World Wide Woozle episode #546

Hi everyone,

Last time I got stuck in 1987, this time I'll do my best to move around a bit more.

1987 was definitely a pivotal year in my love of music. Not only were there a slew of fantastic albums released, but it was the year that I got my first electric guitar. Funnily enough, I been playing my acoustic guitars almost exclusively for quite a while now but that's more a function of living in a small space. If my upstairs neighbours don't cease whatever it is that they are doing between midnight and 0300hrs (it sounds like furniture removal or redecorating) then they will shortly become intimately acquainted with me playing the red guitar…at gig level volume!

Australians of my vintage may remember a band called The Party Boys. It was a loose conglomerate of rock and rollers with an ever changing line-up depending on who was or wasn't touring or recording with their regular band. I really enjoyed their self-titled album which was released in 1987 (ha ha!). This track was originally by The Kevin Borich Express, and he's playing on it here as well. After the slow intro with the twangy guitar, there's a rundown of three power chords just before the main part of the song starts. The guitar sound there is pure rock and roll. Great track.

The Party Boys – Gonna See My Baby Tonight – https://youtu.be/wSpXFlh_47k

Volbeat is an interesting band. Heavy, melodic, Danish and also with an ex-Anthrax guitarist ripping it up. I quite like hearing bands sing in their own language and this song mixes English with a Danish chorus. I think that the vocalist here (Michael Poulsen) has a great voice. It's so strong and cuts through well for this type of music. "For Evigt" means forever.

Volbeat – For Evigt - https://youtu.be/TAhyZegVkhw

Fans of Mike Myers should be excited to hear that he has a new series coming via Netflix. If you watched his film, So I Married An Axe Murder then you'll be familiar with what Stuart MacKenzie refers to as "The Pentavarate". A secret and evil organisation run by, "The Queen, The Vatican, The Gettys, The Rothschilds, and Colonel Sanders before he went tits up." And if you haven't yet seen the original 1993 film then what are you waiting for?

Mike Myers as Stuart MacKenzie  - https://youtu.be/TPMS6tGOACo

Kim Thayil from Soundgarden has been busy recording with The Pretty Reckless. The result is a great track that rocks along with a bit of a stoner groove. I liked it…you might too.

The Pretty Reckless – Only Love Can Save Me Now - https://youtu.be/hRAdR9ryTbk

As I said earlier, I play my acoustic guitars a lot. There's nowhere to hide, no amp to lug and no pedalboard to obsess about! This has also meant that I've listened a lot more to solo performers like Bob Dylan, Jack Johnson, Gillian Welch and a few others. DJ FeeDub got me listening to Vance Joy and I was pleasantly surprised. We've all had our ears saturated with Riptide but there's a lot more to Vance. He released a new song this week and I'll get around to learning it very soon.

Vance Joy – Missing Piece - https://youtu.be/atka_0TUTLM

My guitars have been a significant part of my recovery. After leaving Junk Sculpture I didn't play very much at all for a couple of years. These days there is always a guitar on a stand in my living room. Sometimes I pick it up just for a couple of minutes and some days I'm still there three hours later doing some recording or pretending that I'm in front of a big crowd. I've also become a lot less shy about playing for other people. I'm no Billy Bragg but I've got songs to play and I'm really enjoying it.  And I'm getting better at being able to remember lyrics. 

Petra – Beat The System - https://youtu.be/KEtLRu60kUQ

I saw today that Liz Phair also has some new material out. I haven't listened to her for quite a while so I'll spend some time with her music over the next couple of weeks. I do remember this particularly cool version of a TV theme song that she did…

The Tra La Las – Theme from The Banana Splits – https://youtu.be/-JvB5AL59fM

If you remember, I'm a big fan of the film Rock of Ages. Guitarist Joel Hoekstra (now in Whitesnake) played in the Broadway musical version and has cameos in the film too. Recently I came across this video of him playing a Boston track with a whole lot of other musicians including Mike Portnoy who some of you will know from Dream Theater. The song is really well done and a lot of fun, but the vocalist…wow! I sincerely hope that he gets into a really good original hard rock band (if he's not already) as his voice is amazing.

Jelusick / Portnoy / Linder / Doley / Hoekstra/ JustinJohnson - Foreplay / Long Time 2021 - https://youtu.be/Hqy6O8no_Ic

To finish this week I thought I'd go back to an artist who has influenced me greatly and continues to do so. I picked up a Steve Earle CD in a bargain bin in about 2005. Of course, I knew the song Copperhead Road but not much else. Steve's take on alt-country music really resonated with me. It was unpolished and to the point. I have one or two of his songs in my small repertoire but I should add a couple more I think.

Steve Earle – Guitar Town - https://youtu.be/AINUPFbFpqg

That's it for this episode. Check back next time for…well…I have no idea. For more.

The Woozle

"…we are freedom fighters, with mandolins…"

The Saw Doctors, Freedom Fighters, 1991.