Search - Dick Wagner :: Full Meltdown

A Fresh Ear

Matt Brooks | Massachusetts | 12/17/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've bumped into Dick Wagner more times than I can count during my musical gestation in the 70's and 80's. Whether it was wearing out the grooves of the (then) new Kiss "Destroyer" album, sitting in a darkened room with friends listening to Lou Reed as black lights fluoresced over posters by the likes of Peter Max, Rick Griffin, Keelan, and others, or pounding out carefully learned licks and chord changes from Alice Cooper's "Welcome to My Nightmare" and "Billion Dollar Babies" in any one the myriad cover bands I was a part of, he was omnipresent. So why did I title this "A fresh Ear"?



Because unlike the army of relentless self-promoters that surrounded him, each vying to take the largest piece of the spotlight, Dick was a true musician, looking to see what he could add to the lexicon that is the music of the last half century, rather than what he could take from it.



The resultant lack of hype, rather than diminishing him, diminished me, and many others like me who would have benefited by having him as an influence as we grew and learned our musical chops.



A case that illustrates this point is the album "Destroyer" by Kiss. We heard the album, but never really listened to it, after all, Ace Frehley was not a guitar player whose licks inspired us to wear out the play and rewind button on our cassette decks trying to work out the leads and changes. In fact, I have a vivid recollection of the outcry that happened when Ace was featured on the cover of Guitar Player Magazine. Thus, some really sizzling guitar tracks snuck under the radar.



BTW, I recommend a serious re-listen to "Destroyer" (I did) and if I have to tell you which tracks were done by Dick, then you should think about a hearing test. After I revisited that album, I realized how embarrassing it was, as a guitar player, to have missed them. But as in many other such instances, he was there, hiding in plain sight.



So, when a fresh copy of Dick Wagner's "Full Meltdown" landed on my desk I didn't respond with: "Wow, awesome. Lost tracks by Dick Wagner!" as I should have, but instead, I stared at it like a musically clueless idiot.



I have since begun making up for lost time, going from gem to gem through the discography at Dick's excellent website[...], and I suggest you do the same. It will save you from an embarrassing public mea culpa like this one that only serves to prove to the world what they probably already suspected, namely that you might be better off choosing a career outside of music.



A great place to start is with "Full Meltdown". It is one of those rare albums that, unless you cheat and read the liner notes first, is absolutely impossible to pin down regarding date. Dick has that rare combination of gifts which enable him to be simultaneously ahead of his time, true to his roots, and validly current, no matter what time-frame the word "current" happens to reference.



Not just a guitar player, Dick has an incredible voice that shines equally well in everything from intensely evocative laments such as "I Might As Well Be On Mars" and "She Said" to gritty hard rock numbers like "Motor City Showdown" and "Feel it All Over". And, despite an incredible range, he doesn't feel the need to remind us of it by running up and down 5 octaves in every phrase. Instead, he lets the song dictate how it needs to be sung.



As if being an incredibly gifted singer and guitarist weren't enough, Dick is also a consummate master of verbal visuality. As a songwriter myself, it was an element I focused on immediately upon hearing this album. It is one thing to be able to write lyrics laden with neo-Shakespearian poeticism that leaves most of your listeners going "huh?" It is quite another to be able to write "Johnny Lunchbucket" Rock `n' Roll that compels the listener to climb up to a higher level. Dick has a lyrical knack for doing this in just the right measure. Never alienating his audience, never visiting on them a sense of inferiority, but gently urging them to climb just a little bit and meet him on a higher plane. Consider: "Running wild in the summer heat, waiting for the night to fill the sky" The first part of that lyric is pure "good time" Rock `n' Roll, the latter part is pure poetry. Succinct, overflowing with imagery, yet completely unpretentious. It has none of the awkwardness of self-awareness that riddles cerebral rock, yet it refuses to cave in to the lowest common denominator AC/DC style formula.



As one would expect of any project involving Gil Markle, the original owner of the legendary Long View Farm Recording Studio, "Full Meltdown" has the master's Midas touch. The low end is fat and punchy with enough beef to rattle plates off the kitchen table, while the mids, which in the hands of lesser talents, usually either charge riotously out of the gate like the bulls in Pamplona or are indiscriminately squashed in a fit of over-cautious zeal, run straight and true like a high strung thoroughbred with a triple-crown jockey at the helm. Setting it all off like the sauces of a 5-star diamond award chef, the high end sizzles and sparkles with that special kind of air and clarity that will never come from an effect box.



However... although the stellar job Gil did recently in re-mastering all of these iconic tracks in his studio in Tobago would be enough to recommend it to even the most discriminating audiophile, "Full Meltdown" still has yet to play its trump card. Many of these songs were originally recorded by Dick Wagner and Gil Markle 30 years ago at Long View Farm. As such, they boast an elusive dimensionality that only comes from creative genius coupled with warm rooms and special spaces. It's pure alchemy -- a tantalizing snapshot of two influential figures in modern music at the height of their creative powers.



To play this album only once is like pouring a Chateau Margaux '61 into a shot glass and downing it with salt and lemon like an end-of-the-night Tequila shot. That's not the way I drink exotic French wine, or the way I listen to "Full Meltdown". Each listen gleans me a new favorite song. Something I missed in the last listening -- a flavor I failed to notice. Like a fine wine, this album ages well. More rewarding still with each new play.

Truly a record to be savored, which is a rare thing in a world enamored with fast food and instant gratification. Enjoy."

What a Find!

D. K. Shore | Florida | 11/19/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I came by Dick Wagner's Full Meltdown quite by accident; it was a gift. Though music was my first language, I was never fluent in hard rock. Imagine my surprise that I fell in love with this man's music.





What surprised me with each song was the diversity of Wagner's sound, though his masterful and howling guitar hallmark each one. I find it hard to believe that each work comes from the same musician. The songs are a compilation and remastering of Wagner's music over the years and with several collaborations (1979, 1988, 1991, 1995). This is a deep album; there's real lyrical beauty that always seems to be juxtaposed to his haunting guitar. These are the kinds of songs over which a woman falls in love with a man - heart wrenching and soulful yearning with a bluesy quality . . . and that howling guitar! One of my favorites was She Said, a song in which Wagner did all the instrumentation. It starts as deceivingly cheery melody in which a lover asks for permission to go. Another I loved was These Days, a simple, yet beautiful and soulfully sad rendering of catching a glimpse of a lost love. Wagner does vocals and instruments. There are so many songs I loved. I Might As Well Be on Mars was another favorite. Wagner and his guitar make harmony to this song of lost love. And his version of Stagger Lee was surprisingly fresh.



After a bit of research, I found out that Dick Wagner is a music legend, not only a hard rock guitar playing icon, but the recipient of 14 platinum albums, musical director and lead guitarist for Alice Cooper, and a many times awarded composer.



I hope his legions of fans forgive my naivete, but better late than never."

The MUST HAVE CD of the year!

D. Richard | United States | 11/10/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you are a classic rock fan - this CD will fulfill any need you have for your favorite type of music. These songs should all have been major hits, but never received the credit or airplay they deserve. Once again Dick Wagner has proven his songwriting skills and guitar playing were why everyone from KISS, John Wetton, Tim Curry, Steve Perry, Aerosmith, Burton Cummings, and many more wanted to write songs with or have him play blistering guitar on their albums. This is what music should be - majestic and melodic!"