THE IDES OF MARCH
Play On
(IOM Records)
You have to hand it to The Ides of
March. When most bands would have
retired or coasted strictly on a cringe-wor-
thy straight-up oldies tour, they've gath-
ered up a new set of original tunes and
made a statement that the old dudes can
still rock. The band is anchored by the
longtime leader and songwriter/producer
Jim Peterik, who has arguably the longest
and strongest resume in Chicago music
history (Ides, Survivor, World Stage, and
as a songwriter for .38 Special and Sammy
Hagar). Musical and childhood friend-
ships have kept Peterik, Larry Millas, Bob
Bergland and Mike Borch together for 55
years - a remarkable achievement in and of
itself. Longtime Keyboardist Scott May
and trombonist Dave Stahlberg, both with
the band since 1990, are also crucial cogs in
the wheels that keep the group rolling.
***Play On is full-on anthemic classic rock
buoyed by the band's collaborations with
Chicago's Cathy Richardson (who also
fronts Jefferson Starship), sharing vocal
duties on the dynamic "Blue Storm
Rising." Mark Farner of Grand Funk
Railroad duets with Peterik on "Swagger,"
a soulful "more cowbell" driven horn-satu-
rated rocker. Other highlights include ex-
Letterman show maestro Paul Shaffer on
"Rule of Three," perhaps Peterik's best
vocal on the album, dancing on a wall of
the Ides best horn lines. More help arrives
from acclaimed guitarist Joe Bonamassa
on "The Cover-Up. Yep, you could say the
Ides of March know how to pick strong
musical allies. Album closer "Vehicle,"
their biggest hit (from 1970), is an odd
choice to close the album. It's a nice a
bonus of course - but Ides fans are already
there.
Appearing 11/30 at Arcada Theatre, St. Charles
- David Gedge
8
SOUNDGARDEN
Badmotorfinger
Superunknown
Down on the Upside
Vinyl Reissues
(Universal)
Seattle-area peers Nirvana and Pearl
Jam may have scaled loftier commercial
peaks and enduring juggernaut status,
respectively, but Soundgarden was among
the Seattle sound’s principal architects and
etched their legacy deeply. Soundgarden
forged an innovative, influential, multi-
platinum sound that took the heaviest rock
and metal sounds of the '70s, twisted them
20 illinoisentertainer.com october 2019
through the filter of their local scene, and
shot them into the future with cathartic
abandon. Universal is celebrating the 25th
anniversary of Superunknown with
heavyweight, colored double-vinyl reis-
sues of band’s three most influential
albums.
1991’s
Badmotorfinger
was
Soundgarden’s third album, and a bold
step forward after 1989’s jagged Louder
Than Love broke from the underground.
Badmotorfinger cemented the band’s popu-
lar lineup including bassist Ben Shepherd.
Guitarist Kim Thayil explored alternate
guitar tunings, while drummer Matt
Cameron propelled prog-influenced odd
time signatures to twist songs like
Shepherd’s “Face Pollution.” Singer Chris
Cornell howled his way into the hearts of
millions on the fatalistic “Outshined” and
built the defiant “Rusty Cage” that even-
tually leaped genres with a bracing roots-
rock reinvention by Johnny Cash. The
chaotic single “Jesus Christ Pose” features
Cameron’s complex and urgent percus-
sion. Although the song’s fiery rhetoric
criticized charlatans exploiting religion for
gain, it was considered sufficiently contro-
versial to be banned from MTV airplay.
Cornell’s siren wail on “Slaves &
Bulldozers” gives Robert Plant a run for
his money as rock’s premiere siren vocal-
ist. The reissue is enhanced with a lenticu-
lar cover.
1994’s Superunknown could practically
have been a greatest hits album on its own,
replete with charting singles like the
melancholy “Fell on Black Days” and
dervish riffs of the clattering “Spoonman,”
in addition to memorable album cuts like
the lurching, two-ton grind of “Mailman”
and churning “Kickstand.” Thayil’s time-
twisting riff introduces the relentless
charge of the title cut, while his dissonant,
detuned guitar on “4th of July” trawls
such heavy sludge that it would sound
like the LP is playing at half-speed if not
for Cornell’s keening vocal. The psyche-
delia twisting through Shepherd’s “Head
Down” leads into “Black Hole Sun” with
Cornell’s lilting vocal and Thayil’s watery
guitar. Shepherd’s Eastern-influenced
“Half” suggests sitar and tabla in an
arrangement that features neither.
Listening to Cornell’s “Like Suicide” is a
persistent reminder of the beloved singer’s
tragic end. Other album highlights include
the brooding but guardedly hopeful “The
Day I Tried to Live,” and the unstoppable
odd-time headbanger “My Wave” featur-
ing Shepherd’s wah bass.
Continued on page 24