100 Disc Changer - A Better Mix

This is early, but I felt it was necessary to have a mix of cds that I like better. Usually, I only update this twice a year, but I made some major changes, and thought I would share.

List of Artists:

Flower Kings, Dream Theater, Steven Wilson, Led Zeppelin, Dixie Dregs, Metallica, Megadeth, Queensryche, Pat Metheny, Gary Burton, John Scofield, Joe Pass, Iron Maiden, Iced Earth, Ozzy Osbourne, Extreme, Ayreon, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Symphony X, Pearl Jam, Steve Vai, John Coltrane, Black Label Society, Tool, Bela Fleck, Wes Montgomery, The Who, Herbie Hancock, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Soulive, King Crimson, Stanely Clarke, Niacin, Testament, Shadow Gallery, Radiohead, Pat Martino, B.B. King, King’s X, Bill Frisell, Deep Purple, Savatage, Tony MacAlpine, Allan Holdsworth

List of cds:

Allan Holdsworth - Secrets

Tony MacAlpine – Maximum Security

Savatage – Edge of Thorns

Deep Purple – Machine Head

Bill Frisell – Live

King’s X – Gretchen Goes to Nebraska

B.B. King – 20th Century Masters

Pat Martino – Live at Yoshi’s

Radiohead – OK computer

Shadow Gallery – Prime Cuts

Testament – The Ritual

Niacin – self-titled

Stanley Clarke – School Days

King Crimson – The Power to Believe

Soulive – Doin’ Something

The Mahvishnu Orchestra – Birds of Fire

Herbie Hancock - Empyrean Isles

The Who – Who’s Better Who’s Best: This Is the Very Best of the Who

Wes Montgomery – Full House

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones – Greatest Hits of the 20th Century

Tool – Aenima

Black Label Society – Kings of Damnation Era

John Coltrane – Impressions

Steve Vai – Sex and Religion

Pearl Jam – Ten

Pearl Jam - Yield

Symphony X – The Odyssey

Symphony X – Twilight In Olympus

Red Hot Chili Peppers – The Uplift Mofo Party Plan

Red Hot Chili Peppers – The Abby Road EP

Ayreon – The Human Equation

Ayreon – Into the Electric Castle

Extreme – II Pornograffitti

Extreme – III Sides to Every Story

Ozzy Osbourne – Tribute

Ozzy Osbourne – Bark at the Moon

Iced Earth – Days of Purgatory

Iced Earth – The Blessed and the Damned

Iron Maiden – Fear of the Dark

Iron Maiden – 7th Son of a 7th Son

Joe Pass – Virtuoso No. 3

Joe Pass – Virtuoso No. 2

John Scofield – Works for Me

The John Scofield Band – Up All Night

John Scofield & Pat Metheny – I Can See Your House from Here

Gary Burton - Departure

Gary Burton, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Roy Haynes – Like Minds

Pat Metheny – Speaking of Now

Pat Metheny – Secret Story

Pat Metheny Trio – 99 00

Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Roy Haynes – Question and Answer

The Pat Metheny Group – Imaginary Day

Queensryche – Greatest Hits

Queensryche – Here in the Now Frontier

Queensryche – Empire

Megadeth – Youthanasia

Megadeth – So Far so Good

Megadeth – Killing Is My Business

Megadeth – United Abominations

Megadeth – Countdown to Extinction

Megadeth – Rust in Peace

Metallica – Ride the Lightning

Metallica - …And Justice for All

Metallica – black album

Metallica – Kill ‘Em All

Steve Morse – Coast to Coast

Steve Morse – High Tension Wires

Dixie Dregs – Full Circle

Dixie Dregs – What If

Dixie Dregs – Industry Standard

Dixie Dregs – Free Fall

Dixie Dregs – Unsung Heroes

Dixie Dregs – Dreg’s of Earth

Led Zeppelin – Coda

Led Zeppelin – In Through the Out Door

Steven Wilson – Grace for Drowning disc 1&2

Porcupine Tree – In Absentia

Porcupine Tree – Deadwing

Porcupine Tree – Lightbulb Sun

Porcupine Tree – Fear of a Blank Planet

Steven Wilson – The Raven That Refused to Sing

Dream Theater – A Dramatic Turn of Events

Dream Theater – Black Clouds & Silver Lining

Dream Theater – Systematic Chaos

Dream Theater – Awake

Dream Theater – 4 Degrees of Radio Edits

Dream Theater – Octavarium

Dream Theater – Falling Into Infinity

Dream Theater – Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory

Dream Theater – Self-Titled

Jordan Rudess – Notes on a Dream

Dream Theater – Score disc 1

James LaBrie – Winter Rose

Dream Theater – Train of Thought

Dream Theater – When Dream and Day Unite

Flower Kings – Back in the World of Adventures

Flower Kings – Stardust We Are

Flower Kings –The Rainmaker

Flower Kings – Space Revolver

*** Obsolete by Fear Factory – Except for the Song Resurrection Fear Factory Lost Their Edge

Okay, I imagine some folks are saying, “What the hell?  This is a great album!”  And, had this been the first Fear Factory album, I would have given it 4 stars.  However, by the time of this album, Fear Factory is still writing good songs, but they just aren’t standing out against the rest of Fear Factory’s catalogue.  For all the ingenuity this band showed, this album doesn’t add anything stylistically.  However, Obsolete contains my favorite Fear Factory song to date, and that is the song Resurrection.  

***** The Ritual by Testament – Probably An Excellent Attempt At Selling Out While Saving Face

When Testament started out, they had too much grind for many to take notice of them.  If they followed that path, then they would have wound up like virtually unknown bands like Napalm Death.  Okay stop right there.  Some people love Napalm Death, and if you are one of them, that is cool by me because I typically don’t judge bands by the amount of fans they have.

What I like most about The Ritual is that it sounds close to being a sellout album, such as something my wife can listen to, while still sounding dark enough to be classified as metal.

I don’t know if the drums were triggered, but it doesn’t sound like they were.  That is always a plus.  Also, the distortion is not overdone.  I can generally tell what is being played when the distortion knob is cranked up to 10, but when every heavy band does that and also adds compression, it is like there is no dynamics to the sound.

The Ritual in a way sounds almost like Testament had admitted a failure on their earlier albums, and was going to head in the direction of Megadeth and Metallica during the better days of their career.  If that was their mission, they accomplished it well, and the ritual is on par with Metallica’s Kill Em’ All, and Megadeth’s Peace Sells, But Who’s Buying.

Likewise, though Anthrax has usually gotten more attention, especially in the early days, than Testament, Testament was much more flexible, and in my opinion proved to be the better band.  Thus, it should come as no surprise that when the killing days of metal, meaning the days where it became nearly extinct, Testament was able to pull through, and eventually flourish.

So, why 5 stars?

This album deserves 5 stars because anyone should be able to listen to it, appreciate it, and have something positive to say about it, no matter who they are or what walk of life they come from.

Review of Seven by Stryper ***

An excellent album if you like heavy metal.

Okay Stryper is on an evangelistic mission and I am not Christian, nor do I have any intention of becoming one, but this stuff is great 80s hair band heavy metal.  I could care less about their mission.  I listen to several bands where I don’t necessarily agree with their lyrics, but I don’t let that stop me from enjoying the music.  And, in this case I don’t care so much about the bands mission as that they are just a plainly talented band that is a little cheesy.  I once saw them live, and they put on a good show.  Musically, there is not much difference between Stryper, and Motely Crue, Poison, or Skid Row.  And, of course those bands are all essentially copy cats of bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.  If you don’t like any of those three that are among the more popular 80s bands, then maybe you won’t like Stryper, and that is okay because I am not on an evangelistic mission to get you to like Stryper or heavy metal.  However, Stryper’s vocalist has a tremendous set of pipes with an incredible voice that should be enough to impress any musician.  In fact, all the musicians in Stryper are very talented.  I usually don’t like power ballads, but Honestly, which was Stryper’s greatest hit is actually really good.  Instead of reminding me about Gd, it reminds me about a kind and loving pet with lines like, “And through the years I will be a friend for always.”  Pets seem to love unconditionally.  Seven is a greatest hits album, and in my opinion it is the best of their hits collections.  It is chock full of fun songs, many of which will probably make you laugh at their silliness.  If you buy this album, then there is no need to buy any other of Stryper’s albums.

1st 100 Disc Changer 2008 The Key to Enjoying Music Is to Develop Your Ears

This is a part of the 100 Disc Changer series. A part of being a good musician involves listening to good music. Even if you want to be in the audience, listening to music will help you enjoy music. However, sometime it is not obvious what is good. So I invite you to check these out because if you listen to them enough, they will improve your ear. Every so often I update my 100 disc changer list. I try to review the albums I take out of it. I also post album reviews at Facebook.com, Amazon.com, and Rdio.

Queensyrche – EP and The Warning

Wes Montgomery – On The Go and Movin’ Wes

Wes Montgomery – Fusion

Simon Phillips – Another Lifetime

Queensyrche – Rage for Order

Queensyrche – Empire

Eric Johnson – 7 Worlds and Souvenir

Eric Johnson – Bloom

Eric Johnson – Ah Via Musicom

Jimi Hendrix – Voodoo Soup

Megadeth – Rust In Peace

Megadeth – Greatest Hits: Back to the Beginning

Megadeth – Cryptic Writings

Jimi Hendrix – Blues

Jimi Hendrix – South Saturn Delta

Planet X – Quantum

Derek Sherinian’s Planet X

Planet X – Moonbabies

Plantet X – Universe

Tony MacAlpine – Freedom to Fly

Iced Earth – Days of Purgatory disc 2

Metallica – Ride the Lightning

Dream Theater – Once In a Livetime disc 2

Dream Theater – Live at the Marquee

Dream Theater – Live Scenes From New York disc 2

Tony MacAlpine – Chromaticity

Tony MacAlpine – Madness

Chroma Key – You Go Now

Tony MacAlpine – Evolution

Iced Earth – Days of Purgatory disc 1

Chico Hamilton – Man from 2 Worlds

King Crimson – In The Court of the Crimson King and In The Wake of Poseidon

Chick Corea’s Elektric Band – Light Years

The Misfits – Walk Among Us

Greg Howe – Introspection

Iced Earth – The Dark Saga and The Melancholy EP

The Best of The Red Hot Chili Peppers

Iced Earth – The Blessed

Dream Theater – Official Bootleg: A Saucerful of Floyd

Fates Warning – Disconnected

Dream Theater – Score disc 2

George Benson – Beyond The Blue Horizon

Al Di Meola – Land of the Midnight Sun and Tour de Force

A mix of pop radio music, like stuff you hear on WPXE

Porcupine Tree – Deadwing

A mix of metal music

Led Zepplin – A mix of live songs and songs that were scratched from my Led Zepplin cds

Gipsy Kings – Greatest Hits

The Best of Kenny Burrell: The Blue Note Years

Shadow Gallery – Prime Cuts

Hammer Fall – Glory to the Brave

Return to Forever – This is Jazz 12

The Very Best of Testament

Iced Earth – The Damned

The Very Beast of Dio

Herbie Hancock – Manchild and Dedication

James LaBrie – Elements of Persuasion

A Nirvana bootleg

Fates Warning – No Exit and A Twist of Fate

King’s X – Gretchen Goes to Nebraska

An Evening with Jordan Rudess and John Petrucci

Drained – No One In Control

Rush Tribute – Working Man

Sting – Ten Summoner’s Tales

Rush – 2112 and Hemispheres

Apocalyptica – Plays Metallica by four cellos

Transatlantic – Live In America

A mix of Jazz standards

Liquid Tension Experiment

Fear Factory – Soul of a New Machine and Fear Is The Mind Killer

Greg Howe – Five

Scorpions – 20th Century Masters

Victor Wooten – A Show of Hands

A virtuoso guitar mix including, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteem, The Allman Brothers, Eric Clapton and George Benson

Korn – Greatest Hits Vol. 1

Simon and Garfunkel – Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme

The Very Best of Santana

Richie Kotzen/Greg Howe – Project

A mix of Miles Davis and John Coltrane

Return to Forever – Romantic Warrior

Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Roy Hanynes – Question and Answer

Derek Sherinian – Blood of The Snake

Van Halen – 1984

Bela Fleck and The Flecktones – Greatest Hits of the 20th Century

Alter Bridge – One Day Remains and Creed – Human Clay

Dennis Chambers – Outbreak

Hammer Fall – Legacy of Kings

Garsed, Helmerich, Willis and Chambers – Uncle Moe’s Space Ranch

Rush – Caress of Steel and Counterparts

Emerson Lake and Palmer Tribute – Encores Legends and Paradox

Van Halen – Van Halen II

James LaBrie’s Mullmuzzler – Keep It to Yourself

Django Reinhardt – Retrospective 1940-1947

The Best of Chick Corea

Judas Priest – British Steel

Steve Morse – The Introduction

Wes Montgomery – Ultimate

Skid Row – Slave to The Grind

Evanescence – Fallen

Medeski Martin Wood – Last Chance to Dance Trance