very operatic vocals, ranging from delicate to powerful, and you've got something approaching a Queen/Yes hybrid, though often heavier and somehow carrying a distinctly Canadian stamp. 

I was very taken with Saga's style and quickly added their albums to my growing collection. I even recall seeing early film footage of the band on a cutting edge Toronto TV program called The New Music. Impressive stuff, what with the atmospheric light show and tasteful yet searing performance. 

I was a huge fan until about 1983, then only sporadically investigated their more current musical offerings. I found the band's sound had become too light and pop-ish for my tastes. It wasn't until 1995's Generation 13 album that I saw Saga returning to their roots a bit, though there was also a modernization of that electronic sense, almost tying into the techno/industrial assault of the 90's. Almost.

And it was on that album's supporting tour in 1996 that I first got to see Saga in concert. A long wait, but well worth it. I was suitably blown away and moved by their still perfectly honed skills on their instruments and the mic. Saga at their best demonstrates the successful marriage of the technical and the artistic. And I admire both of those traits in a band.... prog-rock artists like Rush, FM, and Yes fall into that category, and also into my list of  favourite bands of the genre. 

Then in February of 2013, I had the chance to see Saga again. This show, unlike the '96 one I saw in a night club, was held in a beautiful, acoustically perfect theatre auditorium. That paid big dividends, as the sound was incredible... not too loud but powerfully driven, and distortion was minimized so that even speedy guitar solos during the loudest passages were crisp and clean. The band still had the chops and musicality to put on a terrific show, one of the best I've ever seen, in fact. I came away from that concert positively glowing, and thought about it for many weeks after. Do not turn down a chance to see Saga - they never disappoint!