Music » Hard Rock Music

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: DIO
Title: VERY BEAST OF DIO
Street Release Date: 10/03/2000
Domestic
Genre: HEAVY METAL

29 savage cuts on 2 CDs from Dio's Elf, rainbow, Black Sabbath & solo releases. The most complete collection ever! Plus track-by-track commentary from Dio himself. Remastered. Deluxe digipak w/slipcase. Rhino. 2003.

Digitally remastered from the original production master tapes, this a reissue of the 1979 & third album by 'the only band that matters'. Features the original artwork and all 19 of the original tracks, including the hidden hit 'Train In Vain (Stand By Me)', their first U.S. single to chart (it reached #23 at the time). Also contains reproductions of the original LP sleeves, including the lyrics. 1999 release.

This 1991 Seattle supergroup brought together Chris Cornell and Matt Cameron of Soundgarden with the surviving members of Mother Love Bone (Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard) and Eddie Vedder, later of Pearl Jam. The experiment worked. Cornell shines, seeming more comfortable here on this tribute to his former roommate and deceased MLB lead singer Andrew Wood than with his own band. "Hunger Strike" and "Say Hello 2 Heaven" combine glam and grunge better than anything in Love Bone's catalog, while "Wooden Jesus" is less didactic than anything in Pearl Jam's oeuvre. Most of the songs may be about loss and addiction, but this is compelling music for black days. --Charles R. Cross

Release Date: 1991-08-27, Audio CD, Sony

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: CANDLEBOX
Title: CANDLEBOX
Street Release Date: 07/20/1993
Domestic
Genre: ROCK/POP

The debut of thundering supergroup Audioslave--featuring members of Rage Against the Machine post-Zack de la Rocha with ex-Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell--is as much curio as fascinating blend of visions. Cornell might be outnumbered, but his unmistakable holler and nihilistic imagery ensure that Audioslave, the album, recalls early Soundgarden. That's especially true since de la Rocha took Rage's signature rap and politicking with him. Still, if this is Soundgarden, it's Soundgarden set to stun. Rage guitarist Tom Morello is more of a mauler than Kim Thayil ever was--witness "Shadow on the Sun," which moves from bruising thud to psychedelic freak-out and back again--while the Rage rhythm section of Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk anchor the bottom end with pure instrumental cement. Intentionally or not, "Gasoline" bears passing resemblance to "Rusty Cage," while the sweeping "I Am the Highway" and slow-burning "The Last Remaining Light" best showcase Cornell's surprisingly New Age-y lyrical bent. Cover art by Storm Thorgerson, who gave Pink Floyd records their distinctive stamp, underscores the set's inherent celebrity. Fans of Rage and Soundgarden can raise clenched fists in unison, for Audioslave is win-win. --Kim Hughes

Special limited edition release, in a double slimline jewel case, adds an acoustic version of 'Come Down' to their triple platinum debut album and also includes a four track bonus disc of live recordings from March 1996. 17tracks.

The Essential Clash demonstrates once again how superior the Clash were to any of their punk peers. It's striking that, while the effects of the movement continue to resonate decades later, most '70s punk has dated badly. Even the great singles of the Sex Pistols, perhaps because they encapsulated the time so perfectly, do little more than remind one of 1977. But this fine 40-track double-disc collection demonstrates that the Clash's sound maintains its vitality, whether in the apocalyptic foreboding of "London Calling" or the sulking "I'm So Bored with the USA." When frontman Joe Strummer died in December 2002 at age 50, much was made of the political conscience he'd brandished throughout his career; it must be noted that appearing to be a great thinker in comparison to other rock singers is no great accomplishment. Appearing a great rock singer in comparison to other vocalists is a much more impressive achievement, and this retrospective provides irrefutable evidence of the genius of Strummer and the band he led. --Andrew Mueller

Though lambasted in some quarters as cynical clones of the then-vaunted "Seattle sound" (in particular, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam) STP's 1993 debut nonetheless found a considerable following for its potent crunch and sly hooks. While some tracks do seem to ape the era's grunge ethos a bit too slavishly, there's also a sense that perhaps Weiland and company were merely sharing some of the same influences as their contemporaries--and on standouts like the riff-savvy "Sex Type Thing" and the moody acoustics of "Creep", accomplishing it with a bit more ambitious range. Indeed, the radio anthem "Crush" belies a devotion to songcraft disdained by many of their peers, one that served as an effective bridge between the stadium rock of the '70s and '80s and the more introspective alt-rock just then coming into vogue--even if the album's triple-platinum sales showed just how ironic and misplaced the "alternative" label could ultimately be. --Jerry McCulley