George Lynch departed the Dokken reunion following 1997's Shadowlife, handing the reins over to ex-Winger guitarist Reb Beach. Beach has more than enough chops to fill Lynch's shoes, and although he brings his own musical personality to the riffs and solos, the songs' melodies are still recognizably Dokken. Unfortunately, those melodies are typical of post-reunion Dokken more often than not, with the band seemingly struggling to come up with the big chorus hook and just not quite getting there (a problem, come to think of it, that sometimes plagued the band in their heyday as well). Although Beach acquits himself well, the songwriting ultimately sinks the record; besides, at this stage of the game, it's difficult to believe Don Dokken when he sings "I must confess, I'm the maddest hatter of them all." Erase the Slate is workmanlike retro-'80s hard rock at its best, and thoroughly unmemorable at its worst.
Essentially Elektra Records' tribute to a band that originally helped put them on the map, Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the Doors was assembled by producer Ralph Sall, with a heavy concentration on mainstream-oriented alternative rock. While some tracks are the straight-up covers typical of tribute albums, die-hard Doors fans have greater reasons to pay attention. The surviving band members appear on several tracks -- sometimes as a backing unit, sometimes as individual guest collaborators -- with frequently vital-sounding results. Echoing the Fatboy Slim "Bird of Prey" single (coincidence that this was released around the same time?), producer Sall also incorporates sampled Morrison vocals, usually over atmospheric, electronic-tinged backing tracks; this tactic also produces beyond-the-grave Morrison duets with John Lee Hooker and William S. Burroughs. However -- perhaps logically -- it's the band performances that have the most life to them, especially those involving the Stone Temple Pilots and Ian Astbury. Even though Stoned Immaculate occasionally suffers from typical tribute-album unevenness, it's overall a fitting testament to the Doors' legacy.
01 - Ten Masked Men - Cry Me A River (Justin Timberlake)
UFO's Obsession was to be their last studio record with star guitarist Michael Schenker. It did indeed contain lots of prime metal cuts, but some of the material ultimately fell flat. "Only You Can Rock Me" kicks off the album with a fun and carefree feel, while the funky "Pack It Up (And Go)" contains some John Bonham-like drumming courtesy of Andy Parker. The opening momentum is carried on through the slow Zeppelin groove of "Ain't No Baby," but soon the band hits the skids. The group takes a crack at a power ballad, which ends up sounding like an Elton John throwaway ("Lookin' Out for No. 1") and a couple of blah, clichéd rockers ("Hot 'N' Ready" and "One More for the Rodeo"), both anchored by Pete Way's ultra-simplistic single-note basslines. But the album eventually gets back on track with the melodic rock of "Cherry" and "You Don't Fool Me," the latter containing some tasty, fiery guitar solos. UFO hinted at their talents with releases such as Obsession and Lights Out, but it was their next release, the live Strangers in the Night, where it all came together for them.| 1 |  | Only You Can Rock Me | Mogg, Schenker, Way | 4:08 | ||
| 2 | | Pack It Up (And Go) | Mogg, Schenker, Way | 3:14 | ||
| 3 | | Arbory Hill | Schenker, Way | 1:11 | ||
| 4 | | Ain't No Baby | Mogg, Way | 3:57 | ||
| 5 | | Lookin' out for No. 1 | Mogg, Way | 4:34 | ||
| 6 | | Hot 'N' Ready | Mogg, Schenker | 3:15 | ||
 | 7 | | Cherry | Mogg, Way | 3:34 | |
| | 8 | | You Don't Fool Me | Mogg, Parker, Way | 3:22 | |
| 9 | | Lookin' out for No. 1 (Reprise) | Way | 1:14 | ||
| 10 | | One More for the Rodeo | Mogg, Way | 3:44 | ||
| 11 | | Born to Lose | Mogg, Schenker, Way | 3:31 |
Another live album, another source of cash flow in Saxon's never-ending mission to relive their glory days at the forefront of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Sure, it's never going to happen, but who can fault them for trying to make a living? Recorded during their European tour in support of the surprisingly strong Dogs of War disc, The Eagle Has Landed, Vol. 2 delves deeply into the band's latter-day catalog and offers excellent sound quality to boot. But only Saxon fanatics will feel the need to check out these live renditions.| 1 | | Intro/Warlord | Byford, Glockler | 2:19 | ||||||
| 2 | | Dogs of War | Byford, Glockler | 4:52 | ||||||
| 3 | | Forever Free | Byford, Oliver, Quinn | 4:48 | ||||||
| 4 | | Requiem | Saxon | 5:54 | ||||||
| 5 | | Crusader | Byford, Dawson, Gill, Oliver ... | 5:57 | ||||||
| ||||||||||
| 6 | | Lights in the Sky | Byford, Johnson, Quinn | 4:29 | ||||||
| 7 | | Iron Wheels | Byford, Glockler | 4:17 | ||||||
| 8 | | Ain't Gonna Take It | Byford, Carter, Glockler ... | 4:44 | ||||||
| ||||||||||
| 9 | | Crash Dive | Saxon | 4:21 | ||||||
| 10 | | Refugee | Saxon | 6:01 | ||||||
| 11 | | Solid Ball of Rock | Broadbent, Tchaikovsky | 5:03 | ||||||
| 12 | | Great White Buffalo | Byford, Glockler | 6:31 | ||||||
| 13 | | The Eagle Has Landed | Byford, Dawson, Oliver, Quinn | 7:37 | ||||||
| ||||||||||
| 14 | | Princess of the Night | Byford, Dawson, Gill, Oliver ... | 5:15 | ||||||
| ||||||||||
| 15 | | Can't Stop Rockin' | Byford, Quinn | 4:39 | ||||||
| 16 | | Denim and Leather | Byford, Dawson, Gill, Oliver ... | 6:18 | ||||||
| ||||||||||
| 17 | | Wheels of Steel/Demolition Alley | Saxon | 12:52 | ||||||
Classic album from this legendary Hungarian band. In order to understand and appreciate what a remarkable acheivement this work was when it was recorded in 1968 it is perhaps necassary to briefly examine the constraints and restrictions faced by aspiring pop bands behind the veil of The Iron Curtain during the 1960's.Despite the fact that Hungary was one of the first breakaway satelite countries both socially and economically under Josef Kadar's New Economic Mechanism implemented in 1966, a censorship board known as The Song Commitee had been established in order to syphen out any sensitive material which it deemed harmful to or which seeked to undermine the idealogical agenda of the state. This was a good thing and a bad thing for the bands. They could play their rock n'roll music, which in itself was considered to be symbolic of western capitalistic endeavours, but the lyrical contents were not to cross any fine lines politically. One has to bear in mind that this was the time when The Beatles were singing about a revolution, Bob Dylan was speaking his mind through the rock medium and closer to home in Western Europe bands like Amon Duul and Floh de Cologne were making political musical statements. It was the 60's man!
Omega originated as a student beat band , formed by a group of friends attending Budapest Technical College and played cover versions of songs from bands like the Beatles and Rolling Stones. In 1967 they released an album of original Hungarian language pop oriented songs which incorporated traditional Hungarian folk roots. The following year they recorded 10,000 Lepes and began to distance themselves from communist idealogies. Although technically, the album is raw sounding by contemporary western standards the influences were there. But they still clung to their folk roots in much the same way some British bands such as The Strawbs and the Irish prog band Fruup retained their folk heritage. The themes throughout the album are mostly mystical and full of legend and even if the listener is not familiar with the unique Hungarian language the music is very moody and appropriate to the individual song concepts. For example Tuzvihar ( Stormy Fire ) is a psychedelic blues based hard rock song which describes the story of a raging wildfire which ravages the country while the minor keyed symphonic Gyonghaju lany ( the Girl With The Pearls In Her Hair ) is about a beautiful girl who mysteriously appears and brings hope and solace to that dark and tormented world. Other suprises come in the form of Az 1958 as Boogie-woogie klubban ( In a Boogie- Woogie Club 1958) which is a rolicking piano piece accompanied by a catchy guitar hook that describes a good ole time in a boogie woogie club. Petroleum lampa ( Oil Lamp) is almost a pure folk song about an old oil lamp which is portrayed as a metaphor of false hope while Spanyol gitar legenda is a graceful ballad about a legend from another time in a far away place. The majestic title track 10,000 steps with it's continuous almost pompous drum beat is about an ongoing quest to march forward despite adversity and ties into other themes explored on the album. Who said Sgt. Peppers was the first concept album?
Omega evolved into the biggest rock act to emerge from Eastern Europe ever, recording in English and German touring Western Europe as well as Japan. Omega broke down barriers long before the Berlin Wall was broken down and for those who want a taste of what was going on behind The Iron Curtain rock-wise in the 1960's 10,000 Lepes is an interesting and important audio document which reveals the early Omega east meets west rock formula. Vintage Eastern European prog which rocked against the odds that takes the listener into a forbidden place in a dangerous time. Highly recomended for serious students of the prog rock genre.
| 1 | Petóleum Lampa | Adamis, Presser | 3:00 | |||
| 2 | Gyöngyhajú Lány | Adamis, Presser | 5:30 | |||
| 3 | Tüzvihar | Adamis, Molnar | 3:05 | |||
| 4 | Udvari Bolond Kenyere | Adamis, Presser | 3:35 | |||
| 5 | Kérgeskezü Favágók | Laux, Presser | 7:40 | |||
| 6 | Tékozló Fiúk | Adamis, Presser | 4:37 | |||
| 7 | Tíezer Lépés | Adamis, Presser | 6:00 | |||
| 8 | 1958-As Boogie-Woggie Klubban | Adamis, Presser | 2:05 | |||
| 9 | Spanyolgitár Legenda | Adamis, Mihaly | 3:15 | |||
| 10 | Félbeszakadt Koncert | Adamis, Kobor | 4:02 |
Anthology is an adequate double-disc retrospective of Janis Joplin's years with Big Brother & the Holding Company and her solo career, containing most of her best-known songs and a selection of forgotten gems. It's a fine set, but the single-disc Greatest Hits is better suited for casual fans, and the box set Janis serves the needs of collectors much better than this, so the 1997 reissue of this double album is a little puzzling and unnecessary, even if it is an enjoyable listen.| 1 | | Piece of My Heart | Berns, Ragovoy | 4:17 | ||
| 2 | | Summertime | Gershwin, Heyward | 4:01 | ||
| 3 | | Maybe | Barrett | 3:43 | ||
| 4 | | Try (Just a Little Bit Harder) | Ragovoy, Taylor | 4:01 | ||
| 5 | | To Love Somebody | Gibb, Gibb | 5:22 | ||
| 6 | | Kozmic Blues | Joplin | 4:22 | ||
| 7 | | Turtle Blues | Joplin | 4:25 | ||
| 8 | | Oh, Sweet Mary | Joplin | 4:19 | ||
| 9 | | Little Girl Blue | Hart, Rodgers | 3:51 | ||
| 10 | | Trust Me | Womack | 3:07 | ||
| 11 | | Move Over | Joplin | 3:43 | ||
| 12 | | Half Moon | Hall | 3:55 | ||
| 13 | | Cry Baby | Berns, Ragovoy | 4:00 | ||
| 14 | | Me and Bobby McGee | Foster, Kristofferson | 4:35 | ||
| 15 | | Mercedes Benz | Joplin, McClure | 1:49 | ||
| 16 | | Down on Me | 3:02 | |||
| 17 | | Bye Bye Baby | St.John | 3:47 | ||
| 18 | | Get It While You Can | Ragovoy, Shuman | 7:15 | ||
| 19 | | Ball and Chain | Thornton | 8:00 |
