Sunday
Jun122011
Heavy Tuesday Redux
Sunday, June 12, 2011 A lot of you [all? – Ed.] missed my DJ night at Footsies. No hard feelings, because now you have to read about it. Stealing a page out of the Rollins playbook (be glad it’s not that Rollins / Danzig comic book – children read this), I’ve got my set list notes below. (FYI, next to Heavy Tuesdays, Rollins’ show on KCRW is the best DJ set going.) The heady intoxicants of Laurel notwithstanding, here’s what I remember of that my inaugural DJ night at Heavy Tuesdays:
- SURGICAL STEEL, “Rivet Head” – From the Metal Massacre II LP. Like the best concise tunes of the Priest catalog. From Phoenix, where Halford was living, and Big Rob helped them out. Somewhere on the Interweb it says Rob dated the drummer. Note the power of positive thinking: “I know I can do/Anything I please/When I put my mind to it/ I’ve got the metal disease!”
- DEF LEPPARD, “Wasted” – When Pete Willis was in the band, they had the best riffs. Really. Behold Exhibit A.
- WITCHFINDER GENERAL, “Soviet Invasion” – From the EP of same name, I heard it goes for $150 and up now. Good disc, but come on now. One of the most ridiculously overblown guitar recordings I know. Except for…The Ebony Records mini set:
- SAVAGE, “Loose n Lethal” – Raw and rawer. If I do this again, you’ll be hearing more from this record. Metallica covered this song, and it’s not on the “Garage” series probably because it hits a “little too close to home.” As in “Lars, Hit the Lights, and don’t let anyone hear or see that Savage record!”
- CHATEAUX, “Chained and Desperate” – Another Ebony commercial for guitar amplifiers. Fellow DJ Scott Carlson really impressed me when he knew this one.
- MONTROSE, “Space Station No. 5” – Great hippy metal track. Just like the Sabs announced the end of the Summer of Love in the UK, this tune of communal delusion does it Stateside. Found this single edit to save a couple minutes.
- RAVEN, “Live at the Inferno” – This was tough. Had to chose between insane “Wiped Out” Raven and technically perfect “All for One” Raven. Went for the insanity.
- CULPRIT, “Guilty As Charged” – one record wonders from Seattle. “Technically proficient” to say the least.
- UFO, “C’Mon Everybody” (live) – Pre-Schenker Blue Cheer UFO.
- UFO, “Too Hot To Handle” – crisp, clean, Germanic.
- THIN LIZZY, “Bad Reputation” – The tightest guitar lines; Brian Downey plays the top of the kit.
- MOTÖRHEAD, “Stone Dead Forever” – live from the Golden Years EP. I’ve rocked to this bass a thousand times. Almost played a tune from Orgasmatron b/c of superior vinyl mastering over the CD, but went for this after Tom Neely scooped me.
- ANVIL, “Metal on Metal” – I was always a sucker for Anvil’s shop class sex talk (Motormount; Heat Sink; Jackhammer), so I wanted to go that direction, but sometimes the riff beats the mind.
- ALCATRAZZ, “Jet to Jet” – Eary-ish Yngwie with Gram Bonnet. Sounds a lot like Blackmore in retrospect. Amazing how loud the keyboards sound now (see Holy Diver).
- RATT, “Wanted Man” – Hot production, good writing. What a summer it was when this hit.
- PAT TRAVERS, “Snortin Whiskey, Drinkin Cocaine” – Remember this name: Tommy Aldridge. You’ll see it again when Ozzy blows the roof off his legacy with “Speak of the Devil”
- VAN HALEN, “Dirty Movies” – anything off Fair Warning is fair game.
- W.A.S.P, “L.O.V.E. Machine” – Sort of a dud; too much drum reverb is a bad idea.
- JUDAS PRIEST, “Eat Me Alive” – see comment to WASP, but I chuckle heatily to lines like “gut wrenching frenzy that deranges every joint / I’m gonna force you at gun point.” OUCH!
- MOTLEY CRÜE, “Ten Seconds To Love” – what a weird arrangement. Why “Girl Girls Girls” is a stripper anthem when you have this is beyond me.
- DEMON FLIGHT, “Dead of the Night” – Another strange early Metal Blade release. Might hold the mark for most sustained ridiculous male falsetto.
- OVERKILL (the SST band), “Hell Keeps Getting Hotter” – Always gotta throw in a good punk metal crossover tune. Brutal.
- Y&T, “My Way or the Highway” – The first two (three if you count “Yesterday and Today”) Y&T records are great hard rock. Influential more than is acknowledged.
- KIX,“Blow My Fuse” – AC/DC precision on the rhythm. AC/DC humor on the lyrics. Unsurprisingly guitarist Brian Forsythe spent time in Rhino Bucket later.
- BLACK SABBATH, “Fairies Wear Boots” – Things were dying out at the end of the night. Time for the mellow strains of the greatest stumbling back from the pub anthem ever. Carlson wanted “Spirit Caravan,” but even with no patrons in Footsies, it wasn’t mellow enough for that.
Anyway, that’s it. Can’t wait to do it again. Thanks to Decibel Mag, Footsies, Laurel, Tom Neely and, of course, Scott “Metal Post Doc” Carlson. Special thanks to my friend Mike Tamony who came out from Redlands to help me go through the records we obsessed over 25 years ago – and supplied the ALCATRAZZ.
This week's HEAVY TUESDAY brings you special DJ action from Roskva of the mighty LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH. Until next time....
Reader Comments (1)
What a very nice setlist. Actually, make that perfect. What a perfect setlist. The whole thing is pretty much a primer for all those who wants to listen to heavy metal. You really got me at Van Halen and Black Sabbath.