Thanks Layla

I forgot to mention this in my last post, but I wanted to thank Layla for her help in getting me a copy of "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" CD to review. While I'm sure most readers here know her blog thanks to how she is always seeking new blogs to read and is always great to comment on every post. If you don't know her blogs you can check them out here, they always have a fun and interesting read.

Layla's Classic Rock Faves

Writing From the Inside Out

Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (40th Anniversary) Review

Pink Floyd’s debut album may make minor fans of the band wonder how a band that created albums like “Dark Side of the Moon” and “Wish You Were Here” could come up with something like “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.” The album has almost no resemblance to what the later days of Floyd would sound like, but yet it overwhelmingly shows where they were going. This album is the brainchild of infamous rock legend Syd Barrett, the original front man of Pink Floyd and would go down as his only Floyd album where he held a major role. To shortly sum up “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn”, it is a masterpiece of the psychedelic era, and is rightfully looked upon as one of the most important albums of the genre.

In this album the listener is bombarded with spacey sounds backed with fanciful lyrics, and from start to finish it blends perfectly. The music is also quite eclectic and unique bringing in the obvious rock roots as well as some noticeable jazz influences. This debut album could also be seen as Richard Wright’s greatest work with his largest contribution of any Floyd album. Songs like “Astronomy Domine” and “Interstellar Overdrive” display exactly where this band was headed in the future with atmospheric sounds and bombastic ideas, and at the same time there are songs like “Flaming” and “Bike” which sounds like it could have been created by the Monkees if they were on acid. Basically every song on this album could be considered a stand out, each song easily has the ability of being that tune which replays in your head all day and not one song throughout the album is one that could make people wonder whether or not it should have made the cut.

Now, whether or not you should consider purchasing this 40^th Anniversary Edition is a bit of a different story from the quality of the music. The 2 Disc set is simply just a mono and stereo version of the album, and unless you are someone who wishes to listen to stereo one day and mono the next, the the 2 Disc set probably isn’t a great buy. The 3 Disc edition on the other hand has much more to offer ranging from early singles like “Arnold Layne”, “Seem Emily Play”, and “Apples and Oranges” to a variety of B-Sides, as well as an eight page reproduction of Syd’s notebook.

If you don’t yet own this album than it is definitely worth picking up, the surreal and atmospheric sounds make for a wonderful album. It is also worth owning just based on its importance in rock history and how influential it was to so many bands.

Sound: A
Lyrics: C
Originality: A+
___________
Overall: A
(Not an Average)

Supagroup - Fire For Hire Review

When listening to Supagroups “Fire For Hire” album don’t expect a spiritual awakening, don’t expect to be moved, and don’t even expect the slightest bit of brain stimulation. To put it simply, this is a rock album which falls into every stereotypical pit of rock n roll excess. The band goes as far as having the theme of the album revolve around the typical sex, drugs and rock n roll persona. “Fire For Hire” opens up with this line:

Hello everybody we are Supagroup
From New Orleans Louisiana
And we’re here to kick your ass!

Any band that chooses to open up an album like this clearly has one goal in mind, being seen as a rock star, but while this album is easy to criticize for its clichéd nature it does hold up as a decent effort.

Throughout the entire album the band slaps you in the face with heavy guitar riffs, Bon Scott / Brian Johnson like vocals, and pounding drums and bass. Supagroup goes further than just having similar sounding vocals to AC/DC, entire “Fire For Hire” album overwhelmingly resembles the sound of AC/DC, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. “Fire For Hire” is simply stripped down, straightforward hard rock.

As stated earlier, the lyrics on this album are more or less for those who have gone brain dead from excessive drinking and partying. So much of this album lyrically is actually quite laughable with topics ranging from pedophilia, teaching kids the greatness of rock, and murdering his lover’s boyfriend. Those topics are just the beginning to the large array of thought provoking subjects.

All of the songs on this CD seem to display mediocrity, there isn’t much on this album which truly stands out as being stellar but the mediocrity of this album can be enjoyable. After all, an album which is consistently decent is better than an album with two good songs and the rest garbage. If you like an album that is packed with a punch than give this one a try.

Sound: C+
Lyrics: F
Originality: D
___________
Overall: C
(Not an Average)

4) Emerson Lake and Palmer

Throughout rock history we have seen many super groups come and go, and typically what begins with high expectations ends in miserable failure. Sometimes due to each members large ego which causes destruction or even a clash of ideas. ELP is one of the few unique supergroups that found overwhelming success, to the likes that no member of the band had previously seen. The band was comprised of singer/bassist Greg Lake of King Crimson, keyboardist Keith Emerson of The Nice, and drummer Carl Palmer of the Crazy World of Arthur. Elp's self titled debut found itself near the top of both American and English charts thanks to the hit single "Lucky Man." Their next album stands as one of the true prog masterpieces of history, that album being "Tarkus" filled with long and avant-garde pieces which absolutely define what prog rock is all about. Two albums later ELP would go on to release "Brain Salad Surgery" an album which is arguably their most notable containing the bombastic hit "Karn Evil 9." The bands members following "Brain Salad Surgery" quickly became weary of each others presence which would lead to a number of sub-par albums. Throughout ELP's tenure the band found their own fair share of critics which shot them down for being overly pretentious like many other prog rock bands of the time. Their music certainly was grandiose and over the top, they would frequently find themselves being linked with classical music and often were labeled as a classical prog band due to their relations to the classical genre, for instance ELP had a cover of Copeland's "Hoedown." ELP's extraordinarily complex and innovative music was crucial for laying down the foundation for so many prog bands to follow, while only having a few truly solid studio albums, each one should be placed on top of a progressive pedestal.

Essential Albums: "Brain Salad Surgery" and "Tarkus"

There Was a Top Prog Rock Countdown?

Back in around April I had a countdown of the greatest Progressive Rock bands of all time list. Unfortunately that list was quickly neglected after I had to study for finals and then faced the business of summer, it was neglected to the point where it was forgotten. After posting about "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" an extremely important album in the psychedelic genre which was critical in the roots of Prog it dawned upon me that I had abruptly stopped the coutndown at the number five band, and now being back at school and having more time on my hands I will re-continue the list. Below is where I left off, and each band's name is linked to their respective post on the countdown.

5. Genesis

6. Jethro Tull

7. Tool

8. Rush

9. The Mars Volta

10. Gentle Giant

Led Zeppelin Reunion

Today while roaming through my e-mail's I noticed something that said Zeppelin reunion in it. Now, this article is from a reliable source but unfortunately their source isn't too reliable. It basically says that Robert Plant has verified that a reunion will indeed happen, and maybe even by November, and the lucky ones who will be able to see it are in England. The reunion is supposed to be a one time gig for a charity over in the London. Apparently all this information was taken from an autograph hunter, and we all know how reliable they are. I've heard about this possible reunion for a few months now, and maybe it is true, but I'm certainly not getting my hopes up, here is the article:

"According to the British music magazine NME, Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant has confirmed that a band reunion will happen as soon as later this year. The reunion, which has been rumored for years, will allegedly take place only once. The show is said to take place in London for a charity event during the month of November, although these particular details are unconfirmed. It seems as though the death of famed drummer John Bonham in 1980 isn't deterring the reunion plans.

Here's the catch: NME is relying on the validity of a source who is an autograph hunter. When said source approached Plant, he reportedly explained that he was on his way to meet with ex-bandmates Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. "We've got a band meeting about it this afternoon," Plant told the complete stranger. "There's not a lot to work out as it's only going to be one-off gig." Um, sure.

We're super skeptical here but we had to report it regardless because, well, what happens if it's true. Then we totally look like we're keeping them all to ourselves, and we'd never do that.

—The ARTISTdirect Staff"
http://artistdirect.com/nad/news/article/0,,4412081,00.html

A Pink Floyd Classic Turns 40

Well I have returned to school for my senior semester, which means a close to my hectic summer. I just wanted to announce that Pink Floyd is releasing two new Special Edition CD's marking the 40th Anniversary of their debut album "Piper at the Gates of Dawn". This is one of the definitive psychedelic albums of all time, often regarded as the top album of the genre. There will be one two disc release and a three disc release, below are links to the CD's.


"The 3-CD packaging, designed by longtime Floyd collaborator Storm Thorgerson, resembles a cloth-covered book with the original Vic Singh photo on the front, and holds 3 CDs, along with an 8-page reproduction of one of Syd Barrett’s notebooks. Newly remastered by James Guthrie, Discs 1 and 2 will contain the full 'Piper' album, represented in both stereo and mono versions. Disc 3 includes bonus tracks, including all of Pink Floyd’s singles from 1967 (“Arnold Layne,” “See Emily Play,” and “Apples And Oranges”), plus the B-sides “Candy And A Current Bun” and “Paintbox.” Other tracks include an exclusive edit of “Interstellar Overdrive,” previously available only on an EP released in France, and the 1967 stereo version of “Apples And Orange,” which has never before been officially released.

The current single-disc version of The Piper At The Gates of Dawn will be replaced with a new two-disc version that will feature the mono and stereo versions of the album. This package will not include the Syd Barrett booklet or the third disc of extras."

2-CD

3-CD