THE RATASS GAZETTE

Aldo Nova - "Fantasy" - 1982 RANDOM THOUGHTS ... This is a great song, and I still crank it up every time I hear it on the radio. Great riff, excellent  guitar solo, I could listen to this song all day. Aldo Nova's self-titled album is certified double-platinum, while "Fantasy" peaked at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The video is a classic, too. The futuristic intro is about a minute-and-a-half long and it features guns, guitars, helicopters, and lasers. In other  words: It's got it all.  The plot for this video was so far ahead of its time, we may never be able to fully grasp its true meaning with any accuracy. But I'll try to narrate ...  0:01 - It was a dark and stormy night... 0:41 - Aldo Nova arrives via helicopter wearing a leopard-print jumpsuit. My reaction to seeing this for the first time:  ( Head bobbing ) "Yeah, that sounds about right." 1:05 - Abandoned warehouse. Door locked. Key? No. Try the gun bu...

EMF - Unbelievable (Live) - 1991   RANDOM THOUGHTS ... This video is great on so many levels. First of all, EMF's "Unbelievable" was my favorite song for a good solid two years after it was released. Even after all of my friends had moved on to newer, cooler stuff like Kriss Kross and Sir Mix-a-Lot, I was still claiming "Unbelievable" as my number one. (Although I'll admit Kriss Kross's "Jump" challenged it there for a while. Looking back, I probably said the words 'miggity  miggity  miggity  miggity mac daddy' waaay more than any rural Midwestern child ever should have.)  Second of all, these guys rock the house in this performance.  The drum beat kicks ass. The bass player is rocking and so is the bass line he's laying down. I love the loud wah-infused outro guitar solo (3:30) in this song -- which is on my list of Top 5 Outro Guitar Solos , along with Ozzy's "Bark at the Moon" and Pat Benetar's "H...

Random Thoughts:  Released on the album "C.M.B." in 1991, this #1 hit is a fucking gem. "All For Love" is melodic and has a hilarious, early 90's music video. I am only slightly surprised that this album was RIAA certified Platinum 3x and produced five, Top-20 hits.  I am not a lover of boy-bands by any means, but Color Me Badd has my vote for "Biggest Odd-Ball Boy-Band Of All Time."  The Odd-Ball factor alone, makes them my favorite boy-band. Any boy-band that has a guy who looks like Larry from the Three Stooges and a 5'6" graduate from the 'George Michael School of Handsomeness' that may or may not be 45-years old, I love. Some people might say: "Brandon, you dumb, goofy bastard! These are gorgeous men. They can probably sing like angels too, but I wouldn't know, because all I can focus on is their 'Greek God' sexiness, sincerity and high-quality, slippery-floor dance moves." Other people, like my...

Tom Cochrane - Life is a Highway - Live on Leno 1992  RANDOM THOUGHTS ... I've always liked this song, and this is a rockin' performance of it on Leno. Way better than his appearance on Letterman , where they played a shortened version of the tune (without some of the harmonica parts and such) and things just seemed off. Here, however, things are tight and they sound fantastic. Mr. Cochrane plays the heck out of that harmonica, too. This is pretty much as good as it gets on a late-night show, he nails it. Awesome performance. ... I really like that Cochrane jogged up and sat down for a little chat after he rocked the house. It's the late-night equivalent of athletes giving interviews immediately after a game, when they're all sweaty and out of breath. Anyway, after some decent banter about Canada ("I spent a lot of time up there during, uh, Vietnam years"), Leno asks him a great question: How did you come up with the idea for this song? It's a ques...

Dio - Rainbow in the Dark (Live) - 1983   Dio - Rainbow in the Dark (Live) RANDOM THOUGHTS...  Awesome live stuff from Dio. The bad-ass on lead guitar is Vivian Campbell, who later played with Whitesnake, and then Def Leppard. He rocks.

Firehouse - Don't Treat Me Bad (Live) RANDOM THOUGHTS ... This is a power-packed performance of a kick-ass rock song. I've always liked this tune. "Don't Treat Me Bad" was the first single off FireHouse's self-titled debut album in 1990. The album went double-platinum by 1994 and hasn't sold a single copy since. (Sigh). Doesn't matter though, this song will always rule. ... And by the way, it's FireHouse. Capital F, capital H, no space. Don't be a loser and refer to them as Fire House or Firehouse. This is a rock band, not a gay bar or a building where they keep fire trucks, so get it straight, dammit. ... Everyone who knows me knows I've always been a big C.J. Snare fan. I think he's a great vocalist, and he sounds fantastic here. He hits the high notes with ease, including the big one at the 2:40 mark. I haven't seen these guys live in concert yet, but they're touring this summer with Slaughter (by the way, that is go...

This is, bar none, the finest performance of this great rock song you'll find on the web. It's Donnie Iris performing his 1981 hit, "Ah, Leah", and it's a must-watch. Well, what are you waiting for?! Check it out!  Donnie Iris - Ah, Leah RANDOM THOUGHTS ... According to the screen shot at the end of this video, this was aired on WQED (Pittsburgh) in 2002. The band he's playing with are the house band from that local TV station, and let me tell you, these guys (and gal) kick some serious ass in this one! I mean, they knock it out of the park. Every single member of that band are spot-on, technically precise, and provide a note-perfect rendition of this song. The grinding distortion of the guitars and Donnie Iris' amazing vocal performance just sound way better than the original album version . Iris' pipes are definitely still intact, he really nails it here, it's awesome to watch. That must have been an amazing feeling to be there in the TV...

Check out this awesome clip of the Spin Doctors performing "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" on The Late Show with David Letterman in 1992. This was the first single off their 5x Platinum (U.S.) selling Pocket Full of Kryptonite (everyone I know owned a copy) which was released in 1991... Two, three, four!  Spin Doctors - Little Miss Can't Be Wrong - Live in 1992 RANDOM THOUGHTS... Lead guitarist Eric Schenkman plays hot licks throughout the entire tune and makes it look pretty effortless. He's rockin' a killer tone during the verses. Everybody, let's hear it for the neck pickup! (A guitar tech way in the back who's barely paying attention starts clapping...) ...  Shout out to Letterman's bandleader Paul Shaffer on the keys, who provides spot-on back-up vocals during the performance in addition to playing the hell out of that there keyboard and genuinely having a blast. Say what you want about ol' Paulie, but dammit, that guy has fun ou...

Howard Jones - Things Can Only Get Better - I came across this one recently and felt the irresistible need to share it. It's Howard Jones performing his 1985 hit, "Things Can Only Get Better".  I find it interesting because, A) Jones still sounds fantastic . His voice is spot on, and, B) because he decided to go with not one but TWO drummers playing the exact same beats throughout the performance. This can be pulled off only if the second drummer is Ringo Starr. And luckily for Jones... the second drummer is, indeed, Ringo Starr. Enjoy!

RANDOM THOUGHTS ... Awesome clip of Better Than Ezra playing their song "Good" on The Late Show with David Letterman in 1996.  I'm always impressed by bands that can go on these late night shows for just one song and absolutely nail it.  The lead singer, Kevin Griffin, has rock star looks and a rock star voice, and wearing a leather jacket while singing and playing guitar is very rock star.  The bass line is nice and clean and the drummer really adds punch with his powerful style. Great performance of a great song!