Seconds Please

Recently...okay recently was in March when I started writing this post, but anyway, I still need the set-up to give it some context. In March, we went on a family vacation to a warmer climate, which was great. I generally use vacations as an opportunity to splurge on Q Magazine at the airport, which is an "import" and about $13 an issue, so it's not a regular purchase. Though now I have a subscription thanks to my in-laws, sweet! But March was no different. I wanted the one with the Noel Gallagher cover story, but we're a month behind Britain in receiving these so I got the one with AC/DC on it. Inside, there was a 20 page special on The Stone Roses' 2nd album "Second Coming" (not one of my faves, as you will see below, but still has some great songs). While I was reading this article, I was listening to Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds great second album "Chasing Yesterday" (see last post). This got me thinking of my favourite 2nd albums, so here we are.

The 2nd album these days really is make or break for most bands. The general record buying (or downloading) public have relatively short attention spans and it's difficult for bands to build a career like it was back in the day. One of the best feelings is finding a great debut album by a new artist and becoming really immersed in it...but then one of the worst feelings is when that artist stumbles on their 2nd album. It really kills a lot of momentum and you kind of feel bad for them. Case in point for me was the 2nd effort by Candlebox. I really enjoyed and still enjoy their self-titled debut so I was excited when I heard their 2nd album was dropping in October 1995. "Lucy" came out and the first single Simple Lessons was decent, but the album ultimately didn't deliver. It's half-good but a lot of the songs don't go anywhere. They fell into the trap. Their third album "Happy Pills" course corrected appropriately but the momentum built from their debut was gone. I should note that Candlebox are still together and playing shows / releasing music. Nice. 

Here is my list then, in no particular order. Additionally, I am leaving out "What's The Story Morning Glory?" as it my favourite album of all time, so I guess by default it is my favourite 2nd album ever as well. I promise there will be a post where I don't mention Oasis. But this isn't that post.

I also have likely 100% forgotten some so I may have to do an addendum piece at a later date.

The Clash "Give 'Em Enough Rope" (1978)

Technically, in the US this was their first album but it's their 2nd studio release so it qualifies. I got into The Clash kind of late in life. I think I bought "London Calling" in 1999 or 2000 and then subsequently purchased their entire discography. Now, I'm working on getting it on vinyl. "Give 'Em Enough Rope" starts off with the explosive Safe European Home, definitely in my top 5 Clash tunes ever then segues into one-two punch of English Civil War and Tommy Gun. Overall, it's a solid effort that sets the table well for "London Calling".

Smashing Pumpkins "Siamese Dream" (1993)

This was the first Pumpkins record I bought on the strength of hearing Today (or maybe Disarm because I don't think I have ever been that cutting edge) on the radio. When I was getting back into music and discovering newer artists I just assumed their latest record was their first. Like I was the Christopher Columbus of this band's life! So I was pleasantly surprised when I heard SP had a first album called "Gish". Also a great record. But "Siamese Dream" is an epic one, filled with angst, guitar feedback, classic rock riffs and ferocious drumming. Seriously, Jimmy Chamberlain is a complete beast and incidentally has re-joined the band for their summer tour (maybe permanently, it's hard to keep up). The singles on this one are killer, but the deep cuts also resonate strongly with me, specifically, Hummer, Silverfuck and Mayonaise. Also, killer B-sides during this era, captured nicely on the 1994 collection "Pisces Iscariot".

Weezer "Pinkerton" (1996)

This is a noisy, raw, somewhat abrasive record after their first fairly polished effort. But underneath the rawness the songs are there and it came into my life at the right time; 2nd year of University, girl problems, etc. The way Rivers wrote lyrics on this album is sort of the way I used to write short stories. Maybe a little bit too emotional, but as I said earlier, "Pinkerton" was the right record for me when it came out. The reissue that dropped in 2011 or 2012 (I'm too lazy to look it up) is packed with great B-sides that indicated Rivers Cuomo was a song writing beast during this era. I still listen to this one often.

Radiohead "The Bends" (1995)

I knew Creep, sure, but this was my first Radiohead album, given to me by my cousin Kyle in the summer of 1995 (along with Dave Matthews Band's "Under the Table and Dreaming"). I am not sure how I remember this stuff! Anyway, I only knew Fake Plastic Trees and that is likely all I listened to on this one at first, but sometime during the first month of university, I let the whole record play and was blown away. Planet Telex, The Bends, High & Dry, Just, Sulk, Black Star, and the penultimate closing track, Street Spirit (Fade Out). It kind of flip flops for me what album I like better by Radiohead, "Ok Computer" or this one, but this was the gateway into their world for me. There are not a lot of better guitar albums overall that I've ever heard. Additionally, great B-sides during this era. As you can tell, I like B-sides, I may need to do a post on this sometime.

The Black Crowes "The Southern Musical Companion" (1992)

I want to say that this was my first Black Crowes album and then I went back and bought "Shake Your Money Maker". This album is filled with dual guitar goodness from Rich Robinson and Marc Ford on every song. The opener Sting Me sets you up and Remedy knocks you down. A couple of slow ones in Thorn In My Pride and Bad Luck, Blue Eyes Goodbye and then the fury of Sometimes Salvation and Hotel Illness. I know I'm not ranking these albums but this one is definitely in my top 3 of best second albums ever. Never get tired of listening to it.

Counting Crows "Recovering The Satellites" (1996)

A difficult album from the emotional place that lead singer Adam Duritz was in during the recording process, this is also the one where the band "plugged in". No doubt "August And Everything After" is a mellow classic. T Bone Burnett brings out the best roots flourishes in all artists he produces but this release completely fits where Duritz was at. You know, dating and breaking up with the females in the "Friends" cast and that sort of stuff. Produced by Gil Norton of the Pixies' "Doolittle" fame, this album is noisy and abrasive in places but it works. It showed the band could do mellow and rocking equally well. Loved the first single Angels of the Silences and I still do. This one definitely needs a vinyl re-press stat.

Stone Temple Pilots "Purple" (1994)

Still love this record. I do like "Core" quite a bit but "Purple" is my fave STP record a) because the songs are there and b) because of the memories attached to it. I just remember me and my friends driving around with this album blaring throughout the summer of 1994. In terms of the music, this is a step forward for STP in terms of sound; it still has the grunge flourishes that defined "Core" but also has some nice acoustic sounds (Pretty Penny) and trippier bits (Lounge Fly). Plus, you can't go wrong with Interstate Love Song as a summer anthem. Or really as an anthem, period, end of sentence.

Liz Phair "Whip-Smart" (1994)

My friend Simon got me into Liz Phair and I believe this was the first album I picked up by her. And I think I got it for Christmas in 1994 so likely my parents got it for me. Nice, I guarantee you they went into the now defunct CD Warehouse in Burlington with a list and made someone get it for them. It's I guess what they call "lo-fi" but the song writing is there and Supernova should have been a bigger song than it was. She had to wait until hooking up with Avril Lavigne's producers to get her big hit in 2003 (or 2004), but by that point, I had unfortunately moved on.  

The Gaslight Anthem "The '59 Sound" (2008)

I got into Gaslight Anthem in 2009. Not sure if I read about them or if Springsteen mentioned something about them being from New Jersey...but I picked up "The '59 Sound" without hearing any of their songs and promptly played it right through. And then right through again. So many great songs and it's a pretty big leap from their first album "Sink Or Swim" (also good just very raw). These songs remind me of Springsteen but lyricist / singer / guitarist Brian Fallon has his own way with words that pulled me in. He name drops Springsteen, Counting Crows' Round Here and also Tom Petty and you really can't go wrong with any of that.

Pearl Jam "Vs" (1993)

True story, I really disliked Pearl Jam during the "Ten" era. I don't know why, it might be because they were making Bon Jovi less relevant, it might be because I was rebelling for no apparent reason, it might be because I didn't like (and still don't like) the song Jeremy. Who knows? I bought my friend Hutch "Vs" the first week it came out for his birthday. Because I was and still am obsessed with music, I decided to open it up and give it a spin before giving it to him. Not sure how I would have got the shrink wrap back on but anyway. From the opening notes of Go something changed in me and I let Pearl Jam into my world. I played that album likely 2 or 3 times in a row and then the next day, I went and bought another copy for Hutch. There will be a post on Pearl Jam one day...

Third Eye Blind "Blue" (1999)

I mean, I really like Third Eye Blind, I wrote about them in the post "Don't Call It A Comeback" and I went to see them live last summer, so I won't go into a lot of detail here. There are many great guitar jams on this record fused with catchy tunes and the closer Darwin doesn't get nearly enough props in my book.

Foo Fighters "The Color And The Shape" (1997)

Everlong, My Hero, Monkey Wrench, Hey, Johnny Park!, all of these songs are massive. The record itself, for all the turmoil surrounding it (Dave Grohl fires drummer and re-cuts all the drum parts himself) is really solid. There are some nice quiet songs on this one too, plus in this era they cut the memorable cover Down In The Park for the X-Files show or movie soundtrack. It's included in the 10th year anniversary edition of this album and is a great song. I think maybe their next album "There Is Nothing Left To Lose" is my favourite, but this one is up there.

Garbage "Version 2.0" (1998)

I just saw Garbage a few weeks ago, when they performed their first album and its associated B-sides in their entirety. Garbage can still bring it. Their performance was inspired and they ended the night with Push It from this album. Everyone went nuts. The first 8 songs on "Version 2.0" are really amazing, and although I'm not a huge fan of 3 of the last 4 songs, the closer You Look So Fine is one of the best songs in their catalog. I think I listened to this one quite often in the summer of '98. That should totally be a song, Bryan Adams needs to get on it! Also, wait for it (the sound of a broken record), great B-sides from this era also.

Travis "The Man Who" (1999)

Lots of people like to say that Travis is the "poor man's Coldplay", even though Coldplay came out after them. So maybe no one says that they are this. But on this album they do out-Coldplay Coldplay. After their rough-edged first album, it appears Fran Healy listened to Wonderwall and got inspired, turning out some great, textured rock tunes, such as Writing To Reach You, Turn, As You Are, Driftwood, etc. I'm not partial to Why Does It Always Rain On Me? but I can see why people enjoy it. After this one, I really enjoyed Sing from "The Invisible Band" but their later albums left me a little cold until they made a nice comeback last year with "Where You Stand", which took a lot of style notes from "The Man Who".

I Mother Earth "Scenery & Fish" (1996) & The Watchmen "In The Trees" (1994)

Man, I almost forgot both of these! I wrote about both of them in previous posts but they need to be included on the list because they are sooooo good. Incidentally, the Watchmen released a 20th anniversary edition version of "In The Trees" I believe last year, filled with demos, live and acoustic tracks and it is great. And I just read IME is putting out a new single November 6th. Nice.

Okay, I will stop for now, as this is a pretty decent list.

Until next time (I promise I won't be as long between posts, hopefully)...

Is it 1995 ... or 2015?

It has been way too long since I last posted. Apologies, but I like to get it right and tell a bit of a story. So let's get it going...

This may be the year 2015, but it's sort of like 1995 with new music from Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller and Blur arriving in the first half of the year. Noel announced his album "Chasing Yesterday" in October 2014 and it dropped on March 3rd, making for a rather painful 4 month wait. We had the first single, In The Heat Of Moment (great chorus) and the excellent b-side Do The Damage to tide us over. But still a 4 month wait to hear the full album seemed kind of long and somewhat mean. At least The Ballad Of The Mighty I also became available in early January. Tremendous song, with a guitar assist from Johnny Marr at the end.

Was the album worth the wait? Yes. We know that Oasis is my favourite band and Noel Gallagher is way up there in terms of my favourite artists. But the music still has to deliver. "Chasing Yesterday" opens with Riverman. The strummed guitar intro sounds a bit like Wonderwall, but the comparisons end for me there. The song has a mellow vibe but after the first verse / chorus, there is a very tasty guitar solo. As much as I like the first High Flying Birds album, I felt it did lack guitar solos, which Noel does excel at. This record makes up for that pretty much in the first song! Then a sax kicks in and it actually fits. The sax is not my fave instrument but it has it's place when done well. It's understated and adds to the breeziness of the song.

In The Heat Of The Moment is the second song and it's okay. Not my favourite song but not the worst either. Good chorus as I said earlier but, I, like most people apparently, could do without the "na na nas" that lead it off. In a live setting, he rectifies this, using horns and guitars to fill the space. It makes the song better, so I'm really hoping for a live DVD of this tour. The Girl With X Ray Eyes is third and this song is good, mellow, sort of like a David Bowie Space Oddity jam. Lock All The Doors is next and it's like a lost Oasis cut. Liam could probably destroy this back in the day but Noel does it more than justice. Just a straight up rocker, something else that was definitely missing on the first High Flying Birds record.

Dying Of The Light ends the first half of the record and it's a solid power ballad. Despite the presence of a credibility-defying lyric about Noel or the character he's singing about "not being able to afford the bus fare", this song really works for me. It's understated and live it just soars. The Right Stuff is next and this is a mind-blowing song if you are an Oasis fan. Saxes, guitars, bass lines, this proves to me that Noel just has solid song writing chops and can make most genres work for him, because he knows the right way around a tune.

The Song Remains The Same is next and this one is mellow but off-kilter enough to be interesting, the guitar solo is nice and it flows nicely into The Mexican, which, again judging from internet rumble, no one really likes. The lyrics are not great but the song is. It's funky, has cowbells and nice guitar flourishes. I just tune out the lyrics and let the music take me away on this one. You Know We Can't Go Back is another lost Oasis-type jam and it rocks nicely. The Ballad Of The Mighty I is tremendous as I said before and it gets better with every listen. Noel brings it vocally on this track. The deluxe edition boasts Do The Damage, Revolution Song (okay) and my fave, Freaky Teeth. This one was performed live on the first High Flying Birds tour and it is a keeper. Really solid rocker that I'm glad got the studio version it deserved.

I'm really hoping we don't have to wait another 4 years for the next follow-up...but given Noel's history and pedigree, I'm sure it will be worth whatever wait we're in for.

I was fortunate enough to see Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds at the Sony Center in Toronto on May 4th. I was also fortunate enough to score 2nd row seats. He played a great set which consisted mostly of High Flying Birds tunes but also some Oasis cuts...including a somewhat acoustic Champagne Supernova and an encore starting The Masterplan. I'm sorry but are you kidding me? A B-Side aired as the first song in the encore in North America. Yes, please. My preference is to hear his solo songs as they are great live but the 5 Oasis songs aired (with the exception of Digsy's Dinner) are choice cuts that aren't Wonderwall. If and when Oasis ever get back together I will be primed to hear all the hits but Noel's solo songs stand on their own and if you are going to attend one of his shows, please do yourself a favour and pick up the 2 High Flying Birds records. To me, Noel Gallagher is the Pete Townsend or equivalent of my generation. Can I even say Paul McCartney? If you don't agree, fine, but seriously, who has been more consistent in the past 20 years at writing great tunes?

Oh wait, I can answer that by talking about Paul Weller. I am a late arriving Weller fan. When I went to V Fest in Toronto in 2008, I went to see Oasis, but also was lucky to see Stereophonics and then Weller in support. All I knew about Paul Weller prior to September 2008 was A Town Called Malice by The Jam and the fact that he played guitar on Champagne Supernova and that he was friends with Noel Gallagher. But, I was pretty engaged in his set overall, enough for me to go out and get his Jam/Style Council/Solo greatest hits album "Hit Parade" and then picking up his at the time latest "22 Dreams". The highlights of his live set were From The Floorboards Up, Eton Rifles, The Changingman, Town Called Malice and when he said he was going to play a B-Side (I don't remember which one, but I just liked the sentiment). That is gold in this day and age.

"22 Dreams" is a concept record I think, but the common theme is that the songs are just great. "Wake Up The Nation" (holy shit, I almost wrote "Waking Up The Neighbours", which of course is the Bryan Adams record from the early '90's with the Robin Hood song on it plus many other amazing guilty pleasures) followed and then "Sonik Kicks". The common thread between all these albums is that Paul Weller was not afraid to experiment, yet keep his strong sense of melody and song craft intact. When I picked up "More Modern Classics" (his 2nd solo greatest hits, after "Modern Classics"), I was surprised about how coherently it all flowed together. But maybe I shouldn't have been. The dude is the modfather and Noel Gallagher is his friend. I was late to this party but I'm glad I caught up.

He released another solo effort in May 2015 called "Saturns Pattern". It is solid. Internet chatter suggests that it isn't as experimental as other efforts but it still works for me. The first 3 songs are classic and the tunefulness is there. Long live the modfather. All in all, the 9 tracks hang together and I'm still spinning this one a few months later.

Which brings me to Blur. When Blur announced in late February that they had recorded a new album, "The Magic Whip" and that it would be out in late April, I was pretty excited, mostly because they were only making me wait 2 months. Blur were/are one of my favourite bands and this would be their first record as Blur since "Think Tank" in 2003 (there were a few songs released in 2010, which were good, a bit of a tease, but never a full record). It would also be their first record with guitarist Grahan Coxon since "13" in 1999. The lead single/song Go Out is a feedback-squalled gem and then they kept releasing other songs from the record, like Lonesome Street and There Are Too Many Of Us, until half of it was available prior to the album actually coming out. I'm fine with this practice. All of them sounded great, but none as sublime as Ong Ong. This song is one of my favourites, if not my favourite of the year so far. Also, great video.

But then there is My Terracotta Heart, which is on par with their greatest I won't say ballads but slower tunes. For an album that was basically discarded and that Graham Coxon had to salvage and piece together for Damon Albarn to write words to, the songs are top notch.

Like Noel Gallagher, Damon Albarn is one of my all time favourite artists. Most of what he touches is gold - Blur, Gorillaz, The Good The Bad & The Queen, weird opera stuff. I have a lot of time for him but Blur will always be the band of his I constantly go back to. The song Beetlebum is likely in my top 5 ever, I never get tired of that song. Come to think of it, 1997 was a pretty great year for music - The Verve's "Urban Hymns", Blur's self-titled record, Oasis' "Be Here Now", Radiohead's "OK Computer", Third Eye Blind's self-titled record, even U2's somewhat misguided "Pop" (really not as bad as you thought). I was going to write a blog piece on U2's "Pop" and it was going to be my first official post but the AV Club beat me to it (here). Nice one AV Club and nice one 1997, thanks for the music.

You often see bands / artists falter and struggle in their later years (see my last Bon Jovi post, who actually have a new album coming out in 1 month, and I'm trying to be nonchalant about it but I'll definitely check it out and am kind of excited even though it will probably not be good), so it's refreshing to see these old school artists still churning out not only respectable music but arguably some of the best music they've ever released.

I promise not to be as long between posts next time! I've got the next few written in my head, just need to get them on the screen so to speak.

Until next time...

The Bon Jovi Saga Vol. 2 - When Sky High Anticipation Results in Gut Wrenching Disappointment

Case Study #2: Every Bon Jovi Album After "These Days"*
* with the exception of 2

So picking up where I left off about a month ago (you should read the Bon Jovi Saga Vol. 1 first, I am not technically inclined to know how to link the post in this post but it's on the site), when I put on "Crush" at 1am the night I got it, It's My Life was the first track, so this was a good start. Then it got a little weird and maybe I should have read the writing on the wall with Real Life.

"Crush" (2000)

"Crush" has some good songs but also some truly bad ones. The good songs are quite good, It's My Life, Just Older, Next 100 Years, Two Story Town. The bad ones are wretched, in particular Thank You For Loving Me. I know people like this song and some play it at their weddings but to me it's awful, just awful. I used to love Save The World, solid power ballads are my bread and butter, but I tried listening to this a little while ago and it is just mega cheesy and the guitar solo is weak. Mystery Train is okay but not fantastic. I Got The Girl is kinda terrible. One Wild Night is like It's My Life 2.0 but misses more than it hits. Nonetheless, I still ended up re-buying the Australian Tour Edition of this album for the bonus 5 song live disc. Which is pretty good. And I saw them at the ACC on this tour and it was solid. Never Say Goodbye was played acoustic in the encore, which was amazing.

It's My Life then is a double-edged sword. Yes, it brought new listeners (generations) to the band. But it also cemented into the band that they needed to be a commercial force to be relevant. They needed to sell out large arenas and while half of "Crush" is introspective (in as much as Bon Jovi can be), half it is shooting for the rafters. Unfortunately, for me, each album after "Crush" started leaning 90% towards a rafter shooting / pop-rock safe zone vs. "These Days" and "Destination Anywhere" introspection. And maybe this is where the band wanted to be, selling out arenas with as much mainstream appeal as possible. '80's music survivors, still going strong in the 2000's. Who can blame them?

"One Wild Night Live" (2001)

As mentioned earlier, I really felt Bon Jovi was a formidable live act, so I was pumped when I heard they were releasing their first official live album. Unfortunately, what we got was a live compilation spanning 1985-2001, not a full live show. While there are highlights (namely the "These Days" and "KTF" songs), it is not a cohesive representation of a live Bon Jovi experience, nor is it even a double album. Definitely a missed opportunity.

"Bounce" (2002)

Everyday was the lead single ... for those of you counting this song can be considered It's My Life 3.0. It's serviceable but not classic, but it pumped me up for the album. "Bounce" is the band's response to 9/11 (not as obvious or heavy-handed as you would think) and some songs are good on this one, Undivided, All About Lovin' You, Misunderstood, The Distance, Bounce. But Joey and Right Side Of Wrong are terrible. I know the press kit when this album was released said these 2 tunes were the return to the band's "singer-songwriter" roots but seriously, Joey is one of the worst Bon Jovi songs ever and maybe even one of the worst songs ever. I did see them on this tour twice, the first concert was great but the 2nd was the first time I saw Bon Jovi phone it in. Plus, I was unsure why no "These Days" songs were finding their way into the set. The silver lining was that the Goo Goo Dolls were great as openers x 2. Iris, Slide, Name, etc. are great late era power ballads.

"This Left Feels Right" (2003)

Remaking your rafter shooting hits as mellow campfire songs. But not unplugged. I wrote an amazon review on this one, which I think captures my feelings well, so please feel free:

http://tinyurl.com/lwh764v

But I still did find the import collector's edition of this album with a bonus live DVD of acoustic performances and that made things sort of better. Though, that said, I haven't played this album since 2003.

As an aside, I got married in 2003 and there were are a few great Bon Jovi moments. The first was when the wedding party all slow danced to Always and everyone sang the song at the top of their lungs on the dance floor. The second was when the DJ ended the night with a Bon Jovi medley of Livin' On A Prayer/It's My Life/Bad Medicine. Everyone was going nuts. Bon Jovi are the people's band forsure and this is my struggle.

When they started out, they were the people's band, diamond selling albums, huge tours, etc. The '90's put them as survivors but mid-tier survivors. The 2000's put them back on the top-tier map and they are still on the map really. They are like the new Stones, minus the critical acclaim, but in 2010 I saw them back-to-back at the 50,000 capacity Rogers Center and it was full both nights. So, yeah, they are still kind of a big deal, but at the expense of creating new songs that I actually want to listen to repeatedly in 2015. More on this later...aside over and moving on.

"100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong" (Box Set, 2004)*

This is actually a cool concept and one of the two exceptions on this list. A 4-CD, 1 DVD compilation of previously unreleased or rare material from the Bon Jovi vaults. I have no issues with this release, I thought it was a nice treat for fans, contained some good songs and it made me excited for the upcoming studio release.

"Have A Nice Day" (2005)

Have A Nice Day is a solid lead single, albeit It's My Life 4.0. It is stronger than Everyday and it made me excited that this record would be good. The press kit leading up to every post-2000 Bon Jovi album touts the forthcoming record as "return to roots", a "loud rock record", etc. No doubt "HAND" has good songs, I Want To Be Loved, Story Of My Life, Last Man Standing, but the country duet of Who Says You Can't Go Home and the rock version of the song itself are, well, I'm not having it. Plus, the rest of the album is mostly filler. Bells Of Freedom, this is a song title and it is as bad as that title. I did see them maybe 3 or 4 times on this tour though. Still a good live act in my mind at this point, but again, the sets were really light on "KTF" and "TD" songs, i.e. 2 songs maybe of the former included and zero of the latter. And really the only "Crush" songs played were IML and Just Older, maybe Captain Crash (but I've blocked this out because that song is definitely not one of my faves). Only Bounce and possibly Everyday were aired from "Bounce". So it was the same greatest hits being trotted out along with some songs from the new album, half of which weren't good. JBJ has said he doesn't want to be "nostalgia act" but when your new releases do not produce many classic or even good songs, what else can you play at shows? Additionally, I'm not sure Bon Jovi's fan base want to hear anything outside of the classics. They aren't looking for deep cuts and that's probably my issue for being a "die hard".

I should mention also that by this point I didn't have a fully negative opinion of the band. I was still going to the concerts, I was still buying the albums, I was still talking to others about the band. I made myself best of compilations after every new album. They released new music every year from 2000 to 2005, which was quite prolific. But each release started getting less play than the one before from me. Thoughts about Bon Jovi's setlists and how "samey" they were started creeping into my head. Other bands were coming more into focus for me. I was really starting to get into Springsteen and the White Stripes and Oasis was just about to release "Don't Believe The Truth" and begin a career resurgence.

It comes down to the music. I never re-visit any of the albums that I've spoken about so far in this post. I do re-visit "These Days", "Slippery", "Keep The Faith" and "New Jersey" fairly often.

"Lost Highway" (2007)*

The other exception on the list, but I was very skeptical at first. A Nashville-inspired Bon Jovi record. After the nightmare that was Who Says You Can't Go Home, I wasn't exactly banging down the door wanting to get this. Everyone was going country in 2007. Hell, people still are. Hootie is still famous because he went country and it fits him well. But "Lost Highway" was an understated, somewhat introspective record with guitar solos. They let Richie off his leash again. I'm not sure if he was having personal issues at this point but his playing on this record is inspiring. Whole Lot Of Leaving, (You Want To) Make A Memory, Lost Highway, Til We Ain't Strangers Anymore, these are all great songs. Though I'll dock this album a point for including my least favourite Bon Jovi song ever, the career nadir We Got It Goin' On. They have played this song live at EVERY show since 2007. Who likes this song??? No one, except Big & Rich, who likely get royalties every time it is played.

I saw them I think 4 times on this tour. The set lists contained a few surprises, Richie Sambora singing These Days, JBJ pulling out Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah but, of course, they also contained the faithful war horses. But the exception here was that the "Lost Highway" songs were pleasant to hear live. People were reacting positively to these songs also. The band seemed to be having fun and there were no auto pilot shows here, except for maybe the one I saw in Sarnia, ON at the Bayfest festival, but I'll give that one to them as there were massive bugs flying all around the stage.

By the time 2007 rolled around, I had means to get albums as they were leaked online before they came out officially so I was already listening to "LH" about a month before it went on sale. As an aside, the Internet is a double edged sword for me when it comes to music. I do like the ability to hear something before it comes out ("try before you buy") but it clearly takes away the excitement and anticipation that I used to feel on new release day, where maybe you only heard the single and had to wait to hear the rest of the record.

"Lost Highway" is the only post-2000 Bon Jovi release that I re-visit every now and then.

"The Circle" (2009)

The lead single We Weren't Born To Follow is pretty terrible. So bad in fact that they had to re-record the initial version to include an actual guitar solo when JBJ calls out "guitar" in the middle of the song. But yet the band feels the need to keep playing this song in concert to this day and include it in the pantheon of their greatest hits. Anyway, there are some good songs on this one, Brokenpromiseland, Thorn In My Pride, When We Were Beautiful, but the bad truly outweighs the good. And the documentary that accompanies this release is something else. JBJ really comes off as arrogant and self-serving. He's a business-MAN, the CEO. The band are his employees. We get it, you're awesome. Now, please back it up with better tunes.

As mentioned earlier, I did see the band twice on this tour at the Rogers Center and the concerts were good. They played Damned and Something For The Pain (maybe Diamond Ring too now that I think about it) from "These Days", so that was a bonus. I was pretty close to the stage the 2nd night (see below).

                                 (Photo courtesy of my friend Jara)

These are the last two Bon Jovi concerts I've attended and potentially, the last ones I will ever attend (but not likely really). Kid Rock opened and he was actually pretty good. I've always enjoyed the "Devil Without A Cause" hits + Picture. He also has a great command of pyrotechnics.

"The Greatest Hits" (2010)

This could have been an amazing and proper career-spanning compilation that highlighted good songs from all eras. A double album release like the Rolling Stones' "40 Licks".

But hold the phone, they had both a single and double disc edition. The single disc edition was essentially "Crossroad", with It's My Life, We Weren't Born To Follow, Have A Nice Day and the country version of Who Says (it won a Grammy, so duh!) tacked on. All the "KTF", "These Days" and "Lost Highway" songs were relegated to the 2nd disc, which was only available if you bought the Ultimate Collection, which of course, I did. I'm a completist, even in the "down years" of a band's career. Living In Sin, Never Say Goodbye, Just Older and none of "7800 Degrees Fahrenheit" or "Bounce" made the cut, even on an "Ultimate Collection".

The 4 new songs were not great. The More Things Change was kind of like winking at the band's career fortunes and is okay, but I don't think I've played it since 2010. Again, a missed opportunity to preserve and showcase the best parts of the band's legacy and maybe introduce people to songs they don't know.

"What About Now" (2013)

This is easily my least favourite Bon Jovi album. The only song I remotely enjoy is I'm With You, and maybe What's Left Of Me, because it sort of sounds like Someday I'll Be Saturday Night. The rest is just awful. My 7 year old daughter really liked the first single Because We Can so I gave her the CD when I purchased it (again, completist) and it stayed in her room CD player for about a year until I found it cleaning up about 6 months ago. That is how much I missed listening to this one. I'm not even going to put an audio / video clip of any of their songs off this one on here.

I think Bon Jovi hit Toronto 5 times on tour for this record. I went to none of these shows, marking the first time I've missed a tour since 1993. I just didn't have a lot of interest in going to see the same old songs and new songs I was not into at all. To top it off, Richie Sambora left the tour and is now subsequently out of the band. Richie's been battling some demons over the past few years and I'm not going to comment as everyone has their issues to sort out. But I just can't fathom how after 30 years with a band (a successful one at that) it's over without a real reason given. There is a lot of speculation over the internet, but we will likely never know the real reason for this break-up.

While the "What About Now" tour racked up big box office receipts, it obviously couldn't have been very fun for the band given all the issues that went on behind the scenes. The clips I saw showed a tired band that in a lot of cases was going through the motions. I've seen Springsteen I think 8 times now and that man is a revelation. He made the Rogers Center feel intimate. Plus, I've never seen him play the same set twice, even on the same tour. I realize that Bruce's songs are maybe "deeper" than Bon Jovi's but he isn't afraid to pull out the rarities or change things up based on the crowd, regardless of what's on the setlist. I also realize that I love Oasis and they play the same set for an entire tour, night in and night out and this doesn't bug me. I think it's because the expectations have been set. Or maybe that the songs they choose to play are better.

Maybe I hold Bon Jovi on too high a pedestal and they are bound to not to be able to live up to it...but the issue there is that they did pretty much live up to it from 1986 to 2000. Maybe, aside from "These Days", "New Jersey", "Slippery" and most of "KTF", Bon Jovi have never been a strong "album" band. But it just seemed like they were trying harder on pre-2000 efforts. I think once you like and invest in a band, it's hard to be objective towards anything they've done. If it's good, it's the "best thing ever" and if it's bad, it's the "worst thing ever". The in-between songs just don't cut it.

I'm sure Richie Sambora will eventually re-join Bon Jovi for the inevitable reunion tour at some point. And you know, I likely will go to at least one of these shows. I have no issues with his replacement Phil X, who is Canadian and a good guitar player, but to me that's not Bon Jovi. Maybe I just really need a long break from the band and when that reunion hits in 5 or so years, I'll be ready to ride that steel horse again. I kinda hope so.

Until next time...

On A Steel Horse I Ride, The Bon Jovi Saga Vol. 1

Yes, this is Part 1 of the long-awaited Bon Jovi post/ramblings. I remember when Bon Jovi was like Oasis for me. My favourite band, no one could talk shit about them and they could do no wrong. The year was 1986 and I was 10 years old. When I first heard the opening salvo of "Shot through the heart and you're to blame" from You Give Love A Bad Name, I was hooked. This was an anthem. This was my jam. And then Livin' On A Prayer came out. This was also my jam. The video featured Jon Bon Jovi (hereby referred to as JBJ) and other band members hanging from cables while rocking an arena. The structure was the same as the video for You Give Love A Bad Name, and thinking about it now, they likely filmed the videos at the same time to save money. Bon Jovi was not a household name prior to 1986, though they had released 2 albums by then. Livin' On A Prayer was even better than YGLABN, the chorus soared, everyone liked and related to Tommy & Gina's tale of hard luck. They had each other and that was a lot for love.

But then the video for Wanted Dead Or Alive came out. As JBJ frequently says in concert prior to playing this tune "Please rise for the singing of our national anthem". This song is epic. The first verses are acoustic and mellow and then it erupts with a classic Richie Sambora guitar solo. And I ride! He plays the double neck acoustic guitar and then straps on the electric guitar for the rest of the song! Amazing. The video is like a mini-movie of life on the road as Bon Jovi was in the midst of hitting it big. By this point, I likely had the vinyl of "Slippery When Wet" and I remember my dad taking me to the Exhibition Stadium in Toronto during the summer of 1986 or 87 to see Bon Jovi. It was the loudest concert ever. We were at the train station and we could still hear Wanted Dead Or Alive perfectly. I'm not sure if I have fond memories of this concert but I know I got a killer 3/4 length Bon Jovi shirt that I wore frequently. I think I liked the whole album but in my early days I was all about singles and American Top 40.

"New Jersey" followed in 1988 and I believe I got the cassette of this one as I was onto cassettes by then. Bad Medicine I liked but I started drifting away from music around this time, focusing instead on sports (namely the Toronto Blue Jays, Maple Leafs and Miami Dolphins) because I was going to be a sports commentator when I grew up. The only time I listened to music really between 1988 and 1991, my taste was what you would call "questionable". Paula Abdul, MC Hammer, Wilson Phillips, yikes. Also Roxette but I'm not putting a yikes beside that. Their greatest hits are solid.

In a past blog post, I mentioned that "Wayne's World" and Bohemian Rhapsody got me back into music and "Classic Queen" was my first CD. This was late 1991 or early 1992. I then read or heard Bon Jovi was coming out with a new album after taking 4 years off (during the hiatus JBJ made "Blaze Of Glory" and Richie Sambora made "Stranger In This Town"). The album and first single was titled "Keep The Faith" and it was certainly different from "Slippery" or "New Jersey" fare, but I was pretty into this song. Great lyric, chorus and guitar solo. I picked up the CD and found that the first 5 songs were pretty amazing. I Believe, Keep The Faith, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, In These Arms and Bed Of Roses. Nice front load of potential hit singles. But the song that was the dark horse in this collection was Dry County, a close to 10 minute epic about JBJ's journey on his motorcycle across America during the band's hiatus. It contains a completely unbelievable 2-3 minute Richie Sambora guitar solo and the lyrics are good, almost movie-like. I also enjoyed the last three songs - I Want You (a more contemporary power ballad), Blame It On The Love Of Rock n' Roll and A Little Bit Of Soul. I remember Bon Jovi had an MTV (or MuchMusic) special called Keep The Faith An Evening With Bon Jovi that I taped and watched frequently. Say what you want about Bon Jovi and their cheesiness, etc, but they were a top-notch live act, especially around this time. They had something to prove after being gone for 4 years and watching music seemingly change overnight. Around this time, I made Bon Jovi and supporting Bon Jovi my mission, my cause, if you will. My friends, I feel they sort of liked the music, but they didn't really have a choice. It was being played in my parent's Ford Villager 24/7 whether you liked it or not!

One of the best moments in Bon Jovi worship/collecting during this era was when we hit the HMV superstore in Toronto one weekend in 1993 (this was a big thing for us Burlingtonians) and I saw "Keep The Faith" in the new releases even though it came out in 1992. So I flipped the CD over and noticed there was a bonus track on the album proper (Save A Prayer) and a bonus live / acoustic CD with 8 tracks. For $17, this was a steal. And thus began my trend of re-buying Bon Jovi albums once I found their special or import editions months or years after the real albums came out. This practice continued until "Bounce", where I couldn't find a special import edition. I wore out the album proper from this edition, which kind of angers me because I still don't have a good version of Save A Prayer and this is a really good song. The bonus live disc is still money today - live renditions of In These Arms, Keep The Faith, Bad Medicine and an acoustic Bed Of Roses and Never Say Goodbye. This is my go to version of NSG. In fact, I heard the original on Sirius XM's 80's on 8 the other day and I didn't understand it fully because it had 80's drums and electric guitars.

I went back and picked up "Slippery", "New Jersey", "Blaze Of Glory" and "Stranger In This Town" on CD. Eventually I acknowledged they had albums before "Slippery" and picked up "Bon Jovi" and "7800 Degrees Fahrenheit" (still my least favourite of the pre-2000 era, but has some good songs on it). I also got their CD singles (the only one I'm still missing from the "KTF" era is In These Arms) because they contained live tracks which were awesome. In February 1993, a bunch of us went to see Bon Jovi at Maple Leaf Gardens, and the band filmed the video for In These Arms. I remember we were so pumped for this concert. I think we had to wait 2 or 3 months and we had daily countdowns. Seriously. Then we went to see them again in December 1993 in Hamilton, where they busted out Dry County. I still have all of my concert shirts from this era and I still proudly wear them from time to time.

I re-discovered "New Jersey" and specifically Living In Sin and Blood On Blood during Christmas of 1992. The latter song was about me and my friends, bar none. We adopted it as our anthem. I don't think any of us now are uptown lawyers, or medicine men or even singers in long haired rock and roll bands but listening to this song still takes me back to ball hockey, Sega Genesis, filming music videos, playing shark in my parents' pool. "New Jersey" is really close to "These Days" in being my favourite Bon Jovi album and it certainly deserved the deluxe anniversary treatment it got last summer. Solid reissue that I now realize should have been put on my best of 2014 list as the CD of unreleased demos is the best thing they've released since "These Days". Hindsight!

I used to bring my old school CD player / ghetto blaster into the bathroom and rock out while in the shower. I programmed the best "New Jersey" songs in this order: Blood On Blood, Wild Is The Wind, Stick To Your Guns, ending with Living In Sin. Long showers were the norm back then.

As you can gather, many of their songs from the "KTF" and earlier eras spoke to me as I was getting deeper into high school, dealing with new feelings, girls, etc. Bon Jovi was there for me, these five words they swore to me. They picked me up. I used to love guitar solos in songs because of Richie Sambora. I was disappointed when songs didn't have guitar solos and didn't understand why they wouldn't. I realize that a lot of music I listen to now doesn't have guitar solos but that was pretty much cost of entry for me to like a band between 92 and 95. I was still consuming other music at this time, but none of it really surpassed Bon Jovi in terms of being my favourite (until fall 1995, see blog post #1).

I was so ultra obsessed and overt with my obsession with Bon Jovi (I used to have a "Keep The Faith" baseball hat that I wore to school, without any shame. I have no idea where this went but I really wish I still had it), it came to the point that when people thought of Bon Jovi, they automatically thought of me and vice versa. I think that is still the case and I am okay with it being part of my identity. You know, husband, father, market researcher, writer, Bon Jovi fan. This is fine. It certainly wasn't in vogue (en vogue?) to be a guy who liked Bon Jovi in high school, but I think people just realized it wasn't a gimmick, I actually cared about the music so everyone just accepted it. There is a lesson in there kids and it's be true to yourself!

"Crossroad" the best of Bon Jovi came out in 1994 and contained the monster power ballad Always and the underrated gem Someday I'll Be Saturday Night. The less said about the other "new" song on the collection, Prayer '94, the better (they had a much better acoustic version of this song on the aforementioned Evening With Bon Jovi special). This was a nice stop gap release until "These Days" dropped in the summer of 1995. I remember hearing the first single This Ain't A Love Song in May of 95 and not being blown away, but like the rest of "These Days", it was a grower. "These Days" starts off with Hey God, which is probably Bon Jovi's bleakest tune. It sounds like it came from the grunge era but still holds up today. "These Days" is the last great album made by the band, IMHO, every song is good. No throwaways. It is in my top 10 albums of all time. As an aside, most of my favourite albums are, it's like that scene in the movie (and likely the book, which I've read twice, but it slips my mind) "High Fidelity" with John Cusack where he is arranging his albums autobiographically. A person's favourite music says something about you, but it may not be the most obvious thing.

The title track of "These Days" is probably in my top 20 of all time favourite songs. "These Days" was the first album I put on in my dorm when I got to Guelph in September 1995. I missed my floor's frosh week ceremony because we were seeing Bon Jovi at the Molson Amphitheater. Definitely in my top 5 best concerts of all time, close to a 3 hour show, many "These Days" tracks included, the band was on fire. It is here where the band reached the cross roads (pardon the pun). In North America, "KTF" and "TD" were moderately successful, certainly not as successful as their earlier albums from the 80's but they were an 80's band surviving and in my opinion, thriving making the music they wanted to make.

But then they took another hiatus. JBJ made some movies (the best being "The Leading Man" and "No Looking Back"), a great solo album in "Destination Anywhere" (not successful commercially in North America but it is really quite good), Richie made another solo album, "Undiscovered Soul" (definitely worth checking out) and married Heather Locklear. Tico started a line of kids clothing and such called Rock Star Baby. The only Bon Jovi band music to come out between 1995-1999 was the song Real Life from the movie EdTV. This song was somewhat disappointing in that it contained no Richie Sambora guitar solo. Although it was underwhelming, I still spent what little money I had at that time buying the soundtrack and playing the shit out the song, almost willing myself to like it.

For me, new Bon Jovi albums were akin to a new Star Wars movie being released. They were events. So when I heard they were coming out with a new album called "Crush" in the summer of 2000, I was all in. Then the first single It's My Life dropped and I loved it instantly. Total throwback to Livin' On A Prayer, they even slid Tommy & Gina and the wah-wah guitar pedal back in to connect the dots. This was a better effort than Real Life forsure. I was pumped for the album to be released and it happened to come out the same Tuesday as the Hip's Music @ Work, so HMV was opening at midnight. I was there, despite having to work the next day. Whatever, I was young then. I bought "Crush" and I'm sure I bought some additional albums (not the Hip though, I was against them then for some reason. Likely because I hated the song New Orleans Is Sinking), got home at 1am and put it on.

And on that note, we'll move onto Part II of the saga...stay tuned...

We Got The Love

First off, happy belated New Year to the 5 people that read this blog :).

A few nights ago, I was presented with a great opportunity to see one of my favourite bands in a unique setting.

I'll back track for a bit, last week, I was in Florida with my family on vacation and was checking my news feed on the Facebook when I saw that I Mother Earth were having an event at Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto on January 28th to debut their new song, hang with fans, play an acoustic set and hang with fans. Automatically I contacted my friend John (also a big fan) and said we should completely go. Although it was his 10th Anniversary that day, he said he'd see what he could do. All you had to do was email saying you wanted in. It was free!

He was down with going (thanks Jen!) but I was still on the fence due to a prior commitment on the night of Friday the 30th with work friends. When you have smaller children, and both spouses work, you need to pick your spots. So I never committed and I felt kinda bummed but the nice Florida weather and good times with the fam pushed it to the back of my mind.

We landed last Sunday and I got a text from John saying that the drummer of his band was friends with Jag and Chris Tanna, guitarist and drummer of IME, respectively, and his drummer got him and a plus 1 on the guest list as the gig was sold out (or I guess full) already. John asked if I would be the plus 1. Um, yes, of course I would and thanks to my wife for understanding that this event needed to be attended. So we were in.

It's probably best to recount my history with I Mother Earth, as I tend to do frequently with all bands I write about in this space before moving forward.

I know I got into them when "Dig" came out in 1993 or 1994. Rain Will Fall was and still is such a killer song that when I first heard it, I picked-up the album. "Dig" also spawned the Canadian rock staples Not Quite Sonic, Levitate and my personal favourite So Gently We Go.

"Scenery & Fish" then came out in 1996, when we were in 2nd year of University. One More Astronaut had become a pretty big hit on MuchMusic and the radio but "S+F" was an album you could put on and let play. Every song was and still is solid. In 2nd year, we used to play Risk, the game of World Domination, every Thursday night from I want to say January 1997 until April or May 1997 and there were 2 albums that were always played in their entirety - Tool's "Aenima" and "Scenery & Fish". I have fond memories of those days, not because I ever won Risk but because it was a great chance to have some cocktails, strategize, get mad at each other and listen to great music.

One of the best things about Guelph was that Canadian bands often frequented Peter Clark Hall, which was a concert hall (using this term very loosely) in the basement of the University Centre. These were mostly Canadian bands but as the 90's gave us a lot of great Canadian music, this was amazing. I believe the concerts were $10-$15, which is a steal. Additionally, bands often came out after their shows and hung out in the hallway.

I Mother Earth made it to PCH in the winter of 1997 and as soon as it was announced, we were all over it. They rocked it (John tells me that the power cut out during one of the songs, which I vaguely remember) and we were hoping we could meet the band afterwards (we all had our CD booklets of "S+F" ready). The crowd was intense and large though in the hallway after the show so we decided instead to hit the Brass Taps for a few post-show beverages. After a few hours of tipping some back, we headed back to the dorm...only to be greeted by Edwin, then lead singer, in the University Centre by himself. John asked if he was "off duty from signing autographs", he laughed and then signed our booklets. This capped off a great evening.

It was then kind of a shock when in the summer of 1997, the announcement came that Edwin was leaving IME. The band was riding a great commercial peak and seemed ready to explode. I know I was disappointed, but these things happen. Maybe we should have read something into Edwin being on his own when we ran into him at the UC. Edwin's replacement was Brian Byrne, whom I hadn't heard of. The first taste of the new IME was Summertime In The Void. This is a great song which showcases Brian Byrne's vocals well. "Blue Green Orange" was released in 1999 and while I will admit it is the IME album I listen to least, it contains one of my top 5 IME songs ever in When Did You Get Back From Mars? Edwin, meanwhile released his solo debut, which I have and dig a few of the tunes.

IME then disappeared for a bit before resurfacing with "The Quicksilver Meat Dream" in 2003. Like The Sun was the first single and I remember seeing the video frequently on MuchMusic. I picked up the album and was immediately blown away in a very positive way. It is completely different in sound vs. anything that came before it from the band. Progressive, dense but still retaining a strong sense of melody. I love "Scenery & Fish" but I think "The Quicksilver Meat Dream" is my fave IME record. This album is deemed to be "uncommercial" but if one actually gave it more than a single listen, I'm sure they could hear how accomplished and complex it is. It was on "TQSMD" tour that I finally saw IME live with Brian Byrne, at the Opera House opening for Theory Of A Deadman. Yes, ahem, we'll leave it at that. The band put on a 2 hour+ show as openers and Brian Byrne's vocals were on, way on. I have seen over 100 concerts in my lifetime and Brian Byrne is easily in my top 5 live vocal performers ever. So versatile and it seems effortless for him. Then IME disappeared again. Hiatus, which was disappointing given how strong "TQSMD" was/is. Brian Byrne released a couple of solo albums (I only have his debut, "Tuesdays, Thursdays and if it Rains", which is a strong collection of songs), the Tannas went onto other endeavours and Bruce Gordon, the bassist, joined the Blue Man Group.

It seemed like it was over but then a cryptic countdown was posted on their website in early 2012. When the dust settled, IME was releasing a new song (yes) and getting back together for live shows at the Sound Academy (double yes). John and I were all over this. We ended up getting tickets for the 2nd date at the Sound Academy (it was the first date but they had to add another show due to overwhelming demand). The concert was epic, I think around 3 hours and everyone was in top form. Plus the new single We Got The Love was/is fantastic. To me, it sounds like it could belong on "Scenery & Fish" and it blew up at Canadian rock radio.

So now we are up to speed, back to 2015 and I was really pumped to hear the new tune, see the guys play acoustic and potentially get a chance to talk to the band. They allowed us each to listen to the song on our own listening station, complete with headphones. The song is called The Devil's Engine and it comes out on iTunes February 15th, so everyone should check it out. I predict that it will be a pretty big hit on rock radio (John agrees). It's the heaviest song the band have done but again doesn't stray away from strong melody. I'm anxious to hear it again (repeatedly). The acoustic set was great, hearing songs such as Used To Be Alright, I Is Us, Pisser, Good For Sule in an acoustic context is always a positive. Then the band came out to hang with fans once the show was done and we had the privilege of meeting both Brian and Jag, who were both super nice and down to earth. Jag told us that more is on the way from the band this year. Definitely a great night.

You have to hand it to a band for putting the fans first - not a lot of bands would go the extra mile of putting this type of event on, not to mention actually taking the time to interact and get to know fans. So thank you gentlemen of IME for a great evening, thanks to John for allowing me to be a plus 1 and thanks to my wife again for understanding.

One final but certainly not unimportant point, the evening was free but the band did ask for donations to The Unison Fund, which helps out Canadian musicians who are facing personal or professional challenges. It is cool that the band is supporting - it makes sure that we'll be able to hear great Canadian music for years to come. Check it out at http://unisonfund.ca/

Until next time...