Bruce Springsteen - Darkness at the Edge of Town Review

Badlands, Adam Raised A Cain, Something In The Night, Candy’s Room, Racing In The Street, The Promised Land, Factory, Streets Of Fire, Prove It All Night, Darkness On The Edge Of Town. 

Type of Music: Rock

Comments:

When I think about Bruce Springsteen as a performer, I always see at least two different characters. One is the self confident Stadium Rocker on Albums like Born to Run or Born in the USA. The other, and the one I like even better, is the sober observer of the industrial working class. A painter and a storyteller who creates images of life in small industrial towns in the Northern part of the United States.

Bruce scored big time in 1975 with his third album Born to Run. Probably because of the success of the record, Bruce entered in a three year long legal struggle over money with his former manager. During these three years Bruce was not allowed to record.

Once the dispute was settled, Bruce, like John Lennon, ventilated his anger and frustration through his songs.

Darkness on the Edge of Town is Bruce’s Primal Scream Therapy. He never rocked harder before and would almost never rock that hard again. It’s a dark and haunting album painting the life of the hard working - and betrayed American working class losers seeking a way out in alcohol, cars and women. And the music keeps up with the lyrics through furious guitar solos and pounding drums.

Bruce had at least three years to write the new songs and it shows. There are no weak tracks to be found on the album. Absolute high points are Adam Raised a Cain, a song that somehow reminds me of an African Tribe Chant, and the fabulous ballad Racing in the Street.  But Badlands, Candy’s Room, The Promised Land, Factory and Darkness at the Edge of Town are excellent songs as well. 

Starting with this album, Bruce changed his style of songwriting somewhat. Gone are the epic anthems, now replaced by shorter to the point statements. Bruce would keep this style for most of his career from now on. But hardly ever again would he be able to match the sheer power of expression he found in the Darkness on the Edge of Town. 

Rating: ********* (9 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record: Everybody! This is an Essential Springsteen Record and one of the great Rock Albums of the Seventies

McClelland's Speyside Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: McClelland’s

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Region: Speyside

Age: Not specified but most likely around 5 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Date: 05/04/2012

Colour: Pale Gold

Nose: Grain, Malt, Sharp Oak, Young Alcohol, Light Peat. A bit Metallic. Slightly bitter Licorice.

Taste: Malt, Sweet Custard, Spices, light Oak, Bit of Honey, distinct Menthol taste. It burns a bit on the palate.

I added a few drops of water and you get a bit more peat and floral (grassy) tones on the nose. The nose fares well with a bit of water. On the palate it does not make a lot of difference. It gets more sugary but it burns less. So you can experiment a bit with just a few drops. 

Finish: Dry, Bit of Vanilla, Cocoa Powder and Light Oak, Licorice, Harsh Alcohol, Bitter.

Rating: 75 

Nose: 19,5 – Taste: 19 – Finish: 18 – Overall: 18,5

General Remarks: A McClelland’s Distillery does not exist. It’s a series of 5 Single Malt Whiskies from the main Scottish production areas. Four of them, the Highland, the Lowland, the Speyside and the Islay are NAS or Non-Age Specified. In 2008, a Speyside 12 Years was added. McClelland’s Parent company is Morrison Bowmore Distilleries (Suntory Group). They are the owners of Auchentoshan (Lowland), Bowmore (Islay) and Glen Garioch (Highland), so it is safe to say those distilleries are home to the respective expressions. However, Suntory does not own a Speyside Distillery so it’s anyone’s guess where the McClelland’s Speyside is produced. A lot of people think it could be Macallan but I think that’s highly improbable as their owners the Edrington Group needs their whisky for the Famous Grouse and Cutty Sark Blends. I have compared my tasting notes to some Distillery profiles and they came close to Craigellachie, the home of Dewar’s White Label. So that’s my option. But I won’t put too much money on it!  McClelland’s main markets are the USA, Canada, Japan and France.

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay

Conclusion: Speyside Whiskies are usually sweet, have floral and fruity tones and a bit of peat. And they age well in Sherry Casks. So you could argue that McClelland did a reasonable job in creating a Speyside type of Single Malt. The problem that I have with this Malt however is that there are too many off notes like the bitterness, the licorice and the menthol and that there’s too little Fruit, Sherry and good Oak. I conclude therefore that this is a drinkable Single Malt at a low price (around US$ 20-25) but not one that gives you a lot of pleasure and will bring a smile to your face. And that’ s a Pity!

Jan van den Ende                                               April 2012

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III - Review

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III - 1970

Songs: Immigrant Song, Friends, Celebration Day, Since I've Been Loving You, Out On The Tiles, Gallow's Pole,Tangerine, That's the Way, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, Hats Of To(Roy) Harper

Type of Music: Rock, Folk Rock and Blues with tiny bits of Glam Rock and Country

Comments:

After the huge success of the first two albums, I'm sure Jimmy and Robert called for a band meeting. Because they had to decide what to do musically. They could of course continue in the same style as Led Zeppelin I & II (Rock and Blues) with the danger that people would grow tired or try out some new directions with the danger of scaring off the old fans. I think they also wanted to show their fans they could write some music of their own without having to look for old blues songs. In the end the Band reached a compromise. I think that Jimmy and John got one side (of the original Album) that would be filled with Rock and Blues and Robert and (part of) Jimmy got the other side, basically filled with folk rock. I wouldn't go so far as to call this Robert's Album because Jimmy had already flirted with Folk music in his Yardbirds days but it is a fact that Robert's later solo-work is much more in line with Led Zeppelin III, than with I and II.

Led Zeppelin III tends to be the " forgotten" album as it was released between the top albums II and IV. Part of this is understandable as the fans of the first hour had expected the third album to be more in line with I and II. But Led Zeppelin III has aged well and with time most fans started to discover the jewels hidden on this Album. Today, there are numerous fans who rank it amongst their favourite Led albums. There is a reason for that namely the intrinsic quality of most of the songs. Let's have a look at them.

The album starts off with one of my favourite Led rockers. I don't care where they got the riff for the Nordic inspired Immigrant Song but it's timeless and Robert's vocals are great here. It had the same impact on me in those days as Paranoid by Black Sabbath. The text is an indication that the band paid more attention to the lyrics when compared to the previous Album. There are two more rockers on III, Celebration Day and the funky offbeat Out on the Tiles. Both are good although not spectacular. The first is a bit of a Glam Rocker that would have fitted on an Album from say T. Rex or David Bowie or the Sweet from the early seventies. The latter however should get much more attention than it usually does. However, they can't beat "Immigrant Song" in my opinion. 

Then we have the two blues songs on the Album. The absolute cracker Since I've Been Loving You and the weird and forgettable Hats Off to (Roy) Harper. The first of the two however is one of the all time great blues performances by any band in rock history. It would have fitted perfectly on their Debut Album. As it is, it forms a welcome interlude between the rockers and the folk. It's a very tight song with great vocals by Robert and an excellent solo from Jimmy that would be the inspiration for many solos in the eighties. 

Don't you consider Friends a rocker I hear you ask? Well yes, it is, but it's much more complex and almost psychedelic and it has grown a lot on me. For a number of years I considered it to be okay but nothing more but I've come to really appreciate this more experimental song with its unusual rhythm and great acoustic guitar from Jimmy. Today I consider it one of the highlights of the Album. 

That leaves us with the acoustic Folk Section. Gallow's Pole starts off slowly but when it gets underway there is no way of stopping it. Some country picking going on there as well if you pay close attention. And who of you is not tapping along with the country-folk rocker Bron-y-Aur Stomp? Impossible to sit still. And finally Tangerine and That's the Way, two beautiful folk/pop/rock songs that I consider to be a couple of the Led's finest moments. 

I know, Robert's vocals are a bit cocky from time to time as usual, but on this album it does not scare me off that much. Maybe a bit at the end of Gallows Pole. The Album still takes us back a bit to Led Zeppelin I and II but it also shows us some new directions without getting too eclectic as Houses of the Holy. 

There are people who have their reservations about this album and sometimes I do miss a bit of the force and the emotion that made Led Zeppelin I such a great record. Still, I consider it to be the hidden gem in the Led's work and it deserves a solid 8. 

Rating: ******** (8 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record:  Everybody!! A great Folk-Rock Album with excellent songs.

Jan van den Ende                    

April 2012

Black Grouse Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: The Black Grouse

Blended By: Matthew Gloag & Son Ltd., Perth

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: Unspecified

Alcohol: 40%

Date: 31/03/2012 + 06/09/2012

Colour: Full Gold

Nose: Be sure to give this Blend enough time to open up. The first impression is Earthy Peat and a whiff of Smoke, followed by Brown Sugar, Grain (Biscuits), Oak and Spices.

Taste: Sweet (Sugar and Honey), Toffee, Caramel, Oak, White Pepper and a bit of Smoke.

Finish: Not very long and somewhat dry Finish with some Cocoa, Oak, Lemon and light (Tobacco) Ashes. A light bitterness. Surprisingly, Wet Earth pops up after five minutes or so.

I added a few drops of water but it brings nothing new to the nose and the palate gets watered down. No need to add water to this blend.

Rating:  78.5 

Nose: 20 - Taste: 20 - Finish: 19 - Overall: 19,5

General Remarks: This blend is a mixture of the Standard Famous Grouse (containing Macallan and Highland Park single Malt along with other grain- and malt whiskies) and additional Islay Single Malts. The Edrington Group owns the Blend. I believe they added the Black Grouse to their product range to try to compete with the Johnnie Walker Black Label fans. But although there are some similarities, I find the JW much smoother and balanced. The Black Grouse on the other hand is cheaper at around 30 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Drinking Experience On The Rocks: Okay

Conclusion: Jim Murray gives this Blend 94 points in his Whisky Bible 2011. Once again, I simply don’t understand where he’s coming from. This is a decent Blend for an acceptable price but I can’t find any debt or adventure here. The nose is basically Peat and Brown Sugar, the palate is mainly plain Toffee and Caramel with a bit of Oak and Spices and the Finish is short and dry and slightly bitter. The only thing that saves the Black Grouse from being totally anonymous is the light Smoke on the nose and the Wet Earth that suddenly pops up at the end of the Finish. So while it’s slightly better than The Famous Grouse because of the Islay accents, it does not come close to the smoothness and adventure of Johnnie Walker Black Label.

Jan van den Ende                                                                September 2012

Benromach Traditional Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Benromach Traditional

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Region: Speyside

Age: Not stated but said to be 5-7 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Date: 30/03/2012

Colour: Pale Straw/Sherry

Nose: Peat, Earth, Salt, Medicinal Alcohol, Charred Oak, Butter, Very Light Fruity and Floral Tones, Herbal Tea, Bit of Honey and a Touch of Lemon. Toffee and Vanilla after a while. The Peat and Earth tones tend to dominate. Being a Speysider, and with 20% of the spirit matured in Sherry Casks, I had expected more sweet (Sherry) tones. Still, although far from perfect, it’s an interesting nose.

Taste: Creamy and at the same time slightly watery delivery. Grains and Malt, Oak, Sweet Caramel, Lavender and a touch of Smoke. Again I had expected more Sherry.

Finish: Quite dry with a bit of Pepper, Grain, Licorice, Citrus tones and Oak, all covered by a light Smoke and Ashes screen that lingers on for quite a while.

With a couple of drops of water you get some more fruity tones but the Peat maintains its strong presence. The palate gets too watery though and the finish gets more Earth and a bit of Ginger and Sugar but loses the nice smoke. Instead you get wet Ashes.

Rating:  83 

Nose: 21,5 – Taste: 20,5 – Finish: 20,5–  Overall: 20,5

                                      Benromach Distillery

General Remarks: Benromach was founded in 1898 and today is the smallest active distillery in Speyside. In 1993 it was acquired by Gordon & MacPhail who renewed the distillery and reopened it in 1998. The Traditional expression was introduced in 2004.

Drinking Experience Straight: Good

Conclusion: This is a very young and earthy spirit. The Peat is very present. I liked the touch of smoke on the palate and the Ash tones in the finish. Very little harsh alcohol on the nose as well which I appreciate. I would have liked to see more Sherry tones however that would create a better balance with the omnipresent Peat. As it is, this spirit is certainly not bad but a bit too much one-sided for my likings.

Jan van den Ende                                                      March 2012