Paul DiAnno's Lament....

Since my last post was kind of depressing, I figured I'd stay in that vein and talk about that poor bastard Paul DiAnno.

Who's Paul DiAnno you ask? Well, you should probably know, but if you don't, he was the first singer of Iron Maiden. Well.... actually that's not entirely true. He was the first Iron Maiden singer to be immortalized on vinyl. Iron Maiden had a few singers before our boy Paul, but they've been forgotten by history! (or at least by me)

So yeah, DiAnno made it onto a ton of Maiden singles, including their first release, "the SoundHouse Tapes". If you have a copy of this you're lucky. I apparently am unlucky, as I do not own the SoundHouse tapes. Are you listening Santa? I've been really good this year, you fat S.O.B!

Anyway, PD was a pretty decent singer, but he just didn't really fit in with the rest of the band. For one, he had short hair and back then, that just didn't fly with most metalheads. I know, I know, you're saying "RecordLad, you ignorant bastard, what about Rob Halford?" Well, I guess he was the exception to the rule.

So anyway, I'm getting off topic here, the point is, PD could really wail, and the two Maiden albums he appeared on could only be described as EPIC.

So what happened? I've heard tons of stories, he was unreliable, a drunken buffoon, etc. etc. etc. but the main reason seems to be that they thought they had gone as far as they could with poor old Paul DiAnno.

It really does seem like they made the right choice though, as the band is still doing incredibly well with Paul's successor, Bruce Dickinson. But there's the rub. Mostly when you get kicked out of a band, it's by your idiot friends in high school who all end up working at the Dairy Queen anyway. Or you get kicked out of your stupid airband cause they only want four guys in the band so they can do all Poison songs. (That's right you assholes, I still haven't forgotten about that!)

But getting kicked out of Iron Maiden in 1981 would be just about the worst thing that could ever happen to you. Right after you got the boot, they would release classic album after classic album and pretty much dominate the rest of the decade. You would have to go to mars to avoid seeing kids with Iron Maiden t-shirts.

And then just when you thought they were done, since Bruce left the group and the new singer Blaze Bayley is even worse than you were, that F*CK@$$ comes back and they're back doing just as well as they ever were!! AAGGHHH!!!!!

Even just typing that was awful, can you imagine living it? Paul DiAnno, you need a hug.

Hey, I'm Back...

Hey, I've been gone for a while but now I'm back.
I had to go back to Alberta for my Grandmother's funeral. It's always weird to go home but for a funeral it's even stranger.

I always find funerals kinda bizarre, I suppose everyone does. To me the religious stuff never really gives me much comfort, I would usually rather hear people's memories and thoughts.

Also, I don't know if this is weird or not, and it would depend on the person and their wishes, but I think it would be really cathartic to give a round of applause as the casket is carried out.
I don't know, it seems to me that a huge standing ovation would be somewhat fitting for a person's final exit. Maybe it's just me, I dunno.

Anyway, that's why I haven't posted in a while, in case anyone was wondering. So, that's all for now, I'll write more about records later, Record Lad.

The First KISS Album Ever!

Not only is this the first KISS album, it's the first pressing of the first KISS album, which means it's possible that it was the very first KISS album ever pressed. Hey, I just said it was possible, not that it was likely.

But still it's kind of neat to think of all the KISS albums that would later be pressed, this was one of the first. When this was being manufactured, KISS were just a bunch of sweaty goofs with no money who wore makeup. Not a good combo.

How do I know it's the first pressing? Well, it's simple. It doesn't contain the God-awful "Kissin' Time", quite possibly the worst KISS song recorded. (until the solo albums when all Hell broke loose)

"Kissin' Time" was actually a re-working of "Twistin' Time" by Bobby Rydell. Apparently the label needed a hit and some numb-nuts thought this crappy song would do it. The record industry: clearly a haven for the dim-witted and the retarded, God bless 'em!

So "Kissin' Time" peaked at number 83 (it's surprising it got that high) and was added to subsequent pressings of the disc. This one was actually quite a find for me, I've been keeping an eye out for it since I was probably 9 or something like that,but I never expected to actually find it. And when I did, I almost passed it by!

It was in a bargain bin for $3 and I was grabbing a bunch of other stuff and I thought, "well, I already have this album, I guess I'll put it back." But as I was doing so, the KISS nerd in my head shouted out "Wait you stupid idiot, it could be the first pressing without 'Kissin' Time', aren't you even gonna check?"

Well, I turned it over and couldn't believe that there in the bargain bin for $3 was one of the most sought after KISS records ever. (besides "the Originals II", but you can pretty much forget about ever even seeing that one in real life) So there it was, years after I even cared anymore, I was now the proud owner of what would have probably given me a heart attack when I was 12. Isn't life funny?

I'm glad I found this disc though, it reminded me of why I used to like KISS so much. This is definitely their best record. Most people would say "Destroyer" but that would rate a close second for me. This one has almost all the songs that would make up their set list for the next five years! How can you argue with that?

In fact, the KI$$ tribute band currently calling themselves KISS still play half of these songs live. Those poor bastards, can you imagine how sick they are of them? Oh well, I guess as long as Gene gets to wipe his ass with hundred dollar bills he's happy.

So long and thanks for all the out of print NOFX records...

Wow, after finding NOFX's "Pump up the Valuum" last week, I never expected to find this one too! At the same store no less! Is anyone else impressed by this? Well, judging by the number of views this blog gets, I would guess no, but oh well.

Anyway, I was super stoked to find "Pump up the...." but this one is even more impressive I think. It was pressed only once (to my knowledge) in 1997, so that means that this record was shrinkwrapped and probably stuck in the Epitaph warehouse for almost 10 years!

It's also a really good disc. After the dissapointing "Heavy Petting Zoo" (It had it moments, but overall I wasn't a huge fan) I had almost lost interest in NOFX, until they won me back with this one. The songs are short and sweet and some of their best.

"Murder the Government" is a classic, and "Monosyllabic Girl" always makes me laugh. Not to mention "Eat the Meek" and "All Outta Angst", although I don't think that one is true anymore, if it ever was... Wow, there's really nothing like reviewing an album people have known about since 1997. Is there anything more useless?

Oh well, I was really happy to find this on vinyl and the cover looks way better than the CD version. Also I got it with store credit, so this baby didn't cost me a dime! Yay me!

The good finds continue...

So this is kind of a continuation of the last 2 posts, the Iron Maiden ones..

So anyway, as I said, I had taken some stuff in to my local record store and found the Iron Maiden clear 10 inch I reviewed below.

"Sweet!" I thought to myself, if I get any credit, I'll definitely grab this. Then I headed over to the NOFX section and was amazed to find their 2000 album "Pump up the Valuum". This thing is so out of print it's ridiculous.

So now I had a dilemma, If I only got enough credit for one, which one would it be?

While thinking it over, I walked past Joan Jett's "Album" pictured on the bottom left. Oh man, my stepdaughter would flip over this one, now what the hell am I gonna do?

Being a glutton for punishment, I flipped to the "I" section, only to find the Iron Maiden album "Piece of Mind" the one I've been looking for for so long. "AAARRGGHHH!!!!!" This was so much worse than not being able to find anything, I was sure I'd never get enough credit for all of them, crap! crap! crap!

So, I had to decide. I figured I'd go for the NOFX, then the Maiden 10 inch, and figure it out from there depending on the credit situation. So I walked up to the desk and was surprised to find that I had earned over 50 bucks in credit! I could afford everything and still have money left over! I felt a great wave of relief flow over me, and then I realized I was a huge loser for getting so excited about records.

But for a while there, it was a beautiful moment. So the NOFX album is pretty good, I've only heard it once so far, pretty standard NOFX, I actually like their new one a lot better, I'll probably review that one soon..

And Joan Jett, well, what else can you say about Joan? She's always pretty solid and this disc doesn't dissapoint. It doesn't contain any of her huge hits, but it does have what is in my mind, one of the greatest album covers ever. I mean, look at that thing, it's a classic! It pretty much defines rock 'n' roll for me, simple, but effective.

So, all in all, a pretty decent record finding day. Even though some stuff was going on to make it a crappy day otherwise, a good find can seemingly always bring a smile to your face. So if stuff sucks for you, just quit your whining and go buy some records! And if that doesn't work, you should probably just shoot yourself.

Actually no, don't do that, maybe just eat some candy or something.