Great Metal Albums of 1988: Winger

Back in 1988, heavy metal wasn’t so categorized, at least in my view. If it had some good power chords, suitable vocals and killer guitar solos, then it was metal. Sure, I knew of glam metal. Bands like Motley Crue, Bon Jovi and Europe carried that banner proudly. As for hair metal, it didn’t exist although I would say that TNT were pioneers of the genre. Therefore, when my sister sent me one of her many compilation tapes from the US, I made no such distinction when it came to the Winger song, “Headed for a Heartbreak.” I just liked the song.

Winger’s debut album was exactly one direction which heavy metal seemed to be heading in the late 1980s. For metalheads, there were power chords galore but there was some great melody and power ballads to gain the band much commercial success with the album. Four singles were released from the album, one of which, “Heading for a Heartbreak,” has already been mentioned. It’s considered a great power ballad and I don’t disagree. Three other singles begin the album, the first one, which was also the first single, “Madeline,” is another almost power ballad type song but it shows the potential of the band from the right off. The second track, “Hungry,” is noticeably heavier. Maybe it’s me mellowing with age but I appreciate the combined power chords with melody much more these days.

Single/track three, “Seventeen” is my favourite among the singles. It’s even more rockier than “Hungry” with a lot of swagger to it. True, it’s about intimacy with a girl of the same age as the title but the lyrics don’t matter here. It’s a catchy hard rock vibe and guitarist, Reb Beach, really steps into the spotlight on this one. His rhythm guitar work is exceptional and he plays a blinder of a guitar solo. But before I get into the deeper cuts and reveal the hidden gem, one can’t help but notice the cover of the Jimi Hendrix classic, “Purple Haze.” It wouldn’t win a Original vs. Cover competition in my eyes but it’s done fairly well.

Although “Without the Night,” wasn’t released as a single, maybe it should have been. It’s a good enough power ballad. Kip Winger does pour some genuine passion into the vocals and lays down a cool bassline. Maybe it should have been called, “Kip’s Song.” Okay, maybe not because bass and vocals are supported by some good keyboards from Paul Taylor. Additionally, we get another great guitar solo from Reb and one can’t forget the drumming of Rod Morganstein. However, it’s not the hidden gem.

So, the search for the hidden gem continues. All four remaining tracks are contenders but the winner is “Time to Surrender.” Reb’s riffs at the very beginning lets you know that Winger want to rock. This one is great hard rocker but with some great harmonizing at the chorus and some superb guitar fills. I had to momentarily stop typing so I can bang my head to it, at least until the guitar solo. “Poison Angel” comes second in the hidden gem search. In contrast to the other tracks, this one just gets down to business with some traditional metal. The fastest song on the album. One final point. I think it was a good idea to have the final single, “Heading for a Heartbreak,” close the album.

Track Listing:

1. Madeline
2. Hungry
3. Seventeen
4. Without the Night
5. Purple Haze
6. State of Emergency
7. Time to Surrender
8. Poison Angel
9. Hangin’ On
10. Heading for a Heartbreak

Winger

Kip Winger- lead vocals, bass, keyboards

Reb Beach- guitar, backing vocals

Paul Taylor- keyboards, backing vocals

Rod Morganstein- drums, backing vocals

Additional Musicians:

Dweezil Zappa- slide guitar on “Purple Haze”

Beau Hill, Ira McLaughlan- backing vocals

Sandra Park, Rebecca Young, Hae Young Ham, Maria Kistopoulos- strings

It has been said that with Winger’s debut album, hair metal was launched upon the world. It could be the case but I never noticed it. For me, this is a great album no matter what category you put it in.

Next post: Overkill- Under the Influence

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

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Original vs. Cover vs. Cover: The Boys Are Back in Town

Unfortunately, I am not ready to post the intended next post which was Paul Di’Anno’s Battlezone “Best of” album. Owing to a busy week and the fact that the album is seventeen songs long, I wasn’t able to give the number of listens I give an album before I go to post. Instead, I thought I would treat you to an Original vs. Cover post but I am adding an extra cover. The song in question is the Thin Lizzy classic, “The Boys are Back in Town.” Will either cover be better than the original? And which of the two covers is the better one? Have a listen and judge for yourself.

Thin Lizzy

I can still remember back in 1977 this song blasting through my AM radio. I rocked to it then and more than 45 years later, it still rocks. There’s not much more about this classic which hasn’t already been said.

Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi’s cover of the song was known to me via the “Make A Difference” compilation album. For those not in the know, the album featured artists covering songs from ones who left the mortal plain. I did find Ozzy’s rendition of “Purple Haze” quite interesting. Anyway, Bon Jovi covered the Thin Lizzy classic.

Briar

While they never became a household name like Thin Lizzy or Bon Jovi, English metal band, Briar, covered the song on their 1988 “Crown of Thorns” album.

My Verdict:

The original wins this one hands down. For a song to be so well known after so many years says a lot about the band which recorded it. This song was a crowning achievement for Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy. As for the covers, my opinion on that score hasn’t changed. Briar wins out easily. Their hunger to make it big is reflecting in the way they record the song and I do like the echoing guitars as the song makes its exit. It was also good to give Phil a shout out at the beginning.

Have a listen to all three and let me know your thoughts. Remember dissent is always welcome on 80smetalman.

Next post: Paul DiAnno’s Battlezone- Warchild, The Best of

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

To sign the petition to have Bruce Dickinson knighted, click the link: https://www.change.org/p/special-honours-committees-for-knighthoods-a-knighthood-for-bruce-dickinson?redirect=false

On another note, the petition to have Ozzy knighted as reached 35,000 signatures.

Great Metal Albums of 1988: Briar- Crown of Thorns

With heavy metal bands being a dime a dozen in the late 1980s, it was very easy for bands to come and go unnoticed. In some cases, it was whether you were in the right place at the right time to catch a particular band. That was the case for me with UK metal band, Briar. I discovered them when I saw them open for Styper in London in 1987. Another reason why they might have not gotten true recognition is that while they were pretty good that evening, I wasn’t wowed by them either. Still, it was enough for me to check out their previous album “Take On the World” and their 1988 offering, “Crown of Thorns.”

Here’s another take from the evening, the song I remember the most from their set was “One Foot Back in the Door.” When I got “Take on the World,” I assumed the song was going to be on that album but it wasn’t. However, it does appear on this album. Here’s another idea, because they played that song, I assumed that it was going to be released as a single and it might have been. There was a vague air of familiarity when Briar played the song in London but I don’t remember it as a single. On the other hand, the song that made its way onto MTV in the US was “Frankie.” Both songs were worthy of being released as a single, they have that vibe to it but it’s the deeper cuts which interest me more.

When Briar stick with the melodic metal, which they do for most of the album, things sound really good. The opening title cut and tracks like “Back and Wild,” (my vote for hidden gem) and “Another Day in the Life of a Fool” bear witness to this. All three tracks are straight forward, let’s get down to business songs which are really good. Furthermore, one of their two covers, the one of Thin Lizzy’s classic, “The Boys Are Back in Town,” is done quite well. In fact, I’m going to step into the ring of controversy and declare that I prefer this cover to Bon Jovi’s cover of the same song on the “Make a Difference” compilation album. As for the other cover, Los Lobos’s “La Bamba,” well let’s just say that it’s pretty amusing though metalled out fairly well. I do like the guitar solo on it and Dean Cook has a nice drum fill at the end.

Again, they’re not bad tracks but “Spirit of the Wood” attempts to go a bit progressive at the beginning before going back to Briar basics. Perhaps they realized they shouldn’t veer to far away from their bread and butter. Saying that, the guitar at the intro and between the verses is quite alluring. “Empty Words” is a decent but unspectacular power ballad. Normally, I would say that the album ends with a cool closer and “Everyone’s Going Crazy” is just that. However, officially, it’s not the closer because that is the two second long track, “Fart.” Yes, it’s literally that!

One thing I can say for sure from listening to “Crown of Thorns” is that Briar were a good tight band. Kevin Griffiths has double duties on vocals and bass, just like Lemmy. His vocals are good and I can’t fault his bass playing. The guitar duo of Dave Fletcher and Darren Underwood make a great combination. I like the way they complement each other on the Thin Lizzy cover. Maybe they should have done more, even one guitar solo trade off. Drummer Dean has already been mentioned and what he does on “La Bamba” he does throughout the album. Together, they did make a good band.

Track Listing:

1. Crown of Thorns
2. Frankie
3. Just Another Day in the Life of a Fool
4. Back and Wild
5. La Bamba
6. One Foot Back in Your Door
7. Spirit of the Wood
8. The Boys Are Back in Town
9. Empty Words
10. Everyone’s Going Crazy
11. Fart

Briar

Kevin Griffiths- lead vocals, bass

Dave Fletcher- guitars, backing vocals

Darren Underwood- guitars, backing vocals

Dean Cook- drums

There are probably many reasons why Briar , like so many other bands, never made the big time. It’s basically down to the fact that they were competing in a very saturated market at the time. As “Crown of Thorns” shows, they had the tools. Oh yes, I’ve decided that in the not too distant future, I will write a Cover vs. Cover or even an Original vs. Cover vs. Cover post in reference to “The Boys are Back in Town.”

Next post: Stryper- In God We Trust

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

To sign the petition for a knighthood for Bruce Dickinson, click the link: https://www.change.org/p/special-honours-committees-for-knighthoods-a-knighthood-for-bruce-dickinson?redirect=false

Great Metal Albums of 1988: Cinderella- Long Cold Winter

“Long Cold Winter” is Cinderella’s second album, following on from their noteworthy debut, “Night Songs.” With this album, they moved away from the glam metal and produced a more bluesy rock album. That comes through straight away on the opener, “Bad Seamstress Blues/Falling Apart at the Seems.” I really dig the bayou sounding intro to the track before it goes into more harder rock waters, although there’s a cool blues type riff in the middle. However, you can still tell it’s Cinderella.

With “Night Songs,” the band was constantly compared to Bon Jovi although it was Jon who helped Cinderella with that album, which led to their success. While I don’t think “Long Cold Winter” is like “New Jersey,” what it does have in common with that album is that it also produced four big singles. After the opener, you get three on the trot. The cool rocker which is “Gypsy Road,” the mega successful ballad, “Don’t Know What You Got, (Till It’s Gone)” and “The Last Mile.” Of the three, it’s the last one I was least familiar with, (I don’t have it on any compilation albums). But I do like the guitar intro before it goes into rock mode. Of the four singles, this is the one I like best. It’s a more straight up rocker, maybe except for the harmonizing at the chorus but the guitar riffs and Tom Keifer’s guitar solo make up for it.

After the singles, we get into lesser known songs territory. While “Second Wind” is not filler, it’s not the hidden gem on the album. It does it’s job in keeping the album ticking over and in this case, that’s not a bad thing because the title track is a real burner. This is a blues based cooker. The guitars are just awesome, starting with the very blues lead guitar intro. That alone makes it the hidden gem, although Tom’s fits his vocals to the song very well. See, on their first hit, “Shake Me,” from the debut album, Tom was accused by some of trying to sound too much like AC/DC. He definitely silences his critics here. However, I still enjoy the guitar work more.

In spite of my gushing over the title track, it did have some competition from the tracks, “If You Don’t Like It” and penultimate track, “Fire and Ice.” Need I say that the latter isn’t a cover of the Pat Benatar classic? Oh, I just did. It’s a great track in it’s own right and “If You Don’t Like It” shows that Cinderella are still a metal band. I can hear a bit of influence from the Aerosmith classic, “Walk This Way” in places and it sounds as if Tom and Jeff LaBar do a bit of a guitar solo trade off.

Sandwiched between the hidden gem contenders is the fourth single, “Coming Home.” It’s a ballad and a decent one. I like the melodic feel to the song, though Tom could have toned down his vocals a little. “Take Me Back” takes the album out very well as an upbeat rocker.

Track Listing:

1. Bad Seamstress Blues/Fallin’ Apart at the Seems
2. Gypsy Road
3. You Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)
4. The Last Mile
5. Second Wind
6. Long Cold Winter
7. If You Don’t Like It
8. Coming Home
9. Fire and Ice
10. Take Me Back

Cinderella

Tom Keifer- vocals, guitars, steel guitar, harmonica

Jeff LaBar- guitar, lead guitar on tracks 1 and 8

Eric Brittingham- bass, backing vocals

Fred Coury- drums (credited but does not play on the album)

Additional Musicians:

Jay Levin- steel guitar

Cozy Powell- drums, except track 5

Denny Carmassi- drums on track 5

Rick Cirinti- piano, organ, synthesizer

Kurt Shore, John Webster- keyboards

Paulinho Da Costa- percussion

With this album, Cinderella proved they could succeed in their own right. It’s unfortunate that they would fall away a few years down the line while the other band would continue to achieve great glories. Still, this is a really good album.

Next post: Guns ‘N’ Roses- EP

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

To sign the petition to give Bruce Dickinson his knighthood, click the link: https://www.change.org/p/special-honours-committees-for-knighthoods-a-knighthood-for-bruce-dickinson?redirect=false

Last week in the UK, Iron Maiden postage stamps went on sale. Here’s some I bought and I won’t be posting any letters with them.

Great Metal Albums of 1988: Bon Jovi- New Jersey

An old friend of mine, his name is Leigh Griffiths and he was the guitarist in the band Torque Show, (he’s second from the left in the photo in the “Curry With Guns N Roses” post), once said that Bon Jovi represented everything that was wrong with heavy metal in the 1980s. He sites their 1988 album, “New Jersey,” as his evidence. Personally, I don’t think there was anything wrong with heavy metal in the 80s but I’m still going to write the post in light of Leigh’s comment.

Stating the obvious, the album named after the state I grew up in demonstrated a shift to a commercial sound for Bon Jovi. However, unlike a lot of metal bands who attempted this back then, it worked for Bon Jovi. The album went number one in several countries and produced five singles which hit the top ten. “Bad Medicine” went to number one. So again, they must have found the right formula. On the flip side, some hardcore metalheads paid little attention to the album, accusing Bon Jovi of selling out and pointed the commercial success to the fact that Jon Bon Jovi and guitarist Ritchie Sambora tingled the hormones of teenage girls. I admit, I kind of distanced myself from Bon Jovi at this time and would later join the chorus of male metalheads who claimed they only listened to Bon Jovi because their girlfriends were so into them. I admit that in my case it’s bullshit.

Most people know the singles from the album, so I won’t spend time going over those. Besides, it’s easy to see why they were so successful. “Lay Your Hands on Me,” “Bad Medicine,” “Born to Be My Baby” “Living in Sin,” and “I’ll Be There for You,” which reminds me a lot of the Beatles song, “Don’t Bring Me Down,” are all well known songs, even if you weren’t heavily into Bon Jovi. What I like about the structure of the album is that four of the singles are the first four tracks on the album. So for me, it was easier to get to and appreciate the lesser known tracks on the album and that starts with the real hidden gem on the album, “Blood on Blood.” I really love the piano harmony on the track backed up by Ritchie’s guitar. The lyrics take me back to my younger days when I was a bit more rebellious. Although I didn’t get ‘turned into a man’ until I went into the service, it does bring back the memories. It’s a great uplifting song and I won’t disagree with anyone who thinks David Bryan is an underrated keyboardist.

“Homebound Train” is another good track. This is most rocking track on the album and it’s reassuring to hear that Bon Jovi haven’t completely sold out. I love it’s swagger and the Ritchie is the hero here. Giving credit where due, the late Alec John Such lays down a groovy bass line. On “Wild is the Wind,” they attempt to build on like sounding song from “Slippery When Wet,” “Wanted Dead of Alive,” using the acoustic intro. While “Wild is the Wind” doesn’t come up to my all time favourite Bon Jovi song, it’s still a cool track. “Stick to Your Guns” is a nice ballad and I wouldn’t have argued against it being released as a single as well.

With all of that said, there are two tracks which I feel don’t really belong. My theory is that they were put there in an attempt to add a bit of humour to the album. “Ride Cowboy Ride,” thankfully it’s only just over a minute long but I can’t help thinking it’s an outtake that was left on the album. Then there’s the closer, “Love for Sale.” I think this was also left in for humour purposes because if it wasn’t there, “99 in the Shade” would have been a brilliant closer. It just has that great album ending swagger where everything just seems to come together.

Track Listing:

1. Lay Your Hands on Me
2. Bad Medicine
3. Born to Be My Baby
4. Living in Sin
5. Blood on Blood
6. Homebound Train
7. Wild is the Wind
8. Ride Cowboy Ride
9. Stick to Your Guns
10. I’ll Be There For You
11. 99 in the Shade
12. Love is For Sale

Bon Jovi

Jon Bon Jovi- lead and backing vocals, harmonica, acoustic guitar

Ritchie Sambora- guitars, mandolin, backing vocals and accompanying lead vocal on “I’ll Be There For You”

David Bryan- keyboards, backing vocals

Alec John Such- bass, backing vocals

Tico ‘The Hit Man’ Torres- drums, percussion, backing vocals

Additional Musicians:

Scott Fairbairn- cello

Audrey Nordwell- cello

Bruce Fairbairn- percussion, horn

Proof I’m maturing in my old age: in the 1980s, I called “New Jersey” a too commercial album and accused Bon Jovi of selling out. However, these days, I appreciate the album much more. While some grumpy metalheads might have called the album a sell out, many metalheads must have bought it because the album was such a huge success for the band. In my old age, I can understand why. If there was anything wrong with heavy metal in the 1980s, it wasn’t on account of Bon Jovi.

Next post: Queensryche- Operation Mindcrime

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

To sign the petition to give Bruce Dickinson a knighthood, click the link: https://www.change.org/p/special-honours-committees-for-knighthoods-a-knighthood-for-bruce-dickinson?redirect=false

Rest in Peace Alec John Such

Alec John Such

I have just learned of the passing of former Bon Jovi bassist, Alec John Such. He was one of the founding members of the band but left in 1994 siting burn out. The band is said to be heartbroken at the news of his passing. FFI, click the link: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/music/bon-jovi-founding-member-alec-john-such-dies-as-band-left-heartbroken/ar-AAY709Z?ocid=mailsignout&li=BBoPWjQ

I feature my all time favourite Bon Jovi song in dedication to Alec.

Rest in peace Alec John Such.

My Experience of Desmond Child

Desmond Child, 2019

Reading many of your blogs out there, Mike Ledano and 2Loud’s especially, I have learned a lot about one Desmond Child. I never knew that he wrote songs, many of them hits, or produced albums for the likes of KISS, Aerosmith, Cher, Bon Jovi, Bonnie Tyler and many many more. My association with Desmond came about through a totally different manner. Not through his producing, my introduction to him came via the soundtrack of my all time favourite film, “The Warriors.” FFI- I’ve included my post on said soundtrack should you wish to read it.

Great Rock Albums of 1979: The Warriors Soundtrack

Desmond not only writes my favourite track on the soundtrack, the closer, “Last of an Ancient Breed,” he sings it as well and I must say that Desmond is a decent singer and could have made it as one if he had gotten the breaks. Note: There were a couple of other talented singers on the soundtrack who vanished after. So, enough of me prattling on, here’s the song.

Yes, they do use excerpts from the 1983 film, “The Outsiders” in this video as well.

Hope you enjoyed!

Next post: Malice- License to Kill

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

Great Metal Albums of 1984: Whitesnake- Slide It In

Well, here I go! This is my fourth post in as many days and my fifth in the past six. See what happens when a person has too much time on their hands. It is a good feeling compared to when I am so swamped, I worry that I won’t get out my self appointed quota of two posts a week. What better way to end this run than to post about the first Whitesnake album I seriously listened to, “Slide It In.”

One thing I didn’t realize back in 84 that I learned shortly after was that Whitesnake were going through their normal personnel changes at the time the album was recorded. After the recording of the album, both guitarists and bassist would leave bringing in guitarist John Sykes and bassist Neil Murray to play on the US version of the album. As it was the US version I’m most familiar with, the focus of the post will be in light of that.

For those who have Whitesnake’s “Greatest Hits” album, one would believe that they put out loads of power ballads. However, those who delve further into the band’s discography would quickly discover the misconception of that belief. The two tracks on “Slide It In” that comes even close to being a power ballad are “Love Ain’t No Stranger” and the single, “Slow and Easy.” Even those songs only appear to be such at the beginning before going much harder.

The album also leads off with the title track and my all time favourite Whitesnake song. This song demonstrates that Whitesnake has always had it in them to be more than a commercial metal band who played nothing more than power ballads. These days people say that about Bon Jovi but I digress. The rest of “Slide It In” follows in the vein of my all time favourite song. The songs are harder although there is some good melody in them. I like the Jon Lord’s keyboards sound in “Gambler,” especially the way it links up with the guitar solo. “Guilty of Love” is similar to the title track as a metal tune. It would have sounded even better if the guitar on the mix was turned up a fraction higher. Same things can be said for the remainder of the songs for I can see why some people argue that “Slide it In” was Whitesnake’s last real metal album.

Track Listing:

1. Slide It In
2. Slow and Easy
3. Love Ain’t No Stranger
4. All Or Nothing
5. Gambler
6. Guilty of Love
7. Hungry for Love
8. Give Me More Time
9. Spit It Out
10. Standing in the Shadow

Whitesnake- 1984

David Coverdale- lead vocals

Mel Galley- guitar, backing vocals

Mick Moody- guitar

Carl Hodgkinson- bass

Jon Lord- keyboards

Cozy Powell- drums

John Sykes- guitar on US release

Neil Murray- bass on US release

John Sykes

Was “Slide It In” Whitesnake’s last real metal album? I won’t get roped into that debate, especially when I hear some of the songs from their next album. However, that wouldn’t come out for another three years so it’s hard to judge. What I do know is that I really liked this album and it compelled me to go check out Whitesnake’s earlier material, particularly when I got to England.

Next post: David Bowie- Tonight

To get Rock and Roll Children, go to: https://crreadac.cf/current/ebooks-free-download-rock-and-roll-children-fb2-by-michael-d-lefevre.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great RockMetal Albums of 1984: Bon Jovi

Before I launch into the debut album by a band considered to be a symbol for 1980s hard rock and heavy metal, I thought I first begin by naming four more films of 1984 I missed. Two of them I can’t believe I did and two of them starred comedian Eddie Murphy.

Beverly Hills Cop was considered to be on a par with Ghostbusters at the time.

Conan the Destroyer with Arnie Schwartzeneger was a big let down in comparison with the first film

Another children’s favourite, Gremlins. Thanks to keepsmealive for bringing it to light for me.

 

Hot Dog- about freestyle skiing had its funny moments.

There was a fifth film called Best Defense with Eddie Murphy and Dudley Moore which was okay but just okay.

Now onto the self-titled debut from Bon Jovi. While I have always liked this album, at the time, I thought it was nothing spectacular. Yes, the single that got them on MTV, “Runaway,” was very good, probably still one of my favourite Bon Jovi jams, even if one friend of mine considered it to sound too much like Rick Springfield. Furthermore, I felt exactly the same way when I saw them open for The Scorpions in this year. I thought they weren’t bad but not anything phenomenal.

Like all Bon Jovi albums, when I listen to it, I ask myself the question why Bon Jovi are considered heavy metal. True, there are some hard rocking songs on the album and there was the potential for more had not the keyboards been too heavy on them. The tracks I’m talking about are “Burning For Love” and the second single, “She Don’t Know Me.” The latter officially became the first song I liked on account of the video for it. Had I heard it on the radio or the album, I wouldn’t have liked it so much. The former does have a great guitar solo on it though.

On the other hand, there are some decent rockers on the album in addition to “Runaway.” “Love Lies” is definitely one of those. Whenever I listen to it, I remember why I have always held the guitar abilities of one Richie Sambora in such high regards. He does shine here. “Breakout” can’t make up its mind as to whether it wants to be a rocker or not. I do like the standard keyboard intro followed by the thunder of the guitar. However, the keyboards come back in and take over a little too much in some places. The song sounds like a power struggle between the hard rock and commercial sounds. The decider is again, another good guitar solo from Richie. I have always said that a good closing song can do wonders for an album and “Get Ready” does that job well on the album. It is a strong rocker which ends things quite well. Plus, it gets some good support from the penultimate track.

Track Listing:

1. Runaway
2. Roulette
3. She Don’t Know Me
4. “Shot Through the Heart
5. Love Lies
6. Breakout
7. Burning For Love
8. Come Back
9. Get Ready

Bon Jovi

Jon Bon Jovi- lead vocals, rhythm guitar

Richie Sambora- lead guitar, backing vocals

Dave Bryan- keyboards, backing vocals

Alec John Such- bass, backing vocals

Tico Torres- drums, percussion

Now here’s the big question I am going to explore on all my Bon Jovi posts in the future. Someone once commented that Bon Jovi represented everything that was wrong with heavy metal in the 1980s. What? I never thought there was anything wrong with metal back then. It’s something I’m going to investigate though. Thinking back to 1984 and this debut album, I certainly wasn’t thinking that. Then, I would never have thought that the band would go onto achieve so much.

Next post: Accept- Balls to the Wall

To buy Rock and Roll Children, go to: https://www.amazon.com/Rock-Roll-Children-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1609763556/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1508760900&sr=8-3&keywords=michael+d+lefevre

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great Metal Albums of 1982: Hanoi Rocks- Self Destruction Blues

First of all, no one spotted the mistake in my last post. Boppinsblog came close as he pointed out that “Live At Budokan” was a Cheap Trick album, so one 80smetalman gold star awarded there. But that wasn’t the mistake I was referring to. Boppinsblog was close though because the mistake had to do with the quote from Wayne’s World. See, the quote I used on the last post was from Wayne’s World 1 while the photo below it was from Wayne’s World 2. I’m afraid that no one gets the grand prize this time.

Now onto the second album in 1982 from Finnish glam metallers, Hanoi Rocks. When I visited the predecessor, “Oriental Beat,” I commented on what a great feel good, party album it was and I stick by that. I won’t be so flowery about the second album, “Self Destruction Blues.” The album just simply bloody rocks!

Just about every track on this album is an absolute corker and one thing that it has in common with its predecessor is that each songs seems to improve as the album progresses. Except for maybe “Whispers in the Dark,” that’s not quite as good as the others. However, putting it first wouldn’t be a good idea because “Love’s an Injection” is such a great opener. If you think that “Problem Child” was a cover of the AC/DC classic, it is nothing of the sort. It’s still a cool song.

What I find about most of the songs on this album is that the titles of the songs hardly appear in their song. “Desperado,” my favourite track, is only sung once. If I didn’t have the title in front of me, I would have thought it was called “Ten Thousand Heartaches.” Nevertheless, the song is just brilliant so full marks to the band for that little twist. The same can be said for such other cool tracks like “Beer and a Cigarette” and “Kill City Kills.” Again both are great tracks. The title track is actually done in a blues fashion and it’s good to hear Michael Monroe’s voice stretching out a bit. Full marks to the band again. The closer, “Dead by Xmas,” in my mind is a case of Bon Jovi meets The Clash. I mean the piano sounds very similar to that on the first Bon Jovi single “Runaway.” Then when the song kicks in, it sounds very much like The Clash but it’s well done. In fact, I think the humour that went into the album, along with some fine songs, make “Self Destruction Blues” a fantastic album.

Track Listing:

1. Love’s an Injection
2. I Want You
3. Cafe Avenue
4. Nothing New
5. Kill City Kills
6. Self Destruction Blues
7. Beer and a Cigarette
8. Whispers in the Dark
9. Taxi Driver
10. Desperado
11. Problem Child
12. Dead by Xmas

Hanoi Rocks

Michael Monroe- lead vocals

Andy McCoy- guitar

Nasty Suicide- guitar

Sam Yaffa- bass

Gyp Casino- drums

After the recording of the album, Gyp Casino would leave the band and be replaced by Razzle

Another fun hard rocking album from Hanoi Rocks in 1982. Had I been more aware of this band in the year, I would have concluded that Finland must be a place to rock because albums like this one certainly give that impression.

Next Post: Saxon- The Eagle Has Landed

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