Starwood, 'If It Ain’t Broke, Break It' -- Album Review

Welcome to 2004! 

Okay, sometimes we are all a little late to the party, and in this case it is me that fell behind.  I just purchased the If It Ain’t Broke, Break It album (GREAT title) released by Starwood in 2004.  For those of you that do not know, Starwood is a side project fronted by none other than Lizzy Borden.  Now, I am a huge Lizzy Borden fan, as I think he has an amazing voice and the energy he (and his entire band) put into a live show is always top notch.  So how could I not purchase this album.  The first thing that grabs you when listening to this album is that it is not a Lizzy Borden album, which is great.  Performing under a different name gave Lizzy the chance to break character and not be confined to the role he has created in his main gig.  The songs do not have to be about axes and voyeurism, but instead he is free to write and sing about anything he so chooses.  Overall the album is strong, and I find myself listening to it again and again. "Subculture," "What’s Your Damage" and "Social Zero" are among my favorite tracks, but taken as a whole, this is definitely a solid effort.  However, there are a few things I would have liked to have changed about this album.  I wish Lizzy and the band had spent a little bit more time developing the songs and the lyrics.  I think with a little bit more time, the songs would have finished stronger and have made more of an impact.  For example, there is a song called “All My Girlfriends Have Boyfriends” on the album.  I give them credit for coming up with a clever song title that really could have been developed into something perhaps humorous and memorable.  Instead, the chorus simply repeats, “All my girlfriends have boyfriends, ohh no, ohh, no” over and over again, and is ultimately forgettable. To me, this seems like a missed opportunity.  Also, I wish Lizzy had looked further for the members of Starwood (most members of Starwood are also members of the Lizzy Borden band), as several of the songs actually sound like they could be Lizzy Borden songs, and I think it would have been good for him to break further away from that character and sound he has already created.  While Joey Scott is a great metal drummer and is a perfect fit for the Lizzy band, I think he lacks a certain amount of "flow" in his playing for something that is more pop rock sounding, and I think Lizzy would have fared better with a more groove-oriented drummer for this project (…and yes, I know that Joey is Lizzy’s brother).   

At the end of the day, I do dig the album, and would encourage any fans of Lizzy Borden to buy a copy of the Starwood release (under $10 from iTunes). Even for the shortcomings mentioned above, it is still a great, solid record.

Slash TV Alert

Slash fans, here's an alert! Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators will perform on Conan tonight.

Conan Monday through Thursday on TBS in the United States. Check your local listings for times.

Slash and his band will perform their new single “Standing In The Sun” from the album Apocalyptic Love.

John Corabi Releases Video For 'If I Had A Dime'

John Corabi just released a video for the song "If I Had A Dime." The song will be on John's upcoming Unplugged album... and I can't wait. Everyone knows I'm a huge Corabi fan... in fact, the Motley Crue 94 release is my favorite from the band. I've seen John solo a few times and he is always amazing.

The video below was shot back in August in Detroit.

Unplugged will be out sometime in early 2013.

Axl Rose Is Going On 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'

Hell froze over and Axl Rose is going to do a television interview! The fun goes down Oct. 24 on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

It's been 20 years since Axl has done a TV interview.

That's right. 20. Freaking. Years.

I wonder if Axl is running out of money? Seems odd to start doing press now, right?

Guns n' Roses will do a special Las Vegas residency at the The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, starting Oct. 31. Presumably the Jimmy Kimmel taping is to gin up interest in the residency. You can get tickets for Guns n' Roses, Appetite for Democracy right now.

Jimmy Kimmel Live airs week nights on ABC. Check your local listings for times.

Deep Purple Tribute 'Re-Machined' -- Album Review

I have fallen in love with the Classic Rock and Metal Hammer exclusive pre-release CDs that come with a magazine, and pins, patches, posters, etc.  I was gutted that they lost my order for the new Manowar, but I've been buying them left and right, most recently the new Lynyrd Skynyrd and a new Deep Purple tribute CD to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Machine Head. It's the Machine Head tribute that I am reviewing here.

First up is "Smoke on the Water" by Santana and Jacoby Shaddix. I would not be surprised if this was left over from Santana's covers album, it's the same sort of thing, he adds to the riff and generally over plays. It's good fun, but not an example of super tasteful playing.

The version of "Highway Star" by Chickenfoot is live.  Everyone knows I love these guys, and this version does not disappoint.  In the magazine, Satch talks about being true to the original solo when he played in Purple, and he uses a pedal to get an organ sound and play Jon's organ solo pretty verbatim, and plays Ritchie's iconic guitar solo exactly. It's a great version.

"Maybe I'm a Leo" is done by Glenn Hughes and Chad Smith. Interestingly, the guitarist, Luis Maldonado, is only credited on the inner booklet. I've not heard of him but according to his website, he's played with John Waite, Glenn Hughes, UFO, James Labrie, and lots more.  This was never the greatest song on Machine Head but this is a fun version of it.

Pictures of home is done by Black Label Society, and it has the sludgy feel you'd expect.  I love BLS, and this is a decent version, but it's definitely not my favourite on the CD.  Ultimately, the BLS feel does not translate as well to this song as I'd hoped.

Next is "Never Before," performed by Kings of Chaos, which is Joe Elliot, Matt Sorum, Duff McKagan and Steve Stevens.  Apparently this group grew out of Def Leppard having to pull out of doing it.  It's a good version, although the guitar is a lot more subdued than I expected when I saw who was playing it.  I guess they were being true to the original, which is not bad.  In fact, despite all the comments made in the press, in the magazine, Matt Sorum says they wanted to do "Space Truckin."

The Flaming Lips turn in a version of "Smoke on the Water" that has no guitars on it, and generally tries to take the song to somewhere new.  I don't think there's any non-electronic instruments used.  I hate it.  I can see why they included two versions of the song.

Interesting to me that Glenn Hughes did two songs on here and said that Black Country Communion (BCC) had no time to do one together, but Joe Bonamassa plays "Lazy with Australia's own Jimmy Barnes.  Jimmy sings "Too Much Ain't Enough Love" on the latest Bonamassa CD (it's his song), and apparently they cut this at the same time, with Barnsey being the impetus, but I wonder why Joe and Glenn couldn't do something together, I think it's another sign that BCC is ending.  But, I digress.  This version is epic, I love it.  Brad Whitford also plays guitar on it, a fact that I thought was curiously underplayed on the CD and in the magazine. I think this is the best song on the CD.  It adds to the original, but tastefully, and takes it over the top.

The heavyweights really weigh in last on this CD.  "Space Truckin'" is done by Iron Maiden.  They actually have a long history of playing covers, but most of their covers (all on B sides) are obscure enough that I bet a lot of people did not realise at the time.  This is a good version, heavier than the original, as you'd expect.  Bruce certainly has the pipes to do Gillan.  They add their own guitar solos, and they are actually pretty good (if brief).

The last song on the CD proper is Metallica's version of "When A Blind Man Cries," which was of course not on the original release because Ritchie Blackmore thought it did not fit.  Metallica do a good job, Hetfield can certainly sing nowadays, and I guess he wants to flex that muscle now that he has it.  Kirk's solo is true to the original, before going off do do his own (very tasteful) thing.  At the end they go heavy with it, which adds to the version, I think.

The bonus track on the magazine version is another version of "Highway Star," which Steve Vai and Chad Smith apparently had done as an instrumental, and Glenn Hughes added vocals to after Jon Lord's passing, as a tribute to him.  Being studio recorded, it's cleaner than the Chickenfoot version, and I probably prefer it.  It's nice to see the bonus track be something substantial for the people who paid extra for the magazine edition.  Although he embellishes, Steve Vai plays the original solo.  Apart from a few guitar noises here and there, he doesn't add much to the song.  I don't see how this was ever an instrumental.  I'm generally dubious about the promo around CDs like this, they always seem to say "Everyone just chose a different song and it worked out great" and stuff like that.  Surely there has to be a CD like this where no-one wants to do a particular song, or more than one want to do the same one? Nevertheless, this is a great CD if you love Deep Purple, or if you love any of the artists on here, which surely covers pretty much everyone who would read this site.

 

The Darkness Announce AXS TV Broadcast

The multi-platinum British rock group THE DARKNESS have announced they’ll return to the U.S. for two one-night-only shows Sunday, October 21 in New York City at Terminal 5 and Wednesday, October 24 in Los Angeles at Club Nokia. Although the above dates mark the only remaining U.S. shows for 2012, on Wednesday, October 24 fans nationwide will get a glimpse of the thunderous power of the band when their Club Nokia concert will be broadcast as an exclusive television event on AXS TV.

The Darkness are on tour with Lady Gaga, and it doesn't get more glam than that! Here's the dates:

Tue	10/2	Milan, Italy	Mediolanum Forum
Thu	10/4	Nice, France	Stade Charles-Ehrmann
Sat	10/6	Barcelona, Spain	Palau St Jordi
*Sun	10/21	New York, NY	Terminal 5 *HEADLINING
*Wed	10/24	Los Angeles, CA	Club Nokia *HEADLINING
Fri	10/26	Mexico City, Mexico	Foro Sol
Tue	10/30	San Juan, Puerto Rico	José Miguel Agrelot  Coliseum
Fri	11/9	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Parque dos Atletas
Sun	11/11	Sao Paulo, Brazil	Estádio do Morumbi
Fri	11/16	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Estadio River Plate
Tue	11/20	Santiago, Chile	Estadio Nacional de Santiago

Randomly, The Darkness just released a new app too. It looks sort of fun.

Win A Copy of the New Kix Album 'Live In Baltimore'

Kix, one of my favorite bands of all time, released the CD/DVD combo Live in Baltimore on Sept. 25 via Frontiers. The combo is full of our favorite Kix songs and great live footage. In short, you want this package! The band sent me two copies: one to review and one to share! So, the review will be up here early next week (probably Monday!) and for now, we'll give away one copy of Live in Baltimore to a very lucky BBG! reader.

If you would like to win a free copy of Live In Baltimore all you have to do is send an email to allyson@bringbackglam.com. You must put "KIX CD" in the subject line to be considered. In the body of your email, please include your legal name and mailing address. Entries without this information will be discarded. Anyone in the world is welcome to enter. Please enter by Tuesday, Oct. 2 by 11:59 p.m ET. I'll choose one winner at random.