Well, after that rough week last week and confronting my depression over the fact that half the nation views the Pulse Nightclub shooting, the election of Trump and subsequent Crimes against Humanity, the surge of homophobia, misogyny and racism, the deaths of my Uncle and Rachel Held Evans and the suppression of all reconciling congregation’s voices as a good, holy and just thing, I’m ready to resume blogging about music once more.
I received my Guns N Roses 4 track EP early, with new songs “Hard Skool” and “Absurd” taking up the first half while the second half was live versions of “Don’t Cry” and “You’re Crazy.” It was a good, yet short album, and hopefully not the last we’ll hear of Slash, Duff and Axl teaming up in the studio for some good hard rock. Speaking of Slash, his new album dropped, and Duff made a guest appearance at his Seattle concert so they could play “Nightrain.” Highlights of the new album include “The River is Rising,” “Whatever Gets You By,” “Actions Speak Louder Than Words,” “Fill My World,” “April Fool” and “Fall Back to Earth.” Slash’s guitar work, Myles’ vocals and Todd Kerns’ bass playing is as sharp as ever and worth a listen.
Eddie Vedder also released his own solo album which featured Andrew Watt (who has worked with Glenn Hughes, Ozzy Osbourne, Miley Cyrus and Elton John), Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and guest appearances by Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Ringo Starr. Highlight tracks of the release were “Long Way,” “The Dark,” (which feels oddly spiritual considering I heard Vedder is an atheist) “Good and Evil,” “Rose of Jericho,” “Try” (feat. Stevie Wonder on Harmonica), “Picture (feat. Elton John)” and “Mrs. Mills” (feat. Ringo Starr on drums). It provided solid rock and roll that veered between hard rock and baroque pop easily and fluidly and its easy transition between genres was a well-deserved smack to the arrogant Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue, who insulted one of Seattle’s most famous rock acts at the start of this month by calling them “the most boring band in history.”
This week finally sees the release of Death Cab for Cutie covering a Yoko Ono song, which was released Monday night. The preview sounds like it won’t involve wailing like a ghost and yipping like a chihuahua and that it’s a nice, albeit slightly repetitive song. There is also a 1983 Rainbow live album, one of their last concerts before disbanding for the Mark II reunion of Deep Purple. Mike Zito is releasing a live album and Spirits of Fire is also releasing their second album, but the band has parted ways with founding lead singer Tim “Ripper” Owens, and the gigs he’s taken since then have ensured he will always be seen as a poor-man’s Rob Halford, I always felt this band was his one big chance to make a name and identity that was more his own. I guess we’ll always have the Immortal Randy Rhoads album and the cover of “Children of the Grave” he did for Ted Kirkpatrick, but it’s depressing that he will forever be in the shadow of someone he can’t compete with due to how much they had to overcome; the pressure of staying in the closet and the struggles of drug addiction. Rob Halford is a personal hero, with the decision to join the band of spite KK’s Priest and not pursue original bands and an original identity, Tim Owens chooses to be a pale shadow of a hero.
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