Three Of Metal's No Hit Wonders: Blitzkrieg, Future Leaders Of The World, Lord Tracy

"BLITZKRIEG"     BLITZKRIEG

Thrash metal gods, Metallica, wanted to name their debut CD, Metal Up Your A**, their record company axed that plan and Kill Em All was chosen as the "safer" alternative title.    Five years later, their record label improved the demo-like quality of the CD and added Metallica's cover of Blitzkrieg's self-titled thrash anthem.   Blitzkrieg never achieved major fame or sold many records but they are such a huge influence on Metallica that Lars Ulrich said Diamond Head and Blitzkrieg were the biggest influences on the Metallica's thrash metal sound.

"LET ME OUT"   FUTURE LEADERS OF THE WORLD

Kurt Cobain not only helped end "hair metal", soon afterwards came a plethora of bands emulating their Seattle Grunge sound.  Lead singer, Phil Taylor, of the Future Leaders Of The World might have hit it big becoming the lead singer of a Nirvana cover band because his voice is almost identical to Kurt!  Their band is now called Machina but Future Leaders Of the World had a brief moment in the sun with their minor hit I chose today.  Their CD hit #153 on the charts before they disbanded their FLOTW band name. 

"FOOLISH LOVE"      LORD TRACY

Lost in the shuffle of the 80's metal scene were a number of bands trying to win the MTV lottery and join bands like Poison, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, and Whitesnake on our TV screens.   Lord Tracy released their debut CD in 1989 and enlisted Terry Glaze of Pantera as their lead singer.   The album didn't sell, their lead single "Out With The Boys" crashed and died, their follow-up ballad "Foolish Love" did little and the band soon disappeared.    But give "Foolish Love" a chance, it's a hidden treasure power ballad I think with a little marketing could have been their breakthrough hit.

 

Raw Kurt Cobain: U2, Bruce Springsteen, Nirvana

"SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY"                     U2

U2, Live At Red Rocks, one of the greatest concerts captured on film.   U2 wasn't the Mega Arena band at this point in 1983, they were 4 lads from Ireland singing songs about Faith, Liberation, Change, and this classic about one historic day in Irish history.   Sunday Bloody Sunday features a militaristic drumbeat, a classic Edge guitar riff, and Bono's melodic chants of "No More" punctuating a reminder of the day British troops killed North Ireland protesters and bystanders.  

"SOMETHING IN THE WAY"               NIRVANA

What a tragic loss.    This version of the song from the BBC Radio One Network captures Kurt's haunting vocals mixed with a totally raw guitar solo punctuated by Dave Grohl's punishing drum beats.   "Something In The Way" was the last song on Nevermind.   Rolling Stone magazine said of Nevermind, "No album in recent history had such an overpowering impact on a generation—a nation of teens suddenly turned punk."

"SHERRY DARLING"                   BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

The question, name 5 CD's you take with you if you were stranded on a desert island?    Bruce Springsteen's 1980 release, "The River" would be on my list.    A double LP that never gets boring as each song tackles a new genre.   There are rockers like "Cadillac Ranch" and "Hungry Heart" (originally written for The Ramones) to introspective songs like the title track and "Stolen Car".   Along the way, "The River" adds some classic New Jersey fun, "Sherry Darling" is the best of those!