May 21, 2010

  • Wireworld Gold Electra 5.2, Part 3

    On some Friday in the Spring 1990 quarter, I came home from UC Santa Cruz for the weekend.  My parents and brother met me at the Caltrain station in San Jose.  Before going home, we had dinner (I don't recall where) and then went to the Stonestown Tower Records.  There, my brother bought Vicious Rumors' eponymous album.  We had read about Vicious Rumors in the S.F. Chronicle's "Pink Section," but we did not know what they sounded like.

    When we got home, my brother popped in the CD, and pressed play.  Upon hearing the opening riffs of "Don't Wait For Me," my brother said, "Aah, they're not thrash."

    I'll never forget my brother saying that.  Okay, so Vicious Rumors weren't a thrash band like fellow Bay Area acts like Exodus, Forbidden, Heathen, Testament, and Vio-lence.  But if you get over the fact that Vicious Rumors aren't thrash, you'll find that their eponymous album is excellent. 

    In the early 90s, we saw Vicious Rumors perform at various Bay Area venues.  One time at The Stone, it was so empty, I was easily able to go to the front of the stage.  Lead singer Carl Alpert handed me a beer.  But, as I do not drink, I passed it to whoever was standing behind me, and he must have opened the can.

    The Wireworld Gold Electra 5.2 (it's actually "five-squared," but I'm too lazy to switch the font to superscript) powercord needs 4 to 5 days of Cook time.  After 2 days of Cook time, it sounds most of the way there, but for that final 5%, I feel it needs another 2 days.

    The funny thing about the Gold Electra 5.2 is that it makes everything sound kind of like Vicious Rumors' eponymous album.  There is a loss of soundstage depth, but the sound isn't 2-dimensional.  There's some fuzziness at the image outlines.  Drums could use more snap and pop.  Riffs are chewy, but could use a little more bite.  The music moves along at a decent, if not quick, pace.  It's clean enough, and noise between notes is moderate, not excessive.  And as you can see from the picture above, the Gold Electra 5.2 can be bent, making installation a breeze.  At the same time, the cable isn't so stiff and rigid, as to drag components to and fro.

    We still have the 20-year-old Vicious Rumors CD.  And we also have, from one of those early-90s concerts, a Vicious rumors baseball cap.