Saturday, May 4, 2013

Saturday Shuffle: Anthrax, Misfits, Alice Cooper, Queen, Testament

Another shuffle, in which we encounter one of the darker moments of Alice Cooper's career ...


Anthrax, “Caught in a Mosh.” From the album Among the Living (1987). The best album of the Joey Belladonna era and one of the band’s truly classic songs. I’ve always thought it funny that one of the chorus lyrics is “which one of these words, don’t you understand?” when at the time, there were a whole lot of people who wouldn’t have known what a mosh was. Great, great song.


The Misfits, “Halloween II.” From the album Collection II (1995). Spooky sounds and Glenn Danzig moaning “Halloweeeeeeen” over and over with some sound bytes of a Catholic priest, and a blast of punk at the end that echoes the song that was on the first side of the single it originally appeared on, “Halloween.”


Alice Cooper, “Only My Heart Talkin’.” From the album Trash (1989). A 1980s love ballad by Alice Cooper? Yeah, he did it, and it’s the pure glitz of the era. And fans of the shock rock master hung their heads in shame. Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler also puts in an appearance on the track. Blame Desmond Child.


Queen, “Who Wants to Live Forever.” From the album A Kind of Magic (1986). My introduction to this song, like many people’s, came in the movie “Highlander.” While I’m normally more drawn to the heavier or more fantasy-oriented Queen tunes, I have to admit that this is an incredible performance from Freddie Mercury – as usual.


estament, “Dog Faced Gods.” From the album Low (1994). This album is one of Testament’s most underrated works. It’s a varied album that marked a return to a much heavier style after a brief and modest commercial success. “Dog Faced Gods” is one of the heaviest tunes, finding vocalist Chuck Billy delivering the lyrics in almost a death metal growl.

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