{"id":10007,"date":"2016-01-26T05:30:01","date_gmt":"2016-01-26T05:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=10007"},"modified":"2023-07-19T18:34:05","modified_gmt":"2023-07-19T22:34:05","slug":"hundred-word-reviews-january-2016-reissues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2016\/01\/26\/hundred-word-reviews-january-2016-reissues\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundred-word Reviews January 2016: Reissues"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today&#8217;s collection of hundred-word reviews focuses on recent reissues of note.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9999\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/uriah_heep_totally.jpg\" alt=\"uriah_heep_totally\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/uriah_heep_totally.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/uriah_heep_totally-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/uriah_heep_totally-65x65.jpg 65w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"float: right; padding: 10px; width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ss&amp;ref=ss_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=musoscribe-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B015OPMCI8&amp;asins=B015OPMCI8&amp;linkId=ECW5INYAKAZO7WHI&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><br \/>\n<b>Uriah Heep \u2013 <\/b><i><b>Totally Driven<\/b><\/i><br \/>\nI&#8217;m not going to try to tell you that the turn of the 21<sup>st<\/sup> century was <b>Uriah Heep<\/b>&#8216;s finest hour. Their high point was in the early 1970s, around the time of <i>Demons and Wizards<\/i> and <i>The Magician&#8217;s Birthday<\/i> (both 1972). And I&#8217;ll allow that many critics absolutely <i>hated<\/i> the band. But then those same writers despised <b>Black Sabbath<\/b>, and <i>they<\/i> eventually enjoyed a critical re-appraisal. This set of twenty-seven Uriah Heep tunes \u2013 essentially a collection of re-recorded versions of their best-loved numbers \u2013 is surprisingly good. It&#8217;s certainly several notches above what one normally gets in such cases.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9998\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/jeremy_spencer.jpg\" alt=\"jeremy_spencer\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/jeremy_spencer.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/jeremy_spencer-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/jeremy_spencer-65x65.jpg 65w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"float: right; padding: 10px; width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ss&amp;ref=ss_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=musoscribe-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B0155PJKSW&amp;asins=B0155PJKSW&amp;linkId=JGYILACYM5LRHFUX&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><br \/>\n<b>Jeremy Spencer \u2013 <\/b><i><b>Jeremy Spencer<\/b><\/i><br \/>\nThose who know that <b>Fleetwood Mac<\/b>&#8216;s history extends far before they became the darlings of the mid 1970s California cocaine set know that the original Mac was a blues band, first and foremost. But <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2012\/12\/26\/the-jeremy-spencer-interview\/\">Jeremy Spencer<\/a> \u2013 arguably the most mercurial guitarist in a band that had three out-there personalities on guitar \u2013 had influences and interests well beyond blues. His long-unavailable 1970 solo debut explores those influences, from <b>Buddy Holly<\/b> to <b>Elmore James<\/b>. And the backing band features his bandmates <b>Mick Fleetwood<\/b>, <b>John McVie<\/b>, <b>Peter Green<\/b>, and <b>Danny Kirwan<\/b> plus saxophonist <b>Stephen Gregory<\/b>. Perhaps not essential, but very worthwhile.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9995\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/kingbees.jpg\" alt=\"kingbees\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/kingbees.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/kingbees-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/kingbees-65x65.jpg 65w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"float: right; padding: 10px; width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ss&amp;ref=ss_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=musoscribe-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B00UGDAF24&amp;asins=B00UGDAF24&amp;linkId=2PLNTR4HQRGITRWI&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><br \/>\n<b>The Kingbees \u2013 <\/b><i><b>The Kingbees<\/b><\/i><br \/>\n<b>Robert Stigwood<\/b> &#8216;s RSO Records was never the hippest of labels. <b>The Kingbees<\/b> can now be seen as RSO&#8217;s attempt to get a piece of the retro-rock action that was briefly all the rage in the very early 1980s (see also: <b>Stray Cats<\/b>). This self-titled debut went exactly nowhere chartwise on its release, and none of the group&#8217;s three members went on to become household names. But viewed for what it is, this Omnivore Recordings reissue is a solid, supremely enjoyable record that will appeal to fans of <b>Rockpile<\/b>. Bonus demo tracks nearly double the length of the original LP.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9996\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/muffs.jpg\" alt=\"muffs\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/muffs.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/muffs-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/muffs-65x65.jpg 65w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"float: right; padding: 10px; width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ss&amp;ref=ss_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=musoscribe-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B0106W5XW6&amp;asins=B0106W5XW6&amp;linkId=YQPLHWRWO7RCXH7H&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><br \/>\n<b>The Muffs \u2013 <\/b><i><b>The Muffs<\/b><\/i><br \/>\nAfter finding less success than they deserved with their paisley underground group <b>The Pandoras<\/b>, guitarists <b>Kim Shattuck<\/b> and <b>Melanie Vammen<\/b> went in a much harder-rocking direction and formed <b>The Muffs<\/b>. This, their 1993 debut plus some assorted demos, finds their buzzsaw attack applied to wide-screen production (thanks <b>Rob Cavallo<\/b>, the guy behind the boards for <b>Green Day<\/b>&#8216;s <i>Dookie<\/i>). Big, high-voltage, dumb rock and roll is the order of the day, and it&#8217;s as fun now as it was back in the 90s. Don&#8217;t try to sing along with Shattuck, or you&#8217;ll rip your precious vocal cords to shreds. A gem.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"klaatu\"><\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9997\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/klaatu.jpg\" alt=\"klaatu\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/klaatu.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/klaatu-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/klaatu-65x65.jpg 65w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"float: right; padding: 10px; width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ss&amp;ref=ss_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=musoscribe-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B00PU3SJ32&amp;asins=B00PU3SJ32&amp;linkId=IOBZZ3W6HQZ4XQRB&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><br \/>\n<b>Klaatu \u2013 <\/b><i><b>3:47 E.S.T.<\/b><\/i><b> (aka <\/b><i><b>Klaatu)<\/b><\/i><br \/>\nUnfortunately for the members of this intentionally-faceless Canadian studio group, <b>Klaatu<\/b> are most remembered for who they <em>weren&#8217;t<\/em>: the <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2011\/06\/29\/two-years-of-musoscribe-the-beatles\/\"><b>Beatles<\/b><\/a>. Victims of hype on the scale of the Paul-is-dead story, Klaatu never recovered from the backlash (and the band had no hand in perpetuating the myth anyway). But taken purely as music, this 1977 album is a real treasure. Very much in a <i>Magical Mystery Tour<\/i>-era Beatles and <b><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2015\/10\/13\/video-review-jeff-lynnes-elo-live-at-hyde-park\/\">ELO<\/a><\/b> vein, it features strong songwriting and superb arrangement. The <b>McCartney<\/b>esque bass guitar work on \u201cSub Rosa Subway\u201d (the track&#8217;s best cut) is swoonworthy. This remastered reissue includes swell liner notes, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today&#8217;s collection of hundred-word reviews focuses on recent reissues of note. Uriah Heep \u2013 Totally Driven I&#8217;m not going to try to tell you that the turn of the 21st [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9997,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,59,62,64,65],"tags":[837,1132,2594,2593,1622,1796,2298],"class_list":["post-10007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blues","category-punk","category-rawk","category-reissue","category-review","tag-fleetwood-mac","tag-jeremy-spencer","tag-klaatu","tag-muffs","tag-omnivore-recordings","tag-real-gone-music","tag-uriah-heep","cat-9-id","cat-59-id","cat-62-id","cat-64-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10007"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25692,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10007\/revisions\/25692"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}