The Vertigo Swirl Label

ISBN: 978-3-9810109-1-6

Warning: This book can seriously damage your bank balance….

I love books like this.  Compiled by Ulrich Klatte and published last year by the German CPG Books group I received this for my birthday and it’s going to cost me a fortune!

It’s not so much the words that make this book.  There aren’t actually that many.  A brief foreword and an introduction in both English and German are about it actually.  It’s the pictures that do it.  Every release ever issued on the famous Swirl label has its cover reproduced in glorious colour along with a guide to the mint vinyl value, the personnel involved and the catalogue information.  Some of the artwork on these albums, released from the late 60s to early 70s when Vertigo was arguably at the forefront as the label of quality for serious, progressive rock music releases, is simply stunning.  Drawing the reader in and making it essential that the music is sampled as well.  After all Ian Matthews 1972 LP “Tigers Will Survive” (Vertigo 6360056) or Catapilla’s self-titled 1971 album (Vertigo 6360029) may just be the best LP I’ve ever heard waiting to be discovered!

Are therein lies the reason why this book will ultimately cost so much more than the €25 cover price.  With no comment about the music whatsoever it falls to me to investigate each album in turn, see what the label bosses heard that made it suitable for release on the “serious rock” label and record my thoughts here for posterity.  Now I’m not made of money so on this occasion, especially as I’m sure there is some stuff way off my personal tastes, I’m looking to get a CD copy of every disc listed in the book.  Some of the vinyl goes for over €500 so I believe on this occasion I’m justified to forgo vinyl, at least until the lottery win!  Fortunately I already have a few of the discs, even the odd vinyl release, but to properly appreciate the growth of the label I’ve got to do this in order, and fit in the purchases around my normal buying too.

The first release to be adorned with the famous Swirl logo was Colosseum’s “Valentyne Suite”, part of six album “VO Series” and that has arrived from HMV recently so thoughts will follow soon….

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BL

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Mott The Hoople - Fairfield Halls, Live 1970

Details: CD, Angel Air, 2007

We’ve had a bit of a recurring theme over recent weeks with posts about forgotten live albums popping up once or twice.  Pat Travers’ superb “Go For What You Know” got a well overdue reissue as part of the “8+8″ compilation, whilst The James Gang Live In Concert post generated a bit of a response too.  This album though definitely sits in the forgotten category as it sat on the shelf for 37 years before Angel Air finally released it last year.

Capturing the formative first line-up of Mott The Hoople, featuring Ian Hunter and Mick Ralphs, this recording should have been Mott’s first live album yet the idea was forgotten due to perceived sound issues with the recording.  The extensive sleeve notes tell the full story, but suffice to say rather than “issues” what is actually captured turns out to be electric in a way that it often seems only 70s era live album can.

Playing as support to “Free”, early Mott were quite different to the glam-rock “All The Young Dudes” singing, Bowie approved group of just a dew years later.  Certainly captured delivering a more raw form of rock, the opening track “Ohio“, a Neil Young cover, is formidable.  Heavy, loud and instantly engaging it’s a foretaste of a powerful, if short set that’s only potential negative is that it perhaps indicates an early lack of suitable concert material as further covers are served up in the shape of The Kinks “You Really Got Me” and Little Richard’s “Keep A Knockin’“, both extended to over 8 minutes!

The original material is outstanding though. Ian Hunter’s “No Wheels To Ride” builds to simply epic proportions and “Thunderbuck Ram“, from the band’s 1970 second album “Mad Shadows”, proves every bit as good in concert form as you’d expect, with the intro haunting and the interplay between the superbly heavy guitar, keyboards and vocals really demonstrating the power of Mott’s early performances superbly. Ralphs’ “Rock ‘n’ Roll Queen” stands out well too, a pre-cursor of what would become the more recognised Mott though ironically perhaps not until after his departure. A contrast in styles is nicely evident as well mid-set in the organ and vocal only track “When My Mind’s Gone” demonstrating Ian Hunter at his impassioned best.

Of course a 45 minute support set might have been suitable source material for a vinyl release back in the 70s but today it falls some way short of filling a cd, so Angel Air have added five tracks from the following year record in Sweden.  Only “Thunderbuck Ram” is repeated and again a reliance on covers is evident with Mountain’s “Long Red” and Sonny Bono’s composition “Laugh At Me” the choices this time.

It’s rough and ready sounding in places for sure but any flaws evident whether in sound or voice only serve to enhance the experience, making this a fine document of early Mott and a terrific live album better for the absence of studio based overdubs.

Highlight: Thunderbuck Ram (Fairfield Halls)

Score: 3.5/5

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BL

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GTFM Rock Show Preview

“Glyder Flies Again…with added Sparkle!“

“This week, we repeat the recent interview with Irish band Glyder, as the last time the online streaming facility malfunctioned causing many to miss it! We’ll have signed copies of their ‘Playground for Life’ album to give away too, plus our featured album is the new Def Leppard disc ‘Songs from the Sparkle Lounge’. There’s new music on the show from Heavens Basement, Mostly Autumn and Steve Winwood, plus the usual rock history and rock news from the web.“

——

email DJ Andy Fox via rockshow@gtfm.co.uk

Listen live in the Pontypridd, South Wales area on 107.9 FM

or on the Internet by pointing your media player at

http://qtss.lrc.glam.ac.uk:8000/gtfmmp3

——

Join in the GTFM Sub-Forum at

The Classic Rock Newswire Forum

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The GTFM ROCK SHOW with ANDY FOX

22.00 to 24.00 every Wednesday

The Black Crowes - Warpaint

Details: 2008, Silver Arrow, CD

The more I hear this album, the more I realise I’m listening to an album that will rate highly when I compile my personal top 10 of 2008; either that or some damn fine releases are going to come along in the next six months to eclipse it.

The vehicle for Robinson brothers Chris and Rich, the Black Crowes have always been popular in the UK. Emerging from America at a time when many of their peers were seeing how big their hair could get and how little substance could be turned into record sales, The Black Crowes offered something altogether more palatable and lasting, merging 70s classic rock of the Stones, Faces, Zep and Lynyrd Skynyrd with an American upbringing encompassing gospel, blues and soul.  It’s seven years since the excellent “Lions” album and the new set marks the first release on their own label… and it’s a hell of a return.

“Goodbye Daughters Of The Revolution” is a superb opening number and lead off single. It’s not just the familiarity of it being the albums promotional single that marks it the albums highlight though, all that Stonesy swagger and superbly effortless delivery mark it as something of a throwback to “Remedy” off the excellent “Southern Blues And Harmony” album and it’s also somewhat surprising one of just a handful of really up-tempo songs on the disc.  “Evergreen” recalls the Faces at their best, “Wee Who See The Deep” just oozes 70’s rock power with a great guitar hook that has certain similarities to Zep’s “No Quarter” emerging from the smog, whilst the excellent “Wounded Bird” develops from a Who-like riff into another great boogie rocker that has a definite late-60s English sound to it. Of the more upbeat numbers though none ooze upbeat positivity more than “God’s Got It“.  Mixing stomping blues with gospel its the kind of song you feel only the hippie throwback Robinson’s could get away with.  It could of course be as easily construed as a pastiche on the over the top evangelists, I can’t make my mind up, but taken simply as a song its a blast that will be popular live.

The slower songs inevitably avoid the sweet love song theme.  The band who gave us “She Talks To Angels” aren’t going to go chasing a mainstream radio hit purposely now are they?  Instead “Walk Believer Walk” instead follows a Zeppelin-esq heavy, old style blues template, “Oh Josephine” proves to be a stunning gentle countrified ballad with Chris Robinson delivering a fine, raw vocal.  “Locust Street” is a superb acoustic song again sounding like a cross between a country-rock classic and an early Rod Stewart solo album inclusion.

The closing song is pure American southern blues.  As poignant and contemplative as “Daughters Of The Revolution” was strutting and territory reclaiming, “Whoa Mule” marks the impressive finale with harmonica drenched passages, mesmerising acoustic rhythm and memorable line of “we’re dirty but we’re dreaming”.

Significant personnel changes over the years have damaged the output from other bands but the Crowes just seem to get better.  Superior to “Lions” there simply isn’t a poor track on the album. Certainly its still that classic, trend ignoring Black Crowes sound, an earthy meeting of many different styles and influences, but whereas other bands seem to regurgitate their back catalogue somewhat after nearly 20-odd years , these guys manage to sound original, reinvigorated and inspired. It’s varied, more laid back than expected but oozes class in a way few bands of today can. It’s also the best album I’ve heard so far this year; not a poor song in sight.

Highlight: Goodbye Daughters Of The Revolution

Score: 4.5/5

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Promo clip for the superb single “Goodbye Daughters Of The Revolution“….

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BL

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Rush on GTFM Rock Show - “Classic Tracking” download

Something a little different in the “GTFM Rock Show” listen again feature this time. On last week’s show Andy featured large segments from a pre-recorded interview sent out to support the new Rush “Snakes And Arrows Live” releases’ promotional push as part of the “Classic Tracking” section.

We thought about whether to put this out in the “Listen Again” series but when you think about it, it’s not the sort of thing us armchair fans often get repeated chance to listen to is it?  Plus it was bloody interesting to hear the band’s thoughts on this umpteenth live release and how they go about assembling the mammoth set lists amongst other things.

Reproduced at streaming broadcast rate it’s not a huge download at all.  As usual the musical parts have been edited for copyright reasons but the overall thing is still about a quarter of an hour long with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson waxing lyrical!  Please note that the competition mentioned in the piece only ran for the duration of the live broadcast.

Get the download here.

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BL

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Reeves Gabrels on the Sunshine Rock Show

You hear very little these days about David Bowie’s 1988 solo career postponing “Tin Machine” project.  Formed when Bowie became disillusion with his solo output, particularly the critical savaging handed out to the “Never Let Me Down” album and subsequent “Glass Spider” tour, Tin Machine marked a return to the rock arena for Bowie.  A chance to re-explore his more experimental side lost since the 70s.

Sadly the project lasted just two albums, Bowie returning unsurprisingly to his solo career where Tin Machine guitarist Reeves Gabrels continued to work with him.  On the Sunshine Rock Show tonight Jeff Collins interviews Gabrels on his time in Tin Machine, his work with Bowie and his own solo career.

Also featured are tracks from the new Def Leppard album, Welsh rockers Circle Of One and Hawkwind’s lesser known bass-player Alan Davey’s band Gunslinger.

Streaming links can be found at: www.sunshine-radio.net

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As a fore-taste/reminder here is Tin Machine’s “Heaven’s In Here” featuring superb guitar work by Reeves Gabrels…


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BL

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British Steel Festival III - April 26th 2008

Camden Underworld, Camden Town, London

Some eight hours driving, a forty minute each way trip on the tube and a stroll through some of London’s landmarks on the way to a hugely enjoyable festival in the heart of the capital are just some of the memories that will stick with me after last Saturday’s excursion.

The third British Steel Festival, a gathering celebrating the famed “New Wave Of British Heavy Metal” but for me personally a chance to finally see “Lyadrive” in concert.  A band I discovered via the internet last year and have championed on more than one occasion in these pages.

Opening the festival though were “Redline“.  Honesty forces me to admit I knew of none of their songs but an enjoyable set of straight up rockers played out to a gradually assembling audience did encourage a visit to the merchandise stand where their links to “Bitches Sin” were clearly in evidence.  Suitably impressed by the live fare served up I pocketed three “Bitches Sin” discs for the princely sum of a tenner. Meanwhile a free Bitches Sin download album entitled “Your Place Or Mine 1980 - 1987” available from www.bitchessin.co.uk has also been added to the playlist since returning from the gig.

“Lyadrive” were next on and were quite simply a revelation. As feet landed on the monitors onstage, a crowd assembled in front of the stage and an atmosphere started to build.  Did anybody expect them to grasp the nettle to this extent and play such a blinder?  A glimpse at Malc MacMillan’s essential “NWOBHM Encyclopaedia” will tell you how highly regarded this band were, and perhaps how unjust it was that their début album didn’t actually surface until 1996. It’s also possible that they may share the same tour manager as Halley’s Comet - their last live appearance being 1999.  Importantly though they recognised that the festival was a celebration of a time in British music and through singer Nick John’s well placed comments they certainly endeared themselves to an appreciative audience.  He noted Maiden’s worldwide success, Mantis’s Japanese legacy and their own trip for a gig in Great Yarmouth.  They paid homage to America’s “honorary nwobhm-sters” “Riot” with a storming version of “Warrior“, nodded once again to fellow early 80s band Trespass with a blast through their own version of the classic “One Of These Days“, unleashed their own should-have-been classics like “Steal Away The Night” and “Lazerwind“, whilst showing that the engine’s till running by including new track “Black Waters Rising“.

A nice touch was original guitarist Steve Jones travelling thousands of miles from Alaska to join the band for one song, whilst the bass players swapped mid-set too ensuring seven of the band’s membership played some part in the proceedings.

Kudos too must go to Lyadrive for being the only act to have vinyl product on sale on the day, and new vinyl product at that!  Through German label “High Roller Records“, the band have just released “The Sands Of Time : Sessions 1980-82“.  An archive collection, it features some of the tracks that were re-recorded for the eventual début release “Another Time Another Place“, along with a few other rarities including the tracks that made the much sought after 1984 7″ single that ensures interest in the band has continued into the new millennium.  Extensive sleeve notes courtesy of Nick John and drummer Lee Burrows make for interesting reading and once again the band’s pleasure to have simply been part of the scene comes through. A fine release for any nwobhm collector but beware though… it’s a very limited edition!

It’s worth noting too that Lyadrive don’t seem content to rest on their laurels as a CD wrapping up their recordings since the début album “Post Millenium Blues” also premièred at the festival, details of which can be found on www.lyadrive.co.uk and on the band’s myspace page.  And just in case anyone thinks I’m biased in any way toward a band I think are well worth checking out, the post gig discussion on the Planet Rock forums were the first to mark them down as the band who stole the show… and far be it from me to disagree!

Elixir took the stage next and continued the celebration.  I’d already taken the chance to pick up a copy (the last copy I think!) of classic début album “The Son Of Odin” at the merchandise stall, and familiar with this album to some extent was happy that it was well represented.  Pacey, classic British metal with galloping riffs similar to the mighty Iron Maiden, they encouraged a big reaction and once again took the chance to promote more recent material too.  2006’s “Mindcreeper” also being the source for a few tracks with singer Paul Taylor proving the archetypal British metal front-man.  Actual song titles once again elude my memory with the exception of “Children Of Tomorrow”, but the overall impression was extremely positive and this is a band I wouldn’t hesitate to see live again if the opportunity arises.

Praying Mantis were, as expected perhaps, something of an enigma to me.  Their perfect, four person harmonies absolutely stunning yet the overall sound seeming on occasion a little too AOR-centric for me initially, especially after classic new-wave metal sounds of Lyadrive and Elixir.  On reflection though isn’t this a perfect example of how bands of an often very different sound were lumped together under a generic banner?  Mantis, Maiden, Saxon, Venom, Shy, Heavy Pettin’ etc are all included in the nwobhm banner yet are all very different in sound.  Additionally there is little doubt that Praying Mantis were roundly welcomed on the day, drawing the biggest crowd and the loudest applause. Compilation essential “Captured City” got the biggest response of a hugely popular set, and rightly so.

As if to underline the breadth of music on offer, early peddlers of what has become known as black metal, Witchfynde then offered the other end of the nwobhm spectrum with some bludgeoning heavy rock.  Pagan woman lit the candles and the band embarked on a hard hitting journey that seemed to delight the hardy survivors at the front of the stage.  I’ve got to be honest, it had been a long day for me and after five or six songs I was ready to begin the long journey home.  It wasn’t easy following what was clearly a successful show for Praying Mantis who perhaps should have been on last but from the little I saw they were making a good fist of it and a decent audience had remained to witness their performance.

Overall, a marvellous festival that actually would perhaps benefit from playing the nostalgia card a little more.  If comments on the internet is to be believed then this is to be the last under the British Steel banner.  If that is so it’s a crying shame as an evening of British heavy metal for just £12.50 isn’t the kind of offer we’re going to get very often anymore.  I had a great time and would definitely be in line again if a BSF IV were to be announced.

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BL

Festival pictures courtesy of “Wolfie”…  www.coronium.co.uk

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“noise” Interview

Hi guys, welcome to the UK, I hope you are enjoying your time here and making plenty of friends through your shows. Are these your first over here? You seem to be going down very well, how have they been for you?

Hi. Thanx. we’ve really enjoyed it. It’s our first time in the UK and we love it.

There seems to be a lot of good music coming out of Iceland currently, the scene must be jumping in Reykjavik. How does it compare to England?

We were surprised how many great bands you have here and we have met some really cool people.

Which Icelandic bands do you think we should be watching out for?

Besides us - SIGN, Cliff Clavin, Dimma and Minus are great.

Brothers Einar (lead vocals & guitar) and Stefan Vilberg (bass) are founding members of the band, it must have been “interesting” for your parents while you were both learning to play! Was it always in your mind to play in a band together?

Our Dad is a musician so it came kind of naturally to us.

Who decided which instrument each of you should play?

Einar: I never meant to be a singer, but after looking for a singer for some time, I gave it a shot and it seemed to work out beautifully.
Stebbi: Kind of the same story with me….I started out as a guitarist but found more harmony with the bass.

You started out as a 3-piece band but have since added a rhythm guitar, is this just for touring or is Hilmar Birkisson a fully-fledged member now?

Hilli joined the band in 2006 before the Iceland Airwaves festival and he’s been a fully fledged member ever since.

Of course, this also begs the question, is he related to drummer Hordur?

Hoddi: He’s my younger brother.

Your second album “Wicked” appears to me to be a hybrid of many styles such as metal, grunge and punk, where do you think your main influences have come from?

Main influences are life, the Icelandic environment and a shit load of bands, the Seattle scene and classic Rock and Roll.

Wicked was originally only meant to be a demo. We recorded most of it live-only one drum take. We were so happy with the result that we decided to make an album out of it. Two of the songs, “Quiet” and “So Long” are written about two of our good friends who died.

Einar: “Quiet” is about our uncle who died from alcoholism and “So Long” is about a good friend of ours who died from a terrible disease- “Wicked” is dedicated to their memory.

The rest of the songs are not so morbid, they’re just powerful rock n’ roll.

Is your debut album “Pretty Ugly” still available?

Yeah, “Pretty Ugly” is available online at “tonlist.is” and you can also contact us through  “www.myspace.com/noise1” if you want a copy.

We’re focusing more on new material rather than re-issuing old stuff. Who knows…maybe some of the old songs will appear on a “Greatest Hits” album in the future haha :)

What now for “noise”?

We’re going in the studio, when we come home to Iceland, to record our third album, which we plan to release in the fall. Hopefully we’ll be back touring the UK very soon.

Any messages for your fans here in the UK and of course back home in Reykjavik?

Thanx to everyone who came to the shows and bought the album.

See you next time. Love noise!

Thanks again for taking the time to answer these and I hope to catch you on stage back In the UK again very soon.

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DH

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GTFM Rock Show Preview

“Snakes And Arrows Live!“

“This week, our featured album is the new live disc from Rush, called ‘Snakes and Arrows Live’. It was recorded on their much lauded European tour last year. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson talk about their 35 year career and the new release and we’ll have copies to give away, plus there’s new music on the show from Foo Fighters, Opeth and Def Leppard and an exclusive new track from Judas Priest plus the usual rock history and rock news from the web.“

——

email DJ Andy Fox via rockshow@gtfm.co.uk

Listen live in the Pontypridd, South Wales area on 107.9 FM

or on the Internet by pointing your media player at

http://qtss.lrc.glam.ac.uk:8000/gtfmmp3

——

Join in the GTFM Sub-Forum at

The Classic Rock Newswire Forum

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The GTFM ROCK SHOW with ANDY FOX

22.00 to 24.00 every Wednesday

Geordie - Don’t Be Fooled By The Name

Details: 1974 (2008 reissue), CD, 7T’s

I’ve had a lot of fun listening to this release recently, not because its a classic album unearthed or anything ground-shaking but more down to a handful of enjoyable songs and realising again the often stark difference in style of Brian Johnson in his earlier years pre-AC/DC fame.  Recently reissued on Cherry Red’s “7T’s” label “Don’t Be Fooled By The Name” marked Geordie’s second full length release and is certainly worth tracking down if you think that Johnson only ever had that ‘rasp’ of a voice in his armoury.

The most obvious achievement on here is the superb cover of the traditional song “House Of The Rising Sun“.  Something of a “Geordie” anthem, and a big hit for fellow Newcastle band The Animals a decade earlier, its given a full blooded seeing to here with Johnson in particularly fine form and the band rendering it in dramatic, way over the top style perfectly in tune with the Glam Rock era.

Début album “Hope You Like It” had produced a couple of Top 40 UK hits and brought comparisons to the Glam Rock greats but this follow-up found Geordie branching out a little, although with less commercial success. Glam Rock is still represented of course; opener “Goin’ Down” is perhaps the closest to The Sweet in sound and “Ten Feet Tall” is a fine rocker sounding similar to Slade, but the excellent “So What” for example is definitely in the driving blues-rock arena hinting at The Doors’ “Roadhouse Blues” and full of tasty guitar licks and pulsing harmonica. “Got To Know” too reminded me a lot of the rip through of “Baby Please Don’t Go” that marked AC/DC’s early live shows.

The ambitious “Mercenary Man“, the out of place ballad “Little Boy” and the almost prog/pomp pretensions of “Look At Me” are evidence of the band trying to evolve though and are just less exciting than the more rock oriented material. Often awkward sounding they are all some way from what Geordie was best at. Indeed the latter two would both have tested me if greatly if they’d have cropped up in a name the singer competition such is the difference in delivery to that which I’d now expect from Johnson.

Guitarist Vic Malcolm once again seems to have been the creative driving force here writing most of the tracks, but Johnson definitely showed signs of what would lead him to fame and fortune.  That distinctive voice is present on occasion, and whilst its not an old album that will have you screaming out “lost treasure” Geordie aren’t as bad as you may have been lead to believe and there is quite a bit to enjoy here.

Highlight: So What

Score: 2.5/5

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In stark contrast to John Otway’s pastiche of “House Of The Rising Sun” here’s Geordie superbly overblown version….

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BL

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