Four on the Floor – Christmas Special Volume 1.

These will be slightly shorter versions of what you normally see in these blogs, and not what peeps expect from me! And its actually 5 this time around.

 

A Merry Axemas – A Guitar Christmas Volume 1 – 7/10.

Originally released in 1997, this a little beauty has 12 awesome players having some fun with a yuletide flavour, the only track I don’t care for is the Joe perry track, nothing wrong with the playing it simply doesn’t float my boat, there was a volume two but this is my preferred playing, go on have some fun over Christmas!

 

Twisted Sister – A Twisted Christmas – 3/10.

I’m a huge fan of the band but not of this album I have a friend who loves plays it on the morning of Christmas day, I think he does it to annoy his family, I played it, I didn’t hate it but its not for me or is it for everybody’s taste, at least they did it with a sense of humour but no thanks……NEXT!

Jethro Tull - The Jethro Tull Christmas Album – 8/10.

At last someone not taking the piss, some original (new) songs mixed with classics and not done tongue in cheek, this definitely wont be everybody’s cup of tea, but if you feel the need for some festive cheer this is a good place to start, I ignored it first time round 19 years ago but it does creep back in usually at this point in December, fill yourselves full of Christmas cheer.

 

Blackmores Night - Winter Carols – 9/10.

I love this album, I am a huge fan of the group, I like what Mr B does in almost all bands he has played in, but this seems like fun, the album has been issued a number of times since 2006, the best version is the 2021 version as it’s a double disc, again if you don’t like the band this wont do anything to fix that its more of the same, quality music well produced, a nice fire a large glass of something slightly alcoholic and a book to read with this in the background you maay be pleasantly surprised, I know I was, me being a carbon copy of the grinch well I was until I heard this album!

 

Glenn Hughes - A Soulful Christmas – 0/10.

Avoid avoid avoid, I love the guy and out of all the albums he has released this is the only one I hate,  that’s as much as I wish to say about it, I actually prefer the Twisted Sister album to this, thankfully the only blip in a glorious career!

A Day in the Life, Part 21170.

 

It was all going so smoothly, that was until “Bob decided he was going to pay me a visit! Thankfully he was scared away by my bravado and a certain amount of bad attitude. I had been happy as a rule, for the last couple of weeks, not giddy as a school girl, but my mood and demeanor was “up” the blog on all fronts was motoring along, work was ……”Meh” could be worse could be better, life at home was, slightly difficult due to certain things going on in the background, but I was there to offer support to who ever wanted or needed it, medically life was as crap as ever, again I was simply going with the flow, there isn’t a lot I can do until I finally get my first appointment to the new clinic for my issue (ahem lets not go there) I was discharged from the broken hoop clinic in August 2022 and pushed to another clinic and I finally got my first appointment at the weekend for …….wait for it ……March 2023, WTF! Anyway there’s nothing I can do about it (admittedly I was giving them until January and then I was going to unleash the wife on their asses) to be honest by the time I get to see the new clinic and Dr’s it will be exactly eight years since the condition started, so no I’m not going to lose any sleep over it, I don’t think they will find an answer for it and I believe it’s something I will simply have to live with or its so serious and rare its going to kill me! Although to be brutally honest I think it would have finished me off by now, my arse is like a rag mans trumpet most days but at least the uncontrollable burping has been brought to heel with yet more medication, I seem to rattle when I walk/hobble!

I didn’t get upset, I didn’t wail, I simply shrugged my shoulders and went with it, I was still in an all-right frame of mind, the last blog was doing slow numbers but still climbing that rocky hill called statistics, the grandson had returned home, we were finally getting the passage and bathroom painted by a professional (my weak body simply couldn’t cope, why struggle for hours when I can get a professional to complete it in under 12 hours over two days). We set about sorting the rooms out (how much crap do we have) and getting it stored in the two bedrooms and the dining room (again how much crap) I should really just hire a skip, the wife would kill me, actually with the way that my body is behaving that might not be a bad thing! As it happens it was painted a lot quicker than we put the house back to shape (6 days and counting ….baby steps) the weekend came and went but on the Sunday night there was a gloom hanging over me and I had no idea why, sleep did not arrive as quickly as it normally does, when it did arrive I was restless and was woken a number of times and I did doze off back to the land of nod, so unlike me, while still being restless, once awake I rarely go back to sleep, this time I did and after around 3 and a half hours sleep (I’m sad I keep a record for which ever clinic I end up in, as apparently it all matters) I got up feeling decidedly grumpy, not unusual after a crap night’s sleep.

Bob stalked me through the house, not making direct contact but looking for a weakness some way that he could drag me back down in to the depths of my own stupidity, I put my coat on and headed off to be a bus wanker, I decided once on the bus that I was going to play some music and I started with the Queen discography starting with the debut and going through it chronologically (I know I’m sad) 3 songs in and “Bob” was left behind as if he had never been there, never underestimate the power of music, I worked all day and got through to The Miracle before calling it a day, as I got off the bus home I bumped into an old work mate (who retired a few years ago) and he said he hadn’t seen me so happy for ages, music really does indeed sooth the soul, the thing that worries me just a tad is how silently “Bob” crept up on me with great speed, the good thing though is how fast he was banished, by the time Great King Rat kicked in I was happy, I think the reason that I have been happier of late is simply the amount of music I am playing, I did enjoy the day, unfortunately I can’t play music all day every day, as much as I would like to.

And so to a new week work is still the same, today I decided to go through Ozzy’s discography although I skipped over The Ultimate Sin, there are some nice tracks on it I’m simply not a fan, one day I will work out why( because its cack) the day has passed uneventfully I was cooking before 8 (slow cooker delight for tea) at my desk in my little office space for just after 08.30 and kind of pottered on, an early night tonight as I have a very tight schedule tomorrow so the only time for music will probably be on the journey to and from work, as it stands it really is all good in the hood, and you all thought that this was going to be doom and gloom, it wasn’t it was just how I felt at the time.

There will be a couple of blogs quite quickplay irrespective of numbers (I do have a tendency to still follow how this does) the numbers will probably run into each other but it is what it is, they will be quick fire type of blogs, those who have followed me will recognise the formats, I don’t intend to stray far of my beaten path! So, while this one has arrived later than expected there will be about three over the next fortnight or so, the weekend beckons and I have as always, many cunning plans to resolve before the next blog arrives, the games afoot, I’m in a good frame of mind and am actually looking forward to “The Holiday” maybe I might simply blog about that, some research before I pull the trigger on that particular scab! So, until the next one stay safe, stay alive, do whatever you need to do to enjoy this time of the year, watch the skies for more incoming and keep spreading the disease, the blogs are picking up speed at a pleasant pace, lets go have some fun, until the next one……………Toodles!

Oh yes and while I remember the name game is in play and is really simple nobody should have to google it I have used it before, it’s the number that’s the complicated bit, let’s see how clever any of you are, I doubt that you will be able to get an answer from Google this time!

 Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Old Money.

So yesterday I awoke early (as usual) to have a lazy day, I had some breakfast, played some music (actually played tons of music)I read some emails and then decided to see how the great unwashed were doing, imagine my surprise when I clicked on Farcebook to see a number of birthday greetings……for me …WTF, I’m not against people enjoying their birthdays, it’s just that I don’t celebrate the day, if I am at work I always take the day off so I don’t growl at people wishing the best wishes for the day, since the age of eight I have probably celebrated it maybe five times, its complicated but for good reason, not that it happens often, as its meant to be a closely guarded secret, if you know, you are supposed to sign the official secrets act, the penalty is instant death for the well-wishers, Farcebook strikes again, I will have to double check my settings (again) to be honest I wasn’t too bothered and after reading the messages from all of the lovely people,actually made me happy……ish. So, I will let you all off this time, any more of these shenanigans and there will be some severe punishment for all of the repeat offenders.

So its official I can be classed as “Old Money” and yes the name game is in play, what has come to mind is how tired and wiped out that my body feels like, my knees are shot, I have a hip that’s playing up, and generally my diabetes is still kicking my arse on a daily basis, not to mention the gut and arse issue that has been plaguing me for over seven years and then the aches and pains from my fall earlier in the year not to mention the other falls that I have had in the last eight weeks, damn I must be old as I keep falling over, it’s not all assassination attempts by the wife and family, as I was contemplating my naval yesterday I realised that I had been working in some way or another for nearly 50 years (damn I feel so old).

My father left the family home when I was seven nearly eight, my brother three years older than me got a paper round and gave all the money to our mother to help out the household, not that she wanted to take it, as he proved his worth he took over more of the rounds and made more and helped more, aware that I was a drain I went to the same shop and asked for a paper round, Alan Wilkinson took pity on me and said no, but if I was interested I could help the ladies in the shop humping and dumping, little tasks that I got 50 pence for the Saturday he soon realised that me and my brother were good workers, we went from there, I was soon organizing the cellar storeroom to be honest it was a tiny space and I loved it I sorted out all of the stock, doing it by Best before dates, even by the age of the ten I was organized, as I got to eleven I started doing afternoon papers, again doing more than one round, I know my mother hated taking money from her children, but we had to help, there was very little help for single mothers in that day and age,.

My brother and I soon cornered the market for all of the Sunday papers in our village and then helping a family friend with minor building works, small demolition works and the such like, we were  quite industrious, maybe it also caused me to have a small (cough splutter) chip on my shoulder that I didn’t notice at the time, but looking back, damn I was so annoying, I discovered music and girls and so the shop  work and paper rounds came to a crashing finish, me petulant, damn right I was, I figured I was been taking for a mug, in reality I wasn’t I was simply approaching burn out and something had to give and it wasn’t going to be either music or the girls! So, I then left school on the Thursday and went in the army on the Friday, I had my placement from the age of thirteen (I was keen) well that went belly up, they got me a job with a local firm which didn’t last more than a couple of months as they really were taking the piss, I got a great job with the National Coal Board in their Forestry department, which I loved but again shenanigans ended that job, nothing to do with me, simply budgets and skull doggery on the managers part, he simply wasn’t honest, I wish he had been as I prefer that, it’s a theme that runs through my life, funny that!

I then did a number of jobs some declared, some not, and in-between I started my short but illustrious career as a songwriter, well ok lyricist, well ok wordsmith at a push, but I had some fun made some money, saw tons of bands and generally was in a better place than I realised, considering all of the shit that had gone on before, I then met my first wife and I got a job working with my future father in law who was gobsmacked when I told him I had taken a significant pay cut to work with him, that shut him up, and then the “plagiarism” raised its ugly head, I was twenty one and dumb I have told the story before so won’t rehash the story, go find it in the old blogs, I soon had no income and had bought a house, so I jumped at the first job I could, I was there for 35 years and went from being a grunt at the very bottom to nearly making it to the top of the tree(well top five and then I hit the glass ceiling). I also had some part time work if there was no overtime, and I roadied for a couple of local bands, mates and the such like, at my main place of employment I worked hard over seventy hours a week, again I have told the tale, read the old blogs, I simply wanted to do my best, I was then discarded as I was costly, they got rid of all the old timers as our T&C’s were too good for the administrators, cue panic, three interviews later I got a new job and I know simply go with the flow, I don’t love it like my last job but that’s the way life goes, as always the world keeps spinning.

So, now I have been in my new position for nearly two years, I realise that my body probably wont last into retirement , that is the main reason I simply do my hours and no more, well that and the fact that the wife isn’t too well, her mother is in a worse condition and the grandson has issues, there is only so much I can do to help, I wish I could do more but those days are done, I really am old money, at least my mental health is a damn sight better than it was, I miss my friends and yesterday made me realise I actually do have friends, I don’t ride the wings of solitude, I probably don’t help myself as I am terrible at keeping in touch, I feel as though I will just be a burden, people have enough issues without my (perceived) issues being added to them, as I alluded to earlier in this blog we have some issues ongoing so its best that we keep to ourselves, it wont last forever, but family must come first.

As a treat for my special day me and the wife were going to go to a record fair, however it got cancelled for the bloody world cup, I have no idea when it will be rescheduled, more than likely we will be in our own insular bubble, as it happens we did some food shopping, did a care visit to the mother in law, then came home and chilled, more music, some tv and a late night, we climbed the wooden hill, as usual I was asleep before the wife even got sorted out, and as usual I was up with the larks yet again, I think the longest night sleep I have had this year is about seven hours as I usually average between four and a half to five hours , even when I am not at work, I tend to keep the wife company as she is a night owl and suffers with sleeplessness, anyway this isn’t me bitching this is simply my observations from an unusual weekend, a friends band was playing and we really wanted to go and see them but as always family has to come first as we have the grandson staying with us.

So, the world keeps turning, we are alive and well and I have partaken in my fifty eighth journey around the sun, who knows I might even celebrate the next one, it was a lovely warm feeling for so many people to take time out of their busy days to wish me the original grumpster a hiccy burpday, thank you one and all, I don’t think I will get another 58, but here’s hoping though, and there you have it a slight detour from the blog I was thinking about, well only slightly, so watch the skies for incoming, keep spreading the disease numbers are consistent so we are doing something right, until the next time, stay safe and stay alive, until then Toodles!

Four on the Floor Volume 5.

Cats in Space – Kickstart the Sun – 9/10.

I can honestly say that this band is AWESOME, there i said it, stunning vocals exceptional song writing, playing that suits the songs and doesn’t disappear up its own arse in a sea of widdly widdly! I discovered the band with their Scarecrow album and members have changed slightly over the years, but the quality of the band simply grows and grows, the only downside to this brilliance is that the world has dumbed down to cookie monster vocals and de tuned riffs they simply don’t have an understanding of this level of excellence anymore, I know its not everybody’s cup of tea but godamn it’s so bloody good, but why only a nine, well a perfect score is reserved for perfect albums and although its really good its not quite perfect although it does try and try bloody hard! The only complaint I have is that its simply too many songs, and its not that the songs are poor but people’s attention spans kind of wanders, a lot of those classic albums are in the 35/40-minute mark. What songs would I pick I have no idea I have rocked this album everyday for the last 9 days and different days bring different moods, it’s a minor bitch, this deserves to be huge as do the band, long may they reign and yes, I can’t wait for the next one!

John Norum – Gone to Stay – 5/10.

I had seen a few reviews for this album and it got me thinking it could be good, and while there are a few good ideas I hate the vocals, I hate the David Bowie cover (I’m not a fan of Bowie to be honest I would have preferred the laughing gnome now that would have been good)I have most of his solo albums but in all honesty it simply didn’t float my boat I’m not going to witter on about it, if it was a school report it would say “could do better” lets see what he delivers next go back to what you were doing when you started playing classic bloody rock music!

Lonely Robot – A Model life – 8/10.

I enjoyed the first three albums that had a loose concept running through them, the forth one I though the quality dropped, maybe John Mitchell was simply spreading himself I little thin, I approached this one with a degree of trepidation, I needn’t have worried, the quality has returned and its not what most people would expect, I love it, its not rock, its not metal, its something just a little different, and its all the better for it, again it’s not instant, it takes a few plays but it bleeds into you, some nice atmospheric touch’s weird piano bits and simply sprinkled with magic.

Kings of Mercia - Kings of Mercia – 8/10.

This one came from leftfield simply because I thought Steve Overland was simply singing one song, but no he does the whole album, I liked it at first but thought, it should have been someone different as the main vocalist, but no the more I played it the more it made sense, and I enjoyed it more and more, with Jim Matheos as the main man backed by Joey Vera (Armoured Saint and Simon Phillips on drums (who has played with everybody, just do some research) it’s a good solid album that gets better with repeated plays, go on give it a go you might be surprised…..I was1

 

So a bloody surprise that its all new music, and I already have the next bloody blog prepped (WTF) so read play some of the music you never know you might just  like it, so until the next one stay safe stay alive and until then …..Toodles.

Step up to the Plate.

Well, that was like Mr Toads wild and wacky ride, I had to do a four on the floor blog, simply as I got a shit ton of flak from a few people, nobody important, however they did complain to the site and I got a sensitive warning posted to the blog, WTF why, I’m still awaiting a response, I’m not holding my breath but it just goes to show, if you complain enough, you can make a difference…………. NOT!

This is just a tad late as the last blog kept plugging away, I thought I would let it build away and make some hay while the sun was shining metaphorically, although the world was spinning, I seemed to be in a small rut and although I wasn’t down or even out, I was in a bit of a fug, things have been gathering a pace, I simply couldn’t get any traction, funny that!

Family matters are not the best(health wise) and no I am not going to go into it here, life is shit but I am there for the family, however because of what has been going on I decided to look at my own frailties, I decided I would get to grips with them and try my best to defeat them at least in one battle, I failed at the first hurdle I tried to make an appointment only to be told to do an E consult, when I tried to do that, well it appears not even diabetes is covered under the headings so yes I failed and failed big style, I rang the surgery to ask about it and the nice lady was as much use as an axe in the head!

I finally got my MRI for my head 11 months to the day after my accident/fall, and while I have one or two little niggles my head and jaw were/are the biggest issues, some days its all good in the hood and other days its shit, my appointment was for Sunday, as always, I got there in plenty of time, didn’t matter someone got pushed into the list so I was there for 40 minutes twiddling my thumbs before the lady came for me. Paperwork complete I was quite happy as I had done this before, this time was slightly different, the last time was for my knees, this time for my head, I was clamped into a frame and then pushed in backwards, damn I was in a real panic, I very nearly asked to be let out but I grew a set, and stayed the distance, all 17 minutes of it, my head was racing all the way through it, I hope there’s nothing seriously wrong as I really don’t want to do that again, I’m getting chills thinking about it now.

Since then, I have immersed myself in music and work, work has been kind of meh, but the music has been a blast, and no I won’t tell you what as some of it will be in the next four on the floor blog, a little hint one could be a south African rock band from 1979! Yeah, I like some weird shit. Today I have chores (which are complete) and then there will be more supporting of the people within range, I can be a good person from time to time (allegedly).

So what will the coming weeks be bringing more support of the family, more work and tons more music and hopefully some good vibes to go with that, as for the blog I have a couple starting to simmer away, but if the previous one is still getting hits I may end up with a bottleneck of ideas, so I think it will be a kind of watch this space for a while, but as I have already said it’s all good in the hood, thank you to all the nice people who got in touch even the one or two who in a nice way told me off about interacting, I hear you all message received and you must have confused me with someone who gives a shit I will continue to post what I want even if it can be drivel/waffle at times I am if nothing but consistent!

And that’s another one done, stay safe, stay alive and watch the skies for incoming there will be another one along soon (honest) I simply haven’t decided which of the tree I am contemplating will come first, watch this space is all I can confirm, so until the next time thank you and from me its………..Toodles!

Four on the Floor – Volume 4.

Jack Green – Humanesque – 8/10

This was a strange one, my brother arrived home with it from our local record emporium (remember those days), I had never heard of him, although upon the dawn of the internet I looked him up, it turns out he played for T-Rex and then the Pretty Things, allegedly he was a member of Rainbow for all of 3 weeks before Roger Glover decided that he wanted to join the band, but not before Mr B played a tasteful solo on I call, no answer, is it the best track on the album, no but it is the best solo, as for the rest of the album I loved it, like a British Rick Springfield meets Elvis Costello a similar touch, it was one of the albums I lost when I was burgled in 1983, although I had it on tape so I could play it on my Walkman as I travelled around the UK watching bands, I still love the album all these years later I received a digital copy yesterday and so far have played it 7 times, yes I like it.

Deep Purple – Turning to Crime – 1/10.

I love this band in most incarnations, although since Mr B left the quality control has been dodgy to say the least, this is horrible, I don’t mind cover albums but this should have been locked up and the key thrown away, I look forward to an album with Simon McBride as I think he is better fit to the band than Steve Morse, a super guitarist ( and all round nice guy) but I never felt the connection, this is my personal opinion if you like it, good luck to you, I heard it when it was released and hated it from the second I played it, I have given myself some distance but it hasn’t improved any, I still hate it, and I think I would rather gnaw my foot off then have to endure it again. 49.45 minutes of my life I will never get back and to think Bob Ezrin produced it, maybe he needs to go back on the drugs, utter shite!

Man Raze – PunkFunkRootRock -7/10.

When this was released back in 2011 I loved it , it disappeared under the onslaught of new music, but every now and then it would surface, A member of Def Leppard/Girl, a member of Girl and a Sex Pistol what could go wrong, not a lot really, it hasn’t lost its charm, it also comes across as something more than a vanity project, it has had money spent on it, and its charm shines through on the songs with a bit of energy when its required, I do admit I prefer this to Def Leppard its more up my street, give it a chance you will love it! I saw them support Alice Cooper on my birthday for this album and I thought it went well, well until I thought I was going to get stabbed for shouting for Hollywood Tease, but that’s another story

The Cult – Under the Midnight Sun – 3/10.

I thought I should do at least one new release and to be honest I struggled, I never got them, I thought they were a tribute band, and always thought Astbury was a dick, but I have matured and thought I would give them another chance, I had seen a few interviews with the band saying it was a seminal release, and…..well I still don’t get it, they leave me cold, they can all play and sing, they can write songs but damn it, it leaves me colder than a corpse that has been in a morgue for a week,  don’t worry I don’t care for led Zeppelin for exactly the same reasons, if you like it good luck to you and all that sails with you, and it is still better than the afore mentioned Deep Purple (well more like a Gillan) album that’s already been reviewed earlier.

White Feather.

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Among the Living.

 

So, this one has gone off in a different direction, not in a bad way I don’t think, but not where it was intended, everything had been going in the right direction, some bumps in the road (some big ones but we are staying positive) I was trying my best not to spiral away, I tried but it didn’t work, thankfully I wasn’t depressed, I just a bit angry, I am not going to bore you with the details as its work related, I am still amazed that clots do indeed rise to the top, they may be educated but they are ignorant and as thick as pig shit!

I got over that blip, but it destroyed the serene mood that I had been aiming at, I don’t do angry these days, well not as much as I used to, Thankfully I try and remain zen like, that maybe because I’m getting old and decrepitate, I’m not sure, I’m more like a slow diesel engine as opposed to a rocket powered super jet, just as well as angry doesn’t get you very far I have discovered!

I had been having a discussion with someone from work about how some people can be  antisocial, not generally me, well I was meaning me, but I don’t think that they caught my drift, I don’t think that I am very social at times, I can wear a happy face but in reality, I am just a tad antisocial, I don’t make new friends easily, I can be user friendly, but not friendly, I’m sure that you understand what I mean.

Do I have friends well yes I do, but my really old friends, people I knew when I was a teenager (yes that old) I love bumping into them for that couple of minutes, but they moved on, that’s their choice not a complaint, I have been back in my hometown for nearly twenty years and only one has ever come a calling (and he is my oldest friend) admittedly he came calling because he was after something (and I was grateful that he came)  but it kind of underlined that they let me hang round with them because they could, now it’s a friendly hello but everybody has moved on they all look incredibly happy, me I just look sour faced all the time. Before you all shout at me for it being a two way street, I get that but I did do a lot of the facilitating travelling big distances to little avail, it is what it is do I miss them well yes of course I do, but the world keeps turning.

My friends from Durham (read The Dawn Patrol) it turns out that there is only 2 left, 12 of the group have died in the last two years a couple with covid and some with major ailments, my wife has tons of friends or at least people to talk to, all I have now is the south shields massive, unfortunately Co-vid has put paid to our trips down the hill to visit, I miss those weekends, however one of the bumps in the road (a rather major one) has basically curtailed even the smallest of road trips, I do miss the Tee Hee Club, I am confident that we will rise again like a phoenix, or rather a drunken mob at some point!

 

Warning! Here comes the morbid bit, I have decided that when I die, the wife can do what ever she wants with me, the cheapest way is simply to be cremated (the Co Op is the cheapest about a grand for the function of burning my ass, I don’t want a funeral with three people in attendance, they don’t miss me when I’m a live I don’t want them turning into hypocrites, wailing and gnashing of teeth saying I was a good egg, obviously I wasn’t otherwise you would have kept in touch, but I digress, she can donate me to medical science I don’t care I will be dead do with me as you see fit!

The reason for this blog well  I have had a number of new readers, who try to interact with me, and I simply won’t, read the early blogs and understand why I am just a little distant, I have no intention of going back to the Myspace days, was the readership bigger, hell yeah it was almost twenty times the readership that I have now, this is quite tidal with good times and slow times, I’m happy with it, I get to vent my spleen, and you lot seem to enjoy it, and although I do read the interactions, I tend not to reply directly, yes I know if I did my historical ones the readership might grow, but to be honest some of the memories although great at the time, would be very painful to dredge to the surface, but some of you new people are quite happy to get a mention in print, the questions that asked are being saved for a new “Now Hear This” blog that is about the only way I directly interact, so watch this space you never know a query from yourself might just get picked, yes the are some old hands that I will interact with (Broadsword calling Danny Boy, Sabine, Nils and a couple of others) but trust me I am not doing this to make friends, I am simply trying to get to the finish line in one piece!

So, that’s it, another one gone faster than the speed of light, I am a lot happier doing spur of the moment blogs than trying to write war and peace epics, that doesn’t mean that you won’t get one at some point, I have a couple of memories that I think have the potential to be good historical but not musical, I’m not sure if I am brave enough to venture that far back in the mists of time, so keep spreading the disease, yes the name game is in play, click like, share or whatever you do as the numbers are…..consistent, so until the next time, take care and stay alive, until the next time………….Toodles!

Four on the Floor – Volume 3.

Gasoline – Gasoline – 9/10

This album is a blast and I promise you I won’t waste time as I wax lyrical, its everything that you need in an album its fun with a capital F! I will admit to knowing 50% of the band although it’s been I while since I have enjoyed their company although (part of) their alter ego band (The mighty Bessie and the Zinc Buckets played my hometown whilst me and the wife were away on a short holiday, it’s a conspiracy I tell you) the band is ¾  French but that is not apparent, it rolls with a good old fashioned swagger, I won’t bore you with all of the tracks, but I will say that if Love train was released and got some airplay on Radio 2 I reckon it has “HIT” written all over it, I can just see the video now, at least we won’t have Kev in a wedding dress! the album was my go to album for about a fortnight going back to and from work its just the right timeframe, the playing is tasteful and not too flashy the playing supports the material, I really can’t wait for another album this is sooooooooooo good!

 

Journey – Freedom – 5/10.

I do Like this band, I like 90% of all of their recorded material and the various line ups, but this just left me feeling Meh! I had about 6 attempts at getting into it, and I struggled, its well-played, well written but ultimately it simply feels bland, I couldn’t get motivated about it, there’s 15 tracks maybe that’s the problem, just pick your 10 best and put that out, some tracks seem to last forever, the biggest hits they have released got in got out and did the job, these kind of don’t, it feels like a totally joyless exercise, the complete opposite to the Gasoline album, they should have called the album Serious instead of Freedom as there is a complete lack of FUN in this slab of (alleged) rock. No doubt at some point I will attempt to play it again and you never know it may blow my mind (I have my doubts) but if I listen to it again anytime soon, I may just blow my mind out using both barrels of a bloody shotgun, file it under Meh!

 

Ted Nugent – Detroit Muscle – 2/10.

An artist I truly loved right up until about 2010 when his weird political rants seemed to take over, the last decent effort from Uncle Ted was Craveman 2002 you had to go all the back to 1980 to Scream Dream for the last totally consistent record, after that he has chased every fashion going, with piss poor line ups and poorly conceived albums, the last 10 or so years its like he has lost his mind and then its like his mouth is in overdrive spewing buckets of bile, I don’t care if he hunts, owns guns drives cars fast, he has turned into a dick and the music has as well, gone are the days of the whiplash bash, he should retire and just play with his toys, he no longer tours stadiums it looks like small clubs, there’s a reason for that it’s your mouth, playing the same riffs over and over again, can he play hell yeah, can he sing, not really bring, back Derek St Holmes (oh I’m sorry you don’t like having to pay him)  I hope he doesn’t release any more sub standard albums like this, he has killed his own reputation.

 

UFO – Obsession – 9/10.

After the last two out pouring's of drivel, I felt the need to go back to the 70’s for some feel good vibes, I can remember quite vividly the day that my brother bought this album as if it was yesterday and I can remember listening with my jaw hanging  loose, I liked the previous albums but this one simply blew me away, it had the songs, the production, the band were firing on all six cylinders, ask a fan to name their fave studio album and I bet they would just about all say this album, there is nothing wrong with this album, so why the 9 scoring, well simply its no Rainbow Rising which to me is the greatest rock album ever recorded, this is a pretty close second in my eyes, go on play this and just feel the soaring feelings of joy that you get whilst listening to this, I think why I struggle with most modern albums is they try and fill it up with 70 + minutes when in reality we would be happy with a cracking album that clocks in at 30 odd minutes of class, UFO went on a decline after this all be it a slow decline, have they made good albums since this, yes they have but this is the pinnacle, oh those glory days!

 

I have listened to tons of great music since the last musical excursion, I thought I had to be honest, I don’t intend to simply put on good reviews, I will put up how I feel after I have played them, Gasoline is the album of the month for me, buy it, from streaming services or try and get a physical copy, I’m hoping to get to see them live at some point because I reckon there will be more mayhem than at a Buckets gig, oh the sheer wonder of a live gig! These have done good numbers I don’t expect them to do the same numbers as the proper blog, but I like how its going, onwards, watch the skies for more incoming and until the next time………………Toodles

 

By the way these are my opinions you don’t have to agree with me, it’s how I feel on the day 6 months from now I might love and album I hated and vice versa its only a bit of fun so suck it up buttercup!

Message From a Self-Destructing Turnip.

No, I haven’t lost my mind, the name game is in play it’s what I am listening to at the moment so google it if you have to cheat.

Life as always bimbles on and I seem to bimble along with it, good news or bad news I seem to shrug my shoulders and simply keep trying to move forward. The Four on the floor blogs seem to have found a niche and they are trickling with good days and bad days sometimes nobody reads them then other days you get 13 hits in 22 minutes, I have no idea why, that is why I am simply bimbling along, I am preparing the next four on the floor but its not set in stone just yet, as I am indeed playing a lot of music.

So, what have we been doing of late, well we had a brief jaunt off to the north of the country, yes we crossed the border and headed to bonny Scotland , the weather was unseasonly warm, we hired a small cottage between haddington and Dunbar and kicked back just a little, a slow drive up the military road to avoid the traffic on the direct route we took the old military road the only thing that spoilt that journey was the possibility of a traffic cam flash as we overtook a slow electric car (the driver must have been about 90 and could have hardly see over the stirring wheel) we wait with baited breath to see if a notice arrives in the post.

We kicked back the first night and did what we like to do most, which is very little if we can, I read a biography on Cozy Powell (meh) and the wife played with her switch. The next morning I was up with the larks (no surprise there then) the wife was up quite early for her I didn’t have to poke her with a stick, cunning plans were afoot, typically we didn’t follow them, we headed off down narrow country lanes and found a Deer farm, then managed to get into Dunbar (where I had my first ever holiday at the tender age of 5) and we dawdled went to the harbour and looked out to sea, shame really as it has a fantastic beach but the tide was in, we dawdled along the opposite side of the street and the wife spotted a record shop (heaven) we had a good sort through and I was a good boy I only bought 4, it definitely lifted my spirits we called into a garden centre for a spot of lunch and had a fab meal, we could have split either meal between us and still have been stuffed, cracking meal and it kind of stopped us in our tracks, we wandered a bit further afield but the grub had really stifled us, so we headed back to base for another quiet night, I know we are getting old, the next day the same process, except this time I had a slight lie in, please note a lie in for me is anything past 5.30 in the morning, this was 6.10 I was happy, a late breakfast for us, and then time to head out again this time to Haddington were walked around the village a little but headed to our fave “Bistro” the waterside the clock struck 12 and we walked through the door for lunch, the food as per was out of this world a starter a full Sunday lunch and a pudding we waddled out of the place across the bridge and collapsed into the first available seat.

We did venture further afield, which was good when you consider what we had eaten, but we did eventually throw our hands in defeat and head back to base, another glorious day and after we had settled, we decided to start the job of packing up, a little less to do in the following morning, I finished the biography (a 5 out of ten for me) then off to bed and to sleep. We were up about the same time I let the wife snooze a little longer as I finished the packing, we had a light breakfast and then set off, we headed back via the motorway and the traffic was crap we finally got home and decided we need to do that some more, I just have to find a bank to rob, as it was bloody expensive, and all the banks in Gimpsville have just about closed. I had had a couple of great ideas for a blog but had to neglected to bring the infamous black book so they were lost to the ether, you think I would learn, I seem to have gotten out of the habit of being a blogger (something I must rectify) as I lie awake at night trying to remember the structure of the snowflake of an idea, I rarely do, so its back to carrying a little black book, don’t say that you haven’t been warned!

Then back to work I miss the old place of work simply because I could play bus seat bingo just about every single journey, my current place of work, I’m not the first on the bus anymore, but sometimes I do manage it and boy does it piss people off, it’s the simple things in life! One thing that doesn’t change is the pain my knees on the walk to my bus connection and because of the weight of my bag that I carry my hips have decided to join in, its not good, it lets me know that I am a mere mortal, I really am too old for all of this shit! To make matters I fell onto my knees at work from a height onto a stone staircase, thankfully nobody saw but the rest of this week was crippling with little chance of recovery.

The trip to Scotland by now seemed like a lifetime away, there was some sad news as a lovely person from work passed suddenly, there was a chill and subdued vibe for the rest of the week, I hobbled to the finish line on Friday, but the wife insisted that we needed supplies so I was dragged around but we didn’t stay long when I’m in pain I always have a cunning plan, we went to the nearest shop scooted around and then headed home. I continued with the iPhone treachery by adding new “old” albums but I am being careful as I don’t want to break the first new phone, I have had in 4 years, there’s time enough for that. Last night I was checking on the blog as I tend to do, since I started blogging on here 11 years ago I have had nearly close to 85000 hits, that does thaw the frozen brick in my chest.

Going forward there are some rocks in the road and I need to be able to support the wife as she supports a member of her family, there will be some dark times ahead, but I will be there to help here every step of that journey. The Hurricane is still with us and is great for about 98.5% of the time, we are trying to help him, we are trying to make sure that life can be a little easier for him bless him he’s 11 and all I want to do is help him steer his ship, he has been good company, although I swear he is trying to kill himself on that bloody scooter, its only a matter of time before we have a broken bone, he has the safety gear we just need to make sure he wears it.

The new cooker has an issue that has had two visits to fix and we have been warned that it could happen again, I thought that the wife might strangle the engineer, thankfully she didn’t, he was simply trying to give some good advice,  as I gather my thoughts whilst taking notes for this blog I’m looking around the office and because it’s a Friday its like the Marie celeste (look it up  if you don’t get the reference) and no matter what happens life goes on, another week crawls to an end, no matter whether its been a good week or a bad week.

My addiction to the internet appears to be broken, once and for all I seem to only go on twice a week to check any email, and to post a blog if I need to,  I can hear the wife shouting at me to come back and join the real world, I will finish up the longest blog this year,  I will head off to interact with real live people, you never know I might get to like it, as I said earlier Four on the floor is next after this and some damn good music is going to get reviewed, lets just see what tomorrow brings!

And so as this blog draws to a close remember to spread the disease, click like share whatever lets see if we can do another 85000 hits and for it not to take another 11 years, onwards take care and stay alive, until the next time…………. Toodles!                                AND YES, THE NAME GAME IS IN PLAY!

Four on the Floor - 2.

So, the cunning plan regarding music was only paused and not derailed, I had a brief digital sabbatical, but actually did have number two written, then the world moved on and I took a slight break, now while the blog could have been still relevant, I became a traitor to music and got an Apple account and shock horror an I Phone, then the madness really began. I was overdosing on classic albums and stuff that I had on vinyl back in the day that had gone missing in action, and one or two newer ones as well, I honestly thought that the wife was actually going to take the phone off me, I used it more in the first 48 hours than I had actually used it in the last 3 years. So, this music blog is just some of what I have been playing over the last fortnight, if you haven’t heard of them I won’t apologise but would recommend that you give them a listen!

 

Be Bop Deluxe – Drastic Plastic  8/10.

I bought this album for 99p from Woolworths after seeing them prepare for the tour on Blue Peter of all things, I fell in love with the band (as always a kiss of death when I love a band) and got a ticket to see them on what was to be their last tour, I loved the gig but I loved this album, now over the years I have gotten or heard all of their others and whilst I like them I don’t love them like I love this particular album, there is no rhyme or reason to this eclectic mix from the opener Electrical Language to the last song Islands of the dead. The album simply spoke to me, as I broadened my musical horizons, venturing off into potential new worlds and bright new vistas, now this is the digital remastered version and all bright and sparkly, there is a small issue it comes with an additional 61 tracks, demos, remixes and assorted bits and pieces, I haven’t played anything else I simply don’t want to go off down a rabbit hole, I will at some point however I am drowning in music and don’t wish to be (more) distracted than I already am!

Tonight – Drummer Man.   6/10.

I loved this single and bought the follow up “Money” I loved the B sides , slightly more mature than the A sides, which in reality were jumping on to the band wagon of “New Wave” They released a third single called “Wheels” which strangely isn’t actually on this compilation, my local record emporium couldn’t get a hold of it for love nor money and they disappeared  from sight, imagine my delight when I discovered the album after randomly typing in names from the past and was so happy when this popped up, it does sound as though it has been remixed (well maybe kind of tweaked) but the album was as good as any of the tracks fond on those two singles (all four on here) and imagine my surprise that they have more in common with early Who and the Ska Bands that were to arrive a few years after this, did I enjoy it? Yes I did! Will I play it again? Probably just the good tracks, but yes I will, the band are still going in various forms and if they came close enough I reckon I would go to see them!

The Skyhooks – Guilty until proven insane.   8/10.

Another of my 99p buys (well money was tight) I bought it after buying the single “women in uniform” in yellow vinyl for only 20P the single is long since gone and I still own the vinyl of the album, yes the single is the song Iron Maiden covered, probably after having a few too many beers, the album is polished and quite musical, again a band that were big in Australia but meant bugger all elsewhere, I more than likely will go hunting for their back catalogue, but for now I lie back and enjoy songs like Hotel Hell, Megalomania, B B Boogie and the lovely Why dontcha all get fucked! All classics but for me the selling point is a track called A point in the distance, where the solo just flows, and it really could just take you anywhere!

Ian Gillan Band Clear Air Turbulence.   8/10.

A real guilty secret, I hate the man himself as every time I have been in his presence, he has been a total dick! That and the rumours (allegedly) that he hasn’t always been honest with the royalties owed to other band members, I had a brilliant conversation with Bernie Torme in Newcastle Mayfair in which after the conversation he sound checked with Vengeance, a Gillan song just so he could vent his spleen, I didn’t stay for the gig but a good afternoon was had in the company of the affable Irishmen, this is the kind Jazz version, when the former Deep Purple vocalist came out screeching his nuts off and was still considered to be an excellent vocalist and not the travesty he has been since around 1987, this was released in 1977 and I remember my brother bringing it into the house and me smuggling it out of his room when he wasn’t in and me simply falling in love with 5 of the 6 tracks on it, it didn’t sell and although I saw a BBC concert on the TV, the audience didn’t have a clue, he did a couple of similar albums but this is the cream of the crop, there is also a stunning live album from Japan, before he decided he needed to go back to rock to earn a crust.

There are a huge amount of other artists that I have added my fave albums to the playlist including (too name but a few) TRB, Amanda Marshall, Zappacosta, Jellyfish, The Pork Dukes, 999, Nightranger, St Paradise, Silver Condor, The Rods,  Sammy Hagar, Streets (lead by Steve Walsh of Kansas not that shite that was released all English hip hop) SLF, Triumph, The Dickies, Ivor Biggun, Bernie Marsden, Cheap Trick, Pat Benatar (only the first two albums) Starz, and so many more, yes I am aware that there is a huge amount downloaded from 1978 through to 1983 (the sweet spot….oooooh I haven’t done any sweet albums) I have 64 Gigabytes on my phone and I believe that I have added 35 gigabytes already, it can only end in disaster (LOL).

And before anybody decides to let me know I have crap taste in music, I don’t care, there are some bands that are indeed shocking, that doesn’t mean to say that I cant like them , not everybody likes what everybody else likes, some of the crap ones are albums that I heard as a spotty teenager and I loved them, have they aged well? No some are decidedly pants, that doesn’t mean that I can't still love them, I can and I bloody well will!

So, there you have it the second musical one and thanks to Apple many more will rear their head as the year continues, I promise that there will be some newer material mixed in amongst them (allegedly) until the next time stay safe, keep spreading the disease and watch the sky for even more incoming, music is really infectious……………………Toodles!

Set the controls for the heart of the sun.

So the (digital) world went sideways ever so slightly, Farcebook lived up to its name in spectacular style, I was banished time and time again, it was saying I was posting images that broke their (Stalinist) views, I wasn’t but their computer was saying I was, I was then being told I was being hacked so I had to change my password (11 times and counting) to be honest it broke my addiction, I went off and had a life, I saw that there was daylight and butterflies and stuff!

Books and many music magazines came back to the fore, and I discovered this thing called a “TV” mainly for films and the odd documentary (and yes some of them were indeed odd) I re-joined  (ok just the wife)the family and it has been a wonderful time, I played some music (ok lots) and although I did (as per usual) start a few ideas including a four on the floor blog, I decided a break was needed, my writing had become stale(so I thought) and I sat back and concentrated on other things that some people say that you have too.

The youngest moved out to her first flat, the world kept turning and I kind  of went with the flow, now that’s not to say that it wasn’t without its issues (mainly medical) but we kind attempted to sort out our empty nest, cunning plans were afoot, and then again the world tilted, the Hurricane came to stay so things generally ground to a halt as we adapted to his curious foibles, nothing too bad just different, strange having a “child” in the house and I like it in a strange way, we do indeed clash from time to time, but I would do anything to help him, he just needs to recognise it!

Still, I went without contact with the digital world and if I am honest I really enjoyed it, I finally reclaimed my Farcebook account, simply so that people realise that I’m not the misery I have painted myself out to be (ok I am who am I trying to kid? Mainly myself) but I think the damage has been inflicted so its time to stick to twitter and potentially Instagram, although I simply post obscure things there, no change there then I hear you all shout, numbers have been good across the board, with 66 views yesterday alone, its never going to pay the bills, but some of you seem to still enjoy it! Go figure, I can’t, and I write this drivel LOL.

So here comes yet another (false) dawn as I again attempt to keep to a direct course to you the discerning readers, the intention is to do the same as I have already indicated, I will endeavour to do definitely two blogs a month with an occasional Q&A session thrown in for good measure, has anything really changed? Well other than a smashed tooth and an addiction to Kit Kats and a new hedge trimmer (I have gone for a battery operated one as i was sick of cutting the cable on my previous one) and a new bathroom being fitted as I type this, no I don’t suppose it has changed, the house is still upside down, but I’m here and I’m raring to go in a blog kind of way!

So, I have set the controls in a solid direction (yes the name game is in play and is soooooo easy) once more into the breach and all of that malarky, so watch the skies, keep spreading the disease, click, press like or whatever you lot do this kid is back in the game and until the next time………Toodles!

Gold at the End of my Rainbow

Where did this month go it’s been a real rollercoaster, not emotionally, just busy, busy, busy, to be honest I haven’t been a fan of busy this month, actually I have never liked being busy, I would much rather simply go with the flow, but hey ho here goes.

So work has just been so fast with so much going on, a trip to Watford (I’m sure that’s Latin for “shithole”) we travelled all the way there, only to be told the next day that the course was cancelled (due to a lack of interest) as the tutor had covid, yes that’s still a thing, thankfully it got rescheduled quickly (guess what I have been doing all this week from home) it went better than I thought, but man I am so shit at algebra and hard maths, I avoided algebra at school(because I was thick/special, you decide) but it caught up with me 40 plus years later and handed me my ass in a hat, did I manage to complete it? Yes, but it was meant to be done in 15 minutes for all the three sets, it took me 35 minutes a set, I know because I spent my nights trying to get better, I don’t think it likes me, as my brain certainly hurts with it.

Thankfully tomorrow I return to the real world, but I’m still working from home as I have a hospital appointment, a follow up to my small procedure back in January, I’m not confident that they will tell me anything new, but I don’t intend to miss it, 7 years I have been suffering with this particular ailment, it cant be that bad as it hasn’t killed me …..yet! music has been played but not to the degree that I would like, simply because of course work, I am way too old to be doing this amount of studying, my brain is fried at the best of times, lol, I need a lottery win, knowing my luck I would win big and then become a paraplegic and have to spend all of the money on palliative care, me over think it, hell yeah just a bit! Do you lot not know me LOL.

The four on the floor blog did really good numbers and that’s my excuse for not doing this blog (the reality is I’m not as clever as I thought I was so therefore work won simply because it pays the bills) I had a couple of ideas but they went nowhere, no matter what I did with them, I simply couldn’t get past the 300-word mark, here I am waffling and I am all ready past the 400 mark, goes to prove I can waffle. Having said that there will be more to come, I just need to play a bit more music, no bus journey this week, so I haven’t really played much at all, the title of the blog is a band I’m playing as I batter the keyboard, not from my favourite album by them, but still a lovely song and the vocalist/guitarist is so underrated I really must get stuck into his solo albums but with 70 or so out there its where to start, and no its not Frank Zappa, he’s English, a Yorkshire man no less, but the band were slightly multicultural, but enough clues google it like you lot normally do when it’s a hard one!

For the four on the floor I am deciding whether to alternate between new and older music or discography’s its still up in the air, watch this space, I also have discovered a number of magazines that my brother gave me in a bag under a table, I feel guilty maybe I should read them before I hand them on, I simply used to devour anything to read, now I seem to wander about like a pissed pigeon, not really knowing what to do with life, damn I feel old. The gold at the end of my rainbow is I have a hurricane warning as the Hurricane (the oldest grandson) is here for a short time, this could be interesting, I’m sure there will stories to be told in the next exciting edition of this here blog! Who knows, not me for sure I’m simply going with the flow, I promise I won’t raise my voice more than once a day, well I will give it a go, I will also say prayers to whichever deity will listen to and answer my prayers (Lucifer?) that we don’t have a huge falling out.

So there you go, I know some people expected this a little earlier in the month, but although I like to run my life by the clock, blog writing doesn’t appear to wish to follow those rules, so with the juices flowing there will be something a little sooner than expected next time round and if you believe that you believed every lie Boris fed about brexit, so tonight I intend to put my feet up and chill I might even push the boat out and have a hot chocolate, hot damn us oldies know how to party and kick the door in, so my nurse keeps telling me, so take care (yes covid is still out there) enjoy the blog try and guess the name without googling it, watch the skies for more incoming, keep spreading the  disease(figuratively speaking) and until the next time…………….Toodles!

Four on the Floor – Volume 1.

So, the intention as always is to do some reviews of albums that I have been listening too, rather than get all serious, I intend to be like a man on a galloping horse and do some small pieces, I will try and do as many new albums as I can but some old ones will surface from time to time, give them a go you never know you might just find something that you might like.

Ronnie Romero – Raised on Radio – 5/10.

I like some of the projects that Ronnie has done (Rainbow, Lords of Black, The Ferryman) but I think that he is starting to spread himself just a little too thin and this album kind of proves it, the backing band is the usual suspects from Frontiers supporting team, and although its well-played and well sung, there’s not tons of life in it, I mean he was even part of this year’s Eurovision contest, I was impressed when I stalked him on YouTube when he was announced as Rainbows latest singer (go check it out there’s some great stuff out there) but it has been ever decreasing circles since, he seems to be the go to vocalist at the moment, he’s good just not great on this, I do like the eclectic nature of the choices, I don’t know if he chose the songs or frontiers did, I enjoyed the Grand Funk Railroad cover(its an album of covers in case you didn’t know) I like the Survivor track, he also does the unexpected route with Bad Company and Kansas songs, Brian Howe version and the John Elefante version, so yes marks for taking the lesser know route, towards the end he strays back to the predictable tracks from bands that was to be expected and to be honest I’m sick of them Led Zeppelin (shock Horror) Uriah Heep well played but again he should have gone for a deep cut rather than the track he did, and a certain Bob Dylan track that’s been covered by just about everybody. The best track is a Russ Ballard cover, he should do more like that It’s not a bad album, but to be honest its not a great album either, if this was his school report it would be a case of “can do better”.

Ann Wilson – Fierce Bliss – 7/10.

I’m not a huge Heart fan, I like the odd track from the earlier albums, I still don’t think that they have bettered Barracuda, and I know the band can play just by the calibre of the artists that have played in the band, but for me it got a little safe after Passion Works, good but I had to be in the mood for them, this is not what I expected at all, first the bad news, I didn’t care much for two of the three covers (Queen and Jeff Buckley) but her version of a well known Robin Trower song is lush and suits her voice, I think the rest of the album is original material and is all good her voice even at her age is incredible and the album is a pleasant surprise, if you want a pleasant surprise and a little bit of a curve ball this is a great album to do that, oh and while I am on this, if Jimmy Page wants to tour he should take this lady out because she could sing the living crap out of his back catalogue and would have fun doing it!

Scorpions – Rock Believer -6/10.

This is a good album (ignore the scoring for a minute) its like classic scorpions (think Lovedrive/Blackout) however it just misses the mark as the production is very……..Polished, it somehow manages to miss the magic, will I play it again hell yeah I will, but I would play the two aforementioned albums first if I have them on my MP3 player before this, there are riffs galore, thunderous drums and Klaus Meine doing what he always does, however there is just the sprinkle of fairy dust that seems to be missing, I read somewhere that they intended to work with Dieter Dierks that might have pushed them to the former heights that they had hit, do I like it yes I do, there is much to love but there are a couple of tiny niggles in the back of my head saying its just not quite there, it still rocks like a hurricane and there’s an additional 5 extra songs on the deluxe addition that takes the album over the hour mark, maybe if they had picked the best 10/11 songs that little bit of polish would have been there.

Aldo Nova – The Life and Times of Eddy Gage. 6/10.

I have a love hate relationship with Mr Nova, I love his first two albums, drifted a little with the third and hated what he did with Jon Bon Jovi, then he drifted into making money with Celine Dion, came back with a really good instrumental album and then shot himself in the head with a recording of his debut which sucks, I played it once and deleted it as soon as I possibly could, never have I hated something that I previously loved so much, I get why bands do it, they don’t own the copyright and so don’t make money but there’s a few bands out there that have done this and have come in pretty close to the original, close but never quite getting across the line, if I had wrote this last week as planned it probably would have been an 8, however I have played it a few more times and the annoying things have outweighed the good, he has allegedly had over 150 songs to choose from……..hmmm it is actually a good album well played some guitar parts that wouldn’t go amiss on a Joe Satriani album and in some parts he sounds like Buck Dharma (always a good thing) but he ends the album with a piano led instrumental that meanders along the way, I’m sure if you have 150 songs you could have closed the album with a better one than this, it reeks of B-side, actually as a B-side it would have worked much better, will I play it again, depends on my mood but yes I do believe I would, now lets go and play the original version of the debut album and kick some serious amounts of BUTT!

 

And there you have it, the new formula for me to impart my words of wisdom regarding music, I have played, with more to come, enjoy and as always until the next time Toodles!

No one knows my plan.

This is a smash and grab blog simply to set out yet another cunning plan going forwards, this is not the blog intended as I let my notes in my (new) locker at work, D’oh! I really don’t want to do it from scratch so you only need to wait until next week and it is going to be a musical blog, and the blogs will once again be starting to ramp up as it is without a doubt a great help when I have a certain “Black Dog” visiting me.

Now it will not be loads and loads of blogs, but I would like to do one every 14 to 21 days (hopefully) and the intention is to be a mix of shite in my head and some musical one and hopefully a couple of hysterical I mean historical ones, and if all goes to plan I will be a monkey’s uncle, I start with good intentions, that’s not to say that it will be successful, we can but try.

The blogs numbers have been through the roof over the last couple of weeks, someone has been reading blog after blog, someone needs therapy (that’s why I write them) but there has also been some good feedback, and some small interaction regards content, all good and constructive, advice that I shall heed going forward. But the seed of inspiration has been sown and the saplings are bursting into life, now if I can only remember to bring the bloody notes home, I usually have a book on me to write any burst of creativity, which seem to be growing all the while, is this a good thing time will tell.

The name game is in play and whilst I’m not exactly a huge fan of the band I worked with somebody who would play the bloody thing over and over again, and that’s this one done, I’m not expecting big numbers on this one as it’s a stop gap measure until the next one which will be called…….” Four on the floor” and they will be numbered (told you I had a plan) small reviews of stuff I am listening to at this moment in time. Some old some new you will get the picture when it pops up, there will also be a new “Now Hear This” blog coming as there has been a flurry of questions from around the world, thankfully no rednecks as of yet! If you don’t know don’t worry about it, its not really as exciting as it was, I’m too old for this cack.

I’m on holiday at the moment I should be listening to even more music, however the freezer in the kitchen is trying to die, and its louder than a motorhead concert, thankfully the man is coming tomorrow the rest of the weekend shall be me lying around like a loppy dog doing as little as possible, unless I feel the urge to write!

So, there you have it, I’m like a man on a galloping horse, I was going to go for a walk, however I would be as wet as an otters pocket, the rain is that heavy, there is no such thing as bad weather just the wrong clothes, I will see if it will drown out the noise of the freezer grinding away! So watch the skies there will be more incoming as soon as I can get my notes, I don’t intend to go to work to pick them up, until the next time stay safe and stay alive, keep spreading this   disease………………….Toodles!

You Don’t Have to Be Old to Be Wise!

But it certainly does help, its funny that you only discover that as you indeed do get old.

This is the blog I have been threatening people with and its just as well as I have been playing tons of music both old and new, music has helped, as I’m definitely on an up trajectory, lets see how long before I crash and burn, so let’s go back in the mists of time to a time when Judas Priest was starting their ever upward climb to success.

I have seen Judas Priest every time that they have played in Newcastle since the stained class tour in 1978, damn I feel old, who knew that would happen, they always had good support bands, the sign of a great band is that it takes out any band, it just makes you up your game, and they always brought their A game. Some of the support bands including Iron Maiden, City Hall and Mayfair, white heat although I don’t remember any of their songs I did watch them, Quiet Riot, Accept who were great for the first two songs then they got Udo Dirkschneider’s microphone switched on LOL ,Queensryche who were dreadful, a band I thought I would have loved (the first EP yes then less with each passing album) and they were terrible every time I saw them, at the arena I had no option as I was on the guest list and it would have been churlish to spend all of their set in the bar, Bonfire, Annihilator, they are the ones I remembered.

I have met them a few times usually at my former place of work, I did try to go to see them at a signing at Volume Records however it helps if you turn up on the right day, D’OH! All of them were lovely even KK Downing who played the rock star to the hilt, me and a friend had some inside information for the painkiller tour as to what hotel they were staying in, so we waited all day outside and we thought we had been sold a puppy as they didn’t turn up, well they did but after the gig not before D’oh! I nearly broke my neck to meet Rob Halford, he ducked into a coffee shop at my former place of work and sat and laughed as he and a friend watched my antics as I searched for him he had been on the first floor and I was on the ground floor, he had seen my reaction when I had spotted him and he knew I was going to give chase, at least I amused him for thirty minutes (in a non-sexual manner LOL)it was a time before mobile phones and he was shocked that I didn’t even want his autograph I just wanted to thank him for the gigs I had seen, he was a down earth bloke and a true gent.

I was suffering a massive hay fever splurge on the Ram it Down tour ,it was so bad a friend had the bootleg of the gig for the support band and all you can hear between songs is me sneezing that was a fun gig….NOT! and I was in the balcony and the bootleg was recorded in front of the mixing desk downstairs, The best opening I saw was when they had Accept opening for them, they opened with Solar Angels from the Point of Entry album and I thought the album was a tad poppy, live Solar Angels was amazing and then KK and Glen came upon towers from behind screens great effect, but it was only used  for the opening, must have cost a fortune for 20 seconds, I enjoyed it. My favourite drummer will always be Les Binks who stayed outside the city hall for more than hour to chat to fans, Dave Holland was ok but got annoyed that we only ever wanted to talk about Trapeze, and Scott Travis is simply a machine and a nice guy, I never got to see them with Ripper but I love both studio albums with him and again I have seen him out of the band but another gent and a true fan of priest their music and their fans.

I’m sure at one of the gigs I lusted after my (now) wife I simply can’t remember the tour it was on and I cant find the ticket to confirm (we tell the same tale and we both look at each other and are amazed) it. I nearly had to walk home (15 miles) from the Painkiller tour, thankfully someone who I vaguely knew took pity as they passed me and got me to Gimpsville, I only had to walk a mile from the town centre to where I was living at the time, I soon moved to Heaton as it made more sense. I remember Halford nearly being dragged into the audience when he cracked his whip above the audience’s heads at the city hall, I bet he never did that again and yes he lost the whip, my brother had a great tape of the bands sound checking that he lifted from the sound desk from the Mayfair, again years before tape to tape facilities and he was trusting  and lent to a person I always thought was shifty and he never got the tape back, we both stopped trusting people at that point!

I think its funny that its nearly 10 years since they last played in Newcastle I know they were meant to support Ozzy but the tour kept getting pushed back further and further I doubt I will ever get to see them again, but you never know, mind you the state of my knees and now I have an issue with my hip, all tied in with my knees, so there you go I can keep a promise, a historical (not hysterical) one, the blog has been doing nice numbers sometimes good even but not what they have done in the past, and I can live with that, I may start doing it on a more regular pace as my mood is lifted after I do one, I might do the odd musical review one as well nothing major just some little blurbs who knows what tomorrow brings, I certainly don’t !

So onwards to the next one and I haven’t decided what it will be, or even when it will be, it all depends on my mood for the day, I have a couple gestating, just not sure if they are where I wish to go, I might go totally native we will just have to wait and see, so as always watch the skies for incoming, please keep spreading the disease as people are still “discovering” the blog so I must be doing something right, I simply don’t know what it is, so until the next time…………………..Toodles!

And for once no the name game is not in play, you don’t have to be thick to work it out…..or do you?

A Time to Dance.

No names, no pack drill, if you know you know, if you don’t, well just enjoy the waffle!

So, the world has kept turning but I have tried to do my best to remain in my own little bubble outside of work, one of the issues that I suffer from, I really don’t feel wanted, so I don’t belong, at least that what I keep telling myself. We missed the boat on Friday simply because I thought the FM tour was in May and our last minute invitation was denied, simply as the wife was in no shape to go and stalk Mr Overland, after pulling a muscle in her already bad back, a bit more of a warning we probably could have prepared for it, but for once we missed the boat, its ok I have seen them over 50 times but hey ho you know it would have meant mixing with the great unwashed.

The next day we had been long in preparation to celebrate some birthdays and the birth of a new star all rolled into one, I had been counting down the days for it, however I was still full of trepidation as it was really the first proper time out in a pub, all unmasked I felt like a member of Kiss in some weird alternate universe……..well maybe not quite! but I’m getting ahead of myself (as always), this again was not the blog I had prepared, but I thought I should do something to celebrate re-joining the human race.

I had burrowed deep into the earth not wanting to share my collective experience and I had kind of enjoyed it, I hadn’t really been missed by anybody (or so I had thought) when the invite arrived I was happy but nervous all in the same moment in time, the venue I had been invited to a few times over the years but in reality its too far out of the way for a public transport person to go, then I met my wife and things became easier but the venue changed hands a few times. Ok so it has only taken me 34 years to actually get to it, a mixture of belated 50^th birthdays and the launch of a new local band, it was also the night we met the youngest’s “boyfriend” we both warned each other to be on our best behaviour, we were, but the plan fell at the second hurdle, not by our hand but more of that later, I was up early on the morning and I had my countdown pre flight check and cunning plan all sorted, this was not going to go wrong, I was in charge…..well kind of, everything was going to plan until the wife managed to add 9 minutes to the schedule, I held my nerve and my mouth, be calm was the mantra for the evening.

Once on the road the smoke signals were sent to say that we were on our way, destination should be achieved within the allotted travel time (me obsessed with time…..who knew) we arrived safely and picked up our cargo, the journey on to our final destination was muted to say the least, we were all on our best behaviour, we arrived at the venue, early, even so there were two trips around the car park before deciding to park down the street, then a slow walk back to the venue, young couple ahead, old couple limping behind. We climbed Everest to the designated area, and we were first, how the hell did that happen?  We arrived in time to catch the tail end of the soundcheck, the room was readied, no small feat considering there had been a bouncy castle in the room two hours previously.

The girls grabbed a seat and I dragged the “boyfriend” still an alien term (she is my baby even at 27) back down the stairs as the bar upstairs wasn’t yet manned, I’m good but I wasn’t carrying 4 drinks up all those stairs, small talk ensued, I played the dutiful father, and I was a good boy even to the point of ensuring he got a drink and not a soft drink he had asked for (pfft as if) then back up the stairs to wait for the onslaught, yes my work head was on (as it always is) and I situated our group next the only fire exit (and did a quick calculation as to how many people could be in there) I then turned my attention to the band who were dealing with sonic issue, I noticed some expensive equipment and was soon working out how to get that Gibson Explorer out of the room, I wasn’t too bothered about the BC Rich, lots of expensive keyboards, nice but I wasn’t expecting Rick Wakeman, this was music that although I didn’t mind , I didn’t have a lot invested in, I was here to celebrate a lovely couples landmark birthdays ( I wish I was that bloody young) and a debut vocal performance, judging by the soundcheck we were not going to be disappointed, the soundcheck over people started to show up most faces were familiar, I didn’t know them to speak but I would say I recognised about 30% of the audience, soon it was time for the big moment.

Now this will be short and to the point, I knew all of the tracks and could actually sing along to them all, but as I said this wasn’t my favourite genre of music, but I was going to be entertained and in reality that’s all you could ask for, not a full set list but some of the bands covered included OMD (one song instead of two next time) leave some gas in the tank, that will come with more time to polish the act, Phil Collins (I loved as it was really authentic in the guitar playing) Depeche mode, which I thought was going to be the song of the night, Ultravox again two songs ,I like the band but mix and match a little more, Fiction Factory who I remembered but I thought I had had a stroke as the name of the band refused to come out of my filing system of a brain, not expected but enjoyed, Kraftwerk again a joy and a revelation and the track of the night as the vocalist declared “he loves the song” Gary Numan, the set was a resounding success, the vocals were great however the only criticism was you could tell how hard they had worked as the banter was so quiet between songs because , nothing wrong with the banter, but speak as you would sing, directly into the microphone, I will even forgive the acapella version of Baby Shark, it goes to show that you know how to work a crowd.

A couple of hints to add to the setlist some Japan, Blancmange, you get the vibe, and I promise I wont shout for Tales of Topographic Oceans (ask your wife she knows) I’m sure there’s a lot more than can be added maybe even a couple more OMD and Ultravox but keep it in single numbers for the set, just my humble opinion, mind you most people are pissed when they go to see a band anyway!

The keyboards were sumptuous and the guitar suited the songs  not too loud and raw, I’m glad to see musicians playing to suit the music and not to suit their egos, now this isn’t a “review” simply a few well thought out observations, the next time we come to see you, trust me that will be a review, but on tonight’s showing I’m hoping to see them a few more times, damn good and a big thumbs from the short fat bald speccy guy about half way back in the room, now all you have to do is breathe and do it in a hostile environment with people who don’t give a shit, personally I think the whole band will wipe the floor of any audience who isn’t listening and win them over, go figure that’s my honest opinion!

The night from my point wasn’t perfect as I managed to spill my drink over the wife, I behaved and didn’t have a strop, I had a great night with great company ( although I’m sure I have the start of onset Alzheimer’s because although I have enjoyed the company of the couple sat next to us I had another stroke trying to reminder their names (still no good I will have to ask, for the sake of my own sanity) we made the way back to the car, which was fine however I had been expecting it to be on bricks for some reason, the return journey was more of the same but with a little more conversation between all four of us, we dropped them off for the chippy, then we headed back to Gimpsville and time to  watch the Toon win again on match of the day, good god what has gone wrong with the world?

Now we behaved on the night, but a certain rapscallion (I mean that with the greatest love and respect) nearly raped me as I stood at the bar waiting to be served, oh I have missed his company, he then arrived like Lord Flash heart next to the wife and then discovered the “boyfriend” who he only slightly molested, he told me off twice for spilling my drink, and had the audacity to be shocked when I groped his wedding package at the end of the night (see you didn’t like it lol)but that force of nature was what was needed to drag me back from my self-imposed drudgery, its at this point all that I have written so far has been without the use of my notes, I better check to see if I have missed anything, me with my reputation!

It would appear that I hadn’t missed anything of any note, the name game is in play I was going to use a song from the set last night however I chose not to, I picked from an album that I was playing as I started typing this, if you get it right you will have googled it. And so a blog completed with nearly as much fun as the band last night maybe that’s all I need is to re-enter the “actual” world, I’m not sure if I am ready for that just yet, still a work in progress, but it has reignited the passion for writing and I promise the next one will be the that was intended two blogs ago, so thanks for a great gig, a great party, some great company, and well an injection of FUN! Today I have set about my chores with some relish for a change, my work bag is packed, so all I have to do today is finish this and get it posted, maybe just maybe there might be another  one sooner than you thought possible these days, so spread the disease, watch the skies for the incoming, until the next please one stay safe, the actual disease is still out there, but until then……Toodles!