Jackhammer Stripped
 

Expecting a naked pic of me? Sorry to disappoint you (or possibly make you thankful). Instead this is a journal with a simple edict: favourite bands. Many journals on here are dedicated purely to albums or tracks (and fine they are too) but I wanted to do something a little more personal and dedicate posts to my favourite bands and artists. Why I like them, how I got into them, brief histories and recommended releases, DVD'S, books etc.

Music should always be ultimately personal and not a mad dash to collect everything under the sun or to appear cultist for the sake of it. There is no 'in' crowd with me and some of my choices will be unashamedly mainstream and obvious and others not so obvious.


So just like your old uncle who regales you with tales of his wild youth and questionable music tastes, I will eulogise about what really makes me tick musically. Consider me stripped!

Damn.

Nah, I'm really looking forward to this journal Lee :)

Who's the first artist your going to do? I'm excited for this one.

Great idea for a journal this, and one I may have to pinch when it comes to filling out my own one as well :D

So, yeah, looking forward to to seeing what your choices turn out to be.

This is going to be an amazing journal, I'm guessing. Your's always turn out to be hugely eclectic and introduce me to bands that make very interesting, unique music. I can't wait for the first one!

Journal no. 3 for JH, and it should be another stunner. Good idea, rather than have a '100 albums' type thread, I would prefer something like this as well.

The only place to start on my musical tastes is Iron Maiden. I consider myself fortunate to have grown up around music. The music itself is not what you could consider cool or edgy but nevertheless my father was and is music mad. Friends families woke up to the TV being on, in my household it was always the radio or an album even at 8 in the morning. However prior to the year 1986 (I was 14) I only had a passing interest in music and no defined tastes or an album collection of note.

The summer of 1986 signaled the decline of my parents marriage and couple that with the usual teenage angst I was subconsciously looking for some sort of outlet for personal identity. Our house at the time was 30 seconds away from a school playing field where I was a pupil in my junior years and I used to spend many summers on the grass field playing football and on this particular day there was just one guy kicking a ball against a portable classroom whom I knew vaguely at school. I went over to him and noticed that he had a walkman on and I asked him what he was listening to. The headphones were given to me and the sound blasting out was Iron Maiden and specifically the double live album 'Live After Death' (1985). Immediately I was hooked on the sound. I had never quite heard something as heavy as this at the time and the sheer energy and noise struck a chord within me. Within a week I had bought the album myself and spent hours endlessly poring over the artwork and band pictures.

That day literally changed my life and gave me a purpose and interest that still survives to this day and THE reason why I am now posting on MB and still have a burning passion for music.

Iron Maiden were not and will never be the coolest band on the planet, yet they are one of the few bands still working hard, still successful and still remaining utterly faithful to the music and the ethos that surrounds it. Many aspects of the band were and are cringeworthy. The ridiculous spandex outfits on stage, the sometimes cringeworthy lyrics yet their music is one of the purest forms of Heavy Metal still being played and along with their individualistic artwork and T Shirts, they are for me a massively important part of my musical identity and I still consider myself a fan and proud to say so.

Coincidentally the guy kicking the ball in that field is still my best friend 23 years later and despite him now living in Germany, we still got to see each other earlier this year and attended a Metal festival over there. We also last year got the classic Iron Maiden logo:

tattooed on the backs of our necks as a nod to our roots and our friendship.


Recommended albums:

Killers (1981)
Number Of The Beast (1982)
Live After Death (1985)

Recommended viewing:
Iron Maiden: The Early Years DVD
Live After Death DVD

One of the tightest and dynamic bands live ever:

Iron Maiden werent a key band for me as far as getting into music in general, but they were hugely important for me getting into metal. A friend of mine is somewhat slightly obsessed and so made it easy for me to learn about them and borrow his records and so on. Yeah, maybe their lyrics are sometimes poor and they definitely have some old school cheese to their music and their live performances but they wouldnt be the same band if you took any part of it out of the equation. I'm not one for stageshows, and I may go as far as to say that sometimes massive, expensive, flashy or over the top stageshows just seem to be there to distract from a poor band but Iron Maiden are an incredible live band and even though their stageshows can certainly be a prime example of what I mean by old school and cheesy they just add to the excitment of their live performances. Iron Maiden have some great records but in my opinion they are very much a band that shine on the live stage which is why I have no problem with the sheer amount of live albums they have released over the years. I think to really comprehend what they are about you need to listen to the studio album and then either listen to or see the same material performed live. Plus i've never experienced a crowd quite like a typical Maiden crowd.

My favourite albums would be the self titled and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.

Most Maiden fans in the 80's hated 7th son with a passion and it definitely marked a decline in their output for a long while. I myself like a lot of the album yet my friend hates it. Infinite Dreams is a great track but I still will always prefer Killers to their debut.

I love that you are not afraid to talk about your musical influences without trying to be hip or cool or obscure. As I said before, really looking forward to the rest of this journal!

Maiden was one of my entries into music and probably the first band I became really fanboyish over. I don't really listen to much metal anymore but I still have a cotton Powerslave flag on my wall. Like Urban says, they've most likely never played a bad gig in their existence.

did you ever know that you're my hero?


and **** yeah on Iron Maiden

Yes, I admire that about Jackhammer and other music fans as well. For a short while after discovering some more obscure bands (It kind of started with Mr. Bungle) I went into this whole avant-garde phase, where it wasn't just good enough that I was listening to obscure music, I had to think it was the best out there, and that anything that was more popular and accessible wasn't worth it. That's all in the past now. By past, I guess you could say about half a year ago. That might seem short to many here, but I've only really been into music for about 3 years, so the last half year is a fairly large chunk of my whole "musical journey."

As much as I hate it when people have that elitist attitude now, I'm kind of glad I took a dip into it as I discovered a lot of great bands in the process that I still love today. This site did a great job of introducing me to a greater variety of styles, since I explored a lot of experimental music but didn't get into much else (kind of feels ironic seeing the aim of a lot of experimental music is to push boundaries and such, yet I let it limit my tastes), I noticed a lot of people on here loved some really obscure stuff while still loving the more popular stuff, treating it all as the same thing: good music.

Looking forward to this thread, I always like hearing about people's more personal stories about music, how they got into a particular genre or band, ect. Its a part of music that most people tend to ignore when they write about it. It almost helps me appreciate bands I've never gotten into before, hearing and reading about the band from a different perspective other then one just simply describing it.

I still don't understand the widespread appreciation of Iron Maiden here on MusicBanter. They really seem distinctly average, bringing little to the table musically, lyrically or certainly with their image. I think that zombie is remarkably childish too. You say that they were never the coolest band, but I've heard literally nothing but praise for them here. What's this now?

I do too, especially stories from someone like Jackhammer, who is so well-rounded and knowledgable in the music field.

Really enjoyed reading your first post, Jackhammer. I had to go to my library and listen to Iron Maiden while I was reading it, so I could get the full effect. I just think its amazing how much musical tastes can evolve who you are, and its also amazing how much of an impact they have on your life in general.

Are you kidding? I've hardly heard a good word said about them in my time here. Theres me and Jackhammer, I remember Urban put Number of the Beast in his top 100 and theres maybe one or two other regulars who have expressed a liking for them.

I think that Seventh Son and the previous Somewhere in Time to be two of their best but then again I do kind of like the synth influence with metal bands in the mid 80`s. Iron Maiden certainly did it better than rivals Judas Priest. The trend I think, really took off with Van Halen (Their last album with David Lee Roth and their first two with Sammy Hagar)

I'm really looking forward to the rest of this thread, as you mentioned people mostly seem to focus on albums or songs rather than artists.

I'm not really an Iron Maiden fan but its probably just my natural dislike towards most metal that's holding me back.

Iron Maiden was one of the first metal bands I enjoyed. I remember their first album I heard was Powerslave. I played the hell out of that album.

Powerslave is a fine record. Flash of the Blade is one of their really overlooked tracks I feel.

Their peak was in the 80s man. You're talking as if they were a new band.

I'm ecstatic at the responses on here. A new band will be up in a couple of days.

Fanboys. They annoy the hell out of me but guess what? I am a fanboy. I have constantly eulogised about this man to the point of becoming utterly annoying but I just cannot help myself.

In the summer of 1998 I heard a chillout remix of him for the first time and I was immediately transfixed by his voice. After reading up a little on the man I bought his 'classic' album 'Solid Air' and was smitten.

John Martyn is an artist that has encompassed Folk, Blues, Funk, Soul, Trip Hop and Jazz into a highly personal and individual sound. His first album was recorded at the age of 19 in 3 days and was highly welcomed in folk circles but even by his 3rd album he was experimenting with new sounds and techniques. This is not to say that he was on the cutting edge of music at all. It was more of a pointer to the man behind the music. A bear of a man at 6'4" and 200 pounds with an already notorious propensity for alcohol, he almost always appeared on stage already pissed up. This in itself is nothing new within music but the juxtaposition between his own personality and deeply personal stage shows makes for fascinating listening and an endearing and honest approach to music that is always refreshing.

He formed a musical relationship with the double Bass player Danny Thompson (himself a notorious hellraiser) in the early 70's that survived at various times until Martyn's death Jan 2009. This relationship was one of the most symbiotic in music and produced some absolutely incredibley honest and poignant music that must have been almost spiritual to witness live.

Martyn is one of the few artists I have heard that pours every single part of his being and emotion into his music without ever falling into sentimental claptrap and banality.

Each and every year I fall deeper under his spell of searingly honest and heartfelt music. This is a guy who wrote a whole album to his ex wife begging for one more chance, even knowing that his huge personality would still dwarf their love.

Everyone has an emotional connection to music but very very few artists physically choke me up whilst simultaneously confirming the cathartic value of music and the power of a few struck chords.

I may seem to be over praising Martyn to the point of martyrdom (he died of a massive attack earlier this year and had to perform in a wheelchair in his last few years) but his music and lyrics provide me with one of the rare instances of music being much more than the sum of it's parts.

By far my favourite solo artist and probably the only man ever to bring me to tears solely through his music.

Recommended albums:

Bless The Weather (1971)
One World (1977)
On The Cobbles (2004)

DVD:
John Martyn at the BBC.


R.I.P

Wow I have never even heard of him... but great write-up, I'll be sure to check him out;)

Amazing write-up, amazing man, amazing music.

I only heard of John Martyn afrer joining MB and now have 3 albums. Solid Air, Bless The weather and A live album (Not too sure where now) and there is not one dull moment or average song on them.

R.I.P

Ha, you are definitely a John Martyn fanboy! The amount of times you've mentioned to me and linked me to vids... :D

That being said, this guy is pretty amazing. He definitely wears his heart on his sleeve and from what I've heard his stuff is very emotional. I need to grab some albums.

Great journal entry and a fitting tribute.

I've only ever heard his first two albums, none of the ones you singled out to listen to in that post. I will investigate.

One thing I think you left out here was Irons Maidens greatest achievement. Not necessarily the music they made but the thousands of other psychedelic/stoner/heavy metal bands that followed. I mean there have been some heavy hitters like Kyuss that are credited with starting a whole genre, who namedrop Maiden as there primary influence.

Personally I think they have influenced music as much as bands like the Beatles, Zappa, etc.

Great reads, Lee! I love the personal touch and stories behind them :)

Of course I already know Maiden and Martyn. Iron Maiden was, as they were to so many others, an entrypoint for into 80s metal. As you know, I didn't listen to John Martyn until after his recent death ..

Anyways .. Looking forward to Kate Bush :D

If any up's are needed for Martyn then just holler back. I have virtually all of his discog and a couple of HQ bootlegs too.

I would definitely take those links if they are up.

*CouFatFreddy'sDropugh* :p Man I need to quit smoking.

Great thread by the way, I like the personal stories you tell. I'm getting some John Martyn at home as I type this which I look forward to hearing after work. I think someone else wrote about him on here, or I'm completely making that up, but you're review has inspired me to check out his stuff. Ah and Iron Maiden... they, along with Slayer, were my introduction to metal.

Archive are probably the newest band I will post about in here; having only been into them for about a year but what a year that's been. Rapidly climbing the ladder of my favourite bands, This U.K band are ridiculously under-appreciated over here despite having a relatively commercial sound.

Describing Archive's music is a bit of a minefield with a sound that incorporates Trip Hop, Electronica, Ambient Rock and huge epic build ups. This isn't to say that it's a mish mash at all. Just each track sounds a little different from another yet still retains it's own identity and lush sound.

I am a big fan of music that is moody, melancholic yet doesn't resort to bouts of miserabilism or obvious cliches. Monotonous, repetitive hooks really grab hold of me for some reason and Archive are damn good at this. Most of their albums contain at least one 10 minute plus epic that is relatively simple in structure yet hypnotic. Much in the same way that Pink Floyd or certain Porcupine Tree tracks can hold the attention with simple yet brooding structures, Archive do this with ease and still retain their originality.

Perfect for late night listening and in many cases are lyrically ferocious yet the music still retains it's melodic sensibilities. Archive could very well take the path of many more successful bands in producing stadium/radio friendly songs. After all they have the tools to easily do so but by retaining a non commercial stance (in terms of track length and lack of big choruses), they remain a band with integrity and individualism.

Recommended Albums:

You All Look The Same To Me (2002)
Lights (2006)

Great write up there, I might check em out, they sound very good from those videos

One more that may keep you thinking like that. If Radiohead were behind this song people would be falling all over themselves with superlatives. Alas they decide not to look too hard at other UK acts :(

Archive are one of those groups I haven't necessarily heard a lot about, just seen the name popping up every so often. Love the sound of that Bullets tune though - draws a lot of parallels with Everything But the Girl and UNKLE to me, which is never a bad thing. Seems like a great bunch to me. Consider them on my radar :thumb:

Your description touched upon everything i'd have to say about them, i suppose their is something quite commercial about them yet they've never really been noticed, i blame the 10 min epics!

The only Archive album I’ve heard in its entirety is “You All Look The Same To Me”, and I absolutely love it. I normally can’t handle those epically long songs, but ‘Again’ is a definite exception. You mentioned them having monotonous, repetitive hooks which I suppose is true but I feel like they do a nice job of keeping to rest of the song interesting and varied vocally and instrumentally (I’m specifically talking about ‘Again’ here). Where you say those types of hooks really grab you, they usually turn me off, so this is a band I’ll have to tentatively pursue further.

I’m pretty sure I have “Noise” laying around on my hard drive somewhere but I have not gotten around to listening to it yet, with the exception of ‘F*ck U’…another good song but I didn’t enjoy it as much as most of the songs on “You All Look the Same to Me”. Perhaps I should make “Lights” my next listening venture instead??

As for the first vid you posted there from the new album, I have to admit I didn’t care for that at all. :( Not sure if it was because it seemed a lot more up-tempo than what I’m used to hearing from them, but it didn’t seem all that spectacular lyrically either. Are there any different songs from the new album you can recommend?

Archive seems like a band I would be interested. I'll look into them more. Thank you.

Well written, too.

I remember you put an Archive track in a compilation on here somewhere and I really thought I would like it but was somewhat let down. Bu the track that is, not the comp.

I checked out the first two videos up there and thought the first one was alright and the second wasnt really for me at all. However the third one is spectacular. May have convinced me to give them a shot.