Black Sabbath - "The Eternal Idol" (LP Review)

Yesterday I was texting with Scott about "Family Favorites", a bonus EP of covers from Entombed and the subject eventually turned to different versions of Black Sabbath, where we both agreed that "Vol. 4" is probably our favorite LP, and both Ozzy Sabbath and Dio Sabbath are great, but we treat them like separate bands and don't compare between them.  I even stated that I'm a big fan of Gillan Sabbath (Scott may have agreed on that, it's not clear), but certainly "Born Again" should be enjoyed separately and not compared with the Ozzy or Dio.  Although we did not discuss it last night, I've stated before that I even kind of liked "Seventh Star", mostly because I appreciate Glenn Hughes's bluesy vocals. 

This discussion made me recall that my interest in Black Sabbath came to an abrupt end with 1987's "The Eternal Idol".  I still have the vinyl packed away somewhere, one of the last vinyl LPs I ever bought new.  If I remember correctly, I bought it in my freshman year of college and I'm pretty sure I haven't listened to it since.  Clearly I didn't like it, but I couldn't quite remember why.

I've since read that Tony Martin-led era of Black Sabbath (of which "The Eternal Idol" was the first LP) has developed a cult following.  Had I missed something?  My interest in metal was waning in college, so perhaps I did not give it a fair listen?

With that in mind, today I re-listened to the LP (via YouTube -- I did not dig up my vinyl) for the first time in ~30 years, and the verdict is... it's awful.  Tony Martin is not a good singer, he's not even interestingly bad: he's just bland, generic, and would be right at home at your local bar in a Queensryche cover band.  There are spots where Tony Iommi's playing still shines through, but the vocals (and the simplistic lyrics) sometimes make it difficult to even locate, much less enjoy, Iommi.

The next LP in the Tony Martin era, "Headless Cross", receives a lot of praise but I'm in no hurry to listen to it.  In 2010, the demo version of this LP with Ray Gillen singing was released, and after a few spot checks Ray might be a bit better than Tony Martin, but not enough to matter.  Neither Gillen nor Martin bring an interesting vocal interpretation like Ozzy, Dio, Gillan, or even Hughes.  The most interesting part of the LP is the cover, with a live model reenactment of Rodin's sculpture "The Eternal Idol" (for which the models were both hospitalized because the bronze paint was toxic; further expanding the suffering caused by this LP).

Standout songs: "Scarlet Pimpernel" (it's an instrumental)

Songs that appear: "The Eternal Idol" (this would be vastly better as an instrumental)

Skip 'em songs: the rest (full LP playlist).

Final score: 3/10.  Maybe I'll revisit it again in another 30 years.

Queen - "One Vision" (forgotten song)

We saw the Queen / Freddie Mercury biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" about two weeks ago.  I enjoyed it, even though Danette is a much bigger fan of Queen than I am.  I don't dislike them, and I certainly recognize their proficiency and importance, but they were never important to me.  Regardless, the movie was enjoyable and it motivates today's choice for a "forgotten song".

Even though the movie ends with Live Aid (1985) and thus did not cover the 1986 LP "A Kind of Magic" from which the single "One Vision" was released (it was also on the Iron Eagle soundtrack, if anyone still remembers that movie...).  "One Vision" received radio and MTV airplay at the time, but it's certainly not one of their better songs and has mostly faded from our collective musical radar...

So why choose this song?  Because I want to introduce you to Laibach, a band which was (is?) important to me (albeit for other portions of their canon).  What can I say about Laibach?  They're exactly what you'd think an Eastern European, martial, art-by-committee, collective would sound like.  It was never really clear if they were fascist or communist, or perhaps simultaneously both in defiant self-negation, but it was clear they were authoritarian.  I've never been sure if they're serious, or if they are just the Slovenian version of Devo and the Church of the SubGenius and it's just a long running inside joke that I lack the cultural context to process (in the same way the Chinese Government struggled to understand The Onion).

Regardless, I'm using their "cover" of "One Vision" as an opportunity to introduce them here.  Laibach occasionally did loose covers of popular Western songs, although whether they did them out of respect or disdain is not entirely clear either.  Their "cover" is appropriately renamed "Geburt einer Nation" ("birth of a nation"), and is from the 1987 "Opus Dei" LP.

Are they for real?  Or a performance art, musical version of the Colbert character?  Either way, they convey more middle-class shock than Queen ever did...

Queen - "One Vision"
Laibach - "Geburt einer Nation"


P.S. Both Freddie Mercury and "Eber" (a pseudonym; lead vocals for Laibach) are both sporting the same 70s pornstache...

Opal - "Happy Nightmare Baby" (LP Review)

Keith Mitchell, the drummer for Opal and Mazzy Star, died in May 2017.  While you've probably heard of Mazzy Star you might not have heard of their predecessor, Opal.  Coming from the California "Paisley Underground" psychedelic, jangle pop movement, Keith Mitchell, guitarist David Roback (formerly of Rain Parade) and bassist/vocalist Kendra Smith (formerly of Dream Syndicate) formed the band Clay Allison.  After releasing a 7" ("Fell from the Sun"), they renamed themselves Opal.  The Opal discography is pretty confusing: an EP as Clay Allison, an EP as Opal, the latter two collected as a posthumous LP, and a bootleg LP of unreleased tracks.  Most of these releases are out of print and can fetch big $ among collectors.

Their 1987 LP "Happy Nightmare Baby" was really their only contemporary, official release.  Unfortunately, it came during the slow motion wreckage of the once-mighty SST Records, and was not well-promoted.  Kendra Smith quit during the following tour, and David Roback recruited Hope Sandoval to replace her.  After continuing for a while as Opal, they changed their name to Mazzy Star and finally enjoyed the success they deserved.  I don't believe Mitchell ever shared any writing credits during his time in Opal or Mazzy Star (instead, Roback, Smith, and Sandoval were the primary writers), but he was with them since the beginning and his passing deserves to be recognized. 

My own story with this LP ties together several of the friends I regularly mention here.  It was either my college freshman (87/88) or sophomore year (88/89) and I was shopping at the Blacksburg Record Exchange, which was the "cool" record store.  While I was browsing the records, the song "Soul Giver" came on the store's sound system.  I was quickly mesmerized and I had to stop and go ask the clerks who was playing.  I left with a copy of "Happy Nightmare Baby".  In my later professional life I met Butch and learned that he used to work at the Record Exchange; if this was 1987 he might have even been working there that day.  I also bought Terry a copy of the LP for Christmas and on returning back home to Newport News for the holidays,  I went to Drew's house, where Terry was, and proclaimed to the many people there that I had an awesome new LP that they had to listen to immediately.  We did, and Terry was a big fan afterwards. 

The LP itself can be triangulated between The Doors, The Velvet Underground, and Black Sabbath.  The lineage to Mazzy Star is clear, although this LP lacks the quieter dream pop and alt-folk/country sounds that Mazzy Star would introduce.  This LP has several good tracks and a couple that, while not bad, don't quite work for me ("A Falling Star", "She's a Diamond").  But that doesn't matter -- even if the rest of the songs were bad, there's still "Soul Giver", which is as commanding now as the day I first heard it in the Record Exchange; in part because of the strong rhythm from Smith (now retired) and Mitchell (now deceased).  And much like I was bursting to share it with Terry, Drew, et al. some 30 years ago, I'm happy to share it with you now.

Standout songs: "Rocket Machine", "Magick Power", "Supernova", "Happy Nightmare Baby", "Soul Giver"

Skip 'em songs: none

Final Score: 8/10  -- "Happy Nightmare Baby" doesn't have accessible songs like "Halah" and "Fade Into You", so casual Mazzy Star fans won't care for it but it's necessary for serious collectors. 



Bonus link: a live version of "Soul Giver" (ca. 1988) with Hope Sandoval singing.

House of Freaks - "Cactusland" (forgotten song)

Today's Virginian Pilot has a retrospective article on the murders of the Harvey family in 2006 in Richmond because their killer is scheduled for execution this week.  I recall when this happened, although I don't remember this being part of a larger crime spree, including other murders. 

Bryan Harvey (guitar, vocals) was one of the two members (Johnny
Hott was the percussionist) of Richmond's House of Freaks, who were notable for being the first (one of the first?) bands that achieved a really "full" sound with only two musicians and no overdubs.  We now have The White Stripes, The Black Keys, Matt and Kim, Wye Oak, and surely others with similar approaches, but I'm pretty sure House of Freaks lead the way.

I believe it was late 1991 when I first learned of this band.  I had graduated but Terry was in his final year at JMU and living in the attic of the house on Old South High (pictured above, with Terry's 1990's selfie), which he had arranged in his own indomitable style -- there was surely not a finer attic bachelor pad in all of Harrisonburg.  On one of my visits we were either about to go out or had just gotten back (the details are hazy at this point), and Terry put on a tape and said something like "check this out -- it's just two guys."  I remember being blown away by the sound of their 1987 LP "Monkey on a Chain Gang", especially the song "Cactusland".  For whatever reason, that song crystallized that moment in time.

House of Freaks would break up in the early 90s (not long after that visit to JMU), coming close to "making it" but just missing.  Both Harvey and Hott would continue recording and collaborating in various other local bands and projects.  In fact it was Hott who first discovered the crime scene when he arrived with his daughter for a New Year's Day family party at Harvey's house.

Whatever happens this week, there will surely be more discussion of graphic details of that day in 2006.  I'll try to tune it out and remember the first time I heard "Cactusland" at Terry's place.

House of Freaks - "Cactusland"

But there ain't no gold in cactusland....

Dag Nasty - "Wig Out at Denko's" (forgotten song) (the song remains the same)

"Wig Out at Denko's" is the title track from Dag Nasty's 2nd LP, which was released in 1987. Dag Nasty went through several incarnations and was composed of members from several other contemporary hardcore punk bands. Rather than list them all, it is is simpler to say that their records were released on Ian Mackaye's (Minor Threat, Fugazi) Dischord Records, thus placing them squarely in the Washington DC / DIY milieu.

Having said all that, I first heard this song as covered by Tone Deaf. Tone Deaf was a band composed of many of my good friends at Denbigh High School in the mid/late 1980s. They did mostly contemporary popular covers, but they also did a few originals and some obscure covers as well. I won't even pretend to be impartial, but toward the end (summer 88?) they were actually pretty good.

The garage rock scene was pretty healthy in the mid 80s at Denbigh, so the guitar class teacher had an annual "Denbigh Jam" which provided a showcase for the various high school bands. It was not a typical "battle of the bands" per se (I don't recall any awards), but participation was competitive: there were try outs and if you didn't have your stuff together you didn't get a slot. Some Denbigh Jam alumni that went professional include members of: buttsteak, False Sacrament, Danny Godinez, Gregg Brooks and Nocturnal Zoo. I may have forgotten some notable bands/musicians and I welcome any additions or corrections.

The link provided below is of Tone Deaf, mk. II: Fred Moore (vocals, keyboards), Terry Harrison (rhythm guitar, vocals), Drew Munro (lead guitar), Art Everett (bass) and Chris Everton (drums). They're performing at Denbigh Jam '88, which I believe was in the fall.
Terry (the guitarist in the foreground) has a mountain of HS & college-era video tapes that he's slowly processing and putting on YouTube. Tone Deaf's cover of "Wig Out at Denko's" is one of the gems he's put online so far. And although this makes me a complete homer, I think you'll find Tone Deaf's faster tempo version more enjoyable than the slower, studio version. And while Tone Deaf might not be a trip down memory lane for you, "Wig Out at Denko's" is a great song that deserves a listen regardless.

Dag Nasty: YouTube (studio version), YouTube (live version, skip to about 24:40 -- it's the last song of the set).

Tone Deaf: YouTube.

P.S. The live Dag Nasty version comes from "Blank TV" -- if you like punk and related genres, you should check them out.

The Connells - "Scotty's Lament" (forgotten song)

The Connells were a band from Raleigh NC that had a string of minor hits from the mid 80s to early 90s. Their biggest hit was probably 1989's "Fun & Games", and while that is a great song the rest of their work should not be overlooked. Unfortunately, nearly their entire catalog is owned by the now defunct TVT Records. As a result, their LPs are out of print and their songs are not available through outlets like iTunes. The band's website gives some information about their catalog's status and is hopeful that the LPs will be reissued on Ryko.

The band's sound was squarely in the mid 80s college radio scene, with a bit of a Byrds-like, jangly sound courtesy of both guitarists often playing 12 string Rickenbackers. "Scotty's Lament", the first song on their 1987 LP "Boylan Heights", is probably my favorite song by The Connells in part because of its great chorus and the contrast between lead and backing vocals. You can't listen to this song and not sing along. The song is a lyrical tour de force as well: "I delight in my despair" -- you'd be hard pressed to come up with a better five word summary of the entire genre*. Robert Smith and Morrissey should be proud.

Despite some success at the time, The Connells are probably less well known today than some of their contemporaries. Having their catalog embroiled in a legal dispute clearly does not help. Here's hoping that situation is resolved and The Connells regain their due recognition.

Links: YouTube and Rhapsody.


* Honorable mention: "Robert Smith is still sad" -- Kurt Loder.