ROCK N ROLL EXPERIENCE - September/October 2007

Before you begin reading these reviews, we have a rating system to tell you just how good or bad a CD is & here's the breakdown on how it works:

1 Star - crap

2 Stars - This is stuff your Mom might like!

3 Stars - It rocks, but is only okay

4 Stars - This is good, but there's room for improvement!

5 Stars - You should consider buying this...it's a good one!

6 Stars - Sell your car, dog, baby, etc., this is a MUST have!

The Robinson Brothers, Chris & Rich, who are also the 2 main men behind the Black Crowes, have a new dvd/cd set release out entitled "Live At The Roxy" under the moniker or Birds of a Feather, & it's really the purest expressions of music that you will ever hear! The entire show is essentially just the 2 brother's playing songs all by themselves, with an occassional back-up singer to add a little extra to the vocals. When you think of the roots of Rock N Roll, this cd will really evoke that same emotion...it's as stripped down as you can get, it's raw, un-polished, & really special for fans of the Black Crowes, & both brother's respective solo works, & I might add that there's quite a few really obscure covers on the cd as well that really show who influenced the boys! I was actually kinda surprised "Jealous Again" wasn't included on the cd, because that's one of the Black Crowes biggest songs & it's really beautiful on the dvd, but I guess the guys decided that it was better to cut that one for the cd! Listening to the cd & watching the dvd, it's really refreshing to experience pure music that's simple yet effective, with loads of emotion & just enough attitude to give it an edge! I also never saw Chris Robinson play guitar, so the dvd was interesting on that note as well! If you buy the dvd package you get both the dvd & cd, or you can buy the cd by itself in a jewel case..either way you get a stellar product, but I'd suggest getting the cd/dvd packaging because it's a better value for the money & there's never too much of the Robinson brothers! When you listen to the cd, or watch the dvd from beginning till end, you get the true vibe of what made the Black Crowes such a great rock n roll band...I always assumed they were just huge Rolling Stones fans, but they are much more than that, they are music fans, & they do what they do very well!

Hailing from Birmingham, England, I'd like to introduce you to one of the more interesting hard rock/metal acts that I've heard lately...they are called Revenant Dead, & musically, they have this frantic energy that is kinda like Cradle of Filth, Bauhaus, System of a Down & the band balances gothy overtones with thrash style metal really well! The bands new cd opens with "Torment" which is a grinding metallic knock out of screaming & clean vocals, mixed with progg-ish guitar riffs, & pounding beats that demand attention & command your ears to listen with awe, because the pace of the song changes often, & I might be crazy, but in this song, I am vaguely reminded of Fred Snyder from the B-52's, just simply in the way West sings & changes his vocals so much..it's like hearing Serj from System of a Down & Fred Snyder teaming up, & I realize that might sound weird as hell, but it's actually a really good thing & super cool! The opening guitar lick on "Vertigo" is superb, & the only other artist that I have ever really seen that gets close to the energy Revenant Dead has is Devin Townsend...there's just this really crazy vibe to each song & it's what makes the band such a force to recon with! "Perfekt Hate" is a thrash metal epic that would make Testament & the forefather's of thrash proud, but the thing that is really unique is the changes in each song..the vocals never stay the same..there's manic screaming, then clean vocals, then there's moments where it's almost like spoken word! The guitar tone on "Blood Tide" might be some of the fattest & thickest tone I've ever heard, & "Tantamount" is beautiful in it's almost brooding like essence & mood. "Decay Dance" closes the cd & it's a great closer because it rocks with power & passion, & to be honest with you, this is definitley one of the better cd's I've heard all year...Revenant Dead are definitley a band you need to check out..their songs are not only amazingly well written, but their talents are musicians & artists are what make this band truly amazing..they simple ooze brilliance!

I'm not even sure how to start off a review of anything that GG Allin did, because the man was an animal...everything he touched & everything he was seemed infected with insanity & dissfunction. The only official documentary on the man & his music, entitled "Hated" has been re-released & it's got alot of cool bonus footage including an interview with GG's Mom, rare audio tracks & extra interviews & clips, but the core of this dvd is the actual movire/documentary itself & how can I even describe it? GG Allin was known for getting totally naked onstage, he would shove things up his ass, he attacked the crowd, he hurt himself..he was everything that Marilyn Manson will NEVER be! The movie has clips of GG getting tattooed, fighting, playing shows, performing spoken word, & when I watched this movie, the first thing I thought was, wow, how in the hell did this guy even get shows? He was uncontrollable, his band sucked, but he had a decent fan base that absorbed every drop of the insanity! GG was a cross dresser while in school & it was almost as if he was looking for trouble most of the time, & his bass player was also his brother & did I mention that his drummer almost always played naked?? The movie, the man, & his band were even weirder than anything I could say...they were a rabid animal & there's definitley a reason why GG imploded..it was almost like karma cashing in big time..GG was an interesting performer if you enjoy a train wreck, but his shows are one's that I would never attend because I don't want to imagine being attacked by the band I am there to see, & I think GG's fans were just as crazy as him..if you doubt me, check out some of the fans who are intererviewed on this dvd! Overall, this is a MUST see movie, because if you think you've seen it all before at a rock show, you ain't seen shit till you've seen what GG was doing!

In all honesty, the only reason I didn't give this dvd a 6 star review is because the video is not as rich as I wish it was..it's very watchable, but it's like a 2nd generation vhs that's been burnt to dvd..it's still cool to see Johnny in all his glory & his band rips n tears through loads of covers & originals & a few NY Dolls medley's to boot! Johnny was the ultimate rock star & lived on the fringe, & sadly, his life was cut short from that life style & the biography that accompanies the dvd tells the Johnny Thunders stoey which I really didn't know in full till I saw this dvd. Johnny Thunder's is kinda like the father to Ace Frehley from KISS...what I mean is, his singing is NOT as good as a real lead singer, but his attitude, suitar playing & style outshadow his short comings as a singer, much like Mr. Frehley! "Personallity Crisis" is the highlight of this dvd for me..it's not the NY Dolls, but it's pretty freakin' close, & the only sad thing to note is that this is one of the last live performances Johnny ever did, so it's interesting to watch Johnny trreat his fans to a great set, while inside he was more than likely losing his battle to substances, & I have to note that his backing band on this dvd are super tight..I mean techincally, they are sloppy & very rock n roll trash, style wise, BUT, come on, it's exactly what rock n roll should me...sleazy & trashy with loads of attitude!

Rating: 6 stars

Iggy Pop is the king of punk rock n roll, & this newly released cd features a rare show from San Francisco in 1981..the dvd was released about a year ago & now there's a cd of the show, & the cd boasts 2 unreleased studio tracks that were produced by Ric Ocasek & these 2 songs feature an Iggy that's very modern sounding, & much less punk than his 70's era, & when I listen to this live cd, the only things missing are "Raw Power" & "Search & Destroy" which are the essential Iggy signatures in his live set! "Some Weird Sin" is a great opener that rocks with passion & fury, & "TV Eye" has more energy than mosts new bands have on their entire studio recordings!! The artwork is kinda limites, there's no fancy booklet, there's no frills other than 2 pics of Iggy performing live, & the music really stands on it's own as a strong entity...I used to really hate this era of Iggy's career because you can really see & hear the decline & fall of the Stooge, but when I listen to this cd, I realized that althought it was a dark period in Iggy's life, his music was still artistic & amazing!

Rating: 6 stars

So, anytime a band decides to reunite, I'm always skeptical, because it's usually done for monetary reasons, rather than just for the fun of it or for the music, but when a band reunites, & they decide to record new music, & the music is freakin' amazing, it's clear what the artist's intensions are, & the new Cult cd, "Born Into This" see's the band mixing their past with the present..in my mind, they really mixed the best of "Love" with some of the stuff off the band self titled release, I mean there's some different beats at times that make the songs sound notably different than the bands early works, but all in all, what I am getting at is, it's 2007 & the Cult are fucking back, & they are back stronger than ever! "Born Into This" is the title track & first song on the cd, which is a lesson in rock n roll attitude & expression with catchy riffs, a great chorus & coller than hell vibe! "Citizens" should be a radio hit, it's very catchy & one of those songs that sounds sweeter & sweeter the more you listen to it! "Diamonds" mightbe my favorite song off the cd..it's got a hip beat, you can actually shake your ass to it if you want, but it's also got a nasty rock attitude to boot & Billy's trademark riff's are all over this song! "Holy Mountain" is the slow song on the cd that will really move you..it's just touching & brooding & dark & just beautiful in a kinda Johnny Cash sorta way. "Savages" is one of those songs that the band HAS TO play on their upcoming tour..it's fast, loud & oozing with attitude & energy..I can practically see the crowd moving to this song! The last song on the cd, "Sound of Destruction" is probably the most stereo typical Cult song on this cd..it's just pure Cult with it's sound & attitude & it's really what Cult fans have been asking for all these years...a really good, organic sounding record from Ian & Billy that's not a product of what's going on in the music biz, but rather what's going on in the world of The Cult aka Billy Diffy & Ian Astbury!

Rating: 6 stars

I won't even bother reviewing the first disc of this collection, I mean it's simply the bands singles & best known hits, so ANY Queensryche fan knows these songs in & out & there's no point reviewing them..what I am excited about in this compilation is disc 2, which is all unreleased songs..the first few are from MYTH, which was Geoff Tate's pre-Queensryche band & the point of having those songs on here are to show how those songs developed into the version you might know better as Queensryche songs! "Last Time In Paris" is definitley my all time favorite on this cd..it was released on a movie soundtrack, but it's still a great rare song by the band & there's even 2 newer songs that were previously unreleased that round out this cd! The packaging is really cool, it's a thick digipack with loads of artwork, cool images, & a nice little Queensryche bio inside as well. When you listen to the tracks on disc 2 you get a sense for how much depth the band really has & there's no denying that Geoff Tate's voice is the focal point of EVERY song & wow, the man's wrote so many great songs, & I wonder how much more is in the vaults, because the unreleased tracks on this cd are amazing! Basically, if you don't own any music from the band, this is the CD set you wanna buy..it covers the best of the best & gived you everything you really need from the band if you're just a casual fan..for the die hards, like I said, disc 2 will ahve you salivating!

D.O.A. are one of the most underated, & sadly, unknown punk bands, atleast outside of the punk rock music scene, & the band really created some great music that was a total reaction to society & life as a young person...this dvd is interesting because it's got some pro-shot footage, & LOADS of fan shot shot stuff & some shows are shot on stage with the band, some are from the crowd, & there's both on & offstage footage, as well as a few bonus features as well that include a news clip & a promo video! I have to call attention to the fact that Danzig fans might recognize the bands drumer, Chuck Biscuits, who later went on to play in the classic original line-up of Danzig, but this is a far cry from blues based rock n roll...this is full on punk power that's not always played in tune, or even on-key, but the power, enerfy, & enthusiasm the band had is what made them fan favorites & one of the best punk bands of all time! You get nearly 70 minutes of classic footage of the band on this dvd & it's worth every penny to check out this dvd because as important as the Sex Pistols & The Ramones are to the legacy of punk, D.O.A. are also a legendary act that you should know about!