The Great HTF Music Challenge (1 Viewer)

[John Dirk]

Rock And Roll Hell
BTO
I like this song. It's just cool, thematically. The strange thing is it seems like it would have been a Kiss original based on their reputation.

Kiss
This version sounds somewhat uninspired compared the the original, almost like they were mandated to cover it.

Ace Frehley
Vocally, pretty much the same as above. Who were the other musicians here? The guitar is by far the best part of this and the above versions

 

[jcroy]

(Without getting into heavily into politics or blatant advertising).

Recently saw a tv commercial which featured Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back To Me Now". The extended version of the commercial envisioned a post-covid world.





Doing some more research, it turns out this song was originally written by Jim Steinman and was actually done back in the late 1980s and became forgotten until Celine Dion did her version in 1996. The 1989 original version was done by "Pandora's Box" and even had a video for it.

 

[Citizen87645]

Huh. I always thought Celine Dion covered Meat Loaf.



EDIT: But I see my timeline is all mixed up. It went Pandora's Box in 1989, Celine Dion in 1995, and finally Meat Loaf in 2006. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_All_Coming_Back_to_Me_Now

Also, really enjoyed the Extra commercial.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Bill Withers - "Who Is He (And What Is He To You)?" - The instrumentation is kind of low key initially, but picks up with the addition of the guitar around the mid point (with the style being very '70s). The song's real attraction is Bill Withers' vocal; he has a very appealing singing voice. The lyrics felt a bit repetitive, so I believe that the performance is superior to the song writing in this instance.

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The Mavericks

"Sombras Nada Mas" - This was okay. I liked it well enough (particularly the instrumentation), but I have to agree with Bob that this is one somber ass song which doesn't strike me as particularly festive.

"No Vale la Pena" - Feels a lot more upbeat; although once again the lyrics sort of tell a different story. Like the instrumentation on this song and the tempo of the song. Enjoyed the vocals as well, which had a nice timbre to them. Enjoyed this one a bit more than the first song.

The Texas Tornados - "One and Only" - A little bit too much country for me, especially in the vocals. Not bad, but not a style that works for me. The instrumentation is pretty good and engaged me a bit more than the singing.

El Rey - George Strait - Twang - I'll give Strait points for reaching out to his Hispanic fans, but this one didn't work for me. I believe the knowledge of who was singing this tune probably didn't help; but stylistically not something that would engage me under most circumstances.

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Liz Phair - "Cinco De Mayo" - Not bad, but the vocals seem a little un-energetic(?) Like the rhythm of the song and it might grow on me, but first listening was fairly unremarkable.

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BTO - "Rock and Roll Hell" - Song felt flat and generic(?) There were moments that worked, including some of the guitar but all in all pretty unsatisfying.

Kiss - "Rock and Roll Hell" - One of those cases where I feel like the cover version is superior. The song feels a LOT more suited for Kiss vs. BTO. Not bad. I can pretty much take or leave the band Kiss, but this version of the song is somewhat engaging.

Ace Frehley - "Rock and Roll Hell" - Sounds fairly similar to the Kiss version. Some decent guitar work on the track, but I'd have to pick the Kiss version as the best of the three. (I prefer the vocals on the Kiss version.)

- Walter.

 

[Citizen87645]

This is another song from an album you have to listen to in its entirety to appreciate, since it's inspired by audio recordings of her late father. But this will give you a taste.

 

[Citizen87645]

This is pretty consistent with her delivery during this time period. She has gone from critical darling with her debut, Exile in Guyville, to "what was she thinking?" with Funstyle. I liked the fact she was trying something new, but I also recognize she was probably working out some stuff. It seems like every artist I follow closely has written a song about the pains of working with a major label.

Liz Phair - "Cinco De Mayo" - Not bad, but the vocals seem a little un-energetic(?) Like the rhythm of the song and it might grow on me, but first listening was fairly unremarkable.

 

[jcroy]

Scandal - Less Than Half

The singer is today known as the wife of John McEnroe (ie. the famous tantrum throwing tennis player from the 1980s).




When John McEnroe had his own talk show on cnbc back in the mid 2000s, she was the singer in the house band on the show. McEnroe managed to bring on guests like Elton John, Metallica, etc ... onto his show and actually talked about tennis. (Metallica's drummer's father was a professional tennis player back in the 1950s and 1960s, and Lars even tried the tennis route before Metallica) .

 

[sleroi]

Haunted - loved the refrain, the vocals and the music, but I didnt care too much for the rest of the song.

Bollywood - nothing about this song worked for me.

 

[sleroi]

Rock and Roll Hell

BTO - the verses sound very derivative of their own Takin' Care of Business, but I love the chorus.

Kiss - the main beat of this version sounds a lot like I Love it Loud, off the same album. Thats not a bad thing. But the Chorus is lacking for me. It needs to be screamed, not sung.

Ace Frehley - It didnt need the intro, but once the song kicked in it was fine. Very similar to Kiss' version but I liked it a little better. But once again, the first verse leads into the chorus with "and he screamed," yet there was no screaming.

 

[sleroi]

I knew a few BTO songs from the radio, so one day at the record store I searched for them and all they had was their self-titled debut album. The only song I recognized was Stayed Awake All Night because Krokus had covered it on headhunter. There arent any hits on it, but it rocks from beginning to end. Its still my favorite album of theirs.




And speaking of Krokus, HeadHunter is the only album I ever bought that my Mom was concerned about because of the artwork.

 

[jcroy]

Krokus - Screaming In The Night

 

[jcroy]

Ace Frehley
Vocally, pretty much the same as above. Who were the other musicians here? The guitar is by far the best part of this and the above versions

It appears Ace plays all the instruments except the drums on that track.

Ace Frehley Explains Why His 'Origins' LP Includes a Cover of a Kiss Song He Never Played On

Ace Frehley explained why his 2016 'Origins' LP includes a cover of a Kiss song he never played on.

ultimateclassicrock.com

Origins Vol. 1 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[BobO'Link]

Pandora's Box, "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" - Very much sounds like Jim Steinman and one I'd absolutely associate with him and Meat Loaf. That's a *very* cheesy video... though the song isn't bad.

Meat Loaf, "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" - *This* is what I expect that song to sound like and it's an improvement over the Pandora's Box version. Until recently (as in the past month or so) I had no idea Meat Loaf and Steinman had created "Bat ouf of Hell III" so I may pick that one up to complete the trilogy. This song absolutely fits within the overall story of those albums and I like the first 2 for what they are.

Like with *all* commercials, I hit the "skip" button and didn't watch or listen to that item. It didn't help that it's performed by Celine Dion, an artist I just don't like at all. It may not be "fair" but it is what it is...

 

[BobO'Link]

Poe, "Haunted" - Very nice track. I may have to listen to that album.

Liz Phair, "Bollywood" - This has a farily typical Bollywood sound and instrumentation. I don't like the rap on top though. OK... I'm not that much of a fan of Bollywood either though I do have a few movies (they even turn SF movies into musicals!).

Scandal, featuring Patty Smyth, "Less Than Half" - This one's kind of generic, formulaic, mellow rock. Not bad, but nothing special. If it came on the radio it'd get lost in the shuffle - that is, I'd hear it and forget it as nothing jumps out that would make me want to pick up a copy.

 

[Citizen87645]

Bollywood - nothing about this song worked for me.

Liz Phair, "Bollywood" - This has a farily typical Bollywood sound and instrumentation. I don't like the rap on top though. OK... I'm not that much of a fan of Bollywood either though I do have a few movies (they even turn SF movies into musicals!).

I probably picked the most polarizing track on the album, so don't feel bad.

 

[BobO'Link]

Bachman Turner Overdrive, "Little Gandy Dancer" - This one's OK but doesn't do much for me. Kind of generic 70s rock.

Bachman Turner Overdrive, "Stayed Awake All Night" - I like this one better but it's nothing special either.

I really can't say I've ever listened to their debut album at all. IIRC the only album (as in vinyl) of theirs I purchased was "Not Fragile" and didn't find enough on it, outside the "hits," I liked enough to purchase their others so settled for their "Greatest Hits" instead. I know that's the only CD I own from this group.

 

[BobO'Link]

Krokus, "Screaming In The Night" - I've heard of the band and, AFAIK, this is the first time I've heard anything they've done. This one's a rather standard hard rock story/ballad type song, hitting all the expected change ups. What is is about these hard rock acts and their penchant for cheesy fantasy/distopia/sf type videos that have little to nothing to do with the video? It's this kind of stuff that turned me off the format and why I typically ignore them.

 

[jcroy]

What is is about these hard rock acts and their penchant for cheesy fantasy/distopia/sf type videos that have little to nothing to do with the video? It's this kind of stuff that turned me off the format and why I typically ignore them.

If I had to guess, in those days the main songwriters of hard rock or metal bands were likely huge fans of fantasy/sf stuff like Conan the Barbarian, HP Lovecraft, Dungeons and Dragons, Lord of the Rings, etc .... long before they were huge mainstream hits.

Basically hardcore nerdy/geeky types at heart, with long hair and electric guitars.

 

[jcroy]

Until recently (as in the past month or so) I had no idea Meat Loaf and Steinman had created "Bat ouf of Hell III" so I may pick that one up to complete the trilogy. This song absolutely fits within the overall story of those albums and I like the first 2 for what they are.

I had no idea either, until a few years ago.

It seems like MeatLoaf's heydays were back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. After that, I hardly ever heard anything about his later albums. (The only subsequent record I remember seeing in any record stores for a long time, was Bat Out of Hell 2).

 

[BobO'Link]

I was introduced to the wonders of "Jazz Band" in HS by way of a director who was skilled enough to create arrangements of material for us. We'd all heard Blood Sweat & Tears because of their hit "Spinning Wheel" (and I loved the entire album that one came from) but none of us had heard anything from their first album. That is until he handed us an arrangement of "House in the Country." It was a fun song to play and I liked it enough that I went out and purchased a copy of the album (not easy as it was a small town, pop ~3800, with *one* place to purchase records - the grocery store of all places - who didn't have it so I ordered it from a record club I'd joined). The only turn off for me was their use of animal sounds on the track (still is as it's something I generally don't like, along with spoken intro/outro bits and any other non-musical stuff).

Blood Sweat & Tears - "House in the Country":



I must admit that it took several years for that album, "Child is Father to the Man," to grow on me as the music was somewhat more challenging than what I normally listened to back then.

Here are a few more tracks from that album...

"I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know":



"I Can't Quit Her":



"Somethin' Goin' On":