Hey, thanks for stopping by to hang out. You're in the right spot for discussions about my favorite pop culture topics. Subjects may include vinyl, '70s sitcoms, cosmic super hero adventures, arena rock, conspiracy theories, thrift stores, '80s horror flicks, VHS culture, all things retro, lovely ladies, and the latest happenings in my world.
So come on down the steps (watch your head), pass through the rec room, and pull up a bean bag...you're hanging in my "bedroom in the basement!" EST. 1979
I just finished listening to another record from the massive St. Paddy's day pile I purchased (try saying that 5x fast), Ace Frehley's second solo release, Frehley's Comet.
When I was in my early 20s I had heard of this record but never heard anything from it until about 5 years ago. I was listening to my all time favorite station for AOR/Hard Rock/Metal, 92.5 WZUU, when they played this next song:
"Into the Night"
Good tune, and very in keeping with the times. It was written by Russ Ballard (ex-Argent, ex-Rainbow), who has written many hits for others, including Three Dog Night, Santana, and America. He also wrote Ace's first solo hit, "New York Groove."
Here's some trivia: Ace's backing band featured Anton Fig, the drummer for the house band on Late Night and Late Show with David Letterman. This album was also released on Johnny Zazula's Megaforce Records, notable for releasing the early Metallica albums. Here's another good song:
"Rock Soldiers"
I love Ace's guitar playing, which is really on display in this last track, an instrumental called "Fractured Too"
If you dig '80s hard rock with a spritz of hair spray, then this is an album worth checking out. Speaking of hair spray, check out the band pic on the back of the record!
Aerosmith
I recently picked up copies of Toys In the Attic and Rocks, released in 1975 and 1976 respectively. Many regard these albums as the apex of the early part of their career, and I would have to agree with them. I haven't heard their first two albums (Aerosmith and Get Your Wings) in full, but from what I have heard it seemed like they were still "getting their sea legs" in terms of finding their sound. By the time Toys and Rocks came out, they were in full form.
Toys In the Attic features such classics as the title track, "Walk This Way," "Big 10 Inch Record," "Sweet Emotion," and "No More No More." Most of these songs were staples on 101 WRIF, a hard rock station out of Detroit I listened to during my formative years as a music lover. They never get old to me, and hearing them transports me back to my basement hang-out in middle school, when I played video games and listened to my dad's ancient 1970s stereo, with the broken turntable and cassette player. "Sweet Emotion" also has the added attraction of reminding me of the intro to one of my all-time favorite flicks, "Dazed and Confused." Rocks is another rockin' record, and features the tunes "Back In the Saddle" and "Last Child," two more songs I used to love when they were played on the WRIF. This album has been a big influence on many people in the hard rock and metal community, with bands like Guns N' Roses and Metallica citing it as influential.
Allmusic, a music review website I find to be an invaluable resource when deciding on albums to buy, gives each of these records 5 stars. Unfortunately their next two albums would not be as well-received, and would be the last ones to feature the original line-up until their mid '80s comeback.
Alan Parsons Project
The Alan Parsons Project, a duo consisting of Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson (along with various musicians and vocalists) are a band I've liked for a while but had yet to really get into. Until recently I was only familiar with the handful of hit singles they had in the '80s ("Eye In the Sky," "Don't Answer Me," "Time"). On the recommendation of my old co-worker/friend Greg from Kalamazoo, I picked up the I Robot album and liked it a lot. It has a lot of different sounds going on...early electronic, prog, disco, soul, and funk, which keeps definitely keeps it interesting.
The album cover photo features the band members using the escalator tubes in the circular Terminal 1 building of de Gaulle Airport outside Paris.
A concept album loosely built around the idea of robots, the following was written on the cover inlay. It sets the mood for the album:
"I ROBOT...THE STORY OF THE RISE OF THE MACHINE AND THE DECLINE OF
MAN, WHICH PARADOXICALLY COINCIDED WITH HIS DISCOVERY OF THE WHEEL...AND
A WARNING THAT HIS BRIEF DOMINANCE OF THIS PLANET WILL PROBABLY END,
BECAUSE MAN TRIED TO CREATE ROBOT IN HIS OWN IMAGE."
Heavy stuff right?
Here's a few of my fave songs:
"I Wouldn't Wanna Be Like You"
"Breakdown" (feat. Allan Clarke, lead singer of the Hollies, on vocals)
My pal Greg has this to say about the album when he recommended it recently:
Coming
up on the 35th anniversary of the release of this masterpiece. If you
have never given this album a listen, I seriously urge you to.
Especially, on a night when you have a good view of the stars and sky.
Those should be your only distractions, and then all will be known. I am
not accountable for any pleasant out-of-body experiences you most
likely will have, nor the frequent U.F.O. flybys that will occur...
Thanks again Greg, I think I may have to try that next time I listen...
Today I'm listening to yet another benefit album (I go through certain phases when listening to stuff apparently), "Concerts for the People of Kampuchea." Recorded from a series of 4 concerts in London the last week of the '70s (2 weeks after I was born!), this album, a 2-record set, is leaner than the "No Nukes" album I reviewed the other day. The "No Nukes" album seemed to suffer from a "let's throw everything on here" approach, but the "Kampuchea" album features the cream of the four shows. I think the performers selected were quite a bit stronger also: Paul McCartney & Wings, the Who, the Clash, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, the Pretenders, Queen, and the Specials (not to mention the colossal rock supergroup "Rockestra," featuring members of the aforementioned bands PLUS 3 members of Led Zeppelin).
Side one features four songs by the Who, who are sounding excellent. They had come off a hard year, touring with a new drummer for the first time in their career (Kenney Jones, ex-Small Faces/Faces), after the 1978 death of Keith Moon. They had also been part of a tragedy earlier in the month of December 1979, when several fans were crushed to death at a concert in Cincinnati. Here are the songs they performed: "Baba O'Reilly," "Sister Disco," "Behind Blue Eyes," and "See Me, Feel Me." This was during Pete Townsend's "drunk era" (famously described in the song "Who Are You"). I recall reading an article in some music mag at a book store a few years back about this show and how Pete was drunk out of his mind during the performance the last night of the show. His style is a bit sloppier than I have heard before, but overall the vibe is good. The shows were filmed, and I found footage of the Who playing "Behind Blues Eyes":
Sides 2-3 feature one or a few song by Pretenders, Elvis Costello, Rockpile, Queen, Ian Dury & the Blockheads, and the Specials. All good stuff, and I'm especially partial to the Clash and Queen stuff. The artists featured showcase the variety that British music at the time offered...punk, new wave, and classic rock were all given equal time. Here's a video of the Clash playing "Armagideon Time:"
Side 4 is when it gets really good, with Paul McCartney & Wings taking the stage. Paul helped organize the shows (like his old bandmate George did with the Concert for Bangladesh) and since Wings were at that time one of the biggest bands in the world, they were given a slot close to the end of the last show. Wings performed one Beatles song ("Got to Get You Into My Life"), one song from Paul's first solo album (the rarely performed "Every Night"), and a song which ended up on 1980's "McCartney II" album ("Coming Up"). Here's a clip of Wings doing "Every Night:"
Finally, the grand finale, Rockestra! First appearing on Wings 1979 album "Back to the Egg," this "rock orchestra" featured John Bonham, Billy Bremner, Gary Brooker, Howie Casey, Tony Dorsey, Dave Edmunds, Steve Holly, James Honeyman-Scott, Steve Howard, Kenney Jones, John Paul Jones, Lawrence Juber, Denny Laine, Ronnie Laine, Linda McCartney, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, Thadeus Richard, Bruce Thomas, and Pete Townsend. David Gilmour, who appeared with Rockestra on the Wings album, couldn't be there since he was busy with Pink Floyd preparing for their tour for "The Wall." This clip shows the mammoth Rockestra performing the "Rockestra Theme" (check out the very intoxicated Pete Townsend):
Overall, I really enjoyed the heck out of this album. The musicians and songs featured were all top shelf, and the atmosphere seemed fun and playful.
The weekend of St. Patty's day I picked up around 24 records at store called Replay. I found some awesome stuff, and for good prices too. So far out of that pile I have sampled the Go Gos "Vacation," Michael Jackson "Off the Wall," and Journey "Frontiers." Tonight I threw on the platter a triple album benefit concert from September, 1979 titled "No Nukes."
"No Nukes" (from the MUSE Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future) was culled from a series of shows at Madison Square Garden over the course of five nights which highlighted the dangers of nuclear energy in the wake of the Three Mile Island event. In the same vein as the legendary original benefit show, the Concert for Bangladesh, those involved wanted to draw attention to an important topic of the day. The performers featured were an eclectic bunch, and consisted of a combination of singer-songwriter types (Jackson Brown, James Taylor), soul singers (Gil Scott-Heron, Raydio, Chaka Kahn), and classic rockers (Crosby Stills & Nash, the Doobie Brother, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers).
The songs and artists who comprise this concert album tended to be more on the light rock side. Overall, the album is uneven, with some parts being good and some being not very memorable. Side 6 featured three Crosby Stills & Nash songs, and they were sounding excellent (they had been together roughly 10 years at this point). I managed to find some footage from the show, here in the form of the Doobie Brothers performing their classic call for involvement, "Takin' It to the Streets," featuring the soulful white guy voice of Michael McDonald (joined by James Taylor).
This show was pretty amazing, but I much prefer the Concert for Bangladesh in terms of awesome benefit shows. Out of the 27 tracks featured on this, I would have to say only 12 or so were memorable. Still, the shows drew attention to a popular cause (although I guess they weren't that successful, since we still have nuclear power. And wasn't there some shit that went down in Japan because of that stuff last year? Maybe it's time for another No Nukes show).
Today was a rare day off for me, as I decided to use some vacation time due to how slow my work has been lately. I figured a three-day weekend would be a nice treat, and would give me some time to catch up on my pile of records I hadn't gotten around to listening to yet. Today's record is the 1983 debut from a hard rock/aor/prog rock band hailing from New Orleans called Zebra.
I first heard Zebra on WZUU about three years ago. The song was spacey, dreamy, and had beautiful acoustic guitar playing on it reminiscent of Jimmy Page's style. In fact, the song had a definite Zeppelin sound to it, as the singer's voice had a Robert Plant vibe as well. The song closes out side one of this album and is called "Who's Behind the Door?"
Come to find out they were signed to Atlantic Records in the early '80s, which was also the record label of Led Zeppelin. Perhaps they wanted the possible next Zep in their stable of artists? At any rate, while they do sound kinda like Zep in some ways, I would almost compare them more to Rush. The similarities are there, including them both being power trios and both utilizing synthesizers to create proggy sounds.
The track that kicks off the album, "Tell Me What You Want," is the one other Zebra song I had heard before I purchased this record (and was yet another tune first heard on WZUU - God love that station!). That song is a straight-ahead rocker that features the singer pleading with an unknown lover for just a little communication.
While I've compared this band to both Zep and Rush, some of the songs on it have an almost Beatle-esque sound to them as well. Their love for that legendary band was no secret as they included a tribute to slain ex-Beatle John Lennon on their second album. The Zep comparison will always be the one they get the most though, and they
included a cover of their song "The Ocean" on a 1990 live album.
I came across this slab at Schulers Books and Music in the Eastwood Town center on Lake Lansing Road. Schulers is a small Michigan chain of book stores with three locations in the Grand Rapids area and two locations in the Lansing area. I found out the Eastwood location was the only one in the Lansing area that carries vinyl, so I made a point to check it out. For $4, this is a great addition to my collection and one I plan on listening to again real soon.
A while back I picked up a copy of the RATT album "Invasion of Your Privacy" for a buck. It was money well-spent.
This meets all the requirements for an '80s album cover. Hot model? Check. Sense of foreboding? Check. Stylized logo? Check.
I first became familiar with this band about 9 years past their prime thanks to those grungy '90s cartoon cut-ups, Beavis and Butthead. Known for knocking all things '80s when it was fashionable to do so, I watched these 'toon goons rip on the RATT video for their song "I Want a Woman," which came out on their fourth album "Reach for the Sky." And for good reason...it was a pretty bad song. Recorded in the twilight days of hair metal, the video pretty much personified every cliche about the genre. It wasn't all bad though, as it showcased a lot of lovely '80s ladies (when each one appeared on the screen Butt-Head would say "...slut.")
For a long time liking hair metal would have been anathema to everything I believed in regarding heavy music, but as I aged I mellowed in this stance, and found myself listening to quite a bit of it about 5 years back. Thanks to my all-time favorite radio station WZUU I discovered RATT had more hits than the ubiquitous "Round and Round" and the aforementioned "I Want a Woman." The first one I remember really digging was from this album, a tune called "Lay It Down." Love that guitar intro! (Warning: a clown appears at the beginning, if you're scared of those dudes beware!)
Here's another good tune from this album:
What can I say? It's good party music! RATT weren't may favorite hair metal band (that would be Dokken), but they put out some fun jams.
Tonight's blog will be a double-look at two recent records I picked up. First on deck is Paul Kantner & Jefferson Starship "Blows Against the Empire."
I had heard about this one over the years and finally got a chance to listen to it this past Saturday after picking it up on Friday. It was released in 1970 during a time when Jefferson Airplane was starting to splinter as a band. Two of their members had formed a side project called Hot Tuna, and rhythm guitarist Paul Kantner decided to record a solo album with his old lady Grace Slick.
The album was based on a sci-fi idea he had conceived about the counterculture leaving the Earth in the not-too-distant future in a starship to start civilization anew, away from a rapidly deteriorating planet. Paul received help recording not only from his girlfriend Grace but also an ad-hoc conglomeration of musicians dubbed the Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra (consisting of members of the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Crosby Stills & Nash).
Paul and Grace with collaborator Jerry Garcia and legendary Bay Area impresario Bill Graham.
The album is far out in terms of concept and music, but is very interesting and better than I expected. At times it was folky, and at times it was cosmic. It was also nominated for a Hugo Award, an honor typically reserved for sci-fi novels. As for the name Jefferson Starship? It would be dusted off four years later after the Airplane finally crashed, with a line-up consisting of members of that old band plus some new folks. Consider this the early beginning of what would become phase 2 of the Airplane's ultimate metamorphosis into the "Starship." You know, the ones who built this city.
Dig it, man.
C
Next up on the platter we have the self-titled debut of psychedelic heavy rock/metal pioneers, Vanilla Fudge.
Released smack in the middle of the summer of love, 1967 (a year which saw the first releases of SO many influential bands...Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd, the Velvet Underground, the Doors, etc.), the Fudge's main trip was covering other artist's songs in a slowed down, sludgy, heavy form. And they were good at what they did. Their most well-known song was from this album, a cover of the Supremes "You Keep Me Hanging On." The track is dirge-style with heavy guitars and organ, and I'm getting a contact high just THINKING of it.
As cool as this band sounded on this record, they definitely were NOT cool looking.
The faces of early metal...yikes!
Drummer Carmine Appice also happens to be the older brother of Black Sabbath/Dio drummer Vinny.
NEXT
A new feature covering comics I'm currently reading called "Off the (Spinner) Rack"
Tonight's slab is the sole release by a hard rock/AOR duo from the early '80s that went by the handle of Whitford/Saint Holmes. First, some background...
Brad Whitford, rhythm guitarist for Aerosmith, left the band in 1981 just 2 years (and a lackluster album) after the departure of lead guitarist Joe Perry. Looking for a new gig, he hooked up with vocalist Derek St. Holmes, late of the Ted Nugent band. Derek was the lead singer on the first couple records Ted recorded following the demise of his group the Amboy Dukes, belting out such classics as "Stranglehold," "Hey Baby," and "Just What the Doctor Ordered."
I picked this up at a record show I went to last month for a buck, and I would say I got my money's worth and then some. The songs are catchy and rockin' with a kind-of Sammy Hagar vibe. Not overly memorable, but fun, and featuring a talented singer and guitarist. It didn't surpass either Aersomith or the Nuge but it is definitely a worthwhile part of their respective catalogs.
By 1985 Whitford was back with a fully reunited Aerosmith, who soldier on to this day. I even heard their singer, Steven Tyler, is on some tv show now. I don't watch it. St. Holmes languished in obscurity while occasionally reuniting with Ted Nugent.
Crank this up while cruising down to the local DQ in your Trans Am...
I found this clip on the Record Store Day web site. I love seeing people on these videos who feel the same way I do about records...now if only I could find some in real life. One guy describes the urge to seek out vinyl as a "hunter/gatherer instinct." I couldn't agree more.
And don't forget, Record Store Day is April 21 at your participating independent record store. In my neck of the woods (East Lansing area) that includes the Record Lounge, FBC, Replay, and East Grand.
The Canadian Belle is away (at work till 9:00PM), so the records will play!
Tonight's Slab: Paul (and Linda) McCartney - Ram (1971)
RAM was the second solo offering by the cutest of the Beatles, although it's not truly a solo effort as his wife and new musical collaborator Linda appears on most of the tracks providing both lead and back-up vocals. The rumor is that she is credited as part of a duo with Paul due to disputes with the other Beatles that entitled them to a cut of Paul's income related to their partnership in Apple. Linda was not a signatory to any Apple shenanigans, so she was entitled to her full share of the income from the record, which also meant (by amazing coincidence of course) Paul was too, as they were married, her money was his, etc...
But all cynicism aside, I love this record. This is currently the second copy I have purchased as the first one had a huge skip that occurred during the last track of side 2. Thanks CD Warehouse in Kzoo! I spent $3.99 for that?
I like to call this album "McCartney 1.5" as it is very close in spirit to Paul's first record, "McCartney" (Paul has an album called "McCartney II" that came out in 1980 after his venture with Wings imploded. It features Paul experimenting with synthesizers and, with the exception of one song, is pretty forgettable). It is more professionally recorded than that first one, which Paul recorded at home on his own equipment.
This album can definitely be described as "pastoral," as the cover no doubt indicates. Paul and Linda had been spending a lot of time at their Scottish farm getting away from all the hustle and bustle of London and the gloom attached to it from the very recent split of the Beatles. The songs range from mellow romps through the country to epic ballads with soaring choruses filled with orchestration and vocals. Linda's voice is in fine form, and while she was not an overwhelmingly good singer she puts in a competent performance, and sounds better than she did on "McCartney." The production is fuller too, and not as spartan as that of the first record.
Paul (looking pretty grizzly) and Linda, out and about in '71
Allmusic has this to say: "...in retrospect it looks like nothing so much as the first indie pop album,
a record that celebrates small pleasures with big melodies, a record
that's guileless and unembarrassed to be cutesy."
I'd say that is pretty accurate. Some of the songs ("Too Many People," "Dear Boy," and "Three Legs") were seen as digs at the other ex-Beatles at the time, Lennon in particular. John answered back later that year on his Imagine album with the track, "How Do You Sleep?" This song was considerably more blatant in pointing out who it was about, whereas the Paul tracks were at least a little bit vague. John even included a postcard insert of himself holding a pig by the ears. Now that's symbolism, folks.
Here's a video showcasing my favorite track. It reminds me of my own long-haired lady.
This video features Paul performing the track "Ram On" (with a mandolin!) in 2010.
...I yanked this off of the Facebook page for one of the handful of record stores I frequent semi-regularly, Green Light Music & Video in Kalamazoo, MI. I tell ya, this guy is living the dream. If I can get the dough together, maybe I can open a record store when I'm 40.
Well, the Canadian Belle (my "Zooey-esque" girlfriend) is at the bar with co-workers, so I'm holed up in the office of Castle JEP looking at cool stuff online and digging some tunes. I purchased a BOATLOAD of records over the past month and am slowly listening to the mountain of sides that recently came into my possession. To record some of my purchases for posterity, I thought I would start a new semi-regular blog feature I'll call "Tonight's Slab."
Have fun babe. It's cute when you come to bed with Pabst on your breath!
Spinning on the table tonight is the debut album by The Go Gos, "Beauty and the Beat." I dropped the needle on this one, cranked the sound way up, and could feel the pulsing beat of the kick-drum as their song "Our Lips Are Sealed" bounced exuberantly out of my speakers. I have dug the Go Gos since high school, when I became acquainted with their hits via VH1 shows like "I Love the '80s." Their music has a punk attitude melded with catchy pop hooks. Unlike some of the *shudder* "mall punk" bands of 10 years back or so, the Go Gos had real punk credibility.
I picked up this record, along with their third studio album "Talk Show," for $2 each at East Lansing's legendary Flat, Black & Circular. Near mint vinyl for $2 a pop...you can't beat it! This store been around since 1976 and has a great selection with reasonable prices. When I went in there Super Bowl weekend the place was busy as heck! Word of warning, the record store clerks I have encountered are of the surly, music snob variety.
The Go Gos broke up in 1985 but have had numerous reunions. I think it would be a fun show to go see if they end up on tour again sometime soon. There's one other thing I should mention when discussing my fondness for the Go Gos: my humongous crush on rhythm guitarist and co-vocalist Jane Wiedlin. I just love her spunkiness and cutesy voice. And I have a thing for brunettes.
Pay no mind to what they say, Jane. It doesn't matter anyway. Shall we go to the pub for a Pabst?
