SAXON [2009] Into The Labyrinth

TRACKLIST ...
01. Battalions Of Steel (6:35)
02. Live To Rock (5:30)
03. Demon Sweeney Todd (3:53)
04. The Letter (0:42)
05. Valley Of The Kings (5:04)
06. Slow Lane Blues (4:08)
07. Crime Of Passion (4:05)
08. Premonition In D Minor (0:40)
09. Voice (4:35)
10. Protect Yourselves (3:56)
11. Hellcat (3:56)
12. Come Rock Of Ages (The Circle Is Complete) (3:54)
13. Coming Home (3:12) bottleneck version

Review
It's safe to assume that when Saxon's original lineup was formed in Barnsley, England back in 1977, the last thing that singer Biff Byford and guitarist Paul Quinn were thinking about was a 31st anniversary. Metal bands come and go, and it is hard enough to keep a band together for two or three years — let alone 31. But 2008, the year in which Saxon recorded their early 2009 release, Into the Labyrinth, did, in fact, mark the band's 31st anniversary — and the good news is that this 50-minute CD is quite faithful to the spirit of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Those who have been closely following Saxon all these years know that their work has been wildly inconsistent at times; they showed tremendous promise in the beginning but didn't fare nearly as well when they tried to sound like a glossy Sunset Strip hair band in the mid- to late '80s. But the Nirvana/Pearl Jam/grunge upheaval of 1991-1993 booted hair bands off of MTV, and instead of either continuing with hair metal or attempting to go alternative, Saxon returned to their NWOBHM roots. The result: a lot of mid- to late-'90s and 2000s recordings that weren't groundbreaking but definitely found Saxon sounding revitalized. Into the Labyrinth fits that description; this disc doesn't pretend to point the veteran headbangers in any new directions, but Saxon's 2008 lineup (Byford on lead vocals, Quinn and Doug Scarratt on guitar, Nibbs Carter on bass, and Nigel Glockler on drums) sound like they are having considerable fun whether they are providing anthemic power metal of the Judas Priest/Iron Maiden variety ("Valley of the Kings," "Battalions of Steel") or going for more of an AC/DC-ish crunch ("Live to Rock," "Slow Lane Blues"). This album falls short of essential, but even so, fans of NWOBHM — era favorites like Strong Arm of the Law (1980) and Denim and Leather (1981) will appreciate the NWOBHM leanings of the enjoyably consistent Into the Labyrinth. -- AllMusic

DAVID LEE ROTH [2003] Diamond Dave

TRACKLIST ...
01. You Got The Blues, Not Me... (3:17)
02. Made Up My Mind (3:00)
03. Stay While The Night Is Young (3:43)
04. Shoo Bop (5:11)
05. She's Looking Good (2:50)
06. Soul Kitchen (4:32)
07. If 6 Was 9 (3:33)
08. That Beatles Tune (3:49)
09. Medicine Man (1:12)
10. Let It All Hang Out (2:25)
11. Thug Pop (3:35)
12. Act One (1:34)
13. Ice Cream Man (3:23)
14. Bad Habits (3:44)

Review
Let's face it; David Lee Roth was the most exciting and entertaining singer to ever front Van Halen. And although his solo albums have not all been winners, at least he's been known to take chances and try new approaches with rock music (such as the entirely sung-in-Spanish Sonrisa Salvaje, the synth pop-ish Skyscraper, the Nile Rodgers-produced Your Filthy Little Mouth, etc.). For his 2003 release Diamond Dave, Roth uses the same approach he and his then-comrades in Van Halen followed on 1982's Diver Down — an album consisting primarily of cover songs, with a few originals sprinkled in. As expected, the covers that work the best are the ones that aren't that well known, including the lead-off single "Shoo Bop" (a cover of Steve Miller's "Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma") and a big band reading of a tune Van Halen covered way back when, "Ice Cream Man," while a few of the better-known songs (especially Jimi Hendrix's "If 6 Was 9") don't fare as well. Of course, Diamond Dave is no Fair Warning. But it's a hell of a whole lot more listenable than anything Van Halen has issued in ages (especially when compared to the 1998 atrocity Van Halen III). -- AllMusic

TORI AMOS [2009] Abnormally Attracted To Sin

TRACKLIST ...
01. Give (4:13)
02. Welcome To England (4:04)
03. Strong Black Vine (3:26)
04. Flavor (4:05)
05. Not Dying Today (4:01)
06. Maybe California (4:24)
07. Curtain Call (4:51)
08. Fire To Your Plain (3:01)
09. Police Me (3:52)
10. That Guy (4:02)
11. Abnormally Attracted To Sin (5:32)
12. 500 Miles (4:05)
13. Mary Jane (2:41)
14. Starling (4:02)
15. Fast Horse (3:51)
16. Ophelia (4:42)
17. Lady In Blue (7:11)

Review
After the high conceptualism that lorded over 2005's The Beekeeper and 2007's American Doll Posse, singer and songwriter Tori Amos has decided to return to the relatively simple songs-as-songs approach on Abnormally Attracted to Sin. Those recordings, fine though they may have been, stretched the artist's reputation and the patience of her fans to the breaking point; based on her record sales, she whittled them down to simply the Tori cult (not a derogatory term, since many of her fans are proud to refer to themselves that way). The scope of this set in comparison with the previous two offerings seems more like a retrenchment than anything else. Not that there's anything at all wrong with that. There are songs on Abnormally Attracted to Sin that are as strong as anything she's written. Certainly the opener "Give," with its trip-hop rhythmic landscape and shifting backing vocals, slippery synth bass, and acoustic piano is beautifully constructed with a melody line that glides along a minor-key slant with a Middle Eastern tinge, and its lyric is both poignant and provocative. But then there is the single, "Welcome to England," whose 4/4 loop, drifting piano, and blend of guitars (electric and acoustic), strings, and ambient sounds is rudimentary Amos at best, and boring at worst. The refrain creates a bit of a hook, at least enough to catch the ear, but that's all. "Strong Black Vine," with its echoes of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" in the intro, tosses Amos back into her Jerry Lee Lewis dilemma: she loves and hates religious faith, and is both ensnared by it and saved by it. It's a rocker as far as her songs go, and works beautifully. "Maybe California" is a simple, straightforward modern pop ballad. It's beautifully composed and delivered. The track listing goes on, and on, and on, and on. And if there is a problem with Abnormally Attracted to Sin, this is it: it's 73 minutes long. At the dawn of the CD era, it made sense on some level to be this "generous" with listeners. But for any artist to sustain the kind of consistency necessary to keep a listener's attention for this length of time is extraordinary. By the album's second half, one has to play and replay certain tracks because they seem to go by in a blur. And to be honest, this set would have fared better for some real pruning. Whereas cuts like "Fire to Your Plain," with its country overtones and in-the-gut melody fare quite well here, another country-ish experiment, "Not Dyin' Today," could have been deleted because it feels like a tossed off idea more than a fully realized one. The title track is an eerie abstract exercise in ambience and atmospherics and its fragmented (and provocative) lyric is the perfect strategy to anchor it without losing its dreaminess. "500 Miles" (not the Proclaimers song) has a beautiful lyric, but musically it feels lifeless and lazy. The faux cabaret of "That Guy" feels like it updates Brecht and Weill in the 21st century, just as the jazzy intimacy of "Mary Jane" does the Parisian Saravah jazz scene of the late 50s and early '60s. What it all boils down to is, well, boiling it down. Amos doesn't record as much as most artists, and it must be tempting to give fans everything she can, but in this case, it's hurt her a bit. Still there, are many tracks here worth adding to one's Amos shelf. -- AllMusic

BAP [2008] Radio Pandora: Plugged

TRACKLIST ...
01. Prädestiniert (5:27)
02. Hühr Zo, Pandora (4:54)
03. Et Ess, Wie't Ess (3:45)
04. Diego Paz Wohr Nüngzehn (6:46)
05. Frankie Un Er (6:23)
06. Wat Für E' Booch! (4:45)
07. Wolf Un Skorpion (5:46)
08. Kron Oder Turban (4:45)
09. Noh Gulu (6:14)
10. Wa'ss Loss Met Dä Stadt? (5:03)
11. Musik, Die Nit Stührt (4:10)
12. Morje Fröh Doheim (3:48)
13. Songs Sinn Dräume (5:26)
14. Für Immer Jung (5:21)

BAP [2008] Radio Pandora: Unplugged

TRACKLIST ...
01. Magdalena (Weil Maria Hatt Ich Schon) (6:15)
02. Enn 'Ner Naach Wie Der (4:09)
03. Kron Oder Turban (5:00)
04. Señor (4:18)
05. Hühr Zo, Pandora (5:08)
06. Duude Bloome (3:58)
07. Prädestiniert (5:12)
08. Frankie Un Er (5:44)
09. Morje Fröh Doheim (4:03)
10. Noh Gulu (5:06)
11. Wa'ss Loss Mit Dä Stadt? (5:13)
12. Dä Letzte Winter Em Letzte Kreech (5:28)
13. Songs Sinn Dräume (5:05)
14. Jed Körnche Sand (5:25)

Biography
A German institution, the rock band Bap were formed in 1976 by the Cologne-based singer/songwriter/activist Wolfgang Niedecken. Niedecken was already well-known as Cologne's answer to Bob Dylan before he began Bap, partly because of his acoustic guitar and harmonica, but mostly because of his poignant, socially aware lyrics. Listening to the Rolling Stones and the Kinks influenced him to form a band. He named the band Bap after a nickname he took to avoid using his father's surname. Niedecken's turbulent relationship with his father lasted up until his father was on his deathbed. Their bittersweet reconciliation would become the topic of Bap's defining song, "Verdamp Lang Her," a staple of the group's live set that featured a Bruce Springsteen-styled monologue that would change a little each night. A single with 11 different versions of the song culled from live recordings over the years was released in 2005 (Springsteen and Niedecken had met in the '80s, eventually becoming good friends). In 2002 revered director Wim Wenders made Viel Passiert — Der BAP Film, a documentary about Bap in the style of his earlier film Buena Vista Social Club. In 2006, a new Bap with Niedecken as the only original member finished their "greatest hits tour" by performing three sold-out nights in their hometown of Cologne. -- AllMusic