Category Archives: Classic Rock

Classic Rock, Genre, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Song Reviews

Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow – Snake Charmer (Song Review)

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“Rising like a crazy balloon”

It’s not one of the more celebrated tracks from the Dio era of Rainbow but I really enjoy Snake Charmer from the first album of the era, 1975’s Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow.

A funky, wah-fuelled Hendrix-y rocker, Snake Charmer is no great shakes in terms of riffs and songwriting but it has a joyous energy and wonderful performances. In particular, bassist Craig Gruber excels. There’s a palpable chemistry as his lively, roaming basslines power a dynamic. expressive guitar solo from Blackmore.

At the time I got into Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, I was listening to loads of old Skynyrd and early Whitesnake and songs like Snake Charmer ensured that Rainbow fit right in with that rootsy, sunny mood. The album’s more fantastical and weighty tracks might be the standouts but Snake Charmer is a crucial part of the Rainbow debut’s eclectic and colourful charm.

Black Metal, Classic Rock, Death Metal, Genre, Heavy Metal, HMO Blog

RSD: Rythm Spelling Disaster

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I had a great time on Record Store Day this year. My lovely wife and I got into Edinburgh just before 11am and the shops were already pretty quiet by then. I didn’t have to queue at all and managed to buy my three most-wanted LPs from the list in time for lunch.

First up, we went to Avalanche in the Waverley Market. This shop recently moved to a bigger unit and it’s much improved. It has a great metal section now. I bought Judas Priest’s Live In Los Angeles 1990. It’s not a full show but the sound quality is great and it has a few tracks that you don’t hear live very often.

Following that it was a short distance to Underground Solution on Cockburn Street where I managed to snag my most-wanted record from the RSD list: Stalk-Forrest Group’s St. Cecilia: The Elektra Recordings. This is a compilation of early recordings from the band that later evolved into Blue Öyster Cult. It’s more mellow and psychedelic than BÖC but it’s wonderful stuff. I have this on CD too but this is a nicer package than my CD edition.

I was also able to snag Underground Solution’s last copy of Darkthrone’s As Wolves Among Sheep… Live In Oslo. This is an impressively powerful live recording from the band’s early death metal days. Darkthrone only played a small number of live gigs before deciding to stick to the studio so it’s fascinating to hear them live. Check out Fenriz’ unique spelling of rhythm… that’s drummers for you!

And, because no-one says you have to just stick to RSD titles (or vinyl for that matter), I also bought the new Motörhead On Parole Sessions box set.

I had great time and I’m really chuffed with the records I picked up. Might be my favourite RSD haul so far. Let me know how your Record Store Day went in the comments.

Classic Rock, Genre, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, HMO Blog, NWOBHM, Thrash Metal

Vinyl Haul At Veneno

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I knew it was going to be a great shop cause it had Scorpions’ In Trance in the window

The big story round these parts is that I’ve got the vinyl bug back – big time. In February I noticed on Facebook that a new record shop, Veneno Music Store (Spanish for “poison” or “venom”) had opened in Dunfermline. I hadn’t been buying a lot of used vinyl lately so I wasn’t too excited about it. But Dunfermline is a quick drive from where I live and it’s a place I like going to anyway so I decided to visit for a wee nosey. I’ve now been back three times in the last month. Check out what I’ve been buying in the pictures below, it’s like he’s been using my Discogs wish-list to stock his shelves or something.

I’m really chuffed to finally have such a great record shop in my neck of the woods. The chap that runs it is very friendly and he’s getting in great stuff every week. It’s not all rock and metal, there’s quite a range of genres. All the things I’ve bought were conservatively graded, reasonably priced and have played like a dream. If you’re in the area please make sure to pop in. And tell them that HMO sent you.

The best Yngwie album
Worth it just for the cover surely?
OK, not vinyl but new/sealed for just £30. A must buy.
Classic Rock, Genre, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Song Reviews

Motörhead – Deaf Forever (Song Review)

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“Worm crawling on your cold, white face”

Deaf Forever is an iconic Motörhead song title, acting as a motto or a badge of honour for anyone who’s ever shared a hall with the notoriously loud rockers. But, rather than an ode to his volume-addled fans, Lemmy’s ingenious lyrics refer instead to a corpse on a battlefield: deaf forever to the din of the battle. And Motörhead’s short-lived Wizzö/ Würzel/Gill lineup create a considerable din of their own to soundtrack the sombre topic. Deaf Forever gets 1986’s superb Orgasmatron off to a thumping start with a robotic, marching main riff that opens into thunderous chords for a triumphant, anthemic chorus. It’s Motörhead at the top of their game musically and lyrically, with one of their best production jobs to boot. An inspired headbanger that’s guaranteed to put a big grin on your face. Rictus or otherwise.

Classic Rock, Genre, Song Reviews

Free – Come Together In The Morning (Song Review)

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“There is no one else can take your place”

By 1973 Free had reached the end of the road. The departure of bassist/songwriter Andy Fraser and a diminished contribution from troubled guitarist Paul Kossoff was too much for a band that made a virtue of its magical musical chemistry. But their last album Heartbreaker proved the UK rockers could still get it together with the help of bassist Tetsu Yamauchi and keyboardist John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick. The album’s second track Come Together In The Morning is a great example of Free at their best, with their soulful feel and mastery of heavy emotion still intact. The lyrics are a touch trite but the verses have a wintery melancholy that contrasts wonderfully with the more uplifting, Beatlesque chorus. My favourite part of the song comes at the tail of the chorus where Paul Rodgers sings “see the world the same as me”. Rodgers’ sublime delivery and the aching harmonies makes for a blissful hook that pops into my head regularly and necessitates giving the album another visit. Come Together In The Morning is the sound of a band channelling the sadness of its final days into a beautiful, bittersweet classic.

HMO salutes Tetsu Yamauchi who recently passed away, aged 79.

Classic Rock, Genre, Progressive Rock, Song Reviews

Vanilla Fudge – You Keep Me Hanging On (Song Review)

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“Set me free, why don’t you babe?”

The Supremes’ You Keep Me Hangin’ On was only a year old when Vanilla Fudge got their psychedelic hands on it for this fantastic take on the Motown hit. One of the first songs the band recorded, The Fudge’s 1967 cover You Keep Me Hanging On is the most famous example of the band’s groovy, symphonic rock interpretations of popular songs. It was originally a bouncy, proto-disco classic but the New Yorkers slow it down and stretch it out with loud/quiet dynamics, swirling Hammond organ and a hard-hitting rhythm section combining to create the feeling of a loud, powerful orchestra.

Practically recorded in one take (organist/singer Mark Stein called it the “seven and a half minutes that changed my life”), there’s a real feeling of the band inhabiting and exploring all the possibilities of the song: most notably the reworking of the original’s funky rhythm pattern into an emphatic Morse Code-like hook. And it’s extremely soulful too: the slower tempo allowing Stein to express the song’s lyrical heartbreak with a flamboyantly emotional performance. The Fudge’s use of extended structure, theatrical bombast, harmonies and Hammond would be influential on bands like Yes, Uriah Heep and Deep Purple (who in their initial phase very much styled themselves as a British Vanilla Fudge) and you can hear it all on this track. The goal of any cover is to make a song your own and Vanilla Fudge deliver a masterclass in doing just that with You Keep Me Hanging On.

Classic Rock, Genre, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, Progressive Rock

Iron Maiden – Brighter Than A Thousand Suns (Song Review)

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“Cold fusion of fury”

Iron Maiden’s 2006 album A Matter Of Life And Death proved that the British metal veterans were still an act to be reckoned with, delivering some of their most vital and creative material for years. No track illustrated this better than album highlight Brighter Than A Thousand Suns. Making great use of a churningly tense and ominous time signature, it’s one of Maiden’s proggiest and heaviest songs. Frontman Bruce Dickinson goes all Van Der Graaf Generator with dark, coded lyrics that depict the dawn of the nuclear age (and the influence is made crystal clear with a lyrical nod to the VDGG track Whatever Would Robert Have Said?) Musically there’s a Rush-like feel with the band twisting and turning through a range of moody, tricky sections. And Dickinson responds to the song’s dynamic shifts with a vocal performance that builds in intensity in a breathtaking and explosive way. Brighter Than A Thousand Suns is a track that is stylistically uncharacteristic for the band but, in terms of theatrics and excitement, has all the spirit of Maiden at their most classic.

Classic Rock, Genre, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Song Reviews

KISS – Hooligan (Song Review)

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“I mean, you know how cool I am”

It might seem odd to use a song he’s not particularly known for, and didn’t write or sing, to salute original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley. But Hooligan is a great example of Frehley as a team player and how his impeccable, instinctive and characterful guitar playing elevated any song he played on. The 1977 Peter Criss vehicle probably isn’t a song that rides high in anyone’s ranking of KISS’s greatest work but I’ve always had a big soft spot for it. Criss’ hollering is infectious, I love the old-timey rock ‘n’ roll vibe and I’m a sucker for Paul Stanley’s use of capos for rhythm guitar parts. But, best of all, Space Ace wrings out a memorable and effortlessly cool guitar solo that crackles with electricity. And his soaring guitar part over the song’s climatic chords is one of KISS’ most joyous and euphoric moments. Ace, who has sadly left the planet aged 74, inspired legions of people to pick up guitars (including me) but there will never be anyone quite like this beloved, otherworldly legend ever again.

Classic Rock, Genre, Hard Rock, Song Reviews

Tommy Bolin – Teaser (Song Review)

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“Yeah, she’ll tempt ya ‘til ya fall”

Backed by an array of talented guests and session musicians, Tommy Bolin works through a dazzling array of musical styles and moods on his 1975 debut solo album Teaser. But on the album’s title track he gets down to the business of some straight-up, groovy hard rock. The bluesy main riff that kicks things off is one of those “why didn’t anyone come up with this before?” classic riffs, the chorus’s crashing chords and stabbing bends have a Hendrix-y flash and excitement and Bolin colours the whole song with all manner of jazzy licks, tasty slide and spacey Echoplex effects. As well as being a guitar masterclass, Bolin’s singing also has a under-achieving cool charisma too. Teaser is a class track from one of my most cherished, most listened-to albums and I never get tired of hearing it. His role in the demise of 70s Deep Purple tarnished his reputation and his drug-related death cut his career tragically short but Teaser (both the song and album) is the work of a young guy with more maturity, talent and flair than many musicians manage to access in their entire lives.

Classic Rock, Genre, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, Song Reviews

Fist – Name, Rank & Serial Number (Song Review)

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“Now tell me the positions of your guns and armoured forces”

The debut single from South Tyneside’s Fist, this darkly amusing track depicts a military interrogation from the point of view of a stymied torturer who, despite his best efforts, can only obtain his captive’s Name, Rank & Serial Number. It’s a fantastically vibrant and catchy track. In particular, Keith Satchfield (who sadly passed away in early 2025) deserves a medal for his infectious, rhythmic vocals and inventive lyrics. Fist’s recording career ended up all too brief but in that short run they released some of the best tracks of the whole NWOBHM era. On Name, Rank & Serial Number, Fist managed the rare feat of being classic and definitive while also being startlingly original.