Music Reviews - AC/DC, Tesla and Sammy Hagar

I've been meening to get this done for a few weeks and finally got around to finishing it. I have reviewed 3 recent cd releases and given my (in)expert opinion, for what it's worth. Agree or disagree as you wish but here are my reviews:

AC/DC “Black Ice”

This is a very good release from these Australian masters. AC/DC often get tagged with having every song sound the same but it’s not quite true. To be sure a lot of their music does sound similar but not all of it sounds exactly the same. Amazingly that’s what people not only do not mind but have come to expect from them. That’s why track 4 “Anything Goes” is a love it or hate it song for most fans. The boys break from tradition and try something a bit different and totally unexpected. This song isn’t as bad as it’s made out to be but does sound like something that would have been done by a much different band. Most of my favorite songs are on the front end such as “War Machine”, “Big Jack” and “Spoilin’ For A Fight.” That doesn’t mean that the 2nd half is a let down by any stretch of the imagination. There’s more of a bluesy feel to it which is fine by mean. The Bottom Line: This cd is well worth the money as the boys from down under are back and rocking.

Tesla “Forever More”

I have to say that I just recently got into Tesla thanks to a friend from work who shall remain nameless (that means you Marv). Sure I listened to their hits in the 80s and enjoyed them but for some reason never went any further with it. That atrocity has been corrected. I saw them earlier in the year and they flat out blew me away. That only made me hungry for new Tesla music. Simply put this is an extremely good cd that you need to go buy. The topics/lyrics of tracks like “So What” and “Just In Case” amaze me with their insight. Then there is “Private Ledbetter” which deals with a family and what they must be going through while their son, brother, etc is fighting for his country in Iraq. It doesn’t preach or puff up false patriotism. No, the song only tells it like it is. There are enough rockers and ballads for everyone. Basically put this is Tesla doing what they do best. Do yourself a favor, first buy this cd and then go see them if they come anywhere close to you. You won’t be disappointed unless of course you’re some mopey emo kid and then you’ll be thrilled by being mopey.

Sammy Hagar “Cosmic Universal Fashion”

I’m sure to get some hate on this but this cd is simply dreadful. I used to love Sammy before he joined Van Halen when he really was The Red Rocker. I even went to see him open for ZZ Top at my first ever real concert. Now I know he’s older but still, for awhile he was doing his “Jimmy Buffett on steroids” thing but this is something altogether different. I found the title track to be simply atrocious. Programmed drums with music filtered in and out and Sammy’s semi-spoken vocals just doesn’t sound good at all. This song is supposed to be a sequel of sorts to Van Halen’s “Right Now” content as well as in video but it ends up being a jumbled mess. On his cover of The Beastie Boys “Fight For Your Right To Party” he does punch up the song but it doesn’t really do much for me. The cd closes with a live version of “Dreams/Cabo” that just goes on too long and clearly shows that Sammy cannot hold a candle to Dave’s (Lee Roth) stage patter. At least I found someone who agrees with me (and very closely) on this lump of coal. Head over to http://www.melodicrock.com/ and check out their cd reviews to see their thoughts on this and other releases.

There you have it. Feel free to leave a messsage and I'll add it as soon as possible. Coming soon: Chinese Democracy review, Stuck In The 80s and how well (or not) the 2008 concert year was for me.

AC/DC tickets too expensive?

When word started spreading a few months back that AC/DC was to release a new album and start a tour before the year was over I was very excited. You see, AC/DC is one of those groups from back in the day that I never was able to see in concert most directly because they never came around anyplace close to where I was living. When you’re young it’s very easy to think that it’s no big deal if you can’t see a concert, you’ll just catch the band the next time around. That certainly backfired for me before with groups like The Police since they took over 20 years to tour the “next time around.” The more I thought about AC/DC the more I came to believe that this is it for them. By the time they finish this tour, take a break and relax, they most probably will decide it’s time to end this chapter of their lives. When you look at their age, combined with how long it’s been between their current album (Black Ice) and their previous album (2001s Stiff Upper Lip) it doesn’t look good for the future. Of course in a few years they may decide to do it all again, who’s to say?

So I sat their thinking about all of this and decided that now was the time to see them in concert. There may not be another chance so I needed to take it while I could. My wife even agreed and said she’d go to see them with me. Somehow I just knew that they would play here in Tulsa. It just made too much sense what with the new BOK Center opening up and booking all sorts of national tours to fill their seats. Why not AC/DC? The first leg of the tour was announced and unfortunately they were not coming anywhere close to us. Still, I knew it would be a long tour and that I’d just have to wait patiently until the 2009 dates were announced. My faith was undiminished. This would be the year.

Then I started hearing rumors of how much tickets for this tour were going to cost. It was incredible, astounding, unbelievable, ridiculous and a whole lot of other big words. Interestingly enough, the price would not increase the closer you got to the stage. No, the price would be the same if you were front row or in the highest of the nosebleed seats. I’m still internally debating how much sense that makes. After factoring in all the extra fees (don’t get me started on this topic) that come with the opportunity to buy a concert ticket nowadays I knew the price would exceed $100 per ticket and most likely be in the $115 range if not more. Given the downturn in our economy and the recent fiscal crunch in my own household I started thinking that the only way I’d be able to see AC/DC was if I was able to win tickets, not an easy or enjoyable prospect to say the least.

Ah but luck decided to shine her fair light upon me. We were a bit behind at work and my manager let me have a few hours of overtime. I consoled myself with the thought that at least it would pay for half of a ticket and decided to have faith that more overtime would be forthcoming the following week, so then leaving my reservations behind I jumped into the ticket buying stream with full force. My reward was to receive decent seats in the middle left which should afford a very nice view of the stage. Best of all, I did receive enough overtime to the following week to pay for the tickets. My faith was rewarded and life goes happily on. Now I have something to look forward to these next 3 months or so. A light at the end of the rainbow so to speak.

There is no way possible that I could justify taking money out of the household, away from raising my baby, to fund this attempt at reliving my youth, at seeing a group I never had the chance to see when I (and they) were quite a bit younger. Indeed I could not have afforded buying these monstrously overpriced tickets without the overtime from work and quite honestly I don’t know if I will ever do so again. To spend so much money when there are other things that the money could be better spent on seems to be so self indulgent that it makes me feel as if I am doing something wrong. Then after some (quick) deep thinking I have come to see the truth of it all, that this is living. This is enjoying life and making memories and that’s what it really is all about. Sure I could invest the money in something for the house, an extra payment for the car or some other form of drudgery but seriously where’s the fun in that? It comes down to the fact that there are times where you have to have some fun doing something instead of planning to do something. And that is what I have chosen to do. It’s the right thing for me. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I've added this postscript late because I found out that the terrific Irish group by the name of The Answer will be opening for AC/DC on this tour. This is incredible news as I've enjoyed their first cd and anxiously await their second. This will indeed be an amazing concert and hopefully well worth the wait and the price.