hard rock Archives - Page 6 of 6 - The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Jun62007 by Chris Holmes1 Comment

Chris Cornell should not have carried on

Chris Cornell's first post-Soundgarden release, 1999's Euphoria Morning, was an artistic triumph and a commercial flop. Apparently, most of the fans who loved him in Soundgarden didn't care for his more introspective side. Perhaps in response, Cornell hooked up with three quarters of Rage Against the Machine to form Audioslave. Anxious to get to work on his second solo album, Cornell left Audioslave after three albums last February. Prior to the official breakup, Cornell surfaced as a solo artist with "You Know My Name," the theme song for the James Bond film Casino Royale. It was a promising signal of things to come -- but it turns out to have been a misleading one as well as his new album, Carry On, is a an uninspired bore. Things begin promisingly enough. The album opener, "No Suc...

May12007 by Chris Holmes5 Comments

First impressions – Snakes & Arrows

Music

Here's my stream of consciousness review of Snakes & Arrows, written as I listen to it. "Far Cry" - This is the only song I heard prior to the album release. This is much in the same vein as Test for Echo and Vapor Trails. It has a really catchy chorus, and crackles with more life than all of TFE. And of course there are the Hemispheres-era chord changes, which are sweet. "Armor and Sword" - A little plodding, but I like the addition of the acoustic guitar and the lush (but not overpowering) production. Lyrics are decent but it seems like Geddy doesn't know how to cram that many words into the arrangement. Love the bass tone on this one. More classic era chord changes toward the end of the song. The main qualm here is that it is just too slow, which lessens the impact of ...

Apr42007 by Chris Holmes12 Comments

Rush Album Countdown: #17 – #15

Music

In anticipation of the May 1 release of Rush's 18th full-length studio album, Snakes & Arrows, I'll be reviewing the first 17 in order of greatness. I'm skipping compilations and live albums, mainly because none of Rush's compilations or live albums are all that essential. And I'm lazy. That can't be stressed enough. I originally wanted to dedicate a post to each album, but I think that would rightly be seen as a transparent attempt to drag this thing out needlessly. So I'll start with 3 at a time, and we'll see how that goes. #17 - Rush (1974) No surprise here. While by no means a bad album, Rush represents a group that obviously hadn't found their own style yet. Most reviews of this album point out how influenced it is by Led Zeppelin and Cream. Honestly I can't hear the...

Mar272007 by Chris Holmes2 Comments

Deep Cuts: Queen

Music

Here's the first in a series of entries dedicated to exploring songs from my favorite groups that don't get a lot of attention. These represent the ten best songs (in no special order) from an act's catalog that were never released as singles, don't get radio play, and are typically appreciated only by hardcore fans. Up first is Queen, for no other reason than they showed up on my iPod today. "In the Lap of the Gods" (Sheer Heart Attack, 1974) - What makes this song great is the completely over-the-top opening and some of Queen's sweetest vocal harmonies ever. Listen to the super-high part - that's drummer Roger Taylor, a key element of the band's vocal presentation. "Football Fight" (Flash Gordon, 1980) - Although not fully fleshed out, this is still a gem of a tune. It features...

Feb242007 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

So many decisions…

Music

I'm sure you have been coming here every day for months, wondering what happened to me. Kind of like opening the refrigerator 20 times in a night in the hopes that something new and delicious will have appeared since the last time you checked. Well I have no new ham or salad for you - just some old hot dogs. (more…)