As I am writing this, it has only been a couple days since Bob Weir died, leaving only Bill Kreutzmann from the original line-up of the Grateful Dead still with us. It makes you think, doesn’t it.
I had been considering writing a little something about the Grateful Dead as the February feature this year and hearing that Bob Weir had passed on made me feel even more nostalgic and committed to the idea. Maybe it is inevitable that we measure the ebbing of a band’s music by the demise of its members. Certainly, it was tragic when Jerry Garcia died in the nineties and, even though he wasn’t the first of the early members to go, it did seem like that his death signaled the end of the band. And so it was, for new music, anyway. What came after was a steady release of thousands of recordings, the same music over and over again, performed live in different ways over the active quarter century of the Grateful Dead. What we have now is a ceaseless memorial celebration of the band’s music.
Being a metalhead in the 1970s and 1980s, I did not come to appreciate the Grateful Dead easily. My musical consumption at the time was directed by whatever ended up in the cutout bins at the record stores I went to – my means were quite modest then and I could not usually afford to buy new releases. I knew about the Dead, of course, but I did not go to any of their shows until much later, when I was in my thirties, because I was engaged in metal and thrash instead. The first Grateful Dead album I held in my hands was Blues For Allah (1975). The cover image is stunning and so it drew my eye. This would have been in 1977 because records hit the cutout bins usually six months to two years after they were initially released. I bought that album based upon the cover and what I heard had a profound effect on me. Indeed, I was so moved that I scraped together enough money to buy whatever was new from the band at the time. That was a choice of either Steal Your Face (1976), a two-record live set, or Terrapin Station (1977), a one-disc studio album, which was cheaper. Well, we know which one I bought, don’t we.
Knowing nothing else about the Dead and having only Blues For Allah and Terrapin Station as guides, I was really very wrong about the kind of music band was most known for. I love those albums – they are still my favorite Grateful Dead Records. However, they don’t really sound like any other Grateful Dead records, so when I started to listen to more of the band’s music later on, I didn’t know what to make of it at first. Chronologically, you can see an evolution of the music from psychedelic and improvisational jam toward country music and americana onto jazz and progressive rock and finally into pop, with plenty of crossover and cross-pollination along the way. A long, strange trip indeed, and a fascinating gone.
I am not a Dead Head, but I am a fan of the Grateful Dead. This month, I am going to roll through the band’s catalogue and reflect on it. There are thousands and thousands of people out there who know more about the Dead than I do, so these reminiscences are not meant to be academic or authoritative. I am simply going to share some of my own personal thoughts about music that I like.
Thrash ministers Megadeth call it quits with their self-titled final album.
The seventeenth full-length album from Dave Mustaine’s Megadeth will be their last. Given all that they have done, it seems reasonable to bring it to an end. Mustaine himself, I am sure, will continue to create music and so will his comrades. Speaking of whom, the band is Dave Mustaine (guitar), Teemu Mäntysaari (guitar), James Lomenzo (bass), and Dirk Verbeuren (drums).
There is no reason to lament the passing of Megadeth because they are leaving behind such a legacy of music, and such an expansive catalogue. The band has been around for more than four decades, beginning as they did in the early 1980s after Mustaine’s unceremonious exit from Metallica. While Megadeth’s album sales might never have matched their archrivals numbers, the music Dave Mustaine and Megadeth created – from Killing Is My Business … and Business Is Good! (1985) to The Sick, the Dying … and the Dead! (2022) then on to the new album – clearly establishes the two groups as peers.
The final reckoning has ten originals and one cover tune. First up, “Tipping Point.” It sounds like Megadeth. The initial riff is rather laid back, but then a guitar trill punches in and finally the primary tempo lands, speeding the music up to the thrash we thought we were going to hear. Syncopation and timing shifts follow, and, of course, shreds. Talking about the album, Mustaine has said, “The basic tempo for this album is very fast. It’s good old-fashioned Megadeth. We shied away from any ballads here. I personally think this is the record that fans have been waiting for, and I can’t wait for everybody to hear it. I just want to come in and completely destroy. That’s my mission right now.” Well, he has done it.
The songs bop around radio length, with a couple somewhat longer tracks in there as well. They are all thrash with some groove and always an infectious riff. The talk-singing from Dave comes up a lot, making us feel at home. The music is both familiar and new at the same time. My personal favorites are the light-hearted “Let There Be Shred” and the Alice Cooper-like “Another Bad Day.” The biggest surprise for many people will be the cover of the Metallica song “Ride the Lightning.” I would not have predicted this in advance, but in the end, it is fun, and this is a delightful middle of the road rendering. The album overall is excellent, putting it in the top half of Megadeth’s records. Recommended.
Megadeth’s final album is out now. You can get it anywhere and everywhere. Listen and buy at the links below.
Instrumental psychedelic band Obsidian Sand release their self-titled debut album.
I think I am hallucinating. I thought I had received an email about this band, but now I can’t find that missive, so I no longer have any notion of how I came across them. All I know about them is that Obsidian Sand is their debut EP, and the band is Łukasz Kamiński (guitar), Gordon Lilley (drums), and Jamie Mann (bass).
There are four tracks on the EP. “Deep Hollow Country” gets the ball rolling with an immediate eardrum thrumming. Heavy pounding rhythm projects a post-apocalyptic emotion. The initial theme is carried through in a number of incarnations, affording you a comprehensive investment in the idea. “Not Even Jupiter” is spacier than the opener, but then I suppose it must be. There is a sense of not only intrigue but of jeopardy as well. You are put on edge while you listen, anticipating what might be next. Incredible guitar work.
“Marauder” feels like a mission where violence is inevitable. If we take the title of the song at face value, then we are experiencing a way of life more than a discrete expression. Either way, I get a pervading sense of savagery. “Predestinator” has an elevated presence, leaning into progressive elements more than doom. There is much to hear here, with raking moments, and quieter passages emerging throughout the thread. By the end of it all, we are delivered to doom. Very nice. This album is excellent, and I expect to listen to it often in the coming year. Recommended.
Obsidian Sand is out now. Listen and buy at the links below.
Lord Elephant return to stomp the terra with a new album, Ultra Soul.
Instrumental psychedelic doom band Lord Elephant came together in Italy in 2016. Blending bluesy doom and heavy psychedelia, the band first brought their music to the world on their debut album, Cosmic Awakening (2022). The new record finds further innovation and new wonders for their growing cadre of fans. The band is Leandro Gaccione (guitar), Edoardo De Nardi (bass), and Tommaso Urzino (drums).
“Electric Dunes” eases you into the world of Lord Elephant, grounding you for the full set. “Gigantia” takes off at a rapid pace for the first couple of minutes, then downshifts into a less cheerful and more doom-ridden dark blues atmosphere. By the end, the music has circled back to its beginning. “Smoke Tower” is a dark, mysterious beast, equipped with funeral doom positioning and fatigueless renderings. It is immersive. “Black River Blues” is a bayou infusion directly into your main line. The guitar is otherworldly.
Pressing on, a strong bass line greets you on “Astral.” The percussion is convulsive while the guitar casts a dark spell. “MindNight” has many movements, from séance to back alley brawl. “Leave” is the final song. The emotions you first feel when the music begins might be regret or sadness. Within a couple of minutes, the guitar has talked you out of melancholy and has taken you on a trip of discovery instead. As you move ahead, you find yourself on a rugged adventure. By the time you reach the end, new lands have been revealed. This is a stunning album. Highly recommended.
Ultra Soul is available on Friday, January 30th through Heavy Psych Sounds Records. Listen and buy at the links below.
I went to Punk In The Park LA in San Pedro for Ghost Cult Magazine – a link to that article on the magazine’s website is below. Here are some of the photos I took.
I went to Punk In The Park LA in San Pedro for Ghost Cult Magazine – a link to that article on the magazine’s website is below. Here are some of the photos I took.
The fullest expression of Ronnie Montrose as a guitarist can be heard on his solo albums. Altogether, he produced eight full-length solo studio albums, one live set, and a there was also a posthumous release. Most of the music was instrumental, guitar-driven rock. Let’s think about these individually.
Open Fire (1978, Warner Brothers). This instrumental album was recorded after the initial run of the Montrose band had ended. Alan Fitzgerald can be heard on bass, and Rick Schlosser plays drums. There is also the significant presence of Edgar Winter throughout, and notable contributions from Jim Alcivar.
The album begins with a three-minute dramatic orchestration called “Openers” that sounds like something you might hear in an action movie in the nineteen seventies. The music transitions into the title track, “Open Fire,” which is a fairly straight-forward rocker and could have been released as a single. Next is “Mandolinia,” a spacey mandolin-forward piece, followed by a cover rendering of “Town Without Pity.” Fascinating choice, that one. “Leo Rising” is an early example of Ronnie beautiful acoustic guitar playing. One the second side, the tracks are more jazz-oriented and there is the gentle song “My Little Mystery” that can be employed any time to lift your spirits. The final track is “No Beginning / No End,” which is rather like an inspirational cooldown. Open Fire is undoubtedly Ronnie’s best-known solo album.
Territory (1986, Passport). Fans had to wait eight years to get the next solo album as Ronnie was occupied with Gamma. Territory can be described better as instrumental jazz fusion music than Open Fire, as it is unswervingly in that lane. There are nine tracks, six of which are original Montrose compositions. The most memorable song might be the opener, “Catscan,” with its prominent saxophone segment played by Edgar Winter. Fascinatingly, Ronnie himself provides vocals on two songs, “I Spy” and “Love You Too.” There is heavy use of electronics on the album, owing to Montrose’s recent and continuous immersion in the creation of Gamma albums.
The Speed of Sound (1988, Enigma). Montrose released two albums on Enigma Records, The Speed Of Sound being the first. The music was instrumental rock guitar that leaned more into the progressive rock area than into jazz fusion. Aeronautically themed, the title of every song has something to do with flying, such as “Hyper-Thrust” and “Windshear.” Others have noted that Montrose liked this album best among his instrumental efforts, at least at the time it came out. I share that opinion – this record is one of the more consistently appealing studio sets to me. I like all the songs, and there is less reliance on electronica.
The Diva Station (1990, Enigma). A mostly instrumental album, The Diva Station was the second album to appear on Enigma Records. I am not a huge fan of this approach – an instrumental album with a couple vocal songs in the mix. I didn’t like when Yngwie Malmsteen did it, nor when Earthless added vocals to some of the songs on an album. That is just a picky preference of mine. The tracks on this album are longer than the previous record, and there is more studio production here as well. I am always on the lookout for the guitar, so these other elements sometimes seem like distractions to me.
Mutatis Mutandis (1991, I. R. S.). Switching labels to I. R. S., Mutatis Mutandis holds ten strong instrumental rock guitar tracks. I say instrumental, but Michele Graybeal, Nina Markert and Kirsten Turrigian receive credits for “vocal texturing,” which I interpret as periodic vocalizations rather than singing, as such. There are linear rockers here, like “Greed Kills,” and curvy ones, too, such as “Heavy Agenda.” In the end, the music is a little oversaturate with keys for me to put this album on the top of the stack, but it is always a good listen.
Music From Here (1994, Fearless Urge). Another record label switch, this time to Fearless Urge Records. The weak sales are starting to become a significant problem. It is not a fall off in the quality of the music or performance, but rather the simple fact that there is not a gigantic demand for instrumental rock music out there. It is quite a niche lane. Music From Here is the last of Ronnie’s solo albums to even appear on what we might think of as a “regular” record label. Whatever the publishing provenance, there are eleven smoking instrumental rock tracks on this record. The players joining Montrose are Michele Graybeal (drums) and Craig McFarland (bass). The production is more stripped down, and rock roams free. High marks. Top drawer.
Mr. Bones (1996, Sega). This one is an oddity. It is the “soundtrack” to a video game of the same name. The thing is, the music is very good. There are excellent blues numbers like “Who’s Out There?” and rip snorting rock songs, as with “Bones Is Bones,” and mood-setting atmospherics, like “Mausoleum.” There are some vocals – “Icy Lake,” for example, and “In This World.” It is unclear how much direction Ronnie had to follow in writing this music to make the music work with the game. A couple of the songs do not sound to me like anything he was likely to create. Whatever the situation, this is a surprisingly entertaining album, although it is rather hard to come by now that it is long out of print.
Roll Over and Play Live (1999, RoMoCo). There were not very many live recordings released of performances by Ronnie Montrose, apart from radio broadcasts and bootlegs. Roll Over and Play Live is the primary exception. The included songs are mainly either originals to this record – of which there are five – or songs from Music From Here. “Sidewinder” also makes the cut from The Speed Of Sound. The set was recorded in 1995 in Santa Rosa, California, and so the heavy presence of songs off the album that was current at the time makes sense. The quality of the recording is excellent, and the performances are spot-on. It makes a fan wish that more live sets had been released. For completeness, here is the track list: “Feet First,” “Primary Function,” “Indigo Spheres,” “Cold Film” “Seven Men Riding,” “Jungle Boy,” “Largemouth,” “Greenthing.” “Sidewinder,” and “Wish in One Hand.”
Bearings (1999, RoMoCo). The focus on the Bearings album is on acoustic guitar. Another bold move by Ronnie Montrose, as the commercial appeal of such a venture – instrumental acoustic guitar – was not enormous. It is acoustic guitar, so the songs are mostly easy going and friendly. There are a few challenging numbers in there as well, though, like my favorite track, “Three Wishes.” This album is a jewel. As unlikely as its creation was, I am forever grateful that Ronnie made this record.
Bearings was the second-to-last full album that Montrose worked on during his life, with only Gamma 4 coming after it. In the years after these final two albums, Ronnie performed periodically, and he made a few appearances on albums for friends and colleagues. His career had slowed, and his health was becoming more of an issue as the years went on.
Ronnie Montrose committed suicide on March 3, 2012. There were some initial reports he had died of an illness. We know that in 2009 he said that he had had prostate cancer two years before, but he had recovered. In any case, the coroner’s report confirms he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and that his blood alcohol level was extremely high at the time. Throughout his life, Montrose had reportedly struggled with depression. Was his decision to end his life a combination of his illness and his depression? There is no way to know.
Ronnie Montrose is well remembered in the music community, with many composers and performers citing him as an important influence on them and their work. At the time of his death, he had been working for a few years on a new album, but he never finished it. He had done composing and recording of rhythm sections (Ricky Phillips on bass and Eric Singer on drums) and had planned to get guest vocalist to round out the songs. Plus, he was going to complete them with his own guitar solo work. Unfortunately, death came too soon.
After Ronnie’s passing, Ricky Phillips picked up the project and decided to finish it to honor Ronnie. The result was a new album, 10×10 (2017, Rhino). Using what had already been recorded, additional tracks were added to each song for vocals, keyboards and other instruments where appropriate, and lead guitar. A wide array of musicians participated and contributed to the effort, including Edgar Winter, Sammy Hagar, Rick Derringer, Eric Martin, Glen Hughes, Tommy Shaw, Mike Farner, Joe Bonamassa, and many more. The album is excellent, and it stands as a tribute to the enduring accomplishments of Ronnie Montrose.
Rêverie 
