I feel the need, the need for speed.

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts I have been having problems with the speed of my broadband connection. This hasn’t been a sudden problem but rather a steady deterioration of the speeds I’ve been able to get. Under normal circumstances this wouldn’t have been too much of a problem, it’s not like I do a whole load of downloading apart from a couple of podcasts each week, but it has seriously impacted on my Warcraft game play. Trust me a 2 second delay is no fun on an instance run and means instant death in PvP.

The chaps at the online Virgin help desk have been anything but helpful and to be honest fairly patronising at times. The first chap told me that everything was fine at their end so the problem was probably with BT but as I was due a free upgrade to 8mb the reconfiguration of the line should sort out my problem. “Just give it a couple of weeks after the upgrade and you should notice the difference because you are so close to the exchange you’ll get the full 8mb. Oh, and the upgrade should be made within the next 7-10days”. So three weeks in which I will experience fluctuating connection speeds but with a super fast connectivity at the end of it all.

Of course it didn’t quite work out like that, despite the upgrade being made in the quoted timescale my connection speeds some 4 weeks later were averaging at about 0.8mb with lows of 0.2 and the occasional high of 1.6. So another visit to the Virgin help desk and after being ignored or disconnected by a couple of operatives I finally got through to someone. After explaining the history of my problem this new chap said the problem was neither with themselves or BT but rather much more likely to be the fault of my PC. Explaining that I had probably installed something which was using all of my bandwidth, such as my security software, he suggested I check the PC. He then proceeded into a jargon fest that left my limited PC knowledge stuck at the first sentence. When I asked him to put it in words of one syllable he obviously couldn’t be bothered and suggested that I get someone in who knew what they were doing to have a look at the PC. Jeez thanks a bundle.

Not knowing anyone locally who could help I sent out a distress call to my online chums who kindly responded by taking me through things stage by stage to check my PC out. The end result seems to be that there is nothing obvious on there that should cause me to slow down so dramatically and everything appears to be set up correctly. My final check is to take a laptop from work home and check to see if I have the same problems using that and hence confirm my PC is OK. I hope this gets sorted and I don’t have to resort to an ISP change, I’ve been with Virgin since getting an internet capable PC some 10+ years ago and feel something of a bond with them (i.e. I can’t be arsed to go around changing the email address for all my newsgroups etc.).

Hot And Heavy

Well what a great night Friday turned out to be good food, good company and too much to drink, a great combination. To be honest after a pretty crappy day at work half of me just wanted to soak in the bath and get an early night in but luckily the other half won the argument and off I went to the great NWOBHM curry get together.

I wasn’t sure how well I would fit in to be honest; these guys had known each other for years and all are still playing whereas I met some of them a couple of times and I haven’t picked up my guitar in the year since I was diagnosed. I needn’t have worried as everyone was more than welcoming and the conversation was general enough to allow me to add my two pennies worth, surprising them on occasion with snippets of info I threw into the mix.

Not surprisingly the conversation centred on music both past and present with stories of missed opportunities rubbing shoulders with those of lucky escapes. Poor Ian McCormack, not present and unable to defend himself, came in for some severe ribbing for his exploits from his time occupying the drum stool with Satan (may have been Pariah or both but let’s face it they are the same band anyway). The falling asleep on the toilet story in particular had everyone choking on their drink and wishing they weren’t eating, cheers Russ. Another highlight was our table serenading Kev to the strains of Angel Witch as he came back to the table from the loos much to the confusion of all the other punters and Kev’s great annoyance.

With the poor waiters wanting to return Khan’s to some semblance of normality we departed to the Corner House for further libation whilst waiting for our cabs. The general consensus was that the evening had been a great success and we should all make an effort to repeat the proceedings in the not too distant future i.e. we may get around to it sometime next year.

Both Kev and Russ came back to my place afterwards in a cunning ploy to get one of them to restring my guitar which had been A string less since a cack handed retune in December. Well that and the fact that Gill would have killed me if she had missed the opportunity to see Kev before he headed back to sleepy Kent on Tuesday. The usual digging into the CD collection to find stuff they might like ensued and I scored big time with Nantucket Sleighride by Mountain. OK so it was a safe choice but surprisingly neither of them had heard the whole thing. The Coheed and Cambria DVD also went down quite well especially as Kev was planning to blow a shed load of money on a Gibson Explorer the following day.

The night’s proceedings came to an end at about 3am when it was decided that any further intake of alcohol would prohibit the passage of neural impulses to our leg muscles. Packing Russ and Kev on their way I made my way to bed and after sleeping through most of Saturday I eventually returned to some semblance of sobriety on Sunday.

Making A Meal Out Of The NWOBHM

So much for my keeping up to date with this, sheesh. Paul’s Best Of 2006 CD is going to have to wait a little longer for a review as it is still in the car and I haven’t had a chance to sit down and write a few notes yet. Well when I say ‘haven’t had a chance’ what I mean is that I found other things to do, mainly playing WoW although even that has problematical. More of which later.

I won’t be reviewing or playing WoW tomorrow night as I’ve had an invite from Russ to go out for a curry ‘with the lads’. ‘The lads’ in this case are all members/ex-members of various NWOBHM bands. We have Russ himself (Satan, Blind Fury, Pariah), Kev (Angel Witch), Shaun (Raven, Satan, Pariah, Tytan etc etc), Steve (Satan, Blind Fury, Pariah, Skyklad), Bean (Satan, Blind Fury, Pariah, Skyklad), Alan (Tysondog, Satan, Pariah) and a couple of others who I’m not sure I’ve met yet.

I’ve met all the guys individually or in pairs before so it should be interesting to see what it’s like what they are like when they are all together in one place. I’ll try my best not to feel out of place. Luckily I got a copy of John Tuckers excellent book on the NWOBHM from Gill for Christmas so I should be up to speed on the subject. It has also caused to cruise Amazon in search of long lost gems from the likes of Trespass and Avenger as well as instil the need to go to my parent’s house to hunt out my old 45’s.

The Sword and The Broad Beast

So after yesterdays review of Billy’s disc we come to that supplied by Rob. As I would have expected this offering follows much more of a Classic Rock route than that of Billy and to my ears much better than his 2005 offering. OK on to the review, I give you ‘The Sword and The Broad Beast’...

Space Ship One – Paul Gilbert. This is the one artist that Rob has raved about whenever I have spoken to him this year, non-stop. I was never a huge fan of either of Gilbert’s previous bands Mr Big and Racer X, finding them inoffensive but far from riveting and I guess I feel the same about this. It is very well played stuff that reminds me slightly of Triumph but doesn’t excite me that much, I would happily sit through an album but don’t think I would buy unless I saw it in a bargain bin somewhere.

Come On Up – Girlschool. I was surprised that this lot were still playing never mind recording so I wasn’t expecting this. An updated sound for the girls who are obviously trying to please both old fans and any newer rock fans who stumble across this. Have they succeeded? Well I guess they have to an extent. Would I buy the album after I’ve heard this? No.

Moment of Truth – Bob Catley. You know exactly what you are going to get with Bob, well written, well produced, AOR tinged, hard rock and that’s just what we have here. OK so his voice is not what it used to be but it is still miles better than most vocalists out there trying to produce this sort of stuff and it always brings a smile to my face whenever I hear it.

Control Freak – Roxie 77. Not what I expected to hear on a CD from Rob in that it is a very modern punk/pop/rock track in the vein of Blink 182, Sum 41 et al. The vocalist reminds me of someone but I’m damned if I can pinpoint who just yet. I would be interested to hear more from them.

Rock ‘n’ Roll – Michael Schenker Group. Despite all the crap surrounding Schenker he still occasionally pulls off a blinder, just not this time. It’s not a bad track by any stretch but just not great. The vocals by Graham Bonnet (?) are better than we have heard on an MSG release for a while but where is the solo Michael?

Starlight – Muse. One of the more accessible songs on their latest album and this brings back great memories of a sea of bouncing heads at the Arena.

Heaven and Hell – Benedictum. I still can’t quite believe that this is a female vocalist, but it is, apparently. This is a very nice cover version of the Black Sabbath classic in that it does not just give us a note for note reproduction but they put their own spin on things.

Night of Passion – The Poodles. Yeehaa, it’s the 1980’s all over again, at least that’s what the Poodles would have us believe. They are perhaps the most hyped melodic rock act at the moment along with Wig Wam and they do capture the sound well but I don’t think they will go on to have a lasting or particularly successful career. Lightweight froth...but harmless.

Pay Me My Money Down – Bruce Springsteen. This is more like it. A great drinking tune that sounds as if the band had been practicing for some time. I much prefer Springsteen doing this looser stuff than the MOR rock radio fare he is better known for.

Hard Rock Hallelujah – Lordi. I love the Eurovision Song Contest anyway but this year was something special as Finland gave us a night to remember. I hold my hands up and admit that I did vote for this lot. Twice.

Gonna Get You Someday – Wig Wam. Although they pretty much follow the same formula as The Poodles I think they pull it off slightly better. You send the whole song picking out eighties bands they sound like with Bon Jovi being the most obvious on this track.

Not Ready To Make Nice – Dixie Chicks. When I first heard this I thought it was Maria McKee so they can’t be half bad. I really enjoyed this and will definitely check them out further.

Boneman – From Behind. Featuring one time Samson vocalist Nicky Moore and Manny Charlton once of Nazareth, From Behind offer up an album of good blues rockers. I don’t think is the best track on the album but still well worth a listen.

It’s Not Me – Paul Stanley. Great pop/rock from the Kiss front man. It’s well to be seen where the musical talent lies in the Kiss camp. If he compares this to his own solo release I bet Mr Simmons is spitting blood.

Fighter’s Fist – Taz Taylor Band. Another blues rocker this time with Graham Bonnet on vocals. Graham has had a long, fairly successful career and it is beginning to show just how long in his voice. Still this is better than a lot of stuff from more hyped acts...The Answer, Roadster anyone?

Scattergun – Web Wilder. Now this is a little different, and some. A story song along the lines of Floyd Cramer’s Big Bad John or Stan Ridgway’s Camouflage. I like this, it made me smile.

Rock Bottom – House of Lords. This is really just James Christian and a few hired hands and it sounds like it .

Alive – Meat Loaf. This is typical ML, throwing everything into the mix and hoping to come out with a grandiose masterpiece. It didn’t work in the case of the awful piece of clichéd crap.

Down By the River – UFO. Ah, my favourite band of all time with a track from their new album The Monkey Puzzle. I didn’t get the album when I first heard it and I still don’t get this now. There are some great vocals here, great guitar passages and an excellent rhythm section underpinning it all but the end result is less than the sum of its parts, shame.


There wasn’t a lot on this that I didn’t like, some stuff I could take or leave and a few things I will make an effort to hunt out, very similar to my reaction to Billy’s disc. Tomorrow I will hopefully post my views on Paul’s disc which would complete this years selections.

A Matter of Life and Death (It’s More Important than That)

As promised here is my take on the ‘Best of 2006’ offerings I have received, starting today with that from Billy. Ladies and Gentlemen I give you “A Matter of Life and Death (It’s More Important than That)”......

Peace Among the Ruins – Presto Ballet. Both Billy and I eyed this up over several weeks in Windows and Billy bit first. In many ways I’m surprised I didn’t jump for it as I thoroughly enjoyed Kurdt Vanderhoof’s 2 solo efforts but there you go. This has a very strong Kansas vibe and if you throw in a bit of ‘80’s Rush you will get the general idea.

Pure – Lost Horizons. It’s like listening to Monowar on steroids with passages frighteningly reminiscent of the ‘Flashing Blade’ theme tune. Not sure I could sit through a whole albums worth but I would give it a go and I enjoyed this track in isolation.

Some Sane Advice – DeadSoul Tribe. Basically a solo effort from Devon Graves this is a lot more listenable than I had imagined it might be. The one song that keeps coming to mind when I hear this is Cat’s in the Cradle by Harry Chapin. I think I’m going to have to check these out a bit more.

House of Plague – Wolverine. Hard to pinpoint this one as they seem to be covering as many bases as they possibly can. The guitarist sounds very similar to Alex Lifeson and Queensryche are perhaps the band that they resemble most closely. Have to say I don’t like the cymbal sound on this, for some reason it bugs the hell out of me.

Volte-Face – Riverside. Polish band who play fairly straight ahead modern prog. Considered by many to be at the vanguard of modern prog alongside Porcupine Tree. Not really sure what to make of this, it’s just a bit boring and it doesn’t really do that much for me.

Song Of Our Depair – Circulus. I guess the obvious comparison for this lot are Jethro Tull with a bit of Steeleye Span thrown in for good measure. I do like this and will probably hunt out the album to purchase at some point.

Vicarious – Tool. This came very close to making my own ‘Best of’ but matters of space meant it was omitted at the 11th hour. I love the disturbing, staccato riff and excellent bass sound.

The Other Me – Frost. Roland Keating’s songwriter turns prog(ish). Very eighties in feel with quite obvious nods to Gary Numan and Tears for Fears amongst others. Not my cup of tea.

Fly – Blind Guardian. The only track to double up between Billy and myself so I obviously can’t argue with this choice.

People – Kino. Prog ‘supergroup’ with members from Marillion, It Bites, Porcupine Tree and Arena. Sounds like a mish-mash of all the above and doesn’t really convince me that I should be looking any closer at their releases.

For the Greater Good of God – Iron Maiden. 9 minutes of epic Iron Maiden and it does exactly what it says on the tin. I can see why most critics have hailed this as the best thing to come from the Maiden camp in years but personally I would rather listen to either of the first two albums.

Witchcraft – Wolfmother. Regressive Rock anyone? I love this and was one of the tracks from the album under consideration as my own choice.

Knights of Cydonia – Muse. The off the wall album closer from Devon’s finest. Manages to merge Telstar and the theme from any number of spaghetti westerns into a protest song. Has to be heard to be believed.

So there you go Billy’s picks of the year. Only a couple that didn’t do anything for me which isn’t a bad ratio and a few bands that I will be actively looking out for from now on. Next up the offering from Rob.

Resolutions

I’m not one for making resolutions but this year I’m going to….because I can.

• This site needs an overhaul, I want to continue on a regular basis so a rethink and redesign is imminent.
• I’m going to learn to play the stringed plank of wood under the stairs, not because I feel I have to but because I want to do something constructive.
• I’m going to be more aware of my actions and the impact they have on others, not because I feel I have done anything wrong but because I feel I could be doing some good.
• I’m going to enjoy the days I have here and not take them for granted, which is a trap I have fallen into recently. So a rethink of my largely sedentary existence and a makeover for my fat rich diet, I don’t want to waste what I’ve been given.

So there you go two posts in one day. You can pick yourself up off the floor now, that is if anyone still visits this dead-zone. I will be posting my own reviews of the ‘Best of 2006’ efforts from Rob, Paul and Billy over the next few days which should give me time to think of something else to write.

That Was The Year That Was

Barrons ‘Orrible Crap – The Revulsion Is Right (The Best of (?) 2006)

Nosferatu – Bloodbound (Taken from the album Bloodbound). Ok so it’s cheesier than a fromagerie but this is none of your plastic supermarket rubbish, this is high quality stilton. Great vocals from Urban Breed who has since left the band and a lovely chugging riff. It goes on for a minute or so longer than it should but, hey, I can forgive that.

Everyday – Slade (Taken from the album The Live Anthology). Remastered and re-released this year this is a great package pulling together 4 live recordings. Often thought of, somewhat unfairly, as a bit of a joke band this proves they could write a damn good love song and Noddy has one hell of a voice.

Push It To The Limit – Jon Oliva’s Pain (Taken from the album Maniacal Renderings). A straight ahead, good, old fashioned rock song recalling early Savatage (surprise). Can’t wait to see this lot ProgPower.

Hoodoo – Muse (Taken from the album Black Holes and Revelations). It’s as barking as a pack of hunt hounds and totally, totally wonderful. Muse delivered the gig of the year and quite possibly the album of the year too.

Mr. High & Mighty – Gov’t Mule (Taken from the album High & Mighty). They are perhaps suffering from taking a genre as far as it can go but each new album has a couple of tracks which suggest there is life in the old animal yet. Here we have the best AC/AC riff not written by a Young brother and a typically strong vocal performance by Warren Haynes.

Fly – Blind Guardian (Taken from the album A Twist in the Myth). Something of a return to form after the rather poor A Night at the Opera released back in 2002. It was great to see them this year in Dublin and hopefully we’ll get to see them again in the near future.

Save Me – Edguy (Taken from the album Rocket Ride). I could have picked several tracks from this album but in the end, due to space issues, you’ve got this power ballad and it’s a cracker. This, I imagine, will be performed acoustically at every live show from now on in, it just has that ‘feel’ about it.

After This War – Masterplan (Taken from the album Aeronautics). Dominated by Jorn Lande’s best Coverdale/Hughes impersonation I wouldn’t have been surprised to find this on a recent Whitesnake release, if we’d ever had one. Typically Jorn has since left the band as seems to be his style.

Sam I Am – Sammy Hagar and the Wabos (Taken from the album Livin’ It Up). THE feel good album of the year, the whole thing exudes fun. On this track we find Sammy in autobiographical mood but I would have been happy to put any of the tracks from this on my Best Of.

Broken – Sonata Arctica (Taken from the album For The Sake of Revenge). A great live recording and one which, along with the accompanying DVD, has convinced Gill that we have to go and see this lot play. I particularly love the way the guitar ‘jags’ away in the background.

Where Eagles Have Been – Wolfmother (Taken from the album Wolfmother). Australias finest young rockers evoke the ghosts of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath on a truly great debut album. I could have picked any of the tracks from the album to go on here but this is my current fave.

Orale – Los Lonely Boys (Taken from the album Sacred). Man this guy can play, imagine Santana but listenable. It took me a while to get into their second album, I don’t know why, but I’m glad I persevered because if anything, it’s better than the first.

Oliver Twist – Astral Doors (Taken from the album Astralism). Almost as cheesy as Bloodbound, imagine the bastard child of Dio and Accept and you have Astral Doors. Did a great job when supporting Blind Guardian in Dublin and Gill loves this album, so here they are.

Trivial/Travellers in Time – Inner Wish (Taken from the album Inner Strength). The finest power rock band in the whole of Greece, although I’m not too sure they have much competition. Everything tells me I shouldn’t like this but I do, though I can’t place why *shrug*.

A World Of Hurt – Drive-By Truckers (Taken from the album A Blessing and a Curse). The only band to challenge Muse in both the gig and album of the year stakes. Stunning.

Trip To The Fair – Renaissance (Taken from the album Scheherazade and Other Stories). Neither recorded nor re-released this year but I did buy it on CD for the first time in 2006 so here it is, the scariest song ever written. I still can’t listen to this alone in the dark, as much as I really, really want to.

So there you go that is my selection for 2006. I make no claims that this is the best music recorded during the year but each of the albums touched me in some way and that’s all I can ask for. Honourable mentions should go to a couple of bands who didn’t make it onto this list for reasons of time or just catching me at the wrong moment when I was compiling this disc: Tool, Pure Reason Revolution, Leaves Eyes, UFO (still don’t get it), The Moody Blues, The Strawbs, The Derek Trucks Band. Copies will be wending their way this week to the usual suspects and I might even pass a couple on to the likes of Russ, Sharon and Sid…if you are really unlucky.

Best Albums of 2006 (in no particular order as it changes daily)

Jon Oliva’s Pain – Maniacal Renderings
Muse – Black Holes and Revelations
Drive-By Truckers – A Blessing and a Curse
Wolfmother – Wolfmother
Sammy Hagar and the Wabos – Livin’ It Up

Best Gigs of 2006:

Muse – Newcastle, Arena
Coheed and Cambria – Newcastle, Academy
Drive-By Truckers – Byker, Cluny
Waysted – Newcastle, Trillians
Blind Guardian/Astral Doors – Dublin, Temple Bar Music Centre


Biggest Disappointments of 2006:

Not keep this blog up to date
Not having the willpower to practice my guitar
No holiday this year, and..................................................

UFO – The Monkey Puzzle…errr OK guys I’m puzzled, now what?

Best Thing About 2006:

Being alive to type this!

Things I’m looking forward to in 2007:

Doing this blog….honest!
Learning to play my guitar….I really need, and want to do this.
Life