To Cry You A Song - Animals

I was originally going to do this with song titles, and actually found many animals mentioned (including some odd ones like a sealion, dolphin, monkey, and bee). But then I looked at band names and was surprised at how many were named after animals. I figured I could put together a better list of songs when choosing from an artist's entire catalogue, and in fact, it turned out better than I expected. This particular list includes 15 very good to excellent songs, with 10 being Desert Island songs (marked with an *).

You may notice some notable names are missing from this compilation. Obviously, The Beatles fit the category, but because this turned into a more hard rock/heavy metal compilation, I decided to leave them off. Also, there's no Whitesnake, because technically the name's not about an animal. The same is true for W.A.S.P. Also missing are bands with intentionally misspelled names, such as Ratt and Jackyl, and bands with an adjective or qualifier before the name, such as Iron Butterfly, Fuzzy Duck, White Lion, etc.

Animal Tracks: (wow, another unintentional bad pun)

1. Budgie - Zoom Club (9:56)*

2. Buffalo - Intro: Pound Of Flesh / Shylock (10:33)*

3. Bull Angus - Run Don't Stop (4:27)*

4. Buzzard - Save Me (3:51)*

5. Chinchilla - Father Forgive Me (5:10)

6. Great White - Desert Moon (4:32)*

7. Jaguar - Eighties (3:49)*

8. The Lizards - Hungry World (4:41)

9. Praying Mantis - Panic in the Streets (3:43)

10. Raven - Ballad of Marshall Stack (5:38)*

11. Scorpions - Lovedrive (4:52)*

12. Viper - Knights of Destruction (3:13)

13. Wild Turkey - Butterfly (4:55)

14. Wolf - Genocide (3:41)*

15. Zebra - Arabian Nights (5:19)*

Disc length - 78:20

Albums:

Budgie - In for the Kill (1974)

Buffalo - Volcanic Rock (1973)

Bull Angus - Bull Angus (1971)

Buzzard - Gambler (1984)

Chinchilla - The Last Millenium (2002)

Great White - Hooked (1991)

Jaguar - Run Ragged (2003)

The Lizards - The Lizards Rule (2003)

Praying Mantis - Time Tells No Lies (1981)

Raven - All for One (1983)

Scorpions - Lovedrive (1979)

Viper - Soldiers of Sunrise (1987)

Wild Turkey - Battle Hymn (1971)

Wolf - Black Wings (2002)

Zebra - Zebra IV (2003)

Rock Island - Chapter Six

You and Ann Marie are exploring the island when suddenly you spot a cruise ship through the palm trees. You both run to the beach. Although the ship is far away, sounds from the loudspeaker carry across the ocean (you hear Cruise Director Julie McCoy paging someone named Gopher to the bridge). Unfortunately, the ship is cruising away from the island and no one sees or hears you. Dejected (but not terribly so), you sit on the beach and watch the ship sail away.

"So tell me some of the songs you have with you," Ann Marie says. Wow, deja vu, you think. You scroll through your MP3 player, reading classic rock song titles aloud:

• Aerosmith - Dream On; Sweet Emotion
• Alice Cooper - School's Out
• Angel - Mirrors  
• Aphrodite's Child - Four Horsemen
• Armageddon - Buzzard
• Atlee - Jesus People
• Atomic Rooster - Vug
• Axe - Rock 'n Roll Party in the Streets
• Bachman-Turner Overdrive - Let It Ride
• Badlands - Winter's Call; Soul Stealer
• Birth Control - Just Before the Sun Will Rise
• Black Sabbath - Paranoid; Sweet Leaf; Children of the Grave; Supernaut; Sabbath Bloody Sabbath; Symptom of the Universe; Dirty Women; Never Say Die; Neon Knights; Lady Evil; Heaven and Hell; Trashed; Zero the Hero; Digital Bitch; Anno Mundi; I
• Black Spirit - Crazy Times
• Blackfoot - Teenage Idol
• Blue Öyster Cult - (Don't Fear) The Reaper; Revenge of Vera Gemini; Take Me Away
• Bow Wow - James in My Casket; Fallen Angel
• Budgie - Zoom Club; Napoleon Bona, Pts. 1 & 2; I Turned to Stone
• Buffalo - Sunrise (Come My Way); Intro: Pound Of Flesh / Shylock
• Captain Beyond - Frozen Over
• Cream - Sunshine of Your Love; White Room
• David Bowie - Golden Years

And once again, with power dwindling, you stop, but unfortunately (or is it fortunately?) there will be another opportunity to finish the list.

Top Ten - 2006

I rated 46 albums released in 2006. Quite a few classic rock artists returned with new efforts and mixed results. Once again, some lesser-known bands cracked the top ten, and you should probably get to know them. (Note: Due to some recent reviews, the Top Ten changed with the addition of both an Anthem and Wolf album).

2006 Top Ten:
90.97 -- Aria - Armageddon
90.85 -- Metal Church - Light In the Dark
89.30 -- Heavenly - Virus
88.88 -- Anthem - Immortal
88.63 -- Elixir - Mindcreeper
88.14 -- Wolf - The Black Flame
87.70 -- Iron Maiden - A Matter of Life and Death
86.92 -- Pretty Maids - Wake Up to the Real World
85.93 -- Benedictum - Uncreation
85.81 -- Axxis - Paradise in Flames

Other 2006 releases:
85.80 -- Rage - Speak of the Dead
85.47 -- Blind Guardian - A Twist in the Myth
85.30 -- Firewind - Allegiance
84.96 -- Krokus - Hellraiser
84.81 -- Sir Lord Baltimore - III Raw
83.77 -- Bloodbound - Nosferatu
83.55 -- Astral Doors - Astralism
83.25 -- Hammerfall - Threshold
83.11 -- Manticora - The Black Circus, Pt. 1: Letters
82.55 -- Twisted Sister - A Twisted Christmas
82.48 -- Mob Rules - Ethnolution A.D.
82.06 -- Riot - Army of One
81.66 -- Tierra Santa - Mejor Morir En Pie
81.17 -- Edguy - Rocket Ride
79.76 -- Iron Fire - Revenge
79.52 -- Cactus - V
79.46 -- Beyond Fear - Beyond Fear
76.80 -- Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime II
76.47 -- Circle II Circle - Burden of Truth
76.39 -- Eddie Ojeda - Axes 2 Axes
75.83 -- Persuader - When Eden Burns
75.74 -- Axel Rudi Pell - Mystica
75.22 -- Budgie - You're All Living in Cuckooland
74.37 -- Andy Timmons - Resolution
74.36 -- Blackmore's Night - The Village Lanterne
73.96 -- Angra - Aurora Consurgens
73.95 -- Jon Oliva's Pain - Maniacal Renderings
73.16 -- UFO - The Monkey Puzzle
72.28 -- Motörhead - Kiss of Death
70.68 -- Empire - Raven Ride
69.30 -- Dominus Praelii - Bastards and Killers
65.72 -- Wizard's Hymn - Hymnal
65.21 -- Felony - First Works
62.64 -- Blackmore's Night - Winter Carols
61.98 -- Deep Purple - Rapture of the Deep
60.96 -- The Who - Endless Wire