On Saturday night I drove to turnoff a half mile up the road past the Loveland ski area to park and party on the pass. I wasn't in the mood for a blow out night so my tequila consumption was a fraction of what I might normally do. The next day I had breakfast at the lodge and skied up until 3 PM. A beautiful sunny day, mild temperatures and decent packed powder conditions. When it was time to leave, I was pleasantly surprised to find no serious traffic, all vehicles moving moving at a good pace. The beautiful weather in Denver probably helped to discourage thoughts of skiing for most people.
Spawned by the jet stream
Strong winds play on mountain crest
Swirling plumes of snow
Launched down the ridge line
Approaches the precipice
He sees no bottom
Above the unknown
Skis begin their forward plunge
Makes his leap of faith
Flying down the slope
Feels like a superpower
His mind is airborne
On the drive up I listened to David Lee Roth's 1991 studio release, A Little Ain't Enough. Some good rocking songs, but for me it lacked the pizazz of a Van Halen album. The voice is still strong (much better than what was available on the 2007/08 tour) and his style seems as flamboyant as ever.This is what is said about this particular release:
"This album was seen as something as a make or break release for Roth after his successful arena tour in support of Skyscraper a few years earlier pretty much sold out in the UK (rightly show as it was a fine spectacle) as well as enabled Roth to return to Donington as part of the 1988 Monsters Of Rock line-up. Gone for this release though was Steve Vai whose technical contributions had so shaped Skyscraper, his place taken instead by Jason Becker on lead guitar duties while Steve Hunter was also recruited for the recordings on rhythm and slide duties, although I recall possibly incorrectly that it was Ron Ricochet, himself occasionally involved on the album session, that took the 2nd guitar duties on the live tour."
"Summary : Far from being a breaker, this album saw Roth continue his roll and again merited an arena tour of the UK. With Vai gone so was much of the flash and this sounds a much more direct album in places. In fact, surprisingly given Roth’s reputation, neither the sleeve or the inner sleeve features a picture of either Roth or the band, the cover going for a devil like figure, the inner sleeve the strange shark pic’, giving the whole package a somewhat darker flavour than the expected Roth style. Ultimately though this album is just as satisfying as Skyscraper, although not up to the level of that superb debut solo full length effort."
For me, it was not satisfying enough to cause me to play it any other time besides when trapped in the truck on a two hour drive into the mountains.
DLR with a young Modonna
The main act for the evening began once parked on my dark roadside camp, bright stars above. I pulled out Echo & The Bunnymen's Ocean Rain, B-Sides/Demos. 16 songs, good recording quality of demos, some live numbers and some of their more rare performances. It's really interesting to hear them go through several variations of one of their best known song The Killing Moon, varying either the style or emphasis to get a different sound for this beautiful song. Creativity in action. I really enjoyed it, enough to play it a second time on the drive back home.
A voice that's golden
Passion felt songs of love
Rising from his soul
Drop in the CD
Indulge in a fantasy
Sings only to me
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