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Underlords Universe
Добавлен 24 апр 2016
The Underlords Universe is the official video platform for the Underlords of the Overworld, a collective conclave that shares our creative work with the world while also sharing our views on the creations and creators that inspired us. You'll find commentary on hard rock, progressive rock, and metal, as well as science fiction, horror and fantasy. You'll also find avenues and links to our own musical and fictional creations. Please consider subscribing and following to help support us as independent artists.
Kiss Album Ranking Discussion Part 6 - Psycho Circus, Sonic Boom, and Monster
Brent and Brian discuss and rank the last three Kiss albums, Psycho Circus, Sonic Boom, and Monster.
0:00 Introduction and rating system
5:18 Psycho Circus
23:32 Sonic Boom
38:44 Monster
55:22 Ranking Psycho Circus, Sonic Boom, and Monster
1:02:20 Underlords of the Overworld and the Underlords Universe
Kiss Album Ranking Discussion Part 1 - Debut, Hotter Than Hell, and Dressed to Kill
ruclips.net/video/aosXJMku7-U/видео.html
Kiss Album Ranking Discussion Part 2 - Destroyer, Rock and Roll Over, and Love Gun
ruclips.net/video/kqVfYI38UYY/видео.html
Kiss Album Ranking Discussion Part 3 - Dynasty, Unmasked, The Elder, and Creatures of the Night
ruclips.net/video/iXET-ssIQq8/видео.html
Kiss Album Ranking ...
0:00 Introduction and rating system
5:18 Psycho Circus
23:32 Sonic Boom
38:44 Monster
55:22 Ranking Psycho Circus, Sonic Boom, and Monster
1:02:20 Underlords of the Overworld and the Underlords Universe
Kiss Album Ranking Discussion Part 1 - Debut, Hotter Than Hell, and Dressed to Kill
ruclips.net/video/aosXJMku7-U/видео.html
Kiss Album Ranking Discussion Part 2 - Destroyer, Rock and Roll Over, and Love Gun
ruclips.net/video/kqVfYI38UYY/видео.html
Kiss Album Ranking Discussion Part 3 - Dynasty, Unmasked, The Elder, and Creatures of the Night
ruclips.net/video/iXET-ssIQq8/видео.html
Kiss Album Ranking ...
Просмотров: 6
Видео
Weird Tales Talk - "Masked Ball" by Seaburry Quinn (1947)
Просмотров 117 часов назад
Josh and Brian discuss a short story by Seabury Quinn, the most prolific author of Weird Tales stories. If you're a Weird Tales reader, and know the story, offer your own thoughts or recommend one for them to read. Check out Josh's work in the Underlords Universe, written under his pen name H. Prescott Lemon: www.amazon.com/stores/H.-Prescott-Lemon/author/B0CR6QK4JW?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=17...
Weird Tales Talk - "Eena" by Manly Banister (1947)
Просмотров 23День назад
Josh and Brian discuss, Eena, the 1947 short story by Manly Banister published by Weird Tales magazine. While not spoiling the story or its climax, they explore the idea of twisting an archetype and the theme of the outsider. They conclude with a brief discussion of how Weird Tales and pulp authors have influenced Josh's writing under his pen name, H. Prescott Lemon. H. Prescott Lemon books thr...
Ghost - Rite Here Rite Now - Are We Still Fans?
Просмотров 53День назад
Brian and Travis engage in an in-depth and at times rambling discussion of the new Ghost live album, Rite Here Rite Now, and whether or not it served up the end of their Ghost fandom. Underlords of the Overworld Bandcamp: underlords.bandcamp.com/ H. Prescott Lemon Novels in the Underlords Universe: www.amazon.com/stores/H.-Prescott-Lemon/author/B0CR6QK4JW?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppi...
Kiss Album Ranking Discussion Part 5 - Crazy Nights, Hot in the Shade, Revenge, & Carnival of Souls
Просмотров 64Месяц назад
Brent and Brian discuss the late 80s to early 90s era where Kiss again goes through a transitional period, trying to nail down their identity. 00:00 Introduction and our rating system 3:18 Crazy Nights 19:00 Hot in the Shade 42:33 Revenge 1:03:53 Carnival of Souls 1:17:30 Ranking Crazy Nights, Hot in the Shade, Revenge and Carnival of Souls 1:19:40 Underlords Stuff Kiss Album Ranking Discussion...
Kiss Album Ranking Discussion Part 4 - Lick it Up, Animalize, and Asylum
Просмотров 772 месяца назад
Brent and Brian discuss the three post-makeup Kiss albums that build off the direction they established with Creatures of the Night, what could arguably be called Kiss-style heavy metal. The era also marks the period where Paul takes the production reigns as Gene attempts to expand his career as an actor and producer. 0:50 The series and our rating system 3:23 Lick it Up 30:48 Animalize 46:47 A...
Casa Defilus Bass Recording
Просмотров 3163 месяца назад
Here's a short clip of Josh recording some bass for a track called "Casa Defilus" which will appear on the upcoming Smaller Than Death release. What is Casa Defilus, you may ask? We'll invite you to explore a story called "We Buy Homes" which will be in the upcoming Smaller Than Death volume of short stories. More details to come. Underlords on Bandcamp: underlords.bandcamp.com/ H. Prescott Lem...
Black Sabbath - Anno Domini - Forbidden Remix Discussion and Review
Просмотров 1,3 тыс.3 месяца назад
Brent and Brian are once again joined by fellow Black Sabbath aficionado, Travis, for a discussion of the newly released box set covering the band's years originally on the IRS record label. These albums featured Tony Martin on vocals, along with Neil Murray on bass (for Tyr and Forbidden), drummer Cozy Powell (on Headless Cross, Tyr, and Forbidden) as well as Geezer Butler and Bobby Rondinelli...
Blue Oyster Cult Album Ranking Discussion Part 4 - Final Blue Oyster Cult Album Rankings
Просмотров 2243 месяца назад
Brent, Brian, and Josh are joined by fellow BOC fan and honorary Underlord Bryon Dudley to offer their final rankings of the BOC catalog. Additionally, all their scores were aggregated into a master ranking, taking into account the scores that each had given to all the albums. 00:31 Intro and rating system 2:32 Individual rankings all 15 Blue Oyster Cult albums 13:39 Discussion of the Blue Oyst...
Kiss Album Ranking Discussion Part 3 - Dynasty, Unmasked, The Elder, and Creatures of the Night
Просмотров 983 месяца назад
Brent and Brian discuss and rank Kiss's transitional albums as the band worked with different producers, experimented with different styles, employed outside writers, and worked with different drummers. 6:59 Dynasty 20:05 Unmasked 34:09 Music From The Elder 54:49 Killers 58:30 Creatures of the Night Kiss Album Ranking Discussion Part 1 - Debut, Hotter Than Hell, and Dressed to Kill ruclips.net/...
Rock & Roll Book Report: Martin Popoff - Kiss at 50
Просмотров 414 месяца назад
Brent and Brian offer thoughts on Martin Popoff's Kiss at 50 book. Order direct from Martin Popoff: www.martinpopoff.com/html/kiss-at-50.html Underlords official website: underlordsuniverse.com/ Underlords Bandcamp: underlords.bandcamp.com/ Underlords Author H. Prescott Lemon's novels: www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0CR6QK4JW?ingress=0&visitId=4719114f-aeac-412b-9414-9bad2ff40bb1&ref_=sr_ntt_src...
Blue Oyster Cult Album Ranking Discussion Part 3
Просмотров 2054 месяца назад
Brian, Josh, and Brent are joined by Bryon Dudley, host of the Hair Metal Memories podcast and member of the band Strong Like Bear for part three of a series looking at the B.O.C. discography. This episode wraps up the B.O.C. catalog with Imaginos, Heaven Forbid, Curse of the Hidden Mirror, The Symbol Remains, and the recently released Ghost Stories. 0:00 Introduction and our rating system 2:42...
Eric Carr Unfinished Business Deluxe Edition Box Set (Record Store Day)
Просмотров 6074 месяца назад
Overview of the limited edition box set of the posthumous Eric Carr release, Unfinished Business. Please check out our own music and fiction! "Ordo Abstrusus Oculus" ft. Blaze Bayley ruclips.net/video/rzcourpMd8o/видео.html underlords.bandcamp.com/album/ordo-abstrusus-oculus-ft-blaze-bayley open.spotify.com/album/1uttinv7ZO8xBtnwTxBGNJ The Soup and Sandwich EP ft. Derek Sherinian ruclips.net/p/...
Kiss Album Ranking Discussion Part 2 - Destroyer, Rock and Roll Over, and Love Gun
Просмотров 534 месяца назад
Brent and Brian discuss and rank the studio albums Kiss released in 1976 and 1977, Destroyer, Rock and Roll Over, and Love Gun. 0:52 Our rating system 2:14 Destroyer 28:08 Rock and Roll Over 44:55 Love Gun 1:05:33 Ranking Destroyer, Rock and Roll Over, and Love Gun Kiss Album Ranking Discussion Part 1 - Debut, Hotter Than Hell, and Dressed to Kill ruclips.net/video/aosXJMku7-U/видео.html Thanks...
Underlords Rehearse a Sloppy Rendition of "Laundromat of Madness"
Просмотров 864 месяца назад
Underlords run through "Laundromat of Madness" for the first time in almost a year. Some bum notes here and there, but overall, it sort of worked. Brian and Josh are visible, but unfortunately, Brent and Blake are off camera. Given the flubs perhaps they'd prefer it that way? Anyway, the guys are at work recording a set of tunes going under the banner of Smaller Than Death. More deets to come a...
Judas Priest - Invincible Shield Review Discussion
Просмотров 645 месяцев назад
Judas Priest - Invincible Shield Review Discussion
Blue Oyster Cult Album Ranking Discussion Part 2
Просмотров 3446 месяцев назад
Blue Oyster Cult Album Ranking Discussion Part 2
Kiss Album Ranking Discussion Part 1 - Kiss, Hotter than Hell, and Dressed to Kill
Просмотров 406 месяцев назад
Kiss Album Ranking Discussion Part 1 - Kiss, Hotter than Hell, and Dressed to Kill
Ace Frehley 10,000 Volts Discussion and Review
Просмотров 996 месяцев назад
Ace Frehley 10,000 Volts Discussion and Review
Black Sabbath Album Ranking Discussion Part 4 - "Final" Black Sabbath Album Rankings
Просмотров 916 месяцев назад
Black Sabbath Album Ranking Discussion Part 4 - "Final" Black Sabbath Album Rankings
Rush Album Ranking Discussion Part 4 - "Final" Rush Album Rankings
Просмотров 826 месяцев назад
Rush Album Ranking Discussion Part 4 - "Final" Rush Album Rankings
Blue Oyster Cult Album Discussion and Ranking Part 1 - Blue Oyster Cult debut through Spectres
Просмотров 6676 месяцев назад
Blue Oyster Cult Album Discussion and Ranking Part 1 - Blue Oyster Cult debut through Spectres
"Ordo Abstrusus Oculus" ft. Blaze Bayley
Просмотров 4546 месяцев назад
"Ordo Abstrusus Oculus" ft. Blaze Bayley
Bruce Dickinson - Afterglow of Ragnarok Review
Просмотров 607 месяцев назад
Bruce Dickinson - Afterglow of Ragnarok Review
2023 Album of the Year - Song of the Year
Просмотров 177 месяцев назад
2023 Album of the Year - Song of the Year
Black Sabbath Album Rating Ranking Discussion Part 3 - Headless Cross through 13
Просмотров 1087 месяцев назад
Black Sabbath Album Rating Ranking Discussion Part 3 - Headless Cross through 13
Rush Album Ranking Discussion Part 3 - Presto through Clockwork Angels
Просмотров 897 месяцев назад
Rush Album Ranking Discussion Part 3 - Presto through Clockwork Angels
Blaze Bayley Guest Vocal Mixing (December 4, 2023)
Просмотров 78 месяцев назад
Blaze Bayley Guest Vocal Mixing (December 4, 2023)
A Chat with Ron Williams, Author of "I Stole Your Love: The 100% True Story of a 100% True Kiss Fan"
Просмотров 299 месяцев назад
A Chat with Ron Williams, Author of "I Stole Your Love: The 100% True Story of a 100% True Kiss Fan"
Its interesting to see what other people's rankings are. For me personally, I'd put my top 15 (subject to change) as: 15. Ghost Stories 14. Mirrors 13. Heaven Forbid 12. Curse of the Hidden Mirror 11. Cultasaurus Erectus 10. Revolution by Night 9. Debut 8. Tyranny and Mutation 7. Agents of Fortune 6. Club Ninja 5. Secret Treaties 4. Symbol Remains 3. Fire of Unknown Origin 2. Imaginos 1. Specters Obviously, I do tend to value the 80s stuff a bit more than the 70s, not sure but I think that era just fits my interests more.
Interesting that Club Ninja ranks as high as it does for you. Seeing different responses to Club Ninja has led me to revisit it more often, which gives it new life for me - despite some of my misgivings about it. But I'm in total agreement about Imaginos!
Great discussion guys! I have to admit, my interest in Ghost has waned in recent years as well. I totally respect Ghost's vision and musicianship, but similar to what Travis was saying, I find the vibe has become a little too "cutesy" for my taste. I really enjoyed the memory lane you guys walked down of going to those early Ghost concerts, which were absolutely amazing! I have to admit, however, this episode inspired me to pull out Prequelle and Impera, both of which I kind of gave short shrift at their respective times of release. I was pleasantly surprised and found a deeper appreciation for both records. I think I'm going to run against the grain, however, in that I definitely lean toward Impera as the better record. Yes...yes...yes...Twenties sucks. It's without question the worst Ghost song ever. However, I love how the record opens and goes int Kaisarion. Travis is right, this track has all the sassiness of an Andrew Lloyd Webber showtune...but I still like it. I think it's a more consistent and interesting record than Prequelle. Again, thanks for the discussion!
When you say "cutesy" it makes me think of when Kiss hit the Dynasty / Unmasked era. A similar criticism could be made of Kiss's image and the demographic to which they were appealing. That said, for me, I'm glad they went through that because to remain static would itself become boring. If pressed, I agree that the earlier, eerie image Ghost had is the preferred version of Ghost. But I can't see that maintaining itself for a lengthy career. It remains to be seen if Ghost finds their own Creatures of the Night era, and revisits something grittier.
For me there's one album that stands head and shoulders above the rest....Cultosaurus Erectus. That first side is my favourite side of any album period. Following I'd put 2 Agents of Fortune 3 Spectres 4 Debut 5 Any of the rest except Ghost Stories, Tyranny and Mutation or Mirrors
I've been hoping Ghost Stories would grow on me. Hasn't happened yet! Yeah, side 1 of Cultosaurus is solid, but I'll take "Lips in the Hills" from side 2 over "Deadline."
@@underlordsuniverse7823 Yes "Lips in the Hills" standout track from side two. Unknown tongue is great too. The only track I don't care for on the whole record is The Marshall Plan.
Thank you Underlords, you've certainly whetted my taste for Eena specifically and also Weird Tales in general.....and today I finished the first book in your series 'Origins of the Damned' and I have to say I really enjoyed it. That line that starts the last chapter 'The incident itself happened quickly.'....chilling stuff! Really well written. Great plotting. Very pulpy but like you mention, pulp masks deeper things. Also lots of musical nuggets all the way through....I had to check wikipedia on numerous occasions. For example I've never even considered 80's Uriah Heep before.....but I don't think I'll be rushing out to get any Petra albums! Really looking forward to the next instalment. I'm unemployed at the moment so I have to watch the spending but I'll buy it in the next week or two. Also, as sci fi fans I'm wondering if any of you can help me out with a bit of a mystery. In 2000 I read an obituary of John Sladek the American sci fi writer and in that obituary it described how in one of his novels or short stories there was the all time most ingenious 'locked room mystery'....or in this case 'locked toilet cubicle mystery'.....and I have always wanted to read it.....but of course I have completely forgotten what the story/novel was. Are you John Sladek fans? Can you help me with this? Also, great news that you have a singer and are making new music! I look forward to it.
Thank you - we greatly appreciate the feedback! We actually put a lot of those little references to other bands in just to amuse ourselves. When he was writing it, I don't think either of us really had the intention of publishing it. 80s Uriah Heep is a little hit and miss, I'd say. Some great moments and some cheesy moments. As far as Petra goes, the one tune I would highly recommend is a song called "Taste and See." It's Christian funk! Very groovy! Anyway, I did some digging around, as neither of us are familiar with John Sladek. It appears he had written a couple of those kinds of mysteries. The one I'm seeing that gets name-checked is Black Aura.
@@underlordsuniverse7823 Hey, thanks! It looks like it might be Black Aura. Thanks for the digging. From time to time I used to search for it but never came up with anything so that is much appreciated. And Petra's Taste and See is great fun. So much Christian stuff is po-faced but those guys are having fun....now for some Stryper!
Enjoy your shows. 1. Hot in shade 6 2.revenge 5.5 3.carnival of souls 5 4.crazy nights 3.75
Thanks! I think Hot in the Shade gets maligned a bit too harshly. Obviously there's room for criticism, but I've always liked it. Nice to see someone else rank it higher - at least with respect to this group of albums. What would you say are the standout tracks on Hot in the Shade?
My favorites are somewhere between heaven and hell, love's a dirty weapon, and king of hearts. I like rise to it, betrayed, little caesar, and you love me to hate you.
Not love's a dirty weapon, prisoner of love
Buck and his wife Sandy called me one night while they were writing “The Vigil.” They asked me to add some lyrics. Flattered, I set to work, adding words that referenced a biblical character who foresaw future aliens visiting earth. My effort perplexed both of them, so it was a no-go….
Well that's unfortunate! I always thought The Vigil could have been expanded into a novel. I think it's a great example of how BOC had a bit of prog-rock in them, but they never get mentioned as having any prog leanings at all. But songs like The Vigil, and even Golden Age of Leather have a hint of a prog sensibility to them. Maybe mostly in the arrangements, with multiple parts that defy traditional song structure.
Mirrors was a set of lyrics that followed the music. Buck sent me a bunch of unrelated guitar riffs. The one riff that caught my fancy became “Pretty girls can’t look away.” I was looking at my wife’s copy of Vogue at the time and the rest of the song wrote itself.
Well, today is my first bike ride after being released from cardiac rehab, and I think I'll be listening to Mirrors in addition to the new Jon Anderson album for the ride! Thanks for the comments! We really appreciate it. Would be honored to get more insights into the writing process, and any other creative work you've done if you're willing. Thanks again!
You guys are great based on your preoccupation with lyrics. Songs usually begin with them, but a lot of fans usually emphasize the music. I’ve submitted four sets of lyrics to Buck that he’s set to music, as well as, done some important edits and additions. Buck and I have shared a sense of humor for 59 years and counting. He’s a great gentleman, a best man at my wedding, and a musical and lyrical genius.
Thanks for checking out our videos! I guess I didn't realize we were focusing on lyrics as much as we were! I always loved BOC's lyrics. As a personal aside, while I've met and gotten to know a small number (but a wide range) of people in the music industry, Buck is the only pro I've met twice randomly walking through airports. What are the odds of that? Anyway, we appreciate your comment - I see there's another from you I need to read. Have you written lyrics for other artists, or worked with Albert or Joe in their solo capacities?
@@underlordsuniverse7823 No, but I have a cool Al and Joe story. I live about 150 miles south from where Al and Joe were raised in Clayton, NY. After college (where I met Buck and Al), I acquired a best friend in my hometown. He fathered a beautiful daughter who went off to Utah for some reason. The daughter got married in Utah, but all their relatives were from back East, so they held a reception in our home town for the families a few summers ago. It turned out that she had married Al and Joe's nephew whom she'd met in high school! The day's entertainment was their band Blue Coupe that contained a set of BOC favs. It was a fun reunion!
Fellas, you know I love you guys for doing this, but you really need to go back and listen to Dragon Lady again. That song is just driving power and the progression at the end is just gripping. Can't argue with much else.
Ah, and here's the reason we do this! For some reason "Dragon Lady" always struck me as middle of the road. I'm not a big fan of the chorus. But going back and listening again, especially to the outro... yeah, I can see a small upgrade in my rating of the song. I'm less likely to skip the tune when I put the album on now!
@@underlordsuniverse7823 Glad I could be of service. It would be fun to see you guys go through the live albums, but so much music, so little time . . . I've been listening to all this stuff for 50 years. Seen the band many times. Think maybe their best was the Mirrors tour; it was just after they had to get rid of the lasers in the show, and the new light show was quite incredible. Buck was as sharp as I ever saw him, played a Gibson Explorer through most of the concert, which has a sound that matches his style perfectly. The Black and Blue tour was nearly as good; pro tip, never let Blue Oyster Cult open for you.
My favorites are Spectres and Heaven Forbid. 3 - Debut 4 - Fire of an unknown origin 5 - Mirrors. Those are actually my top 5. Favorite songs though: She's as beautiful as a foot Lonely teardrops Don't fear the reaper Transmaniacon MC Godzilla Searchin' for Celine In Thee Cities on flame... R U ready to rock Harvest moon Astronomy I love the night Vengeance Deadline Feel the Thunder Perfect water Hammer back The Vigil Take me away Les invisibles The last days of May Death Valley nights Tenderloin Sole Survivor Dancin' in the ruins Veteran of the psychic wars Workshop of the telescopes Stairway to the stars The golden age of leather Divine wind To name a few. These are my favorites. Interesting video y'all. Very enjoyable. Thank you fellow Blue Oyster Cultists ☕ cheers
Really rare to see someone place Heaven Forbid in such a high spot. But I'm with you - I think that album is way overlooked and underrated. Now, a "Favorite Songs" discussion might be a good video to do as well! That's one diverse list you have there. Of course, that's because BOC is so diverse anyway!
Hello Brian/Underlords. Thanks for talking about these albums that I have mostly yet to hear and especially going into the the sound/production of each album. I'm making progress with Destroyer and Dynasty but from what you and Brent have discussed I'm looking forward to Hotter than Hell (yes! I always loved that cover), Dressed to Kill, Unmasked, Music from the Elder and Creatures of the Night in particular. Also, I'm thoroughly enjoying Origins of the Damned!
In the video I might have been just a little hard on the Elder, compared to how I usually think of it. I mean, I love the album. I just think I might love Unmasked and Creatures a bit more. And thanks for checking out Origins of the Damned! Did you pick up the ebook or a physical copy?
@@underlordsuniverse7823 Hi Brian, I got a physical copy of Origins and it shipped really quickly. I'm about halfway through......just finished the sinister Erebus episode! I'm really enjoying it. I'll be getting the accompanying album for sure. I'm looking forward to the Elder as I imagine it to be the only art-rock/proggy Kiss album from the 70/80's period. How can I possibly resist that? I can't fit 'art-rock', 'prog' and 'Kiss' together in my imagination whereas the other albums I could imagine a sound.....even if I'm ultimately wrong, which is why I appreciated your discussion about the sound/production.
Oh boy! This is gonna be hard!!! 19--Test For Echo 18--Presto 17--Roll The Bones 16--Clockwork Angels 15--Snakes And Arrows 14--Counterparts 13--Hold Your Fire 12--Rush 11--Vapor Trails 10--Permanent Waves 9--Fly By Night 8--Signals 7--Grace Under Pressure 6--A Farewell To Kings 5--Hemispheres 4--Caress Of Steel 3--Moving Pictures 2--Power Windows 1--2112 0--More Or Less Thank you so much Underlords for your wonderful ranking and also taking the time to explain your system and also the tantalising mention from Brian about your former system that takes into consideration track timings.....which takes way too much time! I bet it does! Someone needs to invent an app for that. It was great to see Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows so high on your list. Quite a surprise to see 2112 outside the top 10 but like John said....it only has 6 songs and one or two poor rankings can tank an album. 2112 comes out top for me. I didn't apply your system but the 'big four', Kings to Pictures all have sketchy patches for me. Kings--big songs better than small songs. Hemispheres--title track loses its way. Permanent Waves--I admire it but for some reason can't love it. Moving Pictures--peak Rush but last 2 songs less so. 2112 is just so consistently good for me. It's full of magic and wonder and atmosphere and damned good songs! Side one AND two. Also nice to see Caress Of Steel's ongoing upward reappraisal! Also chaps I'm right there with you with Alex-love! I wasn't really aware that he was less respected than the others. He's always been one of my favourite guitarists. Just extremely tasteful. I love how he's playing 80's chords in the mid 70's. A very fresh approach. There's this weird narrative in that big documentary that Geddy fucks up Rush in the 80's with synths and the hero Alex swoops in with his guitars in the 90's and saves them. I don't but it but hey, documentary makers like a good story....as if they haven't already got one! No the Rush story is more interesting than that. It's the story of three friends creating something way bigger than their individual (considerable) talents and constantly pushing forward and if you take any element away it simply wont work. Josh rightly points out that the synths made Alex find a new way to write/play and what a job he does. And these rankings have also made me think that Rush are a band of great moments. Like the end of the Red Barchetta solo that Brian points out....or Josh pointed out to him. That upwards run! Wow! The majestic twin pealing guitars under By-Tor fighting the Snow Dog from 2.55-3.05...spine tingling! The much heavier twin guitars that pummel you into submission just before the triumphant return of the prince on the next album. That amazing synth eruption that just disintegrates near the beginning of Territories and just who is that exclaiming in an English accent 'it's true!' in Red Lenses?.....there are thousands of 'moments' all over Rush. We all have our own treasured Rush moments. They had the formula. They new how to do it. Yeah, this has been a real joy. I enjoyed going on the journey with you fellows. It's been emotional! Thank you all.
I love it! It's like a cartoon. My metal references aren't extensive but I'm reminded (from 4.15) of Steve Vai on Zappa's Them or Us if you know that album. It's in the tone but maybe also some note selection. Some nice Leslie tones in there too....
Thank you so much! Those Leslie tones are all Derek Sherinian, at his studio out in California. He does session work for people all the time, and we reached out to him to see if he would be willing to play on this. The great thing for me about this is that I wrote the main riffs in this and the main bass line when I was in high school. So, to have Derek play on it was really satisfying.
What a title! I had to check this out first. Great crunching riffs and what a pleasant surprise when it takes a vocoder-left-turn! Something a bit Dixie Dregs(?) or maybe Steve Miller Band(?) and a wee bit of Zappa about it. I can dig metal with a bit of humour about it. (I have lots of post-80's metal issues but that's another story....) Also I'm still trying to work out who's doing what.....I've long suspected in our long acquaintance (4 days maybe?) that Brent is the silent enigmatic genius behind the whole operation. The credits above confirm it. I now know that Bryan plays guitar and Josh the bass but Brent gets a writing credit. Basically Brent is Brian Wilson! (stays home and writes while you are on tour right?) And I bet he write's the books too! Great stuff. I'm gonna order the book cycle tomorrow (it's 5 o'clock in the morning and I need a responsible adult with me when I purchase anything online!!) Looking forward to it immensely. You guys are great fun! Oh yeah and that title. In 1991 I was living in Athens Greece with my Greek anarchist girlfriend. We used to go to gigs at the Rodon club and when we came out once she gleefully suggested that we get a shitty sandwich from the stall nearby. I remember her pointing to the poor guy running the place on his own, sweat pouring down his forehead 'look' she would say 'his fingernails are sooo dirty! And he picks his nose! and then he makes your sandweeeech' her eyes never more animated......twisted little thing! Zappa would have approved......and presumably you guys too!
Haha! Great story about Athens! Actually, none of us are well versed in Zappa or Steve Miller. The title came from a similar experience on our part, about a sandwich maker at a restaurant. One of us said something about whether the guy's hands were clean or not, and I said, "we'll dirty hands make a great sandwich" and Josh said "that's a great song title!" Anyway, no, Brent's not the mastermind behind it all. I think we all collectively wrote this one together, but both Brent and I (Brian) play guitar. I did all the voice-box stuff in it and the solo. Josh plays bass, and he's also the fiction writer under the name H. Prescott Lemon. The other Bryon (spelled differently) that was in our B.O.C. discussions doesn't play with us in the Underlords. He has his own musical projects. And the keyboards are of course Derek Sherinian. I usually link everything in the description in each video. You can find links to Bandcamp, our website, Facebook, and also Josh's books under the name H. Prescott Lemon. Here's a link to the Underlords book series. Thank you for checking us out!!! www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW18L9R1?binding=paperback&searchxofy=true&ref_=dbs_s_bs_series_rwt_tpbk&qid=1723208568&sr=1-1-catcorr
@@underlordsuniverse7823 Hi Brian/Underlords. This is a real grower. I mean I liked it on first listen but I'm starting to really appreciate all the little runs that lead into the sections and attention to detail. Very tight playing. When the vocoder section comes in I can really appreciate Josh's great bass tone and playing. Simple but very effective. My favourite part of the song is the 'exotic' solo coming out of the first vocoder section. After a few repeated listens to that section I'd half convinced myself that it might be a synth mimicking a guitar but listening to the later solo I think it's definitely guitar......or are you blending the two? If it's all guitar then my respect to you Brian. That's some extremely fast shredding my friend! Also if you want to protect your trade secrets that's cool too! Your friend/collaborator Mr Sherinian has quite a CV doesn't he? Wow. I love his three weirdo interjections just after the 3 minute mark. There is so much going on here. Would it be your ideal situation to have a permanent keyboard player? Oh by the way I found the link (at the bottom of every video.....like you say in every video!)......I'm not very online so forgive my fumblings. I've ordered the first book in the band story. I mistook the Kindle four-book price for the analogue (!) book price so I'm gonna get them one at a time. I kinda thought that Josh might be heavily involved in the writing. In one of the videos he describes it as 'weird and pulpy' which made me think he was in on it. Also, I'm hoping it might help me. Over the last few years I've been writing my own 'weird, pulpy' novel. I'm about halfway through and so far I've got 1115 hand-written A4 pages (actually 3 have gone missing!) and I'm wondering if your epic story might help me to edit myself and work out how to put my sprawling mess into some sort of publishable shape. Assuming I like it and think it has literary merit of course! But mostly I'm just looking forward to part one of your epic saga.
@@NadirJones71 The soloing that you're referring to, at the 00:48 is Derek on keyboards. His keyboards often get confused for guitar. The drummer on this recording (Andy) is a multi-instrumentalist and does a lot of keyboard stuff for us, though not on this track. We actually write and record with two different drummers, depending on the project.
@@underlordsuniverse7823 Wow! I'm pretty blown away. I really couldn't call it either way for a while but some metallic tones in there made me think ultimately it was guitar. That's pretty incredible!
Epic Rush Gush part two!! Thanks for the splendid ranking fellows. This is so refreshing. Other people love Power Windows as much as me! Like Caress it doesn't get the love it deserves. I remember getting the Big Money single when it came out in late '85 and after all the fireworks (very dazzling indeed!) died down I remember thinking 'hmm....I don't hear a good song in there. In fact it's a bit cheesy and obvious'....and then I played the B side Territories and wow! Just WOW! I was reassured totally. For me the album starts with its weakest 2 songs but all of you seem to love Grand Designs so much that I'm gonna go back and listen with fresh ears. This album is where the synth vision hits the sweet spot for me. They are much more integrated into the overall sound in terms of arrangement and production. I love Signals (mostly) but with that album the sections are very distinct. For example on Digital Man you get the groovy bouncing riff thing which is the intro/verse, then they're Police for the pre-chorus and when the chorus comes in it goes to half-time with a synth pulse. It's great but they are very distinct from one another. On Power Windows things are much more mosaic-like. There are seemingly thousands of tiny details that all work together and it's all so seamless (maybe comparable to some songs on Yes's 90125---I'm sure you guys would be familiar with that one). Territories is a good example of this. Manhattan Project does have a slightly incongruous turn-around but the song is so great I don't really care. The synths in the second verse are just some of the best in 80's music per se. A very good point you guys made is about the lyrics. Neil needs credit for Territories and also Middletown Dreams. Heartbreaking. You can see it all, the salesman in his office, the middle-aged Madonna the expanses of the 'heartland'. And now that I'm middle-aged...oh boy! And what attention to detail in the intro. That little cymbal splash that stops it all briefly. Credit to Peter Collins must be given for his input. The instrumental of Marathon-that snaking riff that comes out of the second verse, Alex doubles it for a few bars and then....boom! Those synths I swear are the sky scraping peak of 80's Rush in all their glory! Goosebump central!! Anyway, I love Power Windows and I would say that side two is one of their strongest sides ever. Emotion Detector is just so playful and cheeky...and very dense! Permanent Waves--It's the strangest thing, everything is in the right place. Everything is (kinda) perfection but.....I feel little affection for it. It's weird. Different Strings opens the door tantalisingly to an alternative electro/acoustic direction that they never really pursued. Natty Science is my least favourite epic. I know! The fault is mine. I admit it! Moving Pictures--I love it. The last 2 songs let it down a little. I'm with Josh here. The Camera Eye is my favourite Rush song (maybe a tie with Xanadu but probably first). But to compare it with Xanadu shows their development. Xanadu is floral and ornate and sectional. Superior 1970's progressive rock. The Camera Eye is over 10 minutes but all the garden has been pruned, so to speak!! Hey man, it's the 80's. It's all space and economy. A subtler progression. Such a tidy riff. So modern and fresh and what a sense of momentum. I love the 'empty verse' near the end where you hear Geddy say something or other, it reminds me of near the end of both Achilles Last Stand and Megalomania. There's a blown-out feeling. You've been on a very long journey and you are now in unknown territory...very special indeed. I have much love also for Subdivisions, Analogue Kid, Afterimage and Between the Wheels. For me Rush's first 11 albums, from Rush to Power Windows represent a great arc (a grand design, no less), 11 albums in 11 years and each one builds on what has gone before and each one is just magnificent. And then......it get complicated!
Did you not notice the completely changed vocal tracks and different lyrics in Get A Grip? That was the biggest change to me and one which I did not care for at all.
Yeah, I don't think we discussed that, though. Personally, that change didn't bother me. I like hearing the different takes from the recording process, and this one didn't sound particularly lesser than the take that was used on the original mix. Still, overall, I'm really impressed with the new mix and see it as a huge upgrade.
Oh man this is so much fun! Thanks for more great rankings. I've always been amazed at how the music press and the band themselves are so down on Caress of Steel. It's always been one of my favourites (since '83) and it's great to hear you are all into it. I think a criticism is that 'Fountain' isn't through-written 'just a bunch of stuff that doesn't fit' type of thing. Well, yes, it isn't through-written like other Rush epics, so what? It's full of great 'songs'. You could also argue the album has an incongruous structure---3 songs followed by a through-written 3-parter followed by a side long etc....but for me that's part of what makes it so thrilling and unique......and exotic! Rush are a very tidy band in terms of the music itself (playing, recording, structure etc) and also it's presentation. There's a finesse and neatness about the whole thing (excepting Vapour Trails, but that album is a howl of pain-fuck neatness right? and maybe Grace Under Pressure muddy production, cheap sounding synths?) but I love it's lopsidedness. It's a different sort of Rush album. I think it was John who mentions Alex getting his tone just right here and I totally agree. Just listen to the first few notes of his solo on No One at the Bridge. It's so thick you can hear it dripping! Perfection. A real moment for me is the way that Alex's solo comes in BEFORE the second chorus on Lakeside Park. It's just sooooo exciting. Goosebumps for me baby! Remarkably mature stuff. A band really thinking about things. Also the skanking chords and tone evoke something more like a new wave/post punk thing for me but then they were always ahead of their time. Rivendell--I thought it was a place in Canada! I only found out it was from Lord of the Rings when I saw that film years later. I'm sat in the cinema completely ignoring the film thinking 'hang on.....oh man.....oh yeah.... the dark lord?...oh I get it!!'. Hahaha....anyway I love it. It's part of the 'gentle trilogy' with Panacea and Tears. I love all 3 massively and the flute mellotron in the middle of Tears is one of my all time Rush moments. More goosebumps! Hemisphere's (the song) I have some issues with. I love its first 2 thirds. No problem with its repetitions. It's like a maze....whoa hang on! we're back here again? I can get lost in it. My problem is the atmospheric section (undistinguished to my ears) and also the acoustic coda. I think that end is a bit dashed-off. It's a bit cheesy. Compare with the exquisite yearning in the similar part that ends (and begins) The Fountain of Lamneth. Much better to my ears. The Trees and Strangiato-both 5's for me. I love how these albums hit us all in different ways. And of course not a bad one among them!
Interesting things you point out about some of Alex's solos. I'll have to go back and listen a bit more carefully to those parts. You obviously noticed all of us are serious Alex fans. I love it when someone hears something in a song that I never noticed. When we were kids Josh pointed out the tail end of Alex's solo in Red Barchetta. I had never noticed it because I was so glued to Neil's drum fill. Decades later, it's Alex's guitar my ears now focus on. As far as Hemispheres... just perfection to me, even though Geddy apparently needed helium to sing it!
@@underlordsuniverse7823 Geddy is 97% helium....3% legs! Ah, yes, I will check out the Barchetta solo right now....
Hi Underlords and BoC fans! I really enjoyed your ranking and am looking forward to the others. I have some observations and a Kiss/BoC related question. Apart from someone lending me Cultosaurus back in '82/'83 which really confused me (I was 11 and it was all about AC/DC and Motorhead for me then) and obviously knowing Reaper, like everyone, BoC have largely passed me by. Maybe they aren't as popular in Britain. Anyway I only took the plunge with BoC this year (all the albums up to The Revolution By Night) and I've got to say I'm really stunned at what I'm hearing. I had no idea this band were so interesting and multi-faceted! I knew the Patti connection so maybe a little clue there but honestly....a genuinely engaged and challenging band whose appeal is, from today's vantage point, subtle and takes a while to tune into. It's like 5 or more bands in one, a kick-ass rock band, a pop group with a Spector-era fixation, proggy tendencies, Byrdsian tendencies, psychedelic tendencies, goofiness, an arty/poetic edge, lots of sly musical tributes (Iron Man, Matilda Mother, Good Vibrations etc) and like you all mentioned, a creepy hard-to-define menace/weirdness underpinning the black and white albums in particular.....and then they flourish again in the early 80's! Hidden gems galore all over these albums. They get compared to Sabbath in terms of their sound but I think they are totally different. Sabbath detune and distort (amongst many other things) whereas BoC are more muscular in their sound i.e. twin guitars, loud but not overly distorted, played really well in unison. I worship Sabbath who are WAY more interesting than their 'iconic image' suggests but I find BoC to be even more so. Yeah, I've been totally wrong footed by this band and I love them for it! Anyway, to my Kiss-related question: E.T.I., Godzilla and Lips in the Hills. When I hear these 3 songs in particular I think 'that's what I want Kiss to be like.....but they're not'. I've got Destroyer which is, in Britain I think, considered their best album but it doesn't do much for me. I prefer the Frehley solo album which is my other Kiss artefact. I'm gonna watch your ranking of them but, well if anyone reads this.....can you help me with my Kiss problem? Hahaha. I want to like them but I think BoC have royally fucked it up for me. Are they worth the effort? What's the next album I should try? Sorry for gushing like this but to discover BoC at the tender age of 53 is really rather thrilling!!!
Hey, thanks for checking out our discussions! A couple of us have been die hard Kiss fans all our lives, so it's difficult to be objective. And personally, I got into BOC after being a Kiss fan first. If I had been a BOC fan first, I'm not sure how I would have viewed Kiss. But overall, I think Kiss's catalog is a lot more varied than many people might imagine. But it's obviously not for everyone. But hey, like what you like! We write and record stuff and I'm sure it's not for everyone. And we don't take it personally if someone doesn't like it. My favorite Kiss albums tend to be the albums where they're struggling for an identity - Dynasty, Unmasked, Music from the Elder, and Creatures of the Night.
@@underlordsuniverse7823 Alright! Thank you, I will pursue this (I buy cd's, I don't listen online......I still love that ritual. These albums deserve one's full attention! so the advice is appreciated as I'm not very well-off) anyway I've heard that 'Elder' is an unusual album and yes, I love weird/transitional albums too. (My fav Sabbath is Never Say Die despite its horrible production and the nasty string-synths at the beginning of Johnny Blade!) That could be my way in to Kiss......will check out Your Kiss rankings.....but the Sabbath and Rush rankings might come first. Will also check out your music......I'm still finding my way around here.... One other thing. I used to check out some younger guys who do a similar thing to you-split screen rankings-and they 'cram-listen' a load of stuff that they are clearly not qualified to talk about. I got so pissed off with them. Lot's of weird/deliberately provocative conclusions!! The music is safe in your hands. Good work chaps!
@@NadirJones71 Don't hold us to it if the Kiss recommendations don't work out well for you! 😂 As for Don Airey's keyboards at the beginning of "Johnny Blade" - can you get more 1970s than that? Personally, I dig it.
@@NadirJones71 Also, we appreciate it if you check out our stuff! Josh wrote a fictional back story, which contained references to fictional bands. So, we recorded an album of songs of fictional bands using a lot of different styles. That album is quirky, to say the least - and probably makes more sense if one reads the stories. That said, most of the other stuff is instrumental, with the exception of a song we did with Blaze Bayley. Thanks for checking it out!!!
@@underlordsuniverse7823 If Kiss suck for me I'm coming to Iowa!! I'm gonna track you down and get my money back!! I'll ask Slipknot where you live! (I'm unemployed in Bristol, UK so don't start worrying just yet!) Anyway I have faith in your recommendations.....But seriously, Don Airey on Never Say Die. Wow! It's just those string synths that bug me. When the Moogs come in and Tony doubles it....pure frikken evil! Top drawer Sabbath. Also love his runs on the pre-chorus on Over to You....just magical. Anyway, I'm gonna finish the Rush rankings later and then I'll have a good ol' gush over on your Sabbath rankings!
Olá! Muito legal o seu vídeo. Sabe dizer quem canta em "all hells breakin" loose"? É o Eric Carr? obrigado
Hi, thanks for checking it out! Unfortunately, it's not Eric singing "All Hell's Breakin' Loose." The whole song is a cover by the band Z02: Paulie Z on vocals and guitar, David Z on bass, and Joey Cassatta on drums. They also did "Carr Jam 1981" on this album. So, those two songs are more like a tribute sort of thing, whereas the rest of the album features Eric in some capacity.
1. Cultosaurus Erectus 2. Fire of Unknown Origin 3. Spectres 4. Secret Treaties 5. Tyranny and Mutation 6. Heaven Forbid 7. The Symbol Remains 8. Imaginos 9. Blue Oyster Cult 10. Agents of Fortune 11. Mirrors 12. The Revolution by Night 13. Club Ninja 14. Curse of the Hidden Mirror 15. Ghost Stories
Oh, Cultosaurus Erectus in first place, with Heaven Forbid in the top ten! Seems like we all agree on Ghost Stories, but I'm hoping it grows on me.
Gentleman. The ending of Astronomy on Imaginos is a mess! It;s like they didn't know how to end it in their haste(?) to differentiate from the version on Secret Treaties. But, In typical BOC fashion Imaginos is not bad. Actually, it is better than not bad. I'd rather listen to The Symbol Remains from top to Bottom, though, the biggest surprise to me besides Mirrors which I had not heard till 2018. I'm another BOC fan gonna give props to Richie Castellano especially since the only live version I have seen of Blue Oyster Cult is the Buck, Bloom, Richie version, twice (2014, 2017). I will say it again! I've mentioned to many who care to listen: The Last Days of May live ... is feakin' amazing! Postcript: after further listening to Brian, Josh, Brent, and Bryon -- and slipping in The Symbol Remains -- I have confirmed my initial reaction to Train True: very fun, cool entertaining beat highlighted be deserving praise for Buck's 'scat' vocals. But, when heavy metal aficionados hear a harmonica intro (gasp -- BOC is not supposed to use a sax or mouth harp) to simulate a train, well, of course the entire song is the lowpoint on the album. whatever. By the way Nightmare Epiphany, anyone? Great song. Gotta' agree Alchemist, and The Return of St Cecelia are classic BOC tunes to date. I'm curious if anyone is familiar with KennyWayne Shepherd's singer Noah Hunt? The Machine reminds me of Hunt with Richie C singing lead for BOC. I do not consider this a bad thing. Solid Rocknroll song. Underlords Universe another good vid. Postcript (again): I have seen the first 3 parts of ranking BOC albums and I realized I may have sounded angry for the True Train critique by (just?) 3 of you. No need for this "User" being pissy. That said, I am using this moniker on this sight -- totally inspired by the Blue Oyster Cult Fandom (if you will) -- and this BOC sight only: UserME262@777. Just because of these classic BOC album vids. Thanx Underlords Universe, BOC, and for anyone who read this far. I am in a tug of war with myself: should I purchase, Club Ninja, Heaven Forbid, or Curse of the Hidden Mirror. Then I hear about Bad Channels. geez. what to do? It's a nice problem. Question: I noticed a Live CD and/or DVD on Amazon called The Summer Solstice (2001) when Lanier was in the band (again, still). Anyone have any input or experience with the Solstice CD or DVD? Some live (rare?) versions from side 2 of Tyranny&Mutation I see are on Summer Solstice. Part 4 is next
Agree about the recent live versions of "Last Days" for sure. And yeah, great point about "Astronomy" on Imaginos!
@@underlordsuniverse7823 I should point out Last Days of May -- on debut album -- is good but it's not that live staple, yet. I still tend to forget the song is NOT like it is on On Your Feet or on Your Knees but, only, 3 minutes (short) on debut album ... so it's not THERE yet, in a sense. Which is Your album rating complaint. Still surprised how you practically panned it 😆, but, rating discussion and point made.👍
@@user-mu9cw8xe4r Haha, yeah, when I think of the debut the go-to songs for me are the three songs that start side 2: "Screams," "She's as Beautiful as a Foot," and "Cities on Flame." It's not that I dislike "Last Days" it's just in comparison that version is kinda blah. I agree, the version on On Your Feet is much better.
I heard the song In Thee live in 2017 (the second and last time seeing BOC in concert) and proceeded to purchase the vinyl Mirrors, marking the first time I heard the album in its entirety; and the biggest surprise to me in the BOC discography. tidbit: backup singer Ellen Foley (on Mirrors) sang with Meatloaf on the record selling album Bat Out of Hell more than a year earlier. Cultosaurus Erectus was better 30 years after briefly owning in junior high school. So, in my late 40's my music collection began to grow exponentially with BOC at the forefront. Cultosaurus Erectus is my favorite album cover. Love the humor and the references to the previous band names the 'Underbelly' Institute, 'Oaxaca', Mexico and Stalk-Forrest all mentioned with the fossils and 'Bungo Pony' artifacts 'renderings' (Horn Swooped Bungo Pony mentioned in debut album, the song I'm on the Lamb ...). After further listening/consideration Unknown Tongue is my favorite song on Erectus. Favorite song was Black Blade. I haven't binged on Blue Oyster Cult like this since college, day after day, in a dorm, on the weekend. I just received my new remastered black poly carbonate CD Fire of Unknown Origin, today, and my present day ear gorging continues with twisted, pain free delight. The poly carbonate does sound better but I still don't get why some say this is the best BOC album. But, still, it is fascinating how people who take the time to pick their favorite find it a difficult choice ... it's not surprising how varied #1 is among fans. Again, my favorite is Spectres. But, I have a new appreciation for After Dark (Fire of Unknown Origin). I'm curious what Underlords Universe will say about Club Ninja. I still do not own it. Don't own Heaven Forbid, or Curse of the Hidden Mirror, either
I can't believe I heard "I don't like the Last Days of May." I'm speechless. Wait! No one mentioned Workshop of the Telescopes on the debut BOC album. It's, appropriately, considering the title almost as good as Astronomy (Secret Treaties). Anyways, I think the eponymous album is surprisingly good. Great to hear Before the Kiss, a Redcap praises. When I was 12 I did not like Redeemed so much, but I appreciate variety more now that I'm older. Redeemed has a friendly rocknroll sound coupled with an electric folk rock sound. When I was a young teen I used to gloss over The Morning Final and Tenderloin on Agents of Fortune album. Now It's just Debbie Denise ... and, depending on my mood, True ... True Confessions. But the other 6 songs on Agents are phenomenal. I briefly wondered if ETI was my favorite song not Don't Fear the Reaper. Love the way you guys analyze BOC with mellow vigor and constrained passion, complimenting the band's importance while proving without actually saying what many have said about Blue Oyster Cult: The thinking man's heavy metal band (sort of, I never agreed with the American Black Sabbath comparison/moniker, but, it helped BOC attain notoriety. That said I always felt Cities on Flame became BOC, somewhat, overrated song ... Like Smoke on the Water for Deep Purple ... my other favorite sort of a heavy metal band with early 70's notoriety ... but I digress). Spectres was the second BOC album I heard and it became my #1. Golden Age of Leather became my favorite song on Spectres. THE sleeper song on Spectres is Death Valley Nights atmospheric with great piano by Allan Lanier and it rocks by the end. Agents of Fortune is my #2 album. #3 The debut album which is a quantum leap from their previous Underbelly and Stalk-Forrest incarnations ... they would continue to show they had variety to rocknroll burn BOC had arrived by name and sound #4 Secret Treaties. Only Tyranny&Mutation loses points for shortening the title of I'm on the Lamb to Red and the Black; and the cool jams and the guitar speed is cool, but it makes me feel juvenile while listening, slipping it to #7 or #8 depending on how my mood is for Joan Crawford (Fire of Unknown Orange) and those darn sound car crashing, alarm clock effects...but that is for another day of ranking the Blue Oyster Cult albums with the Underlords Universe. Great food (music) for thought (discussion). I've been gorging on these BOC videos.😎 Watching part 2.
Thanks so much for the kind remarks! Yeah, "Death Valley Nights" is a sleeper, and one I didn't appreciate when I was younger. That said I've always liked Albert's vocals, even though he's not technically a great singer. He's got a lot of character, and his voice sounds so much like our drummer's voice, ages ago when we were in school. Anyway, "Golden Age of Leather" is another one that didn't hit me until years later. So much more proggy than I had realized when I was a kid. As for "Last Days of May" - the recent live versions are killer with Richie and Buck trading solos!
@@underlordsuniverse7823 That's a good point about Albert Bouchard. His singing style fits Cities on Flame ... and I am asking: who is the singer on Death Valley Nights ? Normally, all my favorite songs are sung by Buck or Bloom! Death Valley Nights a wonder/cool exception? I'm wondering, now, after all these years. I'm thinking Eric or Al. thanx for your time and feedback.
@@user-mu9cw8xe4r It's Albert singing "Death Valley Nights." He also sings "Fireworks" on that album.
@@underlordsuniverse7823 thanx for responding. For some reason I knew Al sang Fireworks his 'character" defining singing style strains more noticeably. I like Death Valley better. Al's (troubled?) emotion comes across very well.
Hi mu9; “Death Valley Nights” was Al Bouchard. Inside story: in our college band with Buck and Al, we held an audition as to who would sing the Spencer Davis classic “Gimme Some Lovin’.” Al won! Rock on, Dude!
Just subscribed to your channel thanks
Thanks!
IM getting it for my birthday end of October . TM is my fave era!!
That's too long of a wait! Then again, we've been waiting years for this anyway, so what's another couple months? 😄
I agree with you gents, this is an undervalued period in the band’s history. Since I REALLY rambled in my previous missive on your last episode, I’ll keep this short, simple and sweet. For me, anyway. 4. Unmasked. It is perhaps less hard rock, more commercial and definitely - as you stated - more in the power-pop realm. I just don’t like the songs as much as the ones on their previous release. Highlights for me are “Shandi” and “Torpedo Girl.” 3. Dynasty. Not a disco album, only “l Was Made for Lovin’ You” really fits the bill. I’ve always loved that song. I find the songs on this record more to my liking than the ones on Unmasked. Besides the smash, I dig “Sure Know Something,” “Charisma” and oddly enough, “X-Ray Eyes.” 2. Creatures of the Night. Quite simply, a top tier KISS album that rocks and fires on all cylinders. One of our most played albums by the band at my old record store job, since we all loved it. No duff tracks here. 1. Music from “The Elder.” As a wacky progger, this just may be my favorite KISS album. I have a memory, as a teen, of sneaking into the kitchen late at night to watch the TV show Fridays. On this particular episode, KISS was the musical guest. On a tiny black and white TV, with an earpiece, was my first exposure to the band that l can recall. That’s one reason this record holds a special place in my heart, mind and memory. Plus, the rocking songs, the Prog nature of it all, etc. l know it’s maligned by many, but l love it. Looking forward to watching the next episode in the coming week. Cheers from The Big Apple. Rock Out, Prog On and Pogo! Your pal and mine, ~ The Delirious Davey Cretin, from CRETIN CLASSICS. PS: Gotta bounce and get ready for a fave B-Sides show we’re gonna film soon on another channel, not mine.
That Friday's tv performance is, to the best of my knowledge, the only time they ever played any songs from The Elder live. And it's a great performance!
One The Bands Best Most Splendid LPs...
It really is. I got into Yes in the early 90s, right around the time Union came out. Exploring the back catalog was mind blowing.
@@underlordsuniverse7823 Indeed...1969 To 1974 Are My Favorites...And A Bit Of Going For The One[1977]...
@@ELPCOTILLION-SD1970 I can't think of another band that matches the growth (or lineup changes) that Yes went through from the debut through Relayer. Absolutely incredible. That said, Going for the One and Drama are two of my favorite Yes albums. There's stuff from ever era of Yes that I love.
I thought l watched part two and didn’t comment, but l guess I didn’t. So, here we go lads… As a (former) singer and a guy who really doesn’t play any instrument well, I’ve never been a huge fan of production and producers. That is something l don’t have in common with a lot other RUclipsrs like you and your crew, Big Poppa Pardo, Professor Popoff, most of The Contrarians, etc. Since you gentlemen are instrumentalists, you hear things that l don’t and are more familiar with all the technical jargon than l am. That being said, l do notice certain things - AKA different, or “bad” productions - that strike me as unusual. Two perfect examples: Born Again by Sabbath and Imaginos by BÖC. The Sab’s slab o’ wax always sounded muddy to me and the Blue Öyster Cult album sounded harsh and trebly to me. I guess l do kind of “get stuff right,” but can’t articulate myself in technical terms like “real” musicians do. All of the previous paragraph was just a preamble to discuss my thoughts on Bob Ezrin. Probably, about twenty years ago, l realized that he produced a lot of albums that I loved. The Wall, his records with Alice Cooper, the three KISS albums he worked on, In the Spirit of Things by Kansas, etc. In fact, this will make an excellent future show for my channel. At any rate, the reason that I love Destroyer IS the aid that Ezrin gave to my fellow Noo Yawkas ova heyah! 😉 His bells, whistles, sound effects, production tricks and songwriting skills helped the band to learn and grow. You even said that Peter later begrudgingly gave Bob props for helping to push him. This is similar - to me anyway - to Phil Spector helping the Ramones on their Edge of the Century album, especially Joey Ramone with his vocals. Bobby baby gave KISS a studio sheen that they didn’t have before, which absolutely helped the band in the long run. That’s why they brought him back later to help with some other records. The next one he did with them, he was kind of “in a bad place,” and to many, it shows. I really dig that release, as a Prog rock fan. The last one they did together truly rocks. But more on all this in the future. The followup albums to Destroyer are quite good too, perhaps I’ll give the edge to Love Gun. I’ve spent so much time talking about Ezrin that I’m not going to go on forever. ♾️ It seems that my ranking of these three albums may differ from yours. Here’s my little list: 3. Rock and Roll Over 2. Love Gun 1. Destroyer Their first six albums are all really good. Production quibbles aside. The cracks start to show after this. Ego, money, lifestyle, different personalities, etc. The same old rock and roll cliches. Another cool show, y’all. Cheers from The Big Apple. Rock Out, Prog On and Pogo! Your clone and mine, ~ The Dynamic, Divine Doppelgänger of Davey Cretin, from CRETIN CLASSICS. PS: I hope l explained my thoughts on production well enough, speaking “as a non-musician.”
Yeah, I'd say there's no right or wrong way to hear or listen to music - it's so personal and individual. That said, I agree completely with your assessment of Ezrin and his influence on Destroyer. It's funny, as a kid I didn't quite appreciate just how different that album is compared to the ones that came before and immediately after. It's weird to think, how would, say, Rock and Roll Over have sounded - and how would the songs have been arranged - if Bob produced it? We'll never know, of course.
6 Hold Your Fire Probably my least favorite Rush album. I was in the Army and not consuming music like I had in the past, and when I heard this album I just started drifting away from the band. Some kind of cheesy songs, imo. "A spirit with a vision is a dream with a mission". Kind of flowery cringe, sorry. Or Time Stands Still, I really like this song (and album) now, but at the time I just couldnt stop thinking 'what happened'? 5 Power Windows See GUP. Wait, Brent didnt like the Power Mullet Geddy was sporting? hehe 4 Grace Under Pressure These two albums are great, but for my analysis I would just refer you to my criticism of Signals. Where did Alex go? 3 Signals This is the album with the 2nd biggest shift in their style, imo (Rush to Fly By Night #1). After going from 'Who is Rush" to "they are the greatest ever" during Moving Pictures, when Signals came out I was very WTF? The DJ was like 'Heres the new Rush song" and played New World Man. At first I was very disappointed. Subdivisions as well. Just pretty good, no better, imo. I've had this argument ad nauseum before, but here is my take: This is where Alex starts to fade into the background. Love all 3, but I'm an Alex man. This band through Hemispheres is a 'lead guitar band'. I have an entire extended argument for this but look at Working Man, this is the song that broke them into the scene, and it's primarily just a 5 minute guitar solo with hard rock bookends. 2112 is about a guitar player, By Tor, Necromancer, La Villa, these are all guitar first songs. Like Zeppelin, they are all awesome, but Page was the guy amongst most fans. All of the first 6 albums are guitar focused, imo. I'm not saying that Geddy or Neil were less important in any way. Just my take on the early stuff. Here is an example of my point about Alex and Signals. Take Chemistry, a good song with lots of synth but Alex's hook is awesome, and the solo is awesome. The rest of the song you can barely hear him. He's playing a sort of reggae accenting of Neils playing. World class hook and solo....big stretches of studio musician level backing guitar tracks. I like signals much better now, it's still great music. Analog kid and digital man have some world class bass licks. Top 5 "Geddy on the Bass" songs for me. I like countdown, great buildup. I actually really like losing It, unlike Brent. The lyrics and the melody match so well. 2 Permanent Waves Great album, but I would probably have a lower overall rating than any of you 4. Spirit is always great, especially in concert. Freewill good. It's all good. However, not one song on this album would probably make my top 20 Rush songs. I like Natural Science, but less so than most. It reminds me of Cygnus X1. Just a bit 'lets play really hard' song. 1 Moving Pictures At this point in my fandom I rarely ever put this album on. I actually think Tom Sawyer is the low point on this album (Ducks to avoid thrown coffee mugs). The drumming is top notch, great musicianship all around, but it just seems like a formulaic radio friendly song. 3.5 for me. Vital signs and witch hunt also 3.5, which is a good song to me, just not amazing. Red Barchetta, YYZ, Camera Eye (Alex's arpeggios are just beautiful) all 5s. This is the album where I 'discovered' Rush. I was 15 and had advanced tickets (deposit) to see Zeppelin when Bonham died. Ticketmaster (aka the Devil) told me I could switch the deposits to another band, and Jim Ladd had just played Moving Pictures on the 7th day (KLOS) so we switched to Rush tickets. I went out and bought Chronicles (1st 3 albums), Moving Pictures and Permanent waves. MP got me into Rush and is an all time great album, but again, rarely put this album on anymore.
Moving Pictures is one of those albums that I only have to think of it in order to hear it in my head, so I rarely put it on either. Then again, I can say that for pretty much every Rush album. As for Alex and Signals, I agree. My understanding is that as writers, Alex is more spontaneous, and Geddy is more methodical. I wonder how much, behind the scenes, Geddy just hunkered down and wrote without Alex at that time, given his growing interest in keyboards. It seems to me their 70s album were written collectively - even on acoustic guitars on the road. And I wonder how much of the synth-era stuff was Geddy saying, "hey, I've got this song here, Al, where can you fit some guitar in?" And if that's the case, I wonder if that's due to Alex's more lax nature as a writer.
@@underlordsuniverse7823 It might have been, good point. Sometimes it feels odd being critical of the band because I love their music so much. I also think that while Neil wrote excellent lyrics start to finish, I think some of the later writing was (sometimes) a bit more 'dissent formulaic' or 'forced profound' than the early stuff. I've heard the opposite from other fans, too. That the early stuff was just sort of weird Tolkien and DnD oriented fluff and they started singing about real issues later. It's all subjective, and it's all excellent music :)
6. Rush- Great album, but just not the same without Peart's playing or lyrics. It's very straight forward RnR, but you can see their prog roots in Before and After. 5. Farewell to Kings, I know I'll get flak for this, and Xanadu is all time great. The rest of the album is merely really good. Title track is really good, but I dont love the tin-y tone of Alex's guitar. Cygnus is great, but I'm not as high on it as others. It's a lot of power chords and just overpowered to me. Geddy's vocals are really stepped on in post-production. I'm with John on this one. Without Xanadu this album is merely really good. 4. Fly By Night, By Tor and the Snow Dog is absolutely amazing, it really tells the listener 'this is what we are about, can you handle it?'. Anthem is amazing (the bass line is much harder than many people realize). I also think there are a couple of songs that drag the album down in my ratings. Rivendell is unnecessary. I love Tolkien, but it just isn't why I listen to Rush. I also think the title track is good but seems like a song that appealed to the label, aka 'radio friendly song'. This album is very peaks and valleys for me. BBandB was the first set of lyrics Neil gave to Geddy and Alex. Great lyrics, even though it's quite scathing of America. 3. 2112, such a great side 1, all time great. Side 2? not so much, imo. The final track Something for Nothing is great, the rest seems more like filler, sorry. Tears is in competition for lowest rated song in the catalog with Rivendell. Just not why I listen to this band. When listening to 2112, remember Neil was 23, Geddy and Alex 22. Amazing 2. Caress of Steel, I rate this album higher than anyone I've ever talked to. Love this album. I think The Necromancer is desert island stuff, and the entirety of Fountain of Lamneth is epic, and I personally think the story of this song is better than the story of 2112. No one at the bridge is extremely underrated, imo. 1. Hemispheres, to me easily their best album out of all 19. The story of the title track following (and including) Cygnus is their best story. La Villa Strangiato is by far their best track in their catalog (to me). It's the answer to 'if you could only listen to one song......' without hesitation. The two and a half minute Alex solo belongs in any submission of 'greatest solos in rock history'. Alex always said Jeff Beck was one of his major influences, and you can really hear it in this solo. This album is peak Rush, imo. I love it all, start to finish. This is the high water mark for me. This album rates a 6 on a 1 to 5 scale. Turn it up to 11
Oh, yeah that bass line in "Anthem" is a killer. When Beyond the Lighted Stage came out, and Kirk Hammett commented on Alex's solo on "La Villa Strangiato" I think I said out loud, "finally someone acknowledges how great that solo is!" It was as if nobody outside of us die-hard Rush fans ever gave Alex his due.
@@underlordsuniverse7823 The interesting part about Anthem is that the bass hook is hard and fast, and with all muted strings except the last note, it's harder than it sounds. But what some people miss is during the meat of the song Geddy is not just playing scales, he's doing his tri-tone thing epically, and he never plays the same 8 bars the same, just similar. In concert he plays it exactly like on the album every time so he isnt just freestyling, every note and variation is chosen. If I were to make a playlist of Geddy's five best bass songs it would be (in no particular order) Anthem, La Villa, YYZ, Analog Kid and Digital Man.
Love BOC! I've seen them (and Soft White Underbelly) at least a dozen times. So good. They are a difficult band to categorize, but my friends and I used to call them 'Monster Billy'. Their sound and style, particularly the early stuff, has so many elements of rock-a-billy only with a dark twist. My favorite BOC concert was actually a show where they were the opening act. Back in 1986 I was in the Army and stationed in Augusta, Georgia (a place big named bands dont really play). A concert came to town that we couldnt believe was real. It was BOC and Rush (they werent on tour together, it was just a one time meet up on the road). We bought tickets but it was all general admission so we showed up about 3 hours early expecting a long line. There was one guy in line with a set of drumsticks. We ended up with our chest to the stage, I was so close I could have untied Buck's shoes (and Geddy's). Dont worry, I didnt. The venue held about 8000 and it was only half full, such a travesty. After the show we saw two tour buses parked out back and the destination placards had been changed. One said 'why are we here' and the other said 'never again'. Both bands just killed it. The date was April 23rd, 1986. One of the best concerts among 100s i've seen. BOC always looks like they are having fun, like they invited you to watch them jam in their garage.
Wow - BOC on the Club Ninja tour and Rush on the Power Windows tour - on the same night! That would have been awesome!
@@underlordsuniverse7823 It really was amazing, and front row to boot. It was just a travesty that the place was only half full.
Hi Heath: Funny that you should use the word “travesy” in your perceptive comment. “The Travesty” was the name of our band with Buck in college for two years before he and Al Bouchard left for eventual stardom!
I bought The Yes Album, probably in March 1971. I'd seen their earlier album Time and a Word, but it didn't impress me, but FM had been playing I've Seen All Good People, and I really liked it. I played it all the way through, at least once, every day for the next month. I told everyone I knew, until most of them bought the album, too. I saw the band later in the year, on the tour to support the LP, July 3, 1971, at Hofheinz Pavilion (a nice venue). There was so much good stuff, that year! LedZep4, Humble Pie's Rock On, Elton's Madman Across the Water, Aqualung, Every Picture Tells a Story, Who's Next, Tapestry, the Kinks' finest, Muswell Hillbillies, Blue, Leon, Stoneground, LA Woman, Ram, Hunky Dory, the Allman Bros Live at Fillmore East, Sticky Fingers, and, another Yes album, Fragile! It was an amazing year, for artists, for concerts, for rock 'n' roll.
And isn't it amazing the amount of quality albums these bands put out in such a short amount of time. After all, Fragile is a 71 release as well!
@@underlordsuniverse7823 A watershed year, by all means!
I absolutely love the new "Forbidden" mix and every song. I liked the old mix and every song before but I love it even more now. I was going through a very painful relationship and break up when "Forbidden" came out and the lyrics seemed to be about a painful relationship in the lyrics. But I am a true Black Sabbath geek myself. I love every line up and album. The funny thing is that being that I listen to so much underground doom, the sound didnt bother me back in 1995. There are things I loved about that old mix then but I love it more now. I also had a killer equalizer on my stereo then. But I will say it is much much better now. I agree with a lot of the "Forbidden" points you guys made. "Kiss Of Death" rules! I happen to love "Shaking Off The Chains". I also love "I Wont Cry For You". Holy shit. The emotions there. This girl I was with then in 1995 was destroying my life. You can see why these words made sense in my mind. "Loser Gets It All" rules. I go through phases between ll old stuff to then going through a phase with DIO, then my "Born Again" love, then all of the Tony Martin albums, I love. Even "Seventh Star". "Eternal Idol" and "Headless Cross" remain my favorite Martin era stuff. I had to comment that the lyrics of Anno Domini are in the vinyl book version. I will say with the Black Sabbath "Forbidden" album, it shows Tony Martin's dark emotional feeling side of writing and Iommi was utilizing a mix between emotional segments of quiet stuff and then launching into heavy ass riffs. Back to the remix subject, certain remixes like this I love but I dont like Ozzys solo stuff to be remixed. Its too classic. I loved KISS' "Destroyer" remix by Bob Ezrin. That was insanely good. But Ozzy his original mixes are classics. But some albums like this album truly benefit from it. Anyways. I also wanted to share the link to my Black Sabbath tribute band I sing for from Chicago, After Forever:Black Sabbath Tribute. We are purists to the old Ozzy sound..ruclips.net/video/jsD1eFBLi_k/видео.htmlsi=ulkrqSKhzuDTaFa2
Can't Get Close Enough best tune imo love that tune ....
by far the most improved song with the remixing
Great job, lads! Wow, you cats are waaaay deeper into KISS than l am. You two REALLY know your stuff. Working on the periphery of the music biz - in record stores - for thirty plus years, I’m familiar with the whole KISS oeuvre. I’ve heard all their albums but - unlike you - can’t differentiate between studio, live and demo recordings. So, hats off to Roy Harper! Oops, I mean hats off to you. 😉 Of course, my top three is different from yours: 3. Dressed to Kill 2. Hotter than Hell 1. KISS I look forward to future installments in this series. Cheers from The Big Apple. 🍏 Rock Out, Prog On and Pogo! Your clone and ours, ~ The Demonic 👹 Doppelgänger of Davey Cretin, from CRETIN CLASSICS.
As a bona fide “Noo Yawka,” l think l have the cajones to comment here. 😉 Working in record stores for decades, some Sab slabs hit me whilst others didn’t. Let’s start off with Dehumanizer, l simply love it! Especially “Computer God,” “I,” “Letters from Earth” and “After All (The Dead).” Those would be my five star songs, to use your parlance. This was also my first time seeing Sabbath in concert, at The Beacon Theatre in NYC. I was a tad disappointed that the show was only an hour and forty-five minutes tops, but it was still an amazing show. Ronnie sounded excellent and the boys really brought the thunder that night. In regards to “The Illusion of Power,” a former coworker and l always dug that nutty tune! Perhaps the fact that it was so odd and poorly produced was the reason we loved it so much. That’s the only song that ever struck me on that album. Now that the box set of The Tony Martin Years is out, l REALLY have rediscover that period of the band again. As for Ice-T, it’s quite ironic that he found fame in the acting world by portraying a cop on TV. I also enjoyed the debut Bodycount album, but never took it too seriously. It’s like a big budget action movie with tons of explosions and all that razzle dazzle, with little substance underneath. Sure Ice was trying to make a point, but perhaps he didn’t go about it in the best possible manner. He REALLY upset a lot of people. But that’s what art is supposed to do, right? I remember liking the songs “There Goes the Neighborhood,” “KKK B!tch,” and one other one whose title escapes me. The Devil You Know was good, not great; same with 13. I recall some sporadic songs from some of the other Martin led albums, but I’m definitely not in the position to rank those records. What l really need to do is get my @$$ to a record store and pick up that “Anna Dominoes” box set. Yeah, l know that’s not the title, but l gotta finish my insane ravings & ramblings, take out the trash and get to bed. I don’t have time to look it up. It’s almost 3:30am EST, “ova heyah!” Cheers from The Big Apple. Rock Out, Prog On and Pogo! Your clone and mine, ~ The Divine and Despicable Doppelgänger of Davey Cretin, from CRETIN CLASSICS.
Anna Dominoes - why didn't they think of that? Dehumanizer tour was my first Sabbath show as well, at what was the Adler Theater in Davenport, Iowa. Same venue part of Kiss Alive was recorded at. There was no security in the front row. We literally rested our elbows on the stage right in front of Geezer the whole show. That was the night Billy Clinton was elected. Never had much interest, one way or another, about Ice T. Didn't like Illusion of Power, though the opening and closing riff is great. The song itself - nutty. Yes.
Cool show, my midwestern, metal, maven, madmen brethren! Since l kinda/sorta go in and out of the Sabs slab o’ wax catalog AFTER Born Again, I’ll rank what l know. 5. Never Say Die. A tad experimental with a few choice cuts. 4. Technical Ecstasy. Soooo different from the previous two platters, but not bad. 3. Born Again. Piss poor production aside, some mighty fine shrieking from IG and slashing solos from TI. 2. Mob Rules. It pains me to have this sit below H&H (Bagels 🥯) 😉 due to such stellar songs, but.. 1. Heaven and Hell. The grandaddy of the Dio Sabbath era. “Die Young,” “Neon Knights,” the title track, etc. This is truly where l came into Black Sabbath, as a wee lad, in the dawn of a new decade. Definitely my number one here. Cheers from The Big Apple. 🍏 Rock Out, Prog On and Pogo! Your pal and mine, ~ The Fearless, Peerless, Earless Davey Cretin, from CRETIN CLASSICS.
Have to fess up to late-response syndrome on my part. I'll have to admit, overall, H&H probably has to rank higher than Mob, but at times I'm compelled to put Mob at the top. Then again, the Dehumanizer album bests both of them, in my book.
@@underlordsuniverse7823 ~ Dude, are you okay?! I’m sorry you had such a hellacious summer. That sounds terrible, man.
@@daveycretin664 I probably put a little TMI in there, honestly. But yeah, all good now!
@@underlordsuniverse7823 ~ Glad to hear it. Stay healthy and take care, good sir!
Like the discussion on all 4 videos. Thanks for your diligence. I’ve done a similar rating system to yours for BÖC, but I ranked them out of 10 instead of 5. And every song got a whole number ranking - no decimals. And I did it before Ghost Stories came out, so it’s only the first 14. Before that, probably a few months after Symbol was released, I did a slightly different rating. I ranked all 120+ songs against each other in a large list. Gave them a ranking in reverse order - 1st song got a score of 127, 2nd song scored 126, etc down to the last song that scored a 1. It was tedious to say the least. But then I average the scores for each song in its album to get a score for the album. With both systems my top five were consistent, though not in the same order - Secret Treaties, Fire of Unknown Origin, Cultosaurus Erectus, Spectres, and Tyranny and Mutation. Though in both lists, Secret Treaties was the runaway winner.
I'm glad we're not the only ones trying to apply some sort of system to achieve a level of objectivity. Obviously, at it's core this is subjective. But there is a way to try to at least maintain a level of consistency. For example, I have defined for myself what a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and a 0 are on my scale. It's basically similar to developing rubrics for evaluating student work based on standards (which is what I do in my day job.) Several years ago we developed a system that graded each song from A+ to F, and applied the standard GPA point scale to each song. So, an A- would be 3.7, a B+ would be 3.3, etc. But we also then developed a formula to take into account the length of a song. The argument was that a long song should have greater weight against short songs. For example, Rush's "Hemispheres" should weigh more than "The Trees" given that its 18 minutes long and "The Trees" is just under 5 minutes. But that became really tedious! Would be interesting to see how Ghost Stories ranks for you. I still give it a listen every other week or so, hoping it will grow on me.
I'm pretty sure all the heavy rhythm guitar tracks were re-recorded by Iommi and not reamped. Some of the solos too. I don't think he can admit doing it though, for legal reasons. Don't get me wrong, I love the whole thing. Sound awesome.
I'm not experienced enough with reamping to give any authoritative view on it, so as far as I know you may have a point. I've done it only a time or two, but only with bass, and never with a distorted guitar track. My intuition tells me it's Tony did simply reamp the signals, because rerecording all those guitars would be a pretty tall order. But as you say, the end result sounds awesome and that's what counts.
The guitars seemed to me to be re-recorded too in some cases,but I could be wrong, but it made it way better. It just sounds so much heavier on "Forbidden". I love both versions of the albumbut the new one is just so awesome. It's like a new whole take on the album. A lot of Tony Martin's alternate vocals were used too. The bass and drums are so much punchier. I like it now much more though.
@@billjannusch I'm especially impressed with Tony's vocals - some of the harmonies that weren't used in the original mix. Really hoping for a Born Again remix now.
Regarding Kick Out The Jams and We Gotta Get Out of This Place - don’t care for the demos on Ghost Stories. As far as the discussion about the live versions on Some Enchanted Evening - I get why they perform them live. So you have a set of 15-16 songs, so 2 covers isn’t that big a deal. But if you’re only putting out a single disc live album with 7 songs, don’t include the covers.
Agree completely. I'd mucht prefer to hear another BOC tune performed live than covers - especially on an album. I wonder if the thinking behind it was that a couple of covers provide consumers an incentive to purchase a live album because those tunes hadn't appeared on previous BOC recordings. Sort of like, "hey, buy our new live album because there are a couple cover songs you haven't heard us do." Personally, I'd prefer a live version of a previously released BOC song to the covers.
I get that when you hear Richie sing lead on The Symbol Remains it doesn’t sound like BÖC. I think that’s because we’ve had 50 years of Eric and Buck handling most of the lead vox. So it’s bound to sound a little different.
Takes a licking but keeps on ticking is actually the Timex watch catchphrase. The Energiser Bunny just keeps on going, and going, and going…
Talking about Let Go - I like this song, but I also put it into a category with RU Ready 2 Rock, Dr. Music, Make Rock Not War, and Beat Em Up. Sort of BÖC trying to hard to create a rock anthem along the lines of We Will Rock You.
BOC's Cheese Rockers. I can't get on board with most of those tunes, except RU Ready and Dr. Music (despite the cornball lyrics). I'm also a big fan of those goofy electronic drum sounds in the bridge section of Dr. Music. Totally dated, but charming in its own way.
Funny you mention Fire of Unknown Origin being the Secret Treaties of the early 80’s. I’ll go one step further. For me, Mirrors and Cultosaurus lineup similarly to the debut and Tyranny. I really like the debut and Mirrors, Tyranny and Cultosaurus are a step above those, and Secret Treaties and FOUO are the pinnacle of that era.
Interesting parallels. Personally, I see Cultosaurus as a step down from Mirrors, but I know a lot of BOC die-hards would disagree. To me, Fire sounds like a return to form, more than a progression from Mirrors and Cultosaurus.
Agree with Brian and Bryan with The Vigil and I Am The Storm. My two favorite songs on the album and up near the top of my all-time BÖC songs
You’re Not The One was a Goof on The Cars Just What I Needed
Interesting. I can hear that now that you mention it. It's been a while since I read Martin Popoff's Blue Oyster Cult book, but I wonder if he mentions that in the chapter on Mirrors. I'm not much of a Cars fan, but I think I prefer the Cars doing the Cars rather than BOC doing the Cars.
Love Spectres. But I agree with Brian. Goin’ Through The Motions is a dud.
My favorite band Always taking risks But so much great music Thanks
They could be acknowledged for so much, and yet they're always sort of on the fringe. Never name-checked as one of the all-time greats, but they should be.
Wouldn't have picked the alt vocal take at the beginning of Can't Get Close Enough or removed the first couple of solo's in Forbidden track 🤷 Other than those small quibbles, great remix 🔥 Hope Martin leaks those Dehumanizer demos failing an official release!!
Those Dehumanizer demos are like the holy grail of the Tony Martin years!
Geeky yet very enjoyable conversation 🤘
Haha! Yes, absolutely geeky!