TOTAL Blam-Blam, Rising Sons, Caught In A Not!...and, um,...Son Volt

 I had intended to write a review of David Bowie's new CD a few weeks ago but I needed time to absorb the disc and then I bought a few new ones and started in with them and then the next thing ya know the whole dang month has gone by. So here are some capsule reviews of what I've been listening to recently.

ANTHRAX-ANTHEMS

It's not as horrible as you've heard or as great as you've heard. People unfamiliar with the band are praising it, long time fans are mostly dismissing it. I stand in the middle. If you take it as face value this is an entertaining EP of cover tunes, if you are looking for more it is hollow and lacking in personality. Both are correct (at least change the Oi! chant in AC/DC's "TNT" to a NOT! chant. Come on guys!).  While the songs are played with reverence to the original material, and clearly show off the band as a unit, the trademark humor is gone and there's nary a thrash riff to be found. "Anthems" is being marketed as a thank you to fans and fun project for the band, but what it really is is an attempt to keep the name out there and alive until the next new release, a way to plug the current tour and a cash grab by the label.

2 1/2 out of 5 Daves

DAVID BOWIE-THE NEXT DAY

This is far beyond the comeback album Bowie fans have been waiting for, it is the culmination of his career. It's almost too much Bowie for one person to handle at one time. Every era seems to be represented here, from the "Ziggy" and "Diamond Dogs" to "Earthling", "Hours", "Let's Dance" and "Heroes" all shoved into a blender and poured out as the rich creamy nectar of Bowie. Okay, that was weird but you get the idea. D.B. has been away for ten years and this sounds like the best of all the albums he would have made in that time. On a record this eclectic it's hard to pick a favorite or a misfire. It's just a good compelling listen all the way through. The year's first "Top Ten" contender.

5 out of 5 Daves

RIVAL SONS-HEAD DOWN

Rival Sons are a relatively new band from California (their first self financed digital only release came in 2009) that have had quite a bit of success in Europe but are just now making waves here in the U.S. Their sound is classic, mixing elements of Free, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Uriah Heep and early Who to form a fresh yet familiar sound. But these guys are no nostalgia act or mere tribute to a bygone era. This is a living, breathing rock and roll entity deserving our attention. It's not perfect, mind you. The vocals have a tendency to go a bit high for no reason, and some of the songs go on a bit too long with no real ending or resolution. But these complaints are minor. It's big, pure, heartfelt rock and roll music in the truest sense of the term. Give 'em a listen or three. And turn it up LOUD for maximum effect.

4 out of 5 Daves

SON VOLT-HONKY TONK

Have you ever wondered what Jay Farrar would sound like leading a western swing band? Me neither, but that's the question "Honky Tonk" attempts to answer. Overall, this record is a near miss. There are some good songs, no doubt, but it doesn't quite live up to its own potential. The instrumentation and arrangements are all there but these songs fall flat. Even in the slowest traditional honky tonk ballad there is a swing, a groove, an electricity to the song that is just missing here. I can't tell if the band is trying too hard or not trying hard enough. Again, not a total failure but probably more for hardcore fans than the rest of us.

3 out of 5 Daves

And that's the new stuff for now. Happy listening!

*****BONUS REVIEW*****

IRON MAIDEN-MAIDEN ENGLAND '88

This is exactly what it says it is. A DVD and CD of the band's 1988 "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" tour. The audio portion is previously unreleased so it's nice to have that gap filled in for us completists. It's also interesting to note how fast these songs were being played at the time and how much the band TORE IT  UP on stage during the height of the Maiden's most popular line up. A great listen. As for the DVD we get the full concert (originally released in '89) with the previously unavailable encore section, the original documentary "12 Wasted Years" (I wore out my copy as a lad), some promo videos and part 3 of the ongoing "History Of Iron Maiden" documentary. Essential package for fans of one of the top metal bands in history. Up, as always, The Irons!

5 out of 5 Daves

Recent Releases:Quickie Reviews

EDIT-6/13/11. THIS WENT UP INCOMPLETE LAST NIGHT. NOT SURE WHY. SORRY. HERE'S THE FULL THING, DAVE.

Here are a few new capsule reviews for you.

EDDIE VEDDER-UKULELE SONGS

Well, you can't fault the guy for false advertising. It is what it says it is, Eddie strumming on his Uke and singing away. There are a few instances of extra instrumentation and harmony vocals but if you blink you'll miss them. It's an interesting idea and one that puts the focus where it belongs..on the songs.

As for the songs, there are no real surprises here. Thiings start off with the Pearl Jam nugget "Can't Keep" and continue on with each song sounding like it belonged on one PJ album or another. This isn't a bad thing by any means,and songs like "Sleeping By Myself", "Longing To Belong" and "Satellite" are top notch as is the Cat Power duet "Tonight You Belong To Me".

The only real negative here is the length. The songs are all good enough and the ukulele is a fine sounding instrument, but after a while the gimmick wears thin.

3 out of 5 Daves.

HANK WILLIAMS III-HILLBILLY JOKER

This ain't new, this is "This Ain't Country". Perhaps a bit of history to help explain:

Most know Hank III as the son of Hank Williams Jr. He plays country music with an edge to it and sings about drinking, drugging, Satan, and all elements of the dark side of life. And he enjoys it. Outlaw Country indeed. However, there is another side to him, the metal side. Hank 3 has played with Phil Anselemo of Pantera in the band "Superjoint Ritual" and has his own metal outfit called "Assjack". When he tours the first half of his shows are country and the second half hardcore. An odd mix to be sure but he's made it work for him.

That's where this record comes in. It was originally titled "This Ain't Country" and presented to Curb records years ago. Curb shelved it as they were only interested in country music and preferably a slightly more sterile version at that. Long story short, the relationship went sour, and two albums later Hank 3 is free from his contract. But as a parting jab, Curb has finally released the record that caused all the fuss in the first place which brings us up to date.

Now all that's interesting enough, but what about the music? I went into this CD with low expectations. Any Hank 3 show I go to I generally leave about 4 or 5 songs into the hardcore set as it's never appealed to me and has always sounded achingly average to my ears. But I gotta say...I kinda like this. There are a few metal by numbers songs here, sure, but the majority of these songs are what 3 himself calls "Hellbilly music" and combines the country with the hardcore.The title track starts things off right while "Life Of Sin", "Hellbilly", and "Tennessee Driver" are standouts. It's not exactly perfect, but it is fun.

Okay, so the "Satan is cool, drugs are cool, imbecilic behavior in the name of rebellion is cool" lyrics are getting old but they fit in better here than on the country records. If you're a fan this is worth checking out as a curiosity if nothing else. Metal fans may want to give it a spin or two just to hear a variation on the form. Otherwise, check out "Straight To Hell" or "Lovesick Broke And Driftin'" for some of Hank 3's best work.

31/2 out of 5 Daves

IRON MAIDEN-FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (Best of 1990-2010)

Cash grab. Only useful for completests (me) and older fans who may not be keeping up with the band's current work.

Having said that, this is actually a pretty decent collection, and does a pretty good job representing the time period covered. Maiden make an interesting choice here in not selecting any songs featuring Blaze Bayley on vocals and instead going with live versions of the songs from his tenure in the band sung by Bruce Dickinson instead. Probably a wise move, but feels a little like cheating.

It is impossible to release a collection like this and please everyone. some favorites will always be left out, and hardcore fans will argue about the selections made for years. But this does act as a good primer for those unfamiliar with these songs. It is also a two disc release so there is room for a few deeper cuts here as well, and since Maiden purposely decided to price this as a single disc (I got my copy for $9.99), there is little to complain about. Besides, with Iron Maiden you can't go too far wrong.

Up, as always, The Irons!

41/2 out of 5 Daves

 See you soon.

Update 4/7/11

Apologies for the lack of content around here the past few weeks. Sometimes other things get in the way, but now it's back to business. Kinks To Reunite? As we all know, Ray Davies has made a bit of a comeback over the past few years with two strong albums, "Other People's Lives" and the stellar "Working Man's Cafe". The inevitable Kinks reunion question continues to surface and Ray has always been open to the idea. He has suggested several times that it was close to happening. But to do it properly, he'd need his brother Dave on board. When told last year about Ray's stating that a reunion of the Kinks was close to happening his reply was simply "Ray's an asshole." Undeterred, Ray then stated that he'd just do it without Dave. Well, this must have lit a fire because Dave seems to have lightened up a little towards the prospect. Hopefully some news coming our way soon. Meanwhile, Ray Davies has just released a duets style album entitled, appropriately enough, "See My Friends". Expect a review here shortly. More Iron Maiden in 2011 My all time favorite heavy metal band, Iron Maiden, has announced yet another best of package. Titled "From Fear To Eternity" it focuses solely on the records from 1990 on. Since the band has focused on longer songs in the past 10 years they have decided to make this a 2 disc release. Does the world need another Maiden compilation? No. The band claims the reasoning behind the release is to educate newer fans about the past catalogue, which is the same excuse behind the "Somewhere Back In Time collection a few years back. Doesn't ring true though, if anything this CD should be a primer to the new stuff for older fans who may have drifted away. Seems irrelevant anyway as Maiden's fans are incredibly loyal and probably have all the music anyway. And therein lies the bigger problem for yours truly. I've got every album the band has put out but the completionist in me won't let me not buy this...which is sad. What is not sad, however, is that Iron Maiden will release a new live collection at the end of the year. It will feature a show from the last leg of the "Final Frontier" tour. The only disappointment here is that this is the version of the show that the U.S. didn't get (with a few exceptions coming up this year). The set list is much more well rounded than the one we got last summer (don't get me wrong, the shows were great but as a long time fan I missed some of the older songs), Production wise, it seems that the show got bigger and better...and has a brand new "giant Eddie" which we all love so much. (I hate to say it, but it almost seems as though the U.S. shows were purposely lacking. No proof of that mind you, just thinking out loud.) Anyway, something to look forward to later this year. Okay, that wraps it up for now. Keep checking in, there's more to come.