10. Radical History Tour

 BACKGROUND:

In a way, Radical History Tour can technically be classified at ApologetiX's first album. Yes, technically somebody could argue it's actually third because it's third in order of product code, but that's because ApologetiX were working on Jesus Christ Morningstar and Ticked! at the same time as Radical History Tour. Just to quickly refresh you,  from 1992 to 1994, Apologetix produced 4 "studio" (that "studio" was a hotel room) recorded cassettes and multiple live cassettes, none of which ApologetiX consider canon today. Of those 4 cassettes, only 2 became CDs: Isn't Wasn't Ain't and Radical History Tour. ApologetiX reissued Radical History Tour onto CD in 1999, but not until 2003 did Isn't Wasn't Ain't make it CD. Since ApologetiX doesn't recognize any of cassettes except Isn't Wasn't Ain't and Radical History Tour as canon, and of the 2, Radical History Tour came out on CD first, someone could technically argue that makes it the first ApologetiX album. When transferring from cassette to CD, Radical History Tour had a problem with the transfer of media. A cassette can hold up to 1 1/2 hours of music, but a CD can only hold up 1 1/4 hours of music. ApologetiX had filled the Radical History Tour cassette full, which meant it would not all fit on the CD. Therefore, ApologetiX had to cut out 4 parodies, leaving 20 spoofs on the CD (the top 20, according to the band's opinion). Don't worry, though, 2 of those "lost songs" would end up on Isn't Wasn't Ain't's director's cut.

TITLE:

Radical History Tour is fitting for this album. Indeed, this album tours through biblical history. It starts with the account of Noah and the ark in Genesis 6-8 with "Not Logs Lincoln" (parody of "Hot Rod Lincoln" by Commander Cody). It ends with the narrative of the end times in Revelation with "Life in the Last Days" (spoof of "Life in the Fast Lane" by The Eagles). Furthermore, most, if not all, these songs are explicitly Bible songs, retelling Bible stories, not theology tracks, teaching theology. That's what makes this album a Radical History Tour.

CRITIQUE:

Radical History Tour has unity. What unifies this album the most is, as mentioned above, that it almost solely focuses on retelling Bible stories instead of teaching theology. Personally, I like the Bible retelling approach over the theological teaching approach because it allows the audience to make their own interpretations instead of having somebody tell them the interpretation. Radical History Tour also has its unity in genre. Most, if not all, of these parodies spoof classic rock, with a few exceptions. While the lack of variety in genre can scare away a larger audience, it definitely appeals to the classic rock fan.

Radical History Tour also has variety. It has variety in musical year. The release dates of the original songs go back to the 60's, 70's and 80's. I don't expect any 90's songs, as Radical History Tour came out in 1993, and the decade was only 3 years old at the point. Radical History Tour has variety in original artists. ApologetiX parody a total of 17 different artists on this album. The only problem with that, however, is that there are 20 spoofs on the album. That's because Credence Clearwater Revival, Led Zepplin and Rolling Stones each have 2 songs on the album. While not as bad of an offender as Isn't Wasn't Ain't, early ApologetiX still has a long way to go until they only have 1 original artist per album.

The biggest problem with the album has nothing to do with the album itself, but rather, the future of ApologetiX. A majority, if not most, of these songs have been re-recorded for future ApologetiX albums. Some of these re-recordings are in studio, while others of these re-recordings are live. Some of these parodies are merely remixing and remastering, while other have brand new instrumental parts and brand new lyrics. I tread carefully on what I want to say next, for I don't want to pass off as hypocrite, yet I do feel conflicted internally. As I have said in the reviews of the previous albums, especially the live albums, the re-recordings have no merit because all the originals on Radical History Tour hold their ground well. Yes, some sound better than others, but overall, in general, Radical History Tour sounds better than Isn't Wasn't Ain't, although it holds no candle to Ticked!, Jesus Christ Morning Star and other future albums. At the same time, however, if you have these songs on future albums, there is really no need to get this album. Personally, I do feel like the master recordings on this album are better than the live recordings on future albums, but the live recordings on future albums aren't bad at all. They do suffice if you can't get your hands on this album. Even if you could, they suffice well enough that there is no need to go out and get the album. I guess it all comes down to a matter of preference. If you prefer the master recording done in studio, then you'll need to get Radical History Tour. If you have no preference between studio recordings and live recordings, then the recordings on future albums will suit you just fine.

FAVORITE SONG: "I Know a Riddle" (parody of "I Know a Little" by Lynyrd Skynyrd)

When it came to choose my favorite song of the album, I decided that I would not do a parody re-released on a future album. Rather, I wanted to make my favorite song exclusive to this album. That's when I found out somewhere between a majority and most of the spoofs had a re-recording somewhere, whether that be a studio-recorded album, a live album or a compilation album. Once I eliminated them, I then proceeded to eliminate the songs I didn't like, not because of ApologetiX, but because I didn't like the original song or the original band. After all, it feels unfair to judge ApologetiX for something they did not do. That left "I Know a Riddle" (parody of "I Know a Little" by Lynyrd Skynyrd). As J. puts it in his journal, everybody thinks of Samson as the strong yet stupid stereotype. While he was stupid in the fact that he did not follow Yahweh, he was smart in the sense that he was cunning. Just look at the riddle he composed in Judges 14. I'm glad that this song captured that part of the Samson account, whereas "Enter Samson" (spoof of "Enter Sandman" by Metallica) focuses in on the strong man. Fun fact: the cassette of Radical History Tour actually had "Enter Sandman" on it, but ApologetiX dropped it for the CD because they didn't feel like it stood up to their quality standards. Don't worry, "Enter Sandman would eventually appear on Biblical Graffiti. Back to "I Know a Riddle," for this song, ApologetiX took the time to find a keyboard player to play the piano parts for this song. Plenty of tracks on this album are missing their key/piano part. I'm glad the band went out of their way to find a keys player because they knew how crucial it was for this track.

FINAL VERDICT: 10th

As the first album in the top 10, Radical History Tour has all the things that ApologetiX fans come to expect in an Apologetix album. It has unity in theme (in this case, touring through Bible history) and it has unity in music genre (in this case, classic rock). It also has some variety, too. That variety comes in musical decades, covering from the 60's to the 80's, and in original artists, with 17 original artists represented on this album. Also, the album has 20 songs, which is average for an album, in the most positive way possible. The only problem with this album is that it did not age well, not in the fact of the sound quality, but in the fact that a majority, if not most, of the songs have been re-recorded. While the studio recordings are inherently better, the live versions suffice, leaving no reason to purchase this album if already owning all the other albums that have these sounds re-recorded. Still, personally, I would get this CD. The studio records still rank a little better than the live re-recordings, and it will give appreciation on how the band has grown. Besides, it's totally worth it to buy this album just for "I Know a Riddle" (parody of "I Know a Little" by Lynyrd Skynyrd) ;) .