Diary Of A Madman - Legacy Edition

Ingat nak cerita pasal Sultan Johor bawak last train hari Khamis kul 10malam nye train nanti, tapi KIV dulu pasal gambo belum edit, tak thrill cerita takde gambo.



My introduction to these just released expanded and legacy editions is all here when I talk about the Blizzard Of Ozz Expanded Edition. So this blog post has less of ‘talk cock’ but more photos.



So let’s go straight to the point. Diary Of A Madman Legazy Edition has two cds.





First cd is exactly as we know the album, ( not the blasphemous and disgusting 2002 version with deleted original bass and drums, and which has the Metallica guy playing bass and the drums also played by another person ). Only this remastered version from the original recordings means its so much louder.I hope Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake receives their rightful recognition.



Second cd is a live cd.


Some music and audio enthusiast has negative impression about certain remastered cds but for me, the advantage is I really need the music to be loud as I rip the cds and listen to it as mp3 while walking on the streets and waiting in public and taking public transport. MP3 players can only go to a certain maximum loudness, so the remastered cds helps me a lot haha.




If I have to take a Ozzy Osbourne studio cd to a desert island, it will be a toss between Blizzard Of Ozz and Bark At The Moon, but that doesn’t mean Diary Of A Madman is not good. Just that those first and third album have more memorable and meaningful songs to me. Song by song comparison may end up with Diary…giving a good fight to the other two as Over The Mountain, Flying High Again and the beautiful Tonight plus You Cant Kill Rock N Roll are fabulous songs.




Compared to the Expanded Edition of Blizzard Of Ozz, the booklet forDiary…’s Legacy Edition is thicker. The usual lyrics and some nice photos.




The second cd is a live recording taken from Blizzard Of Ozz with Ozzy introducing Flying High Again and Believer as new songs from a new album. Very similar setlist content but different recording to the Randy Rhoads Tribute album although there is no Goodbye To Romance and No Bone Movies and also there is the guitar solo in Suicide Solution and Tommy Aldridge drum solo at Steal Away The Night if I am not wrong. Very nice especially Mr Crowley, Revelation, Crazy Train, etc etc, and another nice sounding live collection of that era.




I do hope there is a Legacy Edition for Bark At The Moon. Such a sentimental favourite for me from the start of the album up to the ending of Waiting For Darkness. I hope there are a lot of treasures dig out from that Jake E Lee period.
Awwwooooo!!!!

last days KTM in Singapore (pt 1) - their point and signalling method

(click all photos to enlarge)

Dont follow my ignorant way because - walking on unprotected railway tracks is very dangerous as just a bit of carelessness or misjudgement of train speed will result in instant death. I assume the period I stroll on the tracks is where there is no activity at all and we all know 'assuming' makes an ass out of people sometimes. But I did say hello to the staff on duty before going to track anyway.

Tinggal berapa hari lagi KTM beroperasi kat Singapura, so saje suka2 aku tangkap foto buat kenangan, sebelum ni semua cuma jadi lebaran sejarah, termasuk snap photos sistem throwing point dari jauh dan signalling Keretapi Tanah Melayu ( Malaysian Railway ) cara dekat. Mungkin ada berminat dan nak ambik tahu. Mungkin yang pernah kerja atau sedang kerja berkaitan apa jenis pun sistem keretapi, dan jugak sapa yang minat tentang keretapi.

Dan kalo korang ingat katun Lat kat buku mana yang ada Minachi tu cuba selamatkan hero dia yang kaki kena perangkap waktu point machine tukar point dan tersepitkan kaki dia, dah tu Railway Staff last minit buang point jadi keretapi tak langgar si hero tu tapi keretapi tu derail. Korang tahu kan mana satu haha..

Mintak maaf aku tak tahu sebutan 'point throwing','normal and reverse','signalling' dalam sebutan Melayu atau BM. Tapi aku tengok semua labelling cakap Inggeris je cam 'shunt' tu semua. Tapi tak kesah la cakap omputeh ke cakap melayu janji paham sua.

At Bukit Timah Railway Station, the rail tracks split from one track to three. From what I see, the 3rd one is not used anymore and I think this is the one that had the KTM train derailment last year. The center one and nearest to platform is used so one train can give way to the other coming from the opposite direction, as other than that, its just a single track system towards Johor and also towards Tanjong Pagar. I think KTM labelled them as Main, Loop and Siding.

The Signalling Room at Bukit Timah KTM Station, with the levers for remote switching of point machines..

The Signalling Diagram for Bukit Timah KTM Station which is also in English and seems the approved date for the Signalling Diagram is quite many many years ago in 1968.


So the KTM staff by throwing the specific lever, will result in the points switching as per the requirement for the points at the vicinity of Bukit Timah Station to ensure the trains are on the correct track.


I think the photos will give a clearer picture. Hope you guys who read this who work in railway related job, or had worked before, or are train and railway fans, or trainspotters or anyone, will find this interesting.















I hope to upload all photos into deafeningforever.blogspot but I think I had forgotten the email and password to access my other blog haha. The same old story.

Much more to come...when I'm free to play internet and upload photos ok.

Blizzard Of Ozz - Expanded Edition

Some latest incomings – an old 1988 Magazine wth 100% Maiden content, and the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums - repackaged and remastered cds. I hope to slowly share how these items content looks like and why I like them, so first let’s start with a talk cock review of the Ozzy Osbourne Blizzard Of Ozz Expanded Edition.




Like MOST of you reading this, Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman albums are one of the soundtrack of my school days and teenage years and continues till now.

Few things I will always remember is

- the 90minutes long cassette tape which accomodates Blizzard Of Ozz album on one side and Diary Of A Madman on the other. So I play it on the Walkman and enjoy bliss as long as the battery last. No need to fast forward or rewind any song, just play and auto-reverse to the other side and again and again. ( Walkman Auto-reverse siak, kuno ). Now with these remastered cds, I rip the songs to 320kbps mp3 and arranged it so that my mp3 will play the full Blizzard Of Ozz followed by Diary…followed by the live cd that comes with Diary…. I think the people on the crowded trains and buses will think me crazy for smiling from ear to ear when listening to these songs.

- As a secondary school boy exploring and learning more about the legend of Alister Crowley and the impact and danger of alcohol abuse based on different liquor such as whisky-based is all first learnt here from this cassette as the songs talk about these issues. Ooo that was the time of the stories of the suicide boy with the tape of the Suicide Solution song found on his body, his pocket actually. Though maybe a bit exxagerated description.

- Enlisting for full-time National Service and discovering one of the Malay guys who sleep on the other side of the barrack was playing Goodbye To Romance on his acoustic guitar. A very joyous icebreaker to make new friends.

So you guys will also have your own stories about these two albums since long long ago. No need to review the ‘eight songs plus Dee’ from the album as we are all familiar, but there are three additional tracks. The three extra songs are the b-side You Looking At Me Looking At You, with a nice catchy chorus, a guitar solo from Randy Rhoads which is about a minute plus and the best of them all, a magnificent beautiful Goodbye To Romance featuring just the Ozzy voice and Randy’s guitar mix. I like it so much, although thru the years there are so many versions of Goodbye To Romance available from Ozzy’s different era with different guitar players and even other singers. I especially like the Lisa Loeb version haha and on YouTube there is this Korean girl singing this song too.




What I know, Blizzard Of Ozz, is actually a band. It is not a solo album. The band is made up of Ozzy, Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake ( with current Deep Purple Don Airey play keyboards ). Bob Daisley writes the lyrics. Unfortunately things got worse down the years among the three that the Ozzy re-releases of this album many years ago features new bass by the Metallica guy and drums recording, with the old original ones deleted. I wonder who in the world is not disappointed with this action. Ozzy should stand up for himself really.

I think this is the worse thing ever done, besides Sharon Osbourne sabotaging of Maiden playing on stage during Ozzfest many years ago. Fortunately, for this Legacy Release , the original bass and drums were included again. Unfortunately, although songwritting credits were given to Bob Daisley ( and Lee Kerslake where applicable ), there is no photos of them. Just Ozzy and Randy Rhoads. . I don’t like Sharon Osbourne except when I watch her judging America Got Talent on tv, but I have no choice but to buy this version of Blizzard Of Ozz which she will earn some money, as I like the album so much thru the years even if I had owned one of the earlier cd pressings.

I read a review of the coffee table photo book included in the Deluxe Luxurious Boxset and seems there’s not much of Daisley and Kerslake too. Anyway, The boxset is way too expensive, and dapat salib, so tak mau la haha.




So, if you like the original studio version and want a LOUDER copy of I Don’t Know, CrazyTrain, Revelations Mother Earth, Mr Crowley, Steal Away The Night, No Bone Movies, Dee and of course Goodbye To Romance from Blizzard Of Ozz album, this Expanded Eiditon cd is nice , plus you got three extra songs and also lyrics etc but the plastic grip holding the cd is useless. I removed the cd the first time and the grip breaks away in small pieces

If I got the opportunity, Diary Of A Madman is next.

yang confirm takde lagi dan yang tak confirm nak datang pasal aku tak tahu mana nak beli tiket...

Two things..

Yang confirm takde lagi...
Keretapi Tanah Melayu dari lepas Woodlands immigresen sampai stesen Tanjong Pagar.
Jadi hari tu aku kerja malam, so pagi aku naik bas dari rumah S'pore dan spent time kat Stesen Bukit Timah untuk tengok KTM beroperasi hari2 terakhir di Singapura. Kira macam aku tengah tengok " hari ni dalam sejarah " live.




Jadi lepas train kul 8 blah, aku gi jalan2 atas trek. Kena hati2 je la. Danger dan bahaya tetap ada 24jam kalo tempat2 gini. Korang pun tahu berapa ramai dah kena langgar ngan keretapi, baik jenis KTM atau MRT etc pasal bermacam2 sebab, ada memang nak mati, ada pasal cuai silap anggaran kelajuan tren, ada pasal tiba2 pengsan dan jatuh, ada tengah tingtong, siap KTM driver cakap dia tak boleh lupa tengok amoi tu pandang dia, dia pandang amoi tu masa nak kena langgar, dah tingtong kan, dan sebagainya.

Nanti la aku post dan cerita panjang...Siap ambik gambar signalling dan throwing of points cara KTM kat trek lagi haha.





Yang tak confirm nak datang pasal selagi takde cerita pasal penjualan tiket aku tak mau over excited la..




Loudness kalo main in both Singapore and Malaysia will be a dream come true untuk ramai orang. Especially dorang punye hardcore fans.
Aku tahu ada dua orang kawan yang kumpul koleksi Loudness yang serious berbual koleksi dorang memang out of this world, serious berbual mungkin boleh celen mana2 kolektor Loudness kat mana2 la haha. Koleksi release Loudnes yang kebanyakkan semua original dari Jepun, memang susah nak dapat, rare dan kalo ada pun mahal, salute kat ni dua orang haha. Aku tahu ni dua memang terlompat2 berita Loudness nak datang ni haha.

dan tu hari, ada satu brader ni sapa aku, pasal tshirt aku pakai tarik perhatian dia, so borak2 kejap, terus kita buat kawan...tukar2 no henpon semua.
So dia cakap dia punye dream ialah Loudness datang lagi, dan aku tahu dia real fan cara dia berbual, siap uniform kerja tapi kalo perhati betul2, tali pinggang dia ialah tali pinggang Loudness. Best giler brader ni haha.

So bila Loudness datang, peminat2 cam ni tiga kat atas ni tentu will feel top of the world semestinya. Tak terkejut kalo dorang tunggu kat airport bawak banner besar2 haha.
Dan jugak untuk korang2 yang lain, tak payah bedek, Loudness mewarna-warnikan kehidupan korang dari dulu sampai skarang jugak kan? dan aku pun akan cuba untuk pergi...( bukan pegi airport sambut dorang, tapi harap dapat pegi salah satu show samada KL atau Spore, kena tengok keadaan dan budget ).
Ye la dulu Loudness main kat Sentosa, tu jam was Mike Vescera bukan Minoru Nihara, dan horror paling besar tu jam ialah aku tak dapat pergi. Sedih siak, ingat dalam hidup kalo miss tengok Loudness tu jam, paling rugi la, maklum zaman muda budak2 dulu haha.
Dengar radio pop rock, Adnan Maswan cerita pasal konsert tu, gigit jari haha. I will never forget what the Rockers punya penyanyi Joe cakap kat progrem Pop Rock ni lepas konsert Loudness tu masa kena interview ngan DJ. Nanti aku cerciter lagi.

But harap semua will proceed as berita yang digembar-gemburkan, aku kena harap ihsan kawan2 aku yang main facebook pasal seems berita Loudness main kat Kuala Lumpur dan Singapore 2011 ialah spread by facebook so far.


To be continued in detail

review magazine classic rock July 2011 - Maiden cover story

I seldom buy magazines, but if the magazine features
- a fantastic Iron Maiden photo/artwork on the cover
- at least 7 pages of Maiden stories
- great stories from other rock bands that I love to listen to then I may consider buying it if budget permits haha.

This is the Classic Rock Magazine for the month of July with Eddie on the cover ala President Barrack Obama artwork some time back.

Before opening wrapping. (click all photos to enlarge)


After opening wrapping.



This is so similar to this right? haha.




The content actually includes 2 cds of samplers, (which includes a song from Def Leppard's coming live album ) and also a seperate magazine of articles and stories on Pearl Jam Ten album. If you like Pearl Jam, sure you like this... I dont know this album, but I know the song Jeremy as I had seen the MTV of the song before. So at least I have heard one song from Pearl Jam. Ooo plus the Daughter song. Off to the rubbish bin the Pearl Jam magazine segment goes haha.



Lots of Maiden, nice to read, even if you know it, but the writting is great..with interesting 'potraits'...especially Steve Harris



I like the Roy Z encouraging Bruce to rejoin Maiden part, and also how Steve Harris and Bruce Dickinson rates Rainbow Rising as one of their favourite albums haha. ( here is my copy of the Rainbow Rising Deluxe Edition ). So all Rainbow fans, you're in good company.



Plus lots of stuffs on
-early Def Leppard breakthru in America and their response in Britain at that time,
-lots of Journey and I dont think Journey's new cd can better their Revelations cd which I think is so fabulous especially the triple disc version,
-some great Queen story in their 70s era,
-also some unseen photos of Led Zeppelin in 1980 Europe.
-The Ian Gillan/Toni Iommi Armenia project,
-a very informative Sammy Hagar interview etc.




Plus lots of other stories of other bands and reviews and whatever.
Makes a nice read. So for me this magazine is worth it to buy for the whole content that comes with it.

TBS platform

6 lebih pagi, tunggu bas ekspres kat platfom TBS, so boring, petik gambo sikit. Kawasan ni korang ada tiket je boleh masuk.



This is not an airport departure restricted area, but for express buses departure area and its strictly restricted for passengers with tickets only.
Very comfortable, nice aircon, clean. But only time will tell if the place remains like this or deteriorate in the future. There is even a smoking area. Quite a large room in fact. ( I am just saying a fact and not encouraging smoking as I am not one )





Terminal Bersepadu Selatan at Bandar Tasik Selatan, Kuala Lumpur.
This bus terminal caters to express buses to and fro Malacca, Johore and Singapore.

Personally this place is very convenient for me as its linked to the Rapid LRT, and in fact here you have the Kommuter and the KLIA express stations too. As a public transport user, its great.




As a regular 'bas ekspres' user I am pleasantly surprised so far by the Terminal Bersepadu Selatan efficiency especially its staff.
Although it got me confuse in the beginning as the more famous companies such as Konsortium and Mara Liner used the TBS computer systems to sell tickets while Sri Maju, Transnasional, Eltabina, KKKL and Causeway Link still have their own booth with their own staff.

So if you buy a ticket of those bus companies that rely on the the TBS counters manned by TBS staff, the tickets will look like this.



Other than that, other bus companies tickets system remain as previously but you have to walk further to their own booths.


Furthermore there is a KFC, a Kenny Rogers plus lots of variety of eateries here for those who like both local, western and fast food.

Anyway, the first bus to Larkin JB from TBS is Selat Keris at 7am, Tranasional at 7.30am, Konsortium at 7.50am and I think this same bus enter Singapore. Other popular bus companies first bus begins at 8am onwards.
But doesnt mean the first bus will reach first ok! With the dili-daly and breaks at Air Hitam and fillup diesel and detours here and there, its painful for those who need to be in a hurry.
The best is still Causeway Link, I think they are easily constantly the best and fastest there is, but their buses are not so early, its after 8am.

nota kaki - bas paling awal dari sini gi Larkin ialah Selat Keris kul 7 pagi ( tapi sapa biasa naik bas express paham2 je la eh apa akan jadi on the way ), next Transnasional kul 7.30 pagi, next Konsortium kul 7.50 pagi. Lepas tu 8am onwards tak yah bimbang la , dah banyak la yang lain2.. dan jugak skarang kalo korang beli tiket kat kaunter TBS yang macam syarikat Konsortium ke, dorang nak tengok kad pengenalan ke, hapa2 ID korang pasal nanti ada nama korang kat dalam tiket tu, dah macam naik kapalterbang siak. Tapi untuk aku paling penting , harga tak naik la kalo musim perayaan atau cuti umum, gila babi ah kalo dorang naikkan harga time gini pasal dorang tahu penumpang semua desperate. double pun double la.