My Favourite Albums: Rust In Peace, by Megadeth

In this second instalment of My Favourite Albums, I am going to rave about one of my top albums of all time - Rust in Peace, by the thrash masters Megadeth.

Mustaine, left, and Ellefson, right... plucking a delicate ditty

Let me take a moment express my wishes for a speedy recovery to Mega-singer, songwriter, founder and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Dave recently made it known to the world that he has been diagnosed with throat cancer. Major downer, but his doctors have a treatment plan that they feel has a very high success rate. So... fingers crossed that our mighty Mustaine conquers yet another obstacle in his storied life to come out stronger than ever. He's a fighter, so I have a good feeling about this.

Now on to the thrash metal masterpiece Rust in Peace. The album was released in 1990, and I remember grabbing that CD and losing my mind to the technical and powerful brilliance of the music. Until then, I was a casual Megadeth fan, just sort of feeling things out in the Mustaine territory, being at the time a massive Metallica fan. This album really won me over and prompted me to explore more of the band's recordings, beginning with Peace Sells... But Who's Buying and So Far So Good So What?, and put me on the path to Mega-fandom. Nowadays, I'd say Megadeth is perhaps my fave, or nearly fave, band. Definitely in my top five.

I had the pleasure of seeing Megadeth perform as opening act for Heaven and Hell (aka Black Sabbath with Dio at the mic) back in 2007. But that warm-up was so short and sweet that ever since, I've been pining for the band to return for a headlining show. But no dice... they've never been back. C'mon, guys! Anyway, the highlights of that short set were Hanger 18, Tornado of Souls, and Holy Wars... The Punishment Due, all from the Rust album.

As far as the album goes, it's a full frontal assault on the senses, relentless in its metallic machinations. Blistering solos from all angles, heavy melodic riffs rattling yer rib-cage, the ferocious yet controlled drum attack, and Dave's sickly snarling vocals.

The band that Dave assembled for Rust in Peace is often considered their classic line-up: Dave, of course, on vocals and guitar (and he's no slouch on the axe, is he?), Marty Friedman on second guitar (his imaginative pyrotechnics are mind-boggling), long-time Mega-bassist Dave Ellefson (more than competent, he delivers a solid one-two punch of rhythm and melody), and dearly departed Nick Menza on the skins (an awe-inspiring drummer who combined power with technicality and creativity). 

The album cover shows world leaders gathered in a supposedly hidden bunker (Hanger 18) where they participate in the unveiling of an alien life form. Government conspiracy and cover-up. And good old Mega-mascot Vic Rattlehead is the master of ceremony.

Now the music...

Holy Wars... The Punishment Due is hailed by many in the metal community as one of the greatest heavy songs ever recorded. I totally agree. Mustaine's pissed-off snarl and wail set the stage lyrically while the band bashes out a tough yet sophisticated flail-fest. The track operates as two-in-one, with a distinct change of direction partway through, like two back-to-back songs collaborating on the same story. Both the IRA and the Middle East conflicts inspired Dave in writing the song. His penchant for political commentary is rendered with anger and conviction here... and it works like a charm. A metal classic, for sure.

Hangar 18 is perhaps the most brutal track on the album, sporting several distinct guitar riffs and eleven... yes ELEVEN (11) guitar solos! And it's only a five minute song. Lyrics are spare yet enticingly cryptic, leaving lots of room for instrumental metal mayhem. Fast and driving, this is often cited by fans as one of their top Mega tunes. Me, too.

Take No Prisoners showcases Nick Menza's incredibly athletic drum-work while thick, beefy guitar riffs charge through this headbanger. Even a "lesser" track like this one is a barn-burner. Love that chorus... never to be played on daytime radio due to its catchy "shit".

Five Magics features a weaving bass part, soon to be entwined with the serpentine guitar lines. A full two minutes pass before the black-magic-laced vocals kick in. Wild, angular-flowing solos contrast the chugging verse parts, crossing time signatures in frantic fashion. Whew, what a ride.

Poison Was the Cure creeps into action at a slow-to-moderate pace, then whoa! - a sort of hyperactive Iron Maiden-esque speedy double-guitar attack takes over. Axe zingers galore.

Lucretia is among my favourite Megadeth songs. Those sharp riffs and crunchy chords serve the song well as Dave regales us with a chilling haunted house tale. A punchy and compact tune at just about four minutes, jam-packed with supreme metal content. Just goes to show how good Mustaine is at his craft.

Next up is Tornado of Souls, also considered a highlight of the Rust in Peace album. Monster riffs and vocal chants are key to the swirling effect of the song. The stamina it must take to tear off guitar lines like those, not to mention Nick at the percussive steering wheel. Yet another example of primo thrash musicianship - sweaty and dedicated.

Dawn Patrol is a curiosity in the Mega-catalogue. At just under two minutes long, this is almost exclusively drums and bass at a leisurely tempo, with only tiny guitar accents... and Dave's creaky-voiced spoken word post-apocalypse observations. Weird and out of character, yet it works... and I really like it. 

Rust in Peace... Polaris grinds out its intro, making way for a choppy guitar/drums assault. The intensity and dare I say it - violence - of the song is almost shocking. Then again, just listen to those furious lyrics about the infamous nuclear warhead, deadly and frightening in its ability to devastate.

And that's the album. A metal classic right from the get-go. It's long been one of my fave albums, and I'd definitely rank it in my Top 10, quite possibly my Top 5 of all time. If you're a metal fan, you MUST own this album. Even if you don't like Megadeth (Dave's snarly, kind of whiny vocals aren't for everyone, apparently), give this WHOLE album a chance. I put it right up there with Black Sabbath (their debut, and Heaven and Hell), Priest's Screaming For Vengeance, Maiden's Number of the Beast, and Metallica's Ride the Lightning. And if I had to pick a couple of metal recordings for the proverbial desert island, this would be one of them (you already know Sabbath's Heaven and Hell is my #1).

My Comedy Movie Collection... In A Nutshell

Time to tackle another genre of films within my personal movie collection. Today I'd like to look at comedy, an area I've always enjoyed, yet I never went out of my way to amass a lot of titles on my shelves. So this wee bunch would actually fit in a nutshell. 

As you scan my list below, you'll quickly identify my tastes in comedy: silly, absurd, campy, and mostly mainstream, with just a couple of "arty" films tossed in there for good measure.

Jim Carrey sports a tutu for Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

I made a point of getting some childhood favourites, like the Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, and Abbott and Costello flicks. As a teen, I began to appreciate the Monty Python style of humour, plus the slightly similar Beatles movies. Not to mention the original stoner comedies of Cheech and Chong. I think I've touched upon at least a few key comedy classics, though I have no intention of building much on those. I'm content with timeless stuff like Caddy Shack, Blues Brothers, Airplane, and The Naked Gun.

There was a time when I owned very few comedy movies, just a handful of favourites, but now that I've expanded on those a bit, I'm pleased to have just about everything, to date, that I want. While it's always hard to narrow down to my Top 10, I can safely say that a few of my faves are: The Blues Brothers, Wayne's World, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Amelie, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Up in Smoke, and Frances Ha. If you're willing to include horror-comedy shockers, then I'd add An American Werewolf in London and The Howling.

There are not a lot of comedies in my mostly horror and sci-fi-oriented home video collection, so I might as well list them all. I do have a lot more than these on DVDs I recorded off TV years ago, all stuffed into binders, but here I'll stick to the legit videos on my display shelves.

Here is my small bunch of funny flicks, some on Blu-ray and some on DVD:

Caddyshack
Monty Python and The Holy Grail
Wayne's World
Wayne's World 2
The Blues Brothers
A Hard Day's Night
Help!
Fever Pitch
Get Smart
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Adventures of Power
Abbott and Costello in African Screams
Amelie
Batman The Movie (1966)
Big Top Pee-Wee
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
Casino Royal (1967)
Cheech and Chong movies: Up in Smoke, Next Movie, Nice Dreams, Things are Tough all Over
A Christmas Story
Jerry Lewis movies: The Nutty Professor, The Bellboy, The Ladies' Man, The Delicate Delinquent, The Errand Boy, The Patsy
Dr. Strangelove
Frances Ha
Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde
The Odd Couple (1968)
The Naked Gun
Top Secret!
Airplane
Matt Helm spy movies starring Dean Martin: Murderers' Row, The Silencers, The Ambushers, The Wrecking Crew


And how about a little horror-comedy?

Young Frankenstein
Return of the Living Dead
Drag Me to Hell
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Abbott and Costello Meet The Mummy
An American Werewolf in London (very dark and bloody satire)
The Howling movie (again, very dark satire... and far better than all its sequels)
Bride of Frankenstein (dark comedy, even by today's standards)
The Raven (1963)
The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

Genres In My Vinyl LP Collection

As I scan my little LP record collection, I am pleased with the variety of genres I've covered. I mean, I don't love - or even like - everything out there, and I certainly will not be one of those collectors who buys everything under the sun whether he (or she) likes it or not... just to build the library and be as much of a completist as possible. But I do appreciate something about many different types of music.

To begin with, I'd say rock and metal are my favourite music genres. Rock is a broad category that can include everything from Beatles and Alan Parsons Project to Blue Oyster Cult and Burton Cummings. You'll find those artists on my record shelf, along with many others. 

I won't list off every album or even artist in my small but growing music library, but a handful of rockers I've got are:

Cheap Trick, The Doors, Elton John, Elvis, Fleetwood Mac, Foreigner, Journey, Kiss, Max Webster, The Police, Tom Petty, Supertramp, Van Halen, The Who, Yes, and ZZ Top. 

There are artists in the rock category that verge on pop here and there: for example, Elton's pre-80's tunes were rock (with slight variations), while his later stuff went more pop; Elvis was all over the map... from early rock'n'roll to gospel to ballads and pop, and so on; and The Police were sort of lumped into the New Wave movement where their pop-rock hybrid blended with other influences. 

My Buggles, Devo, and Cars records would also fall under the New Wave classification, the first two a bit more pop, while the Cars are probably more rock. Also Marianne Faithfull, at least on her Broken English album. And The Monks, a Brit band with a catchy punk-pop flavour. New Wave seemed to define a time period - late 70's and into the 80's - more than a style of music, since the range of sounds out of that era was so diverse. 

It's easy to see the hard rock acts in there that might be mistaken for metal, but I prefer to differentiate. Guys like Kiss and Van Halen often fall victim to that, but not in my house. 

Metal, too, is comprised of countless subgenres, though most of them came about within the past twenty years or so. My interests in this department are more old-school, leaning toward traditional (70's) heavy metal like Black Sabbath, Scorpions, and Judas Priest. The New Wave of British Heavy Metal gets a tiny bit of representation on my shelf in the form of Motorhead and Accept, while Megadeth and Voivod are the only thrashers I've got on vinyl so far. And the one modern metal band I've got on LP is Ghost, though they are frequently termed hard rock. Remember, this is just my vinyl collection, still in its infancy... my CD shelves are far better loaded with metal. 

Then there are my pop records , which include The Monkees, Partridge Family, ABBA, and the Bay City Rollers. So far, just those favourites from my youth. Actually, ABBA is a newer interest that I've cultivated, though I sort of liked a few of their disco-ish tunes back in the day. 

The only exclusively dance-pop album I've got on vinyl is Kylie Minogue's Golden, one of the very few new (2018) releases I bought. Pretty much all of Kylie's other albums command seriously high prices on the used vinyl market. Too much for my wallet, but I'm always on the lookout for a deal.

I've got a smattering of 70's K-Tel hits compilations that include a cross-section of rock, pop, and disco (among other hybrid genres)... often all together on one record. On those, you'd see pop artists like Captain and Tennille, Eric Carmen, Pilot, and Hall & Oates. 

Also on those K-Tel comps were disco tracks by the likes of Bee Gees, KC & the Sunshine Band, Sylvers, and more. Equally dance-oriented were the funk and soul artists like Earth, Wind & Fire, War, Commodores, and Ohio Players. These timeless tracks still hold up well, putting to shame what passes for dance music today. 

The rockers on the K-Tel discs include Heart, Chilliwack, Prism, Moxy, and Rush, just to name a few. 

Now on to the country section: I don't claim to like much of this genre, but the older music, mostly from the 70's often appeals to me. And the few country records I've got are by artists who have crossover appeal, so some of them might be tagged country-rock, country-pop, or whatever. I've got some Marty Robbins, Kenny Rogers, Emmylou Harris, John Denver, Linda Ronstadt, Anne Murray, and Ozark Mountain Daredevils. Of those, I'd say the Emmylou and Ronstadt are my faves. The only reason I bought some of those LPs was that they were ridiculously cheap (maybe a dollar or so) at a thrift shop.

The one-and-only folk album on my shelf is Summertime Dream by Gordon Lightfoot. It's hard to argue with that choice, as the man is a living legend... and he's from my hometown. Good ol' Gord.

Though I have a decent bunch of classical CDs, I rarely play those any more. My mood just doesn't take me there much these days. So it was an easy choice to pass on adding much classical to my vinyl shelf. I did recently find a used box set of Beethoven's nine symphonies in great condition. I've long been a big fan of ol' Ludwig Van, so this seemed essential to me. And I just might leave it at that for classical LPs. We'll see.

With jazz, I've got Oscar Peterson's classic Night Train album. A chillaxin' set of piano that is perfect for almost any low-key occasion. Not long ago, I snagged my absolute favourite jazz album of all time, Time Out, by The Dave Brubeck Quartet. Both on vinyl. As with classical, I very rarely am in the mood for jazz, and tend to ignore even my decent-sized CD collection of the genre. 

There is one unusual compilation album that I'm happy to have in my collection. It belonged to my grandfather and came down to me... a Columbia Records promotional disc called Q... On The Aisle, a cool mix of jazz, classical, and easy listening from probably the late 50's or early 60's. 

My one comedy album is Bob & Doug McKenzie's Great White North, a 1981 offshoot of the Canadian TV sketch show SCTV. Never played, and still in mint condition, I'll hang onto this. At Christmas, I sometimes put on my CD version of it, just for kicks. 

Though I have several dozen movie soundtracks on CD, my only ones on vinyl are mainly from the early 60's James Bond films. The music from the first four Bond films ever, starring Sean Connery, contain the classic spy themes we all know and love today. Much imitated and rarely matched, this is the real thing. These records may never hit my turntable, though. They're old, old... and I'd rather preserve them. Well, maybe someday I'll play them once through, just to say I did. There is also the Moonraker musical score, from 1985. Excellent music, but as with the Bond oldies, I'd rather put on my CD copies of these albums instead.

And that concludes this overview of genres within my record collection. It's possible I'll dabble in some new genres sometime, but for now, I'm sticking to my favourite types of music on vinyl. Now off to spin some tunes...

Welcome to the Record Shelf: New & Used Vinyl

A few weeks back, I had a few minutes to kill before an appointment, so I wandered into a nearby Salvation Army thrift shop. I hadn't been in there before, but I did have a mission: find records. I asked the nearest clerk and got directions to the home media section. I was surprised at the hundreds of records on display... but I was not surprised at all the junk. So many 70's middle-of-the-road albums, like Donnie and Marie, Streisand, and Manilow. So I flipped quickly through most, but not all, of them.

What caught my attention were, off to one side, several box sets of classical composers. I saw Bach, I think Mozart, and there it was, lo and behold - Beethoven's 9 Symphonies as conducted by ze maestro Herbert Von Karajan. I only hesitated for one moment. Ten bucks! But I did my duty and assessed the condition of each of the records in the set. Just a tiny bit of dust here and there, but these babies looked flawless... shiny and scratch-and-scuff-and-warp-free. The display box and its enclosed book on Karajan and the symphonies were in super nice condition, too. Ten bucks! I've only checked out the first few symphonies so far, but wow, the sound is almost perfect. Barely a distracting snap or pop at all. Best deal ever.

A little something showed up in the mail this week: two gently used records from a Discogs seller here in Canada (always preferable to the pricier shipping from the States). First up is Degüello, the sixth studio album by that l'il ol' band from Texas, ZZ Top. I had done my homework in order to decide which ZZ album to get this time around. I already had their Best Of from '77, and it's a great overview of their early work, but I wanted something from just after that period. Released in 1979, Degüello rocks in its distinctive bluesy way, with notable tracks I Thank You, She Loves My Automobile, I'm Bad I'm Nationwide, Dust My Broom, and Cheap Sunglasses. Yes, I will get some serious mileage out of this one... a winner from top to bottom.

Also in that Discogs package was something I'd been ruminating over ever since I got my turntable back in late 2017. That special something was Fair Warning by the world's greatest party band of all time, Van Halen. Released in '81, this album has always been underrated and unappreciated. Halen fans in the know will certainly cite this as perhaps their grittiest and meanest set of tunes. I'd say Mean Street's got the deadliest guitar intro in all of the VH catalogue... Eddie is in top shredding form on this and the whole rest of the album. Similarly heavy and catchy is Sinner's Swing, Unchained (a chilling guitar tone and technique here), and though the album is rather on the dark side (both thematically and musically), things return to that early Halen good-time vibe with So This is Love? Every song is great in its own way, though there are oddities in the mix as brother Ed fiddles for the first time with synthesizers. Weird but kinda neat. 

Then this morning, upon discovering I had some credit with a local record store, I made a trip downtown for some flipping through the bins. I considered but passed on Cheap Trick's Dream Police album (heard it a zillion times as a teen and probably wouldn't give it much attention now) and the soundtrack for the movie Apocalypse Now (a fave movie, but not sure about listening to a recording of snippets of dialogue interspersed with music composed for the movie and existing tunes - both rock and classical. Maybe another day).

As I moved around the store, I did keep close at hand a brand new (2017, sealed) 40th anniversary pressing of David Bowie's Diamond Dogs, an album I've had on my shopping list for a while. With my credit applied to the purchase, it became very affordable. Can't wait to give this a spin... I only really know two songs from Diamond Dogs, the title track and the rowdy Rebel Rebel, so there's a lot of new music to discover. This 180g remastered reissue just happens to be my very first coloured - bright red - vinyl record.

And now.... to clean up some records and get them on the turntable. Cheers!

Movie Remake Cage Match: Godzilla 1954 vs 1998

Today's Movie Remake Cage Match pits the 1954 Japanese giant monster classic Godzilla up against its woefully weak 1998 Hollywood namesake. These films couldn't be any more different. So hold onto your hats, kids, and get ready for some adulation of the original... and some bashing of its remake.

As most of us know, the '54 Godzilla kicked off one of the biggest movie franchises of all time. There are certainly more films - a whopping thirty-two in total from the Toho studios - in this canon than in any other series. Even the James Bond flicks are a distant second-place at twenty-four (official films, that is... not including the 1967 parody Casino Royale and the unofficial remake of Thunderball, Never Say Never Again in 1983).

But back to good ol' Gojira (as written and spoken in Japanese). I am not sure when I first saw the original version... it may not have been the very first 'Zilla flick I ever saw, but I'm sure it was among the many I caught on after-school TV when I was a kid. As a youngster and tween, I preferred the more colourful and campy sequels and spin-offs (Mothra, Rodan, Gamera, etc). But as a more "serious" film fan as a grownup, I have come around to regarding the original with admiration. 

Its black-and-white treatment, the effective horror movie lighting, tension-building pacing, creepy and ominous music, and of course the atomic testing cautionary tale all contributed to its grim, atmospheric, and almost-scary tone. Subsequent entries in the series became rather silly, jokey, and downright corny with their comic-book-ish approach. Godzilla and his fellow monsters, whether comrades or opponents, performed crazy wrestling matches, rolling around, grappling, and body-slamming. And the victory bounces with arms in the air! The cooler bits of the battles were the radioactive breath and laser blast stuff.

The fact that this monster was portrayed by a man in a rubber suit, stomping on detailed miniature cities, did not harm the spirit of the first film. The camera captured a truly awe-inspiring destructive being from the depths. The later instalments gave us a lighter-footed, jumping, dancing Godzilla... not at all frightful, just entertaining in a goofy way.

Anyway, the first movie was an important part of history, truly kicking off the giant monster genre in cinema. Yes, King Kong (and his smaller counterparts Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young) came first (okay, second... after dinosaur picture The Lost World in 1925), but it did not quite inspire the studios to pump out one fight fest after another. Godzilla did. And not just Toho sequels and spin-offs, but other forms of humongous creatures in mostly standalone features from other studios. 

For example, there were 50's imitators Them! (giant ants), Tarantula, The Deadly Mantis, and 20 Million Miles to Earth (a rapidly growing alien), and many more... and on into the 60's with Gorgo, Reptilicus, and others. Giant monster films are still big draws in today's CGI-blessed (or damned) industry.

Now on to the 1998 Godzilla. I had high hopes... hell, we ALL had high hopes... when this remake was announced back in the day. I was there in my seat chomping popcorn with everyone else, waiting for a monumental reboot of the ancient beast.

But boy, what a disappointment. This version came across more like Jurassic Park Goes To New York. And its all-star Hollywood cast just couldn't save it from mediocrity. To begin with, it took most of the 1990's to even get this picture off the ground. Script issues and budget disputes stalled the production over and over again. When it was finally on its way, the hype machine was in full force and the fans were salivating. What did we know?

The movie made some cash but it was considered a box office disappointment. Critics and fans agreed that this was a flop. Planned sequels were cancelled. Yep, that says it all in a nutshell. Even Ferris Bueller (actor Matthew Broderick) couldn't save the show. The story begins with promise, with the well-known radioactive resuscitation of the prehistoric creature. But when the old boy heads into NYC, things go way off track. Too many dull human sub-stories emerge and that alone made this almost unbearable. Then throw in the fact that this Godzilla is pregnant and is building its nest in Madison Square Garden and you've got a twist that doesn't bode well. Without giving it all away here, I'll just say that this becomes more of a Jurassic Park action knock-off than anything worth the radioactive spit of the 1954 monster. The unsatisfying final scenes left viewers with a bad taste in their mouths.

That was a gigantic "meh".

So in this movie cage match, 1954 Godzilla wins with a serious knock-out. I've bought and upgraded my copies of the original a few times over the years, from VHS tape to DVD, then to the more recent magnificently restored Criterion edition on Blu-ray. On the other hand, that '98 bust - well, I think I might have seen it one more time shortly after its release on video rental way back when. That was more than enough. Blech.