“Hammer to Fall.” Mercury’s unparal-
leled voice is ragged at the edges during
the performance of the timeless “We Are
the Champions,” but the pure energy of
Mercury and his bandmates hits like a
lightning bolt.
– Jeff Elbel
7
MUDHONEY
Digital Garbage
QUEEN
Bohemian Rhapsody
Original Soundtrack
(Hollywood.)
The majestic and adventurous music
of Queen has justifiably earned a perma-
nent and influential place in the rock and
roll canon. Since the release of 1981’s
multi-platinum smash Greatest Hits (the
UK’s best-selling album of all time), sev-
eral Queen collections have followed into
the marketplace. Bohemian Rhapsody
works on that level as a Queen overview
but possesses twists to make it special.
Foremost, the songs trace Queen’s rise,
fall, and redemption as portrayed in the
Hollywood fable and feature film
Bohemian Rhapsody starring Rami Malek as
Freddie Mercury. Favorites including “Fat
Bottomed Girls” and “Keep Yourself
Alive” aren’t the familiar studio versions,
but are instead the live versions used to
depict Queen’s actor avatars as scrappy
up-and-comers in the movie. “Love of My
Life” plays a pivotal role in the film for the
development of Mercury’s character and
features the massive, record-breaking
Rock in Rio crowd’s breathtaking singa-
long. “Doing All Right” features guitarist
Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor in
their pre-royal incarnation as Smile.
Bassist John Deacon’s “Another One Bites
the Dust” and “I Want to Break Free” are
album cuts, as is Mercury’s operatic cen-
terpiece “Bohemian Rhapsody” – the
band’s signature song and classic rock sta-
ple that label executives insisted were too
long and schizophrenic for airplay. For
true-blue Queen fans, however, the treas-
ures of this collection will be the perform-
ance audio from 1985’s Live Aid concert
that has never before seen audio release.
Although “Crazy Little Thing Called
Love” and “We Will Rock You” are omit-
ted, the Live Aid cuts feature contempo-
rary singles from 1984’s The Works album
including the crowd-participation anthem
“Radio Ga Ga” and May’s full-tilt rocker
(Sub Pop)
Mudhoney is mad as hell and isn’t
going to take it anymore. No political or
social topic is off limits on the 10th studio
album from these grunge legends. Singer
Mark Arm aims at Trump supporters, and
other vapid types on “Hey Neanderfuck”
and “Paranoid Core,” but the most
scathing criticism is directed towards
hypocritical Christians (“21st Century
Pharisees”), social media whores (“Kill
Yourself Live”) and mass murders. Arm
pleads over and over again on “Please Mr.
Gunman”: “Before you kill us dead forev-
er...consider our afterlife / We’d rather die
in church.” Even climate-change deniers
get called out on “Prosperity Gospel,”
kicking off with the declaration: “Fuck the
planet, screw your children / Get rich,
you win.” And “Next Mass Extinction,”
with a harmonica lead-in to these cynical
thoughts: “Don’t worry your head / the
earth will see peace / the world won’t end
cause we will be/replaced by nothing in
the next mass extinction.” Musically, the
band’s superfuzz/big muff sound reverbs
as good as ever, with opening track
“Nerve Attack” sounding like a song from
1991’s Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge “Kill
Yourself Live,” a sardonic command to
those addicted to social media likes” fea-
tures the most satisfying instrumental
progression, thanks in part to an organ riff
backbone among the guitar chord pro-
gressions and angsty themes.
-Jason Scales
8
RUSH
Hemispheres: 40th
Anniversary Box Set
(UMe)
Released in 1978, Rush’s 6th album
Hemispheres captured the Canadian band
at a critical transition while also making a
satisfying final foray into the technically-
oriented progressive rock the trio had
explored since 1975 album Caress of Steel
(and perfected on 1976’s 2112). Relatively
concise songs like “Circumstances” and
cautionary fable “The Trees” foreshad-
owed a move toward mainstream hard
rock that would soon yield chart success
with “Freewill” and “The Spirit of Radio”
from 1980’s Permanent Waves and classic
rock immortality with “Tom Sawyer” and
“Limelight” from 1981’s Moving Pictures.
Hemispheres begins with “Cygnus X-1
Book II: Hemispheres,” capturing the
invigorating synergy between Alex
Lifeson’s bristling guitar heroics, vocalist
Geddy Lee’s melodic and muscular bass,
and Neil Peart’s intricate drum arrange-
ment. The sidelong epic picks up the
thread of “Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage”
from 1977’s A Farewell to Kings, bending
what began as a science-fiction journey
through space and time into a metaphysi-
cal tale of conflict between the heart and
mind. Peart’s lyrics describe division
among the Olympian gods. Apollo
enforces the rules of law and logic upon
the multitudes of Earth, leading to over-
whelming ennui. Dionysus responds by
offering freedom and unfettered emotion,
leading to chaos and ruin. A celestial battle
ensues, to stirring musical accompani-
ment. Ultimately, the disembodied spirit of
the spacefarer from “Book I” arrives via
passage through a black hole. He witness-
es the battle of the gods and is dismayed.
Apollo and Dionysus heed his lamenta-
tion, and the conflict ceases. The traveler is
ultimately brought into the pantheon as
none other than Cygnus, the god of
Balance. The side ends with a peaceful
refrain as humanity is saved with “the
heart and mind united in a single, perfect
sphere.” Other songs include Lifeson
showpiece “La Villa Strangiato,” a fever
dream set to music that runs the range
from classical elegance to Jimmy Page bite,
flourishes of tango, and maniacal quotes of
Raymond Scott-styled cartoon music.
Hemispheres’ 40th anniversary is celebrated
in style, with a lavish box that allows fans
an immersive experience of the album and
the still-scrappy bandmembers in their
mid-20s. Three heavyweight LPs include
the album, a 1979 concert from Pinkpop in
the Netherlands, and a 1978 performance
in Arizona of the groundbreaking 2112
suite. A Blu-ray disc features videos for the
standalone songs on side two; super-high
definition audio of the full album, and a
new surround-sound mix that puts the lis-
tener directly into the middle of
Hemispheres’ cosmic maelstrom. Mementos
include replicas of a ticket to Pinkpop,
backstage pass and concert program, an
embroidered logo patch, and a large poster
with new conceptual artwork by original
sleeve designer Hugh Syme. A hardbound
book includes a new essay with quotes by
Geddy Lee, stage and studio photos of the
band, and more stunning artwork by
Syme. The set is a fitting tribute to an
album that didn’t scale the peaks of Rush’s
biggest successes, but still captures the
thrilling songs and challenging interplay
as Rush ascended into the full power and
aesthetic that would sustain the band
through the remainder of its career.
- Jeff Elbel
Blu-ray of At Last…The Beginning: The
Making of Electric Ladyland, an expanded
version of the 1997 Classic Albums TV
series, which, with over 40 additional min-
utes featuring many of the musicians/arti-
sans/engineers involved, offers definitive
insight into the recording. Lastly, an
accompanying 48-page book that in addi-
tion to essays, detailed insider recording
information, and unpublished photos
includes many of Hendrix’s handwritten
album lyrics and instructions to his record
label—including design details, and Linda
(McCartney) Eastman cover photos the
label chose to ignore. Given all of the
above, one might fear the primacy of the
original recording itself might be lost—but
such is hardly the case. First and foremost,
Electric Ladyland contains some of the most
enduring; oft’ played songs in the Hendrix
recorded canon – “Crosstown Traffic,”
“Voodoo Chile” and “All Along the
Watchtower” (Hendrix’s only charting sin-
gle.) Secondly, and perhaps most impor-
tantly, this was the first album produced
and directed by Hendrix. As a result,
there’s a veritable who’s who of musicians
from varied (and many times unexpected)
sides of the rock spectrum of the day which
lent their talents to the sessions, epitomiz-
ing both the respect and influence of
Hendrix that endures to this very day.
Finally, the majority of Electric Ladyland
was recorded in one of the very first 12-
track studios—which not only opened up a
whole new vista for Hendrix to extend his
already expansive sonic range but also laid
the groundwork for the studio enhance-
ments to come some 50 years later. In
short, this is a loving, celebratory and most
fitting tribute to an iconic recording from
an artist the likes of whom will most prob-
ably never be seen nor heard again.
– David C. Eldredge
9
8
THE JIMI HENDRIX
EXPERIENCE
Electric Ladyland 50th
Deluxe Edition
(Legacy/Experience Hendrix)
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the
release of what is universally regarded as
Jimi Hendrix’s singular recorded master-
piece, Electric Ladyland, comes this lavishly
packaged 3 CD/1 Blu-ray set. The deluxe
edition includes the original double-album
package, re-recorded in 5.1 surround
sound; two unreleased recordings: Electric
Ladyland: The Early Takes (a collection of
demos and studio outtakes – many featur-
ing just Hendrix and guitar with a tape
machine sourced around the making of the
landmark studio original), and the raw
recording Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At
the Hollywood Bowl 9/14/68, which captures
the power trio onstage just prior to the cel-
ebrated album’s release. Also inside is the
THE KINKS
Are the Village Green
Preservation Society
50th Anniversary Super
Deluxe Box Set
(BMG/Abkco)
The Kinks earned a pile of international
rock and roll hits including the proto-punk
“You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All
of the Night” before being sidelined for
four years by an American Federation of
Musicians ban from stateside performance
beginning in 1965. The band’s defining
album, however, was produced during the
lean years stuck at home. As peers, includ-
ing the Who and Yardbirds, built momen-
tum in the colonies, Kinks songwriter Ray
Davies retreated into his native
Englishness and wrote a cohesive set of
observational songs that reflected his
views of a fading empire and the diminish-
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