My Collection: Highway to Hell

Okay, so I’ve been gone for a while. It’s been a bit of a rough stretch, I’ve had some trouble adulting. Poor eating habits combined with lack of exercise have combined to make the last few weeks not good in the sleeping department, contributing to the mental health woes, but after a good run last night, I’m hoping I can get back on track. I might even have the next update a little early. So, on to the music…

Now, here we are at Highway to Hell. I’m not going to go through the tracks in too much detail, this is going to be a bit more about my overall feelings on the album. First off, I’m going to mention that I have a lot of trouble picking an all time favourite anything. My tastes change so much with my mood, that it’s tough enough to pick a top five anything, let alone favourite. This feeling is amplified in my musical taste as well. However, in this case, there is little doubt that Highway to Hell is my favourite AC/DC album. Talk about starting off right, with the title track an instant classic on side one, track one. While I would consider it one of only two truly stand-out tracks on the album, there are few weaknesses on it. It just fits together so well as an album, while maintaining a sense that every song is distinct and different. Something more modern albums have a lot of trouble doing. In my ratings of albums, this aspect of album creation gets a lot of credit. Making music is tough enough, being able to make a dozen different songs, and make them all sound unique is quite an accomplishment.

I find it ironic that one criticism of AC/DCs work in general is that they keep putting out the same album over and over again. I, of course, think this is abolute bollocks. It might hold a bit more weight in the Brian Johnson era, but in my humble opinion Bon Scott does not get enough credit for his writing contribution. While I think the overall song quality dropped a bit after Bon’s death, there is no doubt the Young boys and Mr. Johnson can still put out a rockin’ tune. Have they managed to get back to the album-craft that they achieved with Highway to Hell? Not really, but that’s okay. Not every hit needs to be a home run…

My Collection: Powerage

In my humble opinion, Powerage is one of the more underappreciated AC/DC albums. The 1978 release didn’t sell nearly as well as 1976’s Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (US 6x platinum), or its immediate successor Highway to Hell (US 7x platinum). It didn’t even sell as well as Let There Be Rock (US 2x platinum). Personally I chalk this up to lack of ear-grabbing singles, but what do I know. Therin lies the perceptual problem with Powerage specifically, and with certain albums in general. If there isn’t a hit single, and there pretty clearly isn’t one on Powerage, then the album is essentially lost. Forgotten by all but the most die-hard fans. There is probably only the one “hit” single on Let There Be Rock, and it’s still not an overly popular one (even if she is a whole lot of woman). While the lone single released from Powerage, Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation, certainly sounds like an AC/DC single, it just isn’t in the same stratosphere of popularity of a Dirty Deeds or Highway to Hell. So what does that make the album as a whole? Fantastic, that’s what.

It’s a great album. Interesting and distinct songs. Good lyrics, catchy riffs, solid beats. What’s not to love? Without much doubt, it ranks right up there with Highway to Hell as my favourite AC/DC albums. While the highs may not be as high as Highway, it arguably has fewer lows. I don’t want to say too much about Highway to Hell, as that’s next up in the My Collection rotation, so I’ll just leave it at that, and get to what’s what on Powerage.

Right out of the gate we have the sinlgle from the album, Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation. As I mentioned before, it certainly sounds like a single, but for whatever reason it doesn’t get the lovin’ that AC/DC singles usually do. That’s too bad, as it does hold up pretty well as a side 1, track 1. Down Payment Blues sounds completely and utterly like Bon Scott. Along with Rock ‘n’ Roll Singer, these two songs are how I would describe him musically to someone who had never heard of him. After another solid track in Gimme a Bullet, we get to one of the two hiccups on the album. It’s not that I don’t like Riff Raff, it’s just that it wears on my. I find it overly repetitive, and not very interesting. It does seem a little tragic that some awesome Angus guitarwork is mired in the middle of the song, as that’s really the only redeeming quality.

Now, one of the qualities of this album is that tracks 5 through 8 are arguably better than tracks 1 to 4. That’s pretty rare, but starting with Sin City (which should have been a single) you are treated to four tracks of gold, highlighted by the criminally under-rated Gone Shootin’. This is easily my favourite track on the album. It’s just so damn, cool. Following this is a great track to end an album on, Up to My Neck in You. Unfortunately it isn’t the last song on the album. Here we have hiccup number two, Kicked in the Teeth. I see this as almost Riff Raff part 2. I honestly this the album would have been much better without this track. Up to My Neck would have been a great track to end on. Kicked in the Teeth just can’t maintain any good rhythm. It seems ovely janky and disjointed. Kind of like my writing, I suppose, but still a bad way to end an album. It just sort of, ends. Without the ending, and with a slightly better opening, I think this album would be remembered as the classic it should be.

I can’t really blame them for the poor ending. I have no idea how to write endings either, but you still need to do something better than just an abrupt end, followed by silence. Too bad you can’t fade away in writing…

My Collection: Trusted by Millions

So I wanted to look at when my 54-40 albums were released, and I popped into Wikipedia. As I’m perusing their discography, I am drawn to their later releases. Now, I remember Casual Viewin’, but after that nothing. I had no idea they released anything post 2000, save for the singles collection I have, Radio Love Songs (2002). Heading down to the list of singles and their release dates, I am still not recognizing anything post-2002. So, I guess they fit the profile for “fade away,” rather than “burn out.”

To the album.

I really like the movie High Fidelity. I’m a big John Cusack fan, and the movie uses music to enhance the story in a terrific way. There’s a scene in the record shop where the guys are listing their “top five track one, side ones.” I think Cheer Up Peru from Trusted by Millions might make my list. If not top five, then honourable mentions. It’s exactly the catchy upbeat song that I like a happy album to start out with. Now, clearly that’s not the only way to go. We’ll get to my all time favourite track one, side one, when we get to The Hip, and it goes in a totally different direction. But this works well for this album.

The album keeps up the pace with Stick to Milly, a song where you would never be able to guess the title from the lyrics. Those tend to amuse me ever since a previous guitar teacher of mine asked the class to name as many songs as we could that didn’t contain the name of the song in the chorus. From here the album moves along nicely to 54-40 mainstay Love You All, and my favourite 54-40 track, Crossing a Canyon. This is an example of a phenomenon I encounter partially due to my love of album construction: my favourite song from a band isn’t on my favourite album of theirs. Here we see one example, and another I can think of off of the top of my head is from my punk catalog. I’m pretty excited for us to get to Bad Religion.

Unfortunately after Crossing a Canyon the album starts a gentle slide downhill. HJooked on Bliss is a rather undistinguishable track. Not unpleasant to listen to, and it fits well on the album, but it’s just not overly noteworthy. The album looks like it might recover from this with the surprisingly good Couldn’t be Sorry. This is a groovy little tune that probably could have done pretty well as a single. I like it, and generally wouldn’t skip over it when listening to the CD. Tragically, this is where the wheels really start to come off. the next song is vying for the “worst track on the album” title. This Is My Haircut would have made the album better with it’s exclusion. The next few songs are musically unremarkable, though there seems to be an attempt to try some different things musically. Sadly nothing really works. I am slightly amused by the title Frankl’s Revenge, as I find the existentialist in me hoping it’s a reference to Viktor Frankl, the founder of logotherapy. The lyrics certainly suggest that it is, and that’s awesome. Muscially it’s the best of a bad lot, in my opinion, as it’s followed up by I Love Candy, and Cry a Little.

Now, we come to an interesting track. Here, right at the very end of the album, 54-40 chooses to stash Lies to Me. Really? Here? Talk about a deep cut. This peppy little number is a short, catchy jaunt that sounds great on the album, and plays even better live. I honestly think the album would have worked much better if they had dropped This Is My Haircut and Cry a Little, and moved Lies to Me up into it’s position in track 7. Less dead space, tighter, more focused album. I don’t really have anything against Cry a Little, it just really doesn’t work where it is. It seems to be a little experimental for the album (their version of Revolution No.9) and doesn’t fit well.

So, all in all I like the album. Some great tracks, and a good feel to it. Just a little too long, with a couple duds on it. I would say that it’s probably not as good an album as Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret, but it’s a case of the high’s being higher, but the lows being lower.

My Collection: Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret

To begin, a few ground rules. These posts will be about my CD collection. My first albums were on cassette tape. I did have a couple of albums on vinyl (still do), but the vast majority of my early acquisitions were tapes. I still remember the first album I purchased for myself: Killers by Kiss. You’ll have to wait for my first CD acquisition, it’s down in the W’s.

I was debating just posting about the albums as I felt like talking about them, but I decided going in a specific order would force me to talk about more of my collection than I would have otherwise. I won’t be doing compilation albums (greatest hits, retrospectives, tribute albums, soundtracks), just straight up studio albums. Sorry, no live content. I’ll be going through the artists in alphabetical order, and when I have multiple albums from the same artist I’ll try to do the albums chronologically, but I make no promises I won’t screw up. In fact, you might want to count on at least one.

I was also thinking of going track by track, but for the most part, I think that would leave me with a whole lot of comments like “I don’t really like this track. Next.” So I will generally just be giving my overall impressions and thoughts on the album, plus whatever little nugget pops into my skull while I’m writing about it.

Without further ado, I give you 54-40’s 1994 release, Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret.

I tend to think of 54-40 as an iconic Canadian band. I was aware of them before they played my frosh week in university, but only peripherally. Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret wasn’t the first album of theirs that I purchased, and I don’t remember what specifcally drew me to it, but it turned out to have a fantastic example of a surprise gem. Sometimes you buy an album because you like the band, or want to try them out. Sometimes you buy an album for a track or two. In this case I bought the album for a few of the tracks: Blame Your Parents, Radio Luv Song, Assoholic, and Ocean Pearl specifcally. Sure I think that they’re all great songs, but as it turned out, my favourite track isn’t any of those. It’s What Buddy Was. To me, this was a surprise gem on the album. Sunk deep into the album at track 13, you’re mired in the midst of the weak tracks. However, right from the get-go it sinks its hooks into you. There is something to be said for a simple drum beat and baseline. Almost a little Daft Punk-ish.

Generally I really like this album. It’s pretty solid through and through, with a good lineup of solid tracks and the aforementioned surprise gem. I think it does have a few duds (I’m looking at you Don’t Listen to That, Friends End, and Save Yourself), but even those serve as a kind of palate clenser. Also, I can’t really blame an album for having a few duds. I find it incredibly rare that I can site and listen to an entire album without wanting to skip a few tracks. Sure, some of them grow on you in time, but it is truly a feat (and probably a bit of luck) to create an album of 10-15 songs that are all great, or even good. Overall this album has more ups than downs, and is a solid effort from a solid Canadian outfit.

See you Tuesday.