New Music Review – Dio: This is Your Life

        There are a lot of tribute albums out there in the musical ether.  Most of those albums are made with one thing in mind: money.  Record executives put together as many relatively known artists as they can to cover a few of a band’s greatest hits in order to get die-hard fans to shell out an extra twelve to fifteen dollars for a “complete” collection (I’ve fallen into this trap a couple times).  No one is denying the talent of the musicians compiled for most tribute albums, but it still doesn’t look like much more than a cash grab for the record company at the very least.

     

Here’s how you put together a proper tribute album:

1.       You make sure that, even though you’re still charging the full price for the album ($12.00), 100% of the proceeds goes directly to the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund.  That’s right, 100%.

2.       You compile some of the best bands and artists in the business to be a part of it.  Look at this list of the artists involved:

a.       Anthrax

b.      Tenacious D

c.       Halestorm

d.      Motorhead

e.      Killswitch Engage

f.        Metallica

And that’s not even the full list!  (the only thing that could have made it better is if they somehow got the current Black Sabbath with Ozzy to cover a Dio track).

                What you have, when all is said and done is one of the best tribute albums I have ever heard.  It doesn’t hurt that the songs in their original form are so strong (pulling from not only Dio’s solo work but also his time in both Black Sabbath and Rainbow).  My favorite tracks are all of the Black Sabbath covers (“I”, “The Mob Rules”, “Man on the Silver Mountain”) but there is not a bad track in the bunch. 

                If you loved Dio, or just want to honor his memory by doing something good for a good charity (and getting something out of it besides just that warm and fuzzy feeling) this is the album for you.  If you want to hear a great collection of metal music by some of the best in the business, both past and present, this is absolutely the album for you.  Hell, you can’t go wrong.  Buy this album.

Masochist Music Review: Metallica and Lou Reed - Lulu

What can I say, I’m a masochist when it comes to music.  I like to have complete catalogues when it comes to my favorite musicians.  Sometimes this is a good thing (Alice Cooper, AC/DC) but oftentimes it’s not.  Not only that, but I used to fall into the trap of hearing one or two great songs and purchasing a whole album because of it, which sometimes produced a diamond, but usually only coal.  During this series, we will dwell on some of the albums I have in my collection that are downright terrible.  I will re-listen to them all and give you my impression of them.

Now this is only my opinion, so don’t take it as gospel.  If you like a particular album in this series, let me know, we’ll open up a discussion about it.  I’m always open to discussing the merits of any particular album, and if you have any suggestions (and especially if you have the album itself and are willing to share your views) then let me know and I’d be happy to add it to the list.

Album Name:  LuLu

Artist:  Metallica and Lou Reed

Release Date: November, 2011

Why you bought it:  It was new Metallica (presumably).  I hadn’t heard any singles off the record, nor was I too familiar with Lou Reed going into it, but I figured after the backlash from St. Anger, Metallica wouldn’t do anything to damage their reputation any further (especially after reclaiming some of that reputation with 2008’s Death Magnetic). 

First impressions:  I’m not going to lie, this is the first time I’ve listened to the whole album.  I remember listening to disc one and part of disc two and shutting it off in disgust.  I gave it a shot, but it did not work for me at all.  The musical arrangements by Metallica were okay, not great, and tended to drone on much like those in St. Anger did.  What really threw me off though are the vocals.  Lou Reed sounds like he’s struggling to get the words out at times.  The spoken word delivery was just unsettling, not that he would have been able to sing any better, but the fact that the vocals and the music very rarely synched up to the point where one wasn’t distracting from the other.  Even the backing vocals, which James Hetfield sings, are just additional noise to this cacophony of suck.

Impressions upon listening to it recently:  It just goes on way too long.  It’s not a good concept much less good execution, but if it was the standard length of a Green Day album it would have been okay (because Green Day sucks too, but they suck in smaller doses).  Much like the smell of Indian food, this album lingers to the point of being incredibly uncomfortable.  Even the music, which was the highlight when I first listened to it, feels equal parts unfinished and not thought out, like Metallica was just jamming and Lou Reed came in and threw some lyrics from the back of a napkin (still stained from the alcohol-induced vomit he had wiped away from his mouth) over the top of it.  The fact that this went through and Metallica felt comfortable enough to not only have their name attached, but to actually stand behind the material when the critics lambasted it upon its release, shows how delusional they must be at this stage of their careers, and does not bode well for future releases from the band (if there are any).

Any saving grace?:  Nope, even the mighty Metallica can’t save this from the scrap bin.

Was it worth the purchase?:  Oh hell no, this is the epitome of a masochistic music review.

Masochist Music Review: Metallica - St. Anger

What can I say, I’m a masochist when it comes to music.  I like to have complete catalogues when it comes to my favorite musicians.  Sometimes this is a good thing (Alice Cooper, AC/DC) but oftentimes it’s not.  Not only that, but I used to fall into the trap of hearing one or two great songs and purchasing a whole album because of it, which sometimes produced a diamond, but usually only coal.  During this series, we will dwell on some of the albums I have in my collection that are downright terrible.  I will re-listen to them all and give you my impression of them.

Now this is only my opinion, so don’t take it as gospel.  If you like a particular album in this series, let me know, we’ll open up a discussion about it.  I’m always open to discussing the merits of any particular album, and if you have any suggestions (and especially if you have the album itself and are willing to share your views) then let me know and I’d be happy to add it to the list.

Album Name: St. Anger

Artist:  Metallica

Release Date: June, 2003

Why you bought it:  It’s a Metallica album!  Unlike most other people, I wasn’t completely turned off by the Load/ReLoad albums and eagerly awaited the new material.  I don’t remember if I heard any new music on the radio before the release of the album, but it would not have deterred me from my purchase.  At this point, the worst album in the Metallica catalog was probably ReLoad, and if they could craft a similar album I was sure that I wouldn’t hate it.

First impressions:  Well, it wasn’t ReLoad, but it also wasn’t good.  I listened to the whole thing, searching for a silver lining (there wasn’t one) and shelved it from there.  This was the album that I took out when I wanted to “get away” though.  It is essentially just noise as there is very little in terms of melody or musical prowess here.  I could crank the volume on this and just forget everything for forty-five minutes (or whatever the run-time is).  While I didn’t enjoy the album at the time, I understood the necessity of having it in my possession.

Impressions upon listening to it recently:  I’m happy to say that I am in a better place and do not need the services of St. Anger.  Unfortunately, without that necessity, I was forced to listen to the album and judge it based on its merits.  This is unfortunate for the album as the merits are few and far between.  The music is a mess and the lack of solos (something that I usually look forward to when it comes to bands with good guitarists) is disheartening.  It almost feels like Metallica made this as a concept album and the concept was “If they thought ReLoad was bad, wait till they get a load (see what I did there) of this steaming pile.” 

Any saving grace?:  Aside from being angry mood music?  Nope. 

Was it worth the purchase?: Not full price, and only if you want all of the Metallica discs, warts and all.  There’s a reason most old Metallica albums still sell at a high price…because they are good!  This is a bargain bin album for sure.