ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 26, 1991 By Steve Newton It can be a long wait between AC/DC albums, so easily-pleased fans of gritty, bastardized blues might cotton to the latest release from a new band featuring former D.O.A. drummer Ken “Dimwit” Montgomery. The Four Horsemen’s Nobody Said It Was Easy offers … Continue reading Album review: The Four Horsemen, Nobody Said It Was Easy (1991)
Album review: Dire Straits, On Every Street (1991)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 19, 1991 By Steve Newton What the hell happened to Dire Straits over the years? When the band’s debut album came out in ’78, you were hard-pressed to find one song on it that wasn’t a gem. Thirteen years later, it’s the exact opposite: you’ve gotta search … Continue reading Album review: Dire Straits, On Every Street (1991)
Album review: Guns N’ Roses, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II (1991)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 19, 1991 By Steve Newton It’s hard to believe that just three years ago Guns N’ Roses couldn’t get a rise out of a Vancouver crowd. The band opened for Iron Maiden at the Coliseum on May 30, 1988, and was so ticked off at the lame reaction … Continue reading Album review: Guns N’ Roses, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II (1991)
Album review: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Into the Great Wide Open (1991)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 8, 1991 By Steve Newton It’s awful hard for me to pick out the best tunes on the latest release by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, ’cause I pretty well love ’em all. A masterful pop craftsman who lives by the KISS credo (Keep It Simple, Stupid), … Continue reading Album review: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Into the Great Wide Open (1991)
Album review: Contraband, Contraband (1991)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 6, 1991 By Steve Newton Ian Hunter must be feeling pretty comfy these days. First off, Great White made him a pile of royalty bucks with its hit version of his 1975 barrelhouse-boogie “Once Bitten, Twice Shy”. Now Contraband—a new conglomeration of members from the Michael Schenker … Continue reading Album review: Contraband, Contraband (1991)
Album review: The Law, The Law (1991)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 2, 1991 By Steve Newton After having had to sit through Bad (Sad?) Company’s recent Vancouver concert—and its empty, money-grubbing versions of that band’s greatest hits—the release of the Law’s self-titled debut album came like manna from heaven. Original Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers has formed a new … Continue reading Album review: The Law, The Law (1991)
Album review: Deep Purple, Slaves and Masters (1990)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JAN. 3, 1991 By Steve Newton So Ian Gillan has left Deep Purple again, this time to be replaced by Joe Lynn Turner instead of David Coverdale. Well, that idea has its possibilities: Turner and Purple guitarist Richie Blackmore made some fine rock ’n’ roll together in the … Continue reading Album review: Deep Purple, Slaves and Masters (1990)
Album review: Goddo, 12 Gauge Goddo (1990)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JAN. 3, 1991 By Steve Newton I still remember driving into town from Chilliwack to see Goddo at the Body Shop way back in ’78 or some godforsaken year. What made the show so memorable for me wasn’t just the great power-rock this Canadian trio delivered, but the fact … Continue reading Album review: Goddo, 12 Gauge Goddo (1990)
Album review: Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, Savvy Show Stoppers (1990)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 13, 1990 By Steve Newton With winter here for a while, there’s no better way to recreate the joy of carefree summer cruisin’ than throwing some surf music on the ol’ turntable. The ol’ CD player, I mean. Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet are Canada’s foremost … Continue reading Album review: Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, Savvy Show Stoppers (1990)
Album review: Dread Zeppelin, Un-Led-Ed (1990)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 6, 1990 By Steve Newton You gotta wonder how a band like Dread Zeppelin ever came into being. Did a down-on-his-luck Elvis impersonator drowning his sorrows in a bar knock into a zonked-out reggae fiend, who then spilled his beer on a guitarist who idolizes Jimmy Page? And … Continue reading Album review: Dread Zeppelin, Un-Led-Ed (1990)
Album review: ZZ Top, Recycler (1990)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 29, 1990 By Steve Newton Playing the rock critic game can be tough, especially when you have to give the thumbs-down to bands that you’ve loved ever since you were a kid. The recent AC/DC album wasn’t up to snuff, and now another band I used to kill … Continue reading Album review: ZZ Top, Recycler (1990)
Album review: Blue Rodeo, Casino (1990)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 29, 1990 By Steve Newton Ever since its eponymous first record was unleashed to rave reviews three years ago, Blue Rodeo has been the little Canadian band that could. Mixing whimsical, feel-good roots rockers (“Heart Like Mine”) with savoury ballads (“Try”)—and always putting the music before things like … Continue reading Album review: Blue Rodeo, Casino (1990)
Album review: The Vaughan Brothers, Family Style (1990)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 18, 1990 By Steve Newton If any solace at all can be found in the wake of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s tragic helicopter-crash death, it lies in the fact that, before he passed on, Stevie got to do something he’s always wanted to do—make an album with his older … Continue reading Album review: The Vaughan Brothers, Family Style (1990)