It's good to be back reviewing and there are many albums I would like to talk about, however, I feel I need just a little more time with them. So! I decided to do a special version of Shuffle Sunday today, in which I throw my iTunes on shuffle and discuss the first five songs that come up in my playlist. I hope you enjoy my rambles and see you soon with a brand new full album review!
1. "Wasted Years" - Iron Maiden
Sure, we all know that Iron Maiden rocks, but why do they rock so hard? It's because of songs like these. "Wasted Years" has that underlying minor tone throughout the whole song with Bruce Dickinson belting out an epic tale with a deep moral of not taking life for granted. Everything from the defining introduction to the well structured and beautifully flowing solo from Adrian Smith, this song is all a hard rock fan can ask for. Although it is one of the better songs off their 1986 album Somewhere in Time, it reminds us not to sweep this album under the carpet.
2. "Hideaway" - Chicago
This song comes from one of Chicago's less popular albums, Chicago VIII. They dropped the jazzy style present on Chicago VII and decided to go more mainstream with these recordings. This definitely shows on "Hideaway" which contains a very basic driving beat from Danny Seraphine and a simple fat dropping chord progression from the band. Terry Kath saves the repetitive nature of the song with a heavily distorted guitar solo at the end, but not much can be done with the chord base he's provided with. With a very lacking horn section and the constant use of the same musical idea throughout the whole song, "Hideaway" is best forgotten.
3. "Lost in the Flood" - Bruce Springsteen
Now I'm not usually a huge Springsteen fan, but his first album Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. is nothing to scoff at. This entire album is a gem, but since it was so 'out there' for the time, it took four years before the album caught on in America. "Lost in the Flood" is a great, heart-felt song that tells three stories from three perspectives about the time of the Vietnam War and the pain and hardships that went along with it. Springsteen's vocal technique throughout this song and even on the whole album remind me a lot of Adam Duritz of Counting Crows; filled with emotion, grief and sadness, but not without a little bit of hope. Great song. Great album. Check it out.
4. "R.U. Ready 2 Rock" - Blue Öyster Cult
Now I'm a huge Blue Öyster Cult fan, but this song never really tickled my fancy. It has that same "Cities on Flame" groove, but it really has no build like a lot of BOC's earlier hits had. It also always baffled me that this was the first song on the B-Side of their album Spectres. Being the first song on an album side, I figure it would have more pizazz, but alas, this is just a mediocre stereotypical rock chart with no real BOC character added. Maybe they just forgot to add it to the recipe on this one. Yeah, we'll just go with that.
5. "The House Wins" - OK Go
What a great end to a great album. With an entire album of greatly structured and intelligent alternative glam-rock, "The House Wins" is a simple song that revolves around a single note (concert B to be exact) repeated over and over again. I love how Damian Kulash sounds so bored in his vocals, yet at the same time seems quite enthused about it. On top of that, the rest of the band loudly overpowering the vocals makes for a great clash of ideas, leaving the listener satisfied. Oh, and did you know that Damian Kulash thinks I'm an alcoholic? Eh, we'll leave that for another time.
Have you seen OK Go's new music video for their song "This Too Shall Pass?" Great stuff as usual.
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