Disturbed - Ten Thousand Fists

To me, the third album by Disturbed was going to be a make-or-break moment. It was either going to be great album, signalling that they were to be around for a while, or it was going to be a mediocre, repetetive affair highlighted by singer Dave Draiman leaning on his bag of monkey vocal tricks like a crutch. I don't mind telling you that I was giving even money on both outcomes. I am happy to report, though, that Ten Thousand Fists is a mighty fine album. Bookended by my favorite tracks, Ten Thousand Fists and Avarice, (so nice to not end an album with filler), the band proves that they are here to stay. Draiman does such a great job that I daresay he is turning out to be one of the finest voices in heavy metal, nicely filling the void that James Hetfield left when Metallica went all sucko on us. Disturbed even do a rocking, albeit straightforward, cover of the Genesis song Land of Confusion (of course, the original rocked, too).

Antimatter - Planetary Confinement

If ever an album cover matched the material inside, this is the one. Gray skies and barbed wire. That's the new Antimatter album in a nutshell. It's called Planetary Confinement and while I would hesitate to call it rock, just calling it music seems inadequate. Gray skies and barbed wire is much more descriptive. My introduction to Antimatter came a couple of years ago when they released an album, Unreleased 1998 - 2003, only on the internet and for free. It was hard to get a handle on the album at first. Finally I just had to stop and let the music sink in. Spare to the point of lonely, it is what it is. Now that Autumn is just around the corner and the top is on the convertible, my thoughts turn to quieter music that I am once again able to hear in my car. This is a good start. Check out Legions.

Heavy Bones

A few months ago on VH1 Classic's "Metal Mania" show, I saw a video I had never seen before by a band I had never heard of before. I'm watching it and it's all one long shot--no cuts. That was interesting and then I saw that the drummer kinda looked like Frankie Banali (Quiet Riot, W.A.S.P.) but it couldn't be him, could it? Turns out that it was him and on guitar was Gary Hoey. What the heck is going on? How did I miss these guys? Well, those two musicians and two other fellows did get together and formed a band called Heavy Bones. The album they released is pretty good. Some really good cuts and some filler--definitely a product of its time. So why had I not heard of them? Because the album came out in 1992 and these guys were not wearing flannel. They weren't a hair band but traditional hard rock quickly went out of fashion in '92 and Heavy Bones was one of the casualties. Again, this isn't some great masterwork but it's a good hard rock album from the era that you might not have heard of before. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a rarity so it can get pretty pricey at both Amazon and eBay. Here are a couple of tracks to check out. 4:AM T.M. was the video I saw. The Light of Day is my other favorite track.

Mediæval Bæbes - Mirabilis

The Mediæval Bæbes are back with their special style of Mediæval period-influenced music. Their new album, Mirabilis, is my favorite of the five I have. I've gone back to the other four to try and figure out why. I thought maybe it is because the vocals are more upfront and less atmospheric. Problem with that is my favorite song on the album, Lhiannan Shee, is as atmospheric as you can get. Maybe it is just the newness. Whatever the reason, it is good stuff. If your ears are looking for a rest from all that rocking out, and your brain would like to lose itself some lush and very feminine sounds, the Bæbes have what you are looking for. Check out Trovommi Amor.

Krumble - thirteen

In my last CD Baby order the bonus disc was Thirteen, the 2001 debut by Cleveland band Krumble. These bonus discs, as you might imagine, tend to suck but I always give them a listen because you just never know. Turns out it's pretty good stuff. Rocking sound with an edge. Solid female singer. A good first effort from a local band. I wanted to find out more about them so I went to CD Baby to read the album's page. No band listed there by that name. Huh? I tried a few variations but nothing came up. Odd. I did the Google thing and came up with their site. Turns out the lead singer on that album, one Theresa Carroll, has been replaced but you can click to listen to a couple of tracks with their new lead singer. Problem is, the link is broken. Search on Theresa Carroll--nothing. The band does have thirteen for sale on their site, so it appears that that is the only game in town. Problem is, I go to write this tonight and the band's site is pretty much gone now, replaced by a The future home of Krumble page. So here's this local band with some potential and, for whatever reasons, just disintegrates. I don't get to hear them get better. I don't get to hear their lead singer develop. Even CD Baby doesn't carry their album anymore and they carry anybody's album. For some reason it just struck me as sad, that's all. Take a listen to Vow and Awful Truth to hear what you missed.

UPDATE 2020: Theresa Carroll was also in a band called Spider Lilies around the time she was in Krumble. They reunited a few years ago and have an album called Everything on iTunes.

Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil

There's been a lot of hype and noise surrounding City of Evil, the latest released by Huntington Beach's Avenged Sevenfold. "The most anticipated release of the year" or some such nonsense reads the sticker on the CD. "Sellout" and "I'll never forgive them for stealing Overkill's bat!" (which they did) reads postings on the message boards of heavy metal sites. I picked the album up and...it's okay. Nothing revolutionary. It doesn't suck. It's okay. This album is a slicker affair then their previous two albums, Waking the Fallen and Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, but I really question whether moving from screaming to singing is selling out or whether it is trying to stand out from the crowd. Have you seen Headbangers' Ball lately? Hardcore, death metal, and Pantera/Machine Head wanna-be's are wall-to-wall. How do you stand out from that? By sounding like every other band on the Ball or do you swing the pendulum the other way and try singing for a change? These are things I think about while fast-forwarding my DVR through most of HBB. Back to Avenged Sevenfold, the vocals, at times, reminded me of somebody but it took a while to figure out who: a less raspy John Bush (Anthrax, Armored Saint). Not always but on cuts like Blinded in Chains he sure does. City of Evil is a heavy, interesting album that you should check out and not just blow off based on what you've read on the boards. Check out Bat Country.

AFI - Sing the Sorrow

I saw a video on Headbangers' Ball that really caught my eye. It was for AFI's song The Leaving Song Pt. II. Very interestng video--keeps you off balance. So I do some digging on the band and get their latest CD, Sing the Sorrow. First off, this was released in 2003 and yeah, yeah, yeah, this isn't exactly a cutting edge article. So sue me :-). This album is quite a departure from AFI's previous albums, which were definitely punk. That's a drag for their old fans (with the expected cries of "Sellout!") but to my ears this sound better suits AFI. Their punk sound was more Offspring than hardcore, and I don't much care for The Offspring (not enough edge). This new sound is edgy enough for rock and with the punk influence still there, it's a fresh sound. Also check out Miseria Cantare - The Beginning and I promise that the next time I write about AFI, it will be more timely.

Candlemass - Candlemass

I was able to see doom metal pioneers Candlemass on their last tour of the U.S. back in 1991. Good stuff. The band broke up after that tour. Well, technically, singer Messiah Marcolin left the band which, for me, means the band broke up. Then, a few years ago, Messiah re-joined the band for a reunion tour. Things looked good for a new album, some demos were cut...and then the band broke up...only to get back together several months later. What did all that turmoil produce? How about the best album of their career, the self-titled Candlemass. Messiah's voice, for the unwashed, is this quasi-operatic force of nature. The first time I heard it I didn't know what to think but I was definitely drawn to it (I actually went back to the CD store to sample Ancient Dreams several times before I finally bought it). Now that you have been forewarned, the new album is filled with the band's trademark doomy sound but it is even heavier than before. If you are a fan, don't worry, just get the new album. If you are curious about the band, this is a great place to start. Check out Black Dwarf and Witches.

Life of Agony - Broken Valley

When New York's Life of Agony released their debut album, River Runs Red, back in 1993, it was really something. Not quite hardcore, not quite thrash, but definitely heavy and dark, it was a unique sound at an interesting time. Both Metallica and Nirvana were peaking, in one way or another, and this album flew in the face of all that. When the follow-up, 1995's Ugly, came out, it was...unexpected. LoA had made a 90-degree turn with their sound but the results were mixed. Despite what some may say, heavy metal can be a progressive genre (Black Sabbath, anyone?). However, this was a bit of a disjointed mess. Their audience was confused and after one more album, Life of Agony was no more. A few years ago they decided to give it a go again and the result is Broken Valley, which is what Ugly should have been ten years before. The new album is still a big departure from River Runs Red but it's a more natural progression than a forced one. Album opener, and single, Love to Let You Down (video here) is plenty heavy but in a different way than the past. Progress, even in heavy metal, is a good and welcome thing (however, bad is not progress, it's just bad). Broken Valley is a great return for LoA. Check out Justified for more.

The Capes - Taste

Riding the wave of the current British pop revival, we have The Capes from South London. Their American debut is a mini-LP called Taste. Full of catchy songs that remind me of The Kinks at times, though I have to admit that the upbeat songs are much better than the slower ones. Check out Galaxy Fraulein and Regional Heats.

Marjorie Fair - Self Help Serenade

My dictionary defines wistful as "having or showing a feeling of vague or regretful longing". A year ago I received a Capitol Records sampler which had a song, Waves, by the band Marjorie Fair and wistful is the first word that came to my mind. I wanted to write that I am a sucker for wistful songs but I tried to think of some but didn't come up with many. Baker Street for sure. Diamonds and Rust probably. Saturnine and In the End perhaps. After that, things get less vague as we leave wistful and go right into sad songs. Wistful songs make me want to take a drive down streets with someone special (or even better: just thinking about them) and keep going. I did that last week with Waves playing over and over again. I'm weird that way, I suppose.

So Marjorie Fair have recorded this five-star song (see the video here) on their debut album, Self Help Serenade, and it is released only overseas for a year (and it was recorded in 2002). It is coming out in July here in the states but what a drag for a band living in Los Angeles to not have their debut album available in their own country. Well, we have reached a point where you don't have to wait for the U.S. debut next month because the album is showing up reasonably priced at Amazon and on eBay. Okay but what's the album like, right? I'd classify it as a mellow rock album. Stare, sounds pretty mellow to you, doesn't it? I wish the band success. They have waited a long time for it.

The Fortunes - The Singles

One of the nice things about not listening to oldies radio stations is that you can be truly and pleasantly surprised when you hear a song that you haven't heard in a while. Such was the case a few months ago when I was in a store and heard Here Comes that Rainy Day Feeling Again. I hadn't heard that song in a long time. It's nothing deep or meaningful, just a nice song to hear. I did some digging and found out that it was recorded by The Fortunes, a British Invasion-era band that weren't huge but they did have a few hits, including one I really like, You've Got Your Troubles. The best way to go for these guys is to get The Singles, a 24-track collection that has a lot of fun stuff on it (including the original version of Seasons in the Sun). Nothing that changed the world, just some enjoyable Britpop. Beware of their singles on iTunes, though. Those K-Tel oldies albums usually have re-recorded versions of songs rather than the originals.

Sandy Denny - A Boxful of Treasures

My introduction to Sandy Denny came when I bought Led Zeppelin's fourth album and listened to The Battle of Evermore. I had to know more about the lady singing with Robert Plant. Her albums were mostly still in print at the time and I was lucky to find the ones that weren't fairly quickly in the used record stores I haunted. My goodness, what a voice! Beautiful and earnest, delicate and strong. She had a quality that I have not yet heard in another singer (Sandy died in 1978, several years before I discovered her). She was a folk singer at heart but calling her simply a folk singer is such an understatement. Anyway, you get the idea: I'm a huge fan. So much so that I bought the first box set devoted to Sandy back in the eighties...then I bought it again when it was released on CD several years later. So I have one Sandy Denny box set and along comes A Boxful of Treasures. Do I buy a second box set? It has lots that I don't have but lots that I do have. I finally bite the bullet and get it. Honestly, if I would have heard the live version of Whispering Grass that is on the box when I was trying to decide, I would have snatched this thing up a long time ago. Some of the "treasures" are for-fans-only recordings, to be sure, but there is plenty of great stuff here.

Now, I'm a realist. Unless you're already a Sandy Denny fan, you're not going to buy this box set. Fair enough. You owe it to yourself, though, to introduce yourself to the lady's works. Check out the No More Sad Refrains anthlogy which has Sandy solo, as well as with Fairport Convention and Fotheringay. From the exquisite Fotheringay to Nothing More and the folksy John the Gun, British folk music has never sounded better.

I also recently picked up It Suits Me Well - The Songs of Sandy Denny by Vikki Clayton. Not to take anything away from Vikki, who does a wonderful version of John the Gun, but the funny thing about tribute albums is that they often highlight just how special the original artist was.

Death From Above 1979 - You're a Woman, I'm a Machine

How about a drum & bass combo with a real drummer and a real bass player but they rock out and the bass playing sounds like Lemmy? That's what you get with Death From Above 1979: a bass player and a drummer who sings (with the occasional synth thrown in for texture). That's the band, folks. Speaking of minimalism, the singing reminds me of Jack White when he's really rocking but with even more energy. The sound is different, it's noisy, it's modern, but it really works at times on their debut album, You're a Woman, I'm a Machine. Check out Turn It Out and Little Girl.

Steve Howe - Turbulence

The problem with instrumental rock guitar albums is that you keep being reminded that they are GUITAR albums because there are GUITAR solos all over the place and, gosh, isn't that a great GUITAR solo, whether it should be there or not but it's a GUITAR album, what do you expect? Yes's best-known guitar player, Steve Howe, has released several albums and I finally decided to pick up one, having been impressed by a recording of one of his solo shows. Be forewarned that some of his albums have him singing and he is a terrible singer. Turbulence, though, is all instrumental so we are out of danger here. What I liked about this album was that I found myself forgetting that I was listening to a guitar player's solo album. I sometimes find Howe's playing a bit cold but he sure knows how to let the song take the spotlight and have the guitar(s) serve it instead of the song merely being a vehicle for (yet another) guitar solo. Check out Running the Human Race and Corkscrew. Do you hear what I mean? I'm looking forward to more of Steve Howe's (instrumental) albums.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

I love great pop albums. Unfortunately, "pop" is a much-maligned word in rock because it is too often used to describe crap. Great pop albums, though, are precious. Here is a short list of what I consider to be some great pop albums:

• A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles (1964)
• Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. - The Monkees (1967)
• In Color - Cheap Trick (1977)
• Get the Knack - The Knack (1979)
• Beauty and the Beat - The Go-Go's (1981)
• 11 - The Smithereens (1989)

Enough hooks to open a tackle shop, harmonies aplenty, and a beat you can dance to. You get the idea: great pop. That leads us to the Kaiser Chiefs. I'm not saying that their new album, Employment, is good enough to join the ranks of the above great albums. It's a very good album. I am saying that the Kaiser Chiefs have a great album in them. Check out the first single, I Predict a Riot, and Na Na Na Na Naa and just try and keep from moving to the beat.

Porcupine Tree - Deadwing

My favorite of the latest wave of prog rock bands is Porcupine Tree. Their 2002 album, In Absentia, was my introduction to them and it is a wonderful album with some truly stunning cuts, such as Blackest Eyes. They manage to produce both lush and hard rocking sounds in the same song yet it doesn't sound forced or unnatural. Don't pigeon hole them as just a prog band, though. They have their own unique sound that makes them special. There were several albums before In Absentia and I was afraid I had caught the band at its peak and that it was all downhill from then on (which has happened to me plenty of times). Their latest album, Deadwing, has arrived and I am happy to report that the band sounds even better. Shallow is the first single and it's rocking (so nice to hear a so-called prog group unafraid to rock out). Check out Open Car as well.

As an added bonus for me, when Porcupine Tree swings through Los Angeles next month I'm going to get to see Robert Fripp open for them. How cool is that?

Garbage - Bleed Like Me

I clearly remember the first time I heard Garbage. I was cruising through Tower Sunset and I heard this song. I went to the counter and asked who that was. "Garbage," was the answer. This caused me to pause for a second, then I remembered reading a few sentences about this new band. The song turned out to be Milk and I was hooked. Here we are, ten years and three albums later, and Garbage has released Bleed Like Me. They have pulled back from the over-production of Beautiful, and that's a good thing. Oh, it's not a stripped down, live-in-the-studio affair but the studio tricks are more restrained this time. Now we get rockers like the excellent Why Do You Love Me and the the catchy Sex is Not the Enemy. Let's hope we don't have to wait another four years for their next album.

Hanzel und Gretyl - Uber Alles

For those who like their industrial music with a teutonic twist, Hanzel und Gretyl have come to the rescue. Take KMFDM, add some Rammstein, then, with a wink, turn it up to 11 (Jello Biafra says Rammstein and the Runaways but I haven't seen HuG live so I'll leave that one alone). Don't let the air raid sirens and rally chants scare you off. With songs titles like Third Reich from the Sun and SS Deathstar Supergalactik, you know you have nothing to fear but fun itself. This is not HuG's latest album, though. That would be 2004's Scheissmessiah (see, nothing to fear) but Uber Alles is what I picked up first, so there.

50 Foot Wave - Golden Ocean

Alternative queen Kristin Hersh is stepping back into a band after the Throwing Muses reunion of a few years ago. 50 Foot Wave is the band's name, another trio, and the band has come to rock. Admittedly, I'm not intimately familiar with the oeuvre of Throwing Muses but this album album, Golden Ocean, sounds consistently harder and more punk than TM (to these ears). Did I not dig deeply enough? Take a listen to Clara Bow and Dog Days and let me know if I'm wrong.

Buddy Holly - The Buddy Holly Collection

One of my early extravagences as budding nutcase record collector was The Complete Buddy Holly. This six-LP set had every Buddy Holly recording known up to that time. It sounded like a good idea. Problem is, not everything an artist records is all that great. I played all six LPs once (see, back in prehistoric times you couldn't easily skip to just the tracks you liked) and didn't touch the set again. My mom has it now. She was a teenager when Buddy was making hits and I doubt she's listened to it yet. Fast forward a decade or two and we now have The Buddy Holly Collection. A two-CD set that is much easier to digest. The fifty songs are arranged chronologically so you can hear Buddy's progression from rockabilly to Elvis wanna-be to his breakout That'll Be the Day. You can hear his style slowly emerging but it's that song where he finally blossomed. Buddy Holly is one of my three favorite rock and rollers from the fifties (the other two would be Elvis and Little Richard). He was more than just a performer, though, as his talents as a songwriter and producer were coming into their own at the end of his way-too-short career (he died when he was 23). If you listen closely, you can hear how songs like Well...All Right and Learning the Game would have influenced bands such as The Beatles. While you're at it, check out my favorite Buddy Holly tune, It Doesn't Matter Anymore.

Wojciech Kilar - Bram Stoker's Dracula and Other Film Music

One trick to amassing a large music collection is to keep an eye out for bargains. Things like used CDs really stretch your dollar (or whatever your currency happens to be), of course. iTunes has bargains squirrelled away here and there. You just have to dig. For instance, Miles Davis's album Bitches Brew. Over one-and-a-half hours of music. Can't buy the whole album, supposedly, but you can buy each individual track. The thing is, there are only seven tracks on the album. Yep, a double album (remastered, even) for seven bucks. Another great deal is Traffic's title track to The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys. It's over eleven minutes long so if you look in that album you'll see you can't buy the track by itself. Oh yeah? If you dig in iTunes a bit, you'll find it for sale. Things like that. One great bargain that caught my eye last week was an album of the work of Polish composer Wojciech Kilar. Best-known in the USA for the soundtrack to Francis Ford Coppola's film Bram Stoker's Dracula, I find his music to be wonderful. The only other soundtrack of his usually found here is The Ninth Gate, which I also recommend. To get much deeper than that you have to reach out a bit farther--to his native Poland, for instance (which I have done). This album I found at iTunes, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Other Film Music by Wojciech Kilar, is not just a great deal at $5.99 for an hour's-worth of music, but it is a great introduction to Kilar. Containing selections from Bram Stoker's Dracula, Death and the Maiden, and a movie you've never heard of called König der letzten Tage. Great music by a great composer for a great price and I haven't seen this album available anywhere else. It has been playing in my car all week.

Tori Amos - The Beekeeper

When Tori Amos released her first solo album, Little Earthquakes, back in 1992, I was all over it. A remarkable album, topped by an even more remarkable live performance when I saw her that summer. Her next album, Under the Pink, wasn't as remarkable (no surprise) but still very good. Then came 1996's Boys for Pelé, which I disliked so much that it put me off of Tori Amos for several years. It is only in the past year or two that I have started buying the albums I missed in the interim (it was her creepy cover of Raining Blood that let me know the water was fine again). Which brings us to her latest album, The Beekeper, her strongest since Under the Pink (at least). Gone (for the most part) is the self-conscious quirkiness and excessive self-indulgence (goodness, I'm really heading down the rock critic path of clichés with that one, aren't I?). What we have here is a more consistent album with an emphasis on crafting songs you can sink your teeth into. The first two tracks, Parasol and Sweet the Sting, are as good a place as any to check out. Tori is back in my good graces and I'm oh so happy about it.

Powder - Sonic Machine

This is a fun album. Powder is an L.A. band that is part hard rock and part cabaret (check out the videos from their live shows to see what I mean). No show on the CD, though, so you'll have to make do with the great music on their first album, Sonic Machine (they just released a second album but it's only available in Europe right now). You can't go wrong with catchy, hard rocking songs like Seat of My Pants. I would describe the sound as Missing Persons if they were a hard rock band and were transported twenty years in the future. Oh, I just really dated myself with the Missing Persons reference, didn't I? Well, they're a female-fronted band that rawk, with a bit of quirkiness thrown in for good measure. Check out Up Here for more of what I'm on about.

Little Days - Coming In From Somewhere...

Looking for new music is fun. Actually it's long bouts of frustration punctuated by joy but let's not get bogged down in details. You come across a lot of nice voices. Every so often, though, you come across a voice that makes you sit up. It's not the production or harmonies or overdubs. It's a voice that, when it's on its own, reveals talent to the bone. That's what I heard in Mini Diaz's voice on the Little Days album Coming In From Somewhere... Oh, I love harmonies and overdubs but this was something else. Makes all the digging for new music worth my while, let me tell you. Check out You Make Me Feel and I'm In Love (I'd Say). Can you hear it? How can you not hear it. Combine that special voice with some fine songwriting and restrained production and you have an album you can be proud to tell your friends about. Speaking of proud, Mini and bandmate Jorgen Carlsson are the proud parents of a new baby! That means they are probably more interested in video taping than audio taping right now so a followup album might take some time. I am sure it will be worth the wait.

Monogroove - Five Minute Cat Wash

Here is a fun album. Jangly Brit-pop (from Los Angeles) complete with a Badfinger cover, Monogroove deliver great songs, catchy hooks, and yummy harmonies. Just what a pop album is supposed to do, right? They have a website but it's unclear whether they are still together or not. While I dig for the answer to that mystery, check out Anything You Want and I Miss You. They have released two other albums, which I am very much looking forward to getting.

UPDATE: I have been assured that Monogroove is still together. Cool!

John & Mary - The Pinwheel Galaxy

There are a few things in my collection that are backwards of what they should be. For instance, until last year the only Yes album in my collection was Drama--the one without Jon Anderson. My first Accept album was the one without Udo (but I have his solo albums). Things like that. The big one, though, is my two 10,000 Maniacs albums. You guessed it: the ones without Natalie Merchant. Sorry but I never cared for her voice while her successor, Mary Ramsey, has a quality to hers that I find quite pleasing. To each his own, right? While I have both Love Among the Ruins and The Earth Pressed Flat, I don't think the combination ever ran on all cylinders. Well, the Maniacs now have yet another singer while Mary and John Lombardo, a founding Maniac, have teamed up for their fourth John & Mary album, The Pinwheel Galaxy. It was a good move because whatever the other albums lacked, this one has. Check out Lillies of the Valley. Sometimes things just don't work out. Sounds to me like Mary Ramsey is back where things work best for her.

Guns n' Wankers - For Dancing and Listening

I have to admit that this band's name is what caught my eye. I had never heard of them before I came across that name. Too funny. This album came out ten years ago and what I can find out is that members of Snuff are in the band, they are from England, they have long since broken up, and that's about it. As for the music on this album, For Dancing and Listening, it's great! Rock and roll with punk energy. There's not a bad or boring song on this 20.8-minute gem. Check out Skin Deep and Raise Your Glass. Now, can anybody recommend a good intro to Snuff?

Black Label Society - Mafia

In the interest of total disclosure, I have to let you know that I'm not a big fan of Zakk Wylde. He strikes me as a knucklehead and the whole "Black Label is a way of life" thing? Yeah, right. As far as music goes he's a fine guitarist but away from Ozzy I haven't heard anything I've cared for, with the exception of the song Stillborn. Having said all that, though (and it's okay because I'm not likely to run into Zakk on the street :-), Mafia, the latest album by Black Label Society, is pretty good. Zakk's taken that quasi-Ozzy style of singing he used on Stillborn and really settled into it (if you're going to steal you steal from the best, right?) (and yes, I know that Ozzy sang backup on that song). He's come up with a rocking album, of course, but one with vocals you can get into the whole way through. The first single is Suicide Messiah and it's pretty darned good. Check out You Must Be Blind, too. It really is an improvement over his earlier work, isn't it? Either that or I'm nuts--either way. Just goes to show that as far as music goes, it always pays to have an open mind and to keep the focus on the music.

Barry Gray - Thunderbirds 2

Please allow me to indulge myself. In the childhood of men of a certain age (yes, sexist assumption) and a certain geekiness, there was nothing, and I mean nothing, cooler than Thunderbirds (let's just pretend the recent movie never happened, okay?). The vehicles...the adventures...the gadgets...the puppets...and the vehicles! In the pre-historic special effects days before Jurassic Park and before Star Wars, it was the coolest...but you probably had to be there. One of the things that made the show great was the music. Barry Gray's music for Thunderbirds was a blend of easy listening and marching bands, with the sixties and some rather experimental electronic music thrown in for good measure. Ah, the horns...the strings...the bongos. And this orchestra was used for a children's show. They sure don't make them like that anymore. On this second volume of music from Thunderbirds, the Thunderbirds Main Titles is included (see the first volume for the version with the countdown voiceover). Terror in New York City contains the aforementioned bongos. Nothing says Action! like bongos.

Judas Priest - Angel of Retribution

You're heavy metal legends, you've reunited with your old lead singer, one of the finest voices in the genre, and after a reunion tour it's time to record an album. What do you do? If you are Judas Priest you kick ass. Angel of Retribution marks their reunion with Rob Halford and, unlike other lame reunions, this one seems to have been done for the right reason: the music. The Priest pretty much pick up going down the path they were on when Painkiller, their last album with Rob, came out back in 1990: harder songs but still sounding like Judas Priest. The songs range from the awesome, like Revolution, to the silly, which is a thirteen-and-a-half minute ode to Lochness [sic] (hey, it's not the only silly song they've ever made) which still sounds great. Thirty years and going strong once again, Judas Priest still have it.

Nightwish - Once

I was able to get out and see Nightwish on their first American tour when they came through Southern California last September. The concert was a first for me: I actually felt old. Fairly young crowd, half of whom wouldn't have looked out of place at a Slayer show, and me wondering if I was the oldest person there. No biggie; it was bound to happen sooner or later, right? Anyway, the show (which was great) happened before the U.S. release of their latest album, Once (great planning on their label's part, eh?) but I was surprised that most of the crowd were familiar with the new material. In this era of file-sharing I guess I shouldn't have been surprised but it did show that Nightwish have a solid fan base over here. The new album is okay, with the big bright spot being Nemo, one of their best singles (there is also a version of Nemo with an orchestra but not on the album). The interesting thing about it, and much of the album, is that singer Tarja Turunen is pulling away from her opera style for every song (ala Wishmaster-era Nightwish), though it still dominates the album. She has a helluva voice so I'm all for seeing what she can do with it. Check out Dead Gardens to hear some more. You either love or hate this style of rock and roll and if you love it, Nightwish is one of the best.

The Coctails - The Early Hi•Ball Years

The Coctails were an interesting band out of the American Midwest in the late eighties and early nineties. Their early recordings display a band that's part garage rock and part jazz combo. That resulted in playful numbers like Whoopsy Daisy and the very low-fi Walkin' Down the Street. Their first three releases are highlighted on The Early Hi•Ball Years. I prefer the kooky keyboard noodlings because, honestly, the band is not much when it comes to singing. After this era the band veered from straight jazz (well, straight-ish) to really raw garage rock before breaking up in 1995. A bit of an underground act, they even have a 3-CD box set which came out a few months ago. This single CD, though, suits me just fine.

Rammstein - Reise, Reise

The mighty Rammstein are back, bigger and better than ever. Mainly bigger. Reise, Reise opens up with bigger guitars, bigger keyboards, and bigger German (really rolling those R's more than I remember). For those of you not familiar with Rammstein, you are going to be surprised how at well-suited the German language is for heavy metal. It's not much for ballads but when you set those hard consonants to loud guitars, you really have something there. I'm surprised it never occurred to the Scorpions (well, not too surprised). Check out Mein Teil and the single (fun video, BTW) Amerika. Big.

The Mamas & the Papas - All The Leaves Are Brown

If I had to describe The Mamas & The Papas in one word, it would have to be special. Not really a rock band, more than a pop band, not a folk band, and not just a bunch of hippies. What were they, anyway? They were a sound, really. The sound of those voices, apart but especially together, was magic. I am not aware of anything like them since their break-up. They put out only four albums in their few years together (one in 1966, two in 1967, one in 1968) and in one of the great bargains I've seen, all four of those albums are collected in the double-CD All the Leaves Are Brown plus a few bonus tracks thrown in. You don't have to hunt down the individual albums or make sure some greatest hits album has all the tracks you want because this album has them all. Well-known classics like California Dreamin' but also the lesser-known but still amazing songs like Twelve Thirty, Even If I Could, and the really lesser-known Dancing Bear. Listening to the music you alternate being overjoyed at the sounds and then your heart breaks when you think how it all fell apart so quickly and then Cass Elliot passing away a few years later. Well, I do, anyway. The cup's half full, though, gang so focus on the joy. Such a deal, this album.

Having written all that, though, while getting this ready I did find the ultimate (so far) Mamas & Papas collection. Not really a bargain but if you're a completist (and I usually am), it's a must. It's an import-only four-disc set called Complete Anthology and it has everything. It has the four classic albums plus People Like Us, Live at Monterey Pop and a disc of unreleased material including the songs they did with Barry McGuire. What, you didn't know that Barry sang the original version of California Dreamin'? It's true.

Bill Laswell - Operazone: The Redesign

Whenever I see the name Bill Laswell attached to something, I always try and check it out. The man behind Herbie Hancock's groundbreaking Rockit, Praxis, Buckethead, and a whole lot of jazzy, hip-hop influenced music (he is seriously prolific) is always worth a listen. With Operazone he has taken instrumental pieces from various operas and "redesigned" them. Adding a touch of rhythm and the occasional jazzy horn, these lush arrangements end up being really interesting. Sort of easy-listening that doesn't suck. Give a listen to The Elixer of Love and Tosca: Act Two.

Louis Armstrong - An American Songbook

Apple has been approaching record companies and proposing that they go into the archives and release their out-of-print albums through iTunes. It's not a bad idea at all. Record companies are only out the cost of remastering the albums; they don't have to print up CD booklets or the CDs themselves or mess with distribution. Digitize the music, scan the artwork, and send it all to Apple. Presto! Music that had been just sitting there is now available for people to enjoy and an otherwise dead asset can make money for the label. Verve has taken Apple up on the offer and has released a bunch of Jazz albums only on iTunes. The one that caught my eye was An American Songbook by Louis Armstrong. I'm not a big Jazz fan but how can you not like Louis Armstrong? Except for a few Christmas songs, though, I didn't have anything by him. I figured this would be a good way to get my feet wet. Check out Stormy Weather and I Get a Kick Out of You. I've probably started something my bank account is going to regret :-).

Masters of Reality - Give Us Barabbas

For more evidence of how screwed up the record industry in America is, take the case of Masters of Reality. Arguably one of the finest American rock bands to appear in the last twenty years, they don't have a record deal in their own country anymore. Their albums come out in Europe but if you want to buy their CDs in the United States, you can either order them as imports or you can go to the band's online store. What do they sound like? Hard to say, really, as they don't fit neatly into any category. The first time I heard them I thought they sounded like a cross between Deep Purple and The Doors. That might not make any sense and I don't know if it's accurate but it should give you an idea of their range. The band these days is frontman Chris Goss, best known lately as a producer (Queens of the Stone Age, Auf der Maur), and whoever he decides to have on an album. I have been listening to them since 1988 and they have never disappointed me, either on CD or live. They keep the streak going with their latest album, Give Us Barabas. For longtime fans, Googe is back on bass and Ginger Baker even makes an appearance on one song. Give a listen to Jindalee Jindalie, Brown House on the Green Road, and the playful Off to Tiki Ti. See if you can figure out simple box to put them in. Good luck.

Kelly's Heels - Dig In!

You know you're listening to great power pop when you want to dance to a break-up song. Great power pop is just what London's Kelly's Heels delivers over and over. Of course, it helps that Dig In! is mostly a compilation from their first three albums. As the old saying goes, though, you never get a second chance to make a first impression and this album leaves quite an impression with catchy hooks all over and just enough harmonies to make the songs delicious. Feast on Sabrina and Tell Me If It's Over.

Harland - Salt Box Lane

I first heard Shelley Harland when I stumbled across a single she did with Delerium last year called Above the Clouds. I can't remember what caught my eye because I had not heard of Delerium at the time. Anyway, I finally picked up her 2003 album, Salt Box Lane, and it is wonderful. She has such a pretty voice and she knows how to ride a song's hook for all it's worth. That adds up to great tracks like Skin and the it's-so-cute-I-can't-believe-how-good-it-is track Treehouse. She is busy working on her next album, which I can hardly wait for.

Tan Dun - Hero

One of my favorite presents from this past Christmas is the soundtrack to the movie Hero, given to me by my little girl (though I think her mommy helped a bit). In short, if you liked the soundtrack to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon then you are going to love Hero. Since both scores were composed by Tan Dun, this is good news for fans, as is the continued use of Asian instruments in addition to the "Western" orchestra (which is actually the China Philharmonic Orchestra). The featured soloist this time is Itzhak Perlman, his violin replacing Yo-Yo Ma's cello, but the more significant change is the addition of voices accompanying the orchestra. Solo or choral, the wordless singing does more than simply add to the orchestra, it is positively moving. Give a listen to Gone With Leaves, Farewell, Hero, or Above Water and just try to keep from being swept away to another place. And don't worry, to enjoy the score it is not necessary to have seen the film (though I highly recommend doing exactly that--in fact, another one of my Christmas presents was the DVD).

Jarvis Humby - Assume The Position It's...

If you take some sixties garage band sound, fold in a Hammond organ, and add a dash of R&B, you get Britain's Jarvis Humby. This album is drenched in the sixties but, somehow, they make it sound fresh. I know that doesn't make any sense but there you go. On their new album, Assume the Position It's..., they sound like the house band for an old Peter Sellers movie with tracks like We Say Yeah!. On the other hand, 99 Steps to the Sun reminds me of early Santana. Must be the guitar solo over the Hammond. Fun album and not a bad track on it.

The Consortium of Genius - In COG We Trust

And now for something completely different. For those who don't mind their rock with a smile, there is The Consortium of Genius. Led by Dr. Milo T. Pinkerton III, an evil genius bent on world domination (aren't they all?), this New Orleans band sings about science, world domination, medical experiments, murder, and shower heads. Pretty much what you'd expect from evil geniuses (or is that genii?). More Green Jelly than Frank Zappa, nevertheless the Consortium does manage to deliver some catchy tunes along with the laughs on their third album, In COG We Trust. Check out Destroy Old Things (I can't believe that title isn't already a punk anthem) and the Devo-esque Placebo! Ably assisted by Dr. A, Dr. Z, Drumbot, and Lab Girl, I expect Dr. Pinkerton will be at his quest for quite a while, which is good news for us because it means more COG albums (and let's face it, when you rule the earth you don't have time to put out albums).