Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s 'Rising Force' released 33 years ago today + '85 concert (aka: neo-classical shredder sets bar into stratosphere).

First time I heard Swede-shredder Yngwie Malmsteen was on Steeler's debut album (w/Ron Keel on vocals) and Alcatrazz ‘No Parole From Rock and Roll' (both released in '83). But man, first time I heard Yngwie's three-and-a-half-minute intro to Steeler's "Hot On Your Heels" I was absolutely floored.  I'd always admired Ritchie Blackmore's  neo-classical guitar style for years, but this neo-classical shredding was an absolute game changer and set another guitar playing style/technique bar very high.  And the 1984 Alcatrazz release 'Live Sentence' proved to me what Yngwie was capable of in a live setting.

When Yngwie released this '84 debut I knew it would be great, but I had no idea it would blow the doors off all three of the previously released albums (in my humble opinion).  I was familiar with 'Evil Eye' from the 'Live Sentence' album, but the studio version was so much better.  I enjoy every track, but two favorites will always be 'Icarus' Dream Suite Op. 4' and 'Far Beyond The Sun'.  Upon first listen though, I was surprised a vocalist was used at all. I became a fan of vocalist Jeff Scott Soto due to this album. Plus, having an opportunity to see him perform live made me realize he'd become more popular as time went on (never imagined he'd join Journey down the road). My brother and I listened to this album all the time. We played it frontward, backward, upside down. We played along to every friggin’ note….on air guitar of course.

Some fifteen months after this release, the local concert gods came through and Yngwie was coming to town June 19, 1985 (it was booked at the same dance club venue where I had seen Metallica three months prior - Graham Central Station). And as a HUGE added bonus, Talas (bass god Billy Sheehan's band) was providing support.  I already owned Talas' first two studio albums and "Live Speed On Ice" (another all-time favorite live album). I witnessed greatness that evening - one on guitar and the other on bass.  I remained up front for both sets have the highlights etched in my brain for life.  Both bands played as though they were performing in front of a sold out stadium of 50,000 fans. My jaw was sore from the many times it hit the ground during both Talas and Yngwie's sets. Remarkable musicianship and I never saw a concert quite like it ever again.

By the way, I can still play this album......note for air guitar note.

Sidebar: I always got a kick out of the ‘J’ he had added to his name. I get the classical connection, seriously, I get it…but I joked about that the most back in the day. Kinda went like this, “You have to listen to the new Ingvay Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay Malmsteen album!"

Photos from my personal collection (original Polydor label):

Yngwie Malmsteen - Icarus' Dream Suite Op.4 (1984)

Aerosmith “Get Your Wings” turns 43 today (aka: sheer ignorance parts I-III)

Today marks the 43rd anniversary of Aerosmith's “Get Your Wings” [Released Mar 01, 1974]. An album I didn’t even know about until 1979.

[Rush sharing in on the celebration too since their self-titled debut was also released on this day in 1974. Had to - I'm a Rush geek.]

I knew Aerosmith from what I heard on the radio (“Dream On”, “Sweet Emotion”, “Last Child”, “Walk This Way” and “Draw The Line”) and nothing else because KISS was still my universe and no other band existed to me. I didn’t get into this band until after I moved from New Jersey to New Mexico. The local Rock radio station (94 Rock) in Albuquerque would play “Train Kept A Rollin” almost every hour on the hour. And I could never understand why a live version of the song ALWAYS followed the studio version.

I also thought it was cool how they mentioned "Albuquerque" in the song (“Well, we made a stop in Albuquerque“). And I had NO CLUE that was always part of the song. I had NO CLUE Tiny Bradshaw existed. And finally, NO CLUE the Yardbirds had covered this one either. Yes, I was a clueless dude for a bit. Regardless, I was 100% into this live version and had to have it. I was on a mission. I would call the radio station to request only the “live version”. I was either met with the dial tone soon after or, “Yeah..haha…yeah...sure...we can try and do that for ya kid”. I was never told the studio and live version of “Train” was one track (vinyl: side two - track two).

Hang on, it gets better.

After I placed my request, I grabbed a blank cassette (an old no-name cassette that had been recorded over countless times. So thin from wear that I could see through it. I had scotch tape over the top missing tabs so I could record, labels removed and replaced with masking tape....so much preparation.  As usual, I popped the trusty cassette into my Radio Shack tape recorder, placed it next to my portable radio’s speaker and waited for the song to play.

And as Murphy’s Law would have it, when you sit and wait for a song to play, it’s not gonna happen until you give up after two hours, get up and walk away for 10 seconds only to come back and hear it playing. I always requested songs and just pressed 'record' until the tape ran out. Then flipped it over until I had the songs I wanted. I finally captured “Train Kept A Rollin” and edited it myself keeping only the live version and adding it to an “already in progress” mixed tape (which also included “Iron Man”, “The Zoo”, “Lights Out”, “Boys Are Back In Town”, and “Cat Scratch Fever”).

Sheer Ignorance Part I:
After a few weeks I figured it was time to own “Get Your Wings” because if the other songs on the album were just as good as “Train” then I’d be in heaven. I went to the local record store and found “Get Your Wings” on vinyl, 8-Track and cassette, but none of them included the live version. Couldn’t find it anywhere! Again, had someone told me (hello 94 Rock DJ) it was on the album then I wouldn’t have been so ignorant.

Sheer Ignorance Part II:
I walk up to the record store counter with the album in hand and ask the guy where I can find the live version of “Train Kept A Rollin”. He asks me, “Are you looking for the Tiny Bradshaw, The Yardbirds or the Aerosmith version?” Wait…what?? I thought it was an Aerosmith song. So I hesitated a little bit because I had no idea there were other versions and told him, “Aerosmith”. He told me it was on “Get Your Wings”. I grabbed a copy, looked at the back cover again and didn’t see it listed.

Sheer Ignorance Part III:
I make my way back to the counter with record in hand and tell him (again) that I want the live version of “Train”. He points to the record. I tell him it only has the studio version. <pause> Yeah, he laughed and made sure to grab a few of the other guys who worked there to get in on it at my expense. When I sheepishly asked what was so funny, they grabbed a copy from behind the counter and put it on the turntable…side two, track two. I stood there listening to the studio version and made my case again telling them I didn’t want that version. More laughing ensued. Just as the song ended, I could hear the live audience swell and the live version of “Train” blaring out of the store’s sound system. What the…?? I asked the guys, “It’s recorded like that on the record?” All of them still laughing. <insert sound of pain when Lucy pulls the football away from Charlie Brown as he runs in to kick it and falls flat on his ass>

Needless to say, I tried to ignore the embarrassment, plunked down the money and bought the album. Once they calmed down, they told me it was cool that I even knew who Aerosmith still was at all. I had no idea what they meant at that time because I didn’t keep up on the music magazines (Hit Parader, Circus, Creem, and Rolling Stone – didn’t enter my life until 1980 – that’s another story). But I was so damn happy to have found this (my holy grail) and a better sounding copy of “Train” over my cassette version. I went on to appreciate the rest of the album as well (“Same Old Song and Dance”, “Seasons of Wither”, Lord of the Thighs” and “Pandora’s Box”). Every time I think of this album it will always remind me of “Train Kept A Rollin” and my journey in finding the live version.

Aerosmith - Train Kept A Rollin' [aka" Side 2 Track 2]

Tiny Bradshaw - Train Kept A Rollin' (1951)

The Yardbirds - Train Kept A Rollin' (1966)

KISS Destroyer – 38 years ago today (released March 15, 1976)

Hmmmmm, where do I begin?

1. “Detroit Rock City”
2. “King of the Night Time World”
3. “God of Thunder”
4. “Great Expectations”
5. “Flaming Youth”
6. “Sweet Pain”
7. “Shout It Out Loud”
8. “Beth”
9. “Do You Love Me?”
10. “Rock and Roll Party” <hidden track>

I was knocked on my ass by KISS when ALIVE was released, but this album took it another 900 miles. “Detroit Rock City”, “Flaming Youth”, “Sweet Pain”, “Shout It Out Loud” and “God of Thunder” (ok, that’s half the album right there) where, without a doubt, the tracks I played all the time. I wore the grooves down on the vinyl and had to wait until the next year to get another one. Even though “Beth” was their biggest hit, I wasn’t big on it since I was a little guy wasn’t a fan of the mellow tunes. I don’t know too many KISS fans who don’t cite this album as one of their favorites to this day. Among the 24 studio albums released, Dressed To Kill, Rock and Roll Over, Destroyer, Love Gun, Ace Frehley (solo), and Creatures of the Night are may favorites. But Destroyer stands out among them all because the opening track, “Detorit Rock City” grabs you and thrusts you into a scenario about a guy killed on his way to a Rock concert. That shocked the hell out of me, but I loved it. Hooked from that day on.

“Movin’ fast, doin’ 95
Hit top speed but I’m still movin’ much too slow
I feel so good, I’m so alive
I hear my song playin’ on the radio……” KISS “Detroit Rock City” (1976)

Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force released 30 years ago today

First time I heard Swede-shredder Yngwie Malmsteen was in 1983 when he was featured on three albums/two bands: L.A.’s Steeler (w/Ron Keel on vocals) and Alcatrazz (with one of my favorite all-time vocalists Graham Bonnett) ‘No Parole From Rock and Roll’ and ‘Live Sentence’. I always had a thing for ‘live’ albums and ‘Live Sentence’ literally blew my mind.

When Yngwie decided to release his debut solo album in 1985 “Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force ” I knew it would be great, but it blew the doors off all three albums from 1983. Side bar: I always got a kick out of the ‘J’ he had added to his name. I get the classical connection, seriously, I get it…but I joked about that the most back in the day. Kinda went like this, “You have to listen to the new Ingvay Jaaaaaaaaay Malmsteen album!’

My best friend and I listened to this album ALL THE DAMN TIME. We could play it frontward, backward, upside down. We hit every freakin’ note….air guitar of course. This and Armored Saint’s “Marck of the Saint” were the two we listened to, one after the other.
Having not listened to this album for a couple years, until today, I proved I can STILL play every air guitar note for note. <evil grin>

Yngwie set the neo-shredder bar and, in my humble opinion, threw Eddie Van Halen flying into the back seat. I couldn’t believe how he played circles around every guitar player I idolized at the time (with the exception of Randy Rhoads). This album holds up very well after 30 years and doesn’t sound dated to these old ears.

If you’ve never listened to this one the you lived under a very large rock.  Then again, it’s never too late to give ol’ Mr. Jaaaaaaay Malmsteen a go.

Aerosmith “Get Your Wings” celebrates 40 today (aka: side two, track two / aka: ignorance is bliss / aka: my holy grail)

Aerosmith shares a 40 year anniversary with Rush today (see Rush self titled debut turns 40) since March 1st marks the release of 1974’s “Get Your Wings”. An album I didn’t even know about until 1979 (it was the 70’s, I was young and only knew “Dream On” at that point because it was an FM radio staple).

I knew Aerosmith from what I heard on radio (“Dream On”, “Sweet Emotion”, “Last Child”, “Walk This Way” and “Draw The Line”) and nothing else because KISS was still my universe and no other band existed to me. I didn’t get into this band until 1979 when I moved from New Jersey to New Mexico. The local Rock radio station (94 Rock) in Albuquerque would play “Train Kept A Rollin” almost every hour on the hour. And I could never understand why a live version of the song ALWAYS followed the studio version. I also couldn’t believe they mentioned Albuquerque in the song (“Well, we made a stop in Albuquerque“). And I had no clue the song was released five years prior. Yes, I was a clueless dude for a bit. Regardless, I was 100% into the live version and had to have it. I would call the radio station to request only the “live version”. I was either met with the dial tone soon after or, “Yeah..haha…yeah…we can try and do that for ya kid”. I was never informed the studio and live version of “Train” was one track (side two track two, I still remember). Hang on, it gets better.

After I placed my request, I grabbed a blank cassette (an old no-name cassette that had been recorded over countless times and so thin from wear one could probably see through it, scotch tape over the missing tabs, labels removed and replaced with masking tape), popped it into my Radio Shack tape recorder, placed it next to my portable radio’s speaker and waited for the song to play. And as Murphy’s Law would have it, when you sit and wait for a song to play, it’s not gonna happen until you give up after two hours, get up and walk away for 10 seconds only to come back and hear it playing. I went through cassette tapes like a baby goes through diapers by always requesting songs and just hitting record until the tape runs out, then flipping it over until I had the songs I wanted. I finally captured “Train Kept A Rollin” and edited it myself keeping only the live version and adding it to an “already in progress” mixed tape (which had “Iron Man”, “The Zoo”, “Lights Out”, “Boys Are Back In Town” and “Cat Scratch Fever” on Side A).

After a few weeks I figured it was time to own “Get Your Wings” because if the other songs on the album were just as good as “Train” then I’d be in heaven. I went to the local record store and found “Get Your Wings” on vinyl, 8-Track and cassette, but none of them included the live version. Couldn’t find it anywhere! Again, had someone told me (hello 94 Rock DJ) it was on the album then I wouldn’t have been so ignorant. Make that ‘Ignorant Part I’. And none of my new friends were into Rock music at this point.

Enter ‘Ignorant Part II’. I walk up to the record store counter with the album in hand and ask the guy where I can find the live version of “Train Kept A Rollin”. He asks me, “Are you looking for the Tiny Bradshaw, The Yardbirds or the Aerosmith version?” Wait…what?? I thought it was an Aerosmith song. So I hesitated a little bit because I had no idea there were other versions and told him, “Aerosmith”. He told me it was on “Get Your Wings”. I grabbed a copy, looked at the back cover again and didn’t see it listed.

And ‘Ignorant Part III’ I make my way back to the counter with record in hand and tell him (again) that I want the live version of “Train”. He points to the record. I tell him it only has the studio version. <pause> Yeah, he laughed and made sure to grab a few of the other guys who worked there to get in on it at my expense. When I sheepishly asked what was so funny, they grabbed a copy from behind the counter and put it on the turntable…side two, track two. I stood there listening to the studio version and made my case again telling them I didn’t want that version. More laughing ensued. Just as the song ended, I could hear the live audience swell and the live version of “Train” blaring out of the store’s sound system. What the…?? I asked the guys, “It’s recorded like that on the record?” All of them still laughing. <insert Charlie Brown sound of pain when Lucy pulls the football away as he runs in to kick it>

Needless to say, I tried to ignore the embarrassment, plunked down the $12 and bought the album. Once they calmed down, they told me it was cool that I even knew who Aerosmith still was. I had no idea what they meant at that time because I didn’t keep up on the music magazines (Hit Parader, Circus, Creem – didn’t enter my life until 1980 – that’s another story). But I was so damn happy to have found this (my holy grail) and a better sounding copy of “Train” over my cassette version. I went on to appreciate the rest of the album as well (“Same Old Song and Dance”, “Seasons of Wither”, Lord of the Thighs” and “Pandora’s Box”). Every time I think of this album it will always remind me of “Train Kept A Rollin” and my small journey to find the live version.

And if you’ve never heard the Tiny Bradshaw (recorded in 1951) or Yardbird version (1968), go look for them on YouTube. You’ll be surprised.

I give you my holy grail (side two track two):

Rush self-titled debut turns 40 today

Rush released their debut album 40 years ago today. It’s the only album to feature drummer John Rutsey (who was replaced by Neil Peart before ‘Fly by Night’ was released a year later).

While songs such as “In the Mood” and “Finding My Way” have appeared in Rush live set lists on occasion, most of the eight songs fall to the wayside (minus the die-hard fans) and with the exception of “Working Man,” THE song that served as the introduction to Rush.

Thank you Donna Halper (the WMMS Cleveland disc jockey/music director as mentioned in the Rush movie “Beyond the Lighted Stage”) who received a copy of “Working Man” and took notice of the length of the song (true story). She mentioned she was usually looking for long “bathroom songs” that her DJs could throw on when nature called. At seven minutes plus, “Working Man” was ideal and its blue collar theme fit the town like a glove. Then it all began…..

Here we are, forty years later and the Rush machine continues to move on and their legions of fans grow in numbers. They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year and still remain relavent. They don’t rely on touring as a “greatest hits” band, but release albums that are extremely imaginitive and contain substance (see “Snakes & Arrows” and “Clockwork Angels”).

Late last year I had read this album would be reissued this year to celebrate the 40 year milestone and the members of Rush are “very involved” in the process of putting the package together.

**UPDATE** To mark the band’s 40-year recording career, on April 15, 2013, Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) will celebrate with the vinyl reissue of the original Moon Records (pre-Mercury) release of Rush, as part of Universal’s reDISCovered vinyl series.
http://www.rush.com/rush-reissue-1974-self-titled-moon-records-debut-on-vinyl-to-mark-40-year-recording-career/

“It seems to me I could live my life / A lot better than I think I am / I guess that’s why they call me / The working man”  Rush “Working Man” (self-titled debut album 1974).