Kingshmegland: Styx – “Red Storm”: I liked this. At first I wasn’t too impressed; I didn’t care for the ready nature of Tommy’s vocals, but then I realized that it was part of the song, and a sort of calm before the (red) storm. As I said before, always tough to drop into the middle of a concept album and settle in, and it took a while, but this was good. I was never a huge Styx fan – didn’t get far into any of the “American” prog, to be honest – but I have the greatest hits, and this was a nice reminder that they are a great band, they are, likely, HoF material, and they are still making relevant music. 7.5
Antigoon: A Tribe Called Quest – “Dis Generation”: This is a song that rewards repeated listening. I hated it the first time out, but it has revealed new things each time I’ve listened, and while it’s not really my thing, I get the artistry here, and am very impressed by the way the song has been crafted. It seems to be written by about 62 people (actually, 16), and sung by about 48 (credits say 4, I count about 6), but it’s cohesive, and it works. I LOVED the background track, both the calm matter-of-factness of the guitar lines and the etherealness of the keyboard washes, which contrasted nicely with the timeliness and timelessness of what I perceived the message to be. And that message; yeah, there’s the obligatory “n****” with an “a”, but there’s real meat to these words and there’s a real artistry to the way the cosmic point is made with mundane, daily references. Isn’t that what a “generation” is? Plus, how can you not love a song that name drops David Blaine, Richard Todd, and Doug Henning??? 8
Jingle.boy: Triumph – “Headed For Nowhere”: This was an interesting song; I was really excited to hear this, and while I can’t admit to thinking of “Triumph” when I think of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it’s not an outrageous suggestion. I expected more though; I’m assuming this is Gil Moore singing, and I’m always a fan of mixing it up, but his voice sounds kind of generic compared to Rik Emmett’s. Didn’t he sing for Poison or Winger or someone like that? (I’m kidding). This was solid hard rock – loved the solo – but this isn’t going to get me to take up the cause of getting them inducted. 7.5
TAC: Thin Lizzy – “Emerald”: Another band I SHOULD love, but just don’t. This is saved by Brian Robertson (who I love; check out his Motorhead album – Another Perfect Day – or the two Wild Horses albums he did with Jimmy Bain). I really can’t get past Phil’s voice, in fact, I hate his voice, but I know the song is a good one, because I’ve heard Ace Frehley cover it on his recent covers album. No points taken or given, but this is also a good discussion point: does Thin Lizzy get in? HIGHLY influential, and a breeding ground for great guitar players (Moore; Robertson; Snowy White; John Sykes; hell, Midge Ure!) but other than two songs, hardly cracked the U.S. market. I may be biased – they influenced Maiden, and that can’t be a bad thing - but I say YES given some of the other acts that are in. 7.5