REVIEWS
Rush:
The Studio Albums
1989-2007
Rush’s newest box set “The
Studio Albums 1989-2007” could
have been your one stop shop for
all of the bands Atlantic Era
Studio Albums. Unfortunately,
unless you’re a die hard Rush fan, there really is no point to
buying this box set.
The case itself is promising, though maybe not as
impressive as the “Sector” box sets (containing the Mercury Era
albums), it is a nice presentation, with small displays of the
cover from each of the seven Atlantic studio albums. On the
inside is a book with all of the lyrics printed from the albums,
and each disc is housed in a very cheaply done cardboard
sleeve. Each of these sleeves has the album artwork on the front,
and the back art printed on the back. For artwork, that is it.
As any Rush fan knows, the band is known for some
pretty nice visuals included with their albums, but all of that
visually stunning artwork is not present in this set. There are no
illustrations, and none of Hugh Syme’s beautiful paintings to
accompany each album. There are no band photos either. Not
one single picture of any of the three members from the band.
And even stranger is the omission of the album production
credits or band notes. In fact, if it were not for the back cover of
“Feedback”, one would not even know who the members of this
band were, as any inclusion of that information has been cut
from this set.
Musically, the discs sound great. “Presto” and “Roll
the Bones”, which sounded thin previously, were re-mastered in
2004, and an upgrade to these mixes are what’s included here.
Also included is the phenomenal remix of the “Vapor Trails”
album, which is a huge upgrade to the original (almost a new
album altogether), but this disc is available as a stand alone
purchase (and included all of the original artwork, and is the
better purchase).
Now, it’s not likely that any casual listener will be
picking up this box set, but if you want to dig into the latter
Rush discography, I would recommend just picking up the stand
alone discs, and skipping this collection, as Rush have always
been a very visual band, and there is no evidence of that here.
Overall, this set is a huge let down, especially when comparing
it to the beautifully put together “Sector” box sets.
- Rob Mallory
Stryper
No New Hell To Pay
It was 1985 when I first heard of
Stryper. The song wa s “Loud N
Clear” and was part of a compilation. I didn’t know what Christian Rock or Christian Metal was
all about but I did know that
Stryper was an outstanding
band. They could be a heavy hitting band one minute and then
hit you emotionally with a power ballad. Of course they had
their critics who called them “Styx in bee costumes”, but I remember them as the Yellow and Black Attack.
In 2012, I saw them perform at the M3 Festival and in my opinion, were the best band at the event. While other bands from the
80’s are featuring one member of the original band and trying to
be relevant, Stryper is still in it’s original form and still bringing
it to those that want to listen.
“No More Hell To Pay” comes almost 30 years after they first
came out of the glam metal scene and they still sound as fresh
and heavy as they did back then. At the top of his game is vocalist Michael Sweet, whose voice does not appear to have lost
much in the past 30+ years. Behind him is a powerful rhythm
section of drummer Robert Sweet and bassist Tim Gaines who
keep things tight throughout. Guitarist Oz Fox is a very underrated guitarist and he shows off his skills throughout the twelve
tracks.
One of the main standout songs on this disc is the title track. It
leads off with a strong heavy rythms and Fox’s guitars setting
the tone. Then comes Michael Sweets vocals, complete with
some signature highs and as always, the trademark Stryper
harmonies. Other tracks that stand out are the fast paced “Te
Amo”, the heavy grooves of “Water Into Wine” and the opening track “Revelation” displaying more of Fox’s amazing guitar
work.
Don’t call this a comeback record because Stryper has never
really gone away. “No More Hell To Pay” is brilliant and
stands up to anything in their catalogue. One of my favorite
CD’s to come out here at the end of 2013 hands down. - Jim
Santora
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