Hello Jonne. Negative has recently released a new album, Karma Killer. What can the new and old fans expect about it?

I think the album itself is really positive. If you compare it to the previous one, Anorectic, it was really depressive, to me at least personally. It was made through very difficult times. In Karma Killer otherwise I just concentrated on what is going on now and the future. When we started many people were putting us in the same group with other bands like H.I.M, but I think that now with Karma Killer we have achieved the kind of sound we wanted. It shows the direction to follow in the future.

The album is positive but there is also quite an angry track: Motherfucker (just like you). Do you meet many motherfuckers in everyday life?

Hehehe… Of course! Sometimes… It is about anger, it has a lot of hate but it is also about not giving up. I have worked hard to make this band to be one of the best known all over the crowd, so if I would give up, this song would be for me! It would be the “easy escape” to leave everything and just take drugs or shit like that. You know what I mean.

You have lived all your life in Tampere. Do you like it here?

It is really nice. People have been asking for many years the same question, why I do not move to Helsinki where there is more promotion. But I have rally strong roots over here, I like it here! People are quite down to earth. In Helsinki it seems to be important what you are doing, where do you come from…

I was assisting to the contest for choosing the Festbabe in Tammerfest and one question asked to the girls is how they would react if they would meet you. How do you deal with this image of sex symbol in Finland? Is your life keeping up with the rock stereotype of sex, drugs and rock, or how is a normal day in your life?

Well, sometimes it can be glamorous. It depends; I have a lot of friends who can organize parties wherever I am, but usually my life is quite boring, hehehe. I like to wash dishes myself; I like to clean my house…. Every time I came back from the road first things first, I need to clean my place and then it is time to relax. I like watching movies, listening to music, playing guitar, writing songs at home. I avoid a bit crowded places. At the beginning I liked it, I was driven by people´s attention, but now I prefer to stay at home.

And we cannot forget that you are just 24 now. When Negative started you were very young!

Yeah, I was just 18. I must confess at the beginning I lost a bit myself. Who wouldn´t? When your albums are selling gold, platinum… And you have even more shows to do than days in the week and good looking girls are all the time around. But it was just for a while. I allowed that for myself, because there were so many years that I was dreaming with these kind of things… like for example to get a record deal, to get a record company behind Negative it was one of the main things that happened in our career.

"When I come home from the road, the first thing I like to do is cleaning everything and washing the dishes"

-Jonne Aaron; singer of Negative

And actually the promotion of your last album is huge inside Finland, with ads everywhere. Do you have any specific target in the international market?

The whole Europe. We are going to concentrate on that and I think for the next one there is going to be a lot of worldwide promotion. Let´s see. Now we are going to make a wide tour in Europe with 45 shows. So step by step, album by album.

You have many fans in Spain and South America from the beginning!

Yeah, we have played in Mexico and Argentina. And I think Spain is also included in our tour. As I said, step by step. I am still very young so we have time to become bigger. Actually next week I am going to start with Larry working in the next album. We have a working title that is something like “super trooper”! hehehe. We want to make that kind of album that make people fall of their chairs!

I want to ask you also about the problems of the band in the past, and the recently leave of Sir Christus from the band.

Well, we have been so many years together in the band, but then sometimes people start to go in different ways. I would compare him and this situation to Brian Jones and the Rolling Stones. But well, of course I hope he won´t die. It came from our side, since he was not able to keep up together. He had some personal problems and complicated things and it was really difficult for all of us. We gave him a last chance but nothing happened, no improvement, things kept just going down and down. We started to rehearse for Karma Killer and he did not show up! So in some ways I think the decision was kind of relieving for everybody.

I heard that you are going to the studio today in Tampere after this interview.

Yeah, we are going to make a cover of a Dingo´s album: Sinä ja Minä. It is going to be interesting!

How was to record the DVD In the Eye of the Hurricane here in Pakkahuone?

Oh, it was all crowded. There were people actually in the show from all over Europe. Of course it is special. The concert from my side is not the best one; I was pushing the voices too high. I was a bit nervous for the recording of the DVD. Actually I am already nervous for the concert tomorrow (Negative was playing next day in Tammerfest at 15:00 and Jonne did not like much to have to play so early).

You were playing in Sweden Rock this summer that counts with an amazing band list. How was there?

Yeah, we played between Deff Leppard and Whitesnake! I was even barely born when these two bands were popular! The audience was very nice, it was the first gig for Negative in Sweden, and we saw a lot of Swedish tits! (Jonne lifts up his t-shirt imitating the ladies in the Swedish audience who showed their charms)

So what are your future plans?

We have a few festivals here, and then we will continue to Europe and then let´s see. We are living quite interesting times; a big record company is coming behind Negative so promotion is going to be even better!

And the interview was over with me in a hurry to take the train to Helsinki to see “The Boss”, Bruce Springsteen, and Jonne heading to the studio to record the Dingo´s cover and feeling in his own words “jealous” because he could not go to see Springsteen too. Well, as he said, he is still very young and will have many chances to see and give amazing performances on stage.

Credits to : Free! Magazine

WHITESNAKE - Good To Be Bad
Data de lançamento: Abril 2008
Género: Hard-Rock
Editora: SPV

1. Best Years
2. Can You Hear The Wind Blow
3. Call on Me
4. All I Want All I Need
5. Good To Be Bad
6. All For Love
7. Summer Rain
8. Lay Down Your Love
9. A Fool In Live
10. Got What You Need
11. Til The End of Time

E como prometido finalmente aqui está a Review (crítica) a um dos álbuns mais aguardados deste ano, o novo álbum de originais da banda da serpente, os Whitesnake comandados por David Coverdale.

A serpente já não mordia há 10 anos, com o lançamento até então do Restless Heart, álbum maioritariamente apelidado de mediano, ao qual concordo. Em 2006 fomos presentiados com os Whitesnake em grande forma, após terem gravado o seu primeiro DVD ao vivogravado em Londres em 2004, muito bem recebido diga-se com David Coverdale (vocais), Red Beach (guitarra), Marco Mendoza (baixo), Tommy Aldridge (bateria), Doug Aldrich (guitarra principal) e Timothy Drury (teclado).

Actualmente e já com Uriah Duffy no baixo em vez de Marco Mendoza e Chris Frazier na bateria no lugar do lendário percurssionista Tommy Aldridge que prosseguiu outros projectos, o álbum não é mais do que a banda na sua plenitude creativa e espiritual. A viagem intensa começa com “Best Years” uma faixa a lembrar o hard-rock pesado da banda e que aliás será a faixa de abertura da actual digressão. “Can You Hear The Wind Blow” é idêntica a clássica “Give Me All Your Love” e é rock no estado mais puro.

“Call On Me” é uma das faixas que mais puxa pela voz magnífica de Coverdale e que prova que os 57 anos do cantor fazem sombra a muitos mais novos. A 4ª faixa do disco “All I Want All I Need” é uma balada com 5:40min. e é na minha opinião a segunda melhor música só atrás de “Lay Down Your Love”, uma balada quente, ardente que faz lembrar as noites longas do tempo veraniano, em suma apaixonante. A próxima é “Good To Be Bad” música que dá voz ao álbum e é na minha opinião tambem uma das melhores talvez a 3ª, um rock mais leve com dois solos de Doug um a meio e outro no final. “All For Love” é uma música com letra mais comercial e ligeira, não tanto do me agrado. Passando para a segunda balada do álbum “Summer Rain” esta é marcada pela calma que é apanágio da guitarra acústica bem audivel. Uma faixa que retrata talvez o final da tarde, uma altura melancólica do dia, nota positiva. A próxima é marcante de mais para traduzir em palavras e é por isso que a considero a melhor do disco, o single que já tem videoclipe “Lay Down Your Love”, caracterizo como pesada a roçar o metal, voz e letra poderosas, um hino da banda e grande motivo para fazer valer a pena a espera de mais de uma década por material novinho. “A Foll in love” é uma faixa dentro do género blues-rock muito bom.

O fim aproxima-se e só restam duas faixas. A 1ª “Got What You Need” tem mais uma vez um solo a mostrar as capacidades da bateria do “novato” Chris Frazier e na parelha Doug Aldrich e Red Beach na guitarra. Já a 2ª e última faixa pretendia ser uma faixa acústica e com um toque country mas acaba por ser a pior música das 11, ainda que audível não faz jus ao nome da banda e ao ritmo intenso e marcante de todo o disco.

Convem referir as versões que pode encontrar de “Good To Be Bad”:

“Good To Be Bad” - versão CD normal
conteúdo: caixa normal, disco com as 11 faixas e um booklet.

“Good To Be Bad” - versão CD limitada (Europa)
conteúdo: caixa jewel rígida, disco com as 11 faixas, booklet, 3 faixas bónus( “Summer Rain” acústica, “All I Want All I Need” edição radio e “Take Me With You” ao vivo) , 1 video (”Ready To Rock”), 1 poster, autocolante e postal exclusivos

“Good To Be Bad” - versão LP Vinil
conteúdo: duplo LP em “gatefold”

Para finalizar esta review, deixo-vos uma entrevista a David Coverdale sobre o novo álbum pelo “The Daily Blah” em duas partes e marquem na vossa agenda o concerto da banda no nosso País, dia 2 Agosto em Cantanhede, Coimbra na Festival EXPOFACIC. Keep Rock

NOTA: 10/10

No passado dia 2 de Agosto, Whitesnake as lendas do hard-rock actuaram no nosso país no único concerto nesta digressão, no Festival Expofacic em Cantanhede. Cerca de 45.000 pessoas viram os portugueses Blasted Mechanism e ainda o mais aguardado David Coverdale e sua banda em plena forma. Veja o setlist e um apanhado de várias galerias de fotos do concerto na entrada expandida.

Setlist:

1. Best Years
2. Fool For Your Loving
3. Can You Hear The Wind Blow
4. Love Ain't No Stranger
5. Lay Down Your Love
6. Is This Love
7. Guitar Solo Doug Aldrich/ Reb Beach
8. Ain't No Love In The Heart Of City
9. Ain't Gonna Cry No More
10. Give Me All Your Love Tonight
11. Here I Go Again

Encore

1. Still Of The Night
2. Burn - Stormbringer

Fotos:

GALERIA 1

GALERIA 2

GALERIA 3

Tawny Kitaen, American actress

A expectativa era grande, pois eu até os tinha visto há coisa de um ano e tal no Coliseu de Lisboa mas vim desiludido com o som, como já vai sendo habitual em salas. Acontece que desta feita era ao ar livre e lá estava uma produção brutal, um line array gigantesco a ladear um grandioso palco recheado com uma produção cénica fabulosa. Ora, tudo levava a crer que iríamos ter um grande concerto.

Quando o Coverdale e companhia aparecem e arrancam aquela «bordoada» inicial antes do best years com que abriram (faixa 1 do novo álbum Good to be Bad) e o Chris Frazier, baterista que substitui o enorme Tommy Aldrige nesta tounée, faz umas «suaves» pancadinhas nos dois bombos da DW, estava dado o mote para o recital de agressão bárbara aos ouvidos, que iríamos ter durante o concerto.

Bom, quanto aos «Deuses» estiveram muito bem, como é apanágio; um Coverdale cheiinho de rugas, mas aquela que é para mim a melhor voz de hardrock do mundo está intacta; o resto da banda, cheios de energia, simpatia para o público e uma raça de se lhe tirar o chapéu; apenas achei exagerado o momento dos solos dos guitarristas; estar quase 20 minutos a ouvir dois guitarristas a guinchar com as guitarras, confesso que me cansa, sobretudo tratando-se de músicos que nada têm a provar! De resto tudo impec… Dois encores e muito encanto naquele que foi o último concerto da sua digressão mundial de Verão!

Agora, deixem-me atirar com unhas e dentes ao técnico de som de frente! Como posso eu aqui expressar a raiva que de mim se apoderou durante o concerto? Acreditem que se eu pudesse, entrava naquela régie e depois de lhe mostrar toda a minha cólera fazia-lhe umas perguntas:

- será que o senhor tem ouvidos ou, se os tem, ainda estão saudáveis?

- será que o senhor não ouve que este som está completamente desequilibrado, pois para além da voz do Coverdale mal se ouvir e a tarola, os toms, os pratos não passarem quase do palco, o que o senhor aí tem não são bombos de bateria, mas sim autênticas bombas, com uma pressão sonora absurdamente ensurdecedora, que mal deixa perceber o que se está a tocar para além disso?

- será que o senhor, em casa, coloca o último CD dos Whitesnake (que tem um excelente som) e depois ao lado das colunas coloca um martelo pneumático com 5000000 decibéis?

Pois, meus caros amigos: já não é a primeira vez que aqui aludo a este facto. Ou eu estou cego, surdo e louco, ou então alguém está. Eu assisto a dezenas de espectáculos que vão desde os «kinjuntos» a enormes concertos, e chego à conclusão que, ou as pessoas não ouvem música, ou então acham que demonstrar que são bons técnicos e que têm grandes PAs, é colocar o bombo da bateria a volumes e frequências absolutamente absurdas e lesivas do ouvinte, e o resto pouco ou nada interessa! E então os baixistas, esses podem ficar em casa, pois estarem lá ou não, é a mesma coisa. Eu que até sou baterista (pasme-se a ironia), quem melhor que eu gosta de ouvir uma bateria bem equalizada e equilibrada a bater nos «cojones»? Agora, por favor, senhores «injinheiros de som»: ouçam música e façam um esforço para que ao vivo o som seja o mais parecido com os discos, apenas amplificado quantas vezes quiserem. Um som até pode ser exagerado em volume, mas se estiver equilibrado é bem tolerado! Lembro-me, por exemplo dos Dream Theater na praça Sony em Junho de 2002: o som quase que doía, mas estava TUDO no sítio. (Já nos coliseus, é a miséria do costume)

Agora, não me venham com esta nova escola ou filosofia de som da moda, pois para mim, essa espécie de «tunning» em que transformam os concertos, não são mais que ridículas demonstrações de poderio sub-grave, como se a qualidade das bandas por tal se medisse.

O que se passou em Cantanhede foi um atentado de lesa-ouvido! Ninguém, com dois apêndices em forma de concha entre a face e o pescoço, e que deles não padeça, pode dizer que aquilo é um som minimamente decente e digno de uma banda como aquela. Aquele matraquear ensurdecedor vindo dos pés do baterista assassina qualquer bom ouvidor de música!

Nos ditos «kinjuntos» até se pode entender esta moda como uma técnica de disfarce da confrangedora pobreza musical da banda, agora com os WHITESNAKE EM PALCO, meuzzzz… amigozzzzzz? Não habia … hum…. Nexexidade…zzzz…hummm!!!

Resta-me partilhar as fotos que fiz durante o concerto.

Paulo Carvalho

 [gallery]

Coverdale está hecho todo un chaval, y sigue siendo para mí el mejor cantante de hard-rock de todos los tiempos. Además es un tío bien salao, aun me descojono recordando el momento en que dijo que le encantaba madrid, pero que vamos, que no había visto nada más que el cartel del aeropuerto, pero al leer MADdrid ya se enamoró de nuestra querida ciudad.

El ritmo del concierto fué tremendo, ya que tocaron canciones del último disco (Best Years, A fool in love Again, Good to be Bad) intercalando repertorio de toda la vida (Here I go again, Fool for your loving, Is this love, Love ain´t no stranger...)

Momentos del concierto a destacar:

- Duelo de guitarras increíble entre Reb Beach y Doug Aldrich.

-Regalito de cumpleaños para el bajista (ahora no me sale el nombre) con muñeca negra inflable y tartita de chocolate...

- En a Fool In Love Again (tema del Good To Be Bad) no se movió ni cristo, y eso que es de los mejores temas del nuevo disco... El solo de batería de 5 minutos en mitad de la canción no ayudó en absoluto...

- Un Still of The Night increíble, como no podía ser de otra forma...

Lo que me faltó:

-Sabía que no la tocarían pero me habría encantado escuchar en directo Now You´re Gone.

-No les perdonaré en la vida olvidarse Crying in the Rain...

Se me olvidaba comentar que sonó más que decente el concierto, cosa que hace mucho que no veía en la Riviera. Se nota que no es la sala, sino quien se pone a los mandos los que manejan el sonido final...

Un concierto de la talla de whitesnake, que si vuelven, yo personalmente REPITO.

Para que os hagáis una idea del gustazo que nos pegamos....

Everything seems to have a theme song these days.  A song or jingle just helps capture the image...the moment.  Let's face it the CHiPs and Dukes of Hazzard theme songs are chiseled into our brains whether we like it our not.  How many times does a song come on the radio, we look to our friend and say the name of the movie or show it was in.  I think sports and music have the same effect.  I can't listen to Jump without thinking of the 1984 Chicago Cubs.  I hear Tessie by Dropkick Murphys and think of the wonderful ride the 2004 Red Sox took us on.  But this season in Chicago I look at the baseball teams and it is too quiet.  The Cubs fans re-hash Jump and Go Cubs Go but those were songs from a different era about different teams.  The White Sox fans still belt out that pathetic Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers classic Go Go White Sox.  Sorry, there was one team known as the Go Go Sox and you are not it.  They were a fast, base stealing bunch.  Most of this team you could time with a sun dial.  So, I think it is important we give them songs that fit their current state.

The Cubs started the 2nd half on the road and had a very uninspiring trip.  Some fans didn't think much of it because the Cubs have struggled on the road all season.  Other fans started thinking, here we go again.  Hmmmm, that is it, "Here We Go Again" by Whitesnake.  I can't think of a better song for their journey.  Time and time again they have been close.  They have won divisions and wildcards and were as close as 5 outs away from the promised land.  So here the Cubs go again on their own.  The are going down the only road they have ever known.  They have the same park and will win in thrilling fashion and lose heartbreakers.  I think they can win it all this season so let's hope they have made up their minds and they're not wasting no more time.

The White Sox are on borrowed time.  They have had all-world performances from Dye and Quentin, timely pitching from young, untested pitchers and those are the only reason they are in 1st place at this time.  They waltz into Minnesota a little banged up but confident.  They grab an early lead and squander it.  Last night was an example of how this season has been for the South Siders.  They have been really good and just plain terrible.  Round and round they go, which Sox team you get you'll never know.  Hey, "Spinning Wheel" by Blood, Sweat and Tears is perfect for them.  First off, they have the spinning wheel scoreboard so right there it is a perfect fit.  Seriously though, it is a sad but true tale of this team.  Hey Kenny, what goes up must come down.  Ozzie is talkin' about his troubles, ain't it a crying shame.  The Sox spinning wheels are spinning.  So much so that when they stop they will say, "Why are we in second and how did Minnesota get to ride the painted pony."  Sorry Sox fans, it is coming down.

Who would have thought that the bass player on Finders Keepers Sadie, The Cleaning Lady, an unassuming single released in 1968, would go on to assume legendary status amongst the rock faithful? Another band, and two albums later, and Glenn Hughes was hitting his stride. Medusa, from Trapeze, hinted at where this rock/funk three piece could take it, You are the Music...We're Just the Band released a year or so later fulfilled that promise. On the latter, Hughes is simply breathtaking. Handling ALL the vocals, he is unsurpassed. On Feelin' So Much Better Now, his three-part black chick chorus is pure En Vogue. His gutsy lead vocal soars to incredible heights on Loser, and emotes with raw soul on the classic Coast to Coast and Will Our Love End. The bass playing is blistering rock funk, a perfect foil for the late Mel Galley's rock solid guitar and Dave Holland's stylish syncopations. This band had it all. Small wonder then, that Hughes was poached by Deep Purple, and Trapeze soldiered on for a while until Galley was poached by Whitesnake, and Holland by Judas Priest.

Hughes fell foul of the drink and drugs lavished on him as a newly-crowned Purple rock prince. He still managed to turn in classic performances on Purple albums, and his first solo album Play Me Out, is astonishing. But, after a last gasp classic, Hughes/Thrall in 1982, containing one of the greatest funk rock riffs of all time on Muscle and Blood, Hughes plumbed the depths in his personal life. Somehow, he appeared on various albums for the likes of Gary Moore and Tony Iommi, but it wouldn't be until the 90's and his brush with death, that Hughes would finally get his life, and his career, back on track. But oh boy, has he made up for lost time! A string of fantastic solo albums followed, plus great rock albums with Voodoo Hill and once again with Tony Iommi.  His catalogue is of such a high standard, and so vast, its almost impossible to single anything out. Regular side men include Swedish guitarist JJ Marsh, and, as a perfect foil for the funk, the Chili's Chad Smith on drums. He is known variously as The Voice of Rock, the White Man's Stevie Wonder, but above all he's the funkiest mutha to take the stage.There is, quite simply no-one who can play bass and sing like this man. He stands alone.

On a personal note, he is pretty much the reason I've been a bassist/vocalist professionally for 30 years, and I've been lucky enough to meet him and tell him so. Listening to Deep Purple's Burn album, and Glenn's vocal and bass lines...it was like a light bulb going on in my head - so THAT'S what it's all about!

To paraphrase his old band Trapeze's album title YOU are the music, Glenn - we're just the fans.

RI.P. Mel Galley, guitarist with Trapeze, Whitesnake and Phenomena, who succumbed to throat cancer on July 1st. this year.

Recommended: Trapeze: You are the Music album, Deep Purple: Come Taste the Band, Glenn Hughes: Play Me Out, Feel, Soul Mover, Music for the Divine, F.U.N.K. Hughes/Thrall:Hughes/Thrall

Kev Moore

Starting August 9...only on classxradio.com

Soldier of fortune-Unplugged-2007

80′lerden 500 Yabancı Hit. Bölüm#3
Bölüm#3 içerisinde sanatçı isimleri S-Z arası 107 adet şarkı mp3leri bulabilirsiniz.

500 80’s Pop&Wave Songs Part#3
Part#3 contains Artist name S - Z   107 mp3 Songs

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Good to be Bad

Good to be Bad

Think of every song you air guitared to in school (but in the privacy of your own bedroom of course), every power ballad that you sang at the top of your lungs, but would never publicly admit that you liked and pile them into a 9-CD, 2 DVD, 152 track box set. Hard and Heavy features the hardest and
heaviest hits (along with a few guilty pleasures) from the best and most over the top rockers from the 70¹s and 80¹s including Poison, Whitesnake, Alice Cooper, Heart and Kiss. The set also includes four EXCLUSIVE, never-before-seen, acoustic performances by Poison front man Bret Michaels.

Sound good? I think so too! You can submit your name to win a copy at the link below!

Hard and Heavy Boxset Contest

Como siempre, casi 40 euritos de entrada, pero que seguro merecerá la pena ¡¡ Nos vemos seguramente allí.

PD: Para el que no vaya ya escribiré la crónica el viernes ;)

Some lists are merely lists. Others are sacred and priceless, like this one.  Welcome to the next installment of The 5, and this one is quite near and dear to our hearts.  We will examine the sensitive side of rock, the softer part of every rocker, the part of every bad boy that only his wild woman gets to see: the Power Ballad.  

Having to narrow it down to only 5 selections is like trying to pick your favorite appendage.  You love them all for different reasons.  But just like you sometimes have to cut off one of your limbs, so too did I have to cut away some that just did not make the...cut.  Sorry.  So honorable mentions go to: Scorpions, Wind of Change (political power ballad), Tesla, Love Song ("you'll be ok, baby" power ballad),Def Leppard,  Love Bites ("lovin' you is a painful thing" power ballad), and Whitesnake,  Is This Love ("what is this crazy thing I'm feeling" power ballad).  

So here, with an acoustic build up and electric finish, is the list, in descending order.

5.  Poison, Every Rose Has its Thorn:  a forlorn tale of love gone sour.  Bret Michaels fills us in on how he and his girl have drifted apart, and CC Deville drives the nail deeper into his heart with his piercing solo.  I wish I could have told Bret back in 1988 "Don't worry, man. In about 20 years you'll have your own tv show and 20 skanks to keep you company and make you feel better".

4.  Heaven, Warrant: ah, the bittersweet memories of days gone by. Jani Lane takes a stroll down memory...lane (dang it, I did it again) and knows it will all be ok as long as he has his girl.  Quite the clever double meaning, as this can also be interpreted as a love letter to the fans. But then, any band that would later pen a song called "Uncle Tom's Cabin" definitely had some brains.

3.  Skid Row, I Remember You: even when you're a sleazy, fight picking group of rambunctious hoodlums, you still have that one girl that you still think about, especially when it's raining.  Sebastian Bach and company reminisce about that girl that got away, which my world weary, tattered and torn 8th grade heart could definitely relate too.  Just one question: if the chorus says "remember yesterday, walking hand in hand, love letters in the sand, I remember you", why does the girl not remember? If it was just yesterday, does she have some sort of short term memory problem? Much like an onion, every time you peel away a layer of this song, another layer is exposed. 

2.  Bon Jovi, Wanted Dead or Alive: the ultimate "life on the road" song.  The rocker as gunslinger motif adequately captures life as a late 80's musician (even if it was imagined by Ratt in "Wanted Man" first).  I'm not quite sure what crimes he is wanted for (too much aquanet usage? flying in concert without a permit?) but I'm glad he risked his life in order bring us the rock.  All I know is that is impossible not to throw your fist in the air when you hear the line "I've seen a million faces, and I've rocked them". 

1. Motley Crue, Home Sweet Home: The power ballad to end all power ballads. Sensitive piano intro and outro; soaring chorus, epic guitar solo. All the parts are there.  And everyone gets tired of being away from home. Especially after covering your body with tattoos, injecting heroin, and shouting at the devil, like the boys from the Crue (sorry, my keyboard is fresh out of umlauts).  This is 100%, Grade A, Pure Power Balladry.  Nothing but the best.

The Def Leppard, Whitesnake and Thunder show rolled into Cardiff last Monday delivering a somewhat surprising sell-out show at Wales' largest indoor concert venue.  Something like 7,500 people jammed into the CIA and tickets changing hands outside for at least twice their face value.

Thunder seem permanently destined to be British rock's perennial "third band on a big bill".  They've filled that slot at Donington, on the Monsters Of Rock arena tour a few years back and now on this late 80s throwback evening.  Somewhat predictable but as usual entertaining they drew heavily from their début album "Backstreet Symphony" of course, opening with their best known song "Dirty Love" and playing two other numbers from that disc in a six song set.  Certainly well received they seemed delighted to be back on a big stage with Danny Bowes of course a highly entertaining if unconventional frontman, skipping onto stage at the beginning and leading more audience participation moments than your average Bruce Forsyth fronted TV game show.  One thought I had though with Bowes in particularly impressive voice was surely an opening band with a singer who's ability is not quite what it once was would have been much more appropriate given what followed!

Set list : Dirty Love / River Of Pain / Low Life In High Places / Gimme Some Lovin' / The Devil Made Me Do It / I Think I Love You More Than Rock 'n' Roll

Whitesnake were perhaps unsurprisingly the pick of the evening for me, and judging by the increased space available at floor level when the headline band were on were also the reason why this bill sold out; it was certainly noticeable that there was a little more space once they'd done.  The new album was well represented with no less than four tracks, including a stirring opening stab through "Best Years" and while more metallicised versions of the likes of "Fool For Your Loving" may not sit as well as the original, something like "A Fool In Love" from the recent album achieved a much greater notability live.

Coverdale remains a hugely entertaining frontman.  All winks and kisses to the ladies in the front rows, he continues to command the stage but these days with more than a touch of added "ham". Seemingly aware that his voice doesn't quite possess the range it once did it is noticeable that the band take on increased singing duties.  That aside, there is less of the screaming that marred some of the live shows of the 90s and on welcome acoustic run through's of "The Deeper The Love" and most favourably an albeit truncated version of the classic "Ain't Gonna Cry No More" everything was just superb.

The ever popular four hit singles from "1987" were hugely greeted of course, a thunderous "Still Of The Night" the final song from a band that deserved an encore but because of the limitations of the three band bill, were seemingly unable to deliver one.

Set List : Best Years / Fool For Your Loving / Can You Hear The Wind Blow / Love Ain't No Stranger / Lay Down Your Love / The Deeper The Love / Is This Love / Guitar Solo / A Fool In Love / Ain't Gonna Cry No More / Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City / Give Me All Your Love / Here I Go Again / Still Of The Night

Def Leppard were the headliners on this tour, no matter what the publicity may tell you; of that I have no doubt now.  The electronic backdrop which for Whitesnake could only display some heavily pixelated logos suddenly sprang into perfect clarity for the Sheffield band making for some stunning visuals in conjunction with two huge video screens that flanked the stage.  Unfortunately a band that once were accused of using backing tapes so good were their live harmonies, sounded decidedly ropy at times on this occasion.

Now its fair to say that a 2008 Def Leppard setlist won't bear much resemblance to one I'd choose, only the excellent "Bringing On The Heartbreak" representing the two early albums by the formative band that I enjoy so much.  However, I'm not one of those "Hysteria" detractors considering it a perfect example of late 80s melodic rock, and there is little denying that songs like "Animal", "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and "Armageddon It" were amongst the best received numbers on the night.  In contrast to the Whitesnake set, Def Leppard play just two from their new album although neither "Nine Lives" or "C'mon C'mon" really ignited the crowd.  Indeed soundwise it was somewhat bizarrely their cover of David Essex song "Rock On" that sounded best of the songs from the earlier part of the set. Or maybe that was just relief after said song emerged at the end of a tedious bass solo.

Joe Elliott's vocal limitations were especially exposed on the surprising inclusion of "When Love And Hate Collide".  An acoustic "Two Steps Behind" was better though and a near impromptu version of "Freebird" was amusing, especially when Phil Collen stopped Elliott embarking on what could have been a 15 minute indulgent labour of love!  Main set closing number, a majestic "Rock Of Ages", was a welcome reminder of the best years of the band but the continued inclusion of fodder like the awful "Make Love Like A Man" and a presumed encore of "Let's Get Rocked" (I was off home after "Rock Of Ages" to ensure I missed this one!) mean that although quite enjoyable its unlikely I'd go to see Def Leppard in concert again unless the support acts are of a similar calibre to this evening's line-up.

On the whole a decent evening but other perhaps than Whitesnake's set, one unlikely to make any "all time" or "annual" favourite lists I think.

Set List : Rocket / C'mon C'mon / Animal / Nine Lives / Make Love Like A Man / When Love And Hate Collide / Bass Solo / Rock On / Two Steps Behind / Bringin' On The Heartbreak / Hysteria / Armageddon It / Photograph / Pour Some Sugar On Me / Rock Of Ages  (encore guess - Let's Get Rocked??)

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BL

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All-Areas-Magazine (Pressemitteilung) 17.07.2008

(thk) Ein Tour-Paket, von dem Fans des melodiösen Hardrock bislang nur träumen konnten, wird Wirklichkeit: Alice Cooper und Whitesnake präsentieren auf einer gemeinsamen Deutschland-Tour ihre Klassiker ebenso wie Songs aus aktuellen CDs! Von Ersterem, dem durch Hits wie "School's Out", "Elected", "Only Women Bleed" oder "Poison" bekannten ,König des Schock-Rock' und Inbegriff spektakulärer Shows, erscheint vorab das Konzept-Album "Along Came A Spider" (SPV, VÖ: 25.Juli). Die fünfköpfige Formation um den ehemaligen Deep-Purple-Sänger David Coverdale, dessen Ruf als "letzter großer Rockstar" (Kerrang!) sich auf muskulöse Meisterwerke wie "Here I Go Again", "Is This Love?" oder "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City" begründet, hat einen neuen Tonträger dagegen bereits im April veröffentlicht und die Top Ten der Charts erreicht. Den bluesgetränkten Vital-Rock von "Good To Be Bad" (SPV) kommentierten Fans wie Kritiker durchwegs mit Lobeshymnen.

Zusammen garantieren diese zwei Bands, die beide als Garant mitreißender Live-Auftritte gelten, abwechslungsreiche Konzerte voller Klasse und Kraft.

Die Karten zu den von Klaus Bönisch/KBK GmbH in Kooperation mit Ossy Hoppe/Wizard Promotions Konzertagentur GmbH veranstalteten Shows kosten 30 bis 55 Euro (zuzüglich Gebühren) und sind ab sofort an den bekannten Vorverkaufsstellen erhältlich.

Alice Cooper & Whitesnake - Worldtour 2008
Special Guest: tba.

18.11. Hamburg
20.11. Hannover
21.11. Essen
22.11. Bayreuth
25.11. Erfurt
26.11. München
28.11. Frankfurt
29.11. Stuttgart
01.12. Berlin

Einlass: 18 Uhr, Beginn: 19 Uhr 30

Karten von 30,00 bis 55,00 Euro (zzgl. Gebühren) an allen Vorverkaufsstellen

Ausführliche Informationen (Termine / Venues) im:
All-Areas-Magazine [Kalender]

Offizielle Webseiten:
www.whitesnake.com
www.alicecooper.com

Tourveranstalter:
KBK Konzert- und Künstleragentur GmbH
Prinzregentenstrasse 95
D-81677 München
Telefon: +49(0)89 411094-0
Telefax: +49(0)89 411094-33
E-Mail: klaus@kb-k.com
Internet: http://www.kb-k.com

Wizard Promotions Konzertagentur GmbH
Brühlstr. 37
D-60439 Frankfurt/Main
Telefon: +49(0)69 9043590
Telefax: +49(0)69 90435911
Web: http://www.wizardpromotions.de

Pressearbeit:
Hammerl Kommunikation
Lessingstr. 12
D-86159 Augsburg
Tel. 0821-58 97 93 88/9
Fax 0821-58 97 94 00
Internet: http://www.hammerl-kommunikation.de

25 de Julho

Da Weasel

26 de Julho

Bob Sinclar
Squeeze
Bigali
Steve Edwards

27 de Julho

Tony Carreira

28 de Julho

David Fonseca

29 de Julho

Mariza

30 de Julho

Quim Barreiros

31 de Julho

Mikael

1 de Agosto

Pedro Abrunhosa

2 de Agosto

Whitesnake
Blasted Mechanism

3 de Agosto

Xutos & Pontapés 

Bilhetes: entre 2,5€ e 10€ consoante os concertos. À venda no local e em www.plateia.iol.pt

Bryan New, whose professional discography reads like a who’s who of innovative pop and rock (including The Cure, Massive Attack, Jonathan Butler, Pop Will Eat Itself, Dub War, Def Leppard, Yes, Whitesnake, and The Cars, to name a few), has signed a special composing and production contract with FirstCom Music, Dallas. New’s End Game (SEE004) was overwhelming received and touts placements in trailers for blockbuster movies like “National Treasure: Book of Secrets”, “Superman Returns”, “Miami Vice”, “Invincible”, “ZOOM”, and “16 Blocks”.

“Bryan creates music that is incredibly powerful and irresistible,” said Ken Nelson, Senior Vice President/Executive Producer - FirstCom Music. “We are very pleased and excited for the opportunity to deliver this outstanding talent and musical genius to FirstCom Music’s clients on an exclusive basis.”

SEE008 - Countdown: Total Annihilation, the next must-have release for New in the SEE Trailer Track Library, will be available July 11th at FirstCom.com.

we have seen the return of the Police, Whitesnake, Steely Dan, Cheap Trick to name just a few.. i for one am glad to see these bands back out on tour for the summer to grace us once again with music that is timeless, lyrically diverse. and musically Un-mundane... that's right i made up a word.  Un-mundane!!!  in my humble opinion music today is not extremely lyrically diverse nor is it musically complicated or broad in style... one band sounds like another... back when the fore mentioned bands first graced the airwaves and stages in our lives. each was unique to themselves and the musical world around them. you could hear one not of any one of those bands songs and would know exactly who it was, aaaaaaaaaaaand, the songs told us all little stories as the words wound around the melodies... from the Police's song about deep unrelenting love entitled "every breath you take" to Cheap Tricks anthem about partents who partake in herbal relief, entitled "Surrender" we knew what they were saying in the song and could understand every word....

we also are blessed this year with some festival type shows from the icons of our past...  Motley Crue is out on tour with metal heads from the 80's  Crew Fest coming to a town near you soon... also three of the best bands from each of they're time respectively are out on tour together (the tour has no special moniker) Journey, Heart, and Cheap Trick are all out together and the buzz from the tour is it's one of the best of this year and recent years. the Police is touring with Elvis Costello... who was brilliant in his song-writing as well...

I guess what i am trying to say here is for us in the 40-60 club, the music we grew up with ( and i realize i have only mentioned a small fraction ) was not only lyrically wonderful, and melodically brilliant. it all falls into the category of Timeless. it has been gracing the charts and airwaves for 3 to 4 decades but it will last countless more bands enlightening us with they're lyrically and melodically simple and repetitive "songs" will last more than 5 to 10 years... i will concede that there are some among the many that show brilliance but the whole music industry as a whole at this point in time are simply in it to make a fast buck and get out... back in the day there were one hit wonders, but that happened by accident, now a days it seems almost formulaic to create one or two catchy songs make the money and move on...

i for one look forward to the return of the singer-songwriter days when music was a passion and those who created it actually cared about how the songs were constructed and the emotion they evoked...  and the day of the formula rock, cookie cutter, copycat sound is nothing more than a memory, and the shock value rockers take off they re get-ups and make music from the heart.

is the world really that full of anger and hate that we must endure another decade of the Marilyn Manson's and the slip knots of the world..... although they respectively have a uniqueness unto themselves and i do not deny they're attraction i do not agree with they're evocation of violent visual and musical one dimensional sound... if you wanna be a true artist (again in my humble opinion) you must be able to show many sides and emotions ....

remember everyone this is just my opinion and i do like some of Marilyn's music and i also like the singer from slip knot (Corey Taylor) his band Stonesour is a much better project.

so in closing i would just like to note that as an old rocker i simply appreciate the longevity of the classic rockers out there rocking the nation well into they're 50's and 60's....  i hope i am still rocking and rolling at those ages.....