Random Record Revisit

Queen II – Queen [1974]

   Queen had quite a remarkable run of success in America beginning with the November 1974 release of Shear Heart Attack through 1980’s The Game. In time, many went back to 1973’s self-titled debut and declared it to be an overlooked masterpiece. [I personally think the first side is brilliant, the second, not so much.] But Queen II remains as kind of the forgotten record of the catalog, much like the much-overlooked 1976 album Presence in the Zeppelin catalog.

   Queen II was initially released with the two sides of the record titles Side White - featuring four Brian May compositions and on by drummer Roger Taylor - and Side Black featuring five Freddie Mercury songs.

   The White side kicks off with the multi layered guitars of Brian May building a majestic theme [Procession]before an echoed note fades into an arpeggiated phrase and the band crashes in and Mercury puts forth Father To Son. May’s words remind that wisdom is passed, ignored, learned and dutifully passed again from generation to generation. In trademarked fashion, Father To Son slides into soft guitars of White Queen [When It Began]. If March Of the Black Queen begat Bohemian Rhapsody, then White Queen is the stepping stone to May’s The Prophet Song, his statement piece on A Night At the Opera. The ghostly sad white queen is as far from earth as she is from Mercury’s black queen. May plays layers of guitars the way Queen layers vocals. The solo in the song is a guitar specially rigged to sound like a sitar. Some Day, One Day follows, May’s one lead vocal on the album. Simple and majestic, driven by acoustic guitar as most of the songs that feature May as a vocalist are. The side ends with the heavy metal thump of drummer Roger Taylor’s Loser In the End. One of those rare songs that stretch out at the end and allow the band a little time to jam at the end.

   Side Black kicks off with Ogre Battle, which had already been in the set list for years before being immortalized on tape. It certainly proves that Mercury could rock as hard as any the other bands out there, aided by May’s multi layered guitars and of course more of those the multi layered Queen harmonies. Ogre Battle flows into the paranoid beat of The Fairy Feller’s Master Stroke attempts to describe Richard Dodd’s painting of the same name. FFMS then flows into the brief interlude of Mercury’s piano and some ethereal vocals over Mercury’s representation of a heartbroken lover sent away down the path of Nevermore. March of the Black Queen with its many sections and vocal gymnastics seems a precursor to what will come in next year’s Bohemian Rhapsody. [Reminder: Queen put out four albums between July 1973 and November 1975] After a 45 second intro section, the band kicks into 20 seconds of instrumental and vocal buildup before falling into the main song, full of camp lines that only Queen could get away with. [“Now I’ve got a belly full / You can be my sugar baby / You can be my honey child” “My life is in your hands, I’ll fo and I’ll fie / I’ll be what you make me, I’ll do what you like”] After the false ending at 6:06, Mercury hits a campy, vaudevillian line on the piano and delivers the 25 second coda with the vocals melting into Funny How Love Is. Funny How Love Is might be the most joyful thing Queen ever put to tape even if it seems to be speeded up about 5 – 10 %. The side ends with the second most unlikely Queen song to chart, Seven Seas Of Rhye. Taking the riff from the brief instrumental that ended the debut, Mercury fleshes it out with tale of a fantasy world Fredie and his sister dreamed up as children. And in true Queen style it fades out to the British music hall song I Do Love To Be Beside the Seaside.

   Definitely the heaviest album in the Queen catalog.  Definitely in my top 3 Queen albums. Truth be told, I prefer May and Taylor’s White side, although I love Funny How Love Is and I think I need some repeated listening to March Of the Black Queen.

 A rare New Music Review [but it's an old, old band]

Hackney Diamonds – The Rolling Stones [2023]

Short take: It’s the Rolling Stones, they’re motivated and the producer kept the bullshit away.

  

   It’s been a long time since we had an album of new material from the Rolling Stones. Not yet another compilation with one or two new songs to force completists into buying Tumbling Dice or Jumping Jack Flash for a 10^th or 20th time. Not yet another live Stones record. It’s been so long that vinyl is back in style!

   What’s been the hold up? Keith said “when the singer says he’s ready, you go and record.” For his part, Jagger said they had demos that were okay but they needed to knuckle down and set a deadline [which was how Jagger and Richards had gotten over their mid 80s bickering charged into Steel Wheels] and Richards agreed. New producer Andrew Watt picked about 20 songs from a hundred plus [Did I mention it’s been a long time between albums?] demos and the band got to work.

   I admit I had to be a tad skeptical about new Stones music after Bridges to Babylon and A Bigger Bang [sorry N8]. But my hopes were raised by Angry. Angry is Rock & Roll – capital letters intended for emphasis. Does it sound like they’re some auto-tuning going on? Yes. Maybe it’s just there for effect. But the band is just kicking ass. One wondered if / how much the late Charlie Watts would appear on the record [answer: 2 cuts]. I for one could tell from one listen that this is Steve Jordan on the drums – Steve has a heavy right foot. But the other joy was that the lyrics weren’t just sophomoric generic “Let’s rock / I wanna rock you” lyrics. But Jagger is still in fine voice – I mean he knows he has to take care of his instrument!

   I really avoided getting into the hype so I could judge the album on its own merits. I did track a compressed version this evening after work while finishing up some things before going to the record store and I must say I was impressed even with a low-fi version. I thought this was easily the most cohesive and best album since Steel Wheels.

   But then… hearing the words “featured” or “special guests” is usually a bad sign. But they’re not there to overwhelm the Stones or dazzle with some virtuosity. If you weren’t told that Paul McCartney was playing bass on Bite My Head Off, you wouldn’t be able to tell it was Paul McCartney. There’s none of those inventive bass lines one remembers from the Beatles. It’s just a straight ahead rocker that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Some Girls with a nice simple guitar straight ahead solo by Ronnie. Probably Ronnie. Elton John on a Rolling Stones record? Actually both Get Close and Live By the Sword are nice middle of the road numbers. I really don’t hear the piano on Get Close and it’s pretty deep in the mix on Sword, although there are a few fills here and there. It really could be anyone playing. Sword is one of the numbers that Charlie Watts is heard on [Mess It Up is the other and the drums sound distinctly different on those cuts] and the number that Bill Wyman played bass on. Stevie Wonder adding the gospel touches on piano on Sweet Sounds Of Heaven, the same touch that Billy Preston [R.I.P.] would have added in the 70s. It was probably a gas for those guys to get people almost their own age in to play and swap old war stories. Lady Gaga – immensely talented but her voice lacks… how can I say this… the soul of a Merry Clayton [or touring vocalists Lisa Fisher or Sasha Allen]. That’s my opinion only!

   Mick’s exaggerated English accent on [especially Whole Wide World] is probably the worst offense on the record. Which really isn’t saying a whole lot. Dreamy Skies could have slipped into that syrupy shit kicking voice he uses occasionally but fortunately it doesn’t.

   Keith’s vocal on this record, Tell Me Straight is a haunting little cut in the mold of Slipping Away. A damn fine vocal from Keith, too.

   At the end it’s just Mick and Keith and the blues – covering Muddy Waters Rollin’ Stone [aka Rolling Stone Blues].

   The best way to sum up this record it’s the Rolling Stones and that’s it. No bullshit. Just some almost guys still doing what they’ve been doing for 60 years – that’s 6 decades! That's older than me and a lot of you reading my take on this record!

   Let’s also not forget, this is the Rolling Stones still breaking ground. There are a couple of 80 year olds [Dylan, Paul] still making records but there is NOT another 60 year old band full of seventy and 80 year old men still making records.

   The real fucking shame of it is that it took Charlie Watts’ passing for the Stones to realize that their time really is limited and they’d better get serious about their work. One hopes that when this publicity blitz is over, they get back in and see if they can polish up some more diamonds. Because in the end, it’s only the legend and the music that’s going to be left.

   IF Hackney Diamonds turns out to be the last “official” album [i.e. not a Tattoo You style collection of left overs that get finished], it is a good one to go out on. This record sits proudly next to the ones you know and have loved for years.

   Bill Graham put a line on the marquee of the Winterland announcing a set of Grateful Dead shows: “They aren’t the best at what they do, they’re the only ones who do what they do.” As a 60 year Rock & Roll band, the same can be said of the Rolling Stones.

 

   As to the marketing: Am I amazed [or disappointed] with the number of cover variants ? Oh My God, yes! “In limited numbers” sure seems like a cash grab, creating instant collector’s items. Couple of picture discs, one color variant and one other cover variant. There are three CD issues also, the plain jewel box, a digipack with a 64 page booklet or a deluxe package and a CD-DVD [hi-res Dolby (surround?) mix and booklet. On the other hand, if people want to plunk down their hard earned cash, the Stones and the record company would be fools not to take it.

 

To Carla
   Xmas 1971

   One has to think that a book inscribed like that had been chosen carefully and given in love or great friendship. But it’s in my collection now. I have to wonder how it ended up in the used book store.

   Was it gifted someone on a moving day?  “I know you loved this and it will remind you of me.”

   Was it left somewhere on a moving day? Was someone leaving in a hurry and just left all sort of things are left for the landlord to clean up?

   Was it purposely left on a moving day? “I don’t want to be reminded of you every time I see this on my bookshelf!”

   Or was it carried many places? Was it a treasured memento between two people back to the start of a long and amazing journey together. Or was it a treasured memento of a time and place and someone just for Carla?

   Did it find its way to the bookstore because a home had to be cleared out for the downsizing move or passing?

   We all have these things – boxes of old letters and Christmas cards and our books and records – that someone will have to go through when our soul has moved on to the next phase. In my case, notebooks full of my years of thoughts and observations.

   A lot of things will end up in the trash. But some may find their way to Half Price Books or Forever Young.

   I wonder if someone will pick one up of my CDs and say “I wonder how this ended up here in the used record store?”

   Someone might just pick up Carla’s book the same way I did.

 

Random Record Revisited

Fighting – Thin Lizzy [1975]

   By 1975, Thin Lizzy was a band on the move. After guitarist Eric Bell unexpectedly quit literally on the eve of 1974, bassist / songwriter Phil Lynott and drummer Brian Downey recruited Scotsman Brian Robertson and American Scott Gorham [soon to be Lynott’s main onstage foil but unfortunately also his drug buddy] and delved into a harder edged sound which would come to full fruition with 1976’s masterwork Jailbreak.

   The opening track, a cover of Bob Seger’s Rosalie has two versions: the original album version clocks in at 3:11, the American mix a mere 2:57 – by my simple calculation, the American version is sped up about 16 beats [4 bars] per minute. The American mix is noticeably brighter, undoubtably mixed for radio. With a funky little backbeat, it’s really not far off of what Aerosmith was doing. For Those Of Us Who Love To Live kicks off with some great twin guitar harmonies before falling into a short shuffle. Two verses and two choruses, some more really tasty twin lead work over some really pumping bass by Lynott and then it’s over. Suicide dated back to the Eric Bell years – it was called Baby’s Been Messing and had different lyrics [obviously] and it lacked the twin guitar ‘duel’ that is the last two minutes of the song. Wild One harkens back to the Irish roots and Whiskey In the Jar but also contains one of Lynott’s recurring motifs – a mid tempo set of chord change that will recur in Fight Or Fall [Jailbreak], Fool’s Gold [Johnny the Fox], Downtown Sundown [Bad Reputation] and Didn’t I [Chinatown]. Fighting My Way Back ends side one with the tough hard rock that Lizzy will perfect on Jailbreak.

   King’s Vengeance [musically] seems to be something Queen might have done on one of their pre-Night At the Opera albums. Maybe the chords owe a bit to Seven Seas Of Rhye? Of course Lynott’s reedy voice is nothing like Freddie Mercury’s and Lynott writes lyrics from a definite blue collar, working poor point of view. [“Down and out in the city / Won't you give a boy a break/ Juvenile on trial before committee / Taken all he can take / But the king shall have his vengeance / Especially on the poor / Some say preaching to converted / Me, I'm not too sure”] Vengeance flows into Sprit Slips Away, another slow/mid tempo number noted by the chiming main riff that recurs throughout and some really tasty and tasteful guitar solos and fills – the volume swells of the outro also seem to hold a little of the Queen / Brian May influence.  Brian Robertson’s solo penned Silver Dollar follows a jumping little boogie shuffle that seems to quote the opening riff of Joe Walsh’s Welcome To the Club [So What, 1974].   The phasing / chorus effect also seems to harken to something Walsh might have done. Freedom Song is another good mid tempo twin guitar workout. Lynott’s vocals reach that great level that power the best of Lizzy’s works. This is another one of those songs that points to what Thin Lizzy is capable of and will briefly become. It’s one of those songs that leads to something greater. Lizzy also has a great tradition of not usually ending on the ballad – Nightlife’s Dear Heart being an outlier [one also might call Bad Reputation’s Dear Lord a ballad but it’s just a mid tempo subtle rocker not really a ballad]. But despite the title, Ballad Of the Hard Man is as good a slice of hard rock as anything else Thin Lizzy ever put to tape. Great wah-wah by Gorham or Robertson [or both]. Might be one of those really under-rated Lizzy tracks that only true Lizzy fans get.

   The European Deluxe Edition released in 2008 includes a second disc including the B-side of the Rosalie single, the funky reggae track Half Caste [another commentary on social class]. Unexpected from a hard rocking band like the Lizzy but a fun track. That faster US mix of Rosalie. Three Live at the BBC tracks – Rosalie, Suicide and Ballad Of the Hard Man. And yes the guitarists pull off that great dueling at the end of Suicide and that wah-wah stuff on Hard Man. On the BBC tracks, one really gets the sense of how Lynott’s bass lays the bed but also pumps the whole band along. And a few incomplete out takes and / or demos.

   The BBC stuff is where the band really shows their power. A live album of this tour UK Tour ’75 was issued in 2008 but it’s recording quality leaves a lot to be desired – Lynott’s bass seems to be buried under the guitars. But I can same the same thing of 1978’s high energy, oft praised Live And Dangerous.

   As for Fighting, it’s not the same quality of Jailbreak but it’s the step the band had to take before getting to that peak. Taken with that grain of salt, it’s an enjoyable record, as enjoyable as Jailbreak’s follow up Johnny the Fox.

 1978

A year which heralded the arrival of two albums which would kill the 70s sound. Two albums and bands that would set the blueprint for the 80s. Both completely fresh and timeless. Both contained multiple staples of FM / Classic Rock radio. And both are self-titled releases, too. I’m speaking of course about Van Halen and The Cars.

 

Van Halen became the hard rock band of choice for my generation. They were THE band that blasted out of car cassette decks in high school parking lots and cruising down whatever drag the teens cruised down to see and be seen. Yeah, we liked the classics – Zeppelin, Skynyrd, etc. but Van Halen was our band.

 

The formula itself wasn’t new – guitar [or in some cases like the Doors keyboards], bass, drums and lead singer was a rock and roll staple. But from the needle drop on Runnin’ With the Devil Van Halen sounded different. This was NOT Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath or the Who. This didn’t sound like anyone who came before. One might say they’re related to the Beck-Ola [Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, Mickey Waller] Jeff Beck Group. But as original as Jeff Beck is [was], they still wear their influences pretty heavily. On Van Halen, only the cover songs [Ice Cream Man, You Really Got Me] seemed even related to anything that came before. And maybe I’m On Fire. That’s a tough trick – usually for the first album or two a band wears its influences. Van Halen seems to come from outer space somewhere. Eddie Van Halen said he was heavily influenced by Eric Clapton but there is almost nothing on this record that sounds anything like the blues or even Cream. The rhythm parts, the solo [2:05 – 2:20], the runs [right side 2:38 – 2:47] and the closing 16 seconds of Ice Cream Man may touch on blues scales, however, Eddie’s sound is so unique with the pinch squeals and dive bombing vibrato with the “whammy bar” that this doesn’t sound like anything Clapton or Jimmy Page or even the incredible Jeff Beck would do. Well would do THEN. Beck later sorta copied Eddie and then became a master of using the volume knob and vibrato arm to prove why he is the best guitar player on the planet. [Since he is buried here on Earth, I stand by my statement.] However, I freely admit that Edward Van Halen may have been the most influential guitarist ever.

 

Let’s add to that. David Lee Roth is [was] one of the most charismatic front men in the history. He had the looks to go with that and really he’s a good singer. Would that personality get old after 14 days on a tour bus? Hell yes. But for that 90 minutes on stage, I’m sure he was must see entertainment. *

I think Alex Van Halen is credited as a very good drummer and Michael Anthony hold the whole thing down. Is he bass playing simple sometimes? Sure. But because of what Eddie is doing, Anthony doesn’t want to play John Entwhistle against that. That’s too busy. Lock down with the drums, keep it simple.

 

Credit where credit is due, too: Michael Anthony and Eddie do great background vocals.

 

Van Halen didn’t sell 10 million of their debut album selling only to guitar nerds. People bought Van Halen because it sounded different – and because Van Halen put the fun back into rock. Van Halen is a pure party rock record. Young folks gathered in parks, around cars, in living rooms and on patios passing around joints, drinking squat bottles of Budweiser and ‘hanging’ and few would say no to the mighty Van Halen on the stereo.

 

The other sounds like nothing else album is The Cars.

 

The band the Cars may have defined the term New Wave for a lot of people in middle America. The album had two top 40 singles [Just What I Needed and My Best Friend’s Girl] and an almost Top 40 [Good Times Roll stalled at # 41] so they got onto Top 40 radio. You’re All I’ve Got Tonight, Bye Bye Love and Moving In Stereo were played on FM radio like they were top 40 singles [at least here in DFW]. Moving In Stereo got another boost when it was featured in Fast Times At Ridgemont High [though it was not on the soundtrack] in 1982. All the males know what scene I’m referring to: “Doesn’t anybody fucking knock?!?”

 

And yes, Talking Heads had already had their debut out and would drop More Songs About Buildings And Food about a month after the Cars debut but Talking Heads did not have the ‘Pop’ sensibilities of the Cars. Psycho Killer may be catchy as hell but for shear pop, My Best Friend’s Girl stomps all over it.

 

Talking Heads do not have two lead vocalists. Yes, Ric Ocasek’s vocals may occasionally sound robotic and feel so out of place on anything like a hit single. He’s obviously not a handsome man [the local paper may have described him as ‘a mantis-like figure]. But the man had a gift for writing a pop hook like no one’s business. [There are are rare examples of ‘just okay’ Cars songs: I’m In Touch With Your World on this record, Lust For Kicks and Got A Lot On My Head on Candy-O, Leave Or Stay on Door To Door.]

 

But the Cars was a band put together to maximize Ocasek’s songs. Ocasek adds rhythm guitar though sometimes wonders if his amp is even turned on. Elliot Easton on lead guitar adds the colors and the exclamation points, the lightning and the counterpoints that themselves become hooks that grab the listeners ear. Did Ocasek have that little riff that opens My Best Friend’s Girl? Maybe. But Easton added that little trill the ends each chorus. [Easton admitted in a Musician article he unconsciously lifted it from the Beatles I Will. If you steal, steal from the best right?] The fill lines that run between the choruses in Just What I Needed, how Easton and keyboardist Greg Hawkes find the way to leave each other space and how Easton rips off a solo so perfect. memorable and hummable it becomes yet another hook. [This is a link to Rick Beato’s What Makes This Song Great breakdown of Just What I Needed. Rick Gets very technical musically but his love and enthusiasm just so infectious you can overlook SOME of that.]

 

Easton IS the secret weapon of the Cars. He plays just the right amount and he plays to fit the song. He doesn’t do the run up the neck and weedely weeddely wee wee wee to draw attention to himself like other guitar players. It’s almost egoless but he takes the challenge to fit something that is perfect for whatever the song seems to be asking for.  Even on the songs he is allowed some freedom [a lot of the longer songs on Shake It Up] Easton seems to find a spot that feels right and sticks there. At the end of Cruiser [a favorite], he seems to take pleasure reenacting the guitar duel from the Beatles The End. If you recall or don’t know, each of the Beatles took a line; in order they are Harrison, McCartney and Lennon. You can tell when John Lennon plays because its not pretty but rather he “makes it move and howl.” And Easton has the chops to pull that kind of thing off.

 

Greg Hawkes may have been the most important add. [I forgive the moustache on he inner sleeve that makes him look like Walter Becker’s cousin.] The last to join this incarnation, he had worked with Ocasek and Orr in a previous band. Hawkes was Ocasek’s unofficial left hand, officially cowriting three album tracks and one b-side  and appearing prominently on Ocasek’s two 80s solo LPs. The album is keyboard heavy but nothing the keyboard like Jon Lord’s B-3 with Deep Purple or Emerson Lake and Palmer. Not Roxy Music or Brian Eno. This is a totally new sound. Maybe Electric Light Orchestra but they are not used the same way. The sounds on Moving In Stereo are not like anybody that I have heard used synthesizers up to that point.

 

And then there is the late, great Ben Orr. To call Orr the Yang to Ocasek’s Ying sells Orr short. The bass player with looks with a great rock voice. Ocasek’s voice was great for some things but there is a warmth in Orr’s voice that adds depth and breadth that Ocasek’s reedy voice can not. For example, Bye Bye Love might have been fine with Ocasek singing but it seems hard to imagine him pulling off that little pre chorus semi whispered bit [“It’s an orangey sky / Always it’s some other guy / It’s just a broken alibi…”] without it sounding corny or warble-y. It’s Orr’s voice that fits down in the lower ranges on Moving In Stereo and All Mixed Up. There’s a smoothness inn Orr’s voice that was the reason that he sang the Cars biggest hit, 1983’s Drive. Even though Orr sang fewer songs as the Cars progressed Orr’s counter balance to Ocasek is sorely missed on 2011’s Cars ‘reunion’ Move Like This. [Orr died in 2000 of cancer] **

Again to give credit where credit is due, drummer David Robinson holds the whole thing together. He’s not flashy or powerful but he plays tasteful fills – can you imagine You’re All I’ve Got Tonight without his fills and that galloping beat coming out of the choruses? And Don’t Cha Stop is just the first example of Robinson being asked to hold the beat one way while guitars and/or vocals do something totally different [see Since You’re Gone on Shake It Up or Panorama’s Touch And Go].

 

The backing vocals by all of the band members are spectacular. How much producer Roy Thomas Baker [who also did Queen’s albums 1973 – 1976 including A Night At the Opera] influenced or helped with is open to speculation. But they sound amazing and add another hook to the songs.

 

For all the airplay and love it has received The Cars has only sold 6 million albums. But to this day no band sounds like the Cars. Obviously The Cars is not as rousing or as much of a good time party record as Van Halen. Yet both are albums that one could put on with almost any group of people and no one would complain.

 

* I was thinking last night about the difference between the Roth and the Hagar albums. With 5150 and Sammy’s arrival, it seemed that the sound of the band changed – more than just a new vocalist. The sound of the DLR years is very midrange heavy, like someone draped a towel over the tweeter of your speakers. As soon as 5150 hits the platter, it’s a very bright album. One might say that the bass has been castrated or at the very least put on a taunt leash. But Eddie’s guitar seems the be more room miked than a mic placed three inches from in front of his cabinet. And the kick drum sounds like it’s hitting a cardboard box – there’s no boom to it. [This may be an 80s thing – I just checked some of my tracks for OU812 and For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and OU seems to sound similar but the bottom is back on F.U.C.K.]

 Of course the arrival of Hagar opens up a higher vocal range, too being that Dave is basically a baritone. And lyrics like U.S. Prime, Grade A Stamped guaranteed/ Grease it up And turn on the heat / You got to throw it down And roll it over once /  Maybe twice / Then chow down, down, down, down… That’s nothing David Lee Roth would write.

 

 ** Orr released one solo album, The Lace in 1986/ The album was co written by Orr and Diane Gray Page and Orr [and produced by ‘Mutt’ Lange’s associate Mike Shipley] showed that he had learned a lot alongside Ocasek and Roy Thomas Baker [or that some of his talents were not being utilized by the Cars]. Just as Ocasek did on his solo records, Orr programmed drum machines and added keyboards as well as bass and he was wise enough to bring in Elliot Easton to add some guitars. The album if pretty much synth pop not far from the Cars but due to it being mostly keyboards, it lacks power and punch of anything like Just What I Needed or You’re All I’ve Got Tonight. But it’s a good album. It had a top 30 single with Cars like Stay the Night. You might recall the album track Too Hot To Stop getting some airplay as well.

 

   Almost Famous was on Turner Classic tonight. [It came out in 2000? It doesn’t feel like that long… but then again it does.] Yeah, I know It’s not a Great Great Movie but the subject is near and dear to my heart. Words and music. And it’s been a while since I’ve seen it, so I put up the recliner and settled in for an evening with some “old friends.”

  Every time I see it, especially when Sapphire [Fairuza Balk] swishes her magic hips backstage [oooooh yes!] then talks with Russell and pops that line about truly loving “some little piece of music, or some band, so much that it hurts” -it still gets me right here [points to heart].

   Words and music. I always felt connected to music – radio especially. Of course, I dreamed to be a DJ. I guess I sort of was / am with mix tapes and eventually my car CD collections. Then I wanted to be a writer for Rolling Stone or a local music writer. One problem was that I was terribly afraid to talk to people I don’t know. I didn’t have the confidence to assert myself, present myself with authority. Could that have come with practice? Maybe. It’s an overly long, twisting story that breaks into some very heavy introspection that I’m not going into here.

   I always appreciate the soundtrack choices. There are a lot of songs from my childhood that are ingrained in me and when I hear them, they just raise my spirits and / or take me back to days before “obligations,” “responsibility” and adultery…er, adulthood. The featured Timy Dancer from my beloved Madman Across the Water 8 track/ LP / CD is one. Traffic’s Glad [John Barleycorn Must Die] is another one. Stillwater’s Love Comes And Goes [the set opener that starts with the electric piano in Cleveland] is so obviously based on Bad Company. I did spot a song that was not out in 1973 in the Topeka party scene: Deep Purple’s Burn. Great song, just a few months early as the album would not come out until February 1974.

   Anyway, I enjoyed it a great deal. It’s like going to Burleson and getting a Gina’s Pizza [or if you’re not familiar with Burleson, some other favorite restaurant you haven’t had in a long time]. Or finding that favorite t-shirt that somehow ended up under the bed or behind the dyer.

 

Random Record Revisited:

Johnny Winter And [1970]

   I’ve been on a little Johnny Winter jag, learning to play Mean Town Blues from his debut The Progressive Blues Experiment but I thought I’d reach for this one today.

   After two and half records [Second Winter is a three sided LP] of his own style of gut bucket blues and roots rock, Johnny Winter teamed up with the remains of the McCoys [yes, the Hang On Sloopy McCoys] becoming Johnny Winter And. Guitarist Rick Derringer would be a good foil for Winter for the two albums Johnny Winter And would put out and he would return to play on parts of Winter’s next three albums as well as playing in Johnny’s Brother Edgar’s bands White Trash and the Edgar Winter Group. Bassist Randy Jo Hobbs would remain with Johnny Winter through the first half of the decade. This appears to have been drummer Randy Zehringer’s last work as he does not appear on 1971’s Live Johnny Winter And.

   The album kicks of with the burning Winter original Guess I’ll Go Away. This song is the blueprint of the Johnny Winter sound for the first parts of the decade. Mark Klingman’s Ain’t That A Kindness follows, a rollicking piece of New Orleans inspired light funk that feels like Dr. John or a lot like Leon Russell. A cover of Traffic’s No Time To Live [from the 1968 self titled album] follows. Guitars are featured here [of course] replace the piano, organ and sax of the original. Since credits are not listed, one is unsure who is really singing but it sounds like Winter, although Derringer’s voice is very similar only without the gargling with a shot glass of finishing nails that Johnny has at full volume. In any case, the singer is singing not howling and growling like Winter normally does. As a piece of light psychedelia, this might be a left over arrangement from the McCoys ignored Infinite McCoys or Human Ball records as one does not associate Johnny Winter with the psychedelic 60s other than being an artist who appeared at Woodstock. The next track is the original appearance of what would be Rick Derringer’s only hit, the immortal Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo. The arrangement here is a noticeably slower than Derringer’s hit arrangement. Winter’s solo is very by the seat of his pants and more blues based than Derringer’s as well. Randy Zehringer’s Am I Here is next, another semi psychedelic slow burner – reminds me of some of the quieter moments of the James Gang or Joe Walsh. Look Up is just a fun little rocker that predates Lynyrd Skynrd’s southern rock, complete with Honkettes [female backup singers].  

   Another Winter burner, Prodigal Son opens the second side. This is definitely not the song the Rolling Stones stole [although they finally credited Roberrt Wilkins] for Beggar’s Banquet. [Winter’s own fixation with the Stones would start with a cover of Jumpin’ Jack Flash on Live Johnny Winter And and he would cover three of their songs on his next two albums.] The arrangement on Derringer’s Out On A Limb feels like a Stones outtake. Let the Music Play shares the descending riff from Chicago’s 25 Or 6 To 4. Winter’s Nothing Left follows, nothing special, a typical Winter album track. The album closes with an only slightly funky Derringer track, Funky Music. When the song goes into the breakout at about 3:00, it does get a little funkier and Winter lays down a nice solo before he and Derringer trade off a couple more before the fade out.

  Johnny Winter And is not a great record – think of 1970: Santana’s Abraxas, Led Zeppelin III, Black Sabbath’s Paranoid, Cosmo’s Factory [CCR]… but it’s a good 1970 record. I reach more for the highlights of Guess I’ll Go Away and Prodigal Son more than the full album but this warrants an occasional full listen.

 

Random Record Revisit [2 for 1]:

Waiting For the Sun – The Doors [1968]

The Soft Parade – The Doors [1969]

   Reading the Wikipedia entry on pianist George Winston upon learning of his passing lead me back to Tracey’s hard drive to review his The Night Divides the Day: The Music Of the Doors. [Meh.] But that quick review has led me to revisit my lowest ranked of the Doors catalog.

   I like the first two Doors records as much as anyone else. Does that mean I like my Doors a little weird? Maybe. Anything wrong with that? No. I love L.A. Woman. Morrison Hotel is good. But the middle records of the Jim Morrison Doors catalog suffer terrible unevenness.

   [For the record, these are the original mixes, I don’t even want to get into remixes of the Doors catalog for the 40^th anniversary box set.]

   Starting with Waiting for the Sun: no one can deny Hello, I Love You. Representative of the typical Doors song? No. But damn it’s catchy! Love Street might also not be a typical Doors song but this lilting little ballad is one of my favorites. A touch of the weirdness returns in the spooky, paranoid Not To Touch the Earth, which every true Doors fan knows was one section of the epic Celebration Of the Lizard suite. The poem is printed on the inner side of the fold over sleeve. Summer’s Almost Gone sounds [sonically] like it was recorded during the Strange Days sessions. The slide work by guitarist Robbie Krieger is awesome. Wintertime Love feels like the Doors plagiarizing their own take of Alabama Song [Whiskey Bar] from the first album. The Unknown Soldier is okay. It’s one of the few songs in the Doors catalog that hasn’t aged well. Spanish Caravan is definitely not a typical Doors song. Great flamenco playing by Robbie Krieger at the opening half – the electric second half feels forced and unnecessary to me. According to Wikipedia, My Wild Love is one of Robbie Krieger’s least favorite songs. Chanting and handclaps? No, thank you. We Could Be So Good Together again feels like a rip of Alabama Song. [Maybe it’s something with the time signature?] Yes, the River Knows is a harmless bit of nothing. Here is some really pretty interplay between Krieger and keyboardist Ray Manzerek here. And then there’s Five To One. This insistent driving marching beat under some of the more dated lyrics of The Revolution threatened by events of 1968… well, that never happened did it?

   Overall, I just find that the good songs don’t carry enough over the bad ones and I still rate this as a slightly below average album [that’s 3.0 starts on my 5 star system on Rate Your Music. Average being 3.5]

   The Soft Parade limps right out of the gate with the middle of the road schlock of Tell All the People. Could this have inspired Over At the Frankenstein Place from The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Touch Me is alright despite the strings and horns all over the place. Shaman’s Blues is one of the few highlights of this record just the four Doors riding this ¾ riff around. Do It and Easy Ride follow – these are two of the worst songs in the Doors catalog. Wild Child leads off the B side. This has been one of my favorites since I first heard it on the Doors tapes made for my back in high school. Great riffing by Robbie at the start and great slide at the back end. My winner in the category Worst Doors Song, Runnin’ Blue is next. Senseless jazz horns followed by a country hoe down? Ugh. Wishful, Sinful feels like a follow up to Love Street. Here the use of orchestration feels tasteful and natural where it feels forced and helping to cover up flaws on other tracks. The lengthy, multi-sectioned title track ends the record. If one likes this, they might say “it’s a fractured mosaic.” If one is not a fan, they might call it piecemeal and “a bunch of shit crammed together trying to make something work.”  I prefer “fractured mosaic.”

   Where the bad songs of Waiting For the Sun are merely uninteresting and forgettable, the lowlights on The Soft Parade leave a depressingly bad taste in my mouth. Neither of these records will likely find their way onto my playlist in their entirety again.

Random Record Revisited:

School’s Out – Alice Cooper [1972]

  The third of the original Alice Cooper band’s five Warner Brothers monster run [no pun intended], School’s Out seems to find the band at a bit of a crossroads.

   To be sure, the title track remains a start of summer classic and remains a mainstay in Alice’s [the man] set list even today. Wikipedia has a nice but utterly useless paragraph about how little of School’s Out’s songs have ben played live if you’re interested in that kind of thing. There is a reason School’s Out remains under-represented in the Alice Cooper cannon – it’s kind of a meh record!

   Besides School’s Out, there is really nothing that grabs the ear and demands attention the way Under My Wheels does. There’s noting as earworm worthy as I’m Eighteen -yeah, it’s a simple assed riff but it’s an undeniable simple assed riff! Nothing on the record takes off or rocks hard or even scares the listener. After Dead Babies and Killer ending the last record [Killer], this record seems positively lame. Gutter Cats Vs. the Jets quotes West Side Story for God’s sake! Street Fight is 53 seconds [really about 45] of fighting noises. The final track Grande Finale sounds like a song rolling under the opening or closing credits of a cheap Shaft rip off film. In itself that isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it’s not what one expects from the Alice Cooper band at this time! [Maybe on or after the over- the - top of Alice’s ‘solo debut’ Welcome To My Nightmare maybe. It does seem like something that would be played as a theatrical number with dancers during a set change. But not the Killer or Billion Dollar Babies Alice Cooper group.]

   To give props, bassist Dennis Dunaway is really prominent on this album and he really shines on tings like Luney Tune and Blue Turk. Lead guitarist Glen Buxton [or is it Dick Wagner?] finally gets a few satisfying moments on My Stars.

   The songs? Well besides the already mentioned tunes, Luney Tune isn’t bad. It might have fit in the b side of Killer with You Drive Me Nervous and Yeah Yeah Yeah. Blue Turk is a nice descending riff that falls into some jazzy vamping at the end. My Stars is a wall of sound sort of prog track along the lines of Jethro Tull. Public Animal # 9 is another of those Alice Cooper filler tracks – nothing great but not terrible. Alma Mater… well it sums up this record. Forgettable. And we all know it is worse to put out something forgettable than something truly awful.

   In 1972, the sight on the name Alice Cooper in one’s kids record collection might have been enough to scare some parents. But the music on the vinyl here isn’t very scary. Fortunately, the band would return to shocking, scaring and thrilling next year with Billion Dollar Babies.

Random Record Revisited: 

Hotter Than Hell – Kiss [1974]

    In 1979, my friend Mark Lederman introduced me to Kiss with the Alive! and Alive II albums. How “live” these albums are remains a point of debate but whatever. In short order, the debut, Dressed To Kill, Destroyer and Love Gun joined my own copy of Alive II. I’m not sure why Rock And Roll Over never found it’s way into the collection but I remember putting Hotter Than Hell back in the rack for either the Rolling Stones Some Girls or the Blues Brothers Briefcase Full Of Blues. And neither entered my collection until I acquired the to Oiginals collections from Tracey’s hard drive.

   The problem in trying to review this record is that the versions on Alive! are permanently burned into my brain. I consider them definitive. But I think I can be fair here.

   For example, the lead track Got To Choose is just as tasty as it is on Alive!, just a little slower. Paul Stanely’s vocals are clearer. The bass is audible and more defined. The solo? Ace plays it almost note for note on the live record – that was by design, his solos were supposed to hummable and memorable. Ace Frehley’s first track Parasite [sung by Gene Simmons] is just as fast paced as the live record, just a nice Yardbirds inspired little riff to ride on for three minutes. Gene’s Goin’ Blind is different for Kiss. Some call it a ‘ballad’ but it’s not really. A 93 year old man addressing a 16 year old girl? I don’t know what it’s about. Nice solo by Ace. If I had this when I was 12 and just listened to the album I probably just would have accepted it as one of those album filler tracks [like Love Theme From Kiss] though I doubt it would have been a favorite. It does appear to be on a lot of Kiss fan polls of best tracks so maybe I’m crazy.] The title track follows. I don’t like Paul’s voice - it’s like he’s TRYING to sing instead of just letting it fly like he normally does. Still a good song but I prefer the live album’s take. The Stanley – Simmons collaboration Let Me Go, Rock ‘N’ Roll ends side 1 with 2:15 of purely joyous rock & roll along the lines of Nothin’ To Lose from the debut.

   Simmons has the first two tracks on the second side. All the Way starts a string of Simmons songs down on women. Great solo by Ace can’t rescue this filler track. Watchin’ You might be about a stripper or a street walker but it’s an awesome riff [Simmons is said to have been inspired by Mountain’s Mississippi Queen.I can see that]. Paul Stanley’s Mainline [sung by drummer Peter Criss with his very Rod Stewart like voice] follows. A nice little basic rock and roll track, once that might become one of those deep cut favorites. A rare Stanley – Frehley collaboration follows with Comin’ Home. Paul sings this standard road song – ‘it’s been forever, I’m comin’ home to you.’  Better than my description sounds and better than All the Way. Ace’s Strange Ways [sung by Criss] end the album with a bit of heaviness and twisty oddity. Frehely’s treated solo is one of the best on the album. But I can certainly see why a lot of Kiss fans like it.

   The Kiss Army may put a price on my head but I’d say it’s an average hard rock album for the time. There was a reason none of those first three albums lit the world on fire [besides poor distribution and poor promotion]. They have their high points but they’re not front to back classics.

 

Random Record Revisted: 

Fool For the City – Foghat [1975]

   In the 70s there were various levels of bands. There were unquestioned stadium filling superstar bands such as Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Grateful Dead, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd and Deep Purple. [Notice a LOT of those bands paid their dues in the 60s.] Then there were bands that worked hard and rose to the top of their class: Kiss [I refuse to type it as KISS although it is that way in Ace Frehley’s book], Aerosmith, Queen, the fuckin’ Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd and depending on my mood I might even include the Doobie Brothers and / or ZZ Top. Then there was a third tier of bands who sold a lot of tickets and got played on the radio but just never quite got to the top of the heap or maybe they did for a second and then slid back down. Like Peter Frampton, the J. Geils Band, Thin Lizzy, Cheap Trick, Robin Trower and … Foghat.

   Despite a track record of 6 gold and 2 platinum selling albums [1974’s Energized is anothere one I like a lot], Foghat is mainly remembered for a handful of songs, two of which we’ll talk about in a second. Their best selling record was the single LP Foghat Live from 1977 [listed as double platinum or 2,000,000 copies sold]. For my money, it ranks as one of the great live albums from the 70s – right alongside Frampton’s, Kiss Alive!, Cheap Trick At Budokan and the J. Geils  Band’s Full House. That single album format means high energy, no bullshit, all killer, no filler. [Kiss Alive! is great despite the presence of 100,000 Years… drum solos, YECH!]

   So today I found myself with Fool For the City on the brain so I popped in Foghat’s platinum selling 1975 classic. The opening and title track still sounds as fresh as it ever did, a song to sit on the radio right beside Aerosmith, Grand Funk and Sweet. The next cut a rockin’ take of the Righteous Brothers [NOT! the Little Walter blues classic] My Babe. Rod “the Bottle” Price absolutely smokes on the slide on this cut! Next up is the other of those songs Foghat will be remembered for, immortalized in the stoner classic Dazed And Confused: Slow Ride. It’s such a good song that Classic Rock Radio will play both the original album version AND the live version! But a word to the wise when finding this on compilation records – a lot of them use the 3:56 single mix instead of the full 8:14 version. Sadly this includes The Best Of Foghat!  Rhino is usually a lot smarter or more careful than that!

   Side 2 kicks off with a cover of Robert Johnson’s Terraplane Blues. Of course this version has a lot more in common with something Johnny Winter might lay down or the Rolling Stones cover of Johnson’s Stop Breaking Down. Save Your Loving [For Me] is a nice shuffle, slowing the pace just a little bit. It really isn’t far off of Aerosmith’s Same Old Song And Dance minus the horns but adding a few well placed harmony vocals from Price and bassist Nick Jameson. It’s back to the boogie with another masterful Dave Peverett road song [ala Road Fever and Home In My Hand] with Drive Me Home. The final song is a keyboard based or song called Take It Or Leave It. It – especially that Fender Rhodes electric piano - reminds me of something that is right there on the tip of my brain but I just can’t come up with. It’s not a bad song but it seems totally out of step with the rest of the album being totally guitar driven. But having been assaulted and sated by six really nice rocking numbers it’s totally okay. It might actually have worked better between Terraplane Blues and Save Your Loving [For Me].

   Fool For the City is good record to fill a niche for some good time blues based rockin’ party tunes when you’re tired of the usual suspects. Knock it back!

 

Random Record Revisited:

Don’t Say No - Billy Squier [1981]

   The corpse of Led Zeppelin was barely in the ground when this slab of Zeppelinesque rock hit the radio.

   I say Zeppelinesque because of the style of Squier’s rocking but sound wise a better comparison would be Queen’s The Game. Queen guitarist Brian May suggested producer Reinhold Mack to Squier when May was unable to produce Squier’s record. Since I recently respun The Game [it’s still a really good record!], I can immediately hear the similarity in the sound. Anyway, The Stroke is listed as the first single but it seems I may have heard Lonely Is the Night first. Or maybe it just made a deeper impression. Probably because Mack made [the late] Bobby Chouinard drums sound like John Bonham’s cannon fire. Especially that thundering kick drum.

   Of course, The Stroke is Squier’s big hit, the song most likely to be heard on the ever-shrinking 80s cannon of Classic Rock radio. It seems be about how [Frank Zappa’s words] “record company pricks” operate ala Heart’s Barracuda but of course the “stroke’ has that nudge-wink double entendre of Fleetwood Mac’s Rattlesnake Shake. [The Peter Green led first edition of Fleetwood Mac] The album opening In the Dark was the second single and had a lot of airplay and a video made for it. Third track My Kinda Lover was also the third single but stalled just outside the Top 40. But the rest of the album holds up just as well as those singles. You Know What I Like rides Chouinard’s galloping thunder along with a nice mix of just enough keyboards to make it 80’s but enough guitars to harken back to The Mothership.Too Daze Gone is a favorite of mine, a tale of the morning after or “forgetting the night before.” It’s just a simple little shuffle but damn it sounds good. Whadda You Want From Me also rides Chouinard’s drums but with a throbbing insistent keyboard and bass part also pushing along. The layers of slide guitar [unclear whether they are Squier or lead guitarist Cary Sharaf but hats off to whoever it is] again keep it in the realm of Zeppelin, Aerosmith and Queen. The there’s the acoustic ballad Nobody Knows. I mean it’s not awful. It harkens back to Queen’s Love Of My Life or Sail Away Sweet Sister but it just doesn’t quite get there. I Need You is one of those album filling songs that will never get played live but it’s not bad. It sounds like something off the Fast Times At Ridgemont High soundtrack. The title track closes the album.

   Don’t Say No fits the period very well. It’s got enough keyboard to be modern ala the Cars but just enough of the old school to please the ears of those brough up on Zeppelin, Aerosmith, et al. It’s almost exactly the type of  contemporary / 8o’s record that Robert Plant would make with Pictures At Eleven. It’s a great picture of the shift in rock at this time before everything splintered into sub genres and before hair metal became the temporary “in” style.

 

I needed a recharge today. So I spent some time at a familiar spot by the water. Water gently lapping shores and watching sunsets over water are so calming to me.

It as a longtime ago but also just the blink of an eye in some ways. It was another gorgeous spring day, maybe a little warmer, a little less breezy than today that I picked up Robin Scott and wound up here – or at least pretty close to where I am [was] sitting today.

Technically I think it has always been Bowman Springs Park btu the local kids called it Feather Beach. I have no idea why. There’s not a whole lot of beach left since they rebuilt the boat ramp and added this landfill to build the park out. We lived a mile or so down the road for a couple of years when we were on that side of Arlington. Now the Zottolas, back from adventures in Andrews, were now living just a couple of blocks off then entrance to the park.

I don’t recall why we were off that day but I put most of my week’s lunch money [sorry Mom, statute of limitations is long in the past] and drove up to Arlington in the Chevrolet Land Whale [the ’79 Caprice Classic that became my ride after the tranny locked up the third time on the Duster] and picked Robin up. My senior prom was coming up and Robin was going to be my date. She had a strapless dress so she needed to even out her tan on her shoulders, so she grabbed her swimsuit and we trucked on over to Feather Beach to catch some rays. I swear she slathered Crisco cooking oil on herself. [Maybe Sherri can back me up, maybe not. I am sure we stopped in since we were there, ya know.]  For an hour or so we sat soaking up rays and bullshitting about the stuff teenagers bullshit about. Just two typical teens hanging out on day. I was hot for her, she was not interested in me that way, yadda yadda. We were kids with a whole life in front of us. Not the kind of day you think would be memorable yet there it sits in my brain all these decades later.

Robin has been gone somewhere around 15 years now. But every time I am here I can’t help but to remember her.

 The Top 10 Worst #1 Songs of the 70's - YouTube - the inspiring You Tube video

Worst #1s of the 1970s

If you are not into a lot of shows and have time on your hands and you like music, you can spend a lot of time on You Tube. If you spend a lot of time on You Tube, the algorithm for "you might also like” spits out a lot of stuff, which is why I regularly clear out my watched history. But yesterday it spit out this gem. Intrigued by the Mr. Yuck sticker, I had to look at it. Yes, what was supposed to tell me to “stay away” ironically drew me in.

In reviewing the list of #1 for the 1970s in total, I went down the list and was torn. There are some dumb songs that made #1: the Osmond’s One Bad Apple [as noted a straight rip off of the Jackson 5], Melanie’s Brand New Key, Carl Douglas’ King Fu Fighting, Blue Swede’s Hooked On A Feeling [you know the one “ooga chaka ooga ooga, ooga chaka ooga ooga “I can’t stop this feeling…”], C.W. McCall’s Convoy and Alan O’Day’s Undercover Angel [and it is a laugher but harmless – just like Meri Wilson’s Telephone Man] and Cher’s Gypsys [sic], Tramps And Thieves. 

Some questionable covers: Elton John doing Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds, Ringo Starr doing You’re Sixteen, Shaun Cassidy’s Da Do Ron Ron [sorry Dana Murray], Grand Funk’s The Loco-Motion. 

Some things I just kind of shake my head at but let go because they’re not hurting anyone: Chuck Berry’s My Ding A Ling, Tony Orlando & Dawn’s Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree, Helen Reddy’s I Am Woman, Styx’s Babe, Robert John’s Sad Eyes, John Denver, the Carpenters.

I was surprised to see that a record I thought was pretty big didn’t make #1: The Captain and Tennile’s Muskrat Love. it only made it to # 4 – I guess the fact that it was worse than nails on a blackboard to me just made each time it came on feel like a small eternity. Did you know it is a cover of a cover? Originally titled by songwriter Muskrat Candlelight by Willis Alan Ramsey in 1972, the group America changed the title for their 1973 version which only hit # 63 and this version in 1976. So I was forced to pick out 10 other stinkers. 

Some of mine match Gunclemark’s but I feel he missed out some really terrible ones. 1977 appears to have been a really, really band year for music. 1974 wasn’t much better.

I present in no particular order:

 

1.      Don’t Give Up On Us -David Soul [77]

It is said that “All actors want to be singer and all singers want to be actors.” David Soul of Starsky & Hutch proves inadequate as either and that the Grand Torino was the real star of that show.

2.      Afternoon Delight – Starland Vocal Band [76]

If you’ve ever heard this, you’ve got to wonder “what kind of drugs were they doing that year?” so you can avoid it. I blame in on PCP / Angel Dust. Or bicentennial hangover.

3.      Seasons In the Sun – Terry Jacks [74]

Pop songs about death should at least involve a car crash like Dead Man’s Curve, Tell Laura I Love her, Last Kiss or Detroit Rock City.  

4.      Disco Duck – Rick Dees [76]

As previously noted elsewhere, I was one of the fools who bought this and I have to forever list it as the first record I ever bought with my own money. In my defense, I was 9 and it wasn’t the record I was looking for. I wanted The Rubberband Man by the Spinners – maybe  not much of a better choice but there it is.

5.      [You’re] Having My Baby – Paul Anka & Odia Coates [74]

Mercifully it’s only 2:35 long.

6.      Torn Between Two Lovers – Mary MacGregor [77]

What is it with folkies and menage a trois? David Crosby was kicked out of the Byrds for Triad and Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary penned this. Free love I guess.

7.      You Light Up My Life – Debby Boone [77]

This was inescapable for the last couple of months in 1977. Little did I realize that another soundtrack was going to come on the scene and America was about to be buried in disco for the next two years. At least now I can appreciate the Bee Gees.

8.      Escape [The Pina Colada Song] – Rupert Homes [79]

As noted a song about someone placing an want ad to find someone to replace his “boring old lady” and finding out that maybe the problem was communication all along. Still a crappy song.

9.      The Night Chicago Died – Paper Lace [74]

10.  Billy, Don’t Be A Hero – Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods [74]

The irony here is that Paper Lace released Billy, Don’t Be A Hero FIRST and was a #1 hit in the U.K. but Bo Donaldson’s was the version that was a hit in the U.S. But they’re both terrible songs.

 Pete Pardo’s Ultimate Introduction to Classic Rock Mix Tape Challenge

So once again trolling the Sea Of Tranquility back catalog of shows and stumbled across this one. You get one 60-minute tape to give to someone to introduce them to classic rock radio. That’s a hard 30 minutes per side. Me and my friends used to do 90-minute tapes [45-minute sides] “back in the day.” For comparison, a CD is just a shade under 80 minutes.

So I took up the challenge. Try it – it’s a lot harder than you think!

Side one:

1.      Brown Sugar – The Rolling Stones [3:50]

A lot of folks were using Gimme Shelter – a fine song mind you and definitely classic- but I want to immediately grab the listener’s ear and this was immediately the first song I thought of.

2.      We’re An American Band – Grand Funk [3:26]

The trick of a good mix tape is to start off hot and keep the party rolling for a couple of songs. Grand Funk’s classic ode to life on the road is a good way to keep ANY party rolling - or kick it into a higher gear!

3.      Ziggy Stardust – David Bowie [3:12]

After aa couple quick ones, you can slow the roll a little. Bowie has to represent both glam and art in rock and roll and the title track to The Rise and Fall… is a good place to meet Bowie and his wonderful guitarist, Mick Ronson.

4.      More Than A Feeling – Boston [4:45]

Since I am not overexposed to classic rock radio anymore, I find that I can once again enjoy such things as Boston’s debut album and an occasion run into Stairway To Heaven or Free Bird. Has this also lightened my loathing of Styx? Not one bit.

5.      What’s Your Name? – Lynyrd Skynyrd [3:33]

The kings of Southern Rock have to be represented and this humorous tale of life on the road is a great [and better yet short] introduction to the genre.

6.      Rock And Roll – Led Zeppelin [3:40]

Of course Led Zeppelin also has to be represented and this rocker off the untitled 4^th album is a great place to start.

7.      Walk This Way – Aerosmith [3:43]

America’s Favorite American Band of the 1970s, the bad boys from Boston also add a touch of funk on this one.

8.      Jet Airliner [single mix] – The Steve Miller Band [3:33]

Steve Miller’s run of singles in the 70s spawned the amazing Greatest Hits ’74 – 78 album, most of which still anchor classic rock and many childhood memories of roller skating.

Total Time: 29:42

 

Side two

1.      Barracuda – Heart [4:21]

The Wilson sisters venomous attack on [in the words of Frank Zappa] record company pricks is a slab of great 70s rock.

2.      Go Your Own Way – Fleetwood Mac [3:43]

Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours is a staple of any good classic rock station. I mean it is one of the top selling albums of all time, so one can hardly make an “Introduction To Classic Rock” without something by the Mac.

3.      Fat Bottomed Girls [single mix] – Queen [3:22]

With layers of harmonies and bouncing from anything from camp vaudeville to hard rock, Queen sit on the edge of rock and prog [progressive] rock.

4.      Let’s Go – The Cars [3:33]

The Cars bridged the gap between rock and new wave and the 70s into the 80s and also remain a staple of classic rock.

5.      Long, Long Way From Home – Foreigner [2:55]

Representing all of the not stratospherical superstars [i.e. Zeppelin / Stones / Pink Floyd] level but able to fill arenas like Bad Company, Bachman Turner Overdrive, etc.

6.      Dust In the Wind – Kansas [3:25]

Representing the slower side of the classic rock coin.

7.      Won’t Get Fooled Again – The Who [8:32]

If one has to choose an extended track of classic rock, the closer of Who’s Next feels much better than the other, more obvious choices. It doesn’t build up like the others do but if one is talking about Classic Rock, then the Who represent as well as anything else.  

Total Time: 29:59