Jag Panzer - "Ample Destruction"

Last fall, I attended "Nosferatu with Radiohead" at the Naro Cinema (the local art house theater).  It was excellent, and it reminded me of how fun the word "N-o-s-f-e-r-a-t-u" is to say -- it just rolls off your tongue. Then I was reminded of a HS-era metal song that incorporated "Nosferatu" into the lyrics, and then I disappeared into a rabbit hole digging up an LP I probably haven't listened to in over 30 years.  After some digging through the haze and cobwebs of time, I was able to remember the song, LP, and band. 

Courtesy of Scott, I had a taped copy of Jag Panzer's 1984 debut LP "Ample Destruction".  Taping each other's LPs is how we could build a large music collection without having $$$ (a tremendous amount of our HS budget went to music, in a way that "the kids today could not understand", but that's a discussion for another time).  What I didn't realize some 40 years ago is how rare "Ample Destruction" was; this was only revealed after reading some of the reviews at Encylopaedia Metallum.  It wasn't a complete surprise, since Scott was (and still is) the most plugged in person to the metal scene that I personally know.  

Combining the best -- and worst! -- parts of Judas Priest, Mercyful Fate, and Manowar, "Ample Destruction" is a perfect blend of NWOBHM and the emerging Power Metal scene of 1984.  With LP title itself,  the mispronounced/misspelled WWII "tank destroyer" (Jagdpanzer) reference, and song titles like "Symphony of Terror", "Harder Than Steel", "The Watching", and "Reign of The Tyrants", the LP is 3 parts teenage awesomeness and 1 part unintentional Spinal Tap.  

It's not really possible for me to listen to this LP in 2025 and be completely removed the nostalgia from 40 years ago, but I'm still pretty sure this is an objectively great LP.  Listening to it makes me feel like a teenager again. And to be fair, I think all of them were still teenagers when they made recorded this LP.  Conklin's vocals are distinctive and powerful (far better than King Diamond, as far as I'm concerned), the music is legitimately good, and they earnestly commit to the bit. You really can't ask for more. 

Stand out tracks: All are good, but my favorites include: "License to Kill", "Symphony of Terror", "Reign of the Tyrants", "The Crucifix".  

Skip 'em tracks: none.

Final score: 9/10.  I probably would have gone 10/10 back in the day, but I'm trying to account for my nostalgia lens.

Bonus links: the 1983 four song EP "Tyrants" (sometimes self-titled), which is included in some reissues of "Ample Destruction". 

The Four Seasons - "Beggin'"

 

I often think about the fact that most people stop listening to new music in their 30s.  I realize that partially applies to me too, but I do make an effort to listen to new music with an open mind.  So when I hear something new on the radio and like it, I have a moment of self-congratulation.  

This happened recently when I heard a song on 96X I didn't recognize but quite liked. Shazam told me it was "Beggin'" by Maneskin, and I was feeling pretty happy with myself for "discovering" a new song.  When I got home and did some digging, I realized:

• The song came out in 2017, on their debut EP "Chosen", and at seven years old, I'm not sure it still qualifies as "new". 
• Upon reflection, it occurred to me that the arrangement borrowed heavily from the Violent Femme's "Add It Up" (1983).  
• And finally, I realized it was a cover of the 1967 song by the Four Seasons.  

As a big fan of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, I was disappointed that I did not immediately recognize it.  Although it was not one of their major hits, Frankie Valli even performed "Beggin'" when we saw him at Chrysler Hall in 2022.  In my defense, Maneskin does a great cover with the arrangement sounding more like the Violent Femmes than the Four Seasons.  

So the self-satisfaction of being open minded enough to take in new music evaporated, but I was left with a new-ish cover, arranged in a classic, college-alternative 1980s idiom.  Still good stuff.

Maneskin - "Beggin'"

Violent Femmes - "Add It Up"

The Four Seasons - "Beggin'" 

PS -- At about the same time, I heard on 96X "Sad in Carolina" by Dexter and the Moonrocks -- an actual new song that's great.

Daniel Johnston - "Speeding Motorcyle" (forgotten song)

Daniel Johnston died this week, and although his passing was marked by many major outlets (for example, NPR and Pitchfork), most people won't recognize his name.  I know him because Yo La Tengo covered "Speeding Motorcycle" on their 1990 "Fakebook" LP, but other people might know him from Kurt Cobain wearing a "Hi, How Are You" t-shirt, or Pearl Jam covering "Walking the Cow".  Combine that with the list of artists who contributed to his 2004 tribute LP "The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered" and you'll get an idea of how he was a songwriter's songwriter. 

Although for a while he had a deal with a major label, most of his early discography were home recorded tapes that he distributed in Austin and other places.  "Speeding Motorcycle" came from his 1983 LP "Yip/Jump Music", his fifth self-released LP and is one of his more "popular" songs due to Yo La Tengo's cover.

His child-like wonderment made him an icon in the lo-fi, DIY scene, similar to another Kurt Cobain favorite, Calvin Johnson/Beat Happening/K Records.  Although they don't explicitly claim an influence, the appeal of Johnston comes from the same lo-fi / garage source that makes "American Weekend" and "Dancer Equired!" mesmerizing to me.

Daniel Johnston - "Speeding Motorcycle"
Yo La Tengo - "Speeding Motorcycle"
Daniel Johnston & Yo La Tengo - "Speeding Motorcycle", 1990*


* Johnston sings over the phone from a mental institution in West Virginia while accompanied by YLT in a radio studio; from Jay Lustig: "Yo La Tengo had just recorded its own version of “Speeding Motorcycle” for its Fakebook album, and WFMU DJ Nick Hill arranged for the collaboration. So Johnston sang over the phone, Yo La Tengo played in the studio, and the results were pretty magical."  Johnston drew the cover art for the resulting single.

Let's Active - "Every Word Means No" (forgotten song)

This installment of "forgotten songs" comes from our friend Hillary, who while at dinner with Danette last week mentioned being a fan of Winston-Salem's Let's Active back in the day.  Danette had never heard of them and I only knew that there was a band by that name (probably via Terry). 

I did some poking around and their first real song was "Every Word Means No", from their 1983 EP "Afoot".  The song sounds vaguely familiar, but I'm not sure if I actually remember it or if, sounding like a cross between R.E.M. and The Connells,  it is just representative of the early- to mid-80s college sound.  The connection with R.E.M. is not accidental -- guitarist and vocalist Mitch Easter produced the first two R.E.M. LPs (as well as other bands) for I.R.S. Records.

This is the kind of band that fleshes out a musical scene, even if they are overshadowed by the scene's more central bands.  So is it new, overlooked, or simply forgotten?  In the car collecting world, we'd call this "new old stock".  Enjoy like its 1983.

Let's Active -- "Every Word Means No"

Edit: After poking around some more, I'm pretty sure I remember their 1989 song "Every Dog Has His Day", even though I could not have told you it was by Let's Active.  Regardless, "Every Word Means No" is a better song.

The Brains - "Money Changes Everything" (the song remains the same)

Last night Danette and I went to see Cyndi Lauper at the excellent Portsmouth Pavilion.  Neither of us were huge fans of hers but being children of the 80s, when our neighbor Steve offered us free tickets we couldn't say no.  Cyndi Lauper put on a good show and with "Kinky Boots" she's enjoying a second wind.  But last night's show was about revisiting track-by-track "She's So Unusual", her 1983 breakthrough LP.

The LP (and thus the concert) opened with "Money Changes Everything", which if I had a favorite Cyndi Lauper song, it would probably be this.  But last night I discovered this was actually a cover, and the song was originally done by a little-known Atlanta-based new wave group called The Brains.  "Money Changes Everything" was their initial 7" single released in 1978, and then appearing again on their 1980 debut eponymous LP.   Releasing two LPs and an EP, The Brains never enjoyed much success as a band, and aside from Cyndi Lauper covering their song, their next biggest footnote was upon breaking up one of their members joined The Georgia Satellites. 

Random thoughts:

1. While I love the late 70s garage sound on original version, Cyndi's version might actually be better.
2. I'm certain that I'll have immediate recall of the fact that "The Brains are the original artist for `Money Changes Everything'".  This piece of trivia has surely overwritten something important in my memory, like my work phone number, the names of long-term colleagues, places I've lived, etc.  But surely I'll hold on to this fact like my life depended on it...
3. Does that opening keyboard riff sound familiar?  It reminds me of the guitar riff in "Pretty in Pink" by The Psychedelic Furs; the original 1981 version, not the more polished 1986 soundtrack version.  Our friend Joy asked for more "Pretty in Pink" references, so there you go.

The Brains: "Money Changes Everything"

Cyndi Lauper: "Money Changes Everything"

Psychedelic Furs: "Pretty in Pink" (1981), "Pretty in Pink" (1986)

This Mortal Coil - "Song to the Siren" (the song remains the same)

I've already given a short summary of the history and focus of This Moral Coil in my review of their initial 1983 EP "Sixteen Days/Gathering Dust".  Originally the B-side to the EP, "Song to the Siren" was so well-received that it became the A-side to the 7" single.  In part through use in commercials, "Song to the Siren" became a moderate hit (in relative terms, anyway) for This Mortal Coil. 

Originally written by folk singer Tim Buckley, my first exposure was the TMC verison.  But I've only recently discovered the many other versions of this song.  Here is an incomplete list in roughly chronological order:

Tim Buckley - 1968, studio 1970: Danette pointed out the original, folk version is midway between Pat Boone's and TMC's. 

Pat Boone - 1969: No, really.  A disturbingly bland, lifeless version. 

TMC - studio 1983,  live 1983: The canonical version; Elizabeth Fraser turns in an achingly beautiful rendition.

Damon & Naomi - 2001: The former Galaxie 500 members give a trademark slowcore version.

Sinead O'Connor - 2010: Clearly inspired by the TMC version.

Bryan Ferry - studio 2010, live 2010: This sounds exactly like you'd expect a Bryan Ferry version to sound like. 

Brendan Perry - live 2011: Perry is 1/2 of Dead Can Dance, who were a central figure in the 4AD / TMC sound.

Black Sabbath - "Born Again" (LP Review)

Black Sabbath's 1983 LP "Born Again" has to be the most unfairly maligned major artist LPs ever released.  Contemporary reviews panned the LP ("one of heavy metal's all-time greatest disappointments").  Few liked the production ("in a misguided attempt to record the heaviest album ever, [they] came away with the muddiest instead"), and nobody liked the cover art, including the person that created it (black-sabbath.com has a nice article with quotes from the artist explaining the cover's origin).  The supporting tour was a comedy of errors (more on that later). 

In late 1982, Black Sabbath was looking to replace its vocalist for the 3rd time in as many years.  Ronnie James Dio had joined the band in 1980, replacing the venerable Ozzy Osbourne, but had left in 1982 in a bitter dispute with Tony Iommi.  The replacement was Ian Gillan, who had been quite successful fronting Deep Purple during their height of popularity.  So you have a set of veterans trying to recapture the magic of 10+ years ago, especially in light of their style of music about to be supplanted by the emerging sub-genre of thrash metal (remember: "Kill 'Em All" also came out in 1983).  Add to this mix a family feud (Ozzy & Sharon Arden vs. Black Sabbath & Don Arden (Sabbath's manager and Sharon's father)), and the result is simply a band trying really, really hard -- perhaps too hard -- to be the heaviest thing out there.

Here's where I stand: this is actually a pretty good LP.  Not a great LP, mind you.  But a good one nonetheless, even if it doesn't hold up to the classic Ozzy-led Sabbath LPs, or even the two Dio LPs.  It is leagues ahead of the last two Ozzy Sabbath LPs (remember "Technical Ecstasy" and "Never Say Die"?  I didn't think so). 

• cover art: I agree with bassist Geezer Butler, who said of the cover: "It’s shit. but it’s fucking great!"
• production: Geezer's quote applies here too.
• Ian Gillan: I love Deep Purple, I love Black Sabbath, and I have no problems with Purple Sabbath (full disclosure: I also kinda liked Glenn Hughes on "Seventh Star", even though that barely qualified as Black Sabbath).

But I'm here to tell you that even if you have never heard of this LP, you should celebrate its very existence for one reason:

It is the cornerstone of "This Is Spinal Tap".

Ok, sure, there are plenty of rock/metal cliches for Spinal Tap to mine, and maybe Spinal Tap would have existed without this LP, but it would not have been as funny.  Here, in increasing order of priority, here are the contributions of "Born Again" to Spinal Tap:

• production that no one likes: "You don't, you don't do heavy metal in doubly, you know"
• cover art that no one likes: "I think we're stuck with a very stupid and dismal-looking album"
• most importantly: Stonehenge

Yes, the "Born Again" tour gave us Stonehenge.  And not just Stonehenge mind you, but Stonehenge with a dwarf, because who doesn't look at the 20+ feet-high trilithons and think "you know what's missing?  a dwarf."  In real life, the Sabbath Stonehenge set was actually too big (because of a feet vs. meters confusion) to fit in most venues instead of too small ("I think that the problem *may* have been, that there was a Stonehenge monument on the stage that was in danger of being *crushed* by a *dwarf*. Alright?"). Here's a short reflection from Ian Gillan about Stonehenge (transcript).

In summary, this is an enjoyable, but not classic, LP.  And in retrospect, it was Sabbath's last commercially or critically significant studio LP.

Standout songs: "Trashed" (there just aren't enough songs celebrating drunk driving...), "Disturbing The Priest" (and even rarer: songs inspired about interrupting choir practice), "Zero The Hero", "Digital Bitch" (and the rarest rock genre of all: songs trashing Ozzy's wife), "Born Again" (Iommi's guitar sound on this is great), "Keep It Warm" (well-suited for Gillan's style).

Skip' em songs:  none.

Final score: 6/10.  Stonehenge, people, it gave us Stonehenge: "Where the dew drops cry and the cats meow".

Bonus links #1: official videos -- caution: they're really awful and will make you enjoy the songs less:  "Trashed", "Zero The Hero"

Bonus links #2: bootlegs of unmixed demos are floating around the web (illogical contraption, viva les bootlegs).

Bonus image:  The magazine image that became the cover:

Bad Bonus link: The Guardian has an article that points out problems with the timing of Black Sabbath influencing "This Is Spinal Tap": the band's tour and the movie both occurred in 1984.  But that would mean that life imitated art, down to dwarfs and dimensionally inappropriate Stonehenges, and that is just too terrible to contemplate.  I'm sticking with my more comforting ordering of events.

Update: Bad Bonus links #2: Turns out, the Stonehenge bit was in the original, 1982 20 minute demo version of the movie, entitled "Spinal Tap: The Final Tour".  Here is a direct link to the scene, and here is the full demo (parts 1 and 2).  Sabbath would not have known about the 20 minute demo film in 1983/84, so I guess this is like Newton and Leibniz. 

Husker Du - "Everything Falls Apart and More" (LP Review)

"Everything Falls Apart" was Husker Du's first studio LP, originally released in 1983 on Reflex Records and then re-released as "Everything Falls Apart and More" in 1993 on Rhino Records. The "and More" part refers to including Husker Du's first two 7" singles, 1980's "Statues / Amusement" and 1982's "In a Free Land", as well as two unreleased tracks a studio version of "Let's Go Die" (a live version appears on 1982's "Land Speed Record"), and the previously unreleased "Do You Remember?" (which is the English translation of "Husker Du"). The original LP clocked in at under 20 minutes, but the bonus material takes it to 42 minutes. Yes, in 1982 20 minutes was considered a full length LP for punk bands.

I got this LP sometime well after college, so it doesn't have the same nostalgia for me as "Flip Your Wig" or "New Day Rising". And this LP doesn't show the depth, complexity or variety that other LPs would; this is straightforward, hard-core punk. The production is thin & biting (courtesy of Spot, who produced most of the bands on the early days of SST Records) and the songs are short, furious, and rarely last much over two minutes. I wish I had heard this LP when it came out, it would have made a huge impression on me then.

But even still, this is a surprisingly good LP to listen to today. It is mostly angry punk music, but a few glimpses of their future, more melodic sound peek through in a few songs, like "Everything Falls Apart", "In a Free Land", and "Do You Remember?". So while this LP stays well within its genre, it is a genre that Husker Du helped create. Many fans think Husker Du began with "Zen Arcade", but if you're in the mood for a ferocious blast of energy, then give this LP a listen.

Standout Songs: "From the Gut", "Punch Drunk", "Bricklayer", "Afraid of Being Wrong", "Everything Falls Apart", "Target", "In a Free Land", "Do You Remember?".

Skip 'em Songs: their awkward cover of Donovan's "Sunshine Superman".

Final Score: 8/10

Thanks to HUSKERchout for the super-rare concert videos.

Slade - "Run Runaway" (forgotten song)

So here's a guilty pleasure you probably haven't heard in a long time...

Slade was one of the original glam rock bands of the early 70s and while they were big in the UK, they never really became famous in the US. Kiss cites them as big influence, but they are probably best known in the US for being the writer & original artist of two of Quiet Riot's biggest singles: "Cum on Feel the Noize" and "Mama Weer All Crazee Now". Even in 1983 & 1984 I was never terribly fond of either song, though I will say the originals work better than QR's covers since Slade has a sense of humor that QR just can't pull off.

By the time of their 1983 LP "The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome", they were about 40 years old and veterans of the music scene. The US version of that LP came out in 1984 and was titled "Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply" and from it the single "Run Runaway" was released. For a short while it received moderate rotation on radio & MTV, probably because of the recent success Quiet Riot had with their songs.

The song itself is fun and shows Slade certainly knew how to write anthems. It also has the rock/folk sound (i.e., guitar + fiddle) of other early- & mid-80s UK bands like Dexys Midnight Runners and Big Country, so it should sound familiar even if you haven't heard it before.

Run Runaway: YouTube 1, YouTube 2 (slightly better audio).

N.B. You might enjoy some of the other songs from the YouTube channel "Back Porch Video". Apparently something of a real-life Wayne's World, it has a surprisingly good selection of alternative 80s songs.

Bonus Links: The Slade originals that Quiet Riot made famous: "Cum on Feel the Noize" & "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" (featuring the finest in 1972 video technology). Maybe I'm just projecting, but I think the difference between the QR & Slade versions is that Slade knows these are silly songs...

Queensryche - "Queensryche" (LP Review)

This one goes out to my HS friend Robert Gordick, the person who originally introduced me to Queensryche when the self-titled EP came out in 1983. He had it on vinyl and I had a tape copy of it (which I probably still have somewhere).

Most people probably didn't know much about Queensryche prior to their 1988 LP "Operation: Mindcrime" or their 1990 LP "Empire" and the singles from that LP, "Silent Lucidity" and "Jet City Woman". By then they had firmly established themselves in the prog metal genre; aspiring to be a sort of a metal version of Pink Floyd. But back in 1983, their sound was firmly rooted in the speed metal / NWBOHM and they had an almost Spinal Tap level of cliches: heavy metal umlaut? Check. Stylized, neo-gothic font? Check. Nazi-exploitation reference? Check. D&D / Manichean themed lyrics? Check. All those things seem silly in 2009 but boy, were they cool in 1983. We wore out our respective copies of this EP.

The production is high-quality (for the time, and especially for a low budget first release) and the songs are very heavy -- much heavier than their later material. In retrospect, "The Lady Wore Black" is an indication of their future sound, but at the time I just thought it was a really heavy power ballad, similar to Metallica's "Fade to Black". And how about the first 30-40 seconds of "Queen of the Reich"?! Great stuff. Of course, the lyrics then begin with "In the dead of night / She'll come and take you away / Searing beams of light and thunder / Over blackened plains / She will find her way". You can't help but think of Marty DiBergi quoting the review of "Intravenous de Milo": "...they are treading water in a sea of retarded sexuality and bad poetry."

In 1984, Queensryche's first full-length LP, "The Warning", came out and it was good (I bought the cassette of that), but it was clearly moving away from the NWOBHM sound and toward prog metal. Although it was not as heavy as their first EP, it was still pretty good. Then "Rage for Order" came out in 1986 (I still have that on vinyl) and it **sucked**. Whew, it was a-w-f-u-l. And that was pretty much the end of my Queensryche era. I recognized that "Operation: Mindcrime" and "Empire" were decent LPs, but I was done with them. However, I'd be lying if I said I didn't still enjoy "Queensryche".

Standout tracks: "Queen of the Reich", "Nightrider", "Blinded", "The Lady Wore Black".

Skip 'em tracks: none. (Note: when the EP was reissued in 1989, a "Rage for Order" outtake, "Prophecy" was included, but there were no skip 'em tracks on the original four song version.)

Final score: 9/10. In the mid 80s, I would have given this a 10/10. I still think it rawks, but I don't think it is ground-breaking enough to deserve top marks.

(Anti-)Bonus Links: There are official videos for "Queen of the Reich" and "Nightrider". I don't recall these videos from back in the day -- or perhaps I've just blacked out that memory. The videos are terrible, and I'm pretty sure I would have even thought they were terrible in 1983. You will regret watching them.

This Mortal Coil - "Sixteen Days/Gathering Dust" (LP Review)

Ivo Watts-Russell founded the 4AD record label in 1980 and proceeded to define the sound of experimental/alternative/goth/shoegazing music in the UK. Seminal bands recording on their label included Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Dif Juz, Clan of Xymox, Lush and others. They also got involved with the US alternative scene with the related bands of the Pixies, The Breeders, and Throwing Muses.

Aside from all these great bands, Watts-Russell was also the core of the 4AD project, This Mortal Coil. The idea was to take various permutations of 4AD artists and record a mixture of originals and obscure cover songs. Thus the range of music on TMC releases simultaneously defines and is defined by the "4AD sound".

Before their three classic LPs, they released the "Sixteen Days/Gathering Dust" EP. The title track is a medley of two early Modern English songs, rerecorded by a collection of 4AD artists (including some from Modern English). Although I've been a big fan of TMC for many years, I have to admit I have just learned about this EP very recently. It was never released on CD; it is available only as 12" and 7" versions. The title track was featured on an iTunes-only 4AD EP ("Full of Dust and Guitars"), but I don't think that is available any longer either.

In addition to the title track, the 12" EP featured "Song to the Siren" (a Tim Buckley cover) and "Sixteen Days Reprise". The title track from the 12" version was largely forgotten and it was struck for the 7" version which then featured "Song to the Siren" as the lead track (with "Sixteen Days Reprise" as the b-side). Of course, STTS would become TMC's most popular track and be featured on their debut LP, "It'll End in Tears". STTS is a truly sublime song, but it is not the focus of this review.

If you're a TMC fan, 1) you already have STTS and 2) you're eager to get your hands on additional TMC songs (their retrospective box set, "1983-1991", is nice for beginners but does little for completists and collectors). If you're not yet a TMC fan, "Sixteen Days/Gathering Dust" is not the best place to start -- the Modern English covers are pretty good, but they only show a little of what the group/project would go on to achieve. Do yourself a favor and check out their other releases as well.

Standout tracks: "Sixteen Days/Gathering Dust", "Song to the Siren", "Sixteen Days Reprise".

Skip 'em tracks: none.

Final Score: 7/10. Perhaps a bit low; but I'm assuming everyone already has STTS and is getting this for Modern English covers.

Bonus Links #1: Modern English original versions: Sixteen Days, Gathering Dust

Bonus Links #2: Song to the Siren: contemporary TMC/Cocteau Twins live version, Tim Buckley original version.

Bonus Link #3: I normally don't post links to bootlegs, but since this EP is unavailable elsewhere, you can find a link in a post at zona-musical.com.