Tag: review

There’s plenty of room to keep your weed in the Queen box if you toss the two duds

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 17, 1998 By Steve Newton Don’t let the oversized imitation-velvet box fool you—this cheaply designed collection is nothing more than a digitally remastered reissue of the band’s first eight studio albums. Unlike in most boxed sets, there’s nothing previously unreleased here, nothing rare, nothing live. Instead of paying … Continue reading There’s plenty of room to keep your weed in the Queen box if you toss the two duds

Mott the Hoople box set is definitely worth the extra dollars

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 24, 1998 By Steve Newton This long-awaited, three-disc Mott the Hoople box--All the Young Dudes: The Anthology-- is only available as a British import, but for die-hard fans of the distinctive and innovative glam-era band it’s definitely worth the extra dollars. As well as the group’s biggest hits … Continue reading Mott the Hoople box set is definitely worth the extra dollars

Silverchair fanatics will lap up the Aussie grunge-rockers’ Freak Box

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 11, 1997 By Steve Newton You’ve gotta think pretty highly of yourself to issue a five-disc box set when you’ve only got two albums to your name, but that’s what teenage Aussie grunge-rockers Silverchair have done with this limited-edition import, The Freak Box. Even more bizarre, though, is … Continue reading Silverchair fanatics will lap up the Aussie grunge-rockers’ Freak Box

The Doors box set documents the band in all its unrefined glory

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 11, 1997 By Steve Newton This four-disc package of Doors material, spanning the years 1965 to ’71, favours previously unreleased live tracks and demo recordings over studio-polished hits, and documents the band in all its eccentric, unrefined, and—with tunes that pass the 18-minute mark—excessive glory. Its mix of … Continue reading The Doors box set documents the band in all its unrefined glory

Sinister director goes from horrifying to horrible with Deliver Us From Evil

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JULY 3, 2014 Director Scott Derrickson's Sinister was one of the better Hollywood fright flicks of 2012. It was a grim descent into domestic horror, with Ethan Hawke convincingly portraying a true-crime writer uncovering genuinely creepy supernatural goings-on at his new home. Derrickson's latest, Deliver Us From Evil, is pretty much the opposite. … Continue reading Sinister director goes from horrifying to horrible with Deliver Us From Evil

Whiney False Creek residents put a damper on the Long John Baldry-topped Granville Island Blues Fest

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 26, 1996 By Steve Newton What is it with Vancouver residents who can’t stand the sound of music emanating from an outdoor venue? I remember how the folks living in the Hastings-and-Renfrew area used to beef about the volume of daylong rock concerts at Empire Stadium in the mid-’70s, as if … Continue reading Whiney False Creek residents put a damper on the Long John Baldry-topped Granville Island Blues Fest

That wild ’70s weekend when Kiss brought the glam and the Pistols brought the punk

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 5, 1996 By Steve Newton The Rocket really nailed it. The Seattle music paper’s latest cover sports hilarious caricatures of Kiss’s Gene Simmons and the Sex Pistols’ Johnny “Rotten” Lydon, under the headline “Geezers of Rock”. A prune-faced Lydon is depicted with bloodshot eyes, slobbering all over himself, wearing a button … Continue reading That wild ’70s weekend when Kiss brought the glam and the Pistols brought the punk

A cringe-inducing Ozzy cashes in on the genius of riff-master Tony Iommi in Vancouver

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 1, 1996 When Ozzy Osbourne called off his June GM Place show after two-and-a-half songs, the excuse given for his voice lapsing into a pathetic-sounding croak was first described by the concert promoter as a “vocal seizure”, and then by his record label as an “allergic attack”. But … Continue reading A cringe-inducing Ozzy cashes in on the genius of riff-master Tony Iommi in Vancouver

Even Limblifter has trouble topping the Odds’ power-pop at Foxfest ’96

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 25, 1996 By Steve Newton The folks at CFOX radio have been jubilantly claiming that “the Fox rocks!” for quite some time now, but as any Vancouverite with cable hooked up to their tuner can tell you, it’s really the stations out of Seattle that can rock you like a hurricane. … Continue reading Even Limblifter has trouble topping the Odds’ power-pop at Foxfest ’96

The Scorpions and Alice Cooper bring melodic ’70s-style hard-rock to Vancouver

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 11, 1996 By Steve Newton It was such a scorcher last Sunday (July 7), I found it impossible to pull myself out of our plastic kids’ pool and get down to the Coliseum in time for the start of the Scorpions/Alice Cooper concert. I completely missed the 25-minute opening set by … Continue reading The Scorpions and Alice Cooper bring melodic ’70s-style hard-rock to Vancouver

Tom Cochrane gets his Canuck on at the Commodore in Vancouver on the Ragged Ass Road tour

kevin statham photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 22, 1996 By Steve Newton Last July a band calling itself Red Rider—but without Tom Cochrane in the lineup—played the Commodore. Not surprisingly, the turnout was small, and not surprisingly, I wasn’t there. I’ve been a Red Rider fan since day one, but the notion of seeing the … Continue reading Tom Cochrane gets his Canuck on at the Commodore in Vancouver on the Ragged Ass Road tour

WolfCop would be painful to watch even without the Gowan

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JUNE 4, 2014 WolfCop looks like it could have been a hoot to make, because judging by the finished product, nobody involved—from the director on down to the FX lackey spattering fake blood around—seemed to give a rat’s ass about how the Canadian horror-comedy turned out. It’s got the look and feel … Continue reading WolfCop would be painful to watch even without the Gowan