Tom Petty

New week and finishing up the run of P's. Starting with something I prolly should of posted last week but for whatever reason slipped through the cracks. Back to the classic rock genre for a bit and how bout some Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Petty has been active in music since the mid 70's, whether it be with The Heartbreakers, or the supergroup The Travellin' Wilburys. Musically Petty & The Heartbreakers have been a staple of classic rock radio for the past twenty years. What's even more amazing is that he's still out there touring and putting out new music. And if music wasn't enough he's done some acting too, even appeared on the Simpsons a few years back. So with someone who's got a rich line of music, what do ya upload? Well what else than a 'Greatest Hits' package. This one is solid all around, contains all the hits you need for a nice night of rocking out.

Tom Petty is one of the artists you can never really get away from on the radio and in the earlier years of MTV, away from on TV. Sometime about his simple rock songs that get stuck in your head. Or those really trippy videos he used to do back in the day. Petty's music belongs in the all American rock category. Everyone will drunkenly sing 'Free Fallin' at some point in the life. The music is timeless and that's what makes a good musician in the end.

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Wicked Wilson

Closing out the week with some soul. Taking a trip back to some Wilson Pickett. Everyone knows some Wilson Pickett whether the realize it or not. Known for his hits such as, "Mustang Sally", "Land Of A Thousand Dances" and "In The Midnight Hour", 'Wicked' Wilson Pickett made a name for himself. Pickett recorded for the famous Stax label in the 60's, with a backing band that consisted of Steve Cropper and Donal 'Duck' Dunn, Pickett recorded 'In The Midnight Hour'. Pickett went on to change lables and have several more hits over the next decade, but in the 70's he had lost his chart topping success. Bad luck and run ins with the law plagues Pickett in his later years. He passed in 06 of a heart attack. He did appear in the film Blues Brother 2000, performing with Johnny Lang. Really great soul musician who had many great hits. This version of his Greatest Hits released by Atlantic in 85 serves as proof of his talent as a musician.

I grew up digging the song "Mustang Sally", primarily because it was my grandmothers name and we just always assumed it'd be cool if she drove a Mustang. Truth being she really wanted a Thunderbird. So we stretched the lie some. In any case Pickett always have so much soul in his music. This collection is 24 tracks strong and every song is a hit to me, even the covers, and there are a few to name, The Beatles, Three Dog Night, and The Archies. Even on the covers he manages to put his own twist on them. For me there's something about throwing on an old Soul record and just grooving on it. This record is no exception, in fact I did that just the other day, thankfully the neighbors weren't watching.

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Wish You Were Here

Post number two coming in hot. And it's some classic rock for you. Perhaps some overplayed Classic Rock some would argue and I will get to that shortly. Pink Floyd remains one of the most well known names is Classic Rock, thanks mainly to their epic 'Dark Side Of The Moon' record and trippy live shows back in the day. There are a few obvious choice for a Pink Floyd post, 'Dark Side', 'The Wall' and 'Wish You Were Here'. The latter is actually what I'm going to upload and feature. 'Wish You Were Here' is my favorite Pink Floyd record. Start to finish it's amazing. 5 songs and no filler anywhere. The title track is still one of rocks greatest songs to me, but lets not forget about the rest of the album. All very good songs and most have been covered by newer bands. 'Welcome To The Machine' was covered by Shadows Fall a few years back. And 'Have A Cigar' was covered by the Foo Fighters some years back for the MI2 soundtrack. Ever an influential band to many and to many youth the perfect band to space out to. Great album that should be in the majority of readers collections.

I'm going to go back to my overplayed comment I made. Turn on any classic rock station in America and I can guarantee that at least once an hour you'll hear a Pink Floyd track. My gripe with that is it's always from those three well known records. You almost never hear any of the old stuff with Syd Barrett or even the latter albums, like 'The Division Bell'. There are plenty of other songs that are equally as good that they could be playing. Play 'Astronomy Domine' once in a while. Hell play the Voivod cover even. Which might be more widely known at this point. Bottom line, stop wearing out the same ol records. Now by no means am I knocking the band, I really do enjoying Pink Floyd, and have seen my share of tributes to em, just saying dig a little deeper to find the gold.

 

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The Rise Of The Phantom

Little behind this week on the postings. So here's the rest of the weeks coming at ya. Starting off with sort of a continuation of a band that I posted last week. Phantom-X is the current band of former Omen vocalist Kevin Goocher. Phantom-X picks up where he left off with Omen, in the sense that musically it's your good ol' fahsioned True Heavy Metal. While there are moments of Power and Thrash metal in here, fans of Omen and the such should dig this. 'Rise Of The Phantom' is the debut from Phantom-X. Released back in 05, it's still a solid debut. Prime cuts here include the album opener, "Storms Of Hell" and the Dimebag tribute "Metal Warrior". Good album for a relatively unknown band.

I like Kevin as the vocalist for Omen, he has a real solid voice that fits the traditional/power heavy metal styling. Things didn't work out there, but I was happy to follow him over to Phantom-X. Really an unknown band here stateside, the band does occasionally tour. Having just released a new album recently to, I was hoping the underground would pick up on these guys. The purpose of this blog is to showcase some perhaps unknown bands and share some amazing albums. Remember if you like the band, go to the shows, buy thr merch, buy the CD's/LP's and spread the word about them.

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Unplugged

Gonna switch things up and post what's somewhat of a bootleg album. If you're old enough to remember when MTV actually gave a crap about music, you will recall the Unplugged series. Seemed like every few months an artist would do a stripped down acoustic performance. There was plenty memorable ones, including a few from the Grunge era. Both Alice In Chains and Nirvana went on to release their versions to commercial success. However one band didn't choose to release their legendary set. Pearl Jam did their MTV Unplugged session in 92. The set featuring material from their debut album 'Ten' mainly. Recorded in March of 92 in Queens NY, this set features the explosive grunge band on the rise. Complete with an extended jam session at one point and Eddie Vedder scribbling on his arm with a Sharpie. Eight tracks is all that was needed to capture a high point in the bands career. Closing out the set is a cover of Neil Young's 'Keep On Rockin' In The Free World' which the two would later play on the MTV VMA's. And years later the two would make a collaboration album called 'Mirror Ball'. Solid live record from one of the Grunge era's better bands.

Pearl Jam has always been one of those bands that did things their way. From deciding not to make videos after a certain point, to going after Ticketmaster. Somehow through doing things their own way they've managed to survive the death of Grunge and still put out records after twenty years. I really stopped following the band after their 'Vitalogy' record. Much like the rest of people I grew out of the Grunge phase. I still listen to them every so often and I still maintain that 'Ten' and 'Unplugged' were the best albums they ever released. The energy on both those albums are just incredible.

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Far Beyond

New week and into the P's now. Starting things off with some Pantera. One of the great Metal band to come out of the 90's, combing grooves with metal and creating their own blend of Metal. The master behind some of the most memorable riffs was none other than Dimebag Darrell. His brother Vinnie Paul handled the drums, while outspoken and the larger than life Phil Anselmo screamed life into the songs. The band originally started out as a Glam Metal band before changing vocalists and releasing 'Cowboys From Hell'. From that moment there was no looking back. A handful of records put the band over the top and their live shows were chaos. The band couldn't stay on top with in fighting and issues with staying sober. Pantera met their untimely end when Dimebag was gunned down on stage playing with his other band Damageplan. Years later the band still remains split up with constant rumors of who would fill in for Dimebag. Pantera's legacy however lives on. Released after Dimebag's death, 'The Best Of Pantera: Far Beyond The Great Southern Cowboys Vulgar Hits' showcases the best of Pantera materials from 'Cowboys From Hell' to 'Reinventing The Steel'. Perfect collection of material to blast in traffic.

Pantera is one of those influential bands that no one can every duplicate. Dimebag's style was just so unique to the band. Every member brought something that made that band who it was. Simply put Pantera truly was larger than life. Dimebag's death was a sobering moment for all metalheads. We couldn't believe that something like this could ever happen. For the metal community this was like losing Cobain or Lennon. The legacy is still there and bands now are more aware of having people jump up on stage. Of course stupid things to happen still. The current case against Lamb Of God frontman Randy Blythe is one. Being falsely charged for manslaughter for a death of a fan isn't sitting well with a lot of folks. Going to shows and enjoying yourself is expected, being an idiot isn't. So don't be that guy.

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Orphaned Land

Closing out the O's this week with something a little worldly in the metal sense. Metal from the Holy Land of Israel. Orphaned Land is one of the few success stories in the Metal genre to come from Israel. The other well noted bands are Melechesh and Salem. Orphaned Land started out in the early 90's as a Doom/Death/Middle Eastern Folk outfit before changing their sound to a more Progressive/Middle Eastern Folk sound. The band has only released four albums to date. Taking a eight years to release albums at one point. The band deals with the religious uncertainty that plagues the Middle East by crafting music that promotes peace and unity. Those themes are present on their latest effort, 'The Never Ending Way Of The ORwarriOR'. For those of you wondering Orwarrior roughly translated means, "Warrior Of Light", in this case representing a conceptual hero between light and the darkness.The album is divided into three parts: Part I: Godfrey's Cordial - An ORphan's Life (tracks 1-6) Part II: Lips Acquire Stains - The WarriOR Awakens (tracks 7-12) Part III: Barakah - Enlightening The Cimmerian (tracks 13-15). Overall this is pretty much a concept album. Musically it is very diverse and unique sounding which I think adds to the charm. Overall if you're looking for something different, this is an excellent choice.

Orphaned Land has garnered a lot of praise for what they do as a band and what they do outside of the band. It's not easy to be a metal band in a conflict ridden area. Musically speaking the band always seems to draw high praise from the critics. And it's not hard to see why 'Orwarrior' was produced by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree fame. Let's face it the man knows how to make a record sound good. But it's really the band that shines through here, blending native instruments with prog metal. It's not what you would necessarily expect, but somehow it's really great sounding. Always worth listening to bands from unexpected areas.

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