Here are some interesting facts about Gilby Clarke. An american guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer, and former rhythm guitarist of "Guns N' Roses": (Photo: Ethan Miller) = He was born on August 17 1962 in Cleveland, Ohio. His full name is Gilbert J. Clarke. = Clarke started his musical career during the first half of the Eighties, replacing "Candy's" original guitarist, Geoff Siegel, later becoming the band's lead vocalist. He contributed to the band's only studio album "Whatever Happened to Fun..." released in 1985. = In 1988 Clarke formed "Kill for Thrills", a metal band that released the EP "Commercial Suicide" in 1989 and a full album "Dynamite from Nightmareland" in 1990. = In 1991 Clarke joined "Guns N' Roses" as the rhythm guitarist, replacing Izzy Stradlin during the "Use Your Illusion" Tour. His first show with the band was on December 5, 1991, in Worcester, MA. = In 1993 Clarke played on "Guns N' Roses’" album "The Spaghetti Incident?", which featured covers of punk and glam rock songs. = In 1994 he released his debut solo album "Pawnshop Guitars", which featured some members of "Guns N' Roses" and went gold in Argentina. On the same year Clarke's contract with "Guns N' Roses" was not renewed, leading to his departure from the band. = The same year he played lead guitar on "The Loveless", "Wish I Could Fly" tracks on the album "A Tale of Gin and Salvation". = In 1995 Clarke joined "Slash's Snakepit" and played on their album "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere". He also co-wrote the song "Monkey Chow" from the album. = In the years 1997-2002 Clarke released three more solo albums: "The Hangover" (1997), "Rubber" (1998), and "Swag" (2002). He also released a live album, "99 Live" in 1999. = In 1999 Clarke made a guest appearance on the "L.A. Guns" album "Shrinking Violet", which he also produced. He also produced "L.A. Guns'" 2001 album "Man in the Moon". = In 2001 Clarke formed "Col. Parker" with Slim Jim Phantom and Teddy "Zig Zag" Andreadis, releasing the album "Rock N Roll Music". = In 2002 He collaborated with Nancy Sinatra on her album "California Girl". = In 2003 he produced "The Bronx’s" self-titled debut album. = The same year, "Teenage Neon Jungle" - a rare and unreleased album of his former band "Candy" was released. = In 2005 he played guitar with the reformed "MC5", joining original members Wayne Kramer, Dennis Thompson, and Michael Davis. = In 2006 Clarke joined "Rock Star Supernova", a supergroup formed with Tommy Lee of "Mötley Crüe" and Jason Newsted of "Metallica". The band was the focus of the reality TV show "Rock Star: Supernova", choosing their lead vocalist. Later they released their only eponymous album with their chosen lead vocalist Lukas Rossi. = In 2007 he released a best-of compilation album featuring tracks from his solo work and "Col. Parker", including a re-recording of "Black" with vocals by "Rock Star Supernova" runner-up Dilana Robichaux. = In 2008 he performed at the "G-TARanaki Guitar Festival" in New Zealand and toured North America with "Rock n' Roll Fantasy Camp". = In 2012 Clarke reunited with former "Guns N' Roses" members Slash, Steven Adler, Matt Sorum, and Duff McKagan for the band’s "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" induction performance, though he was not inducted himself. = In 2019 he released the single "Rock n Roll Is Getting Louder." = In 2021 Clarke released his most successful album to date "The Gospel Truth", featuring contributions from Nikki Sixx and other notable musicians. = Throughout his career Clarke has worked as a producer, producing albums for "L.A. Guns", "Bullets and Octane", "The Bronx", and "Vains of Jenna". = He has also collaborated with artists like Alice Cooper, "Heart", "MC5", and Kathy Valentine of The "Go-Go's". = Clarke is an avid collector of vintage guitars and motorcycles, both of which influence his music and lifestyle. = His Wife Daniela is a costume designer. She was born in Nazareth, Israel and moved to South Africa at the age of 10. She met Gilby in LA when she was 16. "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

Written By: Moti Kupfer Release date - 17.08.1970 The fact that "The Band" did not perform live after the release of their landmark debut album, "Music from Big Pink", ultimately worked against them. Instead of easing expectations, their absence only magnified the mythology surrounding the group, to the point that even legendary promoter Bill Graham, the man behind the Fillmore venues, began pursuing them. Their first concert as an independent group finally took place in April 1969 at Winterland in San Francisco, after they had already finished recording their second album. Although the musicians had accumulated plenty of experience onstage, this was the first time they were performing as "The Band" rather than backing another artist, and more importantly, they were presenting their own material. The pressure was enormous. The occasion nearly paralyzed Robbie Robertson before the show. The performance itself was short and uneasy, with the group once again hearing boos from an audience, something they knew all too well from their years backing Bob Dylan. That anxiety would eventually find its way into the title track of their third album, "Stage Fright", released on August 17, 1970. By the time "The Band" began working on the album, they were approaching the peak of their fame. They had appeared on the cover of "Time" magazine, money was beginning to pour in, and success was slowly changing the chemistry between them. Resentment was growing, as were the drinking, drugs and excesses of rock and roll life. Robbie Robertson increasingly found himself playing the role of the responsible adult. Despite the image of humble country gentlemen that had become attached to them, "The Band" knew how to party. In Woodstock, there was little to stop them. The local authorities largely tolerated the wild parties and the substances circulating around the group's circle. Following the madness surrounding Woodstock, the members of "The Band" decided to attempt something unusual: record an entire album live at the historic Woodstock Playhouse, a theater dating back to 1938, in front of an audience of roughly 600 people, the venue's capacity. The idea quickly ran into problems. According to Robertson, the group wanted to perform for the people of Woodstock, but local officials feared that another musical event would bring more chaos to the area following the festival. Robertson later recalled the response: "Oh, no - this is pouring gasoline on the fire." The compromise was simple. "The Band" would still record "Stage Fright" on the stage of the Woodstock Playhouse, but there would be no audience. The album was ultimately recorded there over just 12 days. "Stage Fright" may have been the title of their third album, but by this point the members were beginning to fear something beyond the stage. Trust inside the group was eroding, suspicions were growing, and relationships were gradually becoming more complicated, particularly around the increasingly sensitive issue of songwriting credits. Robertson had become the group's dominant songwriter and consequently received the largest share of the publishing income. Over time, this became a major source of resentment, particularly for Levon Helm, who believed the other musicians' contributions to the arrangements, performances and unmistakable sound of "The Band" were far more important than the songwriting credits suggested. Despite all of this, "Stage Fright" remains an excellent album, even if it does not quite reach the extraordinary standard established by its two predecessors. Where the first two records often seemed to be writing about America itself, "Stage Fright" increasingly turned the camera inward. Fame had created an almost mythical image around "The Band", and the musicians responded with an album concerned with the emotional consequences of becoming rock stars: anxiety, isolation, exhaustion and the growing desire to escape. The result is a remarkably contradictory record, combining lively, sometimes almost carefree music with disillusioned lyrics. Beneath songs concerned with peace, escape and temporary pleasure are darker shades of melancholy, anxiety and fatigue. Writer Ross Johnson memorably described it as "a cheerful-sounding record that unintentionally was confessional", calling it "a spirited romp through a dispirited period in the group's history." The opening "Strawberry Wine" immediately hints at their unstable state of mind, with Levon Helm choosing intoxication and escape rather than confronting reality. Richard Manuel's dreamy "Sleeping" moves somewhere between bliss and withdrawal, turning sleep itself into a refuge from a world that has become increasingly difficult to face. On "Time to Kill", the musicians look back longingly toward the simple pleasures of their life in the country before fame changed everything. That feeling continues through "Just Another Whistle Stop", where success already feels temporary and movement itself becomes exhausting. Increasingly, solitude seems preferable to the demands surrounding them. One notable exception is the tender lullaby "All La Glory", written by Robertson for his daughter. Yet even here, the warmth of the song exists against the increasingly troubled atmosphere surrounding the sessions. That atmosphere was hardly helped by the recording process. Todd Rundgren, not yet 22 years old, was brought in as engineer and later remembered spending hours waiting for the musicians to organize themselves and begin recording. Robertson also turns his attention toward Richard Manuel's increasingly fragile emotional condition on "The Shape I'm In". Sung by Manuel himself, the song transforms personal deterioration into one of the album's most infectious performances, creating precisely the contradiction that defines "Stage Fright": music bursting with life while its protagonist appears to be falling apart. The pressures of the music industry certainly did little to ease Manuel's struggles or the overwhelming fatigue beginning to consume the group. Greed, desire and the idea of surrendering something precious in exchange for material fulfillment lie at the heart of "Daniel and the Sacred Harp". Its tale of a man sacrificing his soul to obtain the sacred instrument feels almost like a warning to "The Band" themselves, a parable about what can happen when ambition and immediate gratification become more important than the things that originally gave the music meaning. Two different sets of mixes were eventually prepared, involving Todd Rundgren and renowned British engineer Glyn Johns. The complicated mixing history would remain part of the album's story for decades, eventually leading Robertson to revisit both the mixes and his originally intended running order for the 50th anniversary edition. Musically, "Stage Fright" continued to demonstrate the extraordinary versatility of every member of "The Band". Garth Hudson moved between keyboards, accordion and saxophones, while Levon Helm handled drums, percussion and guitar in addition to his vocals. Richard Manuel contributed piano, organ, drums and clavinet, Rick Danko anchored the songs with bass and vocals, while Robertson's guitar became noticeably more prominent than on the group's previous records. "Stage Fright" was also the first album produced by "The Band" themselves. Todd Rundgren engineered the sessions, with Glyn Johns contributing additional mixing, while former producer John Simon returned only as a guest musician. The artwork reflected the album's increasingly unsettled atmosphere. Art director Bob Cato created the semi-abstract sunset cover, while the package also included photography by Norman Seeff in what became his first major album assignment. "Stage Fright" therefore captured something its predecessors could not: the moment when the mythology of "The Band" began colliding with the human beings trapped inside it. The music remained vibrant and astonishingly accomplished, but beneath its surface were the first unmistakable cracks in a group discovering that success could be every bit as frightening as failure. For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

On August 17, 1984 "W.A.S.P." released their debut Self Titled album. The band was formed in 1982 by Blackie Lawless (the only remaining member to date from the original lineup). The band grew up in the Los Angeles heavy metal scene, along bands like "Motley Crue" and "Ratt". The word "W.A.S.P." represents the acronym for the words "White Anglo-Saxon Protestant", mentioned in the lyrics of the song "Show No Mercy" which is only found in the expanded edition of the album. It is an unofficial term to describe a group that is considered to have high dominance among the American upper class - the "elite" who founded the United States. However, the word "W.A.S.P." also represents the acronym - We Are Sexual Perverts - a meaning that is more in line with the essence of the band and what it tried to represent in its early days. "W.A.S.P." belonged to the "Shock-Rock" genre and their motto, right from the first single they released, was to offence, shake and shock! From the moment of its inception and even before the release of their first album, "W.A.S.P." became entangled with conservative organizations, due to the use of rude and abusive words, as well as contempt and humiliation of women. Their video clips were often showed half naked women while singer and bassist (then) Blackie Lawless used to walk around in leather pants with a disc of a chainsaw between his joints. Just to be clear, the first single she released "Animal (F @ #% Like a Beast)" became one of the most controversial songs due to its title and content. It's one of the first songs to win the dubious title "Filthy 15", and all of Blackie Lawless' attempts to claim he wrote it based on a National Geographic film where he saw a pair of mating lions did not help, and the song was deleted at the last minute from the album to please the angry parents organizations. Interestingly, even "W.A.S.P." itself stopped performing the song in live starting the 90s after Blackie decided he was reborn as a Christian. The album continues with the line of the first single, with songs with S&M titles designed to shock and shake and hint at inappropriate content, such as "On Your Knees", "Tormentor", "L.O.V.E. Machine" or "The Torture Never Stops". One might mistakenly think that this whole provocative pose was meant to cover up shallow musical content or a low level of playing. The cheap also contributed to the feeling that this is a glam metal album at the lowest level. But no! Listening to the album reveals an energetic and dominant band that is much more than a passing gimmick and that its style of music is far beyond a sweet and flattering glam. Songs like, "Hellion" or "I Wanna Be Somebody" are examples of powerful and energetic songs that prove to us that W.A.S.P. is essentially closer to the roughness of "Judas Priest" than to the theatricality of "Twisted Sister". What's more, we enjoy listening to it even today, 40 years later, to tracks such as "L.O.V.E.Machine", "School Daze" or "Sleeping (In the Fire)" and if this is not proof that "W.A.S.P." was never a gimmick, then What is? Already in this excellent debut album singer and bassist Blackie Lawless is revealed as apt for the title of band leader, writing all the songs of the album without exception, only two of them in collaboration with guitarist Chris Holmes. This ability will improve on the next and excellent album "The Last Command" which was released a year later. For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

On August 16, 1985, "Red Hot Chili Peppers" released their second studio album "Freaky Styley". The road to "Freaky Styley" is more important to understanding the album than almost any individual song on it. When "Red Hot Chili Peppers" released their self titled debut in 1984, the record presented only an incomplete version of the band that had caused such excitement in Los Angeles. The original group had been built around vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons, but Slovak and Irons were committed to "What Is This?" when the Chili Peppers secured their record deal. Kiedis and Flea consequently recorded the debut with guitarist Jack Sherman and drummer Cliff Martinez. That first album established the band's collision of funk, punk and rap, but it did not capture the chemistry that had made their early performances so volatile. Producer Andy Gill brought experience and discipline, yet his approach clashed with the band's instincts. The Chili Peppers wanted something dirty, physical and rhythmically aggressive, while Gill attempted to shape the material into a more controlled rock record. The tension became part of the album's character, but it also left Kiedis and Flea dissatisfied with the finished result. Touring after the debut only intensified the instability. The relationship between Kiedis and Sherman deteriorated, and Sherman was eventually dismissed. More importantly, Slovak returned to the Chili Peppers!! His return was not simply a personnel change. Slovak and Flea had developed their musical language together long before the band had a recording contract, and restoring that relationship immediately changed the balance of the group. Flea could play around a guitarist who understood his rhythmic instincts, while Slovak could leave space rather than competing with the bass for dominance. Jack Irons, however, did not return at this stage. Martinez remained behind the drums, creating a transitional lineup that combined part of the original chemistry with the tighter rhythmic foundation developed during the debut era. That configuration became crucial to "Freaky Styley". The band was recovering something it had lost while simultaneously moving forward. For the second album, the Chili Peppers wanted a producer who understood funk from the inside rather than treating it as an unusual ingredient in a rock band. Their choice could hardly have been more significant: George Clinton, the mastermind behind "Parliament" and "Funkadelic". Instead of asking the group to moderate its eccentricities, Clinton entered the project already fluent in the musical tradition the Chili Peppers were attempting to absorb. The band travelled to Detroit to work with Clinton at United Sound Systems. Recording took place during the spring of 1985, with Greg Ward engineering the sessions. The location itself mattered. Rather than making another Los Angeles rock record with funk references attached to it, the Chili Peppers were working in an environment connected directly to the history of American funk and soul. Clinton's role went considerably further than placing microphones and approving takes. He encouraged the group to stretch grooves, use repetition and treat the studio as a creative environment rather than simply a place to document finished songs. Musicians associated with Clinton's extended musical family became part of the sessions, including Maceo Parker and members of the Horny Horns. Their presence expanded the Chili Peppers' palette without turning the album into a George Clinton record featuring a young rock band. The difference from the debut is immediate. On "Freaky Styley", space becomes an instrument. Slovak frequently avoids conventional rock guitar weight, using clipped chords, scratches and rhythmic accents that allow Flea's bass to occupy enormous territory. Martinez keeps the songs anchored while Kiedis attacks them with chants, boasts and rapid rhythmic phrases. Clinton recognized that trying to make these musicians sound polished would remove the very thing that made them distinctive. The atmosphere surrounding the sessions was also characteristically chaotic. Clinton was dealing with his own drug use, while Kiedis and Slovak were already moving deeper into addictions that would become increasingly destructive. Yet the recordings themselves frequently sound joyous rather than troubled. That contradiction is part of the album's peculiar character. Behind the party was a lifestyle becoming dangerous, but on tape the musicians still sound convinced that excess is an inexhaustible source of energy. "Jungle Man" puts Flea at the centre of the album's universe, with his snapping bass locked against Martinez while Slovak cuts through the spaces around him. Kiedis treats the vocal almost as percussion, turning the song into a manic celebration rather than a conventional narrative. On "Hollywood (Africa)", adapted from The Meters' "Africa", the band sounds markedly more comfortable inside a genuine funk arrangement. The guitar stays economical, the horns punctuate the groove and Flea demonstrates that restraint can make his bass sound heavier than constant virtuosity. "If You Want Me to Stay", originally by "Sly and the Family Stone", is particularly revealing because Kiedis has to sing rather than simply attack the rhythm. His technical limitations remain obvious, but the vulnerability anticipates the melodic side of the Chili Peppers that would become increasingly important later in their career. The title track "Freaky Styley" is Clinton's philosophy distilled into a Chili Peppers performance. Repetition, chants, bass and percussive guitar matter more than traditional verse and chorus development, allowing the groove itself to become the song's central argument. "Blackeyed Blonde" demonstrates why Slovak's return mattered so much. His lean guitar and Flea's restless bass occupy different rhythmic spaces, creating the kind of instrumental conversation that had been largely absent from the debut. "The Brothers Cup" pushes deepest into Clinton's funk world, with horns, voices and rhythm instruments functioning as parts of the same interconnected groove. Martinez's restraint is essential, giving Flea and Slovak enough room to move without allowing the arrangement to lose focus. Elsewhere, "Battle Ship" and "Sex Rap" remind the listener that punk remained embedded in the band's DNA. They are short, abrasive and deliberately crude, preventing Clinton's influence from turning "Freaky Styley" into a straightforward funk exercise. "Catholic School Girls Rule" is musically a compact punk attack, but its lyrical background has aged far more seriously than its adolescent tone suggests. Kiedis later connected the song to a sexual encounter with a fourteen year old, making it impossible to separate the track's provocation from the disturbing circumstances behind it. Closing track "Yertle the Turtle" provides the album's most theatrical expression of the Clinton collaboration. Bass, horns, voices and repetition gradually turn the track into something closer to a P Funk gathering than a conventional rock finale. When "Freaky Styley" arrived in August 1985, however, the artistic breakthrough did not translate into a commercial one. The Chili Peppers were still a cult proposition, better understood through their increasingly notorious live performances than through radio play or record sales. The album did not suddenly move them into rock's mainstream, and the band remained years away from the commercial breakthrough that would eventually transform its career. What it did accomplish was more important in the long term. "Freaky Styley" gave the Chili Peppers a much clearer musical identity. The debut had documented their ingredients, but Clinton helped them understand how those ingredients could coexist. Funk no longer sounded like something placed beside punk. The two languages began operating inside the same rhythm. The period after the record also exposed how unstable the group remained. Martinez's time with the Chili Peppers was approaching its end, and Jack Irons would eventually return, restoring the original Kiedis, Flea, Slovak and Irons lineup. That reunion would lead toward "The Uplift Mofo Party Plan", the only studio album recorded by all four founding members. There was a darker continuity as well. Kiedis and Slovak's drug use increasingly interfered with the band's progress. What still sounds mischievous and celebratory throughout much of "Freaky Styley" would become considerably more destructive during the following years. That makes the album a fascinating hinge in the Chili Peppers catalogue. It is neither the primitive document of the debut nor the more focused attack of "The Uplift Mofo Party Plan", and it is still far removed from the sophisticated songwriting that would define their biggest records. Instead, it captures the moment when instinct became identity. "Freaky Styley" remains inconsistent because the songwriting had not yet caught up with the personality. Some tracks are little more than grooves, jokes or explosions of adolescent energy. Kiedis was still years away from becoming a convincing melodic vocalist and more reflective lyricist. Yet Flea and Slovak already sound unmistakable, and Martinez provides a disciplined foundation that deserves more recognition in the band's history. More importantly, this is the first Chili Peppers record that sounds as though nobody outside the room is telling them what a Chili Peppers record should be. The debut introduced the band. "Freaky Styley" discovered it. For Listening: Spotify | Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

Editor's Choice... Feel like getting a little aggressive, exploding, or just strengthening your jaw and limb muscles? So here's something you will like and even if not, it was worth putting out this post just for the cover !! On the 16th of August 2019 the American metal band "Killswitch Engage" released their eighth album. For those who are unfamiliar with KsE, it is a very important band in the metal genre, and among other things, it is one of the bands that brought American metal back to the headlines after the decline of Nu Metal. It has a great influence on the formation of metal into what it is today and it also makes sure to evolve and grow. (Photo: Travis Shinn) One of the beautiful things about their music is the dynamics, they have a unique variety in the songs themselves and also in the albums. The album isn't just 40-50 minutes of relentless screams and distortions, there are melodies, dramatic moments, complex solos, and even harmonies. In this album the theme is especially noticeable, it is a more diverse album than the band's previous albums, both in terms of musical style and lyrics. So true, the cover does suggest what you will find inside. A dragon monster, huge, scary, and unstoppable. But it does not just come to chew and devour you, it will do so with sophistication, patience, and great interest. So do not be afraid because your end is known in advance !! Just enjoy it... on: Spotify, Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Mother's MilkOn August 16, 1989, "Red Hot Chili Peppers" released their fourth studio album "Mother's Milk". There are albums that represent artistic evolution, and there are albums that exist because a band somehow survived long enough to make them. "Mother's Milk" belongs to both categories. Following 1987's "The Uplift Mofo Party Plan", "Red Hot Chili Peppers" suffered the event that could easily have ended the band. Guitarist Hillel Slovak died of a heroin overdose in June 1988, a loss that devastated every member in different but deeply personal ways. For Anthony Kiedis, Slovak’s death was a brutal confrontation with the consequences of the lifestyle he himself was still struggling with, forcing him into a period of guilt, reflection, and attempted sobriety. For Flea, Slovak had been not only a bandmate but a close creative counterpart from their earliest days, and his death left a void in both his musical identity and his sense of stability within the group. Drummer Jack Irons was so shaken by the loss of his closest friend that he withdrew entirely, unable to reconcile continuing in a band so closely tied to Slovak’s memory, and he subsequently left. The tragedy also marked a turning point in how the remaining members viewed the band itself: no longer just a chaotic creative outlet, but something fragile that had already cost them someone irreplaceable. In the aftermath, Kiedis and Flea were left with a decision that went beyond replacing musicians. They had to determine whether continuing "Red Hot Chili Peppers" was an act of denial, tribute, or necessity, and whether the music they had built with Slovak could meaningfully exist without him. Their first attempts at rebuilding did not last... DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight briefly occupied the guitar position, while D.H. Peligro passed through the drum seat. The crucial change came with the arrival of 18 year old John Frusciante, a devoted fan who had studied Slovak's playing but possessed enough musical knowledge to take that vocabulary somewhere else. Frusciante later explained that he had not really been a funk guitarist before joining the group and learned how to interact with Flea partly by studying Slovak. Then came Chad Smith, whose huge, physical drumming immediately gave the rhythm section a different kind of force. The lineup of Kiedis, Flea, Frusciante and Smith was born, and with it came the configuration that would eventually define the band's most celebrated periods. Photo by Jeff Kravitz The new musicians did not merely replace Slovak and Irons. They changed the mechanics of the band. During early sessions the group played constantly, developing material through jams and learning how the new lineup reacted to one another. "Knock Me Down", for example, emerged from that process rather than from producer direction. Frusciante brought greater harmonic knowledge and a rapidly developing melodic instinct, while Smith gave Flea a drummer capable of meeting his aggressive bass playing with enormous weight. Producer Michael Beinhorn, who had already worked with the band on "The Uplift Mofo Party Plan", recognized Frusciante's unusual technical and theoretical ability almost immediately. The album was recorded between late 1988 or early 1989 and April 1989, primarily at Ocean Way Studios and Image Studios in Los Angeles, with Beinhorn producing and Dave Jerden handling the mix. Yet the relationship between producer and guitarist became one of the defining tensions of the record. Beinhorn pushed Frusciante toward a thicker, heavier guitar sound, including extensive layering. Frusciante later remembered being made to quadruple guitar parts, an experience that affected how he approached recording for years afterward. That tension is essential to understanding "Mother's Milk". This is Frusciante before he discovered the economy that would later become one of his greatest strengths. Even he has acknowledged that on this record he was trying to fill too much space. And "Mother's Milk" certainly fills space. It practically attacks it. "Good Time Boys" opens the album like four musicians trying to prove that the reconstructed band is not going to collapse. Flea's bass refuses to function merely as a foundation, bouncing around the arrangement as an almost equal lead instrument, while Smith hits with considerably more physical force than the band's earlier records had possessed. Frusciante's guitar is dense and abrasive, and Kiedis delivers his words rhythmically rather than melodically. The song can feel overcrowded, but that excess is part of the record's character. "Mother's Milk" does not yet understand restraint because the musicians themselves are still discovering where they fit. Then comes the inspired decision to reinterpret Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground". Rather than politely reproducing the original's funk, "Red Hot Chili Peppers" turn it into something almost violently physical. Flea translates the famous keyboard figure into a muscular slap bass assault, Smith drives the song with enormous kick and snare impact, and Frusciante coats the arrangement in distorted guitar. Kiedis rides the groove with more confidence than technical sophistication, but that is precisely why it works. The performance captures the bridge the band was constructing between 1970s funk, hardcore energy and the heavier alternative rock that would explode in the following decade. "Subway to Venus" shows how ridiculous and sophisticated the band could be simultaneously. The rhythm section changes direction with almost cartoonish enthusiasm, while the brass arrangement expands the funk foundation into something much more colorful. Frusciante constantly decorates the groove instead of simply sitting on it. The result is chaotic, but the chaos is increasingly organized. You can hear a band beginning to realize that virtuosity does not have to remove the sense of danger. That danger reaches another extreme on "Nobody Weird Like Me". Flea's bass line is the engine, frantic enough to sound as though the song might outrun itself, while Smith keeps everything brutally grounded. Kiedis responds with one of the album's most manic vocal performances. Structurally it is closer to controlled impact than conventional songwriting, and that is exactly the point. It represents the old Chili Peppers instinct at maximum velocity, but now powered by a rhythm section capable of making the insanity sound enormous. The emotional center is "Knock Me Down", where the circumstances surrounding "Mother's Milk" finally become impossible to separate from the music. Written in the shadow of Slovak's death, the song confronts arrogance, mortality and self destruction without completely abandoning the band's physical energy. Most importantly, Frusciante's vocal is pushed alongside Kiedis rather than buried behind him, creating an unusual dual voice. The guitars still have Beinhorn's heavy production, but underneath the distortion is a melodic instinct pointing directly toward the band's future. This is one of the moments where "Mother's Milk" stops sounding like a successful reconstruction and begins sounding like the first draft of a new band. "Taste the Pain" takes another step away from pure funk punk aggression. Recorded before Smith joined the group, with Fishbone drummer Philip "Fish" Fisher playing drums, it has a noticeably different rhythmic feel. The verses create more breathing room, Kiedis sounds unusually vulnerable, and the arrangement demonstrates that melody was becoming increasingly important to the band's identity. The track is less concerned with overpowering the listener than much of the surrounding album, making its emotional unease considerably more effective. Elsewhere, "Mother's Milk" remains gloriously inconsistent. "Stone Cold Bush" is driven by a vicious bass and guitar exchange and demonstrates just how quickly Frusciante and Flea had developed their musical conversation. "Punk Rock Classic" compresses the band's punk instincts into less than two minutes of deliberate absurdity. Their version of Jimi Hendrix's "Fire", recorded earlier with Slovak and Irons, functions almost like the ghost of the previous incarnation appearing inside the new album. It reminds the listener that this transformation was not planned. One version of "Red Hot Chili Peppers" had ended abruptly, and another was being assembled around the wreckage. But perhaps the most revealing piece is the tiny instrumental "Pretty Little Ditty". Surrounded by an album obsessed with volume, slap bass, distortion and impact, its restraint is startling. Frusciante and Flea allow melody and space to carry the composition, and suddenly another possible future for the band appears. There is no need for Kiedis to dominate the track and no need for the musicians to prove how hard they can play. The melodic sensitivity that would become increasingly important on later records is already hiding inside this brief instrumental. Apple Music similarly identifies it as the album's sparse, tender outlier. The closing "Johnny Kick A Hole In The Sky" brings the album back toward confrontation, with Flea and Smith driving a restless rhythmic foundation beneath Kiedis' forceful delivery. By this point the record's greatest strength and weakness have become the same thing. Everything is exaggerated. The bass is enormous, the drums are enormous, the guitars are stacked and aggressive, and Kiedis is constantly fighting to stay above them. There is little of the spaciousness that would make the band's next phase so powerful. That is precisely why "Mother's Milk" remains such an important "Red Hot Chili Peppers" album. It is not the fully realized masterpiece that followed. It is the sound of the machinery being rebuilt. Frusciante would eventually learn that playing less could make Flea and Smith sound bigger. The band would eventually discover that vulnerability could be as powerful as aggression. Their production would eventually leave more air between the instruments. But those lessons had to come from somewhere, and many of them were learned here. Frusciante himself later looked back on the record as a period when his guitar playing occupied too much space, a realization that helped shape the more economical musician he became. "Mother's Milk" therefore stands at one of the most important intersections in the band's history. Behind it lies Slovak, Irons and the reckless underground funk punk band of the 1980s. Ahead lies the chemistry of Kiedis, Flea, Frusciante and Smith, the lineup that would eventually transform "Red Hot Chili Peppers" into one of the biggest rock bands in the world. For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music. "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

On August 16, 1970, Eric Clapton released his first solo album. Let's tell you a few facts about it: 1. The album was released by Eric Clapton when he is only 25 years old. 2. He was already a superstar at the time, having starred in bands like "The Yardbirds", "John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers", "Cream", "Blind Faith" and more. 3. The album was produced by Delaney Bramlett from the duo "Delaney & Bonnie" who were a warm-up show for "Blind Faith". 4. Delaney also played guitar, sang background vocals and participated in writing some of the songs. 5. Delaney's partner, Bonnie Bramlett, is also a guest on the album with background vocals and also participated in writing some of the songs, including the hit "Let It Rain". 6. Another guest on the album is none other than Stephen Stills on guitar and background vocals. 7. The melody in the song "Let It Rain" which Stephen Stills plays in is very similar to another Stills song from "the Buffalo Springfield" era - "Questions". Photo: Barry Feinstein 8. The song "Let It Rain" was originally called "She Rides" and included alternate lyrics. 9. Other notable guests on the album are Leon Russell who plays piano and co-wrote two songs, organist Bobby Whitlock and drummer Jim Gordon. 10. 10 days after the release of the album, on August 26, 1970, Gordon Whitlock will enter the studio with Clapton as part of the band "Derek and the Dominos", to record the masterful album "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs". 11. The album features a cover version of the song "After Midnight", originally by J. J. Cale. who will love Clapton's version of his song. This will start a friendship between the two that will collaborate in the future. 12. Clapton has good memories from the recordings of the album and he really likes the result, except for his voice which he claims sounds too thin and young. He wanted to sound like the old blues heroes he grew up on. For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

When the godfather of grunge laments the king of grunge !! On August 16, 1994, Neil Young released his 20th album "Sleeps With Angels". On November 8, 1993, Neil Young entered the studio with his backing band "Crazy Horse" to record his 20th album. Neil Young intended to try and recreate the atmosphere and music from the period of his 1970 album "After the Gold Rush". Amid the recordings, Young receives the news of Kurt Cobain's death. What's more, Young reveals that Cobain signed his suicide note with words from the song "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" from the album "Rust Never Sleeps", and so Cobain wrote before his death: "I do not have the passion anymore ... And so remember, it's better to burn out than to fade away" If you remember the review we wrote on the album "Tonight’s The Night" you probably know that Neil Young was greatly influenced by the deaths of two of his friends Danny Whitten, guitarist of "Crazy Horse" and Bruce Berry who was the stage worker of "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young", Together and separately. This time, too, Young did not remain indifferent to the tragic event. The atmosphere in the studio changes immediately and this is reflected in new songs written by Neil Young following the death of Kurt Cobain and in the melancholy atmosphere that hovers over all the songs on the album, just like in "Tonight’s The Night" album, Only Without Alcohol ... Because some of the songs were written before the difficult event, the musical diversity on this album ranges from the broken piano of "My Heart", to the acoustics of "Train of Love" and to the ruff guitars of "Change Your Mind" which crosses the 14-minute mark. But what all the pieces have in common is the dark and melancholy atmosphere, except for "Piece of Crap" which features some punk touches. Two songs on the album "Western Hero" and "Train of Love" share the same music only with different lyrics. We talked about new songs written following the death of Kurt Cobain, so there is also one excerpt omitted from the album. The song "Gone To Hell" that young feared would link to Cobain's death found it's way out of the album. This song was supposed to be a complementary track to the song "A Dream That Can Last" whose original name was "Gone To Heaven" and whose name was changed following the omission of the song "Gone To Hell". This album is a respectful and worthy obituary for Kurt Cobain who admired the grunge godfather so much. Neil Young summed up what was going on on this album perfectly as part of his autobiography "Waging Heavy Peace". "I, coincidentally, had been trying to reach him, I wanted to talk to him. Tell him only to play when he felt like it..." And now you have to listen to this beautiful album: Spotify, Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

Here are some interesting facts about Pete Way co-founder and original bassist of the rock band "UFO": (Photo: Gus Stewart) = He was born on August 7, 1950 in Enfield, London, England. His birth name was Peter Frederick Way. = He began playing bass guitar in several local bands with high school friends, including guitarist Mick Bolton. = After high school, Way left home at 17 and worked at a maritime insurance company and as a civil servant in the Ministry of Defence. = In 1968 he co-founded "UFO" with Phil Mogg, Andy Parker, and Mick Bolton. = The band was initially named "The Boyfriends", then after Phil Mogg joined changed its name to "Hocus Pocus" before settling on "UFO". = In 1971 "UFO" released their debut album "UFO 1". Initially, the band was defined under the genre of Space Rock and Boogie, but later the style changed to Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. In 1973 Michael Schenker joined "UFO" as the lead guitarist. Immediately upon Michael Schenker's entry to "UFO" the band started to change its style and sound to a more hard rock-oriented sound. = In 1975 "UFO" Released "Force It", one of it’s successful albums featuring Schenker. = In 1976 "UFO" released the classic album "No Heavy Petting" - their first record as a five-piece band with keyboardist Danny Peyronel. = In 1977 "UFO's" breakthrough album, "Lights Out", was released. "Kerrang!" magazine listed the album at No. 28 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time". = In 1978 they Released "Obsession", another successful album. It was the final studio album to feature Michael Schenker on lead guitar until he returned to the band in 1993 = In 1979 "UFO" released the live album "Strangers in the Night", considered one of the greatest live rock albums of all times. = During "UFO's" heyday, Pete Way used a Fender Precision bass and was known for his trademark striped trousers, which significantly influenced the stage appearance of "Iron Maiden's" Steve Harris. = In 1982 Way left "UFO" due to dissatisfaction with the band's more commercial direction.. = The same year he formed "Fastway" with former "Motörhead" guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke. = Way left "Fastway" immediately after due to contractual issues, and joined Ozzy Osbourne for the "Diary of a Madman" tour. = In 1983 he founded "Waysted" with Fin Muir, Paul Raymond, Frank Noon, and Ronnie Kayfield. They released their debut album "Vices" the same year. = In 1985 he released "Save Your Prayers" with "Waysted", featuring "Tyketto" vocalist Danny Vaughn. = Way will release 6 more albums with "Waysted" until 2007. = Way rejoined "UFO" full-time in 1991, recording six more albums with the band over the next 17 years. = He released 3 albums as a solo artist, the first was "Amphetamine", released in 2000. = In 2003 he released the album "The Plot" under the name "The Plot". It featured Michael Schenker on guitar. = He was a guest in two Michael Schenker albums "Tales of Rock'n'Roll" in 2006 and "Temple of Rock" in 2011. = In 2004 he released another "Waysted" album, "Back from the Dead". = In 2007 he released two albums under the "Damage Control" project. = Way left "UFO" in 2008 due to health issues. = In 2010 he published his autobiography "A Fast Ride Out of Here: Confessions of Rock's Most = Dangerous Man". = In 2013 Way was Diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent intense radiotherapy. = His health issues continued when in 2016 he suffered a heart attack, his third overall. = In 2018 Way formed the "Pete Way Band" with Kamil Woj and Jason Poole, later replaced by Tym Scopes and Clive Edwards. = In 2020 he recorded guest bass on the "Warfare" song "Misanthropy" with Evo and "Fast" Eddie Clarke. = On August 14, 2020 Way passed away at the age of 70 from injuries sustained in an accident two months earlier, where he fell down stairs at his home. = He passed away ten weeks after former "UFO" bandmate Paul Chapman and a year after Paul Raymond, leaving Phil Mogg and Andy Parker as the only surviving members of the "No Place to Run" lineup. = Way had been married six times. = He Influenced prominent musicians such as "Iron Maiden’s" Steve Harris, "Mötley Crüe’s" Nikki Sixx, and "Rage Against the Machine" guitarist Tom Morello, all of whom credited Pete Way as a major inspiration. "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

On August 15, 1969, the mythical Woodstock Festival began, probably the most influential event in the history of music. 3 days of music, love, and freedom, which became the formative social event of an entire generation. Photo: Burk Uzzle The festival took place on a 600-acre farm (about 2,400 dunams) owned by the Jewish farmer Max Yasgur. The farm was located in Bethel, about 80 miles north of New York City. The festival was attended by more than 400,000 spectators. It featured the best artists of the era, including Jimi Hendrix, "Crosby Stills Nash & Young", "Santana", "The Who", "Creedence Clearwater Revival", "The Grateful Dead", Janis Joplin, "The Band", "Jefferson Airplane", "Blood Sweat and Tears", Joe Cocker and more. During the festival, there were 3 deaths, 2 births, and four miscarriages. This founding event began on the initiative of several people with a vision. Michael Lang (who organized the biggest East Coast festival at the time, the Miami Pop Festival), John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, and Artie Kornfeld. Roberts and Rosenman were the ones who brought the money. They placed an advertisement in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal that read: "Young men with unlimited capital" looking for "legitimate and interesting...business proposals". Lang and Kornfeld responded and the four came together and began rolling out an idea to set up a recording studio in the Upstate New York area, where many folk and rock artists lived. In order to promote the studio's publicity, they decided to organize a concert in the area, and from here it all started. They began inviting renowned bands to the festival, and once those bands agreed, there was a demand from many other artists to attend the event as well. This created a list of musicians who filled three days of performances. The name "Woodstock Festival" stemmed from the fact that the organizers intended to hold it in Woodstock, New York, but when authorities learned the scope and nature of the planned festival, they revoked the permits required for its existence, and organizers were forced to transfer it to Max Yasgur's farm. Photo: Bettmann The four organizers targeted an audience of 50,000 to 100,000 people, but already two days before the festival, it was clear that a much larger audience was expected than planned. Huge traffic jams began to form in the area as many people abandoned their vehicles on the side of the road and made a pilgrimage of many kilometers to the festival area. Eventually close to 500,000 people attended the event. The huge traffic jams also affected some of the artists who were supposed to perform at the festival and the organizers were forced to fly a large part of them by helicopter to the festival grounds. The weather also did not help the festival goers. Heavy rains fell on the site and forced the suspension or postponement of some of the performances, as well as the disconnection of the amplification and lighting systems to prevent a disaster. The infrastructure and services were also insufficient and did not suit such a huge crowd, and in the end, helicopters dropped water and food into the heart of the festival. Despite the above, the festival passed without any special incidents, with love, peace, and brotherhood between the participants. No fights broke out and no crimes were recorded. The one who got to finish the series of performances at the festival was Jimi Hendrix who, among other things, was responsible for the alternative and mythological performance of the American anthem. The list of artists who didn't perform at the festival included some big names such as "the Rolling Stone" who could not perform because Mick Jagger shot a film in Australia, "the Beatles" whose inner relations were not good at the time, "the Doors" that performed at the Monterey Festival two years earlier and feared the current festival would not surpass the previous one. And more. Johnny Mitchell wrote a song about the festival called "Woodstock" even though she did not perform at it. The song was released with a performance of "Crosby, Stills and Nash" at the festival. Mitchell, who was scheduled to be hosted that weekend on a TV show, preferred not to enter the congested area for fear of not being able to get to the TV show on time. Over the years several attempts have been made to recreate the festival, among others, in 1994 on the 25th anniversary, but none of the attempts succeeded in reaching the climax of the original event. In 2019, an event was to be held on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the festival, but in light of a sparse and "thin" list of artists who agreed to perform, it was canceled. "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

Few films have blurred the lines between cinema, theatre and rock ‘n’ roll spectacle quite like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". Released in 1975, it did not immediately conquer the box office and was even considered a flop in its first run. But over the years it transformed into a phenomenon that transcends the screen, becoming a midnight movie ritual, a counterculture celebration and a musical rebellion that refuses to age. Watching it today feels like stepping into a decadent time capsule where rock, glam and sexual liberation collide in an unashamed explosion of sound and colour. Born from the imagination of Richard O’Brien, who wrote the original stage musical, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is steeped in the spirit of early seventies glam rock. It channels the theatricality of David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust era, the campy defiance of Lou Reed and the flamboyant provocation of Alice Cooper, while paying tribute to 1950s B movies and the rebellious pulse of early rock ‘n’ roll. Director Jim Sharman did more than adapt the stage show, he amplified it and turned the cinema screen into a glitter covered altar for misfits, dreamers and outsiders. At its heart, the plot begins with the seemingly innocent journey of Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick) and Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon), a newly engaged couple whose car breaks down on a stormy night. Seeking help, they stumble upon a looming Gothic mansion and step inside, unaware that they are about to be pulled into a surreal world far from their small town norms. What they encounter is the bizarre and magnetic Frank N Furter (Tim Curry), a self proclaimed “sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania,” who is hosting a gathering of his eccentric entourage. Within minutes, Brad and Janet are swept into an escalating whirlwind of music, seduction and unapologetic indulgence. Frank’s main event for the night is the unveiling of Rocky (Peter Hinwood), his artificially created “perfect man,” born from a laboratory experiment in a parody of both Frankenstein and glam rock fantasies. As the night unfolds, loyalties shift, desires awaken and secrets spill into the open. Brad and Janet’s relationship is tested and transformed as they are each drawn into intimate encounters that push the boundaries of their identities. The film builds toward chaos with the arrival of Dr. Everett Scott (Jonathan Adams), a rival with his own agenda, and the growing tension between Frank and his followers. By the end, the wild party turns into a spectacle of betrayal, rebellion and tragedy... From a music perspective the film is a masterpiece of genre fusion. It opens with "Science Fiction/Double Feature", a tender and nostalgic ode to pulp cinema that sets a bittersweet tone before the madness begins. "Dammit Janet" follows with playful innocence, parodying the sweetness of bubblegum pop, before the pulse quickens and we are thrown into the iconic "Time Warp". This is the rock ‘n’ roll baptism, built on a pounding piano riff, a stomping beat and a chorus that demands the audience’s physical participation. When Tim Curry’s Frank N Furter makes his grand entrance with "Sweet Transvestite", the film dives deep into glam rock swagger, mixing bluesy guitar lines with vocals charged with charisma and unapologetic seduction. The rest of the soundtrack unfolds like an alternate history of rock musicals. "Hot Patootie – Bless My Soul", sung by Meat Loaf in his cinematic debut, is pure 50s rock revival with its sax driven energy and nostalgic warmth. "Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me" offers playful pop wrapped in themes of sexual awakening, while "I’m Going Home" strips away the camp to reveal a raw and heartfelt moment, exposing the human vulnerability behind the glitter. Richard Hartley’s band delivers each track with the punch and precision of a live rock act, giving the score a power and authenticity rarely matched in musical cinema. The Rocky Horror Picture Show original soundtrack, released alongside the film in 1975, has become as iconic as the movie itself. Featuring performances by the film’s cast, including Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Meat Loaf and Richard O’Brien, it captures the raw theatrical energy of the production while functioning as a standalone listening experience. The soundtrack quickly became a collector’s item among fans, especially after the film’s cult following took off. Unlike many film musicals of the era, these recordings maintain the grit and edge of a live rock performance rather than being overly polished for the studio, which is part of why the music still feels immediate and alive decades later. What sets The Rocky Horror Picture Show apart in music history is the way it shattered the wall between performer and audience. Fans transformed screenings into live events, adding call backs, costumes and dance routines. It became the closest thing a film has ever come to replicating the communal energy of a rock concert, where each showing becomes a unique and unpredictable celebration. From a cinematic viewpoint it is a glorious embrace of excess, with sets that feel pulled from the wildest dreams of a psychedelic theatre troupe, lighting that moves from shadowy noir to vibrant bursts of colour and editing that flows like an improvised jam session. Beneath the outrageous humour and surreal imagery lies a message familiar to rock’s greatest anthems, be yourself without apology and never be afraid to take up space. Nearly fifty years after its release, The Rocky Horror Picture Show remains as bold and subversive as ever. It is not simply a film with music and not simply a musical with rock. It has become a cultural movement that outlived many of the rock bands that inspired it. Like a legendary album that grows in legend with each passing decade, it continues to evolve, each screening breathing new life into its songs, characters and spirit. And every time the lights go down, the audience still shouts together, "let’s do the Time Warp again". For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

On August 15, 1978, "Scorpions" released (in Japan) their first live album "Tokyo Tapes". We do not often review live albums, but when it comes to masterful ones that have been tattooed deep in our hearts, we deviate from the practice and review them. This is one of those live albums that we have in the "Exceptions" category. This album was recorded during the band's performance at Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo, Japan, during two shows on April 24 and 27, 1978. These performances were part of the band's tour in Japan that was part of the world tour that accompanied the album "Taken By Force", From 1977. This album marked the end of the psychedelic era of "Scorpions". At that time there was great friction between Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine who wanted to incite the band's musical style more toward hard rock / melodic metal, on one hand, and Uli Jon Roth who was interested in continuing the same style on the other hand. These frictions led Uli Jon Roth to decide he wanted to leave the band, but Klaus Meine's persuasions led him to stay for the tour that accompanied the "Taken By Force" album, and so we fans earned big time from this amazing live album. When we say "big time" we mean that Uli Jon Roth simply surpasses everyone else on this album, which serves as a final testament to his greatness and the guitar playing within the band. Although Klaus Meine gives an extraordinary performance on this album and although the other members and especially Rudolf Schenker also simply surpass themselves, the MVP here is without a doubt, Uli Jon Roth. His playing simply pushes the songs forward and makes them better than the studio versions and thus his added value that makes this album one of our live favorites. Photo: Scorpions This album is actually a kind of "Greatest Hits" album that sums up the band's first era, plus some "reality-bound" tracks, which the band apparently performed at the request of the local production, such as the cover versions of the songs "Hound Dog" and "Long Tall Sally" And the rendition of the Japanese folk song "Kojo no Tsuki". The album opens with no unnecessary introductions, straight and to the point, with "All Night Long". A song written by Klaus Meine and Uli Jon Roth and not included on any of the band's albums. It was originally performed in the tour that accompanied the album "In Trance" in the years 1975-1976 and later in the tour designed to promote the album "Virgin Killer" in the years 1976-1977. Finally, the band decided to record it for "Tokyo Tapes" and later released it as part of an EP. Next comes a huge sequence of hits - "Pictured Life", "Backstage Queen" which overshadowed the studio version, and "Polar Nights" with an extra long opening, all from the album "Virgin Killer", the immortal song "In Trance" performed amazingly vocally showing the abilities of Klaus Meine and of course "We'll Burn the Sky" whose lyrics were written by Monika Dannemann, who was Jimi Hendrix's last girlfriend and later was involved in a relationship with Uli Jon Roth, who was, of course, a devout fan of Hendrix. This song is of course insanely performed with amazing guitar work by Uli. Other unforgettable moments in the show can be found in the excellent performance of "In Search of the Peace of Mind", in the mesmerizing guitars of Rudolf Schenker and Uli Jon Roth in the song "Fly to the Rainbow", in the sweeping performance of the song "Top of the Bill" which also includes an interesting drum solo by Herman Rarebell, in the special tribute of the band performing "Kojo no Tsuki" - a Japanese folk song with the participation of the audience and at the psychic end of the show with a twice as long version of "Robot Man", compared to the studio album. In 2015, the album was released in an expanded edition to mark the band's 50th anniversary. This version includes 6 bonus tracks that were not part of the original album, including: "Hell Cat", "Catch Your Train" and the "Kimi Ga Yo" track performed as a tribute to the local audience. At the end of the tour, Uli Jon Roth left the band and formed "Electric Sun". Guitarist Matthias Jabs was chosen in his place, from 150 guitarists who auditioned for the band. Matthias' entry into the band was not smooth, he was forced to share the guitar roles on the album "Lovedrive" with "Superstar" Michael Schenker, who returned to "Scorpions" for a short time. However, later on, from the early 1980s, Matthias will bring a new, fresh, and young style to the band, with an updated sound that will bring "Scorpions" meteoric success. The album "Tokyo Tapes" is still considered one of the best live recordings of all time, in hard rock and in general. It was a beautiful time for the "Scorpions" in the classic lineup of the seventies and this album marks the end of the band's psychedelic era, as it is also celebrating the arrival of a new and exciting era. For listening: Spotify, Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website