Rossland Radio Co-op your voice in the wilderness

“ALONG CAME A SPIDER” Alice Cooper (SPV) ****
The latest work from our favorite ghoul is a concept album about a serial killer named ‘Spider’. While not Cooper’s absolute best (that’s “Killer”) it’s certainly in his top five.

Alice Cooper hasn’t had much for chart or sales success since the album “Trashed” in 1988(ish), he still makes great records with stunning regularity. “Along Came A Spider” plays to Coop’s strengths- creating solid rock songs with irresistible hooks, powered by his ‘unique’ brand of storytelling.

This disc has been rightly praised as a mix of classic Alice with his more current metallic stylishness- think “Billion Dollar Babies” and “Welcome To My Nightmare” meet “Dragontown”. While not musically as heavy or de-tuned as “Brutal Planet”, a dark and largely ignored yet brilliant album from ’00, this puppy rocks out. This feels much closer to his last two sets, “The Eyes Of Alice Cooper” and “Dirty Diamonds”. .

Produced by Cooper with Greg Hampton and Danny Saber, “Along Came A Spider” sounds great. He’s using his road band in the studio; longtime drummer Eric Singer, Saber & Hampton (guitars, keys), and Chuck Garric (bass), while Slash solos on “Vengeance Is Mine”. He even invokes Steven, a character who first surfaced on “Welcome To My Nightmare”.

While in many ways classic Alice Cooper “Along Came A Spider” isn’t a tired rehash of his glory strokes. This is energetic and witty, which we’ve come to expect- DEMAND- from Alice, and he doesn’t disappoint. Fans that have been along for the whole ride will enjoy this immensely, and fans from years ago that find themselves wondering ‘what is that crazy bastard up to now?’ will be saying “Damn, he’s still got it!”

KEY CUTS: “Vengeance Is Mine”, “Wrapped In Silk”, “Killed By Love”, “Catch Me If You Can”

“BRAND NEW DAY” Racer (Late Model Racer) *** ½
This is my 4th or 5th Racer album, methinks… it is his most varied work yet, the best of the lot.

Racer is a one man band, aided and abetted by modern recording technology that allows him to record in the comfort of his own home. His main instrument is the guitar and he is a Tony Iommi fan, so the focus of his music is that very instrument. “Brand New Day” features better drum programming than I’ve heard from him before, and the keyboard flavoring on tracks like “Powdered Wigs” was a delightful surprise.

It’s fairly rare that an all-instrumental album can hold my attention, even when played by acknowledged masters like Steve Vai or Joe Satriani, and that is the case with Racer’s work too. “Brand New Day” kind of feels like the soundtrack a caper flick, or maybe a football movie. That some of his music would have a dramatic ‘sports feel’ comes as no shock as I happen to know he has a racing-based sports radio show on Saturdays in D.C.

By way of comparison, “Brand New Day” recalls older Scorpions as much as anything. Racer lays down the riffs without being too fancy or shmancy. He has a good ear for what works and while I can hear him pushing on some of the solos, he doesn’t try to reach past his capabilities as a player. Racer is a metalhead through and through, but the tasty accents in tracks like “Caliente” and “Czar”, plus the aforementioned “Powdered Wigs” show that there’s more in his musical arsenal than just Scorps or Sabbath.

Racer gets better with each disc, and I’m already looking forward to what he comes up with next.

KEY CUTS: “Danger”, “Powdered Wigs”, “St. Petersburg Sunrise”

“THE RULES OF HELL” Black Sabbath (Warner Bros./ Rhino) ***
After the success of 2007’s “The Dio Years”, this box set was inevitable. Here we have “Heaven & Hell” (1980), “Mob Rules” (1982) and “Dehumanizer” (1992), plus the two-disc “Live Evil”, re-mastered for our listening pleasure. Is it worth it? Maybe.

BOX SET RULE #1: Include previously unreleased material, demos, remixes and such. “Rules” is just the albums, as Tony Iommi is famously reluctant to release such material, claiming it would be “embarrassing”.

The packaging is spiffy yet unexceptional. The cover art for each album is reproduced in darker and richer tones, and the liner notes contain occasionally revealing new interviews. A booklet with more interview stuff and reprinted lyrics would’ve been nice- and more expensive. With no cool bonus materials at hand, Rhino did the right thing by delivering a budget priced box of albums that any fan who might care already owns.

The biggest difference between these re-mastered sets and the original CD’s are most obvious on “Heaven & Hell” and “Mob Rules”, the two oldest albums. I listened to old and new back to back, and the contrast was immediate and gratifying.

The “Rules” versions are clearer, with the biggest improvement on “Mob Rules”. I’ve always found the sonics murky, and was disappointed when the Castle re-master didn’t improve things. Now a great album sounds cleaner- better.

“Live Evil”- never much liked it. The sound IS better but there’s no way to fix a dreadful recording. Plus, Ronnie’s overly dramatic phrasing on the Ozzy-era material is painful.

“Dehumanizer” sounds identical to the original version. It’s one of Sabbath’s most underrated albums, and so for a Dio-era Black Sabbath box set, it belongs here.

For the true fan (‘fan’ IS short for ‘fanatic’, which I am) “The Rules Of Hell” (title suggested by bassist Geezer Butler as a play on the titles “Mob Rules” and “Heaven & Hell”) is worthwhile. Otherwise, don’t bother.

KEY CUTS: “Neon Knights”, “Heaven & Hell” (H&H)/ “Sign Of The Southern Cross”, “Slipping Away” (Mob)/ “Voodoo”, “Heaven & Hell” (Evil)/ “Buried Alive”, “Time Machine (Wayne’s World version)” (Dehumanizer)

“ACOUSTIC BLUES” Big Dave Mclean (Stony Plain) ***¾
I guess there is such a thing as truth in advertising. The latest from this mainstay of the Canadian blues scene, subtitled “Got ‘Em From The Bottom”, is indeed acoustic blues. You’d swear Big Dave was from somewhere around Clarksdale Mississippi, instead in Winnipeg.

McLean’s guitar playing is imbued with many delta ghosts, and his gravely voice gives the tunes that ‘this guy knows what he’s singing about’ vibe. What is perhaps as gratifying as it is startling is that 13 of these 19 tracks are Mclean originals, mixed with blues classics written by Sleepy John Estes, Muddy Waters, Lightnin’ Hopkins and more. That his material can fraternize with that of some of the blues’ greatest songwriters is a testament to the talent and soul of the man himself.

Some of the tracks on “Acoustic Blues” are just Dave McLean and his National Steel, and the band tracks are deft and subtle- acoustic guitars with some harp while the drums and bass pulse and throb like a dark undercurrent- giving the whole disc an intimate feel that blues fans, regardless of whether you know Big Dave’s music or not, will embrace. It’s not unlike putting on an old Son House album, or Kelly Joe Phelps’ excellent “Lead Me On” set on the Burnside label from ’94- not to compare them directly as artists, but the level of intimacy is quite similar.

If you like your blues high and lonesome, “Acoustic Blues” should be playing in your stereo right now.

KEY CUTS: “Louisiana Blues/ Forty Four (medley)”, “Atlanta Moan”, “Good Morning Little School Girl”

“SKIN DEEP” Buddy Guy (Silvertone) *****+
Yes kids, that’s a better than perfect score. When it comes to the blues Buddy Guy is a force of nature and “Skin Deep” is the best album he’s made, possibly ever.

I used to think that Buddy’s early 90’s ‘comeback’ album for Silvertone (“Damn Right I’ve Got The Blues”) was his apex- ‘til now. There’s always been a joy in his performance, but this disc marks the first time in ages that Guy’s had a hand in writing the majority of the songs and so this record has a certain extra something- call it soul, fire power, joi de vivre if you must, but I haven’t heard him sound this alive in some time.

Buddy Guy’s attitude in the studio was apparently catching, because he pulls some stellar performances from his collaborators as well. Derek Trucks and his wife, Susan Tedeschi are outstanding, as is Robert Randolph, but Buddy’s collaboration with Eric Clapton on “Every Time I Sing The Blues” deserves special mention, and should win a pantload of awards. They’ve played together before, most notably on “Don’t Know Which Way To Go” a spine-tingling performance from the “Rush” movie soundtrack, but this new track just raises things to another plane. Two blues guitar greats spurring each other on, with Clapton doing his best work since “Have You Ever Loved A Woman” on the Derek & The Dominoes “Layla” album in the 70’s… man, if this had been the only song on the album I’d still have paid full price and felt like I got the better end of the deal.

“Skin Deep” is certainly the best blues album I’ve heard since the turn of the century, maybe even the last couple of decades. Listening to a man of Buddy’s talent and experience at the top of his game is a thrill I will never grow tired of.

KEY CUTS: “Every Time I Sing The Blues” (w/ Clapton), “Show Me The Money” “Best Damn Fool”, “Too Many Tears” (with Trucks & Tedeschi)

“SOUND AND FURY” Sound and Fury (Rebel Youth) ***** +
This is one of the nastiest, greasiest, most excellent rock & roll records I’ve heard in years, certainly one of the best of this decade.

The brainchild of front man Luke Metcalf, S & F is old school metal, something akin to AC/DC or Rhino Bucket meets Iggy & The Stooges- a more recent comparison might be the first Jet album. Loaded with snotty attitude and groove, it’s hard to believe this is their first album.

Metcalf was kicked out of three high schools before being thrown out of his own house, managing to drift from T.O. down to California and even Arizona, living in a car with a buddy and his buddy’s dad- essentially living on the street. Not many of us can even imagine what that would be like, but Luke has taken the raw nerve, adrenaline and desperation of that existence and channeled into these songs.

Metcalf eventually found his way back to Toronto, where he got down to business with his old drum set, a bass guitar, rhythm guitar, and an old Fostex reel-to-reel 8-track a buddy had lent him. “It’s no exaggeration that I spent a solid year in the basement, at least ten hours a day every day, writing songs and recording the tracks, playing all the instruments.” At the end of that year, he’d finished rough demos for 45 songs.

Unable to play the guitar solos him self Metcalf called on Griffin do the leads. Liking what the guitarist was able to do, he suggested they put a band together. Rounded out by rhythm guitarist Daz (Metcalf is the singer), bassist John kerns (ex- Age of Electric) and drummer Chris Avalos, Sound And Fury were born. “Our music is ferocious and dirty and nasty and wild!” says the singer. “I wanna party with the kids who live for rock & roll- no bulls**t, down ‘n dirty, ferocious rock & roll. People who really sincerely live for the music and don’t give a s**t about anything else.”

In a just universe, “Sound And Fury” would be THE rock soundtrack of the summer.

KEY CUTS: “High School Hot Box”, “Can’t Get Enough”, “School’s Out”, “Supercharged”

“SHIVERS” New Guitar Summit (Stony Plain) *****
Here is the second terrific disc from Jay Geils, Duke Robillard and Gerry Beaudoin, featuring special guest Randy Bachman on guitar and vocals for “Your Mind is On Vacation” and “Everybody’s Crying Mercy”. If you like vintage guitar-based jazz, this absolutely belongs in your music collection.

These three guys have been performing together since ’97, which shows in their nearly telepathic performances. “It’s about amazing communication, the three of us really like and respect each other” notes Beaudoin in the liner notes. And given Bachman’s talent as a player and recent jazz discs (he used New Guitar Summit on his acclaimed “Jazzthing II”) he fits in here seamlessly- just one of the guys.

“Shivers” is smooth, it swings and caresses like a gregarious lover you wouldn’t mind getting to know again. This isn’t the real crazy, out-there stuff, but it still possesses an undeniable vitality. It’s the kind of jazz that hasn’t really been in vogue for quite a while, but in the hands of masterful musicians such as New Gutiar Summit, it sounds as fresh as it did back in the days of zoot suits. I would’ve been tempted to call this set “The Well”- it’s deep, cool, and each draught of its magic tastes more delicious than the last.

KEY CUTS: “Blue Sunset”, “Your Mind Is On Vacation”, “Everybody’s Crying Mercy”

SO MUCH FOR THE RAIN The Painted Birds (Painted Birds Music) ****
The debut for these Vancouver-based indie rockers- their name a tip of the chapeau to Jerzy Kozinski’s 1965 novel of the same name- is deep, dark, and catchy.

The Painted Birds are Dominique Fricot (lead vocals, guitar, keys), Josh McNorton (lead guitar, bass, keys, vocals), Shawn Berke (bass, keys. Guitar, vocals) and Shane Lynch (drums). Fricot’s lyrics are dark and sometimes unsettling. “I think, as artists, we have to bring to light what hits us way down deep, because that’s how we can get past it.”

He co-writes mostly with bassist Shawn Berke, a regimented and professional yet spontaneous groove by all accounts. Their sound? Hmmm… The Heartbreakers meets Blue Rodeo or Matt Mayes gets somewhere close to the truth of it. Jangly and urgent yet never pompous, these songs sound their best on a sunny day out on the highway, with a couple of well-placed ballads to break things up nicely.

According to their bio, The Painted Birds would “love to create music that is so intense that the listener can’t help but feel an impact”, surely a more noble pursuit than ‘making the kids wanna dance’. These guys have taken the fat chance, and armed with these twelve songs (and hopefully the right breaks) they could really go places.

KEY CUTS: “So Beautiful”, East of Eden”, “Intimate Mistake”, “Colleen”

THE POWER OF ONE Rick Tippe (Moon Tan) ****
Over a decade into a country music career that includes sharing the stage with some big names and winning a hatful of awards, Rick Tippe still delivers the goods.

After hearing The Power Of One a couple of times, it’s obvious why this guy is so popular. While his songs broach topics that have been covered countless times in country, I can’t detect a false note anywhere. From a joyous romp like “She’s A Guitar” to ballads like “Forever”, he means it. You gotta respect a guy that can write lines like “it’s a long way to paradise/ when you’re crawlin’ on your hands and knees.”

Rick and his band “The Kings Of Cool” are masters of their craft. Even the pedal steel guitar (country’s answer to the bagpipes, or backing over a cat with the pickup) isn’t overbearing, and we can appreciate their ‘roll up the sleeves and get ‘er done’ work ethic.

Country music is like any musical genre- lots of crapola, stuff that’s ‘okay’- and then there’s the good stuff. On “The Power Of One”, Rick Tippe has given us a dose of the good stuff. I wouldn’t call myself a country fan per se, but some of it I DO like- and Tippe’s new album is excellent.

KEY CUTS: “Long Way To Paradise”, the title track, “Last Call”, “The King Of Honky Tonk and Cool”

REAL THING The Higgins (Open Road) ***
A tasty, barnstormin’ debut from a trio of singin’ siblings from Delta BC.

Produced by David Wills (Stonebolt) and Paul Shatto, this is major league stuff set to take country fans by storm. The Higgins have already enjoyed main stage action at the Merritt Mountain Music Festival, and having a manager like Nashville’s DJ McLachlan (do the names Cash, Scruggs, Gatlin and Bellmany ring a bell?) on your side helps too.

For a debut album, Real Thing has an unexpected air of confidence. The Higgins harmonize in that preternatural way only siblings can, and the music is jaunty. The exception is “Factory Girl”, an a cappella tour de force that recalls some of Alison Krauss’s stellar work for “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”- it’s THAT good.

The Dixie Chicks are an admitted influence and it shows. The twelve songs here range from feel-good stuff (“Sounds of Summer”) to darker territory (“16 Going On 30”) and “Factory Girl”, a song they’ve been singing since before even thinking of a record deal.

Not a big country music fan? The sweet harmonies and tight musicianship are still worthy of your attention. Canadian Country hasn’t had a big family act since The Wilkinsons- that changed June 24th when “Real Thing” hit store shelves. Enjoy!

KEY CUTS: “Factory Girl”, “Flower Child” (an ode to the Woodstock generation), “Second Hand Car”