CygnusX-1Bk2

HYF without a doubt. Everything on that record is likened to something else. Seriously, look at them and tell me they aren't. "Like a..." is a lyric to just about every song. Some more than others. Cheap. TFE is f***ing genius comparatively.

I just need a single. Or 3. PM me please! Thanks!

Tempo was dead on, like mentioned before, a little extension of the solo section. The bass and guitar tones were more aggressive, a la the previous tours.

It was the same as the album except for new sound effects at the beginning, which all of the MP material sort of shared as a central theme (different accents depending upon the song but the central theme had magical overtone: tinkley chimes and such). Full arrangement, no parts were altered. Beautiful!

If the show would have been the Live After Death set then it would have been perfect. It was still awesome. I had a great f***ing time!

I wish I could find a digital version of Maiden Japan. An excellent live EP. As for the other albums, the debut album was the first I had. It is so raw, and rockin'. I remember the first time I listened to it. It was almost punk, but way better. Strange World was the only track I rarely listened to, now I get it all the time on the iPod and it still sounds great to my ear. While this is the roughest sounding IM effort it is near and dear to me. Some guitar tones especially are a bit nasally, but you can't go bck and fix it now. It is what it is, and I am glad for that. A Killers is definitely a step up. The addition of Adrian Smith I think is key. He and Dave play so well together and counter each other's styles appropriately. Dave is a bit of a flailer and Adrian is very methodical and thoughtful. The harmonies are always clever. The production on Killers is more clean, but still kind of raw and aggressive, especially Steve's tone. This is a classic. Great tunes, though some are from the back catalog. A Number of the Beast was the first IM album I bought as it was released. I remember hearing Run to the Hills on the radio first and then seeing the video on MTV. I really took note of the Derek Riggs art, then went got Killers and IM out to re-examine. Excellent artwork! Man, I miss albums. There are some great moments on Number, and other songwriters are making it into the mix. I thought the addition of Dickinson was understandable, but still like the material from the first two albums more than this one. Having heard DiAnno recently it was the right move to make. Though I really don't care for Bruce's renditions of the first two albums' material still nor Nicko's takes on the drum tracks. Clive could rock pretty good himself. But I guess he needed to put the coke straw down, hence his exit. This was also the first tour I saw them, with Scorpions and Girlschool. Great show. B Piece Of Mind starts off with some serious drums. Hello new drummer dude. The trooper is definitive Maiden. This whole record rocks. Songs are getting longer and deal with wider topics. For me this album does not beat out the first two. B+ Powerslave is probably my favorite of the Bruce/Nicko Iron Maiden. This album kicks from top to bottom. Rime of the Ancient Mariner is probably my favorite Maiden song. Sitting next to the title track on the album, almost half the album's length right there. Great stuff, another amazing cover from Riggs too. This album has everything Maiden is known for. A+ Somewhere in Time was the last tour I saw of this era. A solid album with the rare Dave Murray track on it. Another highlight for me is The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. Great harmonies. Stranger in a Strange Land is annoying. So is Alexander the Great, Heaven Can Wait and especially Sea of Madness. They are starting to sound formulaic on this one a bit. B- Seventh Son is where I got off the Iron Maiden train for a while. I bought this album and listened to it a couple times. I lent it to a friend and never asked for it back. Too little variety and/or growth and the formula has become evident. Not to mention I think they just needed a break. Hence Adrian's exit after this record. F That said, I have seen Maiden probably 3 times in the past 6 years. I especially enjoyed last year's Somewhere Back In Time tour. Wish they would do that more often. Still, they are Iron Maiden. And friend.

This is too close to call for me. They are almost identical players. Their tones are almost polar opposites though. Schon has a real dark and dirty thing going on and Lukather has a shimmery thing. I don't know. I have seen Schon around town and he seems like a good guy. He made a decent album with Jan Hammer, "Schon & Hammer" that I used to play on my radio show way back. More aggressive than Journey. Has a good voice too.

Toss up between 1984 and the first album. Went with the first album because every song is good.

QUOTE (theworkingman @ Nov 30 2009, 07:20 PM) Okay, all things KISS (Ace, Tommy, Eric, Gene, Paul, Peter, etc..) inside here. Discuss please. Thank you. What? No Bruce? Or his brother Bob? Which Eric- Singer or Carr?

Buddy Rich and Louie Bellson at the University of Redlands in 1978. I was 11. First big rock show was KISS in November of 1979, Peter Criss' last tour.

Oh, and Christmas music is just about the worst music, except maybe for religious music. Now let's see what kind of hate mail I get for that!

QUOTE (1-0-0-1-0-0-1 @ Dec 3 2009, 05:41 PM) QUOTE (CygnusX-1Bk2 @ Dec 3 2009, 08:39 PM) I detest Christmas. Another year, another bag of coal for Cyg. No wonder you're disgruntled! Well, it all stems from my birthday being 2 days before and my mother's two weeks before. We have issues. Although it seems I have finally bought a house and should be able to move in around my birthday/Christmas. Happy holidays for a change!

I detest Christmas.

I like Unmasked, despite it's watered down pop style. I also like the Elder.

Yeah, that's why he left. They were supposed to tour but Ace was in the hospital. I remember buying my tickets for that show based on a pink section ad with Ace on it (essentially the Creatures cover). Then I show up at the show and there's some guy with a golden Ankh on his face instead. F***ing with my head man!

"I still love you...."

I like the original cover because it has Ace on it, though he's nowhere to be found on the album because he wrecked his DeLorian.

Whatever And Ever, Amen is a great record. Excellent lyrics and catchy tunes. The other stuff, not as much.

Oops.

Let me further this with: Paul plays drums on Back in the USSR because Ringo quit at one point. Paul also plays drums on The Ballad of John and Yoko. George is not on that song either, just John and Paul. Before Anthology there were two official versions of Love Me Do, the Single version and the Please Please Me album version. On the single version Ringo plays drums and there is no tambourine. This was recorded during the album session for Please Please Me. The Love Me Do on the album has session drummer Andy White on drums and Ringo plays the tambourine. This was the Beatles first return date to Abbey Road after hiring Ringo. George Martin was not impressed with Pete Best and hired White for the session without knowing who Ringo was or that he had been brought into the band. The guitar solos in The End are George, Paul and John trading riffs, in that order.

Well, my boxed set finally arrived yesterday morning. I have Mono. Stumbled upon the last Stereo set at Rasputin's in Concord. Double Score! I replaced all of the "old" stereo versions with the newly remastered versions in my iTunes library. I think I'll give the old discs to my nephews so they can discover the Beatles for themselves. First thing I listened to was Sgt. Pepper "side 1" in Mono through headphones (which was the way I always listened to this growing up). There are some very interesting differences in the mixes from song to song. Even vocal processing is different in some cases. It is very interesting having been familiar with only the stereo version. When I got the stereo set I immediately put With The Beatles in my car cd player. Wow! Let me just say it is the same tunes, but there is just MORE. Everything is so much more defined. I have listened (in release order- including singles) from Love Me Do through Please Please Me, With The Beatles, A Hard Day's Night and I Feel Fine/She's a Woman (I broke Past Masters up into their actual singles sorted by release date so they fall between the albums). The old versions are hollow comparatively. Vocals are clearer and have a nice sheen to them. The instruments are well defined and pop. There is added oomph in the low end so the mixes are bit more punchier than could ever have been on vinyl. On the whole I am very pleased with the way the remasters sound. It's like cleaning the build up off of a window. You didn't realize how clean it could be. Worth replacing the old discs with these. Each of the stereo discs comes with a booklet and a mini documentary on the making of the respective album. Ok, now here's how they get you. Not only because there were different unique mono and stereo mixes for much of their catalog, but the only way to get all of the stereo remasters from the original 60's masters is you have to buy both boxes. You see Help! and Rubber Soul in the stereo set are remasters of the 1986 George Martin masters. The original 1965 stereo remasters are on the mono discs. This really f*cks with my iTunes a bit because what I want are all of the original masters from the 60's. But because they are on one disc it is hard to replace the other stereo versions. This my own problem I suppose. Anyway, what this means is that Help and Rubber Soul were remastered 3 times each this time. That and there are certain mono versions of songs in the stereo set because there are no real stereo versions of those songs. Also, if you are looking to replace the old versions in your iTunes (rather than just adding these as additional) there are a few songs that are slightly differently named; such as "You're Gonna Lose That Girl" is now "You're Going To Lose That Girl" which is not huge, but filenames are different so it won't overwrite the previous version with the different spelling. You will have to edit before importing. There are a handful of others. Anyway, I highly recommend getting any of the newly remastered Beatles albums.

Steely Dan tonight doing the Aja set. A buddy of mine got me a "KISS" ticket for Oakland next month.

Decent film. Nothing earthshaking, but worth seeing.

I remember when Roudness played at the Omni in Oakland. They couldn't speak any English. only "Lock-ee-lo! accompanied by devil horns.

THIS DAY IN KISSTORY 1978 The KISS Solo Albums: Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley were released on September 18, 1978. The Solo Albums represented the first time ever that all the members of a band released solo works on the same day. All 4 albums shipped platinum! http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs238.snc1/8521_157191956411_64075031411_3510649_7832715_n.jpg