I truly was intending to keep making these record reviews a regular thing, though I can’t seem to manage it lately – it’s not that I’m not listening to music, it’s that I’ve not been bothering to write down my thoughts on a lot of the CDs I’m listening to. As I said, I’d keep doing this as long as it was fun, and while it still is, I’m finding other things to do that take precedence, for good or ill. I’d really like to make it regular again.

In any case, I present four more reviews for discs I’ve listened to in the last month or so; good records all around, three old, one new. I hope my writing does them justice:

♦ Queensryche – Operation: Mindcrime: This record is where Queensryche really started giving into their prog-rock tendencies, attempting a high-concept heavy metal “rock opera” in an era when such things just weren’t done. Depite the ostentatious trappings, the record was considered a hit, largely on the strength of singles “Eyes of A Stranger” and “I Don’t Believe In Love”, which, along with “Revolution Calling”, I’d call the highlights of the disc. For all the times I’ve listened to it, however, I’ve never quite figured out what sort of story the song cycle was trying to tell; there are references to drugs, underground revolutionary organizations, prostitutes turned nuns, double-crosses and murders, and the story seems to end up exactly where it began. Even after reading the plot summary on Wikipedia, I’m still not sure what’s going on. This hasn’t stopped me from continuing to puzzle through it, because, if you consider it solely on it’s merits as a rock record, it’s eminently listenable, if not quite as good as Empire, the record that came after it.

♦ Michael Troy – The Journey Home: In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve known this guy for years – he’s practically family, and I’m an unashamed fan of his work. That said, take it as you will that I enjoyed this new collection of intrumental piano pieces a great deal. All of the tracks fall within the classical-esque/new age realm; compositions full of sweeping arpeggios, grand dramatic chords and interesting tricks of tempo atypical of the genre (owing, no doubt, to Troy’s experience in other styles of music – there are a few very “metal” riffs in there), presented in easy to enjoy pop song-sized packages. The instrumentation is spare and effective – clean piano carrying the bulk of the melody and rhythm, supported by the sound of a simple string quartet holding down chords and accents. There are several standout tracks, including “Lost” and “Longing”, though for my money, it’s hard to beat the sweeping pop sensibility of “Final Victory”, which deserves to find a place scoring a sweeping helicopter shot of a beautiful landscape in a major motion picture some day soon. It’s a worthy listen: the perfect soundtrack for winding down after a stressful day, bouying one’s spirits to take on a new challenge, or simply because one wishes to enjoy a pleasing aural experience.

♦ The Badlees – Amazing Grace: This is another one of those that I’m surprised I haven’t gotten too sooner, as the band was such a big part of the soundtrack of my life for so damned long. This disc was came out in ’99, during the “dark” period between the Polydor/Universal deal expired and Up There, Down Here got pulled off the shelf and released by Ark 21. As a record, it’s a much different animal than anything that was recorded by the band previously; recorded in Bret Alexander’s home studio in a couple of months, it’s simultaneously Alexnder’s show and a showcase for the group’s other voices, if that even makes sense. The “classic” Badlee formula included Pete Palladino putting voice to the words Alexander wrote (often with the assistance of songwriter Mike Naydock). Starting here, the vocals get passed around – everybody but Ron Simasek gets at least one lead vocal, with Alexander covering lead on five of eleven tracks. Likewise, songwriting duties are spread more evenly amongst band members, allowing everyone’s voice a chance to shine; a pattern that continues through the band’s sporadic modern output and paved the way for the various solo records over the years. Essentially, this is the Badlees’ White Album. In any case, these changes, combined with the lack of apparent attention paid to label interests, led to some interesting places, particularly “Amazing Grace to You” is a frantic, sonic assault of a song in 5/4 time; an odd, yet inspired choice for a lead single. Also of note is the oddly catchy “Beyond these Walls” (perhaps the most “badlees” of the collection, with the wry irony ratcheted up a few notches), and “Time Turns Around”, which plays up the Tom Waits vibe and pays lyrical tribute to the band’s biggest hit.

♦ Jimmy Page and Robert Plant: No Quarter: This record is another one of those MTV Unplugged tie-in albums, though the Jimmy Page & Robert Plant “Unledded” special came towards the end of that show’s run, and wasn’t officially part of the program. When it happened in 1994, it was a big deal; a semi-reunion of Led Zeppelin (though without bassist John Paul Jones) was something to see, and Page, Plant, and their backing band delivered a mostly unplugged set of Zeppelin tunes and a few other tunes, all performed with a Morrocan-Middle Eastern flavor. In many ways, it’s actually the middle-eastern stuff that makes the record more interesting than a straight Zeppelin reunion – the re-workings of tunes like “The Battle of Evermore” and “Kashmir” (the big crowd-pleasing closer) are lighter on Plant’s signature vocal pyrotechnics, though with the addition of the new instrumentation and arrangements, remain interesting and often surprising. Of the singles, I like the version of folk standard (and Zeppelin II track) “Gallows Pole” better than “Thank You”, but that didn’t stop the latter from becoming a big radio hit. Also of note is that the resulting “Unledded” world tour featured the Badlees as the opening act (supporting River Songs) on several North American dates.