cially when he goes bat-shit crazy with his
frenetic solo on “Murder One” and his
wild dive bombs on “Here Comes
Revenge.” To be honest, Hardwired contains a few weaker tracks and several of
them go on for far too long. At roughly 78
minutes, the album could have been a single disc if they trimmed off some of the
fat. Although Hardwired has its flaws, it’s
the best album Metallica has delivered
since Metallica. And as a die-hard, oldschool Metallica fan, I’ll take what I can
get. See you in another eight years,
Metallica!
– Kelley Simms
artist friends dying during “50,000.” As for
The Police’s stadium-commanding days,
the closest he ever gets is “Petrol Head,”
which is surely the strongest track on a
standard edition that otherwise lands
towards the middle of the road in recorded
format, but could quite possibly gain additional steam on stage.
Appearing at Aragon Ballroom, 3/3/17
– Andy Argyrakis
7
Bassist Darryl Jones propels the psych-pop
danger of “Paint It, Black” and puts a sexy
slink into well-traveled chestnuts like
“Honky Tonk Women.” During “Brown
Sugar,” Karl Denson fills the big shoes of
saxophonist Bobby Keys. Singer Sasha
Allen ignites “Gimme Shelter.” Between
the main set and encore, Dugdale includes
endearing anecdotes from the four principals in brotherly praise of each other. But
the director’s main focus is on communion
with the crowd. Following Richards’
Chuck Berry licks in “It’s Only Rock and
Roll,” Jagger addresses the crowd in
Spanish. “Here we are – finally, eh?” he
says. Later he adds, “I think that times are
finally changing.”
– Jeff Elbel
8
7
METALLICA
Hardwired...To Self-Destruct
(Blackened)
After several listens, Hardwired… To
Self-Destruct is arguably the band’s best
album in decades. Maybe that’s not saying much because if you’ve been fed shit
sandwiches for so long then when you’re
finally served something else, of course it
tastes better. Fact: Metallica will never
return to its Master of Puppets form no
matter how much we wish it. Which
brings us to the band’s current form and
their double CD Hardwired To SelfDestruct. It’s a slight continuation musically from 2008’s Death Magnetic, but it
also possesses elements of Metallica's ’80s
and ’90s output. Nothing on Hardwire’s 12
tracks thrashes harder than the title track
“Hardwired,”a hard-driving track with a
punky-thrash vibe reminiscent of the fiery
attitude and speed the band possessed
back in the early days. At a little over
three minutes in duration, it’s the kind of
quick jump-start the album needs. CD 2
closer ,“Spit Out the Bone,” also has its
thrashy moments, possessing some fistthrusting riffage. The “Am I Evil”-esque
intro of “Confusion” has an obvious
familiarity to it, while “Here Comes
Revenge” is decorated with calculated
riffs reminiscent of “Orion” from Master of
Puppets and drum patterns similar to
“Enter Sandman” from 1991’s Metallica
(Black album). “Halo on Fire” is a substandard CD 1 closer, and clocking in at
8:15, it’s the longest track on the album
and also the most uninteresting. The production is certainly better than Death
Magnetic, containing a full and robust flavor. Though most people will still complain about Lars’ drum sound, James’s
voice is on the money throughout the 12
tracks – sounding crisp-yet-edgy. Kirk
Hammett’s guitar solos and lead harmonies shine throughout the disc, espe-
THE ROLLING STONES
Havana Moon - The Rolling
Stones Live in Cuba (DVD)
STING
57TH & 9TH
(A&M)
Thus far this century, Sting may not
have been the most prolific when it comes
to making pop/rock music, but he’s been
busier than ever switching between a slew
of artistic experiments and nostalgic touring excursions. Since 2003’s regular studio
album Sacred Love, the veteran released a
lute-centered
classical
project,
a
Christmas collection, re-recordings of past
favorites with a symphony, a retrospective
box set, multiple live documentations and
even his very own original Broadway
musical. Throughout it all, there was The
Police’s momentous reunion tour, countless solo dates in various formats, plus
double bills with Paul Simon and Peter
Gabriel, to name but a handful of the
extracurriculars. Arriving at end of 2016,
Sting finally tapped back into his desire to
make more commercially-minded music
and put a tight deadline on these sessions
(named after the New York intersection at
which they were mostly recorded) with
the hopes of generating a spontaneous
feel, though there’s still a considerable
amount of polish on tightly crafted cuts
such as “I Can’t Stop Thinking About
You,” “Down, Down, Down” and “If You
Can’t Love Me.” Throughout them all
(and really the entire 57th & 9th), the veteran’s voice sounds like a sturdy if not
slightly older edition of its familiar self,
while the accompanying musicians are of
course top notch, despite the somewhat
safe and predictable results that mirror his
adult contemporary output in the ‘90s.
Even so, Sting sounds as sharp as ever
lyrically, whether reflecting on climate
change throughout “One Fine Day” or
grappling with so many of his fellow
24 illinoisentertainer.com december 2016
(Eagle Vision)
As you watch Havana Moon, a spirit of
celebration and a sense of history are evident. The Rolling Stones have been around
the world in their titanic 54 years together,
but had never performed in Cuba until
Good Friday 2016. Other western bands
including Audioslave have performed rare
rock and roll shows in the Communist
island nation since the late Fidel Castro’s
regime forbade the genre. The Stones, however, were by far the biggest. Attendance at
the free concert was estimated in the hundreds of thousands. Crowd shots show
people extending to the horizon. It was
another sign of thawing tensions alongside
Barack Obama’s visit the same week, the
first such visit by a US President in 88
years. “This is a first for them and us,” says
Keith Richards as the film begins. “You ban
something, you’re making it a little more
tasty for everybody.” Director Paul
Dugdale captures the show in vibrant
color. The mix is clear, with guitarist
Ronnie Wood’s fluid blues licks in his stage
position on the left and Richards’ meaty
riffs following him on the right. Hip-shaking Mick Jagger is front and center, in
strong voice from opening number
“Jumping Jack Flash” onward. The Stones
are a well-oiled machine throughout the
show, captured at the conclusion of their
América Latina Olé Tour. The show stretches beyond two hours. While the Stones catalog is so well-known that surprises can be
hard to come by, Havana Moon features a
satisfying set list of favorites like
“Satisfaction.” Bridges to Babylon track “Out
of Control” is furthest from the beaten
track, led by a sing-along vamp reminiscent of the Temptations’ “Papa Was a
Rolling Stone.” The song features one of
Richards’ fiercest solos, joined by Jagger’s
skillful blues harmonica and ageless shimmy. “Tumbling Dice” and “Miss You” are
missing from the main film, but included
as bonus tracks. The full set runs in order
on the audio discs. Drummer Charlie Watts
keeps the pocket as expertly as ever, and
holds “Midnight Rambler” together when
it threatens to ramble a bit too far. The supporting cast is excellent, too. Chuck Leavell
plays elegant piano throughout “Angie.”
PINK FLOYD
The Early Years: 1965-1972
Atom Heart Mother (Reissue)
Meddle (Reissue)
(Sony/Columbia)
The Early Years collects the foundational
period of Pink Floyd from its earliest
recordings in 1965 with Syd Barrett at the
helm, continuing through 1972’s Obscured
by Clouds, inclusive of the evolution into
the familiar quartet led by bassist Roger
Waters and featuring guitarist David
Gilmour. This box is a super-deluxe package that covers the era captured on the
more compact Cre/ation compilation, creating a truly immersive experience with
more than 27 combined hours of audio and
video. Given the band’s continuing presence, the notion that some of this material
is more than 50 years old is stunning.
Furthermore, it still seems innovative and
often timeless. Barrett’s psych-pop singles
“Arnold Layne” (about a women’s underwear thief) and “See Emily Play” are still
otherworldly in 2016. 1968 non-album
track “Point Me at the Sky” is an early collaboration between Waters and Gilmour,
released as the band’s fifth 7” single. Its
message to the future retains a carnival-colored sense of fun, echoing the Beatles
“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” from the
year before. These Pink Floyd songs plus
two more are included as reproduction
45rpm singles. The massive box is beautiful
in its simplicity and elegance, maintaining
Pink Floyd’s front-running position for
visual design. Its outer look is modeled
after the Bedford van employed by early
Floyd incarnation The Tea Set. The presentation includes clever use of negative space
Continued on page 39
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