Lucifer's Friend - Lucifer's Friend

Pretty weird artwork for Lucifer's Friend's debut album. Two dudes, one a bald short guy and the other a creepy thug lookin' motherfucker standing in a pool of blood. They just wack somebody and write the band's name in blood on the alley wall? dope I guess.


Well upon hearing the first track off of Lucifer's Friend, already there is controversy brewing. The french horn hook in Ride the Sky, well shit -it sounds just like Robert Plant's scream in Immigrant Song "Ay-ya-yaaaa-yai!" You know which one right? After a bit of research, it turns out both songs came out in 1970, too close to really tell which one came first. Rock historians seem to agree that Ride the Sky came out first and that Zeppelin ripped the shit off, I kinda tend to agree...I just want to go with the underdog on this one, albeit a german underdog.
What a freaking kick ass song. Hard rocking guitar licks melting your face off. As straight up hard rock as they come, only clocking in at a measly 2:56, only slightly longer than most punk songs, but somehow the song stands alone and it's a complete face melter. Sweet astrological lyrics to boot "Mars, Venus and Stars, shaking their heads at me" also shit like "Hey world, look out i'm coming" I love boastful, self-righteous lyrics like these. Did I mention that there is french horn in this piece? Also some mean rock organ not unlike the sounds of John Lord, Deep Purple's organist.

To the meat of the walnut... Lucifer's Friend's singer is none other than John Lawton of later Uriah Heep fame. Shit can this dude sing. He's got a clear, penetrating voice that could cut glass on the right high note. Just the right amount of raspyness and emotion in his voice, Lawton just freaking belts on those high notes. The rest of the musicians in Lucifer's Friend are a bunch of German dudes, so the band is technically considered a German band, although all their songs are sung in English by the British Lawton and their style is heavily, heavily British and American hard 70's rock influenced. Think Deep Purple's In Rock, and any of Zeppelin's and Sabbath's early stuff.

Everybody's Clown is kind of your run-of-the-mill, hard rock'n blues song...great guitar rock and singing, but nothing that blows your socks off. Keep Going is definitely a bit more interesting...a more gloom and doom style hard rock song, with heavy fuzzy guitar hooks and a more somber vocal style and melody...Lawton's voice sounds really excellent on the blues and this song is no exception...it sort of morphs a third of the way into the song and picks up tempo a bit, becoming more than just an average slow tempo rock blues track.

Toxic Shadows is easily becoming my favorite track off Lucifer's Friend's debut. Interesting heavy guitar and organ driven piece with a soaring and complicated melody from Lawton. Great lyrics:

"I smell coal dust in your hair
You who bakes in A house of fire
with YOUR FEELING finger
Take my hard rock, put it THERE
OOH BABE just a little bit higher"

wooo sexy. Song kinda gets into the "jammy" territory that I usually can't stand, but I'll let it slide just this once.

The song entitled Lucifer's Friend is a crazy proggy, almost Who's Tommy rockopera style masterpiece. Big intervals, and some powerful choruses, a precursor to power metal if you ask me. This shit get's tripped out and gloomtastic, Sabbath anyone? This song is a true "undiscovered" Gem, every time I hear it, I hear new things in it and it blows me away.

Rock and Roll Singer is such a departure from the other songs on this album, it's such an odd fit. It's a really upbeat, fast and happy little rock song about loving rock n' roll...I mean who can't get down with that sentiment, but on this gloomy/proggy and hard rock album, it seems really out of place.

Satyr's Dance also seems really out of place, but this song kicks much ass. It sounds like it's from another decade, early 80's...with it's synthesizers and almost disco like rock beat, hard to believe this song came out in 1970. The most progressive song on Lucifer's Friend, this instrumental only track makes you wish you were tripping balls at a laser light show.

Our World is a Rock and Roll Band is another mismatch on this album. More of a singer songwriter style rock song...I could hear this on a Todd Rundgren album or even a Chicago album. Gone are the hard rocking guitars and drums, replaced with a honky tonk sounding piano and happy go lucky verses about loving being in a rock band, sounds like a full horn section, which makes me think of Chicago. This is still a great song, but so hard to imagine the band that earlier in the album was blasting out Ride in the Sky also made this song around the same time.

Alepnrosen is just a stick, southern rock sounding bad ass rock joint. Complete with sick guitar solos and hard and fast synthesizers, I can't even think of another band to compare this kind of sound to. There's elements of jazz/blues/southern rock/chicago style-esque horn section/shit that sounds like the score for a 70's action crime drama series like the streets of san fransisco.. Really innovative cool shit.

This album is just a masterpiece. It's a schizophrenic masterpiece, but a masterpiece non-the-less. Lawton's crystal clear vocals shine, and the rest of the band can play THE SHIT out of their instruments. The one constant every time I listen to this album is that I can not believe it came out in 1970. It's also hard to believe that it's remained relatively so underground for all these years despite it's innovative, even ground-breaking rock stylings. To tell you the truth, I kinda like it better that way.

MANOWAR IS AWSUM!!!!

Unonou by Danava

Totally awesome and weird album art for Danava's second album Unonou.

Track Listing
01 - Unonou
02 - Where Beauty And Terror Dance
03 - The Emerald Snow Of Sleep
04 - A High Or A Low
05 - Spinning Temple Shifting
06 - Down From A Cloud, Up From The Ground
07 - One Mind Gone Separate Ways

-"Rock is back!"
...at least that's what all the rock blogs are saying when they sing Danava's musical praises. Yes it's true...Portland's Danava is that awesome mix of 70's proggy, druggy, doom-y, metal up your ass, and hard rock licks like Deep Purple and Yes, Iron maiden and Queen whipped into a rock n' roll smoothie. But it's fucking 2009 man!! I'm happy. It's like...ok here is a "new" band that genuinely sounds like a tripped out 70's hard rock band. It's now possible to see live music that is original and new but still get that classic rock element that has been missing from my life for far too long.

Unonou is Danva's second album. It's a little better produced and put together than their self titled debut release, but both kick-ass!! I'm sorta leaning twords liking their debut more than Unonou -it's more rock and roll and Unonou is a little more "out there" and progressive. But this review is about Unonou suckers.

Unonou is a made-up word straight from lead singer/guitarist Dusty Sparkle's fascinating mind-grapes. The title track, is a sabbath bass line and vocal style/melody laden song. In fact, as I write this review...I'm realizing a lot of similarities between the two bands. But Danava borrows from a lot of 70's bands, most notably their brian may (queen) style guitar on some songs (mostly from their debut), they go into some repetitive, Dave murray (maiden) style guitar work, but vocally -Dusty Sparkles is all Ozzy. I'm not crazy about the "off-key" thin and whiny vocal style of both ozzy and dusty but Danava (and sabbath) both make up for that in creative "opus-like" songs (some Danava tapping out over 13 min!). Danava also makes great use of synthesizers, like in the masterpiece Where Beauty and Terror Dance...the hard rockin' track goes into a spacey, dreamlike synthesized trance at the end of the song, almost reminiscent of Hawkwind's early stuff.

The Emerald Snow of Sleep is the hardest song for me to like... The out of key, straight-up whiny vocals are just too dissonant for my ears to handle, and the repetitive "beeping" synthesizer noises are just irritating. But to Emerald's credit, the song does pay off with a serious fuzzy bass and lead guitar battle, ending in a catchy horn section jam at the close. Neat! A High or a Low is a fuckin' tight as hell, sweet little track, my favorite from the album. Are those bicycle bells I hear in there? A real catchy bass riff, major and minor sounding at the same time, and another kick-ass horn section ending. It's like chicago meets deep purple and they do a shit ton of acid together.

Spinning Temple Spinning is again, "too out there", for me to really get into. "out" melody line, big psychedelic stew jam session...but love the totally evil sounding guitar's chord progression half way through...this song is a little schizophrenic (like a lot of Danava's music). It gets heavy on the doom factor half way though, which makes me happy -I'll gladly choose that style over the psychedelic jam out shit any day.

Down from a Cloud, Up From the Ground is one of Danava's masterpieces. It starts off real jammy but then morphs into a freddy mercury and Queen-esque dramatic rock opera but waaay heavier, creepier and space-ier than queen ever dreamed of getting. Great "phantom of the opera" style synth/organ work that makes my spine tingle. Nothing gets me higher than creeped out rock infused harpsichord work. Think an extended, more delicate, Mr. Crowley by Ozzy. The song then morphs into a faster paced, hard rockin' maiden style guitar riff laden jam out, but with Danava's unique twist on it.

One Mind Gone Seperate Ways is truly the album's piece de resistance (I don't say or spell it all snooty and french like, ass). Move over Tubular Bells! Here comes One Mind! Holy shit, what a fuckin' mind-fuck of a song. The title kind of says it all. This track is all over the place...it can't decide if it's rocked out classical music, a proggy early genesis or yes style "joint", a spaced out pink floyd style jam...but in the end, it's pure Danava. No other band can blend all styles of rock music into one seamless masterpiece, quite like Danava does. Even with the big jumble of styles, the melody remains a cohesive part of this song and it never loses it's focus even through endless time signature and key changes. Topping in at 13:28...get that doobie rocket ready to blast off cause One Mind is one weird trip, motherfunker.

Although I've compared Danava to about 10 different bands in this review of Unonou, Danava is uniquely their own sound. They may "borrow" styles from some of the greats, but they have the common sense and the straight-up fucking talent to make their songs their own. Please play in Boston!!

Bad Album Covers - Running Back to you - Chris Sligh

Ok Ok Ok...this isnt really a rock album, but man it's gotta be made fun of. You: a not particularity attractive, hefty guy with dorky glasses, big jew fro, and creepy soul patch, who came in 6th on American Idol season 5. Me: a label executive. You: "Hey how 'bout my album just features a big close up picture of me." Me: "Yes Chris! You genius! I love you! This will definitely sell a million albums and make us all billionaires." Reality: THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN. so why does this album cover fucking exist??

Bad Album Covers - Awake by Dream Theater

I want to like this band more... They play like fucking rock gods! But I just can't get past the fact that they take themselves so seriously. It's like come on man, get over yourself already. A classically bad album cover complete with crazy, futuristic dream scape, Michelangelo style statue peering into a fancy mirror and who's that peering back?? A spider's web representing the song "caught in a web" wow that's original. NOT!

From wikipedia:
Cover art references:
Although not confirmed by the band to be an intentional effort, some elements on the cover art represent some of the tracks. Examples:

* Hour and minute on the moon, representing the song "6:00"
* The spider web beside the mirror, representing the songs "Caught in a Web" and "Voices"
* The big mirror on the ground, representing the song "The Mirror"
* The false reflection seen on the mirror, representing the song "Lie"
* The mirror's reflection in colour, representing "Lifting Shadows Off A Dream", and also the video of "The Silent Man"
* The old man, as shown on the music video, representing the song "The Silent Man"
* The night sky with the planet, representing the song "Space Dye Vest"

Bad Album Covers - Fear No Evil by Grim Reaper

Terribly drawn album art for Fear No Evil by cheesetastic metal band, Grim Reaper

Hahahaa. This one just makes me laugh. Who drew this shit? This is the kind of crap I used to draw during 7th grade math class. A crudely drawn skeleton grim reaper with freakishly long bone toes and he looks like he's wearing a red snuggie:

Dude is busting through some stained glass window on his motorcycle from hell! Where's he gonna go? fly away? Actually...this is kind of cool.

Bad Album Covers - All Shook Up by Cheap Trick

Tacky album cover for All Shook Up by Cheap Trick

Cheese to the max overload. Members of Cheap Trick in terrible 80's get ups in a crazy dream collage. A gray box with a woman's head just outside the door, the door opened...a floating steam locomotive comes barreling through. What???? And the name of the album - an old' elvis song. What the fuck is wrong with these guys?

Bad Album Covers - Talk by Yes

Talk by Yes

This is just really bad. Horrible. Looks like one of the band members attempts a watercolor, or maybe the first ever image drawn on a home computer? Turns out it's by psychedelic german artist, peter max who also painted these:



Now these are way cooler than his shitty Talk album cover. These look iconoclastic! His "yes" artwork looks like rainbow colored snail poop.

Changes and What's to come!

A friend, who is a big fan of this blog, suggested that I add mp3s of the music I am talking about so the reader can hear for themselves what it sounds like. After trying for a full day straight of trying to upload mp3s to the blog, ive decided it's much easier to go with youtube video clips. Isnt it odd that the internet makes it damn near impossible to embed an audio file but you can just copy and paste and video into anything? oh well. So, Bridie Loves Rock and Roll - Now with video!!

Also, the same friend suggested writing about bad album cover artwork. I love the idea! So look for that coming soon. Also if you have any suggestions for bad album cover art, please leave them in the comments section of this post. Thanks -Bridie

The Sights - a mix CD I made

The Sights

Original Line ups included:
Eddie Baranek, vocals and guitar
Mike Trombley, drums
Dave Knepp, drums
Mark Leahey, bass
Matt Hatch, bass

and more recently:
Dave Shettler, drums
Keith Fox, Drums
Bobby Emmett on organ/keyboards


I'm totally psyched cause I found this old Sights mix CD I made from back in the day back when like Napster was still free and gave you viruses n' shit and there were all these weird fart popping noises on the shit you stole. Man, I'm glad those days are over... Carrying on...

The Sights are one of the raddest, underground garage rock bands EVER. Hailing from Detroit, these three guys formed their band when they were in High School. They've had a few album releases on the independent "scatchie" record label, and for the longest time I was sure they had broken up (as no more albums were being put out, and also numerous websites including wikipedia had stated they'd broken up) Now I read on their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/thesights that they are indeed, together and sitting on a pile of unreleased stuff. The couple songs they have uploaded to their myspace page sound rad. More produced than their earlier stuff, and a little more melodic, smacking of the beatles. I am definitely a bigger fan of their hard edged, 60's garage rock sound that they do so fucking well but I'm open to this new direction. They have still maintained their signature 60's pop sound, so all is well.

I first noticed The Sights on the Wedding Crashers soundtrack...a song called The Circus which seemed totally out of place on the crashers soundtrack. I.e. it was waaay better and stranger than anything else on there. It's got CRUSHING minor organ chords, heavy drums, guitar, and depressing and odd vocals. It's a completely "modal" song, which i'm guessing The Sights werent even aware of at the time (or maybe they were? if Eddie Baranek is reading this please respond) and has unsettling modal guitar scales. A classic song! and apparently even the music director of the wedding crashers could recognize that. Other than that little shot at fame, The Sights have remained relatively under the radar, perhaps by their own doing?

This is a band that could so easily become megastars by lending their catchy songs to commercials and their cute looks to MTV reality shows but these guys mean business and I believe they want to be taken seriously for their amazing song writing abilities and musicianship, even if it means playing small clubs for the rest of their lives.

I should probably stop stealing The Sights music and actually buy their three albums to financially support them and let them know they have one more superfan out there.

There is something about The Sights music those goes beyond simple 60's inspired pop songs. There is tremendous complex song writing going on. Under the guise of simple pop music, lies ever changing and intricate time signatures, key changes and modal harmonies. False stops, fake endings, miniature pop opuses (opusi?). Psychedelic freakouts, cowbell, surf rock, richie blackmoresque (deep purple) intricate guitar solos, strange and haunting melodies, XYLOPHONE! All on the same album (and sometimes same song!) No other word but "crushing" organ chords dominating hard rock songs in an almost cinematic score kind of way, I'm speaking of their song Sorry. Oh yeah and don't forget insane, dissonant violin, organ and guitar feedback and echo sound effects to finish Sorry on a high note.

I like their album, Got What We Want most, with Their self titled (and most recent) album just not being quite as creative, but still amazing, and their debut album Are You Green? (Ha! Talk about being ahead of the curve, coming out in 1998) being slightly rough around the edges, but probably the best debut from any psychedelic band outside of The Doors maybe, but even that is debate able.

It's so hard to highlight just a few of their songs, I could write about each of their 30 or so songs but then I'd never get to bed tonight... The country twang of Waiting on a Friend (not to be confused with the stones) is catchy as chickenpox, and the super sweet and poppy It would be nice to have you around and Everyone's a poet are infectiously giddy. (I swore to never use the word infectiously in a review too!). And Be Like Normal is pure genius, wood block and all!!

The Sights albums have recently become available on ITUNES. Buy Them! Buy Them! Buy Them! If these guys ever do decide to become mega huge stars, they'll be the biggest fucking thing since sliced bread, television and stone washed jeans combined.

Circus -not "Rock and Roll Circus" -incorrect name of song.


Backseat, Last Chance and Waiting on a Friend

The Greenhorne's The Greenhornes

Pretty boring cover depicting the band for The Greenhornes 2nd album.


Despite the uninspired album artwork...The Greenhornes is a solid release by a talented garage band from Indiana. It's your run of the mill blues laden, 60's soul inspired pop rock garage music from a group of dudes who can seriously "jam" together. The Greenhornes second album is definitely inspired by the likes of early rolling stones, yardbirds and animals. Fuzzy guitar, heavy drums, and lackadaisical vocals. Fast, ripping r&b rock, and slow soulful blues numbers.

Track List:
1. Can't Stand It
2. Shadow of Grief
3. Stay Away Girl
4. Inside Looking Out
5. It's My Soul
6. Let Me Be
7. Lies
8. Nobody Loves You
9. Lonely Feeling
10. High Time Baby
11. Shame and Misery
12. Can't You See

The lead off song, Can't Stand It is a hard rockin', fast blues song with back-up call and response vocals from the rest of the band, and some heavy guitar hooks. A sweet ass, sounds like Wurlitzer maybe, organ lends that classic 60's touch. Other stand outs on the album include the cover Inside Looking Out also covered by bands such as The Yardbirds and The Animals. The Greenhornes version doesnt do anything that different to it, but man they play the shit of the song. I'd love to sing this song on stage someday...so much energy!


It's my Soul and Nobody Loves You are a couple of great, mid-tempo straight up rhythm and blues songs with great guitar playing. Lies is the heaviest rock influence on the album with a straight 4/4 drum beat, and Can't you see is a sweet and sad break-up song with a doo-wop quality to it.

All in all, every song on this album is catchy in it's own way. You may know some of the Greenhornes musical co-horts, the white stripes and holly golightly. The Greenhornes have disbanded in the last couple of years and some members are now the band, the Racontuers with Jack White. Let it be known...I think the Racontuers suck ass. I hate Jack White's sissy boy, whiny vocals...and on a side note -meg white is a shitty fucking drummer and only famous cause she's a chick. That being said...I am a Holly Golightly fan...she's cool and her work with the Greenhornes is great. One of their songs is featured in the Jim Jarmusch movie, broken flowers. They do much more rock/pop/and country style stuff together.

If you crave that sweet, sweet 60's rockin' soul sound, give the Greenhorne's self titled 2nd album a listen. FYI, their debut album, Gun for you is much more rock/pop based - still good shit but not what the Greenhornes do best in my opinion.

Inside Looking Out - The Greenhornes (over footage of the Animals for some reason...)

U.F.O's Light's Out

Fuckin' rad ass cover work from Light's Out of a headless and shirtless dude standing in a what looks like a futuristic train station but we can't be sure.

Release Date: 1977
Released On: Chrysalis
Phil Mogg - Vocals
Michael Schenker - Guitar
Pete Way - Bass
Andy Parker - Drums
Paul Raymond - Keyboards/Guitar

Lights Out was the pinnacle of UFO's studio career and is considered a genuine seventies rock classic by many rock historians. What is a rock historian anyway? I always picture some dude in leather and chains with big nerd glasses and a pocket protector sticking out of his leather jacket standing at a podium in a library conference room, lecturing on Led Zeppelin, but really it's just some fat, bald dude named Matt Pinfield. I wish I had Pinfield's cred.

I don't know if I would call Lights Out a genuine seventies rock classic but it's certainly shocking that U.F.O. never gained popularity like similar bands Grand Funk Railroad, and Deep Purple, but then fame is a fickle bitch. While technically no where near the aforementioned bands, U.F.O. is an undiscovered gem. I originally checked them out because they were cited as an early influence of such musicians as Dave Mustaine and members of Iron Maiden. That, and they have a song simply entitled Evil. This was part of my excursion into NWOBHM or the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which included other bands such as Saxon, Diamond Head, Tank, the hilariously named Dumpy's Rusty Nuts, and of course the most famous of these early metal bands, Motorhead.

Track List for Lights Out


1. "Too Hot to Handle" (Mogg, Way) – 3:37
2. "Just Another Suicide" (Mogg) – 4:58
3. "Try Me" (Mogg, Schenker) – 4:49
4. "Lights Out" (Mogg, Parker, Schenker, Way) – 4:33
5. "Gettin' Ready" (Mogg, Schenker) – 3:46
6. "Alone Again or" (MacLean) – 3:00
7. "Electric Phase" (Mogg, Schenker, Way) – 4:20
8. "Love to Love" (Mogg, Schenker) – 7:38

This album is not really heavy metal, the way you might think of Heavy Metal as sounding. It's definitely more of a hard 70's rock album with a few metalesque solos thrown in. The lead track, Too Hot to Handle sounds a lot like some of Rod Stewart's hard-rockin' stuff, like Stay With Me. It kind of reminds me of Kiss' Rock and Roll ALL Nite.

When I saw there was a song entitled Just Another Suicide, I freaked, thinking it would be some totally sick, evil sounding alice cooper/iron maiden metal song. Nope, it's like "rock lite", an odd juxtaposition of lyrics about suicide and a sort of Billy Joel/Todd Rundgren "mellow gold" rock song. Try me is a beautiful, soulful song with a slow and sweeping guitar solo in the middle. Phil Mogg's voice sounds full of emotion and raspy as hell, a nice combination. Lights Out, the title track is the hardest rockin' on the whole album with an evil sounding organ, and my favorite by a long shot.

Bottom Line: U.F.O. is a good, hard rockin' 70's band. Their album, Light's Out is certainly their best work, not metal by a long shot, but still heavy enough to satisfy my demon soul.

Just Another Suicide

Iron Maiden's Piece of Mind

Whimsical artwork of a demented Eddie in the nuthouse from the album cover: Piece of Mind


Piece of Mind by Iron Maiden has got to be their best album, possibly only a close second to Powerslave.

Maiden's 4th studio album, Piece of Mind released in 1983, is just singer Bruce Dickinson's second album with the band. Track #5 The Trooper still stands as a fan favorite to this day. While The Trooper is certainly a great song with a catchy riff, it's not one of my favorites off the album.

Track List:
1. "Where Eagles Dare" (Steve Harris) – 6:10
2. "Revelations" (Bruce Dickinson) – 6:48
3. "Flight of Icarus" (Dickinson, Adrian Smith) – 3:51
4. "Die With Your Boots On" (Dickinson, Smith, Harris) – 5:28
5. "The Trooper" (Harris) – 4:15
6. "Still Life" (Dave Murray, Harris) – 4:53
7. "Quest for Fire" (Harris) – 3:41
8. "Sun and Steel" (Dickinson, Smith) – 3:26
9. "To Tame a Land" (Harris) – 7:27

I got to say that track 8 -Sun and Steel (which I thought was called "Sund and Steel" for the longest time due to a downloading error, even tho Sund isnt a word)is my favorite off of Piece of Mind. It's a true battle anthem sounding metal song. Bruce's soaring, high vocals jump big intervals on the song's chorus. I like the lyrics a lot too which have to do with with some kind of young warrior -either a knight or possibly a ninja. I like to think it's about a girl warrior.

Opening lyrics from Sun and Steel:
"You killed your first man at 13,
Killer instinct, Animal supreme,
By 16 you had learned to fight
The way of the warrior, you took it as your right."

The other songs on this album are on par with Sun and Steel. Standouts are: Where Eagles Dare and Flight of Icarus. Something about their hooks is just a little catchier than the rest of the songs on the album. They are good lengths, not too short to leave you wanting more and not too long and repetitive (as sometimes Iron Maiden tends to be). To Tame a Land has a great, mystical and ethereal quality to it, not as hard as the other songs but my least favorite song is Die with your Boots on -it's got a kind of metal cheese factor, still a good song, but not one of my favorites of any Iron Maiden album. If you are familiar with Maiden's big hits, give Piece of Mind a listen because it provides some of the band's best work that the casual Maiden listener might not be familiar with.

Just try to watch this live performance of Flight of Icarus and NOT think of Spinal Tap!