Author Archives: Steve Moyer

Leave It To Rick Rubin

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Some of my very favorite albums are produced by Rick Rubin – Master Of Reality’s debut, Danzig’s debut, The Cult’s Electric, the great live Red Devils album King King to name a few.

In fact, there was a time years ago when I would take a chance on albums specifically because Rick Rubin produced. Can’t say that about any other producer.

Which brings us to ZZ Top’s La Futura. As one of the Amazon reviews says, “How many times have we heard ZZ Top has gone back to their 70’s sound only to be disappointed?” Desperate for something new to me, I checked this out, sampling a couple tunes. It sounded pretty damn good. I ordered it.

“Blown away” is all I can say after playing it three times yesterday. This is back to the old 70’s sound as far as I’m concerned. No crappy processed, compressed guitars, no electronic drums, no fucking stupid synthesizers. This is dirty boogie blues in the spirit of those early gem albums, stripped down and in-your-face in usual Rick Rubin style. This album kicks ass.

And funny, as much as I hate slow songs, I’m gonna give you the only slow one on the album, which I actually like. Call me crazy, but this song reeks of Phil Lynott/Thin Lizzy and perhaps that’s why I love it so much. Everything else on the album is straight-ahead and upbeat. I highly, highly recommend it.

I was thinking this was my favorite album of 2015, but it came out in 2012. Oh well. My loss for not finding it until now.

Leave it to Rick Rubin.

My Favorite Dickie

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Since they “came up” recently, I thought of The Dickies for the first time in a while. Way more famous for covers than originals – from Paranoid to Silent Night – this is my favorite Dickies song nonetheless. Why?:

1) The scientific-sounding guitars over the Barracuda-like rumble (Heart sucks, by the way) are A+.

2) Always wanted to play this song. What could be cooler than chanting “Mole Men, Mo-a-ole Men” live on-stage?

3) The line “Beware of the head Mole Man Jack,” obviously a desperate attempt at something to rhyme with the previous “back” and “attack,” is so awful lyrically it becomes beautiful eventually.

By the way, in college, I owned a long-sleeved t-shirt with that phallic Dickies symbol on it. It got a lot of laughs in the cafeteria.

It’s Concert Time!

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Uncle Acid is touring in September to support their new album, also coming out in early September. As one of the few surviving bands still worth a shit, you owe it to yourself to see them in September when they are near. Ticket price $20. (My girlfriend made me take her to Elvis Costello and Steely Dan(?!?) recently and it cost me $300 for two decent seats. “Thank God by the time bands get to this level I either don’t care about them anymore or never did,” I thunk to myself.)

Anyway, here’s the newly released “single” (look out Bad Blood!). Sweet Sabbath drone with sweet Lennon vocals and two even sweeter guitar solos. See you in Philly on September 13th.

Not Music: Finally, Honesty In A Baseball Talk

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RotoWire has graciously asked me to participate in the up-to-now Erickson/Liss Charging The Mound stream of consciousness blog and I’m doing so. Chris Liss has been mentioning this when I talk to him for a while (he posted it in this week’s blog) and it’s just too good to not post everywhere possible:

While I’m Posting Alternate Takes. . .

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Since Jailbreak is in my all-time top 50, I bought the expensive super-duper deluxe version that came out a few years ago, with all kinds of demos, alternates, etc.

This is my favorite. Call me crazy, but it made the price of the whole package worth it all by itself. The differences are subtle until the different third verse (please stick around). And call me melodramatic, but when I first heard this, it gave me a sense of melancholy, as if Phil Lynott was still alive and making great new/old stuff again. I guess the entire song is kind of melancholy.

I’ve always thought this would be a cool cover for Springsteen.

While We’re On Classic English Punk. . .

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Just ordered John Lydon’s new biography Anger Is An Energy for Amazon Prime delivery on Thursday. I looked at it at Barnes & Noble and it must be 500 pages. (I’m definitely a guy who shops at B&N and buys on Amazon and will be the first to bitch and whine when B&N goes under. What a hypocrite.)

Why does Lydon need another biography? I guess I’ll find out, but I read the first one years ago and liked it a lot. Ty Cobb must be up to like five bios at this point, with a brand new one also on the shelves. I’ve only read the I-think-most-well-known-supposedly-much-tall-tales-and-nonsense one by Al Stump.

And forgive me for treating you like a musical three-year-old, but the new Lydon bio inspired me to listen to the Pistols’ Spunk, the prior-to-Sid Bollocks version with Matlock on bass. Again, I’m guessing you all have this as well as Bollocks and you know that Steve Jones (the guitarist on both albums) played bass on Bollocks, because, true to his rep, Sid couldn’t play.

I give you a typical choice here in Anarchy. Notice the more raw sound, the bouncy bass and Lydon’s a-little-flatter-than-Bollocks vocals as well as slightly different lyrics and delivery.

It isn’t difficult to tell Steve Jones played bass on Bollocks because, on that version, the bass simply doubles the guitar, creating quite a powerful sound wall, but very different from the Matlock Spunk recordings.

Hey, if I taught one person one thing today, maybe it was worth it. I’ll let you know on the book.

Finally Got Me A Sonics Album

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Their debut – Here Are The Sonics – came from Amazon yesterday. It’s pretty great.

I was inspired by news of their brand new album that’s getting some notice. Apparently, they’re still kicking ass in their 70s.

The cover (many covers on this album) of Roll Over Beethoven kind of sums up my favorite rock ‘n’ roll – a Chuck Berry base with punk chutzpah.

But this one’s my very favorite, a cover of a band called The Wailers, who have nothing to do with reggae. I found a video with pretty pictures for your viewing pleasure as well, definitely a respite from having to look at those dirty stinky Slayer guys.

If I had to sum up The Sonics in a phrase it would be “the white Little Richard.” That’s a compliment.

For Lawr And Tom

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From one of the best rock oral histories ever, Detroit Rock City – The Uncensored History of Rock ‘n’ Roll In America’s Loudest City, by Steve Miller (not that Steve Miller).

I went hunting (pun intended) for my favorite Ted Nugent “asshole in a cool kind of way” story, but ran into the John Sinclair quote right after it. It’s all there, right on page 19:

Bobby Rigg (The Frost, drummer): The first time we met Ted Nugent all he could talk about was himself and how he was the greatest guitar player in the world. We were in a hotel in New York City. We were staying there, Led Zeppelin was there, Nugent and the Amboy Dukes were there. And Nugent was on the same floor as Jimmy Page, and this hotel was built in a U-shape. Nugent’s window was across from Jimmy Page’s room; he put a Fender Twin Reverb in the window and started screaming at the top of his lungs, “I’m the greatest guitar player in the world! Jimmy Page sucks!” and started playing his guitar as loud as he could facing Jimmy Page’s room. That’s the way Nugent was. What you see is what you get.

John Sinclair: Ted Nugent is an asshole. He always was.