World Wide Woozle episode #480

Hey there, hi, hello....let's rock!

I played some tunes from Blackberry Smoke fairly recently. This week their latest album popped up in my Spotify recommendations and I gave it a spin. Wow! It's great. If you like your rock and roll with a blues swagger in the style of bands such as Georgia Satellites, Black Crowes & Lynyrd Skynyrd then this should fit you like a glove.

Blackberry Smoke - Waiting For The Thunder - https://youtu.be/7cIr1DHNSk0

Album 27/100 - Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)

This is Elton's seventh studio album and has sold over 30 million copies. So yeah, it's rather well known. In the USA there were three singles, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" and "Bennie And The Jets". The UK market got "Candle In The Wind" with "Bennie..." as the b-side. Those are four stone cold classic tracks. In terms of an entire album, the tunes are reasonably varied but it's a great listen. My only problem is that my favourite track is the first one and I keep hitting the repeat button! I did work hard to stop doing this during the review listenings and as a result discovered more tracks that I hadn't paid a lot of attention to. I think I'll keep the album in my playlist for a while to come.

Elton John - Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding - https://youtu.be/wnPrunEx1dg

Elton John - Roy Rogers - https://youtu.be/nt92o1D94hs

Album 28/100 - The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead (1986)

This is an album and a band that I have never listened to. There's no good reason for that and certainly I don't have anything to explain it. A few years ago I really enjoyed Morrisey's 2004 album, "You Are The Quarry" so I guess I had a rough idea what The Smiths might be like. I think this is going to be quite a polarising album in that you'll either like Morrisey's singing style or you really won't. Personally I think it suits the songs and the period in time really well. Mid eighties UK wasn't pretty politically or socially and the sound and lyrics reflect that. Johnny Marr (guitars), who later went on to record with one of my heroes, Billy Bragg, is a master of rock/pop hooks and melody and this album feels like the pinnacle of 80's indie-rock.

The Smiths - Bigmouth Strikes Again (live 1986) - https://youtu.be/h7Ro7HLmUrY

Iggy Pop played some Australian shows in the last week or so. More about him later. The support band at the Melbourne show was The Chats who are a three piece punk rock band from the Sunshine Coast. I saw a few of their music videos a couple of weeks ago and they are hilarious. This is Aussie punk done right. If you liked H-Block 101, Frenzal Rhomb or just classic straight ahead punk rock then you'll like this...a lot!

The Chats - Pub Feed - https://youtu.be/1LGM82uPuvA

The Chats - Smoko - https://youtu.be/j58V2vC9EPc 

On to Iggy Pop. I remember being loaned a VHS of one of his live performances somewhere in the early 2000s. Other than "Lust for Life" and "Candy" I'd never heard any of his work. Well, that concert (Kiss My Blood, Live at Olympia, Paris) was a real rip snorter and after I recovered my hearing I started listening to old and new Iggy tunes. The man himself is now in his early 70s and shows no signs of slowing down. While many his age are opting for pipe, slippers and keeping kids off the lawn, Iggy is unrepentantly shirtless whilst ripping through live punk rock gigs. The man is a living legend. Here's the first song from the concert that made me an instant convert... (language warning on both of these folks)

Iggy Pop - Raw Power (live Olympia, Paris, 1991) - https://youtu.be/nLoz70aUpTE

Iggy Pop - Passenger (live London 2016) - https://youtu.be/D9srgtTTVwk

DJ KungFuHenry reminded me of this artist during the week. The song is always a flashback to breakfast AM radio in the early 80s. Originally from 1960 (click here for the original), Charley Pride released this version in 1981 and it went to the top of the charts in the USA although only to #41 in New Zealand which is where I was living at the time. Great rhythm and a magnificent voice.

Charley Pride - Mountain of Love - https://youtu.be/rrCjOuFWdbs

I'm still looking for a copy of De La Soul's album "3ft high and rising" so that I can review it. eBay prices are silly money and it's not on any streaming service so if you can help please reach out.

It was my 48th birthday last week. Apparently, revealing your age is "owning it" whatever that means. I'm not fussed about the number of years particularly although it was a bit of a shock to find out one of the guys at work is 18. My family bought me a really cool mini drum machine and I'm busy working out how to make it sound more than R2D2 random noises. It's very groovy though and is the size of a pocket calculator. If you're interested in that sort of thing then click here to learn more about it. DJ ZedBoots also got me a great AC/DC "Hell's Bells" shirt...rock on!

AC/DC - Hell's Bells - https://youtu.be/etAIpkdhU9Q

In other birthday news, Angus was 21 on the 21st. Not long now and he'll be home!!

Can we talk about Game of Thrones for just a moment? For all you social media oversharers (and I can sometimes be one of those) no-one cares if you have or haven't watched the show. If you like it; great If you don't that doesn't make you instantly super cool. It's just a show. Watch it or don't and leave your social media feed to sharing funny cat videos.

Bob Geldof - The Great Song of Indifference - https://youtu.be/NoweGN8cm5g

In great news, heavy rock/punk band L7 have a new album coming in May. If you were around in the 90s you may remember their rather sludgy, grungy and rocking release called "Bricks are Heavy". I remember hearing one of the tracks from this record on a sampler cassette and buying the album not long after. This song sounds a little lighter than I expected but it's still worth a few listens. I'll report back on the album when it's out.

L7 - Burn Baby  -  https://youtu.be/bUV9fNLYRZI

And for a step back in time...

L7 - Everglade - https://youtu.be/wQs3VQWtCS4

Well folks, that's it for another week. Tune in next time for more shenanigans, music and hopefully nothing about the election.

Rob

"...the only thing I wanna do is join a guitar band...", Guitar Band, Stevie Wright, 1974.

World Wide Woozle episode #479

Firstly, if you're the person that managed to post on my blog, as me, sharing a Beatles track then please let me know. It's not cool to do that and the post has been deleted. I'm happy for people to post in the comments but not to have the post list me as the author. I've since reviewed my security settings.

On to the music now.

Album 25/100 - The Stone Roses (1989)

Never having paid much attention to the band other than their big hit "Fools Gold" I took some time with this supposedly iconic long player. It's easy to see how bands like Oasis and Blur were influenced by it (among others) but I must admit that I found it rather uninspiring myself. I can't quite put my finger on a decent reason for this reaction. Maybe it's a time and place album; you had to be there. Or maybe it's just overrated and a bit dull in retrospect. I'm sure plenty of people out there will disagree. 

The Stone Roses - Made of Stone - https://youtu.be/sMnm8MsPDeM

Album 26/100 - Pearl Jam - Ten (1991)

This one is an absolute pearler. Pearl Jam's debut record is more rock than grunge despite what lots of people would like to have you believe. Eddie Vedder's vocals are instantly recognisable and haven't really changed much to this day. His voice moves easily from the edge of breaking up to the warm, mellow tone we all know. Listening back to the album in its entirety after all these years I was struck by how Jim Morrison-eque Vedder sometimes sounds. Musically, this is a band absolutely on fire. Loud, quiet and everything in between; they did it all on this record and went on to become one of the biggest bands in the world. Is this essential listening? No, but it's damned close.

Pearl Jam - Even Flow - https://youtu.be/CxKWTzr-k6s

I'm a big fan of Sammy Hagar. I loved his vocals in Van Halen and his subsequent output is usually a lot of fun. And whilst this next video, recorded very recently, showcases his whole band, I want you to pay attention to Jason Bonham on drums (yeah, he's John Bonham's son). He's playing the whole song on a Roland SPD-SX drum pad and that's super-cool in my opinion. Great song, great musicians and great fun. Sammy Hagar is 71...and still rocking out.

Sammy Hagar & The Circle - Finish What Ya Started (live) - https://youtu.be/qwZUrVyTPJ8?t=83

I've played you music from Greta Van Fleet before and I was very much undecided about them. Led Zeppelin ripoffs or the real deal? While no-one can discount their very obvious Led Zep and classic rock influences this live video made my mind up. They are the real deal. Young guys who love rock and roll putting on a good show whilst wearing their influences on their sleeves. Rock on!

Greta Van Fleet - Safari Song (live) - https://youtu.be/PJXizasWnIo

In the battle for the best band name, this next group (from Canberra) must be near the top. I stumbled across them this week when I saw they were supporting another group I am keeping an eye on (Press Club) and just had to check out their stuff. The name is a classic, and the music is pretty good as well. Indie, punky rock and roll.

Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers - Crime Scene - https://youtu.be/HU_ZEHREX50

After listening to Italian retro glam rockers I went back in time and enjoyed a whole swag of tracks from one of their major influences; Slade. I remember this one very well from my high school years and it's still a great track...

Slade - Run Run Away - https://youtu.be/VTj3dh78Zlo

Last week DJ HighPantsToddo and I embarked on an epic bike ride. In the end we clocked up 189km which, for both of us, was our longest ride ever. I was very glad to see the cafe at halfway as well as the finish line at my house. In what may be even more insane we're off for 200km next Friday. Shut up legs indeed!

Supertramp - Take The Long Way Home - https://youtu.be/vFHYzI-Gtbo

Finally, I'm very excited, even more excited than Big Kev. Why? Well, Zoe will be home in a few days for a short stay. And then not long after, our intrepid explorer returns from Canada! Woo hoo!

Kacey Musgraves - Family is Family - https://youtu.be/UhWi2ukHT8Q

Have a great weekend everyone and safe travels H,

Rob

"And you can shake your fist at the T.V. set
And you can slam your hand in the table
And you can cry and curse
Through tightlocked teeth
Just as hard as you are able
But you can't run away from trouble
'Coz there ain't no place that far
No fuel left for the pilgrims
Yeah! That's just the way we are...", Jihad, D*A*D, 1989