The fifth and final album I got for Easter - not that important for you but it was essential for me.
As for the singer/ guitarist thing - Slash and Axl Rose - here we go.
Many may say that "Appetite For Destruction" is the best album of the band as a gruop and I will actually agree.
But the Illusion albums are one of the best examples for a single person achieving greatness.
Megalomania, maybe but Mr. Rose did compose two whole records worth of unforgettable music.
He might have lost it since then but he gave us hymns like "Estranged".
If he wants to swim with the dolphins after that -so what?
Part 4 of the "Easter package" and I still see Queen as one of the greatest UK bands ever (besides The Who and yes I'm one of those arses who consider The Beatles not all that important).
Looking back I think I really like the combination of a great guitar player and an awesome singer. Up until now we have Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, Bruce Dickinson and (arguably) Dave Murray.
More will come.
I find it hard to remember things properly nowadays - life just gets in the way.
I guess this is the reason behind the blog - to help me remember.
There are two gifts that come to mind when I think back on my childhood - one is a amazing medieval castle made out of Lego, the other one is five records I received as an Eatser present.
As I have a hard time to recall all five of them, I might as well write down each one. So here we go:
I already talked about Bon Jovi's "Keep The Faith" and Iron Maiden's "Infinite Dreams", so Nirvana is next.
To be honest, I didn't get it back then and I don't get it still. It's Punk Rock, yes, rebranded as Grunge but nevertheless, this is the face of Punk in the nineties.
Nothing wrong with that but just not my cup of tea.
I like "In Utero" though....
First album I bought with my own pocket money and believe me, I had to save up for quite some time to afford it
So little grasshopper walks into the record store to acquire his first record ever but he doesn't know anything about music - he just wants to "rock out", that's for sure.
Well - can he listen to some tunes? No, not allowed, the shopkeeper won't play anything for the little brat that has no clue.
Looking at covers then.
Lightning? Check. Fires of hell burning in the background? Infernal sounds galore.
Swords and a medieval warmaster who looks like the "Hero Quest" guy? This must be good. And it was.
As a matter of fact I used to buy quite a lot of records solely based on the impression the artwork gave before there was any way of listening before buying.
"The Triumph of Steel" truly gave me a run for my money.
First song lasted for about 28 minutes, I couldn't even understand it. "The demon's whip" sounded so scary, I didn't even want to listen to it - but the song was great, so I used to skip the frightening intro and bang to the rest of it.
I'm glad to report, Beelzebub never showed up in my bedroom.
It was the only record I had for months until I had saved up enough pocket money to enter the record store again. I was hooked.
Iron Maiden was a fluke, I admit it.
I remember writing a "wishlist" for my Godfather because he wanted to give me something as an Easter gift which I REALLY wanted.
HE is the man, I must confess.
So I wrote down some band names off the top of my head and I know for sure that "Iron Maiden" was the last one I put down on the list.
I hadn't even heard a single song.
But I did get "The Clairvoyant" as a Easter gift and I did eventually see Maiden live in 2013.
What can I say - goose bumps all over my body, my friends at my side - I truly love life.
Man, they sure looked dangerous with all the chains, whips and chainsaws.
But the music was also very much something else. "Forever Free" was the first metal ballad I ever took notice of.
Sure there's some aesthetics going on which appear dated nowadays but the sound of the music is still relevant to me.
Please listen to the whole album, there's no filler to be found on this one.
Gotten as a gift, this might mark one of the first metal records I ever owned.
I remember seeing the music video to "Keep The Faith" on television.
There was no MTV around back then.
The term of a ROCK ANTHEM was unbeknowenst to me but somehow I felt it anyway.
I got the album as a gift eventually and then there was "An Evening With Bon Jovi" and for years this was my idea of a perfect bar room performance. "Dry County" intruduced me to the idea that a song could be telling an epic story - music in cinema scope.
This probably wasn't my first love and for sure it won't be my last but it is one of the earliest musical memories I deeply cherish.
