The Scrounger's Report

Oct. 13, 2000

Jumpin' Jehosephat! It's Christmas!!

Ok, I stopped off on the way home from work and bought a CD.
No big deal. Got home only to find not 1, not 2, but 43 CDs
in the mail. YIPE!

11 were from a trade, the remaining 32 sent to me "on approval"
(listen to them, decide which ones I want to buy, send the
rest back... gotta love it).

All sorts of stuff in the mix.

First the disc I bought:

Lizzy Borden - Deal With the Devil. 2000. Metal Blade Records.
   Excellent!!! It's as if the intervening 11 years from "Master
   of Disguise" never took place at all. This album really is
   a natural progression of the last effort. Very well done!!!

Now the 11 from the trade:

Aion - Midian. 1997. Massacre Records (Germany).
   "Atmospheric Gothic Metal". Jury's still out, but it bores
   me. I love the genre, but it's been done better.

TNT - Transistor. 1999. Spitfire Records.
   Completist fodder. If I recall correctly, when I initially
   listened to it when it came out, I thought it was a definite
   step up from Firefly, but still not on par with their classic
   material. We'll see if I recall correctly...

Yngwie Malmsteen - Eclipse. 1990. Polygram Records.
   The one Yngwie disc I was missing...

Legs Diamond - Fire Power. 2000. Zoom Club Records (U.K.)
   Ehh. Am I the only one who finds most Legs Diamond material
   underproduced and spotty?

Marshall Law - Warning From History + 2. 1999. Neat Metal (Japan).
   Snagged it for the bonus tracks...

Michael Kiske - Readiness to Sacrifice. 1999. Victor (Japan).
   I thought "Instant Clarity" was "ok" but nothing more. See
   how this compares...

Scorpions - Taken By Force. 1977. RCA Records (Germany).
   Yeah, I know it's been reissued, but I've been wanting this
   forever...

Doro - Calling the Wild. 2000. Koch Records.
   You know, I like classic Doro. I also like Rob Zombie. I'm
   not sure I like them blended together. :) I think that when
   the dust settles, it will be a keeper, but Jesus, folks,
   let's get off that '90s quasi-industrial bandwagon! The
   Billy Idol cover (White Wedding) makes for interesting
   listening, but I wish the chorus had gone over the top a
   bit more...

Stranger - No Rules. 1989. Thunderbay Records.
   Still working on these Florida bar rockers' discography...

and the 2 from the trade that struck me as "moderately tough
to find":

Orleans - Live, Volume 1. 1993. MAJOR Record Label/Blue Plate.
   Wouldja believe that this is the first disc of theirs that
   I've found? Oy vey. This needs to be rectified.

Sweet Comfort Band - S/T. 1977. Maranatha Music.
   Ehh??? I've got the CDs they did on the Light label. I didn't
   think they had any CDs outside of those. Obviously I was wrong.
   CCM "westcoast" AOR.

Ok, now on to the 32 CDs that I need to wade through and determine
which I'll buy. At first glance a lot of it is obscure/OOP hard
rock and heavy metal, most of which I've never heard of, so I'm
sure the [CENSORED] completist in me will force me to keep most
of it. This is not good because it will end up costing me $200
when all is said and done. Thank goodness for installment plans. :)

[Actually, now that I look at it, that's really not bad. Works
out to $6.25 per CD on average if I keep them all.]

These are just in the order I pulled them out of the package.
Any recommendations/anecdotes/scarcity indications/ratings
appreciated.

7 Wishes - Out in the Light. 19??. High Gain records (Germany?)

The Almighty - Blood, Fire, and Live. 1990. Polydor (U.K.)

Lee Aaron - Some Girls Do. 1991. Attic Records/Metronome (Germany)

Airdash - Hospital Hallucinations Take One. 1989. AB/RCA (Germany)

Agony Column - God, Guns, and Guts. 1988. Big Chief Records.

Ian Cussick - Best Cuts. 1991. BMG/Ariola (Germany)

The Coup de Grace - S/T. 1990. Twin Tone Records.

Coroner - Punishment for Decadence. 1988. Futurist.
   (I've since picked this one up, so it gets punted back).

Crossroads - Hype. 1992. Electrola (Germany).

Darxon - Shout! 1992. Mausoleum Records (Germany).

Isis - S/T. 1988. Bellaphon Records (Germany).

Kelley Wild - Looks Like Dynamite. 1992. TAOB Music (Germany).

Intruder - Escape From Pain (EP). 1990. Metal Blade.

Little Angels - Too Posh to Mosh, Too Good to Last! 1994. Castle Comm.

Madd Hunter - S/T. 19??. GME Records.

Mason - Inside Your Head. 1995. Secoyah Records (Austria).

Mason - Big Illusion. 1992. Andric Stanelle Records (Austria).

The Alex Parche Project. 19??. T.A.O.B. Records/SPV. 
   (features Udo Dirkschneider and Fernando Garcia)

Parche - Son of a Healer. 1993. GSE Records (Germany)
   (also features Udo and Fernando Garcia, and Ted Bullet)

Parche - Prohibido El Paso. 1994. GSE Records (Germany)

Platinum - Iceman. 1990. Rising Sun Productions (Germany).

Osiris - Futurity and Human Depressions. 1991. Shark Records (Germany).

Flyer - Sell Your Soul. 1992. Dureco Records (Germany).

Ziad - Do You Believe? 1994. Faith Records.

Loveslide - Sick My Duck. 19?? DS Records (Germany).

Mind Odyssey - Keep It All Turning. 1993. Noise Records (Germany).

Red Harvest - Nomindsland. 1992. Black Mark (Germany).

Shadowland - Ring of Roses. 1992. SI Music (Czech)

Apocalypse - S/T. 1988. Under One Flag (U.K.).

Railway - Welcome Tonite + 1. 1993. SPV (Germany).

Railway - Persecution Mania + 1. 1995. Point Music (Germany).


*WHEW*

Boy, do I have a LOT of listening to do....:)

-Dan