Sometimes one needs a complete change and following some relatively light folk over the last couple of weeks I just wanted to blow some cobwebs away with some heavy rock for week #178.
Radiohead - Kid A
Black Keys - Attack & Release
Black Sabbath - 13
Black Sabbath - Never Say Die
Budgie - The Best Of
AC/DC - High Voltage
The Black Sabbath listening has been part of my research for my latest ranking article which you can find here >>
Over the last couple of weeks I've played 24 Black Sabbath albums which has been an illuminating experience. I already knew the first 8 albums well (the vintage Ozzy years), plus the first couple of Ronnie James Dio albums. I also had a copy of the 2013 comeback album 13 which I last reviewed favourably here >>
13 is a powerful album that doesn't sound dissimilar to some of the band's '70s albums. Never Say Die! (Ozzy's last album before the comeback) ain't too shabby either and was also favourably reviewed here >>. Unaccountably it gets a bad rap from Sab fans.
What was most interesting though was hearing the "more recent" albums - post 1982, mostly for the first time. Most are relatively anonymous to be fair but there were a few that stood out from the bunch >> The Devil You Know (2009) and Dehumanizer (1992) fared fairly well in the ranking.
The period was fraught with a revolving door of band members, many only staying for one record, many quitting and returning (Dio himself came and went 3 times) - the one constant member, guitarist Tony Iommi, firing and hiring at will forever seeking a return to the glory days. However for the most part his band became followers of the heavy metal fashions of the '80s and '90s rather than the innovators they once were.
The period was fraught with a revolving door of band members, many only staying for one record, many quitting and returning (Dio himself came and went 3 times) - the one constant member, guitarist Tony Iommi, firing and hiring at will forever seeking a return to the glory days. However for the most part his band became followers of the heavy metal fashions of the '80s and '90s rather than the innovators they once were.
Reaction on Twitter was concerned...
Welsh rockers Budgie imo were a very underrated band. I don't think the band name helped:
I loved the idea of playing noisy, heavy rock, but calling ourselves after something diametrically opposed to that.
Burke Shelley
I must admit I haven't heard many of their actual albums and this Best Of is ostensibly their best stuff, and it is cracking good rock full of exciting guitar riffs. They remind me a bit of Rush actually, and actually even look like Rush physically. Much of the iconic Budgie artwork was designed by Roger Dean.
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| Budgie |
You know what you are getting with AC/DC, ie. basic good riffing rock. Most their songs start off with an Angus Young riff, before a one note Cliff Williams pumping bass comes in, followed by crashing Phil Rudd drums, and then a squawking Bon Scott or Brian Johnson singing about birds and booze. Great stuff! This album, High Voltage, was their first international release in 1976 combining tracks from two albums that had had limited release in their home country Australia only.
So I was expecting basic rock, but not this basic. This album is a lot more bluesy than subsequent albums I have heard.
It's also got the classic It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock N Roll) made famous by the Jack Black School Of Rock film.
So I was expecting basic rock, but not this basic. This album is a lot more bluesy than subsequent albums I have heard.
It's also got the classic It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock N Roll) made famous by the Jack Black School Of Rock film.
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