Now this was a moderate stunner – the super group that was only supposed to be a one-off came back for a follow-up, and surprise of surprises – it branches off from the template of the first disc. The only real change was Rex Brown from Pantera was now playing bass for the group. Down II is a different animal than the first edition. Unlike the tight, heavy, tension-laden passages of the debut, this CD is a haze-filled, vaguely experimental monolith that does grow on you the more chances you give it. Anselmo, for the most part, drops his normal double-tracked metal growls and sings here – and you know what, he does not sound half bad. Meanwhile, the group doesn’t just play the Southern rock-heavy sludge-metal card straightaway, and takes on different genres – like a flashy, organ-driven blues rocker for “Stained Glass Cross”, psychedelic folk on “Landing on the Mountains of Meggido”, and all sorts of kooky little tangents with these cut-in tracks (“Doobinterlude” sounds a bit like Stereolab, for example). Tracks like “Beautifully Depressed”, “There’s Something on my Side”, and “Ghosts Along the Mississippi” take an irreverent, yet rather detached view of society in general, which is pretty different than the normal in-your-face approach of most Anselmo-connected music. Even the so-called shocking music like “New Orleans is a Dying Whore” feels strangely subdued next to earlier, tougher exercises. The tone is set from the opener “Lysergik Funeral Procession”, which has an angry, Sabbath-like vibe, but it does hint at that there may be surprises peeking around the corner. The biggest one – as I earlier mentioned – has to be “Stained Glass Cross”, which is a full-blown bluesy jam featuring prominent organ work. The prevailing thought was the first Down disc was the one they would be known for, but after further listening, I find myself liking this one more.

Among 90’s metal fans, Down was minor legend before they stepped into a recording studio, having traded demo tapes through word-of-mouth for a period of time – much like the NWOBHM groups used to do – before they unleashed NOLA, a lurking, woolly mammoth beast of a disc, whose very reputation rivaled that of Anselmo’s main gig, Pantera. The template for these guys is Black Sabbath circa Master of Reality or Vol. 4, with big and heavy songs about drugs and other related things crossing paths with some weird skeletal balladry that sounds all spacey or something similar – like “Jail”. They aren’t flashy like Pantera, but much keener on building up real drama and tension, especially on tracks like “Eyes of the South” and “Rehab”. But it’s not all super heavy, either – “Stone the Crow” was the lone single, and is more like normal Southern/Classic rock except for a really brief breakdown at the end of the tune. Overall quite the curious release, and people thought it would be a one-off, which turned out not to be the case.

Generally, if you know anything about 60’s rock music, you know the story behind this album. The band name was nothing but a very loose placeholder, and the three main songwriters of the group wrote and performed the songs which comprise the record pretty much as separate entities. The 1960’s and 1970’s allowed for such behavior, and furthermore, bands like these could top the charts with ease if they had enough talent. Buffalo Springfield had already proven it was one of those bands thanks to a great single; now it was time for a classic album. Again, is far from consistent – but considering some of the high-water marks reached here, it doesn’t matter all that much. You are clinically brain dead if four, maybe five of these tracks do not stick in your head for weeks after hearing them, although if all the stars aligned we might have really heard a whopper of a record able to stand tall next to the greats of ’67.

Trust me, I've done the advance listening work on Uncle Ted and here to tell you this record and 1978's Double Live Gonzo are the only records worth getting. The albums themselves during his heyday were a few good songs and filler, and please don't bother with anything past the early 80's. All the hits are here for the most part, from the grimy "Cat Scratch Fever" to the stretched-out "Stranglehold" to Ted's *ahem* magnum opus - "Wang Dang Sweet Poontang". But in the very least, the man had enough sense to keep the focus mainly on his shredding wild man guitar heroics, and backed it with a nice lineup featuring Derek St. Holmes, Rob Grange, and Cliff Davies. The 1999 re-issue includes the heroic instrumental "Home Bound", if you're wondering.

Even though in some places it does reek of commercial gas, it's hard for me to completely slag on this fits-and-starts disc from one of my admittedly fav bands. But if you really want the best of Cheap Trick, get the early albums. The disc was re-released and re-mastered in 2003 adding the live version of "Clock Strikes Ten" as a bonus track.