Download 2011 - Day 3

For the final day of rock-and-roll partying the gods decided that this festival should be played in Hard-Mode so we were graced with rain that managed to soak through leather and wind that cut through bone. Still the crowd had poncho's, Jägermeister jackets, and an unstoppable willingness to keep enjoying the weekend so it was on with the show

Download 2011 - Day 2

After the threat of rain on Friday it was a relief to spend Saturday at Download in sunny and calm weather. A little bit of a breeze, along with the odd cloud, kept the heat off the festival throngs as they enjoyed another day of fine music, fine company, and not unreasonably priced beer. I didn't get to see as many bands as on Saturday, mostly due to catching up with friends, but there were still some absolute corkers to bear witness to...

Download 2011 - Day 1

Yes, for the first time in my 25 years of being into music I've decided to walk the hallowed turf of Donington Park and enjoy the world of one of the more legendary rock/metal festivals in the world, namely Download. I am happy to report, first and foremost, that it is a lovely place, filled with lovely people and friendly event staff.

And now an album review by Hitler

Born This Way - Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga is not a musician, she is an artistic construct performed 24/7 by Stefani Germanotta, so the chances are that by now your view on her & this album will already be formed and will mostly be based on the videos, TV interviews, concert footage and Tweets that Gaga exists in. However if you can get past there is some good music to be heard in Born This Way which shows off Miss Germanotta's considerable talents, beyond the ability to wear a couple pounds of beef in public.

First thing to note is that over all this is a much more musically complex album than Fame or Monster, which isn't surprising if you consider her first two albums to have been minimalistic Pop. There are more layers, there are more styles, and it's got a much richer production to it all over. Lyrically it's also far more blunt than her earlier work, which comes across as a bold and solid refinement of what she conveyed with her stage shows. However it's also clearly struggling with it's new direction, resulting in an inconsistency between the tracks as they battle between old and new Gaga.

Not Abba: The Real Story of the 1970's

The basic premise of this fine read from Dave Haslam is that the 70's were not as simple as 'Abba ruled and then Punk happened' and the music of those 10 year's needs to be viewed as a reflection of the deep changes happening politically, socially, & economically in Britain with each year reflecting a distinct phase of this progress.

Sound's heavy but actually ends up being a good story that provides an insight to that period, using a combination of credible mainstream sources and individuals who lived through the period, and presents it as being a lot more dynamic, real, and interesting than I had known before. It also throws up some interesting theories on the music scene's development, such as Northern Soul having been responsible for the independent music store scene that let Punk blossom, the twee Pop Music of the early 70's being an attempt to get back to the pre-war simplicity of the 1930's, and that Two-Tone was a reflection of British working class life rather than an attempt at creating 'unity'.

All great stuff, until the final section of the final chapter when Margaret Thatcher gets elected and your left with nothing but Tory bashing all the way into 1984, which is apparently when both music and the 70's ended.

The World Is Yours - Motorhead

So what is there to say about Motorhead's 20th studio album in their 35th year as a band? Actually there is quite a lot and most of it is incredibly positive as this is clearly a band that still has a lot going for it, even if most people have already made their mind up about them.

First of all there is the truly awesome limited edition pack that it came in. Many other bands will give you a poster and a pin badge but this also came with a 132 page magazine filled with interviews, history on the band, and loads of details on the making of the record. Coming in at £15 (just a fiver more than the RRP for most new releases) it's not just a great thing for the fan but also a brilliant way to beat the file-sharing revenue loses by having a couple of (incredibly well targeted) adverts in the mag to help cover costs. It also means that the album is in the magazine racks, so it can go places other albums won't end up and not have to fight for shelf-space among the plethora of other releases. Not sure how many other bands would be able to pull something like this off but I can see it being used more and more.

So after you've gawked at the photos and read all the interviews it's time for the music itself. And what grand music it is, filled with a rock & roll swagger that shows that fast & heavy can be highly listen-able and not end up being angry or shouty. This album is very clearly a throwback to the 50's, with the odd jive and twist style riff showing up from place to place, and shows what could have happened if Chuck Berry had turned up after Black Sabbath. But it still has a very modern feel to it, with punchy lyrics and some moments that show how Motorhead had deep impacts on the NWOBHM, Thrash, and the more modern strains of heavy metal genres.

Stand out tracks have to be "Get Back In Line" (a classic Motorhead swaggering tune, with a sing-along inclusive chrous, that will work just as well in the middle of a concert or when drinking at the bar. It includes a key change that feels like going from 3rd to 5th gear on a drag-racer and Moar Cowbell for the simple fact it can be there), "Brotherhood of Man (a slow chugging brutish song that sounds like a more developed and mature 'Orgasmatron' with some highly inspired lyrics) and then "Bye bye bitch bye bye" (that ends the album by knocking it up a notch with some no-holds barred boogy). However this is the cream of the cream as there really are no bad tracks in this collection. Incredibly they all sounds absolutely like Motorhead without all sounding the same or being repeats of previous songs, which is something few bands can do after so many previous works of beauty.

It's basically a 40 minute masterclass in how to rock out in simplistic style and energetic glory, and whilst a lot of the public will either listen to it or not based on their preconceived notions of the band I can see a lot of musicians grabbing a copy so that they can work out how to up their own game.