Once again, my hopes were in vain. There hasn’t been any major rock deaths since the passing of Jeff Beck in January, so I was hoping that we might get a reprieve. Fat chance! Last night, the final original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, guitarist Gary Rossington, passed away aged 71. Gary had a super career, not only with Skynyrd but with the band Rossington/Collins in the early 1980s. He was a phenomenal guitarist and he along with fellow guitarist Allen Collins provided one of the greatest long time jams in “Freebird.” Lynyrd Skynyrd were also crucial in forming the genre known as Southern Rock. FFI: click the link.
This song was written after Gary hit a tree with his car.
Gary’s passing marks the end of an era. While, Lynyrd Skynyrd will probably continue on with Johnny Van Zant and Rickey Medlocke leading the way, all the original members are now playing together in a better place.
Rest in peace Gary, the Freebird will forever fly on!
A term which has been brandished around in the music world, I’ve been know to use it as well, is the ‘sophmore jinx.’ The term relates to bands who have great debut albums but their second album doesn’t live up to the hype created by the first one. Could this be said about the Georgia Satellites’ second album, “Open All Night?” Their debut album turned a lot of heads in their direction and gave them their best known hit, “Battleship Chains.” So, was the second album affected by the sophmore jinx? Some so-called critics thought so but I didn’t.
One thing no one can deny about “Open All Night,” is that the band definitely had a lot of fun recording it. That can be said throughout the album. The title cut opens and it’s good enough to hold interest but it’s the second track which is the song of the album, “Sheila.” They definitely put much fun into this one. I don’t know who Sheila is but the playing is brilliant, especially the guitar solo from Rick Richards.
One ‘critic’ called the cover of the Jerry Lee Lewis classic, “Whole Lotta Shakin'” a misstep on the album. True, Jerry’s version cannot be topped, although I would put it out for an “Original vs. Cover” post if anyone wants to hear it for themselves but the Georgia Satellites version definitely does the song much justice. I think Jerry Lee would have given it the thumbs up. The other cover is of a Beatles’ rarity, (actually, I discovered the song on the Beatles 1980 “Rarities” album), “Don’t Pass Me By” which was written by Ringo. Again, they totally rock the song out and make it theirs.
Speaking about a rock out, “Cool Inside” definitely does that! This is the rockingest song on the album and Richards delivers some great guitar solos on it. I could call this one the hidden gem as it appears, “Sheila” was the one released as a single. However, the second half of the album isn’t quite as good as the first. Don’t get me wrong, the songs are still good and the band has lots of fun playing and singing them and I find “Dunk and Dine” particularly amusing. It’s about a girl who works in a fast food establishment. “Mon Cheri” is rather amusing and proves that the band had a sense of humour and “Down and Down” has a cool opening riff. The album closes with the ballad, “Hand to Mouth,” which isn’t bad but I’m not sure if Dan Baird’s voice is suited to it.
Track Listing:
Open All Night
Sheila
Whole Lotta Shakin’
Cool Inside
Don’t Pass Me By
My Baby
Mon Cheri
Down and Down
Dunk and Dine
Baby So Fine
Hand to Mouth
Georgia Satellites
Dan Baird- vocals, guitar
Rick Richards- guitar, vocals
Rick Price- bass
Mauro Magellan- drums
The question here is, can a band have fun making an album and be successful at the same time? In the case of “Open All Hours,” the critics would answer, “no.” For them, the album didn’t get past the sophmore jinx but for me, I love this album and don’t care what the critics think.
Next post: George Thorogood- Born to Be Bad
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
Here comes another album which didn’t make it across the Atlantic in 1988. Then again, 38 Special kind of shot themselves in the foot during an interview on their previous album, “Strength in Numbers,” when they declared they didn’t need England. Except for some hard core followers, the band was pretty much forgotten in the UK after that. Hell, I didn’t even know they had put out a greatest hits album the year before! I would have covered it here if I had.
“Rock and Roll Strategy” brought about many changes with the band. Singer/rhythm guitarist Don Barnes left to pursue a solo career and they went from two drummers down to one when Steve Brookins also left. In replacement, they added Max Carl to take over the vocals and play keyboards and they added guitarist Danny Chauncey as well. Danny also plays lead guitar so I am left wondering which songs he solos on and which solos are played by long time guitarist Jeff Carlisi. The net isn’t answering that question so any further revelation to this mystery would be completely appreciated.
Another anxiety I had with 38 Special is that the quality declined with each album, although it did seem to level off with “Strength in Numbers.” So, my question was would “Rock And Roll Strategy” continue the downward trend or would it take things back the other way? The answer from me is “Neither.” It seems that with the “Tour de Force” album, music quality seemed to hit a plateau as this album is no better or no worse than the two previous ones.
Actually, when I first heard the album, I thought that the downward spiral was going to continue but subsequent listens have shown me that the album is still pretty good. Many of the tracks have the familiar intros which the band had become known for and while Max’s keyboards provide a good background to the songs, they don’t take over. While it’s true, that the band was bending to the commercial winds of the time, they hadn’t abandoned what got them to the front either.
With the change of singer, I had hoped that there would be a more equal sharing of the vocal duties between Max and long time member Donnie Van Zant. Using the 80smetalman formula, I deduced that the better 38 Special albums were so because of Donnie singing lead on more of the songs. On “Rock and Roll Strategy,” the split is a little more even than on the last three albums with Max singing lead on six songs to Donnie’s five. For me, this makes the album better because three of the Donnie sung songs, “Comin’ Down Tonight,” “Chattahoochee” and the closer, “Love Strikes” are among the strongest tracks on the album.
Saying that, some of the Max sung songs are very good as well. As with Don Barnes, he sings lead on the single, “Second Chance,” which would be the band’s last top ten hit and it’s not bad. However, there are two songs he sings which I enjoy more. “Hot Lanta” is a cool hard rock sounding number with a great horn section, which adds a little jazz element to it. But for me, the hidden gem is definitely “Little Sheba.” This cooker is about a jello wrestler who finds defeat only to come back tougher. As a former US serviceman, I can identify with the theme the song conveys. Some of you might remember my ancient post from the tour of 1983 when I wrote about the night before I got out of the Marines, my local bar had a pudding wrestling event. Ah, the memories!
Not actual action from that night.
Further linking past to present, I have mentioned on previous 38 Special how underrated a guitarist Jeff Carlisi is and I could possibly add Danny Chauncey now. If the video for “Second Chance” is correct, it’s Danny’s solo that makes the song. Maybe a noticeable guitar solo trade off between the two might have helped the album.
Track Listing:
Rock and Roll Strategy
What’s It To Ya?
Little Sheba
Comin’ Down Tonight
Midnight Magic
Second Chance
Hot Lanta
Never Be Lonely
Chattahoochee
Innocent Eyes
Love Strikes
38 Special
Max Carl- lead vocals, keyboards
Donnie Van Zant- vocals
Jeff Carlisi- guitar
Danny Chauncey- guitar
Larry Junstrom- bass
Jack Grondin- bass
Actually, I thought the “Little Sheba” song would be an actual wrestling video.
I wonder if 38 Special ever regretted saying that they didn’t need England. I thought it was a rather arrogant thing to say back then and still think so now. If this album was more known in the UK, I would have snapped it up and maybe their run of success wouldn’t have petered away after.
Next post: Georgia Satellites- Open All Night
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
Once more, we can boldly declare that 2020 sucks Communist donkey dick! Not only are we losing so many great rockers, we are losing members of the same band. Less than two months ago, Uriah Heep and Ozzy drummer Lee Kerslake left us. Now, I must sadly announce the passing of Uriah Heep keyboardist, Ken Hensley. He was a great but underrated keyboards player for Heep all throughout the 1970s. In 1983, he joined Southern rock greats, Blackfoot and his contributions helped make keyboards in Southern rock acceptable.
It’s back to the grindstone for the new year so in my case, it’s back to the tour of the golden decade of heavy metal. While, it wasn’t planned, I realized that it might be cool to start the new year off with a post from an album from one of the all time greats, ZZ Top.
Thinking back to 1985, when I heard the first single from the “Afterburner” album, “Sleeping Bag,” I have to admit that I wasn’t too impressed. For me, that song was too synth pop and was too quick to accuse ZZ Top of selling out and abandoning their Texas boogie blues sound and wanting to sound like Duran Duran. Many other people I knew were of the same opinion. Fortunately, like I’ve said so many times throughout the history of the blog, one song doesn’t make an album. Slowly but surely, reports came in that the rest of the album wasn’t all synth pop and that Top hadn’t completely forgotten where they had came from. What convinced me that this was the case was the second single, “Rough Boy.” Even though some of Billy Gibbons’s great guitar work was shortened for the sake of radio friendliness, I realized that the reports from others were indeed correct.
Thinking about “Rough Boy,” the full length version on the album is even better from what radio had to offer. True, the song is a bit of a ballad but if ballads had guitar solos like this one, then what’s the problem? I will also not debate that there might be some synth pop sounds on “Afterburner” but for the most part, there is plenty of what ZZ Top had been famous for before hand. “Stages,” which was also released as a single and “Woke Up With Wood” bear testimony to that. If these tracks don’t convince you then “Can’t Stop Rocking” certainly will. This is a straight forward hard rocker that comes close to being a metal tune. Dusty Hill does the vocal duties here and he sounds fantastic and that leaves Billy to work more of his guitar magic and the result is pure magic.
The second half of the album carries on where the first half left off. “Planet of Women,” (I would have loved to have gone there in 1985), gets my vote for hidden gem. It’s as hard rocking as “Can’t Stop Rocking” but what carries past the line for me is Billy Gibbons. His solos are just a little bit better on this track. Things continue in this vein for the rest of the album with “I Got the Message” but “Velcro Fly” does mark a slight return to synth pop, except Billy’s guitar solo is first rate. Then we get to the last two tracks where the links with the previous mega successful “Eliminator” album come through loud and clear. Penultimate track, “Dipping Low (In the Lap of Luxury) reminds me very much of “Give Me All Your Loving,” not a bad thing. The closer, “Delirious,” reminds me of “Bad Girls,” which was the closer from the “Eliminator” album. Maybe the band planned it that way because when the album closes, you are convinced that ZZ Top haven’t sold out and remain the band that they have always been.
Track Listing:
Sleeping Bag
Stages
Woke Up With the Wood
Rough Boy
Can’t Stop Rockin’
Planet of Women
I Got the Message
Velcro Fly
Dipping Low (In the Lap of Luxury)
Delirious
ZZ Top
Billy Gibbons- guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals
Dusty Hill- bass, keyboards, backing vocals, lead vocal on tracks 5 and 10
Frank Beard- drums
In conclusion, ZZ Top did not sell out with the “Afterburner” album. In fact, though I wasn’t impressed when I first heard it, “Sleeping Bag” has been growing on me more. It just proves how great this band has always been.
It was only logical that after six great studio albums, Molly Hatchet would put out a live album and boy what a live album! This album is so brilliant that it almost, I stress almost, removes my regret of never having seen this great band live. There was a couple of near opportunities to do so but the US Marine Corps had other ideas at the time. That means, I have had to settle for the consolation prize, not a bad one in any way, of “Double Trouble Live.”
What is cool about this live album is that the song selection has offerings from each of the studio albums. This includes the “Beatin’ the Odds” and “Take No Prisoners” albums when Jimmy Farrar handled the vocal duties. I have to say that Danny Joe Brown does a good job on both of the songs “Beatin’ the Odds” and “Bloody Reunion.” Speaking of Danny Joe, the band even plays a track, “Edge of Sundown,” from his one album with the Danny Joe Brown Band. Therefore, this album has a great diverse mix but Molly Hatchet shines on each and every song.
Of course, there are all the familiar Molly Hatchet classics we have come to love. “Flirtin’ With Disaster,” “Bounty Hunter,” “Fall of the Peacemakers,” “Stone In Your Heart,” “Satisfied Man” and “Boogie No More” are all played brilliantly live. You’d expect nothing less. On top of that, it was only natural they opened with “Whiskey Man” but the song where they really go above and beyond is “Gator Country.” That has always been a cool song but live, guitarists Duane Roland and Dave Hlubeck go absolutely nuts and turn it into a great jam session, well done lads!
When I first heard the album, I was slightly perplexed as to why they would cover Lynyrd Skynyrd’s legendary “Freebird.” After all, most Southern rock bands have their own answer to the Skynyrd classic. Blackfoot has “Highway Song” and even Molly Hatchet had “Fall of the Peacemakers.” So I asked myself, “Why?” The answer came when I listened to the track. Molly Hatchet definitely do it justice. I mean, I have heard some awful attempts covering this classic and I wanted to take an Uzi to those pretenders but Molly Hatchet would have made Ronnie Van Zant proud. There is also a cover of the Allman Brothers classic, “Dreams I’ll Never See” and again, it’s nicely done. Like I said, “Double Trouble Live” nearly removes my regret of not having seen them live.
Track Listing:
Whiskey Man
Bounty Hunter
Gator Country
Flirtin’ With Disaster
Stone in Your Heart
Satisfied Man
Bloody Reunion
Boogie No More
Freebird
Walk on the Side of Angels
Walk With You
Dreams I’ll Never See
Edge of Sundown
Fall of the Peacemakers
Beatin’ the Odds
Molly Hatchet
Danny Joe Brown- vocals
Dave Hlubeck- guitar
Duane Roland- guitar
John Galvin- keyboards
Riff West- bass
Bruce Crump- drums
It has been said the “Double Trouble Live” is one of the best live albums of all time. It’s definitely one of the best in 1985. The only reason it’s not number one for the year as there is a definite contender as well but I’ll get to that one in due course. In the mean time, have a listen to a fantastic live album from Molly Hatchet. You too might not feel so bad if you haven’t seen them live.
Next post: Joe Walsh- The Confessor
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If there was ever proof that in 1985, the phrase ‘sold out’ was banded about quite liberally, even by me, it was with this 1985 from Van Zant. The name has always been familiar in Southern Rock terms and in this case, it was a simple re-branding of the Johnny Van Zant band. The band even had all its original members. So, why did I accuse them of selling out? The answer was that with this self titled album, Van Zant, like Molly Hatchet and Blackfoot a year earlier had moved away from the traditional Southern Rock boogie sound to a more keyboards, progressive AOR sound. However, my mis-branding of this band was short lived because after a few listens, I realized that I was wrong to ever accuse them of selling out.
One major proof I was wrong was that this album contains one of my favourite songs of 1985 and it’s definitely up there in the all time list. “I’m a Fighter” was not an abandonment from Van Zant’s more hard rocking Southern sound. In fact, it’s rare that a single released from an album in the mid 1980s sound less AOR than the rest of the album but this song absolutely kicks ass! From its unique acoustic guitar intro, to the hard rocking guitars and the blow away guitar solo, all led by the steady vocals of Johnny Van Zant who does the family name proud on every track of the album.
Once one gets over the fact that keyboards are used on the album, the rest of the album is quite good. In fact, the keyboards are used quite well. Sure, they are more prominent in tracks such as “She’s Out With a Gun” and “You’ve Got to Believe in Love” but they are still good songs and the latter does have a killer guitar solo. In fact, I think that Robbie Gay and Erik Lundgren may be the most underrated guitar duo of all time. Tracks such as the opener “Midnight Sensation,” the single I’ve already mentioned, “Two Strangers in Love” and “2+2” are all good to decent rockers. “Two Strangers in Love” is my vote for the hidden gem on the album, especially the way the guitar solo takes the song out at the end.
Thinking back to that time, maybe the reason why it took me a couple of listens to get into this album maybe be down to the four remaining tracks. While not bad, they don’t reach the mark set by the first six songs. The possible exception being “Does a Fool Ever Learn,” which is about a woman who’s with an abusive man but won’t leave him. Full marks to the band for bringing this issue to light in the song. Also while not as spectacular as the first six, “Heart to the Flame” does have a catchy vibe to it and but it took me a couple of listens to notice. However, all’s well that ends well and now I regard this album as one of my tops for 1985.
Track Listing:
Midnight Sensation
She’s Out With a Gun
I’m a Fighter
You’ve Got to Believe in Love
Two Strangers in Love
2+2
Heart to the Flame
Does a Fool Ever Learn
Right on Time
Lonely Girls
Van Zant
Johnny Van Zant- vocals
Robbie Morris- drums
Danny Clausman- bass
Robbie Gay- guitar, backing vocals
Erik Lundgren- guitar, backing vocals
Additional musicians:
Richard Head- synclavier
Brian Heathrington- keyboards, synthesizer
Steve McCray- keyboards, synthesizer
Thinking about it, the self titled album from the re-branded Van Zant wasn’t the top of my favourite album of 1985 list but it was definitely on it. I would call this the most underrated album of said year because it is a blinder. The problem was with people’s attitudes in 1985. Anything with heavy guitars was considered heavy metal while many metalheads considered anything with a keyboard too mainstream. This can be the only reason this album didn’t fare so well.
Next post: AC/DC- Fly on the Wall
Those who’ve known me for some time might have already guessed why I’m posting this album next.
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It looks as if 2018 is going to suck again as it’s my sad duty to announce the passing of former Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Ed King. Ed passed away from lung cancer at his home in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 68. Ed joined Skynyrd from when his original band, Strawberry Alarm Clock opened for them in 1972. Originally, he joined as a temporary replacement for bassist Leon Wilkeson but was added as a third guitarist later. He co-wrote the famous Lynyrd Skynyrd hit, “Sweet Home Alabama.” Another tragic loss to the music industry during three years of tragic losses. I hope you will all join me in offering my condolences to Ed’s family.
My first hearing of the band Lone Justice in 1985 came not through MTV or the radio, nor did it come from anyone recommending I buy their debut album. I first heard about them when I was told they were supporting then legends, U2. Then two days before I was going to see them, my local radio station played their first single, “Ways to be Wicked.” I liked it and that gave me a greater expectation of the band when I finally did see them and on that night, I wasn’t disappointed! In 1985, U2 and Lone Justice made a very good combination.
Lone Justice are listed in Wikapedia as country rock and I don’t disagree with that assessment. Thre is definitely a country music influence and the album is too rock to be considered country. Have a listen to “Don’t Toss Us Away.” However, I think a better assessment is Southern Rock meets new wave. When listening to the rock guitars you can hear what was then called modern synths compliments of one Benmont Tench from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Mike Campbell from the same band lends his guitar skills as well and there is even contributions from Little Steven who most of the world knows from Bruce Springsteen’s band. With this accompaniment assisting, it’s no wonder the album is so good. Not that I am taking anything away from the band because those players weren’t with them when I saw Lone Justice live and the band was quite capable of holding their own. Not only did they play material from this album, they also delighted the crowd to covers of CCR’s “The Fortunate Son” and “Sweet Jane.”
“Ways to Be Wicked” has always been my favourite Lone Justice song, probably to the exposure on radio and eventually MTV. Other songs which really stand out for me are “After the Flood” and “Soap, Soup and Salvation” which is about the extreme poverty that was rising in America during the mid 1980s. Again, I take nothing away from the rest of the album and while the musicianship is first rate, the driving force behind each and every song is the vocals of Maria McKee. She may be small in height but her vocal range makes her ten feet tall. Thinking about it, I’m rather disappointed that more wasn’t said about her vocal ability back then because she is phenomenal.
Three years after seeing Lone Justice and hearing their debut album, I mentioned to someone who was heavily into the band that I had seen them support U2. He responded that U2 should have supported Lone Justice. I wouldn’t have gone that far but I can appreciate his feelings. Lone Justice should have achieved much more than they did and this album proves it.
Next post: Warlock- Hellbound
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My first thought when the “Southern Accents” album from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers first came to my attention in early 1985 was that they hadn’t gone into obscurity. It turns out that their 1981 and 82 albums had totally passed me by. I blame being in the service at the time. The second thought I had came via the video on MTV for the first single, “Don’t Come Around Here No More” and that was that Tom Petty had sold out and gone commercial, especially since he plays The Mad Hatter in the video which has an “Alice in Wonderland” theme. The further fact that Tom co-wrote the song with Dave Stewart from The Eurythmics only cemented that belief further. Thankfully, I am glad that I was completely wrong on both accounts.
I think my motivation behind me belief was that I was still remembering the band for their excellent “Damn the Torpedoes” album and expected the single to sound somewhat like “Refugee” or “Don’t Do Me Like That.” “Don’t Come Around Here No More” doesn’t sound like either and although I’m more open to it these days, at the time, I was looking for power chords. So listening to it recently with a more open mind, I am able to deliver a more favourable report on “Southern Accents.”
Let’s start with the not so positive: “Southern Accents” doesn’t topple “Damn the Torpedoes” from the top spot in my mind. Does that make it a bad album? Certainly not! There is many a good jam to be had on it. The first two songs, especially the opener, “Rebel,” really cook. Then again, Mike Campbell plays his best guitar solo on the second song. The irony here is that Petty also co-wrote that one with Stewart and likewise another great song, “Make It Better (Forget About Me.)” So, it’s been thirty years in coming but I must apologize and withdraw my accusation that Dave Stewart was trying to turn Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers into an 80s synth pop band. He wasn’t in any way.
Other tracks on “Southern Accents” go further in highlighting the band’s diversity and talent. The title track is a decent ballad and I like the Southern rock leanings of “Spike.” However, my vote for hidden gem has to be “Dogs on the Run” because it’s the song which reminds me of my favourite album the most. That song alone is proof that the band didn’t sell out in 1985. “Mary’ New Car” does come a close second.
Track Listing:
Rebel
It Ain’t Nothin’ to Me
Don’t Come Around Here No More
Southern Accents
Make it Better (Forget About Me)
Spike
Dogs on the Run
Mary’s New Car
The Best of Everything
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty- lead vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, percussion
Mike Campbell- lead guitar, backing vocals, Dobro, keyboards
Benmont Tench- piano, keyboards, vibraphone
Stan Lynch- drums, percussion, backing vocals
Howie Epstein- bass, vocals
If I was so wrong about the “Southern Accents” album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 1985, I wonder how many other albums I was wrong about. Don Henley for one. Still, I was a different person back then and the lack of heavy metal played on the radio and MTV back in early 1985 only poured fuel on those feelings. This is a great album!
Next post: Eric Clapton- Behind the Sun
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