Notes from the Padded Cell 03.22.07: Vox Switch Leftovers
Posted by Jesse Coy on 03.22.2007
A simple Janitorial Cleanup Job on Vox Switch leftovers has led to one last edition on the topic. Find out who won the Band of the Most Vox Switches Award, or the Headless Vox Award. Join in on a round of Vox/Band Bizarro-Recombos. Find out why our Music Junkie is happy that Mourning Has Broken, and answer the burning question... is Probot the Robot fun?
I had a totally new topic for this week's column, but there was a little janitorial cleanup to be done on the Vox Switch Job topic. Only, damn it… like a janitor working overtime in the vomitorium, what remained was just too much. This cleanup job was looking like a column all by itself.
I don't wanna get myself too wound up with more material. That tends to provoke too much bouncing about in this rubber room! So we have a few more No-Contest Vox Switch Jobs, and then some final Vox Switch Job Awards, followed by odds and ends, including the weekly Psychiatric Ward Email Roundup (where your voice is heard).
Also, take special note of the No-Contest: Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave entry. We might have a fun game to be included at the end of future columns here. If you have any other absurd and/or bizarre proposed band and vocalist team ups, email them my way!
THE VOX SWITCH JOB JANITORIAL CLEANUP
NO-CONTEST SWITCH JOBS
DEATH ANGEL/ORGANIZATION
Mark Osegueda and Rob Cavestany
So Death Angel was one of those second wave thrash bands, which probably include Testament, Nuclear Assault, Overkill, and Flotsam and Jetsam, for example. They put out an intense debut, a sophomore album with the interesting single "Bored," and then a very interesting third album, Act Three.
Not sure why they parted ways with Mark, but in essence, the entire band but him remained intact. Guitarist Rob took on vocal duties, and Death Angel became the Organization. They were kind of going for a thrash, alternative metal thing. The band's first release had a few moments, and the second, far less.
The universe was set right again when the band reunited with Mark, and issued a new Death Angel album, which I've yet to get. And if this weren't a no-contest category (since Death Angel was no more after Mark was gone)… I'd pick Mark over Rob, if only for the more interesting range Mark has.
JOY DIVISION/NEW ORDER
Ian Curtis
The main reason I picked up a Joy Division album was because a number of bands redid their tunes, from Nine Inch Nails to Warrior Soul, to Sofa Glue and Jawbox. So I got up Substance [ha!… yes I do] 1977-1980, which satisfied my curiosity.
They started out punk, but were definitely shifting toward the end. Then, what happened with singer/guitarist Ian went as follows: he watched Werner Herzog's "Stroszek," listened to Iggy Pop's The Idiot, wrote a letter to his estranged wife, and then hung himself in the kitchen (bad vibes for cooking new pop tarts in that kitchen). Rather than carry on as Joy Division, Ian's remaining band mates went on to form New Order, and somewhere along the line, I'm missing a couple steps, because these two entities just seem too different to me, despite Joy Division's slow drift in style.
I'm somewhat familiar with New Order because my wife is into a lot of those 80's synth/New Romantic bands (the Cure, Depeche Mode, etc). Anyway, that's a classic example of… Dude, Our Singer's Dead.
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE/AUDIO SLAVE
Zack de la Rocha and Chris Cornell
Here's another case of an entire band remaining intact after the singer leaves, and what do they do?
Couple up with a singer who left or dissolved his own band. The concept is kind of fascinating, especially because the two parties involved, band (Rage Against the Machine) and new vox (Chris), came from such different styles.
Audioslave's first album grew on me, but the second one, not so much. That's beside the point, as is the fact that Audioslave is no more. Instead, let's consider a handful of other bizarre team-ups….
Moody James Hetfield leaves Metallica at the same time as Violent Femmes bassist and drummer part ways with Gordon. James and the Violent Femmes bassist and drummer form Femme Militia.
B-Real decides to take a hiatus from Cypress Hill just as Alain Jourgensen issues the last Ministry album, as he's promised to do. At a drunken party, the pair's path crosses, and after an intense exchange of ideas, Alain and B-Real form Buck Satan and the Chronic Rangers, a half hiphop, half industrial, part rockabilly venture.
King Diamond, looking for a new direction, taps into the alternative grunge vein, when ex-Smashing Pumpkins band mates, desiring to play again, but sick of Billy Corgan dragging his feet, couple with the Danish black metal icon, to form Black Magic Kumquat.
The Dead Kennedys, forsaking any possibility of reuniting with Jello, team up with Roger Waters, who won't ever play again with David Gilmour. This entity, known as UK Uber Alles, pioneers a new sound of acid punk rock, featuring Roger fronting the band sporting a newly shaved mohawk.
This is lots of fun! I got a few more here! How about… oops, medication time. Oh well. Email me your best bizarro different band/different vocalist combo, if you got one, and I'll include it in next week's edition.
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS/TALK SHOW/VELVET REVOLVER
Scott Weiland and Dave Coutts
When I first saw and heard Stone Temple Pilots back in the early 90's, I like many others considered them a Pearl Jam knock-off, referring to them as Stone Temple Pirates (plundering another band's image and style). But then came Purple, their follow-up album to their debut, still my favorite album by them. While the albums that followed never topped Purple for me, they were pretty good, proving that this was a talented, original band.
Yet Scott had a few problems. When he was finally done with Stone Temple Pilots, who better to team up with than a band that had a singer with his own set of problems… speaking of Axl and Guns N'Roses.
I've yet to pick up any material by Velvet Revolver, but I did happen to get Talk Show's self-titled debut and only release, which seems to basically be Stone Temple Pilots without Scott (prior to his defection). Got it for 99 cents, as a matter of fact. Anyhow, while well crafted, it was also amazingly bland, at least to me.
THE PRESTIGIOUS VOX SWITCH JOB AWARDS
TEARING APART THE PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICH VOX AWARD
PINK FLOYD
Roger Waters and David Gilmour
Okay, so they strongly dislike each other and won't work together. Still, aside from the last Pink Floyd album, much of the band's output was sort of like peanut butter and jelly to me as far as the vocals went. Roger and David greatly complimented one another style wise. I'd put them on par with how well Layne and Jerry's voices (Alice in Chains) or Evan and Billy's voice (Biohazard) worked together.
And when is the next time you think you'll EVER see a Pink Floyd and Biohazard comparison?
With Pink Floyd, it's peanut butter and jelly no more. In the more than twenty years since the split, Roger Waters has recorded three solo albums of new material (the last of which is by far the best), and Pink Floyd without Roger issued two more in their catalogue. While Roger's voice can get cynically bitter at times (or peanut butter-ish), a Pink Floyd without Roger, with only David singing, feels much too much like Pink Floyd lite (or jelly by itself).
Peanut butter and jelly no more.
GREAT ROCK ‘N' ROLL SWINDLE VOX AWARD
SEX PISTOLS
Malcolm McLaren
Yes, I know he wasn't the singer (though you can hear him sing "You Need Hands" on The Great Rock ‘N' Roll Swindle). Johnny Rotten was left stranded in LA at the end of their doomed U.S. tour in '78, while Malcolm, Steve, Paul, and Sid (briefly, before he overdosed) would try to keep the swindle going for just a little longer.
The other three band mates took turns on vocals, along with Edward Tudor-Pole. They also recorded two tracks with notorious bank robber in exile, Ronnie Biggs. Call me a shaved monkey on a Sunday, but I actually liked those two Ronnie tracks ("No One Is Innocent" and "Belsen Was a Gas"). I would've liked to hear a full album with Ronnie singing. Were that the case, the bank robber would be named up top, and not the manager. But I'll include the bank robber's photo instead.
WOULDN'T GO ALONG FOR THE RIDE VOX AWARD
CARS
Ric Ocasek
He said he wouldn't do it. Basically, a New Car pulled up in 2005, and Ric wasn't getting in.
The New Cars only have two original members of the Cars. They got Todd Rungrend to sing for them, and as for the appropriateness of this, I cannot comment, being unfamiliar with Todd's voice. Last year, they came around Arizona along with Blondie, who I'd really like to see live. I hadn't known of this show. We were on the other side of town, seeing RevCo and Ministry (mostly going for RevCo). Had I known, I would've seen Blondie (hell, yeah) and the New Cars (without Ric) instead.
Had the band reformed this year to co-headline a tour with the Police, we could've had the Police Cars Tour. Never mind…
HEADLESS VOX AWARD
TALKING HEADS
Not David Byrne… but the Heads
They wanted another album, and he didn't. So what do the rest of the Talking Heads do? Just lop off that pesky Talking part of their name.
The Heads' sole release was No Talking, Just Head. With singers from such acts as the Violent Femmes, Blondie, Concrete Blonde, INXS, Richard Hell, and Live all taking turns on vocal duties… I love both the album title and the concept. There're a number of good tunes on this one. I bought it used and rather cheap somewhere, unaware of exactly what it was. I don't think the critics liked it, and it certainly flew under my radar.
Critics be damned, it's fun.
"I'M CHRISTIAN DEATH… NO, I'M CHRISTIAN DEATH" VOX AWARD
CHRISTIAN DEATH
Rozz or Valor?
This is the second most fascinating case study in the vox switch job I think I've ever encountered. Basically, Rozz was the originator of Christian Death. There was a time when Rozz and Valor were both in the band. Apparently, if I have the story right, Valor kind of stole the band name after confusion over people thinking Valor was Rozz. So suddenly there were two Christian Death's, one in Europe and one in the U.S.
Dude… that's my Christian Death!
Okay, if anyone else wants to explain it my eloquently, be my guest. If you're wondering where I cast my lot, the fact of the matter is, I got into this band with the phenomenal Sex and Drugs and Jesus Christ album. That's a Valor/Christian Death album. I like him much better. I recently got The Scriptures, another Valor/Christian Death album, and love it. I don't care what the band calls itself.
Long ago, I got The Iron Mask, a Rozz/Christian Death release, and didn't like it so much. Rozz committed suicide (no… not because I didn't like that release). End of the matter, right? Wrong. Valor still releases under the name Christian Death, and then there are the original Christian Death members with Rozz's wife, Eva O on vocals, as Christian Death, only they added a "1334" to the band name.
Okay… one last vox switch absurdity.
BAND OF THE MOST VOX SWITCH JOBS AWARD
ANNIHILATOR
Jeff Waters (founder)
This is also a fun one. Okay, any people into thrash would probably know of Annihilator. Whereas Spinal Tap had quite a lot of drummers, Annihilator's initial four albums batted a new singer per album. I have to say that I only have the first three releases, with their Alice in Hell debut the best of the three… quite an excellent thrash album, actually.
So their debut featured Randy Rampage (now is that a real last name?) on vocals. The band's follow-up of Never, Neverland had Coburn Pharr. Then what? Aaron Randall on the third CD? Sorry, but "Phoenix Rising" was such a wussy song, I could not go further with Annihilator (I'd actually purged that third Annihilator album, only to recently buy it back used for $2).
The band would go on over the following years to have at least three more different lead vocalists. And if that does not deserve its own special vox award as the band of the most Vox Switch Jobs… I don't know what does!
And so ends our exploration of the Vox Switch Job.
HOLD THE PRESSES…
Here's a story with a happy ending (because I'm sure so many of you were losing sleep when you heard of this one). Upon recording my inability to find a copy of Sabbat's Mourning Has Broken last week, I happened to take a ride on the virtual Amazon river, where to my delight, what do I see? You guessed it, that CD I once had before the purge of many of my CD's to raise money for a scam sharp of a literary agent (may he rot in hell) to represent me. Mourning Has Broken was $8.99. The next cheapest price was $31.99. So you guessed it, I grabbed.
Reexamining the album (because I'm sure you want to know, with bated breath), Ritchie Desmond as vocalist wasn't bad. The guy had some good lungs on him. Think a blend of Blaze Blayley (Iron Maiden), Tony Martin (Black Sabbath), and Russ Anderson (Forbidden). I guess the deal was, Martin Walkyier's voice was so distinct, and this new guy, while very good at the mid to higher ranges, just sounded like too many other singers, without leaving his own mark.
Side note on voxes… thumbs up to Probot, which came out about three or four years ago. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters brought it together, performing most of the music, while collaborating with a Who's Who of metal vocalists (a different one on every track), from King Diamond to Lemmy, Cronos to Tom Warrior, and Snake to Max Cavalera. I just got this release a few weeks ago (yes… I'm slow) (but they don't let us out too often here), and as a vox experiment, Probot's a fun Robot.
That's my story… and I'm sticking to it.
PSYCHIATRIC WARD EMAIL ROUNDUP
Fixxer wrote:
Great column about which heavy metal vocalists are better, so let me offer my thoughts…
Sabbath: I'd probably go with Ozzy too, if only by a hair. However, Dio is clearly the better vocalist, as he could easily do any of the Ozzy era vox and sound good doing it. However, I cannot imagine Ozzy doing anything remotely resembling a passable job with the Dio era material. Plus, Heaven & Hell knocks the shit out of just about anything else
Sabbath has ever done (with the possible exception of War Pigs).
Priest: Ripper was far better than I thought, even if he looked like a dork on stage most of the time. However, you can't replace Halford--no way no how--end of story.
Iron Maiden: They had one of Maiden's best albums ever with X Factor, but he was a very mediocre live singer, especially with the classic Maiden material. Bruce is far better than Blaze, and I'm not even considering DiAnno.
Savatage; IMO, one of the most underrated bands in the history of Metal. Criss Oliva was a guitar genius that deserved far more attention than he got. I'd even go so far as to say he was on the level of Randy Rhoads in terms of guitar playing. But we're talking about Vocalists. In his prime, Jon Oliva was a superior metal vocalist--you only need to check his performance on songs like Unholy or Beyond the Doors of the Dark to know that. Zach was pretty decent in his own right, but he couldn't touch Jon. HOwever, I would definitely recommend getting Dead Winter Dead, which has some of the most amazing work of that band.
Metal Church: David Wayne and Mike Howe were two amazing vocalists, both with their own unique style, and yet both fit the band perfectly.
Exodus: People say that Paul Baloff was the killer vocalist, but IMO, he sucked and was the main thing holding the band back. They sounded so kickass with Steve Souza through their four albums of the 80's and early 90's, although Force of Habit was mediocre. However, I would strongly--STRONGLY recommend you pick up the reunion album Tempo of the Damned. They put that effort out in 2004, and Steve's vocals are about as good as they ever were. In fact, I would argue that this was the best pure thrash album of the last decade or so--perhaps the best once since Vulgar Display of Power.
Another interesting comparison you might make would be for Dream Theater, as James was the second major vocalist in the band's history. THeir debut album was with Charlie Domenicie, and he wasn't half bad. (They also had another vocalist briefly in the early 90's, but he got fired during their first gig for sucking so bad--the band had to do the rest of the gig instrumental style).
Jesse replied:
As per your comments (and thanks for reading and enjoying the Vox Switch editions of Padded Cell)… I'd have a harder time picking one or the other, Ozzy or Ronnie, although I'd agree that Ronnie's voice has held up far better. Saw Black Sabbath at Ozzfest in '99, and Ozzy's voice was ragged around the edges at times even back then (though how could I complain, seeing the classic Black Sabbath lineup). Happily, I'll get to compare when I see Heaven and Hell up here in Lowell, MA. Never saw Ronnie live in any capacity, so this one should be fun.
I do plan on getting Exodus' Tempo of the Damned, but it'll be a theme month, where I get a bunch of late 90's and 00's thrash releases from bands like Testament, Nuclear Assault, Death Angel, Forbidden, and Overkill.
I'd always been curious about Dream Theater, but confess to never getting one of their releases. I'll have to put them back on the radar as a future pickup.
Dean wrote:
DWAYNE GOETTEL DIED OF A HEROIN OVERDOSE, NOT SUICIDE. HE DIED 3 BLOCKS AWAY FROM ME IN EDMONTON ON AUGUST 23 2005. DUCKY DIED BECAUSE SOMEONE SHIPPED HIM CHINA WHITE IN THE MAIL, DURING THE TIME HE WAS TRYING TO KICK THE HABIT.
Jesse replied:
That one was in reference to my recent Skinny Puppy review, by the way.
I thought I had that one right, but I got it mixed up with a suicide from another band (which is getting me thinking of an evil music game, taking more obscure deceased musicians, and listing the choice of how they went… suicide or overdose) (I wouldn't do it, though, because I'm not that evil) (besides, too much cheating possible, as people could just wiki the right answer). Thank you for the correction. Packages of China White in the mail… bad.
Bentley wrote:
if you liked Chuck Mosley as a singer, he was also in a band called Cement, and some other band that actually redid "We Care A Lot."
Jesse replied:
Hey, thanks… found it quite cheap at $1.05, and ordered it. You the man, Bentley!
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
It was a Top 5 that I missed in the ever popular Top 5 Forum here at 411 (I was in a session of shock treatment, if you must know), but it looked like fun, so I wanted to add my 2 cents a little late to this one. To be honest, these selections are really interchangeable in rank depending on my mood. I wouldn't say one is better than the other.
TOP 5 SOUNDTRACKS
Honorable Mention: Spawn and Judgment Night- the latter of which received one other vote among other forum contributors. The big problem I had with Judgment Night was that I thought they didn't mix it up as much as they should have. For most of the songs, it's the band playing, while the rapper sings. Two great exceptions are the Helmet/House of Pain collaboration, "Just Another Victim" (by far the best), and Ice T and Slayer, though even that one doesn't really mix rap and thrash together. I just felt there was a LOT more potential, and this didn't deliver, though it's decent (yes, the movie SUCKED). I thought the movie, Spawn, sucked, too, by the way. Guided by a similar concept, the soundtrack mixed metal and alternative acts with techno deejays. There were some mixed results, with Butthole Surfers and Moby, Henry Rollins and Goldie, and Slayer and Atari Teenage Riot some top picks.
5. Best of James Bond Themes- no votes on this one, but it's great, although technically an overview of all the Bond movie main theme songs.
4. Pulp Fiction/Reservoir Dogs (TIE)- clearly the most popular pick, the former received five votes from my fellow top 5 forum contributors, while the latter garnered one. I do find the pair (I'll tie them together because I bought them that way in a double pack anyway) the perfect thing to throw in when I want to get psyched in general.
3. Leaving Las Vegas- this one received no votes from my fellow forum contributors. It's a great moody soundtrack, much of which is instrumental, with some dialogue clips mixed in, and anchored by a track by Sting and another by Don Henley.
2. The Crow/Grosse Point Blank (TIE)- they each received one vote from fellow forum contributors. While the latter is an awesome mix to listen to, I have most of the tracks, nearly all, on other CD's. As for The Crow, many of the tracks are exclusive to the soundtrack, and all contribute to the overall mood of the film. Great concept.
1. Trainspotting- I was surprised this one didn't show up. Oh well, it's great. Get it and listen to it. My sedatives are kicking in right now. Can't write much more.
