New Additions to the Record Shelf

This past week, I received some records in the mail. I've been going stir-crazy lately, what with my unpleasant mood due to pandemic insanity, the extreme cold and cabin fever here in my neck of Canada, and general stress of this time of year. Let's get to spring and summer, all right?! Anyway, hopefully a bit of new music will get me through.

80's era King Crimson - musical masters

I had ordered the first record online over a month ago, and it finally arrived... after an economy mail trip (by seagull?) across the Atlantic from the UK. But well worth the wait. This was the album Lucifer II, by the Swedish-German band Lucifer. It was released a few years ago, but since this is a smaller musical act, vinyl pressings were somewhat limited, so I had to hunt down a German import. Anyway, the very cool 70's-styled hard rock/near metal sound is impressive. There are obvious nods to their influences, but Lucifer is carving out their own niche based on the downer-doom vibes of early Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, and Danzig, among others. It's riff-y and sometimes downright catchy, though the dark, oppressive, sludgy tempos dominate. Frontwoman Johanna Sadonis formed the band in Germany after the dissolution of former group The Oath (with whom I've been familiar for several years). Sadonis possesses a vocal quality that isn't exactly powerful (to my ears) but it is entrancing, quite suitable for the cryptic lyrics and doomy instrumentation. I'm still busily absorbing the songs on Lucifer II, and haven't formed thoughts on favourite tracks yet, though opener California Sun made an immediate impression.

Next up is something I really should have owned long, long ago: Discipline, by King Crimson. In the late 80's, on a trip to England, I bought a CD compilation of Crimson's music, never having heard more than maybe one tune on the radio years before. But as a young man getting serious about progressive rock, this seemed the correct thing to do. I didn't entirely warm to the music, though. A small handful of tracks worked nicely for me, and I never bothered with the rest of them. Years passed, and since I never revisited the album, I sold off the CD. Fast forward a couple of decades -  to a couple of weeks ago, and I found myself investigating the music of classic-era King Crimson on Youtube. I wasn't wild about their 70's output (what little I tried) but found I was drawn to some of their 80's music, which just happened to be the handful of tunes I remembered from that old CD. After some homework online, I learned that one particular album was comprised of nearly all those tracks I had enjoyed so long ago. And that album was... and is... Discipline.

Apparently Crimson changed up their personnel and sound often during their long career. The 80's saw a melding of their established prog-rock with the experimental styles and technology of that time. It was this material that resonated most with me, and it holds up today. I found a vintage copy of Discipline on vinyl LP on Discogs, my preferred online source for record shopping. Very gently used, this album sounds terrific, both in its near-perfect preserved sound quality and in its boundary-bashing musical content. I'm a fan. Of this album. I admit - again - that it hasn't been easy learning to love Crimson. But having exposed myself to many forms of extreme and weird music over the years, I feel like I am now much more open to KC's avant-garde style. The entire album is primo, though standout tracks are: Frame By Frame, Matte Kudasai, Thela Hun Gingeet, Elephant Talk, and The Sheltering Sky. Each song is brilliant in its own unique and weird way. The least weird of the bunch is Matte Kudasai, one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. A sort of sad, maybe bittersweet, ballad both lyrically and instrumentally. I've long known the names of all the musicians in this 80's incarnation of the band, but to finally hear them all doing their respective insanely talented thing here kinda blows my mind. Fripp on guitar... wow, Levin on bass... whew, Bruford on percussion... yikes, Belew on vocals... my, my. 

Yes, a very happy addition to my collection, and certainly one of the best albums on my vinyl shelves. I highly recommend Discipline. Now off to discover another Crimson album...

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P.S. I actually saw two members of King Crimson perform live many moons ago. In the mid-1980's, I saw Bill Bruford drumming in a jazz duo with pianist Patrick Moraz (who I knew of from his brief residency with prog-rock act Yes) in a Toronto nightclub. Then in the late 80's, I saw Tony Levin on bass with the Anderson-Bruford-Wakeman-Howe reunion concert in Ottawa. A highly memorable show.

Copycat Bands?

I am right now listening to Long Cool Woman by The Hollies. Um, anyone else out there hear the similarity to Creedence Clearwater Revival? The song was released in 1971, right near the end of CCR's career. I'm not all that familiar with The Hollies' recorded catalogue, so I can't say if they did this CCR thing very much, but I think it's undeniable that Long Cool Woman has a distinctly Creedence sound, from vocals to the sound of the instruments.

Aussie retro-rock band Wolfmother stomps like a new Zep-AC.DC hybrid

I was led to this song (which I'd heard before, but never made that connection) by a bit of online discussion about "copycat" bands. And what brought me to even look that up was something that happened recently. I suggested to a co-worker that he try out the modern band Cats in Space, who successfully wrap together a variety of classic rock band sounds (Styx, Journey, Boston, etc). While he appreciated the musicianship, he used a car analogy to describe his feelings about Cats: "why drive a Civic when you can drive a Rolls Royce?" While not an entirely effective analogy, I got what he was talking about. I do like Cats, mainly because they have a familiar sound that makes me feel warm and fuzzy, a nostalgic nod to those that did it best. And they do it well. There are hints of other artists in there, too, though less obviously... a little bit of Beatles, maybe a touch of Rush here and there, among others.

Then later on, I thought about bands that have done this before, either directly mimicking someone else or perhaps less aggressively allowing their influences to show in their music. I think way back to the 60's, when the British Invasion took place. The Beatles made their big splash, then along came The Yardbirds, Stones, Zombies, Kinks, Animals, Herman's Hermits, The Troggs, Manfred Mann, Small Faces, and so on. You can see how so many of those artists tried to capitalize on what The Beatles did, even if only a little bit and briefly to get their careers going.

But then jump into the 80's, when the hard rock-glam rock/hair metal thing hit hard... all thanks to those party animals Van Halen. Between the insane (and rarely as listenable) guitar shredding, vocal howling, and onstage clothing and antics, those (mostly) Sunset Strip bands were taking a page directly from the Van Halen handbook. Consider Ratt, Motley Crue, Poison, and others of that ilk. I guess we could also blame the style sense of Steve Tyler of Aerosmith.

Going back a bit further for influences, look at Whitesnake and their blatant Led Zeppelin song and stage performance. David Coverdale wouldn't have adopted that schtick if Robert Plant hadn't already established that look and vocal style. And look at Kingdom Come, an 80's band who made a minor splash in the hard rock world with their Zeppelin angle. These groups made it work, even if they were criticized by some listeners.

Still in the 80's, how about Krokus, the Swiss band who made a business of sounding just like AC/DC (original lineup with vocalist Bon Scott)? They weren't big stars, but I recall hearing some of their songs on the radio. So big enough. Oh, and I can't neglect to mention modern day hard rockers Airbourne, who actually do AC/DC better than AC/DC themselves. Better guitarists, maybe better singer, less clunky original songs. All with that famous Aussie spirit and sound. Fun stuff. And their videos are so 80's... kinda daring in our current hashtag world.

The Tea Party, a 90's group, harnessed the best of Zeppelin and The Doors for something rather unique, with those influences adding nice textures within highly original tunes. Their blend of bluesy rock and progressive rock tinged with Middle Eastern styles was actually refreshing, if a bit derivative.

Can't forget ol' Lenny Kravitz, either. He sort of embodies late 60's, early 70's rock with his blend of Zep, Hendrix, Beatles, and Stevie Wonder influences, among others.

Not that many years ago, I discovered Wolfmother, whose music bore an unmistakable 70's rock vibe, not far off AC/DC, Zeppelin, and maybe Aerosmith. Cool and enjoyable, it's easy to forget these guys lifted elements from the oldies to fuel their songs.

Which brings me to the more current band, Greta Van Fleet. I have zero interest in their music (Civic vs Rolls), but I have listened to enough of it to hear the huge resemblance to Zeppelin. Yes, they, too, face condemnation for their mimicry, yet they are hugely successful. Go figure. They are Zeppelin for generation Z, as I've heard said in many sources. Just not a fan. Too on the nose.

Of course, I'm only scratching the surface here. I know there are countless other copycats out there, but how deep do I really want to dig here? Just enough for today's post. Cheers!

Rush Song Lyrics NOT by Neil Only

It's not as if this hasn't been covered before on the interwebs, but for the first time, I want to get this straight, complete and accurate, and put down on virtual paper for my own purposes: for which Rush songs was Neil Peart not the lyricist... or not the only person who wrote it?

Over the years, especially when I was a teenager and in my early adult years, I learned this and that about songwriting credits from the liner notes on records, tapes, and CDs. It was sometimes hazy about who actually wrote the lyrical content, since all band members were credited with the creation of the song instrumentally.

Neil Peart has long been applauded (or scorned, depending on which side of the fence you're on) for his song lyrics. Early albums show his interest in genre fiction like sci-fi and fantasy, but also a leaning toward classic literature. Peart's evolution as a writer brought us something more real world, with commentary on history and politics, the human condition, and even personal events. Not nicknamed "The Professor" for nothing, it should be noted that Neil wasn't a hog in the writing department. The other guys in the band contributed words on occasion, and in more than a few instances, someone from outside the band offered their services to the crafting of lyrics.

Some of today's findings were old-hat and others were surprising. I never really thought about Rush's first album, since it was a newbie exercise in raw heavy rock à la Zeppelin and I don't really have any interest in it anymore. That wasn't really Rush yet, if you know what I mean. On sophomore recording Fly By Night, Peart, getting a handle on his new duties, found that Lee and Lifeson had already fleshed out certain songs.

So here ya go. A complete rundown, to the best of my knowledge and research, of Rush song lyrics not by Mr. Peart, or not by him alone:

The whole first Rush album - lyrics by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. Pre-Peart, of course.

Best I Can - by vocalist and bassist Geddy Lee. A fave rockin' oldie of mine

In the End - by Geddy. The music is metallic, plodding, and simplistic. The lyrics, too

Lessons -  by Lifeson. OK-ish. Heavy & howling, it feels like a companion to the 2112 suite.

Tears - by Geddy. Probably his most emotional performance ever. And a ballad, too!

Closer to the Heart - co-written by Peart and non-band member Peter Talbot. First "hit" song!

Cinderella Man - by Geddy. Very much like Peart's writing, cool and optimistic

Different Strings - by Geddy. Another successful ballad with Peart-like word-play

Tom Sawyer -  Peart co-wrote this with Max Webster lyricist Pye Dubois

Chemistry - lyrics by the whole band, and the last time Al and Ged would get lyric credits

Force Ten - again a co-write with Dubois

Between Sun and Moon - another Dubois collaboration

Test For Echo - Neil collab with Dubois

Limbo - borrows a sample from the 60's novelty tune Monster Mash

Favourite Movies of 2021

2021 was a very lean year for movies, for obvious reasons. The world pandemic situation certainly put the damper on movie-making for at least a year or so, but as this year ramped up, some decent stuff began to appear online and eventually in cinemas again.

But I have to say that it was extremely slim pickings this time around. I wasn't aware of very many 2021 movies at all, let alone much I was interested in. The long-delayed James Bond movie No Time To Die was finally released in the fall, but from everything I'd seen and heard about it, I was not enthused to rush out to the nearby COVID-plex to see it. Instead, I waited until very recently to rent it el cheapo via streaming service. Thank the lord, too, since I was not impressed. Sad when a favourite movie character and franchise fails so badly.

Anyway, here is my scant list of favourite movies released in 2021, in no particular order (just my three faves at the top):

--The Best:

The Green Knight - was #1 until Dune came along; now this might only have a slight edge over Dune. Excellent mythic story, visuals and performances

Dune - amazing interpretation of the epic sci-fi novel, beautiful in so many ways. Top-notch cast

Stowaway - Also right up there. Tense, compelling space thriller that focuses on human morality

-- The Rest:

Nobody - starring Saul from Breaking Bad, a fun and violent vigilante action flick. Popcorn, please!

Blood Red Sky - neat modern twist on the vampire story, on a plane. No snakes. Cool and fun

Censor - bizarre and unique concept and visuals, all well executed and unsettling

Hypnotic - a solid psychological thriller that surprised me, not at all predictable. We need more films of this calibre these days! 

Book Wrap-up For 2021

2021 has finally come to a close, and after some lulls in reading here and there during this weird and unsettled year, I have sped up in my consumption of books in its last months. For a while there, I was uncertain (and worried!) that I would not even break twenty books by year's end, but as it's turned out, I passed that with relative ease, reaching an even 24 reads for the year.

I posted my list of books read "so far" in 2021 in early October. A bit premature, perhaps, but with the year now over, it's fitting that I slip in my entries for the last few months of 2021.

I must admit that I started a book back in October, but have put it on hold for a bit. The title is Drood, a massive work of historical horror fiction by Dan Simmons which I find to be a real slog. That guy needed an editor on that one! Good, intriguing tale, but it is so weighed down by lengthy passages that really aren't advancing the story that I often lose patience over it. I'm a little over halfway through, and I don't hate the book, so I feel compelled to complete it in the near future.

So here are the remaining books I've read this year (since early October):

Meant For This, by Erica Wernick - great advice for creative people to get back into the game or to move things up to the next level

The Gray and Guilty Sea, by Scott William Carter - solid mystery story and characters, but has serious editing issues

The Last Bookshop in London, Madeline Martin - intriguing at first but falls prey to melodrama

Young Bond: Silverfin, Charlie Higson - kid James Bond, pre-spy, in a light adventure. Okay.

A Desperate Place For Dying, Scott William Carter - despite writing/editing missteps, a likable protagonist and cast of characters

The Target, David Baldacci - another light thriller in the CIA hitman series. Pretty fun.

Runnin' With the Devil, Noel Monk - excellent Van Halen biography by the band's early tour manager turned band manager. A complete tell-all with all the dirt and details.