Scream.

Or rather it should read as, in my bathroom it should be “in my bathroom nobody can hear me scream” I continued on my journey to being an old person this very morning! I continue to not sleep very well, as I awoke this morning at around 3.45, a little bit of a lie in for me, the day started in the usual way, I woke up and lay for a minute in the vain hope that my body would say “roll over and go back to sleep” it didn’t, it did as it usually does, it laughed long and hard at me being so bloody puny!

I did the usual ablution's, got washed and brushed my old and ageing teeth and then decided to get changed, that’s when my luck ran out, trying to get my feet into my shorts. Wrong move, standing on one leg, the other one was being uncooperative and not wanting to do as it was told and that precise moment my other knee gave way, allegedly I went down like I had been shot by a sniper, my head something hard as did my shoulder and by my estimates I was out cold for around 30 minutes, I was sore I was dazed and I was definitely confused! I tried to clear my head and I also tried to stand, battered and bruised I gingerly made my way downstairs, I sat in a chair and finally pulled my shorts on, took some painkillers (they didn’t work)and attempted to make a cup of tea (well its the English way to start the day) I then sat and contemplated my own mortality.

In the last 5 years or so my body has gone from being generally quite fit, to the wreck at the bottom of the ocean that stands before you all now. Slowly but surely it has started to disintegrate, obviously it has been going on for a lot longer but its taken me a lot of slaps to the back of my head before I stopped and took any notice, by then the rot had started and well truly set in, oh dear is the sound that was heard all around the world!

I realise as life goes on that I’m not as immortal as my teenage body thought I was, over the years I have had some knocks, and to be honest most were my fault but in reality if I had thought about it, you pay for it in later life, not when the knocks occur, I am trying harder to be a better person and look after what's left of my body, some days I’m successful and well some other days I’m not, thankfully those days are far less than I imagined, I have always been a bit of a car crash but at least I’m sitting up and taking notice!

We are not all bullet proof some of us are luckier than others, I’m desperate to get my new knee and that will help do better, and I have promised myself to do better in the maintenance of this broken down shell of my body, I’m hoping and praying that I don’t have any more near misses, especially in the bathroom, as I do believe I was very lucky this morning and I’m not a bloody cat, I do not have nine lives! So there you go another little missive, I do believe I am sorting out my technical issues in my life and that I have been having with the blog, fingers crossed, good times are coming in all aspects, thanks for the kind words thanks for the reading of the blogs, so stay safe and stay alive, until the next time…..Toodles!

The Zoo.

I make no secret of the fact that I do not drive, I travel 90% of the time by public transport, the rest of it is usually in the company of my wife as she screams abuse at other drivers, while I sit there looking pretty, for the times that I actually use public transport I do spend some time waiting in public waiting areas, now most of the time I’m not there for very long, however there is one place of waiting I seem to spend an inordinate length of time and the place is like the proverbial Zoo!

I like to be there before the time of departure any time I use public transport, yes I know I’m sad, , in this modern age you can track your bus, you can see which bus its going to be, its wonderful, but it can also give you a sense of dread when the bus disappears from the App as you then know that you could be in for a very long wait, I’m not going to go into details of the crap service my journey home from work has turned into, I don’t have time or the will to live/die! I’m also intending to make this blog slightly shorter than normal it’s simply me firing off a quick missive to keep my hand in, so to speak!

Where I normally have to wait, I have never seen so many people strumming banjos in all of my life, there are waifs and strays from all walks of life you have people who have money, some who are retired, you have school kids, College kids, people going to or from work, you have some people who obviously have mental health issues and are usually there with their carers, you can tell who are their carers are, they are usually the people on their phones ignoring the people that they are there to look after, you have the teenagers strung out on giant cans of Monster, the drunks, the junkies and then the prisoners who have just been released from prison, how are they known to the general public, simple they are  the ones with their possessions in clear plastic bags and they have a four can pack of Stella Artois in their hands and they seem inebriated simply because they are carrying them!

There is always a huge amount of noise in the venue no matter what time of the day it is, people shouting, arguing and simply not being concerned for the people around them, the rubbish is so bad that they have hired a team, not one person but a team to continually tidying up after these pariahs of common sense, there are fights on a regular basis, usually of the handbags at dawn variety, but occasionally there can be a number of more dangerous confrontations, I have even seen armed response police in the area to try and get them to calm down, it never lasts. Occasionally I have to wait longer than I want to, usually around 25 minutes for my connection, only on a morning thankfully when its reasonably quiet, sometimes I can make the earlier connection, unfortunately not always!

On the return journey my bus journey is 45 minutes, if it turns up at all however if it’s not there I simply get the bus that goes to my final destination via Stanleygrad (trust me its grim and it looks like the Wehrmacht is still fighting amongst the ruins) but this adds another 40 minutes to my journey, something which I would gladly do, purely so that I don’t have to stay a moment longer in that modern day version of bedlam! I either get a longer snooze or I simply get to play more music, either way I win and I get the chance to completely destress before arriving home.

This little missive arrives courtesy of Go NorthEast, my local bus service which up until recently I was happy with, in my 35 years at my last job I can think of only two times that a bus didn’t turn up, yes I know there will be more but in the times that I was travelling only two times a bus didn’t turn up, these days that happens at least twice a week, with no explanation, definitely a longer blog full of bile and vitriol  for a later date, so that’s this one done, thank you for all of you following, stay safe and stay alive, until the next one ……….Toodles!

Four on the Floor – Top Ten Live Albums.

I was having a conversation the other day and as usual it evolved into what’s the best etc and it was mainly about live albums, I also noticed that it was primarily albums between 1973 and 1983 ish, so I thought long and hard, actually not really these ten have been my top ten for most of my life, these are my top ten, if you disagree, I have no issue, there’s bound to be a couple that I have forgotten about or there might simply be a reason why I haven’t picked them, buckle in here we go.

Deep Purple – Made in Japan   10/10.

In my opinion simply the best live album ever, not one overdub, yes I didn’t believe it until I heard the bootlegs of the same performances and listened to the Live in Japan box set which gives you the entire concerts that the tracks are pulled from, the band are on fire, great songs yes there’s other Deep Purple live albums and loads of other “official” releases which to be honest are pretty damn awesome but this simply has never been beaten, it was also the first live album I ever heard, nothing has ever come close to this…….OK!

Blue Oyster Cult – Some Enchanted Evening     8.5/10.

My favourite BOC live album and there are tons of them, I have at least ten “official” live albums from different era’s but I prefer this one, maybe because I’m on it (Tee Hee) why not a perfect score, personally the sound is a bit weedy but still better  than “On Your Feet or on your Knees”  which someone once said was mainly due to them going wireless, I do like all of the live albums by them, but this does take the biscuit, great cover, gets in gets out, some of the later ones simply repeat the greatest hits or resorts to covers (ETL’s Roadhouse Blues which I hate) and while it’s not (its close) my Fave BOC number I don’t think that the version of Astronomy has been beaten in any other live format!

UFO - Strangers in the Night     9.5/10.

This album blew my mind pretty similar to Made in Japan, simply stunning, great songs, great playing Schenker at his best, (the box set that was released recently superb, all of the nights that this album was taken from) I loved the cover (don’t ask me I like what I like) I had discovered them six months previously when Obsessions had been released, that beat me up as up until that point I had never heard anything so sonically superior to what was being delivered by other bands at the time, this was the perfect set list I played the album quite a lot once I had borrowed it and taped it, I couldn’t afford many double albums at the time, the only track that was missing for me was “Cherry”, which in actual fact is the reason it gets it scoring, I don’t know anybody of my age who doesn’t like this album!

 

Kiss – Alive     9.5/10.

The first album I ever heard by Kiss, Christmas morning 1975, my brother got it from my mother and I can’t even remember what I got, that album was played to death over and over again for the next couple of months until my brother started buying the studio albums, they looked great, they sounded great, even on a one speaker Dansett record player, what’s not to like from the opening of “you want the best you got the best etc” it’s a non-stop rock n roller coaster, and if I’m honest its probably the Kiss live album that I go back to time and time again there’s nothing wrong with the others this is simply the best live album they ever did!

Thin Lizzy – Live & Dangerous     9/10.

What’s not to like?  that cover is simply awesome, great sound, the only issue for me is there’s two songs I don’t care for, one is Johnny the Fox and The Rocker, there are better tracks to put on in my opinion, I mean I don’t turn those songs off, but they aren’t my favourite tracks, I never saw a bad concert by them and this is simply the best example for those who couldn’t get to see them in real life, the bands on fire, they never topped this as a live recording, Life was a poor second best for me, the closest for me is when they played Sydney Opera House with Gary Moore and Mark Nauseef, let’s just sit and bask in the glory that is Live & Dangerous!

The Scorpions – Tokyo Tapes     8.5/10.

My brother bought this as an import a week before it was officially released in the UK, oh how I laughed, he had brought a couple of albums earlier in the year but the live album was simply fab, I know I will get asked again but it’s down to tracks, I was never a fan of Uli Jon Roth’s voice and although I do like Hellcat and Polar Nights his voice puts me off just so, and I could do without the rock and roll medley, even Queen couldn’t pull it off, again I never liked any of the following live albums although I would have loved a live album from the Lovedrive tour simply for the additional tracks, Roth’s playing on this album was superb but he had already left before this was released, they were turbo charged after this, but what a great snap shot of what was!

Blackfoot – Highway Song     9/10.

The absolute peak for this band, after this they added Ken Hensley and they were never the same ever again, great album after great album and then this tour blew the roof off the UK  and made a big statement, just listen to the crowd especially on “howay the lads” from the Mayfair, who knew the car crash that was about to happen, this was/is my going out on a Friday night album, can I get a hell yeah, this was their brightest moment out in the sunlight and damn it was good!

Cheap Trick – At the Budokan     8/10.

Probably the weakest of all of the live albums in this top ten, but whenever I listen to it I do get a big cheesy grin all over my stupid face it’s a great album and the very first album I ever heard by them, it was everywhere back in the day I know quite a few of my friends who owned a copy, it was a rites of passage type of thing, I had a friend who literally had twelve different versions of it, in different coloured vinyl, and different sleeves, I believe it was the fifth CD I ever bought, like all of these albums being listed they transport me back to a better time.

Journey – Captured     8.5/10.

Again, the first thing I ever heard by them and I loved it, shame I missed them a week later at the Mayfair supporting Pat Travers, D’oh! I loved this album again a great double live set, with a great cover, who knew that they were about to go on and simply be practically the biggest and best band in the USA for the next few years, a near perfect set list, Perry singing like an angel and the rest of the band literally burning up the stages as they went out everywhere, I’m not sure why they put a studio track on as the last song I’m sure they had plenty of material to fill it up, it’s a small gripe for a rather spiffing album!

Al Di Meola, John Mclaughlin, Paco de Lucia – Friday Night in San Francisco     9/10.

A curve ball I know, but I simply cannot get enough of this particular album, a total guitar fest, I had a couple of friends who saw them on this tour and it simply blew them away, when I was presented with a copy of this album my jaw simply dropped, I eventually was able to see all three artists just not all together on one stage, this has five songs and lasts 41.00 minutes some absolute fantastic technical ability, it simply brings a smile to my face.

Now that’s my ten, it might not be yours I don’t care, its all about the memories, and these albums have been chock block full of memories for me, now you might notice that there’s no Rainbow, Ritchie is there with Made In Japan, lets not get greedy and there are so many great “official” live albums or video’s of that line up so lets not go there, No priest , well to be honest I’m not a fan of the later day live albums Unleashed sounds a little doctored, I’ve heard the bootlegs off that Japan tour and the Bootlegs sound better, the live B-sides from the Killing Machine singles from the Agora ballroom are the best released live tracks I have ever heard from Priest so raw, No Queen, no simply because the officially released material has no balls the bootlegs are so much better, the Houston summit gig is simply wow, the Hyde park gig, even better the Crazy Tour dates are mind blowing, I’m sorry but the tracks speak for themselves, no Aerosmith simply because their bootlegs sound better than the sanitised versions of their Live albums, no Frank Marino his Live album is awesome but he leans in too heavily on the Hendrix vibe for me, nothing from Fish, there’s too many to choose from and to be honest his voice is shot most of the time, No Wishbone Ash Live dates the list can go on and trust me it does, the ten of my list are pretty consistent, they might move position but  they rarely drop out of the top ten, No ACDC, I prefer their bootlegs it’s all about personal choice and that’s mine, it’s all subjective like what you like, enjoy music it’s all subjective, YouTube is a great leveller there is so much stuff that’s not under the control of the artist, some awesome some great, and some that frankly shocking but it can still be good, I don’t care, music simply lifts the spirit, even bands you don’t like, to other people the stuff you like lifts you it’s all good in the hood, until next time play your music loud and enjoy…..Toodles.

Kid in a Candy Store.

A lot of you lot have been asking me what makes me tick, happy, awed and well just about me, now to be honest I believe that I have answered these self-same questions a number of times over the years but hey ho lets go, what makes me happy, in a none family sense of the question, MUSIC, always has been, always will be, if I could write all day every day (you would soon get bored) with regards to music, gigs, just anything music related I would, but unfortunately life isn’t always kind to me and from time to time I wander off onto other subjects I do try to be happy, as we all know I’m not always successful!

Anything even remotely musically and I get quite giddy, I love chatting with mates about all things musical, and no I can’t play an instrument, and yes i have tried,  yes, I used to sing in a couple of bands a couple that never got out of the rehearsal space and one that I wished had never got out of the same space,  I have the feeling that I probably made Lemmy sound like an opera star, but I enjoyed it, I did it for me, now was I any good, erm to be honest that would be a big fat NO but at least I knew, and as I have already mentioned, it was done for fun and it was done with mates, but I did love it, we all know as I have blogged long and hard about I wrote songs for nearly 4 years  professionally, I kind of loved that until it all went pear shaped, find the blog and read why it crashed and burned, I’m not rehashing it in this blog here.

I love reading,  mainly musical biographies (me obsessed, yes just a little) but I am and always have been a history buff, I like doing research on stuff, I like doing research on the things I write about, purely as my brain isn’t what it was like back in the day when I had encyclopedic knowledge on obscure B-sides of obscure music from the 1970’s up until the mid 1990’s then life got in the way, and although I still had a burning desire for all things musical, time always seemed to get the better of me, which leads me to another thing that makes me happy, that would be the wife (yes we bicker from time to time but that’s life) and our kids and the grandkids, now I bet they would say I was grumpy around 55% of the time, but I worked bloody hard, I was entitled, my family for all of their issues were still the thing that got me out bed most day (and no not just to escape them).

But the biggest pleasure that floats my boat these days is writing, who knew, not me, I started blogging on Myspace back in the days before I knew better, back when it was like the wild west and I spoke to many people stars of a bigger nature, I remember chatting to Jim Vallance (yes that Jim Vallance) one afternoon with regards songwriting, it was fascinating, but as always everything grinds to a halt and after a couple of genuine death threats, retreat was the better part of valour and for once I did what I was told to do by a nice man from the good old US of A, but I couldn’t stay away from this pleasure we call blogging for long, I kept  a few friends, well I say friends, I should say readers (Broadsword Calling Danny Boy) some lovely people with kind words (as well as some harsh ones, words that is) not everybody agreed with me, I do believe that was the point.

From small acorns the blog has grown and I honestly don’t know how or why, the wonderful world of the internet, really feels strange sometimes, I keep contact to a low burn, sometimes if a question makes me sit up, I might converse but not for long and definitely not for keeps!

I have a friend who insists that I should set up a webpage for the blogs and stuff maybe if I was doing it full time, I would consider it, but I would have to be more consistent than I am now, and I’m not sure it fits, is it something that would gain traction? You tell me? I doubt that we will ever find out, Farcebook keeps asking to monetise and make money from the blog, but it’s not something that I want to make from, yes, I do want money, but I feel that the money would corrupt the art form of the blog, and the serenity of knowing that I did something  (well maybe sometimes) good, simply for the benefit of me myself I. put out a number of books that sold well ( a couple of hundred copies of each but I did them for not for profit so they were done relatively cheaply, but again technology kicked me in the bollocks and that soon died on the vine).

Other than that, I simply bimble on trying to make sure that the wife is ok, I will gladly help everybody in the family, but it’s the wife that is my number one priority, well when I’m not compiling ideas for the various blogs, I have thought of maybe a Farcebook profile however I don’t really want the giant boots stamping all over me, there is a rumour that Myspace is coming back and if it does well I might try there one more time, simply without going out of my way to upsetting rednecks, some of my best friends are rednecks! it’s a work in progress, a little bit like the wife!,  so watch this space (Myspace perhaps!)but going back to the original question how do I feel like when I’m happy, it’s like being a kid in a candy store (yes the name game is in play) so on that note I will quit while I’m ahead and I will possibly post this in a day or two after I have stewed on it, so thank you to all of the peeps reading this drivel, I mean these important mind blowing missives, keep spreading the word, stay safe and stay alive until the next its ………Toodles! (watch this space).