Lonely Is The Word

Lonely Is The Word

It's a long way to nowhere
And I'm leaving very soon
On the way we pass so close
To the back side of the moon

Come join the traveller
If you've got nowhere to go
Hang your head and take my hand
It's the only road I know

Oh, lonely is the word

I've been higher than stardust
I've been seen upon the sun
I used to count in millions then
Now I only count in ones
Come join the traveller
If you've got nowhere to go
Hang your head and take my hand
It's the only road I know

Got to be the saddest sound I've ever heard
Yeah, lonely is the name
Maybe life's a losing game.

Ronnie James Dio (July 10, 1942 - May 16, 2010) holds a remarkable place in heavy metal and heavy rock history. When Ritchie Blackmore walked away from the extremely successful Deep Purple to found a solo project, as he felt his bandmates were taking a bad direction, he was doubly fortunate. Firstly he was able to recruit RJD to his band that would début with the album 'Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow' in 1975. It was phenomenally good, very influential and there were three things that really matter here:

• Blackmore and Dio clicked, sharing similar ambition.
• Blackmore could write heavy rock music, Dio could both write and sing the lyrics to go with it.
• They were both phenomenal virtuoso guitarists, giving Rainbow something that Deep Purple never quite had.

Rainbow were to record three almost flawless albums with Dio, during the UK Punk period that was then making life very difficult for heavy rock/metal. That was not to be the end of Dio however for when Ozzy Osbourne quit the increasingly fossilized Black Sabbath the others quickly recruited him and the result was another remarkable album.
The Black Sabbath albums, 'Black Sabbath' and 'Paranoid' (both 1970) still stand the test of time but so does 'Heaven and Hell' (1980), which marked a return to favour for the band and another level of achievement.

Music and arrangement is credited to all four band members, and it is something of a departure from the previous albums, but all lyrics are credited to Dio - and in those it shows. Never before had Sabbath revealed something so credible, yet elegantly elegiac, as Lonely Is The Word. It is the last track on 'Heaven and Hell'.

More importantly, given his track record, and I feel that this issue is understated in importance as well as the second in which Blackmore was prescient; Dio was an American in a genre that until that point had been largely been dominated by either UK or German (sometimes co-operative such as UFO) heavy rock/metal. Had that not been the case then I rather doubt that the situation would be as it is now, on either side of the Atlantic.

We sailed across the air
Before we learned to fly
We thought that it could never end
We'd glide above the ground
Before we learned to run
Now it seems our world has come undone.

I can only try to imagine how much time I spent listening to music like this in my college years and now I don't regret it for a moment.

We can but mourn knowing

Heaven rocks tonight.

Veteran of the psychic wars? Maybe, but now the battle.

The US presidential race has, particularly given the choice of candidates and the global economic developments that have in recent weeks swirled around, made what was always going to be an interesting race far-and-away more fascinating than most. In fact it was already so interesting that a significant portion of the UK population, myself very much included, had already paid sufficient attention to actually discover in detail what the campaign issues are and even gone to the extent of trying to understand how the voting system is configured!

It has impinged on music too (so no change there) in so much as some bands, Foo Fighters being one that come to mind, have challenged the use of their songs in political advertising campaigns that do not equate with their own views. That is one for the courts to finally settle; but if all the dues have been paid by those contracted to those entitled to them, and no other binding contracts infringed, I can't see how such matters of 'political taste' can be invoked. It is, perhaps, intended more as a media-visible partisan statement, which is in itself interesting.
This particular case involves the use of music by the McCain campaign but of course he has his vehement supporters, in music as elsewhere, too and given that it was described in part as a meeting of 'Black Sabbath' and Blue Öyster Cult plus other heavy rock influences, when I was informed of the album Axis of Evil by Babylon Mystery Orchestra yesterday curiosity actually got the better of me!

The album, Axis Of Evil, probably isn't available in the UK, and while the politics doesn't appeal to me, I think that the music itself possibly does. Music as a political vehicle is something that, conceptually, I have no problem with at all and that is regardless of whether I actually like the music and/or the message.

I do still very much like Blue Öyster Cult however, as I've rediscovered over the last two evenings, and I even saw them live at the Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall on 28th September 1987.
I don't think however that I've listened to either Fire Of Unknown Origin (1981) or Extraterrestrial - Live (1982) for at least a decade, despite the fact that I have owned both on original vinyl for the last two decades. It just shows what being sent an e-mail can do!

If you want blood, you've got it (Babylon Mystery Orchestra also cite AC/DC amongst their influences) because the wonderful folks at CD Baby in Portland, OR have it ready and waiting. As of this evening they were offering it at $10.00, plus $5.00 for standard (postal) shipping to the UK, and that's about £8.80 (including postage) at the current exchange rate. (You can get it from amazon.com too but it will cost you more and anyway CD baby specialise in independent music and have an interesting corporate philosophy. That is not to say anything about the message you'll get when you receive an order confirmation...

Music and the new politics...

Music has for many decades been intertwined with politics and in 2008, given the rather different and yet complementary situations in the UK and the USA, I reckon it looks like being a splendid year.
We know in rough terms what Gordon Brown and David Cameron like, in music at least, because they have said as much in radio interviews. We know that Tony Blair played guitar and that Bill Clinton played saxophone, but as far as I know we know little about the music preferences of either John McCain or Barack Obama.
Music is very unlikely to directly influence national politics, but it is not to be disregarded. The opposite assertion is not however quite so obvious. Political change, or even a sense of disaffection, can easily do that. One could argue that the rise of punk, at least in the UK, was equally symptom and phenomenon. The payback came a few years later, with a rising resentment at having our lives dictated by government, which is somehow becoming resonant once again. I don't smoke, I never have, and I don't like being in a smoke filled space. I'm not given to playing card games either. If I lack one vice it is gambling - not for reasons of morality but simply because it holds no appeal for me. That doesn't mean I'm averse to making predictions and I can fully appreciate the sentiment that was captured on this album cover in 1980.

Sometimes rebellion is important...

The sentiment reappeared, with a different focus, some years later in northwestern America and Canada, but also elsewhere and certainly not least in Britain. When it comes to it these days few acts have the vision, but then they never did, and fewer still are able to take the risk even in a democracy, when it comes to setting themselves against the political establishment. Here are two that, despite some tough times, have done America proud.

They were no longer angry young men, rather seasoned veterans, and in 2004 this album was to prove a defining moment, not only for Green Day, but also for north American music.

In fact the reverberations went back further than that.

In 2005 they played two concerts in Milton Keynes Bowl, England, on successive nights and the 72000 tickets for each show all sold within two hours; these remain the fastest selling UK single-artist concerts to date.
A little earlier, in 2003, another rather different act was to court controversy, while touring in the UK, and with alarming results back home.

They were starting a live gig in London when Natalie Maines suddenly made that infamous announcement, just after the beginning of the second Iraq war. It was the start of troubled times but, once the tide had changed, they returned triumphant with the utterly uncompromising and unrepentant album 'Taking The Long Way'. That they wiped the floor at the 2007 Grammy Awards, winning five, and in doing so were also the first act to win 'Best Album' and 'Best Country Album' simultaneously, says a great deal.

The Ghost of Christmas Past...

I like Christmas, when it actually arrives, but with the six weeks leading up to it I have various problems. I'm clearly getting old as it seems a case of wishing six weeks of one's life away; for kids that's probably fine but for the rest of us doesn't that merely seem a waste of time?
On the music front it is, rather than 'Christmas Cheer', more a case of 'Christmas Fear' - a deadly serious industry battle for the mysterious kudos associated (at least in the UK) with "The Christmas # 1" (single) and the hearts and minds of those who buy CDs (or whatever) only at this time and for, mostly younger, family members of whose musical tastes they understandably have little or no comprehension. I don't actually entirely understand my own, so attempting to second-guess such things on behalf of others hardly seems a credible undertaking.

On 'reality TV' there is a parade of wannabes and their gang-masters in behest of the major labels. Deadly twins both and equally Dickensian in their tortuous ventures towards assuaging their vices - for the former the holy grail of 'celebrity', for the latter 'bankability' - and between them there is precious little to discern. A few achieve it, fewer still go on to make a career of it and the odd one goes further still. To be honest that applies to both sides pretty equally, except that some are more equal than others. Those already on the industry side tend to start out better off and with the lion's share of the decision-making power. It has ever been thus...

The compilation "Now That's What I Call Christmas" will be playing, yet again, in every shop and this year the most successful 'Christmas #1" artists ever' (1996,7 &8) - a.k.a. The Spice Girls - are back in the reckoning but it could be worse, I suppose, as there is inevitably a new release by Sir Cliff Richard.
There will also be numerous other compilations, some released by the behemoths of decades past and they are not always without real merit, particularly as an introduction to those artists for anyone not already familiar with their work. One trend in 2007 (that I totally failed to see coming) was the rising popularity of certain bands from the 1970s: amongst the prominent are, perhaps least surprisingly giving their high-profile 2007 reunion concert appearance, Pink Floyd but also Black Sabbath and Thin Lizzy. I certainly don't need any compilations of the latter two bands as I have almost all of it already.

That includes some possibly unusual items. Before Thin Lizzy moved to the Vertigo label for the their fourth album, 'Nightlife' (1974), they were signed to Decca Recordings. In those days promotional copies for review by radio DJs were specially pressed 7" vinyl , often in the format of a 45 rpm EP. This one was produced for the release of Thin Lizzy's album 'Vagabonds Of The Western World', their last album released by Decca, in 1973.

The A-side consists of ' Vagabonds Of The Western World' and 'The Rocker', which was to be a career-long live favourite, and the B-side has 'Gonna Creep Up On You' and 'Little Girl In Bloom'.
That is enough nostalgia for now but it does prompt me to say that this a good time to delve into all that you had neglected before, whether that is this year or even decades ago.
Just in case you had forgotten, and I had until just this evening, reacquaint yourself with Thin Lizzy's first album released on Vertigo in the UK (on Mercury/Phonogram in the US), which was 'Nightlife' (1974). It is readily, and cheaply, available on CD and it sounds as good now as it always has. If you can be bothered to track down an original vinyl copy, and that is what I'm listening to right now (actually an original Mercury one from the USA), then all I can say is good for you! This another temporary image and I'll try to add a better one later this weekend.
That's better - 17th November.

This is the 1974 US version of Nightlife as released on Mercury.
[Click on it for a larger image as is now a common feature here.]

'Live and Dangerous' (1978) still remains one of the best live albums I've got. There are indeed many who would say that it is one of the best live albums ever - see numerous reviews on-line - and I have to say that I'm pretty much down with that. It is also serves as a fine compilation of their best output from Nightlife up until that point!

Here is a more difficult challenge - but it is purely as a matter of fun - and that is to try and divine what kinds of music and maybe even (if I/you/we were feeling brave) those artists that will be big in 2008!

Halloween -- instrumental rot -- To Rococo Rot -- or rot in hell?

I've been asked recently what I thought about 2007 and what I might expect of 2008. If I were able to do the latter with any reliability then I most probably would not be doing the job that I do now.
As it is only the start of November I'm going to keep my partly evolved thoughts, such as they are, a secret for now and focus on other music I have and like. I had intended to compile a playlist for Halloween but I never got around to doing it. In fact it seems that it doesn't matter at all as it will be just as appropriate for all the dark winter nights, bonfires, feasts, fireworks and the like regardless of what the remembrance is for.
Lyrically this kind of situation is a minefield but there are plenty willing to take the challenge however. Instrumental rock and pop is rather conveniently in the throes of a revival and, while it has its roots in earlier times, I think it still has a great deal to offer.

For spooky listening just start here (and suggest your own favourites):

Rock It To The Moon - Electrelane (1998)

Yes, it is almost ten years since this was released and it was their first album but this is still so good. There are no decipherable lyrics (except on the 'hidden track' at the end) but that is no problem! There are human voices on some, on the first track there is just a dog barking, but the arrangements are amazing.

Far more recent (2007), and perhaps rather more electronic, is abc123 by To Rococo Rot.

This EP (an 8-track 45 rpm vinyl 12") is released by Domino Records and it is well worth having.
What is more, and particularly if you find it too cheerful, try playing it at 33 rpm instead; while rather different in mood it still seems to sound authentic!

If you really crave absolute authenticity, and a desire to rot in hell circa 1970, then Black Sabbath and the albums Black Sabbath and Paranoid are prerequisite and these should really be on original vinyl (Vertigo). That would take some beating!
November 9:
That temporary image is no more! Here is an image that is the real deal instead.

The album was released over thirty-seven years ago and, quite coincidentally, on the very same day that I started at primary school aged almost 4½! I don't remember the original release, of course, but the image above is taken, notwithstanding, from the cover of an original 'Vertigo' vinyl copy from 1970 that I now have. (Click the image - as often is the case in this blog - for a larger version of the image that, in this case, is 800 x 800 pixels.) To take the story to the present I actually took this image this evening using the original vinyl album, a digital camera and nothing else particularly clever.