The Scrounger's Report

Well, as of Monday I'll be the ripe old age of 36. Closer to 40 than 30... 
which scares me: the law states that once you hit 40 you must give away all 
your hard rock and metal CDs. All you're allowed to listen to is Lawrence 
Welk, Slim Whitman, Pat Boone, and Willie Nelson. It's crazy, but it's the law.

I decided to celebrate by, you guessed it, going out scrounging. It's been 
a month since I went on an excursion (Oh the humanity!!), so I was due. I 
decided to head back to Lafayette, IN for the third time in 2 months, 
primarily because of the "frequent buyer" club terms of the biggest store 
there: On your birthday (or within a week...I called first :), $1.00 off 
all discs $7.99 and above, in addition to regular club discounts. Suchadeal.

The first 2 times I'd visited Lafayette it was over winter break, so 
getting around town was pleasant (Purdue University is in Lafayette). This 
time however, served to reinforce one of the immutable truths of nature: 
with respect to driving and pedestrian skills, college students are truly 
fucked. Living in a university town, I know to avoid the campus like the 
plague when classes are in session; apparently this not just true of the 
University of Illinois. Purdue sucks as well. I nearly had myself a new 
hood ornament on several occasions.

I picked up a new gizmo on this excursion. While I'd seen/heard about these 
CD "scratch remover" devices, I always was a bit skeptical, and never 
bothered to research them much. I've tried the home-grown approach of 
either car wax or toothpaste, but with only middling results and it's a 
much bigger pain in the ass than it's worth. Well, at one of the stores 
today, I was expressing some trepidation about a disc I was interested in, 
as it was pretty badly scuffed, and the counter guy snagged the disc, put 
it in this "Skip Doctor" contraption, sprayed some water on it, and started 
cranking away on the disc. 2 minutes later he handed me back the disc. 
While you could definitely tell that some sort of resurfacing/polishing had 
been done, all traces of any scratches were gone. I was quite intrigued, so 
I figured I'd gamble and spend a few bucks on one. I got it home, and 
immediately tossed in my copy of Glory - Danger in This Game, a fairly rare 
disc that I had picked up a while back. I had tried both car wax and 
toothpaste on various occasions, but to no avail; track 7 was totally 
hosed. Since I had a virtual coaster anyway, I figured I had nothing to 
lose. 2 minutes later, for the first time I was able to listen to track 7 
in its entirety, no skips at all. I'm sold. The cranking gets old REAL 
fast, but there is a motorized model that you can pick up on Ebay for about 
$45.00 Sounds expensive, but if you can salvage even a few rare/semirare 
discs, it's well worthwhile.

Ok, on to today's finds.

First, a disc I picked up for sale/Ebay. A moderately tough find:

Roughhouse - S/T. 1988. Columbia Records.
Excellent hard-edged hard rock (bordering on melodic metal). Slightly 
sleazy edge to it, but not heavy. I've always loved the track "Love Is 
Pain" off the album; killer tune! I plan to use this track as my "Song of 
the Week" this week, so people can get a feel for their sound. This is a 
flawless gem mint copy; both disc and artwork are pristine. Email me 
offlist if interested.

Next, I picked up a slew of volumes of "The Album Network Rock Tuneup" 
promo series from the early '90s. I already had a few, and may have 
inadvertently picked up ones I already had, but at $1 per disc, I don't 
really care. These are *excellent* music compilations, which I guess were 
sent out to radio stations. (Clarification?) All sorts of labels are 
featured on these comps, and there are paragraphs of promo copy and 
information for each artist. The alternative line blows chunks, but the 
volumes in the "Rock Tuneup" series have some good stuff in them. I'm not 
going to list all of the ones I picked up (19 volumes all told), but I'll 
give the track listings on a couple just so you get an idea of what kind of 
compilations they are:

Volume 77. February 3, 1992.
 1. Mitch Malloy - Anything at All
 2. Britny Fox - Over and Out
 3. Sarah McLachlan - Into the Fire
 4. Drivin' 'n Cryin' - Around the Block Again
 5. Texas - Why Believe in You
 6. Phish - Chalkdust Torture
 7. Social Distortion - Bad Luck
 8. The Four Horsemen - Tired Wings
 9. Yngwie Malmsteen - Teaser
10. Rebel Train - All Around the World
11. Tall Stories - Chain of Love
12. Altered State - Ghost Beside My Bed
13. Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend
14. Spin Doctors - Two Princes
15. The Chieftains with Roger Daltrey - Behind Blue Eyes

Volume 89. October 12, 1992.
 1. Roxus - Where Are You Now?
 2. Arc Angels - Too Many Ways to Fall
 3. Neil Young - War of Men
 4. Denaro - It's Alright
 5. Jeffrey Gaines - Headmaster of Mine
 6. Heavy Bones - Turn it On
 7. Social Distortion - Born to Lose
 8. Kik Tracee - Field Trip
 9. Joe Satriani - Friends
10. Screaming Trees - Nearly Lost You
11. Pantera - Walk
12. Widowmaker - The Widowmaker
13.  - When She Cries
14. Hardline - Can't Find My Way
15. Nils Lofgren - Drunken Driver

Volume 106. October 25, 1993.
 1. Buffalo Tom - Sodajerk (EDIT)
 2. Open Skyz - Every Day of My Life (EDIT)
 3. Guns 'n Roses - Estranged
 4. Fight - Little Crazy
 5. The Afghan Wigs - Debonair
 6. Gary Hoey - Drive
 7. Concrete Blonde - Heal it Up (EDIT)
 8. Paw - Couldn't Know
 9. My Sister's Machine - Enemy
10. Baby Animals - Stoopid
11. Lillian Axe - Moonlight in Your Blood
12. Tidal Force - Station to Station
13. Randy Jackson's China Rain - You're Only Lonely Today (EDIT)


A CD single:

Digital Audio Disc Promo Sampler. 1988. Warner/Elektra/Atlantic.
Not sure what exactly this was a promo for. It's a 3-inch CD single in 
a cardboard sleeve. 4 tracks: INXS - New Sensation, White Lion - Wait, 
AC/DC - Heat Seeker, Mike Oldfield - Magic Touch.

The full-length discs; some pretty interesting stuff today:

Desultory - Bitterness. 1994. Metal Blade.
I've always seen "Swallow the Snake" around, but never this one. 
Interesting blend of death/thrash metal.

Mordred - Fool's Game. 1989. Noise Records.
Some pretty cool technical thrash. How do their other albums compare?

Various Artists - Smoke on the Water: A Tribute. 1994. Shrapnel Records.
I haven't listened to it yet, but it reads like a "Who's Who" of the 
hard rock world: Glenn Hughes, Joe Lynn Turner, Paul Gilbert, Don Dokken, 
Richie Kotzen, Kip Winger, Reb Beach, Yngwie Malmsteen, Jens Johansson, 
John Norum, Tony MacAlpine, Vinnie Moore, Kelly Keeling, Russ Parrish, Tony 
Harnell, Robert Mason, and Jeff Scott Soto.

Danny Wilde - S/T. 1989. Geffen Records.
Fairly solid melodic rock, with just a tinge of the dreaded "Bruce 
Cougar Mellensteen" effect. Not earth-shattering, but decent.

Krokus - Round 13. 1999. Angel Air (United Kingdom).
Finally found this damned thing. I was curious to hear how the new 
vocalist sounded, and truthfully he sounds pretty decent. I'm not sure 
what's going on with the whole Indian chant thing, but at first listen it 
seems like a decent album.

Sledgehammer Ledge - S/T. 1994. Boomtown Records.
Indie melodic metal. Methinks that if they had gotten a real cover 
artist, this album would have done better. My first instinct upon seeing 
the cover was to just dismiss the CD outright (the cover is a hand 
drawn/colored picture reminiscent of a lot of covers from very BAD early 
death metal bands). Musically pretty good.

Air Supply - Love and Other Bruises. 1977. CBS Records (Australia).
I'll eventually own all of Air Supply's works. I'd not heard this album 
before, and I think there's a reason. The arrangements are fairly primitive 
on this album and the production suffers.

Air Supply - S/T. 1985. Arista Records (Japan).
Ahhh... MUCH better! Very good stuff. Also, I guess I really *did* just 
fall off the turnip truck yesterday. I had no clue that Celine Dion's 
multigazillion platinum hit "The Power of Love" was a cover. The Air Supply 
rendition is different, but quite good in its own right. Doing some 
research now, it appears that Jennifer Rush and Laura Branigan also 
recorded this song.

Monty Python Sings. 1989. Virgin Records.
I had to buy it. This is a collection of all the famous Monty Python 
songs: Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, Sit on My Face, Lumberjack 
Song, Penis Song, Oliver Cromwell, Money Song, Accountancy Shanty, Finland, 
Medical Love Song, I'm so Worried, Every Sperm Is Sacred, Never Be Rude to 
an Arab, I Like Chinese, Eric the Half a Bee, Brian Song, Bruce's 
Philosophers Song, Meaning of Life, Knights of the Round Table, All Things 
Dull and Ugly, Decomposing Composers, Henry Kissinger, I've Got Two Legs, 
Christmas in Heaven, Galaxy Song, Spam Song. How can you go wrong???

FM - Live Acoustical Intercourse. 1992. Alfa Brunette (Japan).
I thought this looked familiar. It's the same as "No Electricity 
Required", but is only a single disc. Not sure if I want to keep it or 
sell/trade it. Mint condition with OBI. Email me if interested.

Various Artists - Hot Metal V, Screaming Truth. 1993. Intense Records.
Yet another CCM compilation I didn't know existed. 7 music tracks, plus 
interview clips with artists. Artists are Deliverance, Saviour Machine, 
Rose, Die Happy, Mortification, Mortal, Tourniquet.

Matthew Ward - Fade to White. 1988. Live Oak Records.
Wow! This is the first time I've ever seen an original pressing of 
this. I already had the album as part of a 2-CD reissue, but ever the 
completist I had to snag this. Melodic "lite" Christian rock from this 
member of 2nd Chapter of Acts. The message is a bit heavy-handed, but the 
musicianship is solid.

Rumbledog - S/T. 1993. Mirror Records.
It's Dirty Looks. No it's not. Yes it is. No it's not. Whatever. 
"Featuring Henrik Ostergaard from Dirty Looks, with special guests: Robin 
Crosby formerly of Ratt, Cary Devore from Dirty Looks, Jim Harris from 
Dirty Looks, Paul Lidel from Dirty Looks, Paul Monroe formerly of XYZ, Dave 
Naro, Brian Parry from Dirty Looks, and special mystery guest." Regardless 
of who or what you want to call this collaboration, it's pretty decent 
bar-rock. Nothing polished, just straight ahead rock 'n roll.

Def Leppard - Adrenalize. 1992. Bludgeon Riffola (United Kingdom).
Mmmmkay. This was filed as a CD single, and I purchased it as such. 
It's a fold-out digipak. I got it home only to realize that what I had 
purchased was not a CD single, but the full-length CD... and then some. It 
has 12 tracks instead of the 10 found on the regular release of the CD. The 
cover art is completely different; no "eyeball" on the cover. Any idea what 
the heck this is?

Farrenheit - S/T. 1987. Warner Brothers.
Another fairly tough find. Was still sealed. Solid, if not overly 
memorable pop AOR. I was a little disappointed by it, given the hype I'd 
heard about it.

Various Artists - East Coast Metal. 1988. Regency Music.
And even more CCM. 9-track compilation with tracks from Apostle, 
Arenal, Believer, Rage of Angels, Second Chance, Taker, and The Lead.

Various Artists - Metal Queens, Vol. 2: Women in Love. 1991. BMG/RCA (Germany).
Is it just me, or is the title one would expect to see on a porn flick? 
A 15-track compilation of female-fronted hard rock acts, quite a few of 
which I've never heard of before:

 1. Lita Ford - Lisa
 2. Saraya - St. Christopher Medal
 3. Pat Benatar - Don't Let it Show
 4. Alannah Myles - Who Loves You
 5. Robin Beck - The First Time
 6. Laos - Higher Ground
 7. Doro - I'll Be Holding On
 8. Vixen - Love Is a Killer
 9. Roxette - Listen to Your Heart
10. Sahara - I Won't Be Lonely
11. Joanna Dean - Once Is Enough
12. Gianna Nannini - Profumo
13. Warlock - Make Time for Love
14. Velvet Viper - World Behind the World
15. Mother's Finest - Strawberry Fields Forever


Don Airey - K2 - Tales of Triumph and Tragedy. 1988. MCA (Germany).
Eh? Kind of a rock opera/concept album based around the ill-fated 
expeditions to conquer the mountain known as K2 back in the mid-1980s. 
Written and produced by Don Airey. Keyboards: Don Airey. Guitars: Gary 
Moore, Keith Airey. Bass: Laurence Cottle. Drums: Cozy Powell, Niki Alan. 
Vocals: Chris Thompson, Colin Blunstone, Genki Hitomi, Mel Galley. Unusual 
album.

and lastly,

Whitesnake - The Best of Whitesnake. 1982. Carrere Records (France).
??? Whitesnake had a greatest hits package this early on? I can't find 
any reference to it online anywhere.

 1. Walking in the Shadow of the Blues
 2. Trouble
 3. Lie Down (A Modern Love Song)
 4. Sweet Talker
 5. Love Hunter
 6. Don't Break My Heart Again
 7. Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City
 8. Fool For Your Loving
 9. Take Me With You
10. We Wish You Well
11. Here I Go Again
12. Crying in the Rain
13. Victim of Love
14. Saints and Sinners
15. Rock 'n Roll Angels

Anyway, that's it for today. An expensive day, but some really cool stuff.

Till next time, keep rockin!

-Dan