Great Rock Albums of 1985: Phantom, Rocker and Slick
The biggest question I have been asking myself since 1985 is “Why didn’t Phantom, Rocker and Slick achieve greater success than what they did? For me, this was a great straight ahead, no frills rock album from a good tight band. The band possessed all the tools to be great. Slim Jim Phantom and Lee Rocker proved they were a great rhythm section when they were in the Stray Cats and were just as formidable in this band. Additionally, Lee has a good singing voice that fits perfectly with the songs. Plus, guitarist Earl Slick shows he’s a great guitarist as he plays what I have always considered the best guitar solo of 1985, (see below). So, why not?
Apart from the album itself, I can also provide additional evidence that they sounded just as good live. I recorded their live performance on the King Biscuit Flower Hour, (who remembers that?). In fact, some of the songs they played sounded better live than what it did on vinyl. Again, I ask, “Why not?”
If people don’t remember anything else about Phantom, Rocker and Slick, the one song that they might remember is the hit, “Men Without Shame,” which got a considerable amount of airplay on local radio. I was hooked straight away the first time I heard that song, despite the fact the radio version of the single chopped a good chunk of the guitar solo out of it. Why do they do that? So, you can imagine how I reacted when I heard it in its full glory.
Some more critical people might criticise the album for sounding a bit the same. Yes, I would agree there are similarities between the tracks, “Sing For Your Supper,” “Hollywood Distractions” and “Well Kept Secret” but not enough to say they are all the same. All three are great straight ahead power rockers and all three members of the band are at the top of their game. Furthermore, Phantom and Rocker haven’t totally abandoned their time with the Stray Cats as evidenced in the 1950 ballad like tracks, “Time is On My Hands” and “No Regrets.” On the latter tracks, there is another killer guitar solo from Slick. That’s the other thing, I’ll go out on a limb and venture my belief that Earl Slick is a better guitarist than Brian Setzer was in the Lee and Jim’s former band. An additional bonus is that there is some strong song writing on the album. “Lonely Actions” is proof of this, so again, “Why not?”
Track Listing:
- Men Without Shame
- My Mistake
- What You Want
- Time is On My Hands
- No Regrets
- Lonely Actions
- Well Kept Secret
- Runnin’ From the Hounds
- Hollywood Distractions
- Sing For Your Supper
Phantom, Rocker and Slick
Slim Jim Phantom- drums, backing vocals
Lee Rocker- double bass, lead vocals
Earl Slick- guitar, backing vocals
The theme of this post is quite obvious by now. I am asking why didn’t Phantom, Rocker and Slick achieve greater success. Everything to do so was present in bucket loads. My only theory to it was that it was down to the categorising and polarisation of music back in 1985. There was no neat little box for trendies or metaheads to put them into and while the music on the album is well played, there is an element of fun to it and society back then wasn’t ready for it.
Next post: Brian Setzer- The Knife Feels Like Justice
To download Rock and Roll Children, go to: https://c-newfreepdf.cf/olddocs/free-download-online-rock-and-roll-children-pdf-1609763556-by-michael-d-lefevre.html
January 13, 2019 at 12:00 pm
That is such a good question. I am not sure if was timing or lack of label support, but these guys had the goods. To make a statement that Slick is better than Setzer is bold! Not sure I can argue one way or the other this early in the morning.
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January 13, 2019 at 6:58 pm
Yeah, I guess it was pretty bold. That’s why I’m posting Brian’s album next post so you all get to decide. You make an excellent point about the lack of label support.
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January 14, 2019 at 12:07 pm
That might be worth digging in to. If they were on the same label as Stray Cats, who did the label want more? Need to check what label they were on.
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January 14, 2019 at 8:25 pm
Probably a good idea 😉
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January 13, 2019 at 3:04 pm
I’d never heard of them before this! I’m playing that Men Without Shame track, though, and it’s a blues tight rocker, better than a lot of the pap I heard on the radio in 1985. If they had more like this, it definitely shoulda been.
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January 13, 2019 at 6:59 pm
“Men Without Shame” is the top song on the album but the other tracks aren’t too far behind. This was a good solid rock album so yes, they should have gone farther.
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January 14, 2019 at 5:59 am
Just how many 80s metal / rock bands are there? 🤗
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January 14, 2019 at 11:28 am
There are many. So many in fact that I know I haven’t mentioned all of them. This was one band who I really liked in 1985 but never made it to the level of fame they so richly deserved.
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January 14, 2019 at 9:03 pm
Makes me realise how few I actually know!
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January 14, 2019 at 10:13 pm
Don’t fret about it. I consider myself a bit of an expert on 80s rock and metal but there is still a lot I don’t know.
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January 15, 2019 at 6:01 am
My excuse is this; in 1980 I was still a sparkle in my daddy’s eye 🤗
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January 16, 2019 at 1:36 pm
LMAO, that’s a good excuse.
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January 15, 2019 at 1:41 pm
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January 17, 2019 at 5:23 am
I don’t listen to a ton of rock, but I like to change it up sometime. 🤔
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January 17, 2019 at 6:32 pm
A change is always for the better, well most of the time anyway.
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January 17, 2019 at 6:34 pm
Hah, yes sometimes. 🤔😀
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