The Rolling Stones with Muddy Waters, Staind and more!
By Bob Suehs
”Live From Mohegan Sun”
Track Listing: Eyes Wide Open, Falling, Right Here, Throw It All Away, Spleen, Fade, Failing, So Far Away, Crawl, For You, Paper Wings, Outside, Not Again, It’s Been Awhile, Mudshovel, Something To Remind You
You never truly understand just how big a band like Staind is until you see them play a live show and you realize just how many top ten rock hits they’ve actually had throughout their career. That’s ever so true when you listen to the the bands latest release which is a live record that pulls from all their releases & offers up hit after hit of top rock radio hits like “For You”, “Outside” & “Not Again” just to name a few.
Aaron Lewis is an interesting guy because he reminds me of the episode of the Simpsons TV show where Homer is committed & meets a fat bald dude who swears he’s Michael Jackson...that character who thinks he’s Michael Jackson reminds me of Aaron because Aaron has NO rock star looks whatsoever yet he is a rock star in every sense of the phrase because he’s got the talent, can sing, scream, play guitar & write hit rock songs that demand your attention YET to look at him he’s nothing like a stereotypical “rock star”.
This cd sounds great because it captures the energy & vibe of the bands live show quite well and reading the credits I was impressed to see that they split the writing equally & made everything a “band” effort as opposed to making it the “Aaron Lewis” show.
The unplugged portion of the show was not used for this release... for this cd they stuck to the real deal hard rock/full on electric portion of the show & they offered their fans a very cool package with the “Live from the Mohegan Sun” disc although I do believe they could have came up with a better title for the record.
”Polar Shift”
Track Listing: Ghost Hunt, Demon Fire, Annexed, California Legislature, Common Denominator, The Jump, Redneck Rumble, The Treachery of Kyodai Ken, Xenophonic, Prelude in D Minor, Darmok, Waves, Forest Battle, Altair
This record is an interesting listen for sure and it’s not your typical rock release simply because it’s made up of 3 guys playing ONLY drums, violin & cello!
Musically it’s hard rock but played with classical instruments ala Apocalyptica and the music is good if you can appreciate hard rock with no guitars....for me personally I like it but it’s just not my favorite flavor when it comes to my tastes in music....check this record out if you enjoy Apocalyptica or Rasputina.
”s/t”
Track Listing: Make Me Drown, Wasted, Ghosts, Every Breath You Take, The Hand That Beats You, Echoes, Starting Over Again, More Than A Habit, Halo, Denial, The Point of Decision
Produced by former Fear Factory member Christian Olde Wolbers, Sunflower Dead is a band that’s part nu-metal part modern rock and their cd starts off with “Make Me Drown” which reminds me alot of the band DIsturbed because the vocals & the guitar parts are very reminiscent of the entire nu-metal genre but towards the middle of this record the tone, tempo & vibe changes from that nu-metal vibe to a mix of alt rock, metal & there’s drastic highs & lows on this record that make it an interesting listen.
“Every Breath You Take” originally by The Police is an interesting reinterpretation of the original because Sunflower Dead make the song even creepier than the original & the lyrics become almost stalker-ish when the band does their version of it!
The art is perfect for the band, they are a very visual act & the record art fits the bands look perfectly & I thought this record was a solid first release for the band!
MUDDY WATERS / THE ROLLING STONES
”Checkerboard Lounge - Live in Chicago 1981” - DVD/CD
Track Listing:
I’ll admit I listened to the accompanying cd that came with this set probably 6 times over a 2 day period and it’s because this set IS the essence of the blues...if this was a record it would have stank all over the grooves and that’s just my way of saying that this cd/dvd is the sh*t!
Muddy Waters did a special concert in 1981 at a small club with Mick, Keith & Ron from the Stones backing him and his band and talk about coolest of the cool...holy crap, this is one show I REALLY wish I could have been at because it’s the REAL history of rock n roll...the blues meeting rock n roll and meshing it all together perfectly!
The beauty of this concert is the sloppiness & “real” side to it all...Keith Richards can be sloppy as f**k in parts yet still cooler than most guitarists alive, Mick Jagger can’t really sing yet he’s a rock star that every generation adores & Muddy Waters was not a great singer...infact Muddy was more or less talking through most of his material yet he’s a blues God!
The dvd has a few extra jams on it & seeing the band play visually is a bonus because the cd with just audio was like a gift from the music Gods all by itself! I don’t think you have to love the blues to really appreciate this release, you basically have to appreciate rock n roll & realize that this IS where rock n roll originated from and then you can appreciate the amazing music on this set!
What can I say, this is the best dvd/cd set of 2012 hands down, it’s a must have for EVERY rock music fan!
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