Halloween 2018

The Ritual (2017)

Saw this on Netflix. A good cross between The Descent and The Blair Witch Project (though not shot in the found footage format). Four Englishmen take a hiking trip in the remote hills of Sweden to honor the tragic killing of a friend. When they elect to take a "shortcut" through the woods (as one of the characters warns, "if a shortcut was a shortcut, it wouldn't be called a shortcut, it would be called a route"), they stumble across a pagan cult worshiping some ancient beast as a God. For a while, it seems mostly like all the baggage is just what the friends bring with them into the forest, but there really is something out there, and you do eventually get a good look at it in the end (in a climax that had me quoting Princess Mononoke: "I'm going to show you how to kill a god"). The cinematography is breathtaking - the beautiful setting goes a long way in establishing an atmosphere that is genuinely instilled with fear. I recommend it.

Temple (2017)

Three Japan-o-philes visit the land of the rising sun. The girlfriend is doing her thesis on religious studies. The boyfriend (who is kind of a prick) is mostly along for the ride. The third wheel is actually the most interesting character, and the only one who can speak Japanese. They quickly and conveniently stumble upon clues leading them to what must be the most haunted temple in Japan. There's a potentially interesting story in there about six kids who went missing, and the monk who was found living in the temple, but that's not what this movie is about - that's just background fodder for a gimmicky ghost story. Unfortunately, the acting is a bit wooden, and the writing leaves something to be desired. The creature(s?) are creepy, but the nighttime chase is just too dark (and there are too many shots pointed down the barrel of a flashlight, as opposed to the other way around). There's a novelty (for me, at least) to occult symbolism being associated with oriental spiritualism (as opposed to Christianity or paganism), but the various story threads don't really line up into a logical framework beyond "ghosts are creepy, right?" in the end (which came sooner than I expected). I'd like to see this story told with more substance and less fluff.

The Devil's Candy (2015)

Now this movie has style - and I do love a movie with style. Its taste in music is so good (a heavy metal cross-section of Pantera, Slayer, Metallica, even Sunn O))) - not music I typically listen to, but great for setting the mood of a horror movie), even the "trailer" music on Netflix had me hopping over to Youtube for more. The setup is recurrent of The Amityville Horror - a nice family moves into a house with a dark past, and their lives subsequently take a dark turn - but with a strong serial killer flavor - starring an older-than-I-remember Pruitt Taylor Vince. The cold open is so captivating - a Lizzie Borden/Jim Morrison singing The End-type situation, where a man gets up in the middle of the night and plays power chords on his electric guitar to drown out the Satanic voice in his head - I was instantly sold.

The protagonist family - a metalhead slash painter, his wife, and their teenage (also metalhead) daughter - are attractive and likable, and the movie is largely free of dumb clichés. When the Satanic element begins to manifest itself through art - the father's painting, provided by the real-life artist who's worked on some of Sunn O)))'s album covers - it's glorious. Did I mention this movie has style? It's terrifying - albeit, in less of a supernatural way than one might hope (on that note, it's telling that the killer watches a lot of fire-and-brimstone televangelist preachers; it's not hard to imagine it fueling the delusions of an impaired mind - though the preacher thinks he's helping people, by preying on their fears, he's only magnifying the horrors in the world; it is the height of irony that he, himself, is among the worldly devils he warns about) - culminating in a harrowing climax, but damn, it's not often that I have this much fun watching a horror movie! It just goes to show how powerful a movie can be when it's not just trying to tell a story, but aspiring to be a work of art in its own right. It's no wonder the music and painting plays such a critical role. This is the kind of movie I'd be proud to display on my shelf. (Even Black Phillip makes a cameo!)

Apostle (2018)

At over two hours long, this movie is an epic journey, with a plot that strongly resembles The Wicker Man. Around the turn of the century (last century), a man is sent undercover in his ailing father's stead to infiltrate a goddess-worshiping island cult and rescue his kidnapped sister. The first half plays a bit like Colonia in a colonial village with a medieval sense of justice. But at the halfway point (and I suppose this is a bit of a spoiler), it takes a very dark turn, with some supernatural elements, as the cult begins to implode from within. Most of the horror is human-generated, however, and it gets pretty gruesome. It's a sleek production, with good writing, solid leads, and ace cinematography. It's undoubtedly a tense viewing experience, but if that doesn't bother you, it's very well done.

"The promise of the divine is but an illusion."
"God is pain... is suffering... is betrayal."

P (2005)

The granddaughter of a witch leaves the Thai countryside to seek a living in Bangkok, where she uses her supernatural talents to navigate the sex trade - and get herself into trouble, when she loses control of her powers and a bloodthirsty monster is let loose on the city. It's fascinating to see different cultures take on particular subjects - like witchcraft - to see the similarities and differences in how they're interpreted across cultures. True to Bangkok's reputation, this is as much an erotic film as it is a horror film (and I have no complaints about that). In fact, it feels like three movies in one - a gritty, country-girl-meets-city-life coming-of-age drama gives way to a flesh-eating night stalker thriller, that eventually evolves into a Thai version of The Exorcist! Plus, it deserves an award for most captivating ending credits sequence - this film really knows how to keep the audience engaged through the credits. ;-)

Haunted (2018)

This is a short series available on Netflix - I view it as a sort of modern analog to Sightings. Six stories told in bite-size, 20-30 minute episodes, with dramatic re-enactments. Obviously, you can take "the following is a true story" with a grain of salt, but since none of these stories is designed to prove or disprove the existence of paranormal phenomena (this isn't science, this is entertainment), you might as well suspend your disbelief and take them at face value - they're certainly presented that way, told by the victims and eyewitnesses themselves in first person. Most of the tales lack a satisfying conclusion, but I think that contributes to the scariness, by leaving things hanging out there. Fair warning: you might want to watch this one with the lights on.

Here's what you can expect: in the first episode, a man is h(a)unted by a vengeful ghost, in a setup reminiscent of It Follows. The second episode is the story of the kids who grew up with a devil-worshipping serial killer father. Episode three takes a few pages from the Poltergeist playbook. Episode four is the most positive episode (relatively speaking), about a medium who awakens his gift after being contacted by three kids who died in a well. The fifth episode is your requisite alien abduction episode. And in episode six, a teenage girl's deadbeat boyfriend gifts her a stolen gravestone, so she dumps him and shacks up with the demon that's attached to it. (That description's not a fair reflection of the tone of the episode, but it's not inaccurate, and I couldn't resist describing it that way).

Discussion: it's almost more fascinating trying to think up a psychological explanation for these experiences*. I mean, assuming they're not fabricated whole cloth - obviously, I don't believe in ghosts and aliens (anymore), but I believe that these people (or, if they're actors, then others like them) have had experiences that defy conventional explanation. (To quote Scully from The X-Files, I believe that they believe - doubting their explanations isn't the same thing as denying their emotional experiences). I think it will be fascinating somewhere down the line, when we have a better grasp of how the human brain functions, to explore the physiological (and/or environmental) factors** that lead to things like hearing sounds and voices, seeing apparitions, etc. Just having had an episode of sleep paralysis once in my life, I've experienced the unbelievably realistic delusions the human mind can conjure when it's not functioning correctly, and the intense feelings (especially sheer terror) that can go along with that. Take mere suggestibility as a start. I don't believe in these things - these entities - yet thinking about them is enough to cause a palpable reaction of fear (accompanied by such physiological symptoms as goosebumps) in my mind and body. To quote The X-Files again, we have yet to discover how neural networks create self-consciousness, let alone how the human brain processes two-dimensional retinal images into the three-dimensional phenomenon known as perception, yet we somehow brazenly declare that "seeing is believing".

*When some of the people in this show say things like "houses aren't haunted, people are haunted", or that spirits are "attached" to them, or when one person in a household experiences a lot of paranormal activity but others don't... this all could be interpreted as one person being "psychically open" or "empathically gifted" or some such, but it suggests to me the possibility that these could be the manifestations of an impaired mind (or an enhanced one, depending on your perspective).

**In both genetics and conditioning - as reinforced by The Devil's Candy, it always seems to be those with direct exposure to religious mythology (not always in the form of devotion - sometimes it's "inflicted" upon them by others) that interpret these experiences in such archetypal ways. To provide an example of this phenomenon, a schizophrenic who hears voices or feels presences will be more likely to interpret them as ghosts or demons if he's been taught to believe in things like pure evil and the immortal soul.

Tales of Halloween (2015)

It's fun to watch scary shows and horror movies during October, but I always like it when I get a chance to watch something that captures the true essence of Halloween - costume parties and jack o' lanterns and trick 'r treaters - on the holiday itself. Especially when I don't get a chance to get out there myself (and not being a kid anymore, that kind of depends on the whims of other families). That's one of the things I like about the early Treehouse of Horror episodes of The Simpsons. That's also part of what makes the slasher classic Halloween such a perennial favorite. So I saved Tales of Halloween for October 31st - an anthology of ten (very) loosely connected stories that occur on the night of All Hallow's Eve, very much in the vein of that other, more recent, Halloween classic, Trick 'r Treat.

I'll tell you straight up that it's not as good as Trick 'r Treat, but it wasn't a bad way to spend a Halloween night, cuddled up on the couch with a bag full of candy, after all the excitement of the day has wound down. The stories are more sequential and less interwoven than they were in Trick 'r Treat - occasionally a reference to one short will be made in another, and the trick 'r treaters who feature predominantly in one story are recycled in the others. To give you an idea of what to expect, here's a...well, short description of each of the shorts:

Sweet Tooth - An urban legend about a kid who will eat all your candy (even the pieces you've already eaten) comes to life.

The Night Billy Raised Hell - An unfortunate kid learns why it's a bad idea to egg the guy's house who never gives out candy. (spoiler: it's not because he doesn't know how to enjoy the holiday).

Trick - A group of kids decide they'd rather draw blood than receive candy from a group of adults spending the holiday under the influence (spoiler: that decision is entirely justified).

The Weak and the Wicked - A bullied kid attempts to summon a Halloween demon to exact vengeance on his (rather sadistic) bullies.

Grim Grinning Ghost - A fairly straightforward exercise in suspense, expectation, redirection, and jump scares, when a woman's car breaks down and she has to walk home after listening to ghost stories at a friend's house.

Ding Dong - A rather quirky segment, featuring some kind of demon lady who really wants children, and her soft-spoken mate, as they navigate the temptation of having children delivered right to their doorstep on Halloween.

This Means War - A short that seemed more interesting in its setup than its ultimate conclusion. Basically, a tale of one-upsmanship in the realm of decorating your house for the holiday.

Friday the 31st - An over-the-top, humorous parody of Friday the 13th, involving a costumed victim, a Jason rip-off, and, believe it or not, a UFO.

The Ransom of Rusty Rex - Two desperate would-be kidnappers get a whole lot more than they bargained for when they try to take a millionaire's trick 'r treating son hostage.

Bad Seed - a killer goes on a rampage during Halloween, but it takes the novel form of a sentient (and bloodthirsty) jack o' lantern. Kind of reminded me of Halloween III (the one without Michael Myers).

And there you have it - take it or leave it. I hope you've had a haunted holiday, and if I don't see you sooner, I imagine I'll meet you back here next Halloween!

The Pretty Reckless - Going To Hell (2014)

Vinyl cover; the CD cover is disappointingly cropped

So, apparently, actress Taylor Momsen (who seems most known for her childhood role in How The Grinch Stole Christmas, and her more recent tenure on Gossip Girl) is also a rock star. Who knew, right? I only found out a week ago when my roommate showed me the music video for her latest single, Heaven Knows. It's a raucous, rebellious tune, caught somewhere between Queen and Pink Floyd, with a schoolyard setting, religious symbolism, and themes of corrupted innocence. What's more, Taylor Momsen is apparently not shy about showing off her body. So, it was pretty much right up my alley. I drove out the very next day to pick up her band (The Pretty Reckless)'s latest album, Going To Hell.

And it's very good - with, perhaps surprisingly, a lot of the sort of tunes that get stuck in your head, despite this most emphatically not being a pop record. It's hard rock, even a little metal - but the kind that I can appreciate. Even though, as I understand, the rest of the band is made up of men, this music fits very well into my current "women who rock" phase of obsession, alongside Courtney Love, and Stonefield, and the Japanese girl group Gacharic Spin that I'm going to see live next weekend.

Highlights of the album are the single, Heaven Knows, and the title track, but also a stirring number called Sweet Things, as well as Why'd You Bring A Shotgun To The Party, which is (as I read it) a very fun and unpretentious response to the disturbing trend of school shootings that's been going around for a while now. But the rest of the album is more than just filler, with some other good songs  - like Burn - that maintain the general concept of the album as well as provide just enough balance to the heavy sound that prevails. The latter is in particular evidence on the two acoustic bonus tracks that demonstrate the solid songwriting ability of this band.

The Pretty Reckless, you have yourselves a new fan.

Did I mention Taylor Momsen is super hot?

Presence (1977)

In 1977, Led Zeppelin is not as young as they once were. At the start, they put out their first two albums in the space of one year. Now, they're in the habit of releasing an album every other year. It's inevitable that years of touring, and rock stardom, would take its toll on the members of any band, and the perspective Led Zeppelin has in 1977, as leaders of the rock world, is much different than the perspective they had in 1969 when they were new and fresh, and raring to take on the world. Nevertheless, it is a perspective that is not without value.

Presence is a very heavy record, much like the first half of Physical Graffiti. Musically, it's the band's most consistent record, but that actually works to its disadvantage here. Listening to it, for once I find myself thinking that those light breaks between the harder songs on Zep's other albums serve a necessary function. The majority of the songs on this album have a similar sound, with a similar heavy riffing approach. There seems to be less of a collaborative songwriting effort between the members of the band, and the music suffers as a result.

As a heavy album with lots of hard rock songs, I should like it as much as any of Zep's albums, but the truth is, Presence isn't as strong as many of them. On any other album, I could usually point to a heavy song and say, this song is heavy, so I like it. Here, all the songs are heavy, and while they're composed of good parts - Jimmy's playing throughout the album, for example, is excellent - they just can't all be that great. It turns out that it takes more than a rocking riff or a searing solo to raise a song to the level of masterpiece. And nowhere is that more clear than on this album, where you can listen to its mediocre tracks alongside either of the two masterpieces that do appear on this album. It's a shame that both of them clock in at within 30 seconds of the ten minute mark, which makes them very unlikely candidates for radio hit stardom.

The album begins with its piece de resistance, Achilles Last Stand, which opens with a unique fade-in (echoed by its corresponding fading outro), before breaking into a heavy, marauding, epic piece of guitar rock. This is one of Jimmy's greatest heavy rock compositions, where the dynamic elements of the rhythm are just as captivating as the dizzying solos. Fans refer to the sound on this song as a "wall of guitars", for good reason. Meanwhile, John Bonham is pounding on the drums in overdrive on this song, which I consider (though not being a drummer) one of his best recorded performances. And Robert Plant sings lyrics that make liberal references to mythology, that tend to get your creative juices flowing. It's a late strike for the band, but I consider it one of their greatest songs, and not just as a later-era song, but standing fully on par with earlier hits like Dazed and Confused or Stairway to Heaven.

For Your Life features a very stop-and-start rhythm, which you'll find is a recurring theme in the songs on Presence. It's fairly repetitive (especially coming after the meandering Achilles Last Stand), and kind of hypnotic. It's really not a bad song, but I don't think it really jumps out at you at first, for some reason. But now that I'm listening to it for like the third time on repeat, I'm discovering that it (like this album overall) kind of grows on you. Like, compared to the rest of the musical world, it may not be flashy, and it may not draw you in, but once you're in there, you really start to get comfortable. Plant's pained groaning, and of course Page's excellent guitar work in this song, sort of hits a tasty groove. I'd call it an acquired taste, but one that I'm definitely able to develop.

Musically, Royal Orleans is kind of like a more upbeat For Your Life. It doesn't sound at all out of place on this album, but it also kind of channels a D'yer Mak'er, or maybe even a The Crunge, but not in a particularly good way. The lyrics are also more humorous, describing the occasion on which a member of the band (does it even matter who?) allegedly spent a night in New Orleans and woke up next to a woman who turned out to be a man. Unlike the last song that I could get into, this song doesn't do much for me.

The songs between this album's fantastic bookends suffer largely from plain old mediocrity. They're not terrible, but they're not great, either. Nobody's Fault But Mine is the one exception, that manages to pull itself ahead of the pack. And since its runtime comes in at under 7 minutes, it's the rightful choice as the only real semi-radio hit off the album. And it's a pretty good demonstration of a late-era hit for the band, to contrast with the youthful exuberance of their earlier hits. The song itself is one of the band's last rock resurrections of an old folk/blues tune, this time a spiritual Blind Willie Johnson number. And like many before it, Zep's version is nearly unrecognizable - in the best possible way. It relies on a guitar riff that's far more exciting than any in the songs it's couched between, and it uses the stop-and-start rhythm to maximum effect here, even to the point of leaving you guessing when the song's actually going to end - almost as if the band's just enjoying the song so much, they don't want to stop playing it. Meanwhile, Plant pulls out his blues harp again, and gives one of his better performances with the instrument. You could probably condense Presence to three tracks (this and the two bookends), and you wouldn't be missing out on much.

I believe that Candy Store Rock is supposed to be an imitation (or at least a Zep-itation) of 1950s rockabilly, more or less in the style of Elvis. It's an interesting concept, Elvis being the "King" of rock, and Led Zeppelin being rock gods, but unfortunately it suffers from the same mediocrity that plagues the majority of the rest of this album. Truth be told, 1970s album-oriented rock is already the descendant of '50s rock 'n roll - and is better in my opinion - so it works better when a band like Led Zeppelin is building on their inspiration to record tunes like Communication Breakdown or, hey, even Rock and Roll, instead of going backwards and trying to recreate a more primitive form of rock music.

Hots On For Nowhere is not the worst song on Presence - I would give that accolade to Royal Orleans. It's just that, by the time you get to it, you've heard the same stop-start rhythm so many times, you're starting to get sick of it, because it all just sounds too "samey". It's not without justification that Presence doesn't get as much love as most of Led Zeppelin's other albums. Of course, it does have something of a unique atmosphere, and is worthy of a niche kind of appreciation, and I could describe it as an acquired taste. There was a time when I may have appreciated it especially for that reason. Nowadays, I can admit that Presence is a flawed record. I wouldn't rate it one of my favorites, but it's certainly not terrible. I mean, it's got a couple really good songs that are as good as anything the band has recorded, and - I still like it more than In Through The Out Door.

But before we get on to that, there is the matter of Presence's closing track - Tea For One. It's a straight-up blues piece, with a very tasteful and in-depth performance by Jimmy Page on lead guitar. Interestingly, it's one of the most original blues the band recorded, and yet it's still definitely one of their best. Which just proves that despite all the musical borrowing they engaged in, these were very talented musicians, who could still put together an excellent original tune (of course, I would argue that what they did with their cover tunes itself proves that fact). It stands out a bit on Presence (being both much bluesier and much better than the rest of the album, excepting Achilles Last Stand), but that's just as well, because it helps to raise Presence to the level of a must-listen album, even in spite of its flaws.

Physical Graffiti (1975)

Physical Graffiti is Led Zeppelin's first (and only, among their original studio albums) double album, and the last album during what I would label their classic period. The band had made a name for themselves, and their sound had matured. It was 1975, and the classic rock format was well established (although obviously not called "classic" at the time). It was still contemporary, but it wasn't new and fresh anymore, like it was at the turn of the decade. And though good rock music would continue to be made through the end of the decade, and - to a much lesser extent - into the '80s and beyond, by this time the popularity of punk and disco was on the rise.

Led Zeppelin, gods of their genre that they were, could be propped up as a prime example of the concept of the "dinosaur rock" band, bloated on excess and their own popularity, selling out huge stadiums in the mid-'70s. That Physical Graffiti is a double album could be interpreted as an expression of their ego and ambition. Of course, it could also be interpreted as evidence that this was a band that loved playing music and writing songs (well, when they weren't recording other people's songs), and wanted to share that with its fans. As I said, Physical Graffiti is Zep's last "classic" album, but I don't believe their coming decline was yet in evidence here.

This is a long one, so I'm going to jump right in. The opening track pretty much sets the stage for the album. Gone is the light and airy sound of the previous album, and in its place we have Led Zeppelin in their heavy mode, but with a sound that's even crunchier, and perhaps closer to the heavy metal style that they could be credited as being among the progenitors of, than they were on their previous albums. Custard Pie is another amalgam of old blues tunes, and though it's never gotten the recognition of some of Zep's other rocked up blues frankensteins, it's got a biting riff and I think it's really good.

But The Rover is even better. It ranks up there for me, with Since I've Been Loving You and No Quarter, as one of those several Zep tracks that never really get a lot of radio play, but that I would rate as some of the best tracks they ever recorded. SIBLY was blues, and No Quarter had an eerie atmosphere, but The Rover is straight up hard rock. And one of its most shining qualities is the kick-ass guitar riffage that Jimmy plays, that weaves through the song and supports Robert Plant's vocals. Overall the song just trucks along with a steady momentum, and the changing guitar parts give it a sense of motion, like you're actually getting somewhere, and not just repeating the same riff over and over for five and a half minutes. It's a damn fine piece of music, if you ask me.

And after the fadeout, cue the intro to In My Time of Dying, which instantly recalls the slide tradition of blues - one that this band hadn't properly addressed, until now. Soon enough the rock and roll kicks in, and the eleven minute long journey begins, as the song builds up gradually in intensity to a jamming crescendo of rock energy. In My Time of Dying is not an original composition, but an old folk/blues tune, sometimes titled Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dying Bed. If you compare it to most previous versions - Bob Dylan's on his debut album for example - Zep's is a world apart. But the missing link is a 1969 recording by an unknown band called Fear Itself, who attacked the song with psychedelic rock energy, producing an extended version with prominent fuzz guitar. I would be surprised if Led Zeppelin weren't influenced by this previous recording, but their own version is somewhat more accessible, and Jimmy's slide guitar restores that bridge to the song's roots in the blues. Regardless, it's one of those tracks, like The Doors' L.A. Woman, where you can sense that the band is in a groove in the studio, managing to totally nail the track while having a whole lot of fun in the process.

I think that Houses of the Holy (curiously not appearing on the album of the same name) is probably the most poppy song on Physical Graffiti. That having been said, it's still fairly heavy (love that riff!), which actually makes for a nice combination. Although I do often prefer the harder tracks, it's nice to have something a little more fun to break up the monotony, and you can be sure that you'll hear this one on the radio every now and again. And compared to a song like Dancing Days (which I always want to compare to this one for some reason), it's got a little more oomph to make it more interesting (in my opinion).

Trampled Under Foot (which might just as well have been called "Talkin' Bout Love") follows in the tradition of Robert Johnson's Terraplane Blues, as a song that uses automobile terminology as a metaphor for sex. And as far as songs about cars go, it could quite possibly give Deep Purple's Highway Star a run for its money. Trampled Under Foot is ultra-heavy, with a driving guitar riff that's maddeningly difficult to get down (if you've ever tried to play it on guitar), and some cool organ stuff working in the background. Truth be told, it is a little repetitive, and I wonder how it's a more popular radio track than, say, The Rover, which is the same length but more dynamic. But I guess it's got a really good groove, and I'm sure that rock fans (especially later ones who've grown up with heavy metal) are able to appreciate its almost sludgy atmosphere.

The first half of Physical Graffiti closes with Kashmir, which in some circles has been raised to the level of contender with Stairway To Heaven for the title of Led Zeppelin's greatest song. I am not in that camp, however I do like Kashmir a lot. It's got an interesting ascending riff, and the lyrics that Robert Plant sings, about searching for a magical place that seems to have become lost in a wasteland, are among his most captivating and imaginative. There is a symphonic accompaniment to the song, but it manages to complement the song's weight quite well, and avoids making it sound too orchestra-y. The overall effect is somewhat hypnotic. And where Kashmir has been credited as an example of Led Zeppelin's interest in Indian-flavored world music, the fact that it maintains such a heavy atmosphere makes it more effective than, for example, Page and Plant's subsequent attempt to channel Eastern influences in Most High (on their semi-reunion album, Walking Into Clarksdale). Kashmir is, undoubtedly, an impressive musical accomplishment, but I listen to music with my ears, not my brain, and so, while I like it, I don't usually count it as one of my favorites, and I'd just as soon put on Achilles Last Stand if I'm looking for an epic, fantasy-themed, heavy rocker.

In all honesty, I think the first half of Physical Graffiti would have made for a very strong album all on its own. The second half is a lot more experimental, and a lot less heavy, but there are still a couple more heavy tracks left, and a few others very much worth listening to, as well. In The Light is one of the stranger ones. It opens with an eerie, bagpipe-y intro, that leads into a bunch of neat synthesize-y stuff. Eventually, a rock guitar kicks in, salvaging this song from the fate of total obscurity. The result is an effective but very unique song to add to Led Zeppelin's catalog, and one of the few with more of an emphasis on the keyboard than the guitar.

If you played Bron-Yr-Aur (not to be confused with Bron-Y-Aur Stomp) out of context, you might not guess that it's a Led Zeppelin song. You don't even have any lyrics to recognize Robert Plant's voice by. But as an acoustic instrumental, it follows in the rare steps of White Summer and Black Mountain Side. It's a very short piece, barely breaking the two minute mark, but it's very beautiful, with a kind of undulating sound that recalls to my mind the babbling of a gentle brook. There's hardly enough substance to satisfy you, so it's not surprising this song never gets played on the radio or anywhere else, but it's a shame, because it really is one of the prettiest pieces in Zep's catalog.

Down By The Seaside is interesting, because it's one of those songs where I'm not quite sure how to categorize it. It continues the watery theme suggested in Bron-Yr-Aur, both in lyrics and in the watery instrumental tones in use, but has an almost country feel to it. Then, of course, in true Zeppelin fashion, the song takes a left turn and gets all fast and heavy. It's one of those tracks that I kinda like, but not really super like. The sort that offers some variety from all those hard-rocking hits, in a way that's not quite as captivating as those hits, but is at least more interesting and more effective than some of Zep's other off-the-wall experiments (I'm looking at you Led Zeppelin III, and parts of Houses of the Holy). In Survivor parlance, I wouldn't vote it off the island (this week), but I'm not gunning for it to win, either.

Ten Years Gone, however, would find itself in the final round, neck and neck with The Rover (can't we have two winners? It's a double album after all!). TYG is a gorgeous song. And so under-appreciated. When was the last time you heard it on the radio? It has a haunting quality to it that recalls Tangerine, but this piece is heavier and more substantial. If you play guitar, I implore you to learn - at the very least - the opening chords. They're every bit as beautiful as Bron-Yr-Aur, but this song is an electric ballad and not an acoustic interlude. It's beautiful and it's rock n roll! Seriously, this is how rock ballads should be done.

I find myself struggling to like Night Flight more than I do, and I wonder if this is maybe one of the songs on this album where the more substantial keyboard parts detract from the overall sound. Then again, even the guitar part has a kind of mediocre, chugging rhythm. The lyrics are interesting though, evoking an adventurous journey that may or may not involve the end of the world (or just the end of somebody's life), and may tap into the same wanderer's mentality that was in evidence on Ramble On. But even when Robert sings about a gun being shoved into his hand, the upbeat atmosphere of the song makes it feel more like an exciting fantasy (like if you were sitting in the theater watching a movie), than anything real or substantial. My head fills with images of Indiana Jones on a train... The best (and funniest) part of the song is the very end, when Robert exhales an "uh!" as if to cue the end of the song, but the song keeps going, so Robert lets out a few more insistent uhs until the song actually does end.

Appropriately titled, The Wanton Song finds us back in the mindset of the first half of Physical Graffiti, all unrelenting and heavy. Like all the other great heavy songs on this album, it's got a great riff, and a driving rhythm, with Robert shouting over all the instruments. I guess it's not all that dynamic, but I like it, and it's pretty refreshing after all these less-heavy experimental tracks, to find Zep doing what they do best - play good, hard rock.

The next two songs are, in my opinion, the low point of the entire album, as much as I hate to heap anything but praise on Zep's recorded works. Boogie With Stu features guest pianist Ian Stewart (who played with The Rolling Stones) playing a variation of Richie Valens' Ooh! My Head which might have as much in common with Little Richard's Ooh! My Soul, another variation on the theme. The song is upbeat, and more of a light-hearted in-studio jam than a serious piece of music, and, personally, the boogie-woogie piano doesn't suit my fancy. The clap-like beat also fails to impress me. I just can't get into it.

Black Country Woman seems to be a little bit more consciously composed, and is an acoustic piece with a pretty strong back beat (channeling the more effective Bron-Y-Aur Stomp), where the mandolin makes another appearance. But unlike Zeppelin's best acoustic pieces, that utilize the instrument's natural harmonies to create beautiful melodies, this sounds closer to an afterthought you might hear on an unplugged album, or something performed in a bar after the band you came to see has gone home. The lyrics tell of a man wronged by a no-good woman, but the overall, upbeat atmosphere of the piece precludes me from feeling much in the way of empathy - it seems more like an opportunity to dish dirt while drunk and lonely, but not especially depressed.

And Physical Graffiti finishes - appropriately (you could never accuse Led Zeppelin of not paying attention to song order on their albums) - with another heavy track. Sick Again is something of a critical look at the teenage groupies that would dog the band. Though Plant assures that he takes pity on their degenerate lifestyles (it's not like the members of the band weren't indulging in all kinds of despotic acts and chemical influences themselves), you'll notice that he doesn't sing about turning down their advances (quite the contrary). If anything on this album is evidence that Led Zeppelin were becoming self-important dinosaurs, it's this. Woe be to the ultra-hip, super-popular rock band that doesn't properly appreciate its teenage groupies. ;-p

Black Sabbath - 13 (2013)

13 is Black Sabbath's new album. I didn't buy it based on hype. I didn't buy it because I'm a fan of the band's output from the '70s, either. If I went out and bought every new album from every band I liked in the seventies, I'd be broker than I am now, and, quite frankly, I'd have suffered quite a few disappointments. Good or not, few classic bands can put out material that actually rivals the stuff they built their reputations on. No, I bought this album on the strength of its hit radio single alone (which, I remark with gleeful satisfaction, is a heavy track clocking in at an epic nine minutes long, during which Ozzy contemplates the death of God).

Funny thing is, I'm pretty sure I heard the single a few times on the radio without really noticing it - it's one of those songs that grows on you. Which isn't to say that it doesn't have a lot to love right off the bat. But I didn't really hear it until I was browsing an FYE store in the mall, and it came on the store's speakers, and I fell right into the groove of Tony Iommi's distorted chords and crunchy riffs. I didn't buy the album right then, no - I went home and then listened to it over the next few days on YouTube. All the while, it was sinking in, and I found myself liking it more and more. And, even if he's not entirely convinced, the fact that Ozzy sings about the death of God - a pivotal moment in the history of civilization that I believe we are currently in the process of experiencing - took it one step further and solidified my resolve to buy the new album.

And it sounds really good. It's classic Black Sabbath, with even a few homages to their heyday. For example, the opening chords in the first song, End of the Beginning, recalls the style of the title track from their first album, Black Sabbath, a theme that is echoed by the tolling bells (which open the band's first album) at the end of the last track, Dear Father - which is a scathing condemnation of the Catholic church's child abuse scandal. Hell, there's even a song (titled Zeitgeist) that conspicuously adopts the style of Planet Caravan, the unsung track from the otherwise uber-popular album Paranoid, a song that I was certain I was the only one who remembered.

The only near misstep on the album is a song that seems to criticize loners, but I'll grant that - preachy though it is - it does kind of end on a frighteningly poignant note. Still though, I'm for more and not less understanding of social reclusion. But that's an interesting point about Black Sabbath. They have this big reputation as a Satanic band - and to that interpretation's credit, the band does adopt a lot of Satanic imagery. But the reality is, they're more devil's advocate than devil. Yeah, they sing about dark stuff, rather than God and purity and all that dreck, but usually it's from the angle of: look at how bad this stuff is, it screws up your life. It's pretty ironic, when you think about it.

Take bonus track number one, for example - Black Sabbath turns its eye to a modern poison (remember Snowblind?), but rather than glorify meth addiction, Ozzy sings about how much it fucks you up. Q.E.D. You know, I was debating whether to shell out a few extra bucks for three bonus tracks (curiously released on an entirely separate CD, despite the main album's length being under 55 minutes), but I'm glad I did. The quality of the bonus tracks (including one song about being a pariah) are comparable to the rest of the album. It's a queer way to release a CD, though, but I'll chalk it up to artistic license.

Either way, if you liked Black Sabbath's classic seventies output with Ozzy at the helm, then you're going to love this album. I know I do.

Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell (1980)

Heaven And Hell marks Black Sabbath (the band that invented heavy metal)'s debut in the '80s, with their new vocalist Ronnie James Dio filling the space that Ozzy Osbourne left when he went solo. It's a new Black Sabbath for a new decade, but apart from the voice, it's not all that different.

The music is still consistently good, though perhaps with less hard-hitting epic riffs and songs as in their earlier days (the title track being one obvious exception). Though it's possible that the songs are simply less memorable or catchy somehow, because if you listen to them, they are good.

I still maintain that Dio is one of my favorite metal vocalists - he's got a distinctive voice that seems well-suited to heavy music (even if that's coming from someone who prefers metal bands to employ singers rather than screamers) - but there's something about the Black Sabbath brand that's missing without Ozzy on vocals. Even so, this is good music, and I can't imagine a more competent and fitting replacement for Ozzy. If you're concerned about the quality of Heaven And Hell as a Black Sabbath album (released a decade after their debut and without their original singer), you need not fear, this album can sit proudly beside the best of the band's earlier releases.

Iron Maiden - Edward The Great (2002)

Before I ever listened to Iron Maiden, I had them contextualized as one of those quintessential metal groups from the '80s. Being more of a rock fan, with a much greater interest in music from the '70s (as well as the '60s), I didn't think they would necessarily be my cup of tea. I don't remember now what made me decide to start listening to them (several years ago), but when I did, I found I really liked their music, which, in my opinion, has more in common with AC/DC than Metallica.

Structurally, it has a metal feel, with lots of speed, a hard driving beat, and frequently horror-themed lyrics. But it's lacking the sort of raw heaviness that, in my mind, characterizes the distinction between hard rock and heavy metal. Plus, the lead vocalist (Bruce Dickinson) opts to sing rather than scream (or worse yet, growl) the lyrics, which many rougher metal bands are guilty of doing, which usually turns me off.

It's a wonder I haven't heard more of Iron Maiden on rock radio, considering how big they were, and how contemporary rock radio stations seem to be in bed with the '80s. Edward The Great is a satisfactory greatest hits compilation, which I chose among others largely because I liked its album cover, and I wanted a collection of songs that could fit on one disc - not necessarily comprehensive, but enough to sate my infrequent appetite for good quality '80s metal.

Black Sabbath - Past Lives

I'm not really a metalhead, but there's something very satisfying about listening to heavy music. Even without getting up and thrashing about the room, it's a great way to vent your frustrations. And nothing is more certain in life than that there will always be frustrations to hound you, and impair your ability to be happy. And that's where heavy music comes in to play.

Black Sabbath is a really great band. The thing I like the most about them, I think, is the way that Tony Iommi's riffs sound. They're just so heavy, and powerful, and they hang in the air. They're really unrivaled, at least for its time. Other bands played heavy music - Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, etc. - but none of them could compare to the meatiness of a good Black Sabbath riff. And there are so many of them. Black Sabbath has a ton of great songs, the majority of which don't get the radio play they deserve.

Past Lives is a collection of live recordings from the seventies, during Black Sabbath's initial (and classic) stint from 1970 to 1978, with Ozzy Osbourne at the helm. The liner notes are a little bit ambiguous, but with the help of Wikipedia, I've managed to determine that this double disc album consists of three general periods.

The entire first disc is compiled from two shows in England in 1973. This would be about the adolescent period for Sabbath - their best/most legendary material (everything on their first four albums, including, of course, Paranoid) has been released, but it's still relatively fresh, and the band is still young. Of the nine tracks included, three are from Vol. 4, two from the band's third album Master of Reality, one from the upcoming Sabbath Bloody Sabbath album (Killing Yourself To Live, which is a great track), two from Paranoid - including the title track as well as War Pigs, which is very interesting to hear them do live - and one from their self-titled debut album. That last track, Wicked World (a song with some especially great riffs, by the way), is stretched out to an almost twenty minute long jam, with shades of Into The Void, and Supernaut thrown in the middle, which appropriately recalls the style of the band's first album, which contains a lot of instrumental noodling, and tossing of various songs together into single tracks (the album has five tracks, but at least ten songs or musical pieces).

The first part of the second disc of this live compendium is a show from 1975. Apart from including another great track from Paranoid (Hand of Doom), it takes advantage of its later status by including three tracks from the band's latest album at that time - Sabotage. Megalomania is a great song. The rest of the second disc is an early show from 1970, demonstrating the band in a much younger state. You get to hear three tracks from their debut album - of which, I'm particularly interested in Black Sabbath, the song that named the band, since I like it so much. In addition to that, you get two tracks from Paranoid - Iron Man, and the album closer, Fairies Wear Boots.

There is a lot of noise about Black Sabbath being a great live band, and it's true, they sound great on these live tracks. I'm sure the effect is even better in person, as it usually is. I think that, on the other hand, Black Sabbath is a band that also benefits from the clean production of the studio, where their riffs can make a full impact with minimal distraction from unwanted elements. Plus, Ozzy does sound better in the studio, I have to be honest. So some of these songs, like War Pigs, for example - while they sound great live, I still think I prefer their studio counterparts. But it is interesting, after all, to hear the band do these songs live - especially for me, as a performing musician, to see how they accomplish certain things on stage that aren't as easy to pull off without all that studio magic.

Music for Halloween

In the rock world, people like to call October "Rocktober". It's a fun play on words, but, as much as I love rock music, I figure, I listen to it all year round. There's nothing, in my opinion, characteristic about October, of all the months of the year, that makes it particularly suited to listening to rock music. On the other hand, October is the Halloween month (I like to call it "Shocktober"), which is the perfect excuse to pull out some scary music to set the mood. I don't have a whole lot of music specifically reserved for listening to around Halloween (although I do have a lot that fits the bill), but there are a couple things I like to pull out every year, and that I think perfectly match the atmosphere of the holiday.

Tangerine Dream is known for their synthy atmospheric music, as well as their long line of soundtrack albums. In all honesty, I haven't heard a whole lot of their work (though I love their soundtrack to the film Legend so much that I think it makes the film), but I picked up their first few albums on a tip a few years back and I think those albums are just great. The music is very spacey, with a bit of a sinister flavor - listening to it kind of makes you feel like you're lost in space, you don't know how to get home, and you don't know what might be floating out there in that endless expanse that surrounds and engulfs you. It's a perfect mood setter to put on in the background while you're doing other Halloweeny stuff, or for listening to in the dark, if you have some time to kill. I recommend Nebulous Dawn, a collection of the band's first four albums (Electronic Meditation, Alpha Centauri, Zeit, and Atem, plus a few early singles) from the early '70s, which gives you a good 3+ hours of audio atmosphere without repetition.

If you're looking to go a bit harder, and tap into the violence of the holiday, I can't recommend Monolithe II enough. It's loud, crashing, metal music, but it's slow and plodding, not fast and frenzied like a lot of metal is. I don't have a doctorate in metal, but I've heard it being described as a "funeral doom" style. Even though my primary interest isn't in metal music, I love this disc - which consists of a single 50-minute long tour de force. Even the vocals, done in the growling style that I usually can't stand, fit in perfectly. If you want to set a more evil mood - evoking mental images of demons and devils and the walking undead - rather than the subtler atmosphere of Tangerine Dream, and if you want more volume and more power, give Monolithe II a try. Personally, I'll play TD up until Halloween to set the mood, then I'll blast Monolithe on the day of to really get into the holiday.

Music Haul (2008)

Note: This collection of reviews was originally posted on Bridge To Better Days. I am reposting it here for archival purposes. It has been backdated to the date of its original posting.

Deep Purple - Burn (1974)

I picked up Machine Head years ago when I was first starting my classic rock collection, because it's one of the pinnacle albums in classic rock history (four words: smoke on the water). Since then, I've picked up Made in Japan for the live angle, and The Very Best Of for a smattering of the non-Machine Head hits. Even so, I've been wanting to dig into some more actual Purple albums for awhile - and now I have.

Burn is the debut of Mk III of the band, featuring David Coverdale on vocals in place of Ian Gillan. Ritchie Blackmore is still on guitar and Jon Lord is still on the keyboards (and Ian Paice is still on the drums). The new bassist Glenn Hughes also serves as secondary vocalist, creating a pretty cool "two singers" effect on some of the songs. The standout tracks are the title track, Burn, which is every bit as good as the straight-up rocker that opens Machine Head (Highway Star), and Mistreated, a slow (for Deep Purple) bluesy number. Also, the track "A" 200 is an interesting synth piece, with an awesome guitar solo thrown in for the hell of it, and the bonus track Coronarias Redig, is an exciting jam. Altogether, I am really enjoying this album.

Dio - Metal Hits (1983-1994)

I think I remember being rather intimidated by Ronnie James Dio at one point - him being this "heavy metal" singer with scary-looking album covers. Somewhere along the way, I learned that he started out in a less-metal-and-more-rock band called Elf - named after Dio's short stature. So much for the intimidation factor. Well, I picked up the Elf albums, which are pretty good, and over time, Dio's voice has really grown on me. And I think it's a great voice for "metal".

I'd say Dio's material is, in a sense, comparable to Ozzy's solo career. Seeing as they're both classic well-known vocalists in the metal arena, and they both started out playing in popular bands before really making a name for themselves (in addition to the little-known Elf, Dio also made a splash in the band Rainbow which Ritchie Blackmore formed after leaving Deep Purple mid-'70s, and also sang for Black Sabbath around the turn of the '80s). And while I really liked Ozzy's voice in the original Black Sabbath, I think I'd have to say that Dio has the better metal voice.

As for the Metal Hits compilation, it's great to have Rainbow in the Dark and Holy Diver on CD, and I suspect I'll get to like the other tracks as I get to know them better, over time.

Roy Buchanan - You're Not Alone (1978)

You probably know that I'm a huge Roy Buchanan fan, even though I don't yet own very much of his material. Even so, I was uncertain of how good this album would turn out to be. From what I've read, Roy played around in a lot of places with a lot of bands before ever getting "noticed" (to the extent that he actually was noticed), and so he had been around before he ever started recording early in the '70s. Additionally, Buchanan seems to me to be the type that's more concerned with playing the guitar than writing songs. Which is actually one of the reasons I like him so much. But because of this, I've read that the people in the biz who wanted to get Roy some visibility had to resort to various musical stunts in the studio, without really knowing how to tap into Roy's style - which is self-evident on the live albums on which he appears.

So anyway, I wasn't sure what kind of experiment You're Not Alone would be, or how successful it would be, and frankly, knowing Roy's unique and versatile playing style, I wasn't quite sure what kind of an album it would be. On the other hand, that also made the experience of listening to it for the first time more exciting. And it was exciting. Turns out the album is almost completely instrumental - which earns an automatic thumbs up from me. Roy's never been much of a singer (something I can sympathize with), although when he does sing, his vocal delivery, though plain by vocalist standards, in my opinion, fits the kind of songs he sings perfectly - that is, slow, depressing blues. He doesn't belt out the emotion like a lot of great blues singers have been known to do, but when he sings, you can hear the depression in his voice, and it's just as effective.

Anyway, the album is awesome. It's like an instrumental soundscape, shaped by Roy's playing, with more atmospheric pieces and also some pretty good rockin' shuffles (including an awesome take on Joe Walsh's Turn To Stone). And the cover of Down By The River, here in studio version, is very good. It's similar but not the same as the live version I have - another thing about Roy that's great, he has a tendency to play the same song very differently at different times (take Roy's Bluz, where the two live versions I have are almost completely different songs). I'm very impressed with this album and my appreciation for Roy Buchanan has just jumped up another notch.

Harvey Mandel - Baby Batter (1971)

Speaking of instrumental albums, Baby Batter is also amazing. I've heard that Harvey Mandel has done some pretty experimental things, and in the opening track on Baby Batter, where a baby speaks the titular phrase (the only vocal utterance on the entire record), I was a little scared of how weird things were gonna get. But, rest assured, this album is pure Harvey Mandel as "The Snake" we've known from his previous albums. Fluid, slithering guitar lines over a groovy, at times almost jazzy, musical background.

With Harvey Mandel's stuff, songs don't really stand out from the overall musical experience, but it's an experience I really enjoy. The guitar work is tasty, and it's the kind of music that I can put on and just absorb as I do other things, and it makes me feel better, because it's like damn, great music like this actually exists? It doesn't impose itself, but it's more than happy to show-off if you choose to give it that attention. I just have to say, Harvey Mandel is amazing, and he too has jumped up another notch on my appreciation belt.

Joe Bonamassa - Live From Nowhere In Particular (2008)

This is a different sort of live album from 2001's A New Day Yesterday Live. Joe's come a long way in these short years, and he's managed to garner a pretty solid and totally loyal fanbase. And he deserves it. While this live album might not have as much raw energy as the earlier one, it's still a great album and features its own charms.

It seems that, since ditching Joe's original backing band - of the power trio variety - he's been more focused on the songwriting aspect than the rock band aspect. Although, to say that he doesn't still rock out would be completely wrong. But the kind of soundscapes he's crafting like on India/Mountain Time show a different sort of focus than hard blues rock - though no less impressive. Even Sloe Gin, an amazing song, and likely Joe's new showcase song, to replace A New Day Yesterday, is a different kind of bluesy rocker, with a bit more introversion and crying compared to Yesterday's extroverted screaming (of sorts).

If Heartaches Were Nickels, an emotional electric blues, was another of my favorite tracks on the earlier live album, and here, it makes a surprisingly acoustic appearance. Knowing my proclivity for electric music, I don't like it as much as the earlier version, but it is still quite interesting to hear the difference. The track that opens the live album, Bridge to Better Days, works as a great opener, though I think I like Takin' The Hit better as an opener (a la the Rockpalast DVD), after all. The Django/Just Got Paid jam alternates between the soundscape and hard rock approaches, finishing with the instrumental Dazed and Confused solo jam just like I heard Joe play the last time I saw him live - great to get this on a live album to listen to for years to come!

Coming to A New Day Yesterday, the track that closes the album - it's quite a bit different from the earlier version. You almost feel like Joe's only playing it because it's one the fans like to hear. It's still a fantastic song, but it doesn't have the raw energy it used to - and the Yes jam at the end of it has been extended since the short riffs Joe played at Rockpalast. You definitely get the feeling from this album that Joe is stretching out and really expanding his playing repertoire, not content to exist within the confining walls of "the blues". Although this isn't surprising, as Joe has from the beginning had a liberal approach to what the blues is and what the blues could be, but here you can really hear him exploring some alternate realms. It's very exciting, and I look forward to hearing what Joe's got in store for us in the future. I just hope he doesn't venture so far that he forgets that hard rocking edge that made me a fan of his in the first place.

Bonus:
Gary Moore & The Midnight Blues Band - Live At Montreux [DVD] (1990)