Post-Apocalypse Post

So the world didn't end the other day, and I'm rather happy about that. Earlier this week though I was almost happy with the idea, due to everything that went down in Connecticut last week. I was about ready for the Lord to smite the Earth with a flaming sword. Sometimes man's inhumanity against man get me a little down.

But anyway, this is not the forum for such downer topics. We're here to talk about cool stuff. First on the docket:

Random Rambling!
Maybe it's just me, but doesn't the latest Kid Rock tune sound like Aerosmith?

Random Rambling!
This past week was the 14th anniversary of the passing of Chris Farley. I remember hearing about it when it happened and not feeling too surprised. He made no secret of his appreciation for the late comedian John Belushi, and he ended up following in his footsteps, doing rails of coke and acting like a loud wild man. I miss his work though, that guy could get me laughing like no other. This is one of his funniest moments...

Random Rambling!
Today is the 10 year anniversary of the passing of Joe Strummer, guitarist and singer for The Clash. They put out some amazing music in their short career. This song is one of my favorites:

Random Rambling!
My new favorite song (this week) is "Hot Love" by Aldo Nova. It is a prime example of your typical hard rock/AOR single from the early '80s. Aldo's one big song was "Fantasy," which I love, but this also has the tendency to get stuck in my head. Whenever I hear it I'm reminded of when I lived in Kalamazoo, as it used to be played on my all time favorite radio station out there, 92.5 WZUU.

The ZUU was the only hard rock/classic rock station I've heard that played such early '80s obscurities, deep cuts, and forgotten relics of denim jackets passed. I listened to it recently when I was driving through the area and it seems to have gone to the more traditional classic rock format, spinning the typical overplayed Bob Seger and AC/DC tunes that every other classic rock station plays. Kind of sad. But I digress...here's the tune:

Random Rambling!
On the eve of the apocalypse I ran to the drug store down the block and on the way back I heard the Prince song "1999." I really dig that song, and it seemed to be an appropriate choice for that radio station to play, as some people may have been partying hard due to the imminent end of the world. It also reminded me of what I was doing at the stroke of midnight, 1999.

I was a Freshman at Western Michigan that year, and was back home for holiday break. I had gone to a couple parties with my buddy Joe that night, the first one was at the house of one of my sister's friends while the second one was with some old buddies Joe and I graduated with. I got pretty loaded at the first one and  on the way to the second one I puked in Joe's car with my head hanging half out the window while we went down the road at 45 mph.

We got to the second party with me feeling a whole lot better but unfortunately there was some drama going down. One of our buddies got black-out drunk and started throwing punches so the rest of the dudes locked him in a room. One guy we knew sat on the couch blubbering about it, saying "I can't believe he did that!" Lame. Joe and I decided to split after 20 minutes of having to listen to this guy cry and hearing the occasional thud of a drunken fist hitting a door. By this point it was 11:40PM-ish, and my parent's house was about 20 minutes away

As we pulled in the driveway a robotic sounding voice came on the radio that said "It is now 12:00AM, Eastern Standard Time." And what song did they play? "1999." It's a moment in history I won't ever forget. So what did I end up doing the rest of the night? Well, we went to a third party where I saw a friend named Mandy who I ended up bringing back to my parents hot tub. It was a fun night, and one of those magical evenings where the stars align to provide a time that can only happen when we're young and have our whole lives ahead of us.

Random Rambling!
I got out of work early this past Friday and went on an impromptu thrift store spree. I found something that I have been wanting for a long time: one of those nylon/snap button jackets, with the stretchy cuffs. It kind of looks like this:

 
How much did I spend? $3.50. Now I can walk around and pretend it's 1981 and do my best impression of Carmine Ragusa from "Laverne and Shirley." You all remember him right? If not, here's a pic of him with the Fonz and the "Happy Days" gang on one of the many crossover episodes they had with their spin-off:

Actually, this is me and my buddies back in high school. Those were happy days.

Oh yeah, have you seen Eddie Mekka (the actor who played Carmine) lately? Yikes!

Back to my thrift store purchases...I also picked up 3 old VHS tapes, and they were all good flicks: "Taxi Driver," "The Shining," and "The Good Son" (featuring Macaulay Culkin as a pre-teen psychopath). In addition, I also picked up 8 cassette tapes (I just bought a car that only has a cassette player so I'm trying to stock up on cheap tunes). Here's the list:

-Bryan Adams: Reckless - "Run to You" is a good jam.

-Asia: Asia. I own this on vinyl but it never hurts to have a back-up. This band is despised by most of the rock intelligentsia but I dig them a lot. It's just progressive rock merged with arena rock. And I like it!

-REM: Life's Rich Pageant - I dig on '80s college rock and I knew the Canadian Belle would dig it too.

 -Rush: Moving Pictures. Essential for any classic rock collection. "Tom Sawyer" may be overplayed, but the musicianship never ceases to amaze me each time I hear it. My favorite track on it though is "Limelight."

-Stevie Wonder: Songs In the Key of Life - Probably his masterpiece, I love the song "Sir Duke."

Van Halen: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge - Yes, I know, this is an album by "Van Hagar," but seeing as how I'm a fan of Asia you've probably realized I go against the grain when it comes to music (as in, I like a lot of stuff that most people don't). I grew up with this version of the band, so I can't help but dig it. Plus I like Sammy as a solo artist...he seems like a guy who just wants to have fun. I will admit the title is kinda lame though (the abbreviation for it is a CUSS WORD OOOOH!). Fave track is this one:

Winger: Winger - Like I said, I like a lot of stuff that most people don't (Beavis and Butthead in particular liked to slag this band a lot back in the day). Their guitarist is a monster though, and they wrote some fun party music. My favorite track from this album may be the all time best power ballad of the '80s...I had a buddy from Kalamazoo tell me recently that whenever he hears this song he is reminded of parties I used to throw in my garage, where '80s hard rock was always the soundtrack to good times. I consider that high praise:

And last but not least,

Al Corley: Riot In Color - You're probably thinking, who? Go ahead, google his name...yes, he was an actor who played John Forsythe's son on the '80s primetime soap opera "Dynasty." I haven't listened to it yet, but the main reason I got it is because it is the type of obscure pop culture collectible I just can't pass up...especially for 25 cents.



Before I go, I would like to give a shout out to my music soul brother Ben, who recently started a blog of his own called Washed Up Sounds. His knowledge of music, particularly old '60s and '70s obscurities, psychedelia, and garage rock, rivals mine. Whenever we get together we have the best convos about our favorite bands. Check it out, I'm sure you will find something you will enjoy.

I also recently came across a Tumblr blog that features pictures of gorgeous, all natural women from the 1940s to the 1980s. Check it out, and be prepared for some NSFW work pics of beautiful ladies. Here's the addy: bigbennklingon.tumblr.com.

We had fun this week, didn't we boys and girls? I will see you on the flip side.

Tonight's Slabs 5/23/12

It's been a while since I wrote a post about what I was currently listening to, so I thought it was high time I did. I have listened to a decent amount of records (by Steely Dan and the Allman Brothers, just to name a few)  since the last column, so I thought I would showcase tonight's selections.


RUSH

Now that cover is cosmic

I was lucky enough to find their first album in excellent condition for only $4 at my favorite local store. Now this album ROCKS! It does have some mellow moments, but most of it is ass-kicking blues-based rock similar to Zeppelin or Blue Cheer (both bands that they used to cover in their early days). The lyrics are quite different on this album as well as their main lyricist, drummer Neil Peart, did not join until their second album.

This clip features the lead-off track "Finding My Way." Right from the get-go, these guys brought the jams!

This next clip features their more well-known track from this LP, "Working Man." This song was another staple on my favorite hard rock station as a kid. I love the Zeppelin-esque breakdown in the middle. This was a song that my old band Fretbusters used to jam. It was a fun one to play!

Jeff Beck Blow By Blow

I first heard about this album on a radio request show that airs every Saturday night on Lansing's classic rock station 94.9 WMMQ, which purports to be the first classic rock station in the nation. "Larry Allen's All Reqest Saturday Night" airs from 7PM to midnight and is know for playing eclectic rock and deep cuts. During one show I heard an instrumental tune by Jeff Beck called "Freeway Jam" and loved it.

Jeff really creates the atmosphere and feel of leisurely driving down the freeway on that song. Blow by Blow is the seventh album by Jeff but the first one to consist of all instrumentals. He had some help from some fellow legends on this one, including Stevie Wonder (who wrote and played on two tracks) and the legendary Beatles producer George Martin, who turned the knobs in the control room. For $1, I got more than my money's worth. I heard Jeff Beck backed-up Mick Jagger on the recent season finale of SNL. I was unable to see it as I recently got rid of cable (plus I'm usually busy being social Saturday nights). I will have to see if it's on Hulu or NBC's web site.

Jefferson Starship Red Octopus

 
Released in 1975, this was the second official release by Jefferson Starship (the first being 1974's Dragon Fly). You may remember a while back I reviewed the proto-Jefferson Starship album Blows Against the Empire, which was more of a solo album by Paul Kantner than a true new band.

Two bands formed out of the ashes of Jefferson Airplane, who ceased existence in 1974. One featured members Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, and was called Hot Tuna. Jefferson Starship was the other, and featured previous Airplane members  Paul Kantner (guitar), co-singers Grace Slick and Marty Balin, and a host of new faces. One of the new members, an African-American fiddle player named Papa John Creach, had jammed with the last Airplane line-up. The band also featured guitar wunderkind Craig Chaquiso, bassist David Freiberg (ex-Quicksilver Messenger Service), drummer John Barbata (formerly of the Turtles), and keyboardist Pete Sears. Here's a group photo from the back cover:

This album is solid if not spectacular, and features one very well-known track, "Miracles." Here's a clip. This song can best be described as dreamy and MELLOW. Marty and Grace's vocals are soft yet powerful...it's a tune to make love to for sure.

I hope you enjoyed this sampler of tunes I've been digging on as of late. As always, drop that needle and keep rockin'.

Today's Slabs - Aerosmith and Alan Parsons Project

Aerosmith
I recently picked up copies of Toys In the Attic and Rocks, released in 1975 and 1976 respectively. Many regard these albums as the apex of the early part of their career, and I would have to agree with them. I haven't heard their first two albums (Aerosmith and Get Your Wings) in full, but from what I have heard it seemed like they were still "getting their sea legs" in terms of finding their sound. By the time Toys and Rocks came out, they were in full form.

Toys In the Attic features such classics as the title track, "Walk This Way," "Big 10 Inch Record," "Sweet Emotion," and "No More No More." Most of these songs were staples on 101 WRIF, a hard rock station out of Detroit I listened to during my formative years as a music lover. They never get old to me, and hearing them transports me back to my basement hang-out in middle school, when I played video games and listened to my dad's ancient 1970s stereo, with the broken turntable and cassette player. "Sweet Emotion" also has the added attraction of reminding me of the intro to one of my all-time favorite flicks, "Dazed and Confused." Rocks is another rockin' record, and features the tunes "Back In the Saddle" and "Last Child," two more songs I used to love when they were played on the WRIF. This album has been a big influence on many people in the hard rock and metal community, with bands like Guns N' Roses and Metallica citing it as influential.

Allmusic, a music review website I find to be an invaluable resource when deciding on albums to buy, gives each of these records 5 stars. Unfortunately their next two albums would not be as well-received, and would be the last ones to feature the original line-up until their mid '80s comeback. 


Alan Parsons Project
The Alan Parsons Project, a duo consisting of Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson (along with various musicians and vocalists) are a band I've liked for a while but had yet to really get into. Until recently I was only familiar with the handful of hit singles they had in the '80s ("Eye In the Sky," "Don't Answer Me," "Time"). On the recommendation of my old co-worker/friend Greg from Kalamazoo, I picked up the I Robot album and liked it a lot. It has a lot of different sounds going on...early electronic, prog, disco, soul, and funk, which keeps definitely keeps it interesting.

The album cover photo features the band members using the escalator tubes in the circular Terminal 1 building of  de Gaulle Airport outside Paris.

A concept album loosely built around the idea of robots, the following was written on the cover inlay. It sets the mood for the album:

"I ROBOT...THE STORY OF THE RISE OF THE MACHINE AND THE DECLINE OF MAN, WHICH PARADOXICALLY COINCIDED WITH HIS DISCOVERY OF THE WHEEL...AND A WARNING THAT HIS BRIEF DOMINANCE OF THIS PLANET WILL PROBABLY END, BECAUSE MAN TRIED TO CREATE ROBOT IN HIS OWN IMAGE."
  
Heavy stuff right?

Here's a few of my fave songs:

                                                     "I Wouldn't Wanna Be Like You"

                         "Breakdown" (feat. Allan Clarke, lead singer of the Hollies, on vocals)

My pal Greg has this to say about the album when he recommended it recently:

Coming up on the 35th anniversary of the release of this masterpiece. If you have never given this album a listen, I seriously urge you to. Especially, on a night when you have a good view of the stars and sky. Those should be your only distractions, and then all will be known. I am not accountable for any pleasant out-of-body experiences you most likely will have, nor the frequent U.F.O. flybys that will occur...

 

Thanks again Greg, I think I may have to try that next time I listen...

Today's Slab...Being for the Benefit of Mr. K(ampuchea)

Today I'm listening to yet another benefit album (I go through certain phases when listening to stuff apparently), "Concerts for the People of Kampuchea." Recorded from a series of 4 concerts in London the last week of the '70s (2 weeks after I was born!), this album, a 2-record set, is leaner than the "No Nukes" album I reviewed the other day. The "No Nukes" album seemed to suffer from a "let's throw everything on here" approach, but the "Kampuchea" album features the cream of the four shows. I think the performers selected were quite a bit stronger also: Paul McCartney & Wings, the Who, the Clash, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, the Pretenders, Queen, and the Specials (not to mention the colossal rock supergroup "Rockestra," featuring members of the aforementioned bands PLUS 3 members of Led Zeppelin).

Side one features four songs by the Who, who are sounding excellent. They had come off a hard year, touring with a new drummer for the first time in their career (Kenney Jones, ex-Small Faces/Faces), after the 1978 death of Keith Moon. They had also been part of a tragedy earlier in the month of December 1979, when several fans were crushed to death at a concert in Cincinnati. Here are the songs they performed: "Baba O'Reilly," "Sister Disco," "Behind Blue Eyes," and "See Me, Feel Me." This was during Pete Townsend's "drunk era" (famously described in the song "Who Are You"). I recall reading an article in some music mag at a book store a few years back about this show and how Pete was drunk out of his mind during the performance the last night of the show. His style is a bit sloppier than I have heard before, but overall the vibe is good. The shows were filmed, and I found footage of the Who playing "Behind Blues Eyes":

Sides 2-3 feature one or a few song by Pretenders, Elvis Costello, Rockpile, Queen, Ian Dury & the Blockheads, and the Specials. All good stuff, and I'm especially partial to the Clash and Queen stuff. The artists featured showcase the variety that British music at the time offered...punk, new wave, and classic rock were all given equal time. Here's a video of the Clash playing "Armagideon Time:"

Side 4 is when it gets really good, with Paul McCartney & Wings taking the stage. Paul helped organize the shows (like his old bandmate George did with the Concert for Bangladesh) and since Wings were at that time one of the biggest bands in the world, they were given a slot close to the end of the last show. Wings performed one Beatles song ("Got to Get You Into My Life"), one song from Paul's first solo album (the rarely performed "Every Night"), and a song which ended up on 1980's "McCartney II" album ("Coming Up").  Here's a clip of Wings doing "Every Night:"

Finally, the grand finale, Rockestra! First appearing on Wings 1979 album "Back to the Egg," this "rock orchestra" featured John Bonham, Billy Bremner, Gary Brooker, Howie Casey, Tony Dorsey, Dave Edmunds, Steve Holly, James Honeyman-Scott, Steve Howard, Kenney Jones, John Paul Jones, Lawrence Juber, Denny Laine, Ronnie Laine, Linda McCartney, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, Thadeus Richard, Bruce Thomas, and Pete Townsend. David Gilmour, who appeared with Rockestra on the Wings album, couldn't be there since he was busy with Pink Floyd preparing for their tour for "The Wall." This clip shows the mammoth Rockestra performing the "Rockestra Theme" (check out the very intoxicated Pete Townsend):

Overall, I really enjoyed the heck out of this album. The musicians and songs featured were all top shelf, and the atmosphere seemed fun and playful.

Tonight's Slab - No Nukes is Good Nukes

The weekend of St. Patty's day I picked up around 24 records at store called Replay. I found some awesome stuff, and for good prices too. So far out of that pile I have sampled the Go Gos "Vacation," Michael Jackson "Off the Wall," and Journey "Frontiers." Tonight I threw on the platter a triple album benefit concert from September, 1979 titled "No Nukes."

"No Nukes" (from the MUSE Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future) was culled from a series of shows at Madison Square Garden over the course of five nights which highlighted the dangers of nuclear energy in the wake of the Three Mile Island event. In the same vein as the legendary original benefit show, the Concert for Bangladesh, those involved wanted to draw attention to an important topic of the day. The performers featured were an eclectic bunch, and consisted of a combination of singer-songwriter types (Jackson Brown, James Taylor), soul singers (Gil Scott-Heron, Raydio, Chaka Kahn), and classic rockers (Crosby Stills & Nash, the Doobie Brother, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers).

The songs and artists who comprise this concert album tended to be more on the light rock side. Overall, the album is uneven, with some parts being good and some being not very memorable. Side 6 featured three Crosby Stills & Nash songs, and they were sounding excellent (they had been together roughly 10 years at this point). I managed to find some footage from the show, here in the form of the Doobie Brothers performing their classic call for involvement, "Takin' It to the Streets," featuring the soulful white guy voice of Michael McDonald (joined by James Taylor).

This show was pretty amazing, but I much prefer the Concert for Bangladesh in terms of awesome benefit shows. Out of the 27 tracks featured on this, I would have to say only 12 or so were memorable. Still, the shows drew attention to a popular cause (although I guess they weren't that successful, since we still have nuclear power. And wasn't there some shit that went down in Japan because of that stuff last year? Maybe it's time for another No Nukes show).

It's April (Wine!) - 4/12/12

Yes, even Canadian rockers April Wine had a power ballad! This song is the last one I will feature that could be considered a hit, so I will have to plunge a little deeper into their catalog for the rest of this month's entries:

Tonight's Slab...NUGE!

Tonight I listened to one of the many records I pulled out of the dollar bin nearly 2 months ago. The main reason I purchased it was for the awesome album cover art. I also had just seen the "Behind the Music" special on the artist a week prior, and growing up in the far outer-rung of the Detroit Metro Area he is man known to all. The man we're talking about is Ted Nugent. The album? "Weekend Warriors."

Dude, his guitar is a gun! It's like he combined his two favorite things.

The active rock station I listened to during my formative years as a music fan, 101 WRIF out of Detroit, revered this man like he was a god. I heard many a dj refer to Ted by one of his many nicknames..."The Nuge," "Uncle Ted," "Uncle Tedley," "Motor City Madman," etc. His annual "Whiplash bash" concert was a big event, and every Friday at 5PM on the WRIF legendary dj Arthur P. would yell "IT'S THE WEEKEND!" and play the title track of the "Weekend Warriors" album. It was a track that personified the "working hard, playing hard" ethos of the blue-collar worker in the Detroit area. Hmm. I just remembered that the Nuge had a track on his "Cat Scratch Fever" album called "Workin' Hard, Playing Hard." Obviously this guy knows his stuff.

Anywho, I was only familiar with the title track of this album, and looked forward to discovering more of his catalog. This was Ted's first solo record without Derek St. Holmes on vocals, but Charles Huhn fills in and does a capable job. The lead off track, "Need You Bad," came thundering out of my speakers with a propulsive beat, sweet vocals, and blistering Nuge-style guitar. It just goes to show, some artists just aren't accurately represented by your average "best of" or "greatest hits" compilations. The deep cuts can be where the real gems are. His politics be damned, I really enjoy him as a musician, and think he is an amazing guitar player with a distinctive sound.

Tonight's Slab: Ram On!

The Canadian Belle is away (at work till 9:00PM), so the records will play!

Tonight's Slab: Paul (and Linda) McCartney - Ram (1971)

RAM was the second solo offering by the cutest of the Beatles, although it's not truly a solo effort as his wife and new musical collaborator Linda appears on most of the tracks providing both lead and back-up vocals. The rumor is that she is credited as part of  a duo with Paul due to disputes with the other Beatles that entitled them to a cut of Paul's income related to their partnership in Apple. Linda was not a signatory to any Apple shenanigans, so she was entitled to her full share of the income from the record, which also meant (by amazing coincidence of course) Paul was too, as they were married, her money was his, etc...

But all cynicism aside, I love this record. This is currently the second copy I have purchased as the first one had a huge skip that occurred during the last track of side 2. Thanks CD Warehouse in Kzoo! I spent $3.99 for that?

I like to call this album "McCartney 1.5" as it is very close in spirit to Paul's first record, "McCartney" (Paul has an album called "McCartney II"  that came out in 1980 after his venture with Wings imploded. It features Paul experimenting with synthesizers and, with the exception of one song, is pretty forgettable). It is more professionally recorded than that first one, which Paul recorded at home on his own equipment.

This album can definitely be described as "pastoral," as the cover no doubt indicates. Paul and Linda had been spending a lot of time at their Scottish farm getting away from all the hustle and bustle of London and the gloom attached to it from the very recent split of the Beatles. The songs range from mellow romps through the country to epic ballads with soaring choruses filled with orchestration and vocals. Linda's voice is in fine form, and while she was not an overwhelmingly good singer she puts in a competent performance, and sounds better than she did on "McCartney." The production is fuller too, and not as spartan as that of the first record.

Paul (looking pretty grizzly) and Linda, out and about in '71

Allmusic has this to say: "...in retrospect it looks like nothing so much as the first indie pop album, a record that celebrates small pleasures with big melodies, a record that's guileless and unembarrassed to be cutesy."

I'd say that is pretty accurate. Some of the songs ("Too Many People," "Dear Boy," and "Three Legs") were seen as digs at the other ex-Beatles at the time, Lennon in particular. John answered back later that year on his Imagine album with the track, "How Do You Sleep?" This song was considerably more blatant in pointing out who it was about, whereas the Paul tracks were at least a little bit vague. John even included a postcard insert of himself holding a pig by the ears. Now that's symbolism, folks.

Here's a video showcasing my favorite track. It reminds me of my own long-haired lady.

This video features Paul performing the track "Ram On" (with a mandolin!) in 2010.

Happy Belated Birthday to Dave Gilmour

The Pink Floyd guitarist/vocalist turned 66 yesterday...here's a clip of one of my favorite songs of his from Floyd's post-Waters era in the '80s. This song was a staple on the radio station I listened to in middle school, WRIF out of Detroit.

Some say the Floyd album this song came from was glorified Gilmour solo, but I think that is unfair. The band was finding their voice without Waters, and I found the music they put out to be very good. This song is Floyd-style mellow, with some interesting percussion. The video is cool in how it juxtaposes the industrial sounds of a factory with the agrarian worker using his scythe. I always loved the symbolism Floyd used, on album covers and their in-concert video back-drops. When it came out this song signaled that Floyd was back, and it's too bad this line-up was only good for 4 albums (2 studio, 2 live).

On VH1 Classic over the weekend I saw a documentary about the making of "Wish You Were Here." It was incredibly fascinating, especially the part where the album cover designer described how the album cover and interior photos were shot. 

I'm holding my breath for a reunion, but it's hard to see Waters and Gilmour ever collaborating again. Plus, it would not be the same without keyboardist Rick Wright, who passed in 2008.

NEXT: Teen Wolf Too. Promise.

The plane boss, the plane!

Before I get to today's ramblings I would like to wish a belated happy birthday to Roger Daltrey, lead singer of the Who, who turned 68 yesterday. Here's a clip of the Who at Woodstock, busy becoming legends. In this video they perform a selection from their rock opera "Tommy." Legend has it that the band was tripping during their performance and at one point in the clip Roger is taken aback when he sees the sun rising during the epic "see me, feel me" lyrical refrain. Apparently he was caught up in the epic nature of the moment. You couldn't have planned that better right?

"NEW" Van Halen?

While driving to meet a friend for a drink last Thursday I was flipping through the usual fare of oldies and classic rock radio (that more often than not I'm bored with due to lack of variety) when I happened to come across Van Halen's latest single "Tattoo." I had heard snippets of it over the past 2 months but not the song in its entirety.

Like some, when I first heard Van Halen was FINALLY releasing an album with original singer David Lee Roth I was quite excited. Like others, upon learning the initial single was a recycled demo that was over THIRTY years old, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. I wanted to say "Come on guys, you can't write anything new?" My buddy John put it in perspective by saying it's cool they're using an older song, because their songs were better back then. Good point. 

The song ended up growing on me, which happens sometimes when you have high expectations that receive a dose of reality. A few days after hearing it I couldn't help but repeat the chorus in my head, which is the sure sign of a catchy tune. The one flaw I would find in it would be that the chorus lacked a certain punch, and sounded somewhat weak. I attributed this to the loss of Michael Anthony on backing vocals. There is another guy whom we all didn't realize was as important as he was to a band until he was gone. But Van Halen's loss is Sammy Hagar and Chickenfoot's gain I guess.