SOUND BITES

1991 was a really big, and kind of weird, year for rock music. The world was ushering in change in the form of technological advancements and social reforms, and the music world would soon follow suit. As the year progressed and the wave of hair metal had begun to run its course, a new and powerful force was on the rise. By year's end, it was clear that we were on the cusp of a true rock revolution, the likes of which hasn't been experienced again since. I turned 15 years old in 1991. By this time, I was already what I'd consider a music lover, but I hadn't yet figured out my musical identity. As a devoted member of Columbia House, I was hoarding cheap cassettes and quickly becoming not just a music fan, but also a collector. My tape collection was kind of impressive in size, but was stylistically scattered beyond any real sense of logic or reason (case in point: alongside my thriving collection of hair metal were albums by such classic pop/rap superstars as Vanilla...

(DISCLAIMER: The intent of this article is not to belittle the art of the double album, nor is the point to diminish the worth of the albums featured below. My goal is not to "fix" these albums, and I support the artists' decisions when it comes to how they present their art. Just so we're clear.) The double album: a career move meant to distinguish a batch of songs as something special. An artistic vision that simply can't be confined by standard definitions or time constraints. Many of our greatest musical landmarks run outside of the accepted parameters of what an album should be. Sometimes it's a grand statement, a series of musical moments strung together into something magical and cinematic. Other times, it's a way to express disparate emotions, a way to segregate when an artist is going for two distinct approaches at the same time. Sometimes it's simply a case of a creative outburst that grew too fast and too wild. Far be it for me t...

It's nearly impossible to overstate the effect that Guns N' Roses' debut album had on hard rock music. Released on this day in 1987, it was unassuming at first. The video for Welcome To The Jungle would air every once in a while, usually on the Power Hour (MuchMusic's Canuck equivalent to Headbanger's Ball). It was certainly different from everything else we were being subjected to, but it didn't have much of an impact on the population at large. In fact, it wasn't until a year later and the release of second single Sweet Child O' Mine that the album started to pick up steam with record buyers. Before then, you heard about the album from friends of friends, who would talk about it like it was some kind of scrappy, snotty holy grail that your puny mind couldn't comprehend. Before long, it would become an inescapable classic, an album that so perfectly encapsulated the sleazy underbelly of Los Angeles that it effectively sounded the death bell for...

From nearly all accounts, the newly released Van Halen album A Different Kind of Truth is good.  And not just "it's cool I guess" good.  We're talking "holy shit they're BACK" good.  And it's not just David Lee Roth fanboys who are blown away; according to metacritic.com, which issues scores out of 100 to albums based on average critical review scores, the album is currently sitting at 75 (an average of, say, 3 out of 4 stars).  A score of 60 or higher generally reflects positive reviews.  So, yeah, it looks like Van Halen have returned to form; and not just barely, but in spectacular fashion. But you wouldn't know that from the album's first single.