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In yesterday's journal (see part 1, above), I wrote about Algy Ward's pre-Tank career as bassist for both The Saints and The Damned, in the process alluding to the fairly common perception during the early part of Tank's existence and the often quoted duration of the nwobhm ('79-'83) that Tank were a punk band posing as a metal band. Today I will look at the band's first batch of singles preceding filth hounds of hades.

The Early Singles

When Tank, consisting of Algy Ward (bass, vocals), Peter Brabbs (guitar) and Mark…

(Previous NWoBHM Band of the Week)

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As I've missed a few weeks recently, and there are some rather major NWOBHM bands I want to have written something about but can hardly face doing so in one sitting, I thought I'd start to exploit the word 'week' in the title by breaking up this week's journal into multiple parts throughout the week. When all parts are up, I'll put the artist connections into this entry and submit the journal to any relevant groups.

Algy Ward - Pre-Tank

In the early days of TANK…

paul gilbert & freddie nelson / waste of time / united states (3) / 2008 (Japan), 2009 (Rest of the World)

This album came so out of the blue that I shamefully didn't even realise it existed until a full month after its worldwide release…nearly half a year after its Japanese release. Frankly, I'm disappointed about the face I didn't know about it until a couple of weeks ago. I hadn't checked on whether PG was releasing anything for a while because I presumed he was busy writing and touring with mr. big. He certainly does write and release…

chickenfoot / avenida revolucion / chickenfoot (1) / June 2009

Regular journal writing fail!

Anyway, these are my current unrequested thoughts on the album and band that are called Chickenfoot:

I can confidently say I prefer joe satriani's solo work.

As much more of a fan of Joe than the other band members, it's been really interesting to hear Joe in a full band properly for the first time. As a group they have actually accomplished something unique. Okay, you have to look fairly deep and have some basic familiarity with the musicians' past work to follow why this…

the who / i can't reach you / the who sell out (8) / 1967

I've been revelling in the wonders of The Who Sell Out recently and besides the obvious i can see for miles a few more tracks are highlights for me, many, in part, for their comic value, but I Can't Reach You is appeals to me primarily on a melody/songmanship level. Apart from which, it's also a convenient song to pick to coincide with the London Underground Tube Strike. Loads of commuters are finding it difficult or, in some cases, impossible to get into work and…

james murphy / red alert / convergence (6) / 1996

Life's been pretty busy the last couple of week, I have to admit. So busy, that although I realised a couple of weeks ago that I don't think I've ever written a journal about that talented American guitarist James Murphy (ex-death, ex-testament, ex-obituary, who has also guested on recordings by explorers club and firewind), I've yet to write that wrong. So in one journal that actually has a fairly wide range of connections to legitimately connect, I thought I'd attempt to begin righting…

madness / the liberty of norton folgate / the liberty of norton folgate (15) / May 2009

Before I lose your interest, I am compelled to tell anyone who will listen that (IMO) this 10 mintue epic is the best song released in 2009 so far.

I've liked the four or five most famous Madness songs as long as I can remember, being born in '88 (and having encountered them through British children's television, I imagine). However, until the publicity surrounding this latest (and, word has it, likely to be final) effort, I hadn't seriously considered looking into the band…

ark / feed the fire / burn the sun (9) / 2001

Last time I wrote a journal about Ark, as I recall, it was the first time I heard the band, so now having heard both albums a few times it feels the right time to present a summation of my thoughts on both albums in one go. However, to make that valid I'd have to say something more complex than:

Surely one of the greatest bands ever. Each member brims with talent and excels at every possible opportunity. John Macaluso's drumming is so frequently challenging to the…

Trying to think of witty band names and then seeing if the names already exist on last.fm is fun, but it does make you realise that you're not all that witty or original yourself. I made up this fictional (very) short story:

"We wanted a name that was taken. Unfortunately it was already taken, so we couldn't use that. Instead we opted for something original, only to find it was gone. At this point we considered giving up, found it had also been taken and gave up before we started thinking in circles."…

caravan / in the land of grey and pink / nine feet underground (5) / 1971

So this is one of those 'sidelong epics' from the early 70s. I reckon there's argument for some of the final two movements to be called as proto-metal. I can't resist the old 'sidelong' - just love that type of thing. You can relax with it on in the background as equally as you can concentrate on its every note. Go sidelongs!

Much like brain salad surgery though I get on slightly less well with the (non-'sidelong') rest of the album (although for entirely…