Saturday, February 20, 2016

Saturday Shuffle: Prince, King's X, Dream Theater, Sabbath, Ashes of Ares


A quintessential 1980s pop tune, a classic metal moment and a great live performance from one of the most underrated bands ever ...

Prince, "Delirious." From the album 1999 (1982). Remember when we all thought 1999 was so far away and would never come? One of the hits from 1999, this tune has a quintessential 1980s pop synth riff, but it's still a lot of fun in 2016. It may come off as a bit cheesy today, but just a few seconds in and you'll be bobbing your head. There's no video available because it's Prince, but you know how it goes.


King's X, "Visions." From the album Live Love in London (2010). King's X's first record, Out of the Silent Planet was a little simpler and more straightforward than some of the stuff that they did later. They're also a great live band, and though Doug Pinnick's voice may crack occasionally on Live in London, it's still a fantastic performance.


Dream Theater, "6:00." From the album Awake (1994). I think Awake may be one of the more underrated Dream Theater albums. At the time it was released, I remember not liking it as much as Images and Words, but it's grown on me over the years. Portnoy's drums early on this track are awesome, and I've always liked James LaBrie's vocal delivery on this one.


Black Sabbath, "Electric Funeral." From the album Paranoid (1970). Epic. That's about all you can say -- from that epic echoing riff to the full-blast ending, a true metal classic.


Ashes of Ares, "The Answer." From the album Ashes of Ares (2013). Former members of Iced Earth come together to basically form Iced Earth without Jon Schaffer. This semi-ballad was not one of my favorite tunes on the album, but it has its moments.


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