Saturday, January 18, 2014

Saturday Shuffle: Jackyl, Maiden, W.A.S.P., Dangerous Toys, Twisted Sister

Though three of the five songs are from the early 1990s, it feels like a very '80s sort of week ...


Jackyl, "Let's Don't Go There." From the album Cut the Crap (1997). Arguably the first ballad from a band that had previously prided itself on not doing ballads (I'm going to agree with their statement that "Secret of the Bottle" was an attempt at a country song rather than a ballad). Yeah, they rock it up on the chorus, but it's still a ballad. Not a bad song, but not one of the best from the record.



Iron Maiden, "Be Quick or Be Dead." From the album Fear of the Dark (1992). Of the post 1980s Iron Maiden albums, Fear of the Dark has to be the high point. There are forgettable tunes, but some great ones, too. This high-energy blazer was a great way to open the album.


W.A.S.P., "L.O.V.E. Machine." From the album W.A.S.P. (1984). Man, that's a lot of periods for one song. W.A.S.P. is often thought of for shock rock theatrics, but over the years, they pumped out some great hard rockers, too. This song is a fine example with that big shouted chorus that sticks with you.


Dangerous Toys, "Gunfighter." From the album Hellacious Acres (1991). I've got a soft spot for Dangerous Toys. I loved the band's first record and much of the rest of their work. Sophomore outing Hellacious Acres was perhaps a little softer around the edges than the debut, but "Gunfighter" was a bashing tune to open it up, even if the chorus doesn't make a lot of sense.


Twisted Sister, "Burn in Hell." From the album Stay Hungry (1984). Everybody remembers the comical videos for "I Wanna Rock" and "We're Not Gonna Take It" from this record, but for me, "Burn in Hell" was always the centerpiece of the album. It's a hard-driving track with a fantastic melody and hook. While I often skip the other two tunes, I never get tired of hearing this one.

No comments:

Post a Comment