Great Metal Albums of 1987: WASP- Live in the Raw

My initial reaction to WASP’s first live album was one of disappointment when I saw the track listing. How could there be a live album by WASP and it not have the classic “Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)” on it? I saw them live in 1986 and 87 and they played the track each time. Therefore, I thought putting it on a live album would be a no brainer but it’s not on it. So, I just had to enjoy the tracks that are on “Live in the Raw.”

Since the album was recorded during the “Inside the Electric Circus” Tour, the recordings were from shows in Long Beach and San Diego California, it is no surprise that four songs from the album are on this live one. While I wouldn’t call the song “Inside the Electric Circus” an attention grabbing opener, I can see why they opened with it. It’s still a good song.

What is good about “Live in the Raw” is that it includes a good balance of their first three albums. “Animal” might not be on it but they do include “I Want to Be Somebody” and “L.O.V.E. Machine,” from the first album, both of which are good songs anyway. Furthermore, I never paid much attention to “Sleeping in the Fire” but this live version has got my attention. As for “The Last Command” album, the two best songs from that album, “Wild Child” and my all time second favourite WASP song, “Blind in Texas” get included. In addition, they add two new songs, “Harder, Faster” and “Manimal,” the former is introduced with Blackie ripping on the PMRC, always fun to hear. Oh yes, they close out the album, with “Scream Until You Like It” which is the theme to the “Ghoulies II” movie, though that song was recorded in the studio. So all around, the tracks for the live album are well chosen.

What I like most is that there isn’t much difference between the live recordings and the studio albums. They do prolong some of the songs but they are being played live so there is always scope for extra guitar solos and repeated vocals and audience participation, so it’s all good. All of the songs are played well and I will now officially eat my words on the guitar playing of Chris Holmes. He does shred well, I only wished he did more of that when I saw them at Donnington that year.

Track Listing:

1. Inside the Electric Circus
2. I Don’t Need No Doctor
3. L.O.V.E. Machine
4. 95 Nasty
5. Wild Child
6. Sleeping in the Fire
7. The Manimal
8. I Want to Be Somebody
9. Harder Faster
10. Blind in Texas
11. Scream Until You Like It

WASP

Blackie Lawless- guitar, lead vocals

Chris Holmes- lead guitar

Johnny Rod- bass, backing vocals

Steve Riley- drums, backing vocals

It has been said that “Live in the Raw” marked the division the band would take the band from the ‘old WASP’ to a more mature sound. I never really thought about that as WASP would continue to sound pretty much the same to me. However, this would be the last album to feature drummer Steve Riley. Still, it’s a decent live album.

Next post: White Lion- Pride

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Great Metal Albums of 1987: WASP- Inside the Electric Circus

Let me start with a debate I unintentionally started on Mike Ledano’s blog a few years back. He posted about a new album from former WASP guitarist Randy Piper. After reading the review and listening to the sample track and then remembering when I saw WASP perform at Donningtion 1987, I was of the mindset that Blackie Lawless fired the wrong guitarist. Believe me, that comment created lots of debate with one person in particular stating that Blackie indeed fired the right guitarist because Randy Piper was a screw up.

The whole debate actually started before the recording of the album, “Inside the Electric Circus.” Prior to recording, Blackie Lawless made the transition from bass to rhythm guitar and consequently fired Piper and in came Johnny Rod on bass. So the big question was for this album, did the transition pay off?

Thinking back to their previous album, “The Last Command,” which I found to be a bit average except for three very kick ass songs, I find “Inside the Electric Circus” to be a big improvement except for the fact that there aren’t any songs which transcend the ionosphere. However, the bulk of this album holds up and there is very little I would call filler. In fact, I have been finding rather difficult to find a standout track. There just seems to be a bit more oomph to the album.

There are a few throwbacks to the better tracks on “The Last Command.” I do get a “Wild Child” vibe on “Restless Gypsy” and though it’s not as phenomenal as its predecessor, “Restless Gypsy” is still a brilliant track. It is on this track where I have to conceded that Blackie didn’t fire the wrong guitarist because Chris Holmes delivers a killer solo on the track. My question is why don’t I remember him playing any solos like that at Donnington? Likewise, I can feel a “Blind in Texas” vibe to “Shoot From the Hip.” Going back to the debut album, I can hear a “I Wanna Be Somebody” vibe on “Easy Living.” On the other hand, the intro on “95-Nasty” has a opening riff that reminds me a little of AC/DC’s “For Those About to Rock, We Salute You.” And now I can say that I have a favourite track, It’s “I’m Alive” due to its Heart’s “Barracuda” vibe with a couple of killer guitar solos. I think I need to apologize to Chris Holmes.

Track Listing:

1. The Big Welcome
2. Inside the Electric Circus
3. I Don’t Need No Doctor
4. 95-Nasty
5. Restless Gypsy
6. Shoot From the Hip
7. I’m Alive
8. Easy Living
9. Sweet Cheetah
10. Mantronic
11. King of Sodom and Gomorrah
12. The Rock Rolls On

WASP

Blackie Lawless- lead vocals, rhythm guitar

Chris Holmes- lead guitar

Johnny Rod- bass, backing vocals

Steve Riley- drums, backing vocals

To answer the original question, I think that the transition of Blackie to rhythm guitar and the adding of Johnny on bass did pay off on “Inside the Electric Circus.” While they stuck to the formula of their previous album, they did it better on this album. I saw the results at Donnington as I was surprised as to how much better they were than when I had seen them the year before. Even though I can’t remember any great solos from Chris Holmes, he definitely plays them on the album.

Next post: The Smiths- Strangeways, Here We Come

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Great Metal Albums of 1985: Warlock- Hellbound

Keeping with 80smetalman tradition, I am posting an album from an artist I’m about to see live in the imminent future. Tomorrow, I shall be heading to Bloodstock and on Friday, I fully intend to see Doro Pesch headlining the Sophie Lancaster Stage that night. Now, some might call this cheating but Doro didn’t have an album out in 1985. Back then, she was with her band Warlock and it’s their second album, “Hellbound,” that gets the posting this time.

This was another album I listened to following the event. My first experience of Warlock came when I saw them open the Donington Festival in 1986. Even then, I thought there was something about this band and more so about the lead singer. Therefore, it was a no brainer that I check out the works of this band and for me, their output on vinyl, (actually it was cassette,) matched what they had shown me on stage on that historic day in August of 1986.

“Hellbound” starts very fast paced, in fact, I was convinced they were more speed metal when I first heard the opening and third tracks on the album. Both of those songs just get stuck into ripping your eardrums to pieces and the track in between, “All Night,” while not as fast is still a ferocious tune to head bang away to. I’ve always thought it surprising that it was released as a single because it trendies would consider it too metal for mainstream radio. Still, I like the song.

With the fourth track, “Wrathchild,” the pace is set for the rest of the album. It’s more like the second track beginning with a great guitar solo. It’s killer, not losing any of the edge set by the first three tracks. It definitely gets a vote for hidden gem on the album and if I had anything to say, that one would have been the single, especially with the cool guitar soloing throughout the song. “Down and Out” is ideal for heavy metal purists because it is pure metal. Some more great soloing begins “Out of Control” and that grabs you by the ears and makes you enjoy the rest of the song, which is why it too can be called a hidden gem. “Time to Die” goes more back in the speed direction but with this song, that’s only natural. Normally, a song called “Shout It Out” opens an album and it could have on “Hellbound,” but it sounds just as good in the eighth position. That leads to the closer which lures you into a false security by pretending it’s a power ballad but not long in, the mask comes off and it blows you away. Still a great song to end the album on.

There is absolutely no argument in my mind that the main reason for why this album is so good is the vocal talents of Doro. She has always had a great singing voice and here’s where it started. However, I must also sing the praises of her guitarists who both play very well on the album. They go a long way in making her sound that much better and makes this album great.

Track Listing:

1. Hellbound
2. All Night
3. Earthshaker Rock
4. Wrathchild
5. Down and Out
6. Out of Control
7. Time to Die
8. Shout it Out
9. Catch My Heart

Warlock

Doro Pesch- lead vocals

Rudy Graf- guitar

Peter Szigeti- guitar

Frank Rittel- bass

Michael Eurich- drums

The big question is, Will Doro play any songs from “Hellbound” when she ascends the stage at Bloodstock? I hope so and I’ll be particularly over the moon if she plays “Wrathchild.” But if she doesn’t, this is still a great album to headbang away to.

Next post: Bloodstock- The Thursday

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Great Metal Albums of 1984: Metallica- Ride the Lightning

I have said many times throughout the journey through 1984, it was the golden year of the golden decade for heavy metal. Many metal bands got mainstream exposure on radio and MTV. Not only that, the exposure gave many metalheads a look into bands that were up and coming or just out of the limelight. One of these up and coming bands was Metallica with their second album, “Ride the Lightning.”

Thinking back to that year, I don’t ever recall Metallica getting any airplay on the radio or MTV. As I listen to the album, I have to conclude that while mainstream media gave many metal bands some great exposure, I don’t think they were quite ready for a band like Metallica, even if metalheads were. After spending the year listening to all the great bands, Metallica was something different but interesting. It definitely had my attention. When I heard this album, I was blown away by the sheer power and hunger of this band.

While their debut album, “Kill’Em All,” just wants to pound the crap out of you, “Ride the Lightning” does offer some, I stress some, melodic moments. One gets that impression on the opening notes of the first track, “Fight Fire With Fire,” because it starts out with a full acoustic intro. However, it goes right into some very hard chords which lasts for three songs. In fact, all the times I’ve listened to the album, I seem to miss where “Fight Fire With Fire” ends and the title track begins. The comes the great “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” a loud pounding but at the same time rhythmic tune. I really like this track but I was disappointed when they played it at Donington 1987. It just didn’t grab me the way that it always does on vinyl.

Afterwards comes what I mean about melodic moments, my favourite track on the album, “Fade to Black.” The first half of this song is a near power ballad and while it would be another seven years before we got to hear their most famous ballad, “Nothing Else Matters,” I do hear some resemblances on “Fade to Black.” But it doesn’t stay melodic as the second half of the song goes back to more traditional Metallica soundings. An added bonus is the way that Kirk Hamett rips his guitar solo at the end.

With “Trapped Under Ice” and “Escape,” you get more great Metallica mashing and like the first two songs on the album, you have to listen carefully or you’ll miss where the one ends and the other begins. Then, if you thought your eardrums might get some relief, you’d would be sorely disappointed because “Creeping Death” comes along to kick your ass. This is a power song only slowing down slightly to deliver a more melodic chorus but then goes back to ear bashing. “Creeping Death” is decidedly my second favourite track on “Ride the Lightning.” It may not have the melodic approach of my number one but it lets you know it’s there and says you will like this song. Kirk’s solo on here is very cool too. The album ends with the very interesting instrumental “The Call of Ktulu.” All in all, this is a fantastic album and it reminds me of when Metallica were hard and hungry. The music on “Ride the Lightning” bears witness.

Track Listing:

1. Fight Fire With Fire
2. Ride the Lightning
3. For Whom the Bell Tolls
4. Fade to Black
5. Trapped Under Ice
6. Escape
7. Creeping Death
8. The Call of Ktulu

Metallica

James Hetfield- lead vocals, rhythm guitar

Kirk Hammett- lead guitar

Cliff Burton- bass

Lars Ulrich- drums, backing vocals on “Ride the Lightning”

In the opening pages of “Rock and Roll Children,” while the main characters are driving to the first concert in the book, one of them introduces the others to a new band called Metallica. It was the “Kill’Em All” album. Yes, back then, they were still making their way in the world and “Ride the Lightning” provided a springboard that would help launch them to greater things.

On another note, this album has been labelled thrash and speed metal. These were terms which I wouldn’t hear for another year. I just considered Metallica great metal at the time. Furthermore, this trip down memory lane makes me sad that I missed the Metallica, WASP and Armoured Saint show. That must have been fantastic.

Next post: Anthrax- Fistful of Metal

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Triumphs and Other Happenings in 1984

 

Evidence that heavy metal had truly established itself in 1984 can be sited with the 1984 Monsters of Rock Festival at Donington Park, in England. This was the first and probably only Donington to feature seven artists and you can only look at the poster here, see which bands played on draw your own conclusions as to whether or not it was a kick ass day. I wasn’t there but I know people who were and they can confirm it. The only negative comment I heard about the day was that Motley Crue had bottles thrown at them for making too many comments about sex, drugs and rock and roll. Something an opening band should probably not do. Anyway, to see Ozzy, Van Halen and AD/DC all on one stage must have been mind blowing.

I must apologize for Youtube not having any individual songs recorded from this memorable day.

Cyndi Lauper

You are probably asking yourself, “What is she doing here on an 80smetalman’s post?” Well, some misguided individuals thought that Cyndi Lauper had replaced Joan Jett or Pat Benatar as the Queen of Rock in 1984. Nonsense, I say. I will never recognize Cyndi Lauper as such and will go to my grave stating that fact. Yes, I liked “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” the very first time I heard it but afterwards, I wanted to take an Uzi to the television every time the video came on MTV. The only song from of hers I nearly liked since was “Money Changes Everything” and a few years later, grew to like “I Drove All Night” a little.

So, why is she here you ask. Back when I posted about my weekend at Download, where I went to see wrestling, I mentioned that the Rock and Wrestling Connection began in 1984 and it began with Cyndi. At the time, wrestling manager, Captain Lou Albano, claimed she managed Cyndi Lauper on wrestling shows. Cyndi refuted that claim and without going into great details, she made a challenge to Captain Lou that she could manage a wrestler better than him. So, while Lou took Women’s World Champion The Fabulous Moolah under his wing, Cyndi managed challenger Wendi Richter. I’ll leave  you to watch the video to see who won but the Rock and Wrestling Connection started here.

There was a tragedy too in 1984 but that happened at the very end of the year, so I’m saving it for the end of the 1984 tour. So here, let us reflect on the happy times with all the great heavy metal and some wrestling too.

Next post: My Underrated Band

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Download 2016: Thursday

The Campsite village

The most difficult thing for me not to do with these next four, possibly five posts is to make constant comparisons and contrasts between Download and Bloodstock. In the hopes of avoiding this, I will sum the two festivals using a quote from my stepson’s girlfriend, Gemma. She states that the two festivals are siblings. I can see that, some of the bands I would see at Download over the weekend I had seen previously at Bloodstock. However, Gemma reckons that Download is the calmer elder sibling while Bloodstock is the angry younger one. She certainly has a point.

We left Stroud just before one in the afternoon and our journey wasn’t too bad as far as traffic goes. The Disturbed and the tribute to Twisted Sister album provided the in flight entertainment. What we did realize shortly into our journey was that I had forgotten to pack a pan to cook all our wonderful gourmet meals in over the weekend. There were a few other things as well. So, we had to make an unplanned stop a few exits before the one we needed. That added forty-five minutes to our journey. Still, we managed to get Donington Park by quarter to four.

Learning our lesson from Bloodstock, we packed our gear into to small carts and followed the procession to the main gate. Once we got there, we had to wait in a large queue as all bags were searched. I was expecting this after the recent attacks here in the UK. With security not able to find drugs or explosives on us, we began the long walk to the campsite village. This seemed to be a trek and there was a second gate where some of our stuff was searched again and we exchanged our tickets for the weekend wristbands. After more walking, we finally got to the campsite village where we met our friend Joe. Only instead of heading into the campsite, after some queries with the stewards, ended up taking us back the other way to the caravan site. It turned out that Joe had some friends who let us pitch our tents by their camper van. That would prove to be a distinct advantage over the weekend.

Once all the campsite necessities were completed, including drinking a couple of cans, which I sorely needed to do, we headed back to the campsite village. Lots to do and see and there was a band playing at one of the tents when we arrived, though they finished shortly after. So, we headed for the Comedy Tent to catch the last three comedians of the night.

The first comedian was an American lady called Abdiliah, I didn’t catch her last name. She was quite funny and like so many American comedians in the UK, make funny comparisons between the two countries. As normal, this put a tiny number of people off who left but for the most part, she was very funny.

Next up was a British man named Andrew O’Neil. What I remembered most about him was his ripping on Saturday’s main stage headliner, Biffy Clyro and his impression of System of a Down, which he got the audience to assist him with. One side of the tent did the bass bit while the other side impersonated the lead guitar. Obviously, I can’t show it here but it was pretty hilarious. All his material was very funny.

The final comedian of the night was a Canadian by the name of Greg Campbell. He talked about his trip to Russia and how the Russians, unlike Americans or Brits, don’t have a word for getting people to hurry up. Americans use ‘pronto’ and Brits use ‘stat.’ He did an impression of a Russian who stated that when they want something done, they expect it to be straight away and don’t need buzz words. I know it doesn’t sound funny here but the way Greg Campbell told it, had me rolling on the floor.

When the comedians finished, I ventured back to the tent the band had been playing. The band had left but there were two young ladies on stage dancing with flaming batons. Unfortunately, with all the lights, I couldn’t get a decent photo. However, most of the action in the late night was in the cinema tent. No films being shown but many people were gathered around the screen as the news of the General Election began to come in. Let’s just say that if the election had been decided by metalheads, Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party would have been elected by a landslide. I didn’t stay to long into the night knowing that I needed my beauty sleep for the day’s metal which lay ahead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great Metal Albums of 1983: Diamond Head- Canterbury

It is quite possible that my mind is well and truly going. My memories from when I saw Diamond Head at the 1983 Monsters of Rock Festival at Donington Park in England, I thought that this band played some really hard metal. However, when I listen to their 1983 “Canterbury” album, which was released two months before their Donington appearance, I find myself asking, “Is this the same band?” The “Canterbury” album isn’t that straight forward in your face metal I remember from when I saw them all those years ago. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a cool album and there are a couple of hard tracks on it, however, the album takes a more progressive rock, artsy direction.

The first two tracks are definitely in the progressive vein but still decent tracks. For some reason, the opener, “Makin’ Music” reminds me a little of the opening track from Pat Travers’ live album. Things go gradually harder with the tracks that follow. The first metal track in the sense of the word for me is “One More Night.” That song does knock your socks off. I could say the same thing for the next track as well but the vocals remind me too much of early U2. I don’t want to insult lead singer Sean Harris but he does sound like Bono a little on it. One could say that this track might be what U2 would sound like if they went metal, as if. Then again, maybe I think too damn much.

Thoughts of U2  don’t disappear immediately on the very next track. They linger for the first half of “Knight of the Swords” but they do go away when Brian Tatler lays down his best guitar solo on the album. For me, that alone makes it the best track on the album. You know all this thinking about U2, I have to remember that back in 1983, they were good in my eyes and ears as they were with many others. So, the comparisons shouldn’t be seen as a harsh criticism. After “Knight of the Swords,” things go more melodic hard rock with “Ishmael.” It’s an okay song but I don’t find it anything to get too excited about. With “I Need Your Love,” Diamond Head goes kind of new wave/metal. It is a good track to bop your head along to and it hosts the second best guitar solo on it, so pluses all around. The title track closes the album and this is definitely an artsy progressive rock tune. It begins with a piano to which Harris sings a ballad like tune for the first two and a half minutes. While the song doesn’t go crazy power metal after, it does pick up the tempo. There is some fine musicianship on it and it turns out to be a good way to end the album.

Track Listing:

1. Makin’ Music
2. Out of Phase
3. The Kingmaker
4. One More Night
5. To the Devil His Due
6. Knight of the Swords
7. Ishmael
8. I Need Your Love
9. Cantebury

Sean Harris and Brian Tatler who made up Diamond Head

Sean Harris- vocals

Brian Tatler- guitars

Additional Musicians:

Colin Kimberly- bass

Mervyn Goldsworthy- bass

Duncan Scott- drums

Robbie France- drums

Jamie Lane- drums

Chris Heaton- keyboards

Back in the early 1980s, Diamond were the best kept secret of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, (NWOBHM). While Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Saxon to name some had established themselves as big names in the US, most Americans never heard of Diamond Head. One such person, when reading my Donington t-shirt thought that because the name Diamond Head was on it, the concert had taken place in Hawaii. I put him right on that one. “Canterbury” might not have been the metal album one would expect from Diamond Head, but it’s still good album nevertheless.

Next post: Saxon- Power and Glory

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Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great Metal Albums of 1983: Twisted Sister- You Can’t Stop Rock and Roll

What better way to build up the excitement on the eve of Bloodstock than to post my favourite album from one of my all time favourite bands who will be headlining on the Friday night? Words can’t express how pumped I am to see Twisted Sister’s farewell UK gig. Yes, I’m aware that this might be a hype, after all, Ozzy has had three farewell tours but that doesn’t lessen my excitement.

“You Can’t Stop Rock and Roll” is the second album from Twisted Sister, though it was the first one I heard. I probably said this when I posted about “Under the Blade,” but that album was only available as an import until 1985. Having seen them at Donington that summer, getting this album was a no brainer. Cliches aside, when I got it home and listened to it, I was even more blown away.

I think what I like most about Twisted Sister was many of their lyrics seemed to speak to me personally back then. Starting with the opener, “The Kids Are Back,” okay, I’m only one person but I had only been out of the service a few months and I did walk the streets as a one man tattered army. I too asked myself about others who didn’t appear to be having fun, how could I stop it. Most people back then couldn’t understand that I was able to work hard and play hard. That made the fourth track my response to people. “I am, I’m Me!” and I didn’t take seriously those who looked down on what I believed. Then comes “We’re Gonna Make It.” That song was my driving force come exam time when I was in college. Especially as I found in the service and out that life was mostly a case of “It’s not what you know but who you knowin.” To cap it off, my favourite Twisted Sister track of all time closes the album out and it’s what I say to all those who have a problem with metal, “You Can’t Stop Rock and Roll.”

Maybe the other tracks weren’t quite so personal to me but they are all great metal tunes. From the power riffs of “Knife in the Back” to the more ballad like “You’re Not Alone (Suzette’s Song) this album just rocks, plain and simple! I think that Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda play some of their finest guitar solos on this album. Now some have said that “You Can’t Stop Rock And Roll” was the beginning of Twisted Sister’s decent into more commercial sounding metal. Maybe be it’s me but I never had that impression then nor do I have it now. This album for me is just amazing.

Track Listing:

1. The Kids Are Back
2. Knife in the Back
3. Ride to Live Live to Ride
4. I Am I’m Me
5. The Power and the Glory
6. We’re Gonna Make It
7. I’ve Had Enough
8. I’ll Take You Alive
9. You’re Not Alone (Suzette’s Song)
10. You Can’t Stop Rock and Roll

Twisted Sister

Dee Snider- lead vocals

Jay Jay French- guitar, backing vocals

Eddie ‘Fingers’ Ojeda- guitar, backing vocals

Mark ‘The Animal’ Mendoza- bass ,backing growls

A. J. Pero- drums, percussion

When I saw Twisted Sister at Bloodstock, they played three songs from this album, “You Can’t Stop Rock and Roll,” “The Kids are Back” and “I Am, I’m Me.” These are all great songs but since this is their farewell tour I would love for them to play more from it. Definitely, I would love for them to play “Knife in the Back,” “Ride to Live Live to Ride” and “We’re Gonna Make It.” Then again, anything they play from this album will have me screaming loudly as it is my fave. Being the Twisted Sister fanatic that I am, an entire post will be dedicated to their time on stage. We’ll I’ll be off in the morning.

Next post: Bloodstock, the Thursday

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

 

 

1983- Triumphs and Tragedies

The Alamo

The only tragedy I remember from 1983 actually happened the year before. Due to my military service, I didn’t find out about it until 83 when I read about all the fallout from it. I’m talking about when Ozzy Osbourne pissed on the Alamo. He claims he was drunk as a skunk, (I’ve never seen a drunk skunk so I have nothing to compare it to.) Ozzy also said he didn’t know it was such a national shrine, well it is in Texas. The result of his action got him banned from the city of San Antonio for ten years, although that was lifted a few years later when he made a large donation to the Alamo charity.

Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy was already getting himself a reputation outside the heavy metal world for the wrong reasons. His infamous biting the head off a bat was making its rounds. Of course, the religious element in America embellished things further. There were rumours he blew up goats on stage and at one show, he supposedly threw a puppy into the crowd and said he wouldn’t sing anymore until the audience killed the puppy. While this was all untrue hype, it didn’t help Ozzy when he actually did something for real. So for Ozzy and somewhat in the metal world, this was a bit of a tragedy because it overshadowed the two albums he released in the year. I’ll be covering those soon enough.

Now for the triumphs. It seems that 1983 was a cool year for festivals. I got to go to two of them. The first one, I mentioned when I posted about the Nantucket and Doc Holliday albums a few months ago. Those two bands topped the bill at the Mayfair Festival at Jacksonville, North Carolina. The other five bands remain pretty much unheard of with the bottom three being cover bands. So, I thought I’d include them in this little piece of history. They were Skeet Kelly, Roxy, Avalanche- who did a great cover of Sammy Hagar’s “Heavy Metal,” Peer Pressure- who did a reasonably decent cover of John Cougar’s “Hurt So Good” and Eraxle- who closed their set with a fantastic cover of Van Halen’s “Ice Cream Man.” I consumed loads of alcohol and there were some interesting events between the bands like a wet t-shirt and a men’s ugly legs competition. A fine day from what I remember.

Nantucket

Military commitments kept me from attending this festival but my sister went. I tried to pick her brains but she didn’t remember much. In the June, Journey headlined in Philadelphia and with them were John Cougar, Sammy Hagar, The Tubes and Bryan Adams. From what she can remember, my sister says that Journey sounded great and had a fantastic light show. John Cougar and Bryan Adams were both very good as was Sammy Hagar despite his red spandex. Unfortunately, The Tubes weren’t up to the rest of those who played that day. If this line up played in more cities than Philly, I would love to hear your account of the day.

Journey Live

It didn’t matter that I was in the military for this one, I couldn’t have gone to the US Festival because it was 3000 miles away in California. The US Festival was a three day festival where the first day consisted of new wave bands, the second day’s line up was heavy metal and the third day’s was a rock line up. From what I heard, all three days were fantastic although I do recall an interview with a local sheriff saying that he was going to try to ban such events following the festival. I didn’t think about it then, but that was the first salvo fired at music in the 1980s. I think the best thing to do is just to let you look at the line up for the three days and I’m sure you will be just as awestruck as I was.

Us Festival Showbill

I did get to the final festival in 1983. This was my first Donington Festival as I happened to be in England at the time. From my memory, I can recall that Diamond Head were all right and Dio were very good. I didn’t twig on who the lead singer was until they played “Heaven and Hell” but that was okay. They were brilliant. Then came Twisted Sister. I can still remember Dee Snider’s quip: “We’re not Culture Club or any of those gay boys or Duran Duran nor any of those other wimps. We’re Twisted Sister and we play heavy metal rock and roll!” Of course I knew there must of been something about them when they were introduced as Twisted Fuckin’ Sister. Their music was great too.

For me, ZZ Top took the concert. They played a magnificent combination of old and new material during their time on stage. Of course it helped that they played my two favourite ZZ Top tunes, “Jesus Just Left Chicago” and “La Grange.” They also played quite a few songs off their new “Eliminator” album so they basically rocked. The big let down after ZZ Top was Meatloaf. I was not impressed, he just sounded terrible that day. Worse, my friend’s English girlfriend didn’t realize that they ran a special train after the concert so out of fear of getting stuck, we left early and missed headliners, Whitesnake. I remain gutted but overall, Donington 1983 was a kick ass day and proved that Great Britain could rock.

 

That was 1983 in a nutshell. The only real tragedy was Ozzy pissing on a national shrine but all the great concert festivals more than compensated for it. Just posting about it has me psyched for Bloodstock in two weeks. It was no wonder I was super excited when I got out of the marines that year.

Next post: Great Soundtracks

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great Metal Albums of 1982: Diamond Head- Borrowed Time

“Borrowed Time” by Diamond Head another album that passed me by in 1982 but then again, I had never heard of the band until a year later when I came to Britain and happened to see them at Donnington in 1983. While I thought they were okay, I still never got around to buying any of their albums. When I came to Britain to stay in 1986, it was only then I got to experience them because two of my new friends were heavily into them. In fact, one was nicknamed Diamond Head Andy because of his love for the band. Although the character based on him in “Rock and Roll Children” is called Diamond Head Martin. Even then, I can’t say that I really listened to them. That is why, like a good number of the albums of 1982, I am only listening “Borrowed Time” for the first time before making this post.

What is my impression of Diamond Head? Well listening to “Borrowed Time,” my first reaction is Led Zeppelin. It is very obvious that Diamond Head draw a major influence from the great Zep, not that I can blame them for that. Lead singer Sean Harris sounds quite a lot like Robert Plant on most of the tracks and guitarist Brian Tatler has a style very similar to Jimmy Page. The tracks which prove the point the most are “Borrowed Time” and “Don’t You Ever Leave Me.” However, there is a little of the Zeppelin influence in the other tracks too and that includes the closer, “Am I Evil” which any metalhead knows was covered by Metallica. But calling Diamond Head Led Zeppelin clones would be grossly unfair and inaccurate. Sure the Zep influence is definitely there but they aren’t clones. Take “Am I Evil” for an example. There is some good power metal riffs in that song that I can see why one of the most famous thrash bands in the world would cover it. The same can be said for “Lightning to the Nations.” That is another song where Diamond Head put their own stamp on it. Comparisons and contrasts aside, I found “Borrowed Time to be a great album to sit back and bang your head to and I have to give credit to Tatler as a guitarist, he can cook.

Track Listing:

1. In the Heat of the Night
2. To Heave from Hell
3. Call Me
4. Lightning to the Nations
5. Borrowed Time
6. Don’t You Ever Leave Me
7. Am I Evil

                         Diamond Head

Sean Harris- vocals

Brian Tatler- guitars

Colin Kimberly- bass

Duncan Scott- drums

My trip through 1982 has been full of pleasant surprises for me. Because so many albums passed me by that year due to my military commitments, (though I can’t use that excuse here), I have had the pleasurable experience of having to catch up on them. So far, every one of them has been a good experience but I have to say that Diamond Head’s “Borrowed Time” has been the best surprise thus far.

Next post: UFO- Mechanix

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to http://www.strategicpublishingroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London