Gibbo

Exactly!

I don't mind, provided what's being sung fits the song - I listen to a lot of 'extreme' metal bands, many of which sing in their native tongue, and it doesn't bother me at all. A band like Rammstein just wouldn't sound 'right' if they sang in English. What DOES put me off is when a foreign band sings in English, but the translation of their lyrics is awful ...

The first Every Mother's Nightmare album ... when it first came out, I loved it, but I stuck it on recently and found myself skipping most of the songs

Following on from the thread about bands that haven't had many/any line-up changes, I got to thinking about how many original/well-known members need to be IN a band for it to be known by a particular name? An obvious example of this is Guns n' Roses, which is now basically just 'Axl And Blokes'; Thin Lizzy (before they saw sense, and became Black Star Riders) is another. Is it enough for a certain line-up to have been together for a number of years (regardless of what they may or may not have done in that time) for it to carry a well-known name?

Megadeth: Peace Sells ... Swords Of Dis: Tides Of Malediction Sworn Amongst: Evolution EP Drivin' 'n' Cryin': Fly Me Courageous

Is that commercially, creatively or both? I've been listening to a LOT of Ozzy's stuff of late ... and it struck me that HE didn't actually write a lot of his solo material - Bob Daisley penned a fair few of his songs, Jake E Lee was responsible for a lot of 'Bark' and 'Sin', etc. ... so can we actually talk about Ozzy having a creative peak as a solo artist when a lot of his best-known songs weren't actually down to him? That aside, regardless of who wrote them, I'd say his best body of work can be found between 'Bark' and 'No Rest For The Wicked' ... as much as I love 'Blizzard', I don't think it's as consistent a release as some of his later albums. There has been a few articles about this in Classic Rock Magazine over the last couple of years and they don't paint a nice picture of what happened to various band members in Ozzy's solo ventures. I don't remember all the details but yeah not a lot of it was written by Ozzy. Mind you neither was much Sabbath stuff. I think a lot of it is down to Mrs Osbourne ... who can forget her attempts to have Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake 'airbrushed' from Ozzy's history? Apparently, Jake E Lee had to sign a contract giving up his rights to any credit for the songs on 'Bark At The Moon', otherwise he'd be sacked ... and the mess surrounding Phil Soussan/'Shot In The Dark' is the reason that three of Ozzy's albums haven't been re-issued on CD for nigh on 20 years ...

Some favourite solos: Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb UFO - Rock Bottom (a young Michael Schenker on top of his game) Thin Lizzy - Emerald (the 'Live And Dangerous' version) Metallica - Fade to Black Whitesnake - Cryin' In the Rain (the original version) .... plus EVH's solo from Beat It

Zombieland

I love 'Fire ...', but I don't think they ever came as close to brilliance as they did with 'Imaginos'

Is that commercially, creatively or both? I've been listening to a LOT of Ozzy's stuff of late ... and it struck me that HE didn't actually write a lot of his solo material - Bob Daisley penned a fair few of his songs, Jake E Lee was responsible for a lot of 'Bark' and 'Sin', etc. ... so can we actually talk about Ozzy having a creative peak as a solo artist when a lot of his best-known songs weren't actually down to him? That aside, regardless of who wrote them, I'd say his best body of work can be found between 'Bark' and 'No Rest For The Wicked' ... as much as I love 'Blizzard', I don't think it's as consistent a release as some of his later albums.

So ... I missed Woland, because the initial ticket/wristband exchange took over an hour, but I DID manage to see Aura Noir (better than I expected), Keep Of Kalessin (VERY good), Melechesh (not bad, but a bit samey), Centurian, Funeral Throne (utterly mad and rather brilliant), God Seed (Gorgoroth by any other name) and Necrophobic ... my biggest complaint would be that The Underworld wasn't really big enough for some of the bands that played there (by the time Necrophobic came on, the place was heaving and hotter than Satan's armpit.)

Had a few days of ... Sheryl Crow: The Globe Sessions W.A.S.P.: The Crimson Idol Alice In Chains: Black Gives Way To Blue Opeth: Blackwater Park Ozzy Osbourne: The Ultimate Sin Ozzy Osbourne: Bark At The Moon Lost In Tears: Dialogue With The Mirror And God The Outfield: Voices Of Babylon Motorhead: Rock 'n' Roll Mike Oldfield: Voyager Kate Bush: The Red Shoes

Some more charity shops finds - looks like someone has got rid of their whole collection ... Megadeth: Peace Sells Ozzy Osbourne: Just Say Ozzy Ozzy Osbourne: Bark At The Moon (remastered version w/bonus track) Running Wild: Death Or Glory Opeth: Still Life (Deluxe 2 disc version) Sheryl Crow: Wildflower Deep Purple: Made In Japan (2 disc version) W.A.S.P.: The Crimson Idol (2 disc version) Mike Oldfield: Voyager Motorhead: Rock 'n' Roll (remastered version w/bonus tracks)

Listen tot it, the point might become clearer. Love it so far! I'm glad you're enjoying it ... but I'll stick with the original Deep Purple albums

Fillin' some gaps in the 'post divorce' collection: Zombieland Shaun Of The Dead The Night Watch The Hard Way Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure Bill And Ted's Bogus Journey The Craft

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure Beetlejuice

How about Twisted Sister? Ozzy Osbourne? Blue Oyster Cult?

It's Coverdale covering songs that launched his career in the 70s ... I just don't see the point ...

Some chariddy shop finds (mostly to replace vinyl or CDs that I stupidly sold whilst I was married ) Blessed By A Broken Heart: Pedal To The Metal Eagles: Long Road Out Of Eden James: Gold Mother Megadeth: Youthanasia Opeth: Blackwater Park Ozzy Osbourne: The Ultimate Sin Ozzy Osbourne: No Rest For The Wicked (w/bonus tracks) Terrorvision: Whales & Dolphins (The Best Of ...) Twisted Sister: Love Is For Suckers Velvet Revolver: Contraband

I'll be picking up Second Coming, THAT'S for sure ... one of my favourite albums.

The Outfield: Voices Of Babylon (to replace the copy I foolishly sold some years ago!)

Great fun, have to pull it out again! I'd forgotten how good it was ... and how much attention they payed to detail when it comes to the whole football match back story ...

Aside from the addition of whiny, emo-boy to the end sequence of 'ROTJ', the one change that REALLY bothers me is the whole Han/Greedo scene ... George, mate - HAN SHOT FIRST!

I see 'Finland', and I think of the Monty Python guys singing: Finland, Finland, Finland. The country where I want to be, Pony trekking or camping, Or just watching TV, Finland, Finland, Finland. It's the country for me. You're so near to Russia. So far from Japan, Quite a long way from Cairo, Lots of miles from Vietnam. Finland, Finland, Finland. The country where I want to be, Eating breakfast or dinner, Or snack lunch in the Hall, Finland, Finland, Finland. Finland has it all. You're so sadly neglected, And often ignored. A poor second to Belgium, When going abroad. Finland, Finland, Finland. The country where I quite want to be, Your mountains so lofty, Your treetops so tall, Finland, Finland, Finland. Finland has it all. Finland, Finland, Finland. The country where I quite want to be, Your treetops so tall, Finland, Finland, Finland. Finland has it all. Finland has it all ...

And there you have it ... as has been said elsewhere, with Van Halen (particularly with DLR at the helm), it's all about the show. I'd still pay money to see them in concert (although the chances of them EVER playing the UK again are on the far side of remote), or I'd think about picking up a live DVD, but I wouldn't want to sit through a live album from the current line-up. When I think about my favourite live albums, they all come from a certain point in time - Thin Lizzy, UFO, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, AC/DC, Motorhead, Blue Oyster Cult ... all bands at the top of their game, before the days when EVERYTHING was filmed and stuck on the internet, and there was a real excitement about hearing your favourite songs performed in front of a crowd (or, in Priest's case, performed in front of a crowd, and then over-dubbed to within an inch of their lives!)