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27 number one hits. Lightning strikes rarely twice for one group, but 27 times! This is like winning the lottery 27 times, finding your soul mate 27 times or even the Kansas City Royals winning the World Series 27 times in a row… okay, I will not go that far, but you get my point.

What if the 4 young lads from Liverpool are actually time travelers from the future? All it would take was 4 talented musicians to take the most popular songs in history, travel back in time to an impressionable period and present them as their own. Alright good point, Einstein said it, Time Travel is impossible. But…

What if 4 young lads from Liverpool are actually alien visitors from another planet? All it would take was 4 talented alien musicians to take their planet’s most popular songs, and travel to earth during an impressionable period and present them as their own. This is definitely more plausible than time travel and more believable than lightning striking the same group 27 times.

Which do you think is the most plausible?

Regular guys from Liverpool
Time Travelers from the future
Aliens
Other

Any way you slice it the Beatles are the greatest.

Pearl Jam has started celebrating their 20th anniversary early and we get to reap the benefits of that celebration as evidenced by last week’s re-release of their landmark debut album Ten. I know their 20th anniversary is not until 2011, but this starts their campaign of re-releaseing all of their albums over the next two years leading up to the anniversary.  That is right the album that sold 12 million copies world wide and was a part of every single person who contributes to Zombie Chatter’s youth was re-released last week. I’ll be honest I’m not one who usually gets excited when one of my favorite bands starts putting out greatest hits or deluxe editions of old releases. It seems like a retread to me that is generally not needed, but truth be told in the case of Ten that could not be farther from the truth.

The biggest issue was the sound on Ten. It was washed in reverb more then once (did you catch that reference to their stick man t-shirt tracklisting i just made… i bet you didn’t), and was begging to be remixed. Who better to come in and help then the long time producer Brendan O’Brien and allow him to get his hands on the only album from the 90’s he did not work with the band on. The result is he took a perfect album and made it even better.

The sound quality is now supurb and the difference is immediately noticeable. The album has a much warmer sound like their other subsequent releases (Vs, Vitalogy, No Code, Yield) that Brendan worked on.  You hear the interplay between the band better and notice little details that were lost in the mix before. Perhaps no other song is assisted quite like the delicate yet powerful Black. The song looses any tinge of a power ballad that it may have had (albeit small on the original) and comes across remixed and an even more vibrant song.

The packaging itself is a joy as well for any long time fan. Not only is the hideous pink cover done away with (thank you Jeff Ament) you are also greeted with 40 page full color booklet that includes pictures from the time of the album’s release. It has magazine still shots, pictures of them on stage, shots of crowds, old tour posters, and notes taken from god knows where by the band. It really does a great job of capturing the feel of the time period for the band as well as the feel of how enormous and crazy things got for them during that period.

The Deluxe edition that i purchased includes three discs. The first disc is a remastered version of the original mix, the second disc is the remixed version with Brendan O’Brien’s work plus bonus tracks, and the third disc is a DVD of the band’s 1992 MTV unplugged show.

Many Pearl Jam fans have long known that a lot of good songs over the years have been left off of albums for various reason. That may not be more true for any album as much as it was for Ten. Here we have the following bonus tracks added:

• Brother- Released for the first time with vocals (previously released on Lost Dogs as instrumental)
• Just a Girl- Never Released
• Breath & a Scream- This is the orginal recording before they re did it for the Singles Soundtrack
• State of Love & Trust- Ditto as Breath
• 2,000 Mile Blues- Unreleased Demo
• Evil Little Goat- Unreleased Demo

For those ambitious enough every song has been released in one version or another with the exception of 2,000 Mile Blues. That is one to my knowledge that had never seen the light of day. Brother and Just a Girl sound great and are very strong songs many fans have enjoyed for years now, but neither were easily available. If you were able to find a version the sound quality was no where near as good as it is here. It was interesting hearing the early demo’s of Breath and State of Love and Trust. I liked Breath on this one a lot, but this version of State of Love and Trust seemed slower and not as powerful as the version recorded for the Singles soundtrack. The final two are a little rough and you can tell they never got past the demo stage, but they both have their unique moments. I was impressed with the dirty blues sound on 2,000 Miles Blues. It is a very different sound that you don’t get from Pearl Jam, and it is always fun to hear Mike McCready make those strange animal like noises with his guitar he has become known for. Evil Little Goat to me has always been what I call a “joke” song for the band. It seems obvious that it was  something they were just toying around with. It is by far the least interesting of the extras, but the others more then make up for it’s short comings.

What is not the least interesting of the group though is the included MTV Unplugged DVD. I have it on VHS somewhere and I watched it over and over and over again in my youth because it is one of the best moments in Unplugged’s short history. Included in this set is the opener Oceans that MTV cut from the set, but for some reason they did not include their final song the cover of Neil Young’s Rockin in the Free World. It may be that the version of Porch they ended with was so phenomenal it might have been a let down to have another song after that, and if that was the case i can’t blame them because it is as much of a barn burner that any acoustic song can be.

Pearl Jam actually gives you four version of this release to choose from. I’ve focused on the “Deluxe Edition” that I purchased but you can choose from the following options:

• Legacy Edition- 2 disc set: original set remixed & Brendan O’Brien’sremastered with bonus tracks
• Deluxe Edition-3 disc set: Both of the above & MTV unplugged DVD
• Vinyl Collection- Same as the Legacy edition but on Vinyl because we all know PJ loves to spin the black circle.
• Super Deluxe Edition-This is the Deluxe Edition (2 cd’s 1 dvd) and Vinyl Collection, plus 2 more Vinyls of the band Drop in the Park live show from September 20th 1992, a cassette tape (yes they still make them) replica of the Momma-Son demo that was sent to Eddie Vedder with the music to Alive, Footsteps, & Once, additional packaging notes and art by Eddie Vedder & Jeff Ament.

I strongly suggest at least getting the Deluxe Edition because MTV unplugged is that impressive. If you don’t have Ten for some odd reason this is a must buy, for the remixes, unplugged DVD, and bonus tracks all make this a very enticing package. This actually exceeded my lofty expectations of the reissue. Like all that they have done over the years this is a very fan oriented and friendly release. It is great to hear an album that would undoubtedly be on my short list of best ever made come back to life in this new format. It is like it is 1991 all over again….

Here is a nice little montage about the Drop in the Park Concert:

A McDonald’s drive-through was shot up early Sunday after a customer was angered that the restaurant had shifted from the lunch menu to the breakfast menu, police said.

The driver of a white Dodge Intrepid pulled into the drive-through at about 2 a.m. at McDonald’s at 210 W. 500 South in Salt Lake City and ordered food from the lunch and dinner menu, police said.

When a clerk told her the restaurant was serving only items from the breakfast menu, the woman drove to the second window, police said. Two men got out of the car, and one pulled a sawed-off shotgun out of the trunk, police said. He fired once or twice into the drive-though window before the two men and the woman left on 500 South and turned north on 300 West, police said.

The Intrepid was last seen going west over the viaduct on 400 South. The shooter was described as Polynesian, 6 feet 1 inch tall, with long hair in a ponytail, a beanie cap and a white T-shirt, police said.

No one was injured in the shooting, police said. Officers did not know how many employees were in the restaurant at the time.

I’ve got to be honest here, i’m not really sure what made her so mad. Everyone knows that the breakfast menu is the best shit you can get at McDonald’s. You’re supposed to pull out the sawed-off shotgun when you find out that you just missed breakfast by only a couple minutes.

State police say a turkey vulture injured a passenger when it crashed through a minivan’s windshield Friday.

The bird crashed into a red Dodge Caravan at about 8:15 a.m. on Interstate 80 in Parsippany. It whopped 32-year-old Vanessa Hurtado in the face, causing minor cuts. Shards of glass got caught in her eye.

The turkey vulture landed in the middle seat behind the driver, 35-year-old Jorge Hurtado, who wasn’t hurt. He told police that the bird was alive for a brief time following the crash; the responding officer pronounced the animal dead at the scene.

Eagle Towing (no pun intended) towed the vehicle away. Vanessa Hurtado first asked that the vulture be removed from the car, lest it marinate in the heat.

Turkey vultures, which are not related to turkeys, generally soar in circles on wind currents and are often seen on highway shoulders eating road kill.

This isn’t the first time a turkey vulture has left its mark on a New Jerseyan. In June 2004, one hit a motorcyclist in the head. While attempting to get the live bird off of him, the man lost control and struck another car. He died of his injuries.

Beware of the Vultures. They will strike at any moment without remorse. Also, based on the two occurences in the article…they always aim for your face. So while you are driving around this weekend make sure to keep your head down…..lest you want to be left for dead marinating in the heat.

Atlanta’s metal masters Mastodon unleashed their fifth album “Crack the Skye” on the world this past Tuesday. After following their masterpiece “Leviathan” with a the monumental and brutal “Blood Mountain” which reached and surpassed it’s expectations (it was in my top ten thus far of this decade) the bar was set extremely high for this album.

Early on in it’s development though signs began to point that the band might look to a slightly different sound for this album. First there was the well documented situation in which lead guitarist Brent Hinds suffered a head injury. It soon came out that much of the album was written by Brent while suffering prolonged effects from the injury and this would be a more mellow album then the others because of those continuous headaches and other nagging ailments he suffered through while writing the album. Then there was the pairing of the band with Atlanta’s producer extraordinaire Brendan O’Brien (Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam) for the first time. To say that the pairing was odd is an understatement and caused some in the fan base to wonder what direction the band was headed. 

As for the album itself like their other efforts it is focused around a centralized theme. Brann Dailor Mastodon’s drummer goes into detail that the album follows a paraplegic boy who goes on an astral travel, but in his travel he comes too close to the sun and his golden umbilical chord that keeps him connected is severed thrusting him into the vastness of outer space until he is sucked through a worm hole. He then ends up in the spirit world and is forced to convince the spirits he is not really dead. Once this is accomplished the spirits decide through the use of divinations to put him into the Soul of the Russian Rasputin. Rasputin goes on a journey to usurp the Czar and is murdered in the process. The two souls are pushed through the Crack in the Skye and Rasputin in turn determines he must help the boy return to his body and parents in his home world. Brann also mentions that the album has a slightly more personal meaning to him as it an homage for the loss of his sister Skye Dailor who committed suicide when she was a teenager.

Now that you have the backdrop lets get to the meat and potatoes of why we are here and that of course is the music. It is wonderful to see a band on top of their game not afraid to change directions slightly yet still put out quality and interesting music, and that is exactly what Mastodon has accomplished. I did not listen to any of the leaks or even the songs posted on myspace the week before it’s release so I’ve only been able to listen to the band for about 60 hours now, but I have listened to nothing else since purchasing it Tuesday morning. Lets first take a look at each song from the album:

1. Oblivion

The intro to the song sets the stage that this is going to be different. It starts off with a wonderful slow evil sounding progression that builds over the first minute before they step into their groove. The vocals on this song really caught me off guard at first. They are very clean and Brann sings for the first time. It took a few listens to get used to this, but now that I have a comfort level with the clean Ozzy like vocals it is a very catchy song. I won’t go as far as saying it is a FM radio “single” material but for a band that has no singles this might be the closest to one on the album. I love the chorus and how the groove is very laid back on this song and quite catchy.

2. Divinations

What crazy world are we in when a Mastodon song starts off with a Banjo? A very good one because this song is the first “single” off the album and to me it is the closest song on the album to some of their older work. The banjo gives way to a driving riff that holds our attention throughout the song. The vocals again are easier to understand then in the past, but Divinations overall tone seems to come closest to the tone they captured on their last album Blood Mountain. A wonderful song that has a great break down and solo in the middle of it. I was able to get on board with this song quickly.

3. Quintessence

This is the only song on the album that I am still having some trouble getting behind. The song itself seems okay, but just does not do much to stand out for me. What really makes this song difficult is the vocal delivery for the part when they are screaming “Letting Goooo”. This part of the song grinds on me. I just don’t like the way the vocals are delivered. It is unfortunate because there is some superb guitar work here that captures my attention, but even Brent’s wonderful “chicken picking” has not been able to fully get me on board with this song yet. I’ve heard live versions and it seemed more tolerable so I am holding out hope it will grow on me.

4. The Czar

Thank god the rest of the album is not as good as this song. Seriously, if the entire album was on par with this song I fear i would be forced to poor acid into my ear lobe and destroy my hearing. I could not go on living with the disappointment and torture that would follow because no album by any band would ever reach the heights this album did if they were all as good as the Czar or better.  It builds slowly with a catchy vocal backdrop of “Don’t Stay, Run Away” then at the 3:44 mark the song takes off like a bullet. For the next four minutes massive grooved riffs dominate the song. I literally have not listened to the song and got to his point without cranking it up to the next level. No matter how loud it was up to that point I have to turn it up more when this passage of the song comes on. Brent Hinds laces the song with solo’s anyone from the 70’s rock scene would be jealous of creating. They have so much soul and backbone you can’t help but air guitar with him. Clocking in at 11 minutes this is an epic song that will stand the test of time. The Czar is one of if not the best song the band has made in my opinion.

5. Ghost of Karelia

This one took several listens for me to get on board. Truthfully it was just earlier today when listening to it’s heavy passages that I realized how much I enjoyed this song. The drumming creates an under current for the song that just pulls you in. As the song progresses it gains a heaviness that is very inviting, and it creates a groove that becomes addictive. This song has potential to get even better with more listens.

6. Crack the Skye

This song is heavily helped by the guest vocals of Neurosis’s Scott Kelly. This to me is the other song outside of Divinations that sounds like it might have made Blood Mountain. It has Scott’s signature vocals which are incredible. It starts off with a nice keyboard sound that opens to a wonderful mid tempo riff done Mastodon style. This song was one that stood out to me immediately. It has some of the most passionate lyrics of the album and I can’t help but think they may be the most straight forward reference to Brann’s sister:

Guard your heartache well
Momma don’t let them take her
Don’t Let em Take her down

Please tell Lucifer he can’t have this one
Her spirits too strong
It’s written all over your face
I can see the pain
You can make it all go away

7. Last Baron

How do you end an epic album? With a 13 minute assault that has more time signature changes and riffs then most bands have on an entire album. This is seriously another great song just a step below the Czar. It moves in many directions but maintains its coherent sound throughout. Right about the 6 minute mark you hear what seems to be a tribute to Rush’s YYZ. It seems like a quick nod and then the song burst back into a classic Mastodon riff. It is a great song that ends with an almost two minute solo that melts your face and leaves you on your knees wondering if there could be anything else to follow…..

Overall I’m sure there are going to be many out there that will be disappointed with this album. The reality is Mastodon has always hinted that they had more in them musically then an in your face metal band. That was part of their appeal and what seperated them from the rest in the scene. They take a step to the side with Crack the Skye to explore Prog Metal and the results are outstanding. you can’t help but notice the influence of bands like Rush, Yes, and others on the album, but at no point does it seem they are coping any of those bands. What they have created is done in their own style on their own terms. Soaring 70’s style guitar sounds show that these guys are not just about how fast you can play, while  riffs that groove again point out that they can do more then pen your classic crushing metal riff.

The overall theme of the record  is delivered well through the music. I would have liked to have seen a little more depth with the lyrics to flesh out the theme even more, but that is not a major distracter to the album.  If I had to point to a weakness of the album other then in depth lyrics I would point to the vocal delivery as a minor one. I don’t dislike the idea of  them going with clean vocals, unfortunately none of them have a voice like a Mike Patton that can take over a song. They cover those short comings very well however by putting in their best vocal effort to date. It can’t be said enough how much you can notice the difference and improvement on all of their vocals and for that I commend them. Hey not all of us can sing like Mike Patton right? The vocals and lyrics are a minor disappointment in the major scheme of the album. That is just me being nit picky. It will be easy for some to say they sold out with the clean vocals and less brutal riffs, but there is not really a radio friendly song on this album. They made this album on their terms and it fits very nicely in with their other works as another notch on their belt.

This album is not for everyone but the production and result can not be arguied they made a very strong record that stands strong next to their other output to date. It is not one that is rewarding after one listen. It is complex and takes multiple listens including some headphone listens to catch all the nuances of the songs structures.

I’ve decided to no longer offer a graded scale for albums so i won’t rate this one, but if I still did Crack the Skye would have received high marks. I’m impressed and can’t wait to see them on their tour to hear the new songs come to life in a live setting. Although I’m not sold on this album eclipsing some of their past efforts Crack the Skye is on par with them and this is a great listening experience. A truly enjoyable listen and top notch album all around.

Check out Samples on Myspace

Mastodon at the Scion Rock Fest w/ Scott Kelly

 Here is the first single’s video Divinations:

PS: I was serious about the Czar. It will kick your ass!

This fall (October  16th to be precise) Spike Jonze’s adaptation of the children’s story Where the Wild Things Are (originally by Maurice Sendak) will make it’s big screen debut. I’m generally not much into children’s movies or tales, but I’ve seen some recently that I have enjoyed. Coraline was a wonderful demented tale that I enjoyed, and I think the next one on my plate will be Where the Wild Things Are. If you are not familiar with the plot it is summed up on imdb as follows:

“An adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s story, where Max, a disobedient little boy sent to bed without his supper, creates his own world–a forest inhabited by ferocious wild creatures that crown Max as their ruler.”

The cast looks fine with the highlight being Forrest Whitaker handling the voice over of “Wild Thing”, but I’ll be honest what has really caught my attention is the musicians taking part in the score and music selection for the movie. What else would you expect from a Spike Jonze film though when he has collaborations with artist like REM, Pavement, Sonic Youth, Weezer, Chemical Brothers, Beastie Boys, and others on his resume.

The wonderful Karen O is working with composer Carter Burwell to compose the score for the film. It is even rumored that Atlanta’s very own Bradford Cox of  Deerhunter fame offered some assistance to Karen on demo tracks for the film.

Take a peak at the trailer it looks pretty cool. Plus how can you go wrong with the Arcade Fire as your musical backdrop! Not sure if they will be on the soundtrack or if it will be similar to when they lent their song “My Body is a Cage” to last winter’s blockbuster Curious Case of Benjamin Button.