The more extravagant the band, the greater the temptation to write off the visual elements as a gimmick designed to distract from a lack of musicianship. This may well be true in some cases, but it is equally easy to forget that the great rock bands; the bands that have achieved longevity (perhaps in spite of their larger-than-life stage shows); did so by deftly interweaving both style and substance. Kiss, Alice Cooper, W.A.S.P… these bands understood the value of a show and would never have had the opportunity to put on such spectacles if they hadn’t already established a fan base via hard work and, of course, some great music. So, whilst we may now look at the chainsaw codpieces and crucified nuns that are synonymous with a W.A.S.P live show as somewhat anachronistic, that shouldn’t detract from the band’s ability to craft a powerful tune.
As a case in point, Blackie Lawless, with his (now) long-standing band of Doug Blair and Mike Duda (joined by Aquiles Priester on drums) have returned to the scene of Blackie’s undisputed masterpiece, ‘The Crimson Idol’, a sprawling concept album about the rise, and catastrophic fall, of Jonathan Steel, a rock star with a broken past and a dedication to self-destruction that is gleefully encouraged by the machinations of the music industry. Sleazy and dark, the story may enforce its message with a sledge hammer, but that doesn’t make it any less of a powerful indictment of society’s idolization of the damaged. Painstakingly re-recorded and now expanded to sixteen tracks (spread over two CDs), ‘Reidolized – the soundtrack to the Crimson idol’ is the perfect opportunity to revisit an album that is frequently listed as one of the greatest concept albums ever made.
Packaging
Housed in a handsome digi-pack and released via Napalm Records, ‘Reidolized’ comes as a two CD set alongside a DVD/Blu Ray of the movie. Now, whilst the term ‘movie’ may be something of a misnomer given that what you actually get is rather more akin to an expanded music video in the vein of Pink Floyd’s Final Cut, it remains the case that this is how Blackie originally intended the album to appear and the results are impressive. The package also has a booklet containing all the lyrics and liner notes, whilst Jonathan’s story is printed on the digipack panels. It’s a comprehensive package, then, that this classic receives, and it sees the source material treated with the respect that it deserves.
Blu ray / DVD
It’s a generous consideration to include both DVD and Blu Ray, although the benefits of the latter format are somewhat debatable. In terms of video quality, the entire film is deliberately stylized in grainy black and white (tinged with red), as if to illustrate the flashback nature of the story. Unquestionably this is how the film was meant to look and the image is as clean as the digital post-production work allows it to be. There’s not much to be said about the movie in terms of acting, as the actors never get a chance to speak. However, they do a pretty good job of capturing the over-the-top characters detailed by the album and I found myself really getting sucked into the story as the drama played out on screen. I’m with Blackie on this one, the film (clearly a labour of love for the untameable frontman) adds a whole new dimension to the Crimson Idol and it’s come out looking pretty damn good to be honest.
If the blu ray offers little visual benefit over the DVD, the audio fares much better with the LPCM soundtrack (alas, no surround sound here) remarkably expansive. Crystal clear, it brings the album impressively to life, really drawing out the separation between the instruments whilst maintaining a low-end heft that gives the heavier songs a considerable edge over their 1992 counterparts. Blackie’s voice over (which relates the story) is perfectly delivered and he brings an unexpected gravitas to the role as he narrates the events that lead, unerringly, to calamity. Whichever format you choose, the package includes both and it is nice to see the package catering for all formats whilst maintaining a relatively low price tag (£22.00 at time of writing).
The Album
Much has been written about ‘the Crimson Idol’ and this new version does not diminish its powerful reputation. Whilst it is always tricky re-recording a fan favourite, Blackie and his band have been playing numerous tracks from the album for years, and the energy and power they bring to their respective performances show that their enthusiasm for the material has not waned with time. Considering his reputation for excess, Blackie sounds exceptional and his vocals are flawless throughout, bringing fire and fury to the heavier tracks (‘Chainsaw Charlie’, ‘Doctor Rockter’) and a shattered emotion to the ballads (‘hold onto my heart’) that belies the fact that the record is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary. Musically, the album maintains a similar tone to recent W.A.S.P. output (‘Golgotha’, ‘Babylon’ and ‘Dominator’) and it benefits from the enhanced production values, as the heavier tones and powerful drums do much to support the weighty concept. Highlights abound, but the monstrous, David Gilmour-esque solo that soars forth from ‘the idol’ goes far to underscoring both the power of this rerecording and the impressive contribution of Doug Blair. A moment of pure, air-guitar bliss, ‘the idol’ feels like a heavy metal re-working of ‘comfortably numb’, and it stands tall as one of the great hard rock tracks.
In terms of the additional tracks that now bulk out the album, none of them feel out of place. ‘Hey mama’ and ‘The Lost Boy’ add additional weight to the narrative and, if ‘Miss you’ feels a touch mawkish, it’s hard to argue its place given the sentiment that underpins Jonathan’s downfall. He is, after all, a disillusioned rock star haunted by his past and torn apart by his brother’s death. In short, the expanded run time adds to the story and could be argued to be a ‘director’s cut’ of the original. Of course, if you prefer the album as it stands, then it’s still out there for you to purchase, this is a companion-piece rather than a replacement.
It is quite possible that there are those who will be horrified at the thought of a beloved album reworked. I can understand that point of view, as the tone and feel of an album (whether it was the creator’s original intent or not) often plays a huge part of making an album what it is. Hell, even a remaster can set the cat among the pigeons when it comes to a ‘definitive’ reading of an album. However, for those who have followed the band over the years, there is no question that his sonically beautiful, musically stunning re-recording does much to assert the band’s many strengths. It’s been cleverly, and carefully, done, the band treating the original album with respect, whilst taking advantage of modern recording techniques and their own unique skill set to provide polish without obscuring the qualities that made the original great.
You could argue that W.A.S.P. did little to help themselves in terms of the cartoon image that they often chose to purvey from the stage, but there was never any doubt among those paying attention that the band were musically adept. Standing at the pinnacle of the band’s lengthy career, ‘the crimson idol’ is a genuine masterpiece and it would have been all too easy to tarnish its memory with a schlocky re-recording. That Blackie and his cohorts have not only maintained the spirit of the original, but even burnished it, with this potent re-working is a testament to the skill and passion that still drives them and ‘reidolized’ should be considered an essential purchase, not just for W.A.S.P. fans, but for any hard rock fan. 9
