Masters Of Reality - Masters Of Reality (USA 1989)

This weeks new CD.

Oh yeah, look what has turned up from Amazon last weekend. Definitely one of my top 20 albums of all time. Just been reissued on CD after being difficult to buy for quite some time. I have reviewed this album before and this is just another rant about how much I really really dig this great rock album. Part Led Zep, part Black Sabbath, quite possibly the forerunner of stoner rock, if you dig Queens of the Stoneage then I think you will enjoy this. I have gotten use now to the different track order on the CD than what was on my original vinyl copy and am most thankful for the fantastic extra track "Doraldina's Prophecies".Not a weak song here and unfortunately this stunning debut has just destroyed any notion of checking out their other albums as I just couldn't imagine them topping this.

This release also came with a live CD recorded in 1997 with live versions of several songs off the debut and several others that suggest some of The Masters... other albums could be rewarding to check out also, maybe. Overall though, the live set is a bit underwhelming. Ratings, Debut 5+/5, Live disc 3.5/5.

Masters Of Reality - Masters Of Reality (USA 1988)

Roddus Album of the Month

01. Theme For The Scientist of the Invisible (1:33)
02. Domino (3:46)
03. The Blue Garden (4:23)
04. Gettin' High (3:09)
05. The Candy Song (3:29)
06. Magical Spell (5:01)
07. The Eyes Of Texas (3:23)
08. Sleep Walkin' (3:29)
09. Lookin' To Get Rite (3:07)
10. John Brown (3:38)
11. Kill The King (7:36)

 Well, I'm on a roll tonight and it's rant time again with this great and brilliant "Rock" album from the late 80s.
With Mrs. Roddus away in the city tonight, I get to blast some music without headphones and this came to mind as the perfect album to blast with.
"ROCK!' What makes a great "Rock" album? For me, it's great full on guitar riffing with breaks and solos, excellent melody, catchy up beat numbers and quality slower ones, variety, not just a lot of good tracks that all sound similar, but subtle differences, a nice piano break or intro, sometimes a bit of brass and keyboards to flesh a track out and add detail etc.The Beatles defined it, Led Zep mastered it and took it to new heights and Masters of  Reality produced a Classic "Rock" album on their first attempt.
I originally has this on vinyl when it first came out in 88' and though I remember really enjoying it at the time I had forgotten just how truly awesome this actually is , after I had sold my original. with the rest of my vinyl collection. It hasn't been  all that freely available on CD for quite some time, which is why I hadn't acquired another copy of it, but I did manage to find a copy in cyberspace just last year and oh what a blissful experience that was after all those years to get to hear this masterpiece again.
Think  a bit of Van Halen, Think a bit of The Cult, throw in the obligatory blues influence and a great dollop of the afore mentioned Led Zep, will give you some idea with what we are dealing with here. A truly monumental record with no weak tracks and so many strong ones that it's difficult to choose a stand out, but "Kill the King" comes close with "John Brown" not far behind. The above cover and track list is from the original vinyl release and the 1990 Cd reissue had a different running order, which was disappointing but had a totally brilliant extra track by the name of "Doraldin's Prophicies".
So I totally and fully endorse checking out this "Best Rock album" that never appears on any best of lists, except mine. Listen to it Here . My Rating 5+/5