Cheevyjames’ Musical Roundhouse

Released: 1992
Tracks: “La forza del destino” Overture; [from Aida] Triumphal March; Ballet Music; Celeste Aida…; Se Quel Guerrier io fossi… [from Nabucco] Prisoners’ Chorus; [from Rigoletto] Questa e quella; La Donna e mobile; [from Il Trovatore] Anvil Chorus; [from La Traviata] Prelude; E strano e strano; Pura Siccome un angelo; Lunge de lei…De’ miei bollenti spiriti; Finale
Best track: N/A
Track to skip: N/A

Rating: 71

Released: 1988
Tracks: I Remember Now; Anarchy-X; Revolution Calling; Operation: Mindcrime; Speak; Spreading the Disease; The Mission; Suite Sister Mary; The Needle Lies; Electric Requiem; Breaking the Silence; I Don’t Believe in Love; Waiting for 22; My Empty Room; Eyes of a Stranger
Best track: impossible to decide; what struck me most today was Revolution Calling & Spreading the Disease
Track to skip: it’s a concept album, all tracks are important

It’s a political concept album, but there’s the social element as well. It’s hard to really describe ‘what the story’s about’ since it’s not just about one thing. It’s not just about the dirty things the government does. It’s not just about corruption in the Catholic Church. It’s not just about the dangers of heavy drug use. It’s not just about false prophets. Operation: Mindcrime is really all these things and more. And that’s just the lyrical side. It’s hard to convey how huge of a work this is without you just hearing it for yourself. The album is also not just a good ‘whole’, but the individual songs themselves are excellent.

This was the first Queensrÿche album I ever heard and it’s by far their best work yet. All five of the musicians (Geoff Tate-Vocals, Chris DeGarmo-Guitars, Michael Wilton-Guitars, Eddie Jackson-Bass & Scott Rockenfield-Drums) are great players and contribute wonderfully to this album. Like I’ve said before, the music on here is really fantastic. Not only is this a great concept album (and one of my faves), it’s also just a plain old great album anyway.

Rating: 97

Recorded: 1973/1974, Released: 1992
Tracks: [Disc 1] Walk On…No Pussyfooting; Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Part Two; Lament; Exiles; Improv – A Voyage to the Centre of the Cosmos; Easy Money; Improv – Providence; Fracture; Starless [Disc 2] 21st Century Schizoid Man; Walk off from Providence; (improv) Shark’s Lungs in Lemsip; Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Part One; Book of Saturday; Easy Money; (improv) We’ll Let You Know; The Night Watch; Improv – Tight Scrummy; Peace – A Theme; Cat Food; Easy Money…; (improv) …It Is For You, But Not For Us [Disc 3] Walk On…No Pussyfooting; The Great Deceiver; Improv – Bartley Butsford; Exiles; Improv – Daniel Dust; The Night Watch; Doctor Diamond; Starless; Improv – Wilton Carpet; The Talking Drum; Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Part Two (abbreviated); Applause & Announcement; Improv – Is There Life Out There? [Disc 4] Improv – The Golden Walnut; The Night Watch; Fracture; Improv – Clueless and Slightly Slack; Walk On…No Pussyfooting; Improv – Some Pussyfooting; Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Part One; Improv – The Law of Maximum Distress, Part One; Improv – The Law of Maximum Distress, Part Two; Easy Money; Improv – Some More Pussyfooting; The Talking Drum
Best track (per disc): Disc 1-Starless, 2-Easy Money #1, 3-Daniel Dust>Night Watch, 4-Law of Maximum Distress
Track to skip: nothing on the entire box set should be skipped

Disc 1 is nearly the full concert from Providence, RI 6/30/74 (the last two songs are at the beginning of disc 2). This was the next to last show that Crimson played before breaking up (Live in Central Park is that last show) and it plainly shows how monstrous this band was. I love that we get the full concert, too bad it couldn’t all fit on one CD. All three of the band’s mid-70’s albums are touched on here, with some great improv as well. As Red wouldn’t be released until later in the year both Starless and the improv Providence were previews of the upcoming album. In the case of Providence, it’s the actual track itself. This version is the full improv (not edited like on Red) and also has a different mix. I actually prefer the version on Red, mostly since Wetton’s bass is mixed louder on that version. Either way, it’s still a fantastic improv. Better though, is the evening’s first improvisation, A Voyage to the Centre of the Cosmos a track that Fripp announces to the audience as “a piece we’ve been working on for a considerable amount of time.” At nearly 15 minutes long it’s one of the cooler improvs this group did (this from a band that was exceptional at group improvisation). I think the biggest highlight is Starless. Probably the best live version the band ever did; it’s very intense. This Providence show is excellent.

Disc 2 continues on with the rest of the Providence show, the encore of Schizoid Man and the Walk Off. Schizoid Man is the same excellent version from USA, without the overdubs. The Walk Off is particularly amusing with the recorded conversation of the audience (Guy #1: We want more! Guy #2: You can’t have any! Guy #1: That’s too bad!). Sharks’ Lungs to Cat Food are from Glasgow on 10/23/73 (the oldest material on the box set) and the last two tracks on the disc were recorded at Penn State the day before the Providence show. The Glasgow tracks are interesting in that we get songs that aren’t anywhere else on the box set. Stuff like an excellent Book of Saturday and the extremely rare Peace/Cat Food. This ’73 version of Cat Food isn’t anywhere near as good as the original, but it’s still nice to hear it done by this lineup. The audience sure was surprised. We’ll Let You Know is an improv and also it’s on the Starless album in an edited form. Both Easy Money’s from this disc are excellent and both go into great improvs. The Glasgow EM starts out kinda tentative, but then turns into a monster and the best track on this particular disc.

Disc 3 is mostly from a show in Pittsburgh on 4/29/74 with the last two tracks again from the Penn State show. The setlist for the Pittsburgh show was the ‘middle of the tour’ setlist that the band had going. This one presented some different material as well as running order. Great Deceiver opened the set with Night Watch in the middle and closing with an improv>Talking Drum>Larks 2. I don’t think this set works as well as what’s on disc 1, but I LOVE the version of Night Watch on here. Sometimes they did this one too fast or too slow, but this version is right on. The improv that sets up Night Watch is excellent as well: a very peaceful improvisation, which is a rarity among this heavy of a group. Great Deceiver really doesn’t work as a live track; it’s just missing something. We do get a previously unreleased song in Doctor Diamond on here, but after one listen it’s understandable why it remained in the can until now. It’s not that bad of a song, but the first half is pretty boring. It does pick up and get into some really cool bits, but overall it’s not that great of a track. The version of Starless on here is a bit rough and it sounds like it was one of the first attempts at it. I really like the inclusion of the improv from the Penn State show, great stuff. Mostly this disc is just average, there are some standouts, but it’s the ‘least best’ disc of the set.

Last disc in the set gives us two concerts: the first four tracks are from Toronto 6/24/74 and 5-12 are from Zurich 11/15/73. The best thing about this disc is it’s full of improvised goodness. On this disc alone there’s over 35 minutes of Crimson improv. Actually, it’s all the improv that makes this the best disc of the whole box. The written songs are all excellent (esp. Larks 1 & Fracture), but the meat of this disc is all the improv. The best one is Law of Maximum Distress (both parts). The tape ran out in the middle, so that’s why it’s divided into two parts. The part that actually connects these two was used as the music bed for The Mincer from Starless and Bible Black. There is the area of the actual tape running out, but that probably didn’t take too long. If you know The Mincer then you’ll have some idea of how sinister this music is. The other improv I really love from this disc is the first track, Golden Walnut from Toronto. It’s another long one and pretty evil as well…damn, so is Some More Pussyfooting. Man, they don’t mess around on this!

Unless you were at any of these concerts or had bootlegs, this box set was probably a revelation when it came out in 1992. It really proved once and for all that the 73/74 version of King Crimson was one of the best heavy bands to ever exist. For all the Crimheads out there, the main reason you need this is all the group improvisation these guys do. They’re masters at it and no other rock band (ever, before or since) could improv this well. Seriously, the improvs here take up over 1 ½ CDs. Couple that with all the other good performances and you have an absolutely essential box set. This is worth most any price you’ll pay for it.

Rating: 96

Released: 1995
Tracks: Linus & Lucy; Buggy Ride; Peppermint Patty; On Peanuts Playground; Oh, Good Grief!; Wright Brothers Rag; Charlie Brown; Little Red-Haired Girl; Pebble Beach; Snoopy & Woodstock; Little Birdie; Why, Charlie Brown; Joe Cool’s Blues (Snoopy’s Return)
Best track: very hard to choose…I really like Peppermint Patty
Tracks to skip: Wright Brothers Rag & Little Birdie

So, for my active listening session earlier, I sat down here at my computer and actually enjoyed this thing. The Guaraldi compositions are excellent in themselves, and so naturally the Ellis trio is perfect at playing them. The surprise, however, are Wynton’s compositions. After his appearance on Ken Burns’ Jazz, I lost a bit of respect for him. I just thought he was extremely arrogant and acted like he knew everything (kinda like me, then?). But, I think my opinion of him changed a good bit by hearing this. Damn, the things he wrote for this are GOOD. Everybody gets a turn to solo, but naturally his trumpet gets the most. I don’t mind, he’s a really good player. The only song of Wynton’s I didn’t like was Wright Brothers Rag. I absolutely can’t stand that Dixieland kind of jazz and it does not fit with the rest of the music on this CD. I find that type of stuff really annoying and it’s (IMO) the worst kind of jazz. Oh, I don’t consider “Smooth Jazz” to be Jazz at all…it’s more like pure evil masquerading as music. Wright Bros. Rag is better than smooth jazz, but I still don’t like it. Anyway, the vast majority of this is quite good. I still prefer Guaraldi’s original stuff, but the songs Wynton wrote are good in their own right.

Rating: 84

Released: 1994
Tracks: Julius; Down With Disease; If I Could; Riker’s Mailbox; Axilla (Part II); Lifeboy; Sample in a Jar; Wolfman’s Brother; Scent of a Mule; Dog Faced Boy; Demand
Best tracks: Julius and If I Could
Track to skip: Riker’s Mailbox, also the ending of Axilla is stupid

Regardless of all my griping, there is some fantastic material here. Julius is worth the money itself. An absolutely killer track and another style of music now conquered. For this it’s horn-based soul. Most of these songs are really well written things and ones that would eventually turn out to be live monsters (Wolfman’s and Disease especially). I actually like all the guest stars on here, unlike a lot of folks. We have the Tower of Power Horns (Julius), Alison Krauss (gorgeous vocals on If I Could), Bela Fleck (Scent of a Mule) and others, all enjoyable. The things I don’t enjoy are Riker’s Mailbox, a stupid and completely worthless noise-fest and the ending ‘psychedelic’ bit of Axilla (almost ruining a great song). I used to not care for Lifeboy and Dog Faced Boy, but they’ve grown on me. Songs like Scent of a Mule and Demand (esp. the ending jam, a live excerpt from a performance of Split Open and Melt, which is freaking excellent) take away from the album, even if they are tremendous songs. They just don’t fit. OK, maybe Demand proper, just not the latter half. But those 2 and the things I skip, if they weren’t on here and the band used what’s left as the cornerstone…well, then we’d have a totally different album. As it stands, it’s massively unbalanced. The guys should’ve just ‘sold out’ all the way and made a solid album. I still like it though; it’s just not as good as it could be.

Rating: 88

Released: 1994
Tracks: 6:00; Caught in a Web; Innocence Faded; Erotomania; Voices; The Silent Man; The Mirror; Lie; Lifting Shadows off a Dream; Scarred; Space-Dye Vest
Best track: Lifting Shadows off a Dream
Track to skip: absolutely none

Something I’ve always loved about Dream Theater, and more so on this album, is how every member contributes to the lyrics. Petrucci is still the main lyricist, but the other 4 (including LaBrie for a change) also write lyrics. And, to make it even better, as a band they write GOOD lyrics. Not a bunch of stupid love songs, but serious, thoughtful and intelligent lyrics. Dream Theater is one of the few bands out there that really puts as much effort in the music as they do the lyrics. It’s a rarity, that’s for sure. After this album, the guys lose a lyrical voice that hasn’t yet been filled. This was keyboardist Kevin Moore’s last album (the lyrics to 6:00 sum up nicely what he was going through in making his decision to leave the group) who quit right after they finished this. For Awake and I&W I’d say both he and guitarist John Petrucci split the lyrics evenly. Since Moore’s departure, neither of the keyboardists have written any lyrics that I’m aware of. True LaBrie has stepped up and written more, but Moore is a much better lyricist.

So, what we have on this album are focused and tight songs (don’t look at the times, listen to the music), superb lyrics, more than superb musicianship, huge confidence, bigger production budget, etc. etc. etc. All that adds up to not only a large improvement over Images & Words, but also DT’s best album to date. I hope that someday they top this one; that’s an exciting idea if they can. But for now, this is their best. Awake is an excellent album.

Rating: 97

Released: 1981
Tracks: Majestic; Where Were You; Just the Same Way; Line of Fire; Lights; Stay Awhile; Too Late; Dixie Highway; Feeling That Way; Anytime; Do You Recall; Walks Like a Lady; La Do Da; Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’; Wheel in the Sky; Any Way You Want It; The Party’s Over (Hopelessly in Love)
Best track: I’ll just say Dixie Highway
Track to skip: Majestic is really useless and is only a tape of the song

Besides Majestic, which is pointless, the thing that bugs me most about this is the editing. This wasn’t recorded at one concert, so in between different cities there are fadeouts. I hate fadeouts on live albums, and I think that hatred stems from this. Geez, at least edit them so it sounds like one concert, even if it isn’t. As expected, this features all the hits from the previous 3 albums (hmm, I guess it’s like the 3 pre-Perry albums don’t even exist!) so most people shouldn’t be disappointed by the track selection. Everything’s covered.

What I really like, and I wish more people would do, is that there are 2 previously unreleased songs on here. The excellent Dixie Highway was a song they presumably wrote on the road and played live (and thus ‘captured’ here) and Party’s Over is a new studio song. I really like both of these songs and they make Captured that much more enjoyable. Another little thing I like is the extension of Anytime. True, it’s just an excuse to say the name of the city and get the crowd more into it, but I like it. There are some solos on here, but thankfully they’re relatively short and not annoying. Neal Schon’s guitar solo at the end of Walks Like a Lady is decent, but nothing too special. However, the solos after La Do Da (bassist Ross Valory then drummer Steve Smith) are pretty cool Both are great musicians who know how to actually solo. I have a ton of respect for Valory especially. Like I said above, this is better than Infinity-Evolution-Departure since it filters out the bad stuff and highlights the money shots. Plus, the band is much more energetic in a live setting. Anyone interested in pre-80’s Journey should check this out.

Rating: 87

Released: 1978
Tracks: Don’t Look Back; The Journey; It’s Easy; A Man I’ll Never Be; Feelin’ Satisfied; Party; Used to Bad News; Don’t Be Afraid
Best track: Don’t Look Back
Track to skip: none are really that awful, most just don’t move me that much

So, that leaves us with 2 good songs, 1 decent one, and the rest are forgettable. Hmm, not a good score. I do have to admit that Feelin’ Satisfied and Man I’ll Never Be were both very good live, but the studio versions are lacking a bit. So, I guess I’m not swayed by my nostalgia for this. I’m not too impressed this time and it just sunk in why I don’t pull it out too often. It goes with the year.

Rating: 78

Released: 1993
Tracks: Rotten Apple; Nutshell; I Stay Away; No Excuses; Whale & Wasp; Don’t Follow; Swing on This
Best track: all are excellent, but Whale & Wasp is just slightly at the top
Track to skip: none

Rating: 97

Released: 1997
Tracks: Breathless; Empire State; Blue; Numb
Best track: probably Breathless
Track to skip: Blue

These are all Alex’s songs I believe, thus he’s the only one doing lead vocals. There are some occasional out of tune singing bits (like on Empire State) which definitely give this a demo quality. I don’t think Blue is that great of a song and truthfully I don’t even remember it. I saw Megalo hundreds of times live and this demo is nothing compared to how they were live. True they weren’t the greatest band ever, but I really liked their songs and always had a good time at the shows. And regardless who played drums for them, I’d still think they were a cool band. This demo is decent however. Nothing too spectacular.

Rating: 69