Ol’ Qwerty Bastard

Such a great album. I'm glad you at least, to some extent, recognize the brilliance of Reaper, one of my favourite Bathory tracks.

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Music Blog / RYM / Last.fm / Qwertyy's Journal of Music Reviews and Other Assorted Ramblings

The Batlord

Go **** yourself. It's not an album meant to be picked through or dissected. You're just supposed to put the thing on and feel it. I say to a pleb who doesn't get punk in the slightest. A better production would ruin the ****ing thing though.

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Anteater

My favorite Bathory album will always be Under The Sign Of The Black Mark. There's something beautiful to me about it's production I just haven't gotten anywhere else.

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Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

Anteater's Daily Tune Roulette

Trollheart

Hmm. So perhaps a better review would have been something like Fuck! FUCK! FUCK! FUCKITY FUCK FUUUUUCCCKKKKK!!!!!
Yo Ant! Welcome back to my journal man! How are things with ya? The old insects a little thin on the ground here in winter? Hope someone's feedin' ya? Guess you can survive on a diet of Metal, Prog and Yacht Rock huh?

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Anteater

It makes for a very balanced breakfast. I need to resuscitate some journals this coming year....

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Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

Anteater's Daily Tune Roulette

Trollheart

And now, the sharp dividing line which separates those who love and those who hate this man. I fall on the side of the former, not surprisingly, but I can see why a lot of people hate him. Nevertheless, this is where we begin the discography of one

Robbie Williams

In case you've been living under a rock for the last decade or so, let me advise you that Robbie Williams came out of the boyband Take That, and began a solo career in 1997 that has since elevated him to superstardom and resulted in hit singles, million-selling albums and sellout tours. His music is mostly pop, but you'll get the odd shot of rock or at least pop/rock in there too. If you haven't already made up your mind, I'd recommend approaching his music with an open mind, and concentrating on that more than the often adverse press he's received or his admittedly massive ego.

Album title: Life Thru a Lens
Artiste: Robbie Williams
Genre: Pop
Year: 1997
Label: EMI
Producer: Guy Chambers, Steve Power
Chronological position: Debut album
Notes:
Album chart position: 1 (eventually, on the back of the success of the “Angels” single)
Singles: “Old before I die”, “Lazy days”, “South of the border”, “Angels”, “Let me entertain you”
Lineup: n/a

Review begins
As a longtime sneerer at boybands, Take That not least of them, it surprised me how much I ended up liking this album. I had heard Robbie vaguely on the periphery, through singles like the aforementioned “Angels” and “Let me entertain you”, and I think it may have been to disprove my sister's contention that he really was a musical talent that I listened to this album, and had to radically change my view of him. I expected that the singles would be flanked by some real filler, and most of that written by others. But whatever you think of him, love him or hate him, or even ignore him, you can't deny Robbie Williams knows how to pen a great tune.

Right from the very start I was impressed, with the power and melody of “Lazy days”, its semi-Indian arrangement and powerful guitar riffs getting my attention right away. In an era where much of the pop music was still based around keyboards and synths, Williams was one of the new rising stars who, with Blur and Oasis and others, would reintroduce the guitar to music fans outside of the rock genre. Pretty much every song here is catchy, and most of them could have been selected as singles. It says a lot for the quality of the album that, great song though the opener is, it's really one of the weaker ones. The title track is a good poppy uptempo with a clever twist in the lyric - ”Just because I ain't double-barrelled/ Doesn't mean I haven't travelled well” - though oddly I feel Robbie sounds a little like Neil Tennant here.

Like most of his songs (that I've heard anyway) this has a great hook in it, and it's hard not to find yourself singing it later on, and there's some great bass and a kind of northern soul idea to “Ego a go-go” with some nice brass, while you really have to feel for Ray Heffernan. Who? Oh, he's the Irish guy who wrote “Angels” and sold it to Robbie for ten grand; the song went on to become Williams' most successful, bringing him instant stardom when it looked like he was going to fall flat on his face. I think everyone knows it by now, and it's the first ballad on the album. A beautiful song, with orchestral backing and a gorgeous piano line.

“South of the border” is great fun and features another great hook in the chorus, cool little guitar solo too, then guitar drives “Old before I die”, another single and a really catchy song, hard to ignore. Another smart lyric --- "I hope I live to see the day/ The Pope gets high.” It's interesting that the idea in the lyric reverses the traditional rock mantra of “better to burn out than fade away”, which is kind of refreshing to hear. Also refreshing is acoustic guitar, which takes us into “One of God's better people”, showing how Williams excels in writing sentimental but not necessarily cloying ballads. Certainly, he's ably assisted on almost every track by songwriting partner Guy Chambers, and I don't know how much input either has into the songs, though in my review of Take the crown I noted that without Chambers, Williams' writing really suffers, so one would assume his partner was the main songwriter.

Again, most people probably know “Let me entertain you”, with its rising intro on piano and guitar, a real vehicle for what would become Williams' often out of control ego, but again it's really enjoyable. There's a lot of rock in the guitar and it's not too hard to see some of the harder rockers shaking their heads to this. On the other hand, there's a lot of soul in “Killing me”, with a really nice keyboard line leading it and a kind of ELO/Beatles midsection on violin and cello. “Clean” has a nice kind of swagger about it, with a good sharp, jaunty piano line and it certainly references his time in rehab, ending on a warped, twisted piano line to no doubt reflect the times he was out of his head.

“Baby girl window” then ties everything up really nicely, another acoustic ballad which rather unfortunately is followed by a bitter “hidden track” in which he speaks to his former teacher, reviling him for not believing in him and predicting he would go nowhere. It's understandable, yes, but a little unnecessary, and comes across as the equivalent of kicking a man who has already fallen to the ground. I'm sure the teacher was mortified, and its being a hidden track ironically would have brought it more attention than had it just been a normal one. Revenge may be best served cold, but this is pure ice. Oh well.

Track Listing and Ratings

1. Lazy days
2. Life through a lens
3. Ego a go-go
4. Angels
5. South of the border
6. Old before I die
7. One of God's better people
8. Let me entertain you
9. Clean
10. Baby girl window
11. Hello Sir (Hidden track; spoken only)

Afterword: Given that he was, and still is to many people, something of a joke, in that his ego tends to go before him and take away from his admittedly good songwriting skills and showmanship, I was a lot more impressed with this album than I expected to be, with very little bad to say about it, and it set me up rather well for the follow-up, and those to come. I wouldn't say I necessarily became a fan of his, but I certainly appreciated his music a lot more and I still listen to and enjoy it. Mostly.

Rating:

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Trollheart

Album title: Rush
Artiste: Rush
Genre: Hard rock
Year: 1973
Label: Anthem/Moon/Mercury
Producer: Rush
Chronological position: Debut album
Notes: The one and only Rush album not to feature longtime drummer Neil Peart
Album chart position: 105 (US)
Singles: “Finding my way”, “In the mood”
Lineup:
Geddy Lee: Vocals, bass
Alex Lifeson: Guitar, vocals
John Rutsey: Drums

Review begins

Although Rush would go on to become identified with the emerging progressive rock movement, this, their first album, is far more on the Zep/Purple side of hard rock, and you can hear Geddy Lee channeling Robert Plant in the opening lines of “Finding my way”, which would find its own way into their live set for years afterwards. Already though you can hear their particular sound being created, and it would be hard to hear this song and not realise it was Rush playing. It's a punchy and rocky opener, with great work from Alex Lifeson, and “Need some love” keeps everything hopping along nicely, even if it's hardly inspired lyrically, but at least it's short, then the first kind of smatterings of prog rock come through in the fade-in to “Take a friend”, though the song itself seems more a CCR or Steppenwolf idea. However there's really not too much to talk about until we hit “Here again”, where the boys break out their best blues chops, and at over seven minutes there's plenty to enjoy. Whether I'd call this a ballad or not I'm not quite sure, but it's slower than anything that has come before it anyway. This is the first track where it becomes clear what a guitar god Lifeson is going to turn out to be. Standout so far for sure.

Some more great guitar histrionics in “What you're doing”, with very much a Zep vibe but again the proggy influences were creeping in there, while “In the mood” is, surprisingly, not a cover of the Glenn Miller standard (!) but a decent rocker which nods towards songs like “Something for nothing” and “Bastille Day”. Nice gentle intro then into “Before and after”, and it sounds like it might be a proper ballad, maybe. Actually, I think now it might be an instrumental. Hmm. No to both. Vocals just came in and the tempo kicked up in the third minute of the five it runs for. I guess the “before” in the title was the laidback guitar instrumental part and this is the “after”. Odd, though. “Working man” then closes the album, going back to the Zep/Free sound but slower than much of the rest of the album. Some very good guitar work on it, certainly. Great jam there at the end and a powerful conclusion. Again, I can hear little progressive elements leaking in.

TRACK LISTING AND RATINGS

Finding my way
Need some love
Take a friend
Here again
What you're doing
In the mood
Before and after
Working man

Afterword: Not, to be sure, an album to set the world on fire, and it didn't. In fact, it would take three more albums before their genius would finally be realised and Rush would be on the way to proper stardom. To achieve that, they would basically leave the blues and rock influences prevalent on this and their next album to one side, and concentrate on the burgeoning progressive rock themes beginning to surface here, and which would also come through on Fly by Night, as Neil Peart joined and pretty much took over writing the lyrics. With a big progressive suite on that album, this would be the direction Rush would follow for the next three years as they produced classic albums like Hemispheres, A Farewell to Kings, Caress of Steel and of course 2112.

Rating:

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Zhanteimi

A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres are my two favorite Rush albums. "Hey, let's stop here and pick this up on the next album." I love it!

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Zhanteimi

LetsTalkMusic

Trollheart

Album title: Pretty Hate Machine
Artiste: Nine Inch Nails
Genre: Industrial Rock, Electronica
Year: 1989
Label: TVT
Producer: Trent Reznor/Flood/Keth Leblanc/Adrian Sherwood/John Fryer
Chronological position: Debut album
Notes:
Album chart position: 67 (UK) 75 (US)
Singles: “Down in it”, “Head like a hole”, “Sin”
Lineup:
Trent Reznor: Pretty much everything

Review begins

Originally conceived as a set of songs he worked on while doing odd jobs in a record studio, Trent Reznor's music piqued the interest of record labels and a strong underground following ensured that, though his debut album did nothing chartwise, it became one of the releases of the year and gained him an army of cult fans. “Head like a hole”, one of the singles to be released from it, starts the album off and it's very synthpop, with thick buzzy synths, clicking percussion and snarling guitars. Reznor's voice however is nothing like you'd expect a Depeche Mode or Human League singer to be and owes more to the grunge movement I think than electropop. There's certainly a lot of anger there, whereas synthpop seems to be usually either not that bothered or just totally detached, that sort of robotic persona popularised by Gary Numan. I feel I may have heard this before; it sounds familiar.

I like the anger and aggression, the angst mixed with the danceable synthpop. The only thing I've heard comparable to this would be The The. Grungepop? Darkgrunge? “Terrible lie” is in fact really close to Matt Johnson's work, even the percussion sounds similar, and the idea of stopping everything but it while you sing the verse is totally Matt. Builds up nicely, but it's too derivative of The The for me. “Down in it” has a sort of rap feel to the vocal delivery with sharp guitar allied to beeping synths (samplers?) and a loud vocal chorus. Oh come on! He even uses the “voice on a radio” that Johnson used on Infected. “Sanctified” has a great hypnotic bassline and really hits the spot. The snappier, angrier guitars work well here. I really like this one.

And this one. The dark, brooding, almost minimalist feel of “Something I can never have” is really special, and his vocal is tight and bitter but not as angry as up to now. Another standout I feel. Kind a lot of Numan about this, though with, you know, feeling. Dripping with it in fact. Excellent. The desperation in his vocal is palpable. “Kinda I want to” returns to the dance/rock with plenty of The The, though it seems to have something like a goat bleating in the beginning (Vote GOAT!), not sure what that is, but it rocks nicely. Faster and more synth-driven is “Sin” then things slow down in a crunchy, snarly way for “That's what I get”, with Reznor dialling up the anger to ten. Great blasting synths on this. Now hes really channeling Johnson as we move into the penultimate track; I can't believe he hasn't been listening to Soul Mining, Infected and Burning Blue Soul, but this is classic The The. Oh, it's called “The only time” and it sounds so much like “That sinking feeling” that it's really not funny.

The album then closes on “Ringfinger”, which is a sort of mixture of hard rock and dancy synths, a bit odd but not a bad closer. Nice piano line running through it and it's good to hear the guitars raging away even if they're a little in the background.

TRACK LISTING AND RATINGS

Head like a hole
Terrible lie
Down in it
Sanctified
Something I can never have
Kinda I want to
Sin
That's what I get
The only time
Ringfinger

Afterword: I'm just kind of shocked how similar to the music of The The this is, right down to Reznor's vocal at times. I hope he didn't just copy Matt. But given that I love The The, this is right down my alley so there's very little on it I don't like (nothing actually) and much I really love. A very impressive debut, but would be more impressive if I believed the sound was original. Maybe it is, but I've heard enough The The to know when someone is influenced by their sound to an almost worrying degree.

Rating:

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Trollheart

It would appear that no self-respecting music fan would give Journey the time of day (16:04, fellas) but they say that about Bon Jovi too, and that doesn't stop me listening to them. Journey have gained a reputation for soft rock balladry, mainly thanks to hits from their biggest albums, but they began life as a progressive rock band, and back in 1975 they released their debut album. And this is it, without a Steve in sight.

Album title: Journey
Artiste:Journey
Genre: Progressive Rock
Year: 1975
Label: Columbia
Producer: Roy Halee
Chronological position: Debut album
Notes:
Album chart position: Unknown
Singles: “To play some music”
Lineup:
Neal Schon: Guitars
Ross Valory: Bass, piano
Gregg Rollie: Keyboards, vocals
George Tickner Guitars, bass
Aynsley Dunbar: Drums

Review begins

Nice soft guitar sets us on our way with “Of a lifetime” already demonstrating the skills Neal Schon would parlay into a successful career with the band and even a solo career too. Sonorous organ from Gregg Rolie joins proceedings, and then it's he who takes the vocal, sounding very competent indeed, and very much in the progressive rock mould. Nicely laidback and with the odd sudden jump into life from time to time. A nice opener, and the guitar motif from Schon suits the song perfectly. Even here, this early, he's establishing himself as a major focal point for the band, and it's almost, though not quite, the Neal Schon show from day one. Nothing wrong with that; he's a great guitarist as he proves here, as if he had to. Certainly a star in the making. Sounds exactly like the opening notes to “Yellow brick road” by Elton John opening “In the morning day”, but of course it changes and becomes its own tune. Nice powerful organ and piano meshing as Rollie and Ross Vallory collaborate, Schon's squealing guitar rising into the ether and Rollie's soulful voice holding court over all.

Suddenly takes flight as Schon and Rollie power up the tempo and it heads off on something of an instrumental jam which takes it out to the fade. “Kohoutek” comes in on a slow, almost dramatic piano and guitar line, with pretty explosive drums, stops for a moment then picks up again, turning a little jazzy in the third minute, bopping along, oddly enough without too much in the way of guitar histrionics from Schon ... oh, there they are. Knew he wouldn't be able to rein himself in for too long. Back into the slow piano in the fifth minute as the piece winds towards its end, and it's pretty clear here that we're dealing with the first instrumental. Ends a bit abruptly, and into the only single from the album, this being the more uptempo, keyboard-led and almost a precursor to their later AOR days “To play some music”. Very strong organ line holding this together, and you can definitely hear echoes of the future drifting back in some of the rhythms and melodies that would surface years later on albums like Escape and Raised on Radio. “Topaz” is another instrumental, with a soft guitar opening it and then kicking up into another jam, this time very much guitar driven. Some very good piano however from Ross Valory. Kind of a feeling of southern boogie in some of the guitar work.

Get a blues idea from “In my lonely feeling/Conversation”, with a nice striding bassline and thick organ, the vocal this time almost reminding me of Steve Perry; suppose that's just coincidence. Schon takes control here in no uncertain terms, and what I assume to be the second half (the “Conversation” part of the title) is taken by him almost solo, and then we're into the closer, which I'm told survived into their later stageshows and became a fan favourite, presumably the only one from their early days that did. “Mystery mountain” has a good driving rock beat, and again foreshadows the kind of direction they would later pursue, so it's not too hard to understand why this was more acceptable to, shall we say, the Escape generation than to the older fans. I find the vocal a little muddy here if I'm honest, not always but at certain points; Rollie just is not as clear as he has been up to now. It's also notable for being the only song on the album co-written by an outsider, as it were, this being Diane Valory, whom I take to be the wife or sister of Ross, who wrote it with her. Again very southern boogie running through this. Good work from Schon, who plays his fingers off.

TRACK LISTING AND RATINGS

Of a lifetime
In the morning day
Kohoutek
To play some music
Topaz
In my lonely feeling/Conversations
Mystery mountain

Afterword: It's certainly a great album, but it's hard to see how Journey made the switch from okay progressive rock band to stadium-filling AOR and hitmakers. Still, as I keep saying, this is their debut and it would be another two albums before Steve Perry would arrive to take over vocals and a staggering six more before Jonathan Cain would complete the classic Journey lineup that would record their greatest and most successful albums. Quite a long journey, indeed, but a very promising start.

Rating:

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