Saturday Shuffle: Blind Guardian, Ratt, Hendrix, Iced Earth, White Zombie

This week we travel from one of the earliest tunes of hard rock to one of the most recent ...

"Noldor (Dead Winter Reigns)," Blind Guardian. From the album Nightfall in Middle Earth (1998). Just one of many majestic tracks from Blind Guardian's masterwork based on J.R.R. Tolkien's "Silmarillion." The song, which tells the story of the Noldor elves, has some nice changes of pace with huge, soaring chorus harmonies, blazing metal moments and some nice symphonic touches.

Review: ZZ Top, "Double Down Live, 1980-2008"

For fans of a certain age, ZZ Top's new DVD, "Double Down Live, 1980-2008," gives us the chance to experience the band at the height of its blues rock power, before the MTV years of the 1980s that brought wild excess and crazy stage shows.

The two-DVD set features a live performance from 1980 recorded live for the German "Rockpalast" show and a performance from their 2008 tour that features interviews and behind the scenes footage. Both are entertaining, but for me, the real strength is the first disc. Recorded on the "Deguello" tour, the set list features most of the songs from that album, as well as some real jewels from the band's early days that fans don't get to hear often. Those are highlights of an outstanding set. There's the hard-rocking "Precious and Grace," the trippy "Manic Mechanic," the driving "Nasty Dogs & Funky Kings," and one of my personal favorite tunes from the Top catalog, the spaghetti Western-flavored "El Diablo."

In addition to some rare gems, there are the expected hits like "Thank You," "Waitin' for the Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago," "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide" (another personal favorite), "Heard it on the X," "Cheap Sunglasses," "La Grange" and "Tush." A couple of cool covers are thrown in with "Dust My Broom" and "Jailhouse Rock." Mix in some other well-known songs that just don't get played that much anymore, like the raucous "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers," "Arrested for Driving While Blind," "She Loves My Automobile" and "Fool for Your Stockings," and you've got one heck of a rowdy set.

You've also got a rowdy band playing those tunes. At first, it's hard to recognize singer/guitarist Billy Gibbons because I'm so used to seeing the grizzled road veteran he's become these days. He's fresh-faced behind the ever-present beard and full of energy, running around the stage, jumping up and down and just generally having a great time. The interplay between Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill is a lot of fun, but not quite the over-choreographed performance that it would become by the time that I got a chance to see them live in the mid-1980s. Drummer Frank Beard is just as cool as ever, stoically pounding away on the skins, tons of energy hidden behind his laid back expression.

The band rolls through a set of classics having just as much fun as the delighted audience before delivering a couple of encores that include the two covers, the classics "Tush" and "Tube Snake Boogie," and closing with a high-octane rendition of "Just Got Paid," which might be the best moment on either DVD.

The second disc, which features the 2008 performance, is a little slicker than the first, which is simply a performance video. There are more camera angles and heavier editing, splicing in scenes from numerous shows, but these sometimes detract from the power of the band's stage presence. There seem to be some video/audio sync issues on some of the more artistic shots that are possibly intentional, but were a bit annoying. And when Dusty Hill blasts out those big bass runs at the end of "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide," I'd much rather be watching work it out than footage of the crew setting things up. There are also some interesting interview pieces scattered throughout that are certainly worthy of their spots.

Surprisingly, the set list here is solidly old school, too. There are only half as many songs as the first disc, but only two from the MTV days on, "Got Me Under Pressure" and a deeper cut from the "Eliminator" record, the semi-ballad "I Need You Tonight." The sets share a few songs in common: "Waitin' for the Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago," "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide," "Heard it on the X," "Just Got Paid," and, of course, "La Grange" and "Tush." The second disc also shows ZZ Top getting back to the roots of those earlier shows. The sets are stripped back and the focus is placed firmly on the men and the music.

The voices of Gibbons and Hill are a little gruffer and rougher on these tracks, but the music is still tight. There is occasionally a rough around the edges spot, particularly on this version of "Heard it on the X," which seems a bit off-kilter at points, but you'll forget those with the performances of "Jesus Just Left Chicago," "Just Got Paid" and "I Need You Tonight." The bluesy spots in this set are the truly bright ones. The band cranks out an amazing version of "Blue Jean Blues" and a killer cover of "Hey Joe" that steal the show. The Rev. Willy G. has, hands down, one of my favorite guitar tones ever, and on those two tracks, he nails it.

Both sets are solid slices of ZZ Top history and well worth owning, but as slick as the modern end is, it's the raw concert footage of the earlier show that remains the most exciting and electric. If you missed ZZ Top in the 1970s or early 1980s, I'd highly recommend correcting that by picking up "Double Down Live."

Get "Double Down Live."

Review: Down -- "Over the Under"

I'll admit it took me a little longer to come around to New Orleans supergroup Down's latest record than it did for their first two. Initially, I missed those big hooks from their second record (the ones that some fans thought were a little too commercial.) Then, there was the mix on this record, which at times is as muddy as the bottom of the southern Louisiana bayous the music crawled out of. After a week or so of listening, though, I couldn't help but like it.

At its best "Over the Under" delivers exactly what fans have come to expect since the band's 1995 debut "NOLA" - a very organic record that's part stoner rock, part doom and heavy as hell. The sound here is equal parts Southern-fried groove, ominous Black Sabbath slab riffs and psychedelic Jimi Hendrix fuzz. Blues influence crops up throughout the record in the grooves and lead guitar licks, and you'll even hear a touch of country twang on the song "Never Try" - where Phil Anselmo paraphrases Yoda in the lyrics with his "Never try, never try/ you either do it or don't waste your time."

The heart of this record, as with the first two Down offerings, are the monster riffs and head-bobbing grooves of guitarists Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein layered over the solid rhythm section of Rex Brown and Jimmy Bower. Anselmo brings a world-weary, often agonized delivery that reflects the darkness of much of the subject matter. His lyrics are very personal on this record, if on occasion a bit incoherent - take, for example, the line "Partake no tangible out in tomorrow" from "On March the Saints." Huh?

Despite the occasional head-scratcher line, though, the album delivers lyrically perhaps a little more than the previous two records. There's a more real and gritty feeling to Anselmo's approach to the lyrics, and truth rings through, particularly on the song"Mourn," which seems to address his feelings at being blocked from former bandmate "Dimebag" Darrell Abbot's funeral due to a feud with the guitarist and his brother Vinnie Paul. "Hotel room of doom/ I can't find a clue/ confusion, broken hearted woe/ sheets and pillows soaked/ telephone seems broken/ I'm calling crucified/ blacklisted, no reply..."

It's also a record that tracks both the misery and resilience of the city of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Most notably "On March the Saints" and "Beneath the Tides," two of the stronger offerings on the record.

There are misses here and there on the record. The "Planet Caravan"-sounding "His Majesty the Desert," which serves as more of an intro to "Pillamyd" than an actual song just doesn't quite capture the same atmosphere of the Sabbath classic, despite some spacey guitar work. And "Pillamyd" itself, despite being the fastest track on the record, sounds kind of out of place among the other work here. Still, the bouncing, undeniable grooves of songs like "The Path" and "N.O.D." more than make up for the few misses.

Despite my initial misgivings, after a few weeks of listens, I can say Over the Under easily ranks as one of, if not the best record of the year, and it also ranks as Down's most honest and frank offering to date. Perhaps with the upheaval and challenges of the band's previous years in the past, we'll start to see more frequent offerings from the band. I, for one, would welcome it.

Hear a clip of "On March the Saints."

Hear a clip of "Mourn."

Read my review of Down "II."

Get "Over the Under."

Review: Corrosion of Conformity, "In the Arms of God"

It's been a long trip for Corrosion of Conformity from hardcore heroes in the mid-to-late 1980s to the premier purveyors of Southern sludge rock today.

Their latest album opens with a blast of Jimi Hendrix-style fuzz on the first single "Stone Breaker." That sets the tone for the rest of the album, which draws heavily on influences like Hendrix, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, but puts a Southern spin on them.

The most interesting track on the album is the jazzy groove of "Dirty Hands, Empty Pockets/Already Gone." It's a little jarring among the other grungy tunes on the album, but also makes for one of the best moments.

"In the Arms of God" takes the listener on a roller-coaster ride from the anger of "Paranoid Opioid" and "War," which channel the band's hardcore roots, to the hopeful and optimistic acoustic number "Rise River Rise."

It's been five years since CoC unleashed an album on the world, but this album was worth the wait. It features the best of both sounds of the band and should please new and long-time fans alike.

Get "In the Arms of God."