Zebra - "Tell Me What You Want" - I heard this on Dee Snider's House of Hair recently and it blew me away! It's got killer vocals, a killer guitar solo, and a kick-ass descending chord progression. And, as you'll see, the video is everything you'd expect from Zebra... which probably isn't much. Enjoy!
RANDOM THOUGHTS - This is the opening track off Zebra's self-titled 1983 debut album. I've always wondered why bands opt for no album name? Just make something up, for crying out loud! How about this: Heaven Ain't For Sinners. That's a perfectly good album title for a hard rock band, and I've got a hundred of them like that!
0:19 - Enter the mysterious tigress. As far as I can tell, there are four main elements to this "narrative": The tiger-woman, lead singer Randy Jackson, a mannequin, and a red door. What does all this symbolism mean? Well, it probably means they had no money to make this video and all they had available to them was the back room of a department store, their instruments, and a groupie.
0:27 - Here comes the falsetto... Wait for it... Wait for it...
0:30 - There it is! Listen to those pipes! I pulled a muscle just listening to it!
As far as 80's falsettos go, I'd rank Randy Jackson above Jon Bon Jovi and Vince Neil (Motley Crue)... but he falls short of Tom Keifer (Cinderella), Mark Slaughter, C.J. Snare (Firehouse), and Kevin DuBrow (Quiet Riot). Those four are the Mount Rushmore of gruff falsettos, in my opinion. And if you thought I could discuss 80's hair metal without mentioning Kevin DuBrow... well, once again, you were wrong.
1:01 - The drummer has a look that says, "I should be the singer, but these fucking jerks stuck me on the drums. I'm not even going to try in this video. I was born to sing, dammit, look at my fucking mane!" The bad news for the drummer: Jackson has huge pipes and an even better mane!
And judging by the way he's dressed, the drummer apparently tends bar after their shows. Hey Ringo, I'll have a fuzzy navel and the tiger-lady will have a scotch on the rocks. Just put it on my tab.
1:34 - Epic guitar solo begins with some unison bends on a sweet white double-neck guitar, which appears to be (and correct me if I'm wrong) a B.C. Rich.
1:39 - Drummer does a double-take. Whoa!! What?!
1:41 - Oops! The drummer is shown playing a closed high-hat when we're clearly hearing the bell of the ride cymbal on the audio track. This should have been caught in video post-production. As far as music videos go, this gaffe is as big as it gets.
2:06 - I. Hate. Spiders. Wait, is that crazy bitch eating the spider?! God, I love this video!
2:18 - Hubba squared.
3:07 - There, we finally got that whole ride cymbal / high-hat mess straightened out. The drummer is shown playing it correctly this time! Bravo! Now where's that drink I ordered?
3:20 - Jackson unleashes an incredible 5-second wail that will surely land him in my Top 5 "Best Mid-Song Screams By A Lead Singer" List. Which, by the way, also includes Kevin DuBrow.
Zebra - Tell Me What You Want
RANDOM THOUGHTS - This is the opening track off Zebra's self-titled 1983 debut album. I've always wondered why bands opt for no album name? Just make something up, for crying out loud! How about this: Heaven Ain't For Sinners. That's a perfectly good album title for a hard rock band, and I've got a hundred of them like that!
0:19 - Enter the mysterious tigress. As far as I can tell, there are four main elements to this "narrative": The tiger-woman, lead singer Randy Jackson, a mannequin, and a red door. What does all this symbolism mean? Well, it probably means they had no money to make this video and all they had available to them was the back room of a department store, their instruments, and a groupie.
0:27 - Here comes the falsetto... Wait for it... Wait for it...
0:30 - There it is! Listen to those pipes! I pulled a muscle just listening to it!
As far as 80's falsettos go, I'd rank Randy Jackson above Jon Bon Jovi and Vince Neil (Motley Crue)... but he falls short of Tom Keifer (Cinderella), Mark Slaughter, C.J. Snare (Firehouse), and Kevin DuBrow (Quiet Riot). Those four are the Mount Rushmore of gruff falsettos, in my opinion. And if you thought I could discuss 80's hair metal without mentioning Kevin DuBrow... well, once again, you were wrong.
1:01 - The drummer has a look that says, "I should be the singer, but these fucking jerks stuck me on the drums. I'm not even going to try in this video. I was born to sing, dammit, look at my fucking mane!" The bad news for the drummer: Jackson has huge pipes and an even better mane!
And judging by the way he's dressed, the drummer apparently tends bar after their shows. Hey Ringo, I'll have a fuzzy navel and the tiger-lady will have a scotch on the rocks. Just put it on my tab.
1:34 - Epic guitar solo begins with some unison bends on a sweet white double-neck guitar, which appears to be (and correct me if I'm wrong) a B.C. Rich.
1:39 - Drummer does a double-take. Whoa!! What?!
1:41 - Oops! The drummer is shown playing a closed high-hat when we're clearly hearing the bell of the ride cymbal on the audio track. This should have been caught in video post-production. As far as music videos go, this gaffe is as big as it gets.
2:06 - I. Hate. Spiders. Wait, is that crazy bitch eating the spider?! God, I love this video!
2:18 - Hubba squared.
3:07 - There, we finally got that whole ride cymbal / high-hat mess straightened out. The drummer is shown playing it correctly this time! Bravo! Now where's that drink I ordered?
3:20 - Jackson unleashes an incredible 5-second wail that will surely land him in my Top 5 "Best Mid-Song Screams By A Lead Singer" List. Which, by the way, also includes Kevin DuBrow.
Zebra is great!! After 40 years theyare still together, not many cansay THAT!!
ReplyDeleteZebra is great!! After 40 years theyare still together, not many cansay THAT!!
ReplyDeleteThe lady in the video, what's her name?
ReplyDeleteWonder if the tigress girl in video still around, wow 40 yrs ago
ReplyDeleteIt's still a great song