Sunday, May 4, 2008

Say it ain't so, Eric

Is it too much for me to claim that Eric Wagner has one of the best true metal voices of all time? And if it is just me hyperbolizing, can I just claim that he has one of the most under appreciated voices in metal?

Eric Wagner just left Trouble and has been replaced by Kory Clarke of Warrior Soul, something that I find...troubling. Wagner claims he cannot handle the rigors of touring and simply wants to focus on his new project, Black Finger. I don't blame the rest of the guys for carrying on without Wagner but seriously, what is Trouble without his distinguished vocal presence? Seems to me that they will be just another proto-stoner band without him. We'll see. Trouble has been around since 1979 and has seen Wagner depart before. This may be a good kick in the pants for both parties. Their last release, Simple Mind Condition, was good...but certainly lacked the enthusiasm that an album twelve years in the waiting should have.

Back in 1994, just after being dumped by Rick Rubin, Trouble set off on a club tour of Europe and brought with them a disc called One for the Road. The CD was a hot item for traders for a while and was fetching some big bucks on eBay before surfacing on the interweb. There's a couple of different versions, including one that has a bunch of covers and live material on it. The one I'm posting here is the original five track collection, of which only two songs (as far as I know) went on to be rerecorded and officially released. If you're unfamiliar with Trouble, I don't know if this is the best place to start. You may be better off going back in their discography and starting with one of their Metal Blade or American releases. If you are a Trouble fan, this is well worth your time. Here's your track list:

Goin' Home
Window Pain
Requiem*
Another Day*
Doom Box

(*later appeared on Plastic Green Head)

Click here!

2 comments:

Sarah said...

Why did Rick Rubin decide to dump Trouble? Was this what sparked the interest in the albums on Ebay? Well written blog. Thanks for the insights!
:)

Mike Mannix said...

I think Trouble simply had the curse of making good albums that no one really cared about at the time, kind of like Kyuss. It's only in retrospect that many people get into these bands. Not that it's bad thing...just unfortunate for the musicians working so hard at their craft...