Great Rock Albums of 1989: Nine Inch Nails- Pretty Hate Machine

I have to admit, I’m totally stumped here. I’ve always associated Nine Inch Nails with the 90s and even the 00s. Therefore, when a reader pointed out that their debut album, “Pretty Hate Machine,” actually came out in 1989, I cheerfully added it to my list. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret doing it as this album passed me by back then but after several listens, I’m still not sure what to make of it. This is one album you can’t put into any single category and I like that.

This album has been referred to as synth pop on steroids and true, I do hear elements of synth pop and steroids. It has also been said that the album singlehandedly started the genre we now know as industrial rock. While I don’t debate that, I’m not sure if it singlehandedly did so. I do love the raw, grinding sound of many of the tracks on the album. It is certainly different and that’s another reason for me to like it.

In my own humble opinion, my reaction to “Pretty Hate Machine,” was to immediately draw reference to Tool, at least the “Undertow” album but that could just be me. What I do know is that like Tool, this album is different and I definitely do different. One song which defines my belief is “Sanctified.” To call the track, ‘way out there’ is a total understatement. This one goes way out there and beyond and back again. You get the low, barely intelligible vocals of Trent Reznor with some weird bass, synth and drumming noises accompanied by the drone of a guitar. I can’t help thinking that I should have altered my mind before listening to the album.

At least three singles were released from the album, “Down In It,” which was the first single, “Head Like a Hole,” which hit number nine on the US charts and “Sin” which got to number 35 in the UK charts. The thing is, normally listening to the album would rekindle memories of long forgotten singles. Unfortunately, it hasn’t done it this time. Still, all three of those tracks are pretty good. However, I can find a hidden gem and that happens to be “Terrible Lie.” It’s out there but there is an element of rock to it which endears it to my ears.

Another unique aspect of the album is that there seems to be a lot of engineers on it but not many credits to musicians. I had to do a lot of digging in Wikipedia to find out the musicians, at least the ones who went on tour with Nine Inch Nails. According to said source, the only full time member of Nine Inch Nails until 2016 was Trent Reznor.

Track Listing:

1. Head Like a Hole
2. Terrible Lie
3. Down In It
4. Sanctified
5. Something I Can Never Have
6. Kinda Want To
7. Sin
8. That’s What I Get
9. The Only Time
10. Ringfinger

Nine Inch Nails- touring band

Trent Reznor- vocals

Richard Partick- guitar

John Fryer- keyboards

Chris Vrenna- drums

If you like way out there and something completely different, then Nine Inch Nails and “Pretty Hate Machine” is for you. The reason why it’s such a good album is because it goes beyond the realms of what people would consider normal.

Next post: Happy New Year

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Great Rock Albums of 1989: Deborah Harry- Def, Dumb and Blonde

Deborah Harry disappeared off my radar sometime around 1981. When I was posting about that year, I stated that she abdicated the throne as Queen of Rock when her band, Blondie, put out that awful “Auto-American” album. As a result, in 1980, Pat Benatar effortlessly took the throne. Debbie did put out some albums in the 80s but they totally escaped my notice, at least until 1989. For the record, I thought Blondie went disco with that awful album.

Deb returned to my radar in 1989 when her big hit, “I Want That Man,” from her album, “Def, Dumb and Blonde,” was all over the radio in the UK. From what I remember, I thought “I Want That Man” was an okay song, not one which lingered in my memory until now. Hearing it again after so many years, I like it. There is a enough guitar to make it a commercially viable rock song, which didn’t drive metalheads away.

“Def, Dumb and Blonde” is divided into three parts. While all of the songs on it have a definite 80s punk/new wave vibe, the first four songs lean more towards hard rock. “Lovelight” leans towards rock and so does in less of a way, “Kiss It Better.” However, I am glad I am posting about version of the album which was released on CD, otherwise, I would have missed out on a really good rocking tune, “Bike Boys.” This song takes me back to the very early days of Blondie, I’m talking the iconic “Parallel Lines” album. It’s great hearing that Deb can still rock!

While on the subject, when the album was released, all three formats, vinyl, cassette and CD were all different. Some had more tracks like the CD release which had 15. The rocking “Bike Boys” doesn’t appear on the vinyl version. In any case, the album heads into more synth pop territory with “Get Your Own Way.” There is some still rocking moments on the song but it is where things go down the pop road. Another point from this song is that I’m not sure if I should take Debbie’s rapping part seriously.

While the album goes down the synth pop road, it’s not as bad as I might be insinuating. The track, “Maybe for Sure,” does have a little power chord and although most of it sounds like a synthed out version of “Sunday Girl,” guitarist, Christ Stein, plays his best solo. I think Chris has never been let off the lead to show what he could do on his guitar. I’m not saying he’s a Malmesteen, Blackmore or Nugent but his solos are good. That was the case when he was in Blondie and the case on this album. He should have been allowed to play more guitar solos.

The next few songs are definitely more 80s pop and while they’re not that terrible, they don’t hold my interest much. “I’ll Never Fall in Love,” on the other hand, is pretty bad and “Calmarie” isn’t much better. Fortunately, the album rebounds with “He Is So.” This one is more of a rock tune, however, if they let Chris play a guitar solo, it would have been better. He does play a cool guitar hook in the intro of “Bugeye” and that is the best part of the song.

“Comic Books” is a fast and furious punk song and builds things up and “Forced to Live” is even better. It is great to see Debbie going back to her roots. But what surprised me most about “Def, Dumb and Blonde,” is the closer, “End of the Run.” Deborah goes progressive rock here and it’s done very nicely. When I heard it, I had to say, “Well done Debbie!” This track really is quite something, a great way to end the album.

Track Listing:

1. I Want That Man
2. Lovelight
3. Kiss It Better
4. Bike Boy
5. Get Your Way
6. Maybe For Sure
7. I’ll Never Fall in Love
8. Calmarie
9. Sweet and Low
10. He Is So
11. Bugeye
12. Comic Books
13. Forced to Live
14. Brite Side
15. End of the Run

Deborah Harry

Deborah Harry- vocals

Chris Stein- guitar

Steve Goldstein, David Bravo, Toni C, Johann Brundquist, Phil Ashley, Bobby Khozouri, Mac Quayle- keyboards

Leigh Foxx- bass

Terry Bozio, Thommy Price, Geoff Dugmore, Arthur Baker- drums

Paulinho DeCasta- percussion

Ian Astbury, Mike Chapman- Gary Valentine, Adele Bertei, Arif St. Michael, Biti Strauchn, Dennis Christopher, Keith Primi- backing vocals

It was great to see that Deborah Harry hadn’t disappeared from the face of the Earth. While I won’t say that “Def, Dumb and Blonde” was a classic rocker but there are some good tunes on it, especially the closer.

Next post: Don Henley- The End of Innocence

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Great Rock Albums of 1989: Belinda Carlisle- Runaway Horses

It’s my not so humble opinion that in 1989, no one walked the tightrope between pop and rock better than former Go-Go’s singer, Belinda Carlisle. Her album, “Runaway Horses,” is living proof of the fact. Let me be honest, there are no songs which I would call great rockers but at the same time, there’s something about them which makes me like them. For the record, I’m talking about the music.

Take the opener, “Leave the Light On,” which was Belinda’s first single from the album and I know it was a top ten hit in a lot of countries. There’s a very pronounced bassline in the song and while the guitars don’t dominate, they’re definitely there. I make no apology for liking the song as there’s something infectious about this one and many others on the album.

One song which is the closest to being a total rock out is the title cut. The guitars can definitely be heard on this one and I do want to bob my head when I hear it. I only wish they were turned up a bit more because I am sure that Belinda has the vocal ability to have been a fantastic rock or even metal singer. What keeps this track from being a total rock out is the absence of any guitar solo. There is a slide guitar solo on “Leave the Light On,” which was performed by none other than one George Harrison.

Speaking of Belinda’s vocals, it should be no surprise to anyone that she can sing a good ballad, which she does on “Vision of You.” But if you really want to talk about versatility, then the Spanish influenced “La Luna” is the song to go to. She also does power ballads as can be heard in “Summer Rain.” Then again, “Runaway Horses” did spawn six singles and although I don’t rate it highly, I don’t dislike it either, I must mention “(We Want) The Same Thing,” which I remember being used in some TV ads here in Britain. It does have a rather cool intro.

One belief as to why there were so many successful songs on this album was down to the videos. There are some good ones and at the risk of being called a misogynistic, sexist pig, Belinda rolling around in a bed sheet in the video for “La Luna” might make that point. However, the songs stand on their own for me.

Now, here’s the other challenge, with so many singles from the album, it’s been difficult for me to find a hidden gem. Staying true to my roots, I have to pick “Deep Deep Ocean.” There is enough guitar during the verses and a nice little bassline which makes it a bit of a rocker. The other songs aren’t filler and I do think the closer, which Belinda co-wrote with former Go-Gos bandmate, Charlotte Caffey, “Shades of Michaelangelo,” is very interesting to say the least. She goes almost 70s progressive rock on this one and it does make it a good closer.

Track Listing:

1. Leave the Light On
2. Runaway Horses
3. Vision of You
4. Summer Rain
5. La Luna
6. (We Want) The Same Thing
7. Deep Deep Ocean
8. Valentine
9. Whatever It Takes
10. Shades of Michaelangelo

Belinda Carlisle

Belinda Carlisle- lead vocals

Charles Judge- keyboards, electric piano

Jimmie Haskell- accordion (track 5)

Sandy Stewart- acoustic piano (track 8)

David Munday- keyboards, guitar, bass (track 8)

Ben Schultz- guitar

George Harrison- slide guitar (track 1) 6 string bass, 12 string guitar (track 7)

X. Y. Jones- guitar

Steve Lukather- guitar (track 6) Yes he’s back!

John Pierce- bass

Eric Pressly- bass (track 10)

Rudy Richman- drums (tracks 1 and 3)

Luis Conte- Native American drums (track 2), percussion (tracks 2 and 10), bongos, shaker (track 3)

Kenny Aranof- drums

Sid Page- violin (track 5)

Plus a load of backing vocals which are too many to list. One of them happened to be Bryan Adams

I’ll say it again! Belinda Carlisle very successfully walked the tightrope between pop and rock on “Runaway Horses.” There was enough pop to make it commercially successful but enough rock as to not to put people like me off.

Next post: Marillion- Seasons End

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Great Rock Albums of 1989: Richard Marx- Repeat Offender

Sometimes, I wonder if I didn’t go near full circle in the way I got my music in 1989. As a teen back in the late 1970s, all I had was an AM radio, where the local stations would only play the top hits. To seek out any other music, I had to hit the record shops or word of mouth. In 1989, I was drifting away from the serious metal scene due to having a young family and most of my music information came from two TV sources, “Top of the Pops” or a weekly programme called “The Chart Show.” At least the latter would show the top ten metal tunes that week.

Where am I going with this? Well, that’s the backstory behind today’s post. My first experience of Richard Marx came from “Top of the Pops” through his number one single, “Right Here Waiting.” It is a nice ballad but it gave me the impression for many years that Richard only did ballads. Oh, another amusing true story behind that song. By 1990, I was a full fledged Mormon and I remember someone complaining that when the song was played at a young person’s dance, there was a complaint about the suggestive lyrics. Maybe it’s me, but I don’t hear any.

More credit to Damien here but it was he who told me that Richard could rock and it was a pleasant discovery when I reviewed Richard’s debut album. Soppy ballad aside, Mr. Marx rocks just as much on this second album, “Repeat Offender.” Opener, “Nothing You Can Do About It,” grabs you by both ears and lets you know that Richard is here to rock. It also helps that Steve Lukather, yes that one, lays down the guitar solo on it. The rocking carries on with the next track, “Satisfied.”

We get a power ballad on “Angelia” and like Tina Turner, Richard got a lot of good musicians to play on his album. Bruce Gaitsch of Chicago fame carries out the guitar duties on this track and several others and there’s a cool sax part as well. Still it sounds quite Europe. More rocking returns on “Too Late to Say Goodbye.” I only wish the guitars were turned up a little more.

Following the mentioned big hit, which the more I listen to it the more Bryan Adams it sounds, comes “Heart on the Line,” which is my choice for hidden gem. Richard, with Bruce’s help, put out a blinder of a rocker on this one and Bruce definitely shows his guitar chops. I could hear this song metallized even with the cool sax solo. Richard then turns in a funky jazz direction with “Real World.” With the horns and guitar solo, this song has oodles of swagger to go around. Good to hear Richard stretching out and having some fun.

While no more soppy ballads appear on the remainder of the tracks, Richard does venture a little into synth pop territory on “If You Don’t Want My Love.” It’s not a bad track but certainly not one of the better ones on the album. However, he does have some good fun on the straight forward rocker, “That Was Lulu.” There are nice little guitar and sax hooks on the song and I think it might be about a ‘bad girl’ so this is a fun song all around. Penultimate track, “Wait for the Sunrise” is a good melodic rocker which sounds like it might have been a decent closer. However, the actual closer, “Children of the Night,” is better suited for the task. Proceeds from the song went to a charity for runaway children. Anyway, it was the best way to end the album because it’s a very good closer.

Track Listing:

1. Nothin’ You Can Do About It
2. Satisfied
3. Angelia
4. It’s Too Late to Say Goodbye
5. Right Here Waiting
6. Heart on the Line
7. Real World
8. If You Don’t Want My Love
9. That Was Lulu
10. Wait for the Surprise
11. Children of the Night

Richard Marx

Richard Marx- lead and backing vocals

Like Tina Tuner’s album, there are just too many musicians who played on the album to name. So, I will just highlight some of the main ones.

Steve Lukather- guitar (track 1)

Bruce Graitsch- guitar (tracks 2,3,5,6 &8)

Randy Jackson- bass (tracks 2,6 &8)

Michael Baird- drums (tracks 1 and 2)

Fee Waybill, Kevin Cronin, Bobby Kimball- backing vocals

With “Repeat Offender,” Richard Marx was on top of the world in 1989 and it carried on to 1990 as “Right Here Waiting” would go number one in several countries, including the UK. I wish that I hadn’t simply assumed he was a ballad guy because he does rock.

Next post: Texas- Southside

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Great Rock/Metal Albums of 1988: Van Halen- OU812

When I heard Van Halen’s eighth studio album, “OU812,” the second album with Sammy Hagar on the vocals, I was greatly relieved that they were heading away from the keyboard influenced “5150.” Okay, I’ll be the first one to admit that it’s nowhere near as heavy as their first four albums but at least it was a step back in the right direction. My speculations as to why is that possibly Eddie realized he was much more proficient with the guitar and possibly he wasn’t so whipped by Valerie. Anyway, I enjoyed the album.

With that said, the first two tracks on the album had me wondering otherwise. Both are keyboards infused but the big difference is that on the second track, “When It’s Love,” Eddie does rip a guitar solo, something he didn’t do enough of on the previous album. Guitar solo aside, the rest of that song has a really catchy melody and Sammy’s vocals bring extra meat to the table. I can see why it was a top selling single, number 5 in the US and 28 in the UK. Another song which follows this format is “Feels So Good.” It has a 1980s synth pop intro but when it gets going it’s pretty good and a great guitar solo, ala Eddie, definitely helps.

Unlike “5150’s” half and half split between hard rocking and synth songs, “OU812” goes seven to three in favour of the hard rock. That starts right away with a blinder of a rock song, “A.F.U. (Naturally Wired.)” When I heard this one, I simply shouted out, “That’s more like it!” Then you get the slower but powerful, “Cabo Wabo.” The chords just pound away and the backing vocals, rhythm section and guitar licks are just superb. That’s when we come to the hidden gem of the album, “Source of Infection.” The reason why I like this track so much is that it reminds me quite a lot of my all time second favourite Van Halen song, “Hot For Teacher.” It has that vibe on it and even Eddie’s guitar solo is quite similar, so for me, what’s there not to like?

Maybe “Feels So Good” was placed where it was on the album as some sort of break in the action. It does allow the listener to catch their breath before being blown away by the remainder of the album. Leading off the bombardment is “Finish What You Started.” This song is different in a good way. The guitars have more of a Southern vibe to it. The next two tracks, however, are totally blow your eardrums type metal tunes. Now, the vinyl and cassette versions of “OU812” end with “Sucker in a Three Piece Suit,” and while that’s a great track, (I like how it takes a dig at the 80s yuppie culture), I think it was a mistake. Because on the CD and streaming version, it ends with the very bluesy “Apolitical Blues” and for me, that is the best song to close out this album! It just kicks ass, I love the backing piano and it does what any good album closing song should do, make you want to come back to the album again and again.

Track Listing:

1. Mine All Mine
2. When It’s Love
3. A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)
4. Cabo Wabo
5. Source of Infection
6. Feels So Good
7. Finish What You Started
8. Black and Blue
9. Sucker in a Three Piece Suit
10. Apolitical Blues

Van Halen

Sammy Hagar- lead vocals, rhythm guitar

Eddie Van Halen- lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals

Michael Anthony- bass, backing vocals

Alex Van Halen- drums, percussion

Like I said, “OU812” was a step in the right direction for Van Halen. The album offers less synth pop and definitely some more of the hard rock which made them famous in the first place. And for those who want to rubbish Sammy, I think his vocals are spot on here!

Next post: Next post: Aerosmith- Gems

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Great Rock Albums of 1988: Rush- Hold Your Fire

My excuse of being in Britain at the time is why I am posting Rush’s 1987, “Hold Your Fire,” album for 1988. I didn’t hear about this album until 1988, although I might have heard about it sooner if I hadn’t lost touch with two UK friends who are big Rush fans. Oh, I see both of them on Facebook now and they will probably both put in their two penneth on this post.

Reading a little history, I am rather perplexed as to why some ‘critics’ said that synthesizers were overused. The two Rush albums previous to “Hold Your Fire” were more synth pop in my not so humble opinion. If anything, I think this album was made ten years too late. It would have been right at home among all the great progressive rock bands from the 1970s as I find this a great offering of some cool progressive rock. Okay, there aren’t the power chords of some of the more hard rock Rush albums but Alex’s guitar is plain to hear. He does some good riffs, take “Time Stand Still” for instance but the one thing which comes to my mind on “Time Stands Still” is Geddy Lee. We all know his singing and songwriting capabilities and many will praise his keyboards skills, I do. What only Rush fans realize is that Geddy plays bass and his skills on that instrument seemed to be forgotten. Not me, Geddy, nor any dedicated Rush fans but I do like his bass line on this track and on “Open Secrets.” Oh yes, I better mention that til Tuesday singer and bassist Aimee Mann lends her voice to the track and it works very well.

The entire album is one cool progressive rock jam. Even though the intro of the opener, “Force Ten,” wouldn’t have sounded out of place on a metal album, the prog rock shines through and continues on. However, there is a standout track and that happens to be “Prime Mover.” The guitar on the intro is one of those which has me fist pumping the air. Hell, turn up the guitar and you have a great metal song. Again, Lee’s not talked about much bass playing is just as prominent on the song. Like so many Rush fans, I always knew he could lay down a cool bassline. Furthermore, the song has a catchy melody which sounds like typical Rush and Geddy unleashes his skills on the keyboards here. Now some of you are probably asking, “What about Neil?” Well, he does what he always does and pounds the skins very well. Though there are some interesting drum fills on “Prime Mover.”

If I had to pick a track which could be called ‘filler,’ it would have to be “Tai Shan.” It’s an attempt, Alex used that exact word in a 2012 interview with “Total Guitar” to experiment using classical Chinese music. He also called the song, ‘corny.’ I wouldn’t go that far and I don’t think it’s a bad song, it’s just not as good as the other nine. Speaking of Alex, I just wish he soloed more on the album, that’s all. His only solos come on “Mission,” “Turn the Page” and the closer, “High Water.” The solos are quite good but it’s Neil’s drumming that really shines through on “Mission.

Track Listing:

1. Force Ten
2. Time Stands Still
3. Open Secrets
4. Second Nature
5. Prime Mover
6. Lock and Key
7. Mission
8. Turn the Page
9. Tai Shan
10. High Water

Rush

Geddy Lee- lead vocals, bass, synthesizer

Alex Liefson- guitar

Neil Peart- drums, percussion

Additional Musicians:

Aimee Mann- accompanying lead vocals on “Time Stand Still,” backing vocals on “Tai Shan,” “Primer Mover” and “Open Secrets”

Andy Richards- additional keyboards, synthesizer programming

I am with those in the cult status who regard “Hold Your Fire” with great esteem. I much prefer this to their previous two albums but like I said at the beginning, it might have been more accepted if it had come out ten years earlier.

Next post: Van Halen- OU812

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Great Rock Albums of 1988: Robert Palmer- Heavy Nova

Coming off the huge success of his previous album, “Riptide,” Robert Palmer was back and in fine form with “Heavy Nova.” Getting right to the point here, I think that the reason why Robert was so successful in the late 1980s was the versatility of both albums. There is something in many of the songs which had mass appeal. Take the first single from the album, “Simply Irresistible.” It starts with with an acoustic intro which wouldn’t be out of place on a metal album. Furthermore, while there are synths on the song, they don’t dominate. The same with the guitar. It’s definitely there but not dominating as it would in a metal song, although the guitar solo in the middle is killer. What I like about it is that you can’t pigeon hole it and the combination works really well.

Three of the next four songs follow the path set down by “Simply Irresistible.” They walk the fine line between hard rock and synth pop with out fully stepping into the either territory. Saying that, I do like the bassline on “More Than Ever” and there is some African influence in “Change His Ways.” The odd song out in this string is “Disturbing Behaviour.” This is more of a rocker and I can envision a metal band playing it. All they needed to do was turn the guitar up a few more octaves and it would be killer. Still, it gets my vote for hidden gem.

In the second half of the album, Robert goes more rat pack or so it seems. He sounds like he could be either Andy Williams or Nat King Cole on the track “It Could Happen to You.” Then again, the song was originally written in 1943 and fair credit to him, it shows that he can sing outside his comfort zone and make it sound good. Okay, we don’t know for sure if he could sing thrash metal but who cares? Then there is the more popular single, (at least to me), on the album, “She Makes My Day.” I remember this one better than “Simply Irresistible” even though it’s a ballad but again, we get further proof of Rob’s versatile singing voice. It also helps he has some great musicians behind him.

Track Listing:

1. Simply Irresistible
2. More Than Ever
3. Change His Ways
4. Disturbing Behaviour
5. Early in the Morning
6. It Could Happen to You
7. She Makes My Day
8. Between Us
9. Casting a Spell
10. Tell Me I’m Not Dreaming

Robert Palmer

Robert Palmer- lead and backing vocals

William Bryant- keyboards

Mishna Schneider- keyboards

Jeff Bova- additional keyboards

Richard Gibbs- additional keyboards

Garth Hudson- accordion, additional keyboards

Tom T-Bone Wolk- accordion

Eddie Martinez- guitar

Dennis Budimir- additional guitar

John Grey- additional guitar, additional percussion

Frank Blair- bass

Barry ‘Sun John’ Johnson- additional bass

Dony Wynn- drums

Rikki Fataar- additional drums

Dom Um Romao- percussion, additional backing vocals

Robyn Lobe- additional percussion

Chuck Findley- trumpet

Luka Belak- violin

Clare Fischer- stings

Rick Danko- additional backing vocals

B.J. Nelson- additional backing vocals

I bought “Heavy Nova” for my then wife as a birthday present in 1989 and for some reason, she didn’t play it much around me. Maybe she thought it wasn’t my cup of tea and she could have been partially right at the time. However, I do appreciate this album much more these days.

Next post: Big Country- Peace in Our Time

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Great Rock Albums of 1987: Glass Tiger- The Thin Red Line

Glass Tiger was a band I had heard of back in the day but never got around listening to them. When I first heard the name, I thought they were going to be a glam metal band and looking at pictures of the band cemented that belief in my eyes. However, when I finally got to listen to the debut album, “The Thin Red Line,” I quickly discovered that Glass Tiger was indeed not a heavy metal band! If anything, I should have paid more attention to the genre labels on the websites I do my research on. They list the band as pop rock or light AOR and I can agree wholeheartedly with that.

This begs the question: Is the album terrible? Admittedly, if I had heard this album back in 1987, I would have never wanted to listen to it again. This is because I was totally into my metal, (not that I’m not these days), but this album would be too commercial for my liking back then. Fortunately, I am much older and wiser (pause for laughter) and am able to approach “The Thin Red Line” with a much more open mind.

Here’s the real shocker. The album starts with the title cut and the intro sounds like we’re going to be treated to some good Dio like metal. I waited for the crunching guitars to kick in but instead we get heavy synthesizers. Even with my open mind, it’s a bit of a let down. Saying that, one cannot fault the keyboard skills of Sam Reid. He leaves his trademark on every song of the album and fair dues, he doesn’t play in a bubblegum synth pop fashion which was so popular at the time. I really appreciate his skills on “Closer to You.”

Being the metalhead I am, I always have an ear out for the guitar and unlike so many synth pop bands of the era, Al Connelly’s guitar isn’t smothered in the mix. I accept the fact that he’s not crunching the power chords on each and every song but it works here. He lays down his first solo on “Closer to You” and his lead guitar intro combined with the backing keyboards of Sam, creates a haunting effect on “Looking at a Picture.” It took me several listens to realize this but the combination works well on this particular track. In fact, let me say that all five players in the band are very talented. Alan Frew is a good singer and there are some cool bass lines from Wayne Parker and Michael Hanson is a more than capable drummer.

Of course, there has to be one track which I prefer over the rest and in this case, it’s “Ecstasy.” This is the closest Glass Tiger comes to being hard rock and you get to hear more of Al’s guitar on it. Plus, he lays down a rather cool solo. “Ancient Evenings” does come second but not a very close one. The best way to describe “The Thin Red Line” is that they are Marillion, Mr. Mister and Duran Duran all rolled into one. I hear a little of all three throughout the album.

Track Listing:

1. The Thin Red Line
2. Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)
3. Closer to You
4. Vanishing Tribe
5. Looking at the Picture
6. The Secret
7. Ancient Evenings
8. Ecstasy
9. Someday
10. I Will Be There
11. You’re What I Look For

Glass Tiger

Alan Frew- vocals

Al Connelly- guitar

Sam Reid- keyboards

Wayne Parker- bass

Michael Hanson- drums

Additional Musicians:

Jim Vallence- additional keyboards, backing vocals

Mark Lafrance, Paul Janz, Dalbello and Sharon Lee Williams- backing vocals

Bryan Adams- backing vocals on “Don’t Forget Me” and “I Will Be There”

Keith Scott- additional guitar

Doug Edwards- additional bass on “Don’t Forget Me”

David Pickell- harmonica

Chase Sanborn, Charles Gray, Russ Little- horns

I have to admit, the album has grown on me. It took a few listens but it has. It could because my musical tastes have gone a little more melodic in my advancing years, though I still enjoy a good thrashing mosh like with Agnostic Front.

Next post: Alice Cooper- Raise Your Fist and Yell

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Great Rock Albums of 1985: Joe Lynn Turner- Rescue You

Not long ago, I heard an English friend of mine refer to Joe Lynn Turner as ‘that American pretty boy who replaced Graham Bonnet in Rainbow.’ True, Joe Lynn Turner is American and back in 1985, many ladies found him very fanciable, my sister was ga ga over him. However, the man also possesses a very good singing voice and it was only natural that after Ritchie Blackmore dissolved Rainbow to rejoin Deep Purple that Joe would put out a solo album. The result was his debut album, “Rescue You.”

Joe Lynn Turner was a victim of the 1985 belief that synthesizers were the way forward for music back then. Many of the songs on the album seem to be over dominated by it and on some of those things, I have always thought that they should have been turned down and the guitar turned up. Then the album would have been a real rocker. Don’t get me wrong, “Rescue You” is in no way an 80s synth pop album, there are some good rocking moments and on some tracks like the title track and the opener, “Losing You” you can definitely hear a bit of the old Rainbow on it. While the guitar on the title track is present, it is often obscured by the keyboard and for that song, I can’t help thinking how much I would be head banging away to it if the keyboards weren’t so dominant.

Being a typical wishy-washy Gemini, (I don’t really believe that zodiac stuff), I think there are some tracks where the keyboards do work. The prime example here is the big single from the album, “Endlessly,” which was good enough to get to 19 in the singles charts while at the same time having metalheads shaking their heads and accusing Joe of going too commercial. The keyboard intro also works on “Feel the Fire” but as the song progresses, I again think they should have taken a back seat because this is another song that could have been great if the guitars had been turned up more.

In spite of all my ramblings of too much keyboard, there are some tracks where Joe hasn’t lost touch with his hard rock roots. While the keyboards still exist on “Get Tough,” the song does rock and he also demonstrates that he has the pipes for such songs. This is another song that takes me back to his Rainbow days. In fact, the second half of the album is definitely more rock than the first. “Eyes of Love” is a fine example of this, it has a great guitar solo, but if you want concrete proof, the best track is the closer, “The Race is On.” This is the hidden gem because it just rocks with little interference from keyboards. With all my contradictions about guitars and keyboards on “Rescue You,” the one constant throughout the entire album is Joe Lynn Turner’s voice. Pretty boy or not, he has always had a great singing voice and deserves credit for it.

Track Listing:

1. Losing You
2. You Hearts
3. Prelude
4. Endlessly
5. Rescue You
6. Feel the Fire
7. Get Tough
8. Eyes of Love
9. On the Run
10. Soul Searcher
11. The Race Is On

Joe Lynn Turner- vocals

Alan Greenwood- keyboards

Chuck Burgi- drums

Bobby Messano- guitar, bass, backing vocals

The problem in 1985 was that the music industry was convinced that music had to have synthesizers to be any good. This belief had an effect on “Rescue You” for Joe Lynn Turner. Despite his great singing voice and the good quality of the tracks on the album, I can’t help thinking how much better some of the tracks would have been if there was less keyboard and more guitar.

Next post: Phantom, Rocker and Slick

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Great Rock Albums of 1985: ZZ Top- Afterburner

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:

1. Sleeping Bag
2. Stages
3. Woke Up With the Wood
4. Rough Boy
5. Can’t Stop Rockin’
6. Planet of Women
7. I Got the Message
8. Velcro Fly
9. Dipping Low (In the Lap of Luxury)
10. 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.

Next post: Joe Lynn Turner- Rescue You

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