Poison were the pure definition of hair metal. It was a kinder, gentler shift away from the grimy 70s and 80s of Ozzy and Lemmy. There was never enough hair spray, makeup, lipstick or pouting. ‘Look what the cat dragged in’ was at the head of the glam food chain, an album right in the hedonistic sweet spot of the mid 80s. Continue reading Poison ‘Look what the cat dragged in’
Rio is a perfect mix of style and substance, pretty boys who came to play in an era of one hit wonders. This isn’t heartthrob pop with no guts; it’s a driving mix of rock, synths and danceable tracks backed by a band at the peak of its creative powers. Continue reading Duran Duran ‘Rio’
‘Blackstar’ is a masterpiece, I’m just going straight there. On this his 25thand final album there are seven songs of utter beauty. It’s nighttime listening, reflective in nature, powerful in delivery. Continue reading David Bowie ‘Blackstar’
The Prince of Darkness is still around. Brian Warner has matured and isn’t in his late 90’s heyday but can still tap in to the army of the dispossessed. The need to look for a bogeyman is gone, you want a freak show, just turn on the news. ‘We are Chaos’ is Marilyn’s best album in years. Released last week it runs the full length of his controversial career. Continue reading Marilyn Manson ‘We are Chaos’
The fertile musical ground that is the 90’s. An era filled with guitar driven bands that released huge records and filled stadiums with its buyers. Faith No More had already been around in various forms for ten years before this record became a behemoth. In the early days in a search for a new lead singer even Courtney Love got an audition.
Don’t we love a big hook, songs that are so catchy they transcend the artist. The first few seconds of ‘Right here right now” take you back to a place in time and when the hook kicks you’re back there living it. Norman Cook, aka ‘Fatboy Slim’ has the knack for operating inside the big beat but can wander outside it with reggae, hip-hop and pop. Continue reading Fatboy Slim ‘You’ve come a long way baby’
I always thought the Beastie Boys were New York frat boys with way too much energy, a musical mish mash of rap and distorted guitars, they never quite fitted in to any style or created a wave of influence as so many artists in the 90’s seemed to do but apparently that’s just the way they liked it. Continue reading Beastie Boys ‘Ill Communication’
By the early 90’s the musical landscape had changed, the machismo dripping hair metal of the 80’s were a distant memory, ‘grunge’ had exploded, in 91 Nirvana released ‘Nevermind’ and the record companies were drooling for the next big thing. Siamese Dream was the second album for Smashing Pumpkins and Virgin Records expected a monster seller, the problem was the Pumpkins were a band in turmoil. Continue reading Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream
Amongst the vast collection of Kiss albums this one is quickly forgotten, especially by the critics and even a few die-hard fans. Released in 1980 the band had started to decline, the make-up act was wearing thin and it quickly fell out of the US charts. Drummer Peter Criss didn’t play on this record and would soon quit the band. Continue reading Kiss ‘Unmasked’
Nirvana’s Nevermind album may have brought ‘grunge’ to the masses, much to the disdain of Cobain but Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger had an advantage over their Seattle brothers, it’s the dirtiness of this album, its something Nevermind never had, yes it was a classic, but too polished, this album challenges you. Continue reading Soundgarden ‘Badmotorfinger’