Great Rock Albums of 1984: Duke Jupiter- White Knuckle Ride

Duke Jupiter was probably the best hidden gem of 1984. Some may have considered them one hit wonders on account of the fact that the single from the “White Knuckle Ride” album, “Little Lady,” got some airplay on MTV and radio. It even got to #68 in the singles charts. It has remained in my mind ever since because I have always thought it was a killer song. The video for “Little Lady” is easily accessible on Youtube and I will boldly declare that it’s worth a listen. This song really kicks ass.

Like so many others back then, I thought that Duke Jupiter, (it’s a band not a person), were newcomers to the rock scene when in fact, that had been around since 1975. They had a good number of albums before this one and went on tour in support of the likes of Toto, The Outlaws, B.B. King and John Lee Hooker. With a resume like that, it was never a case of if but when their efforts would finally gain notice.

While I never buy an album on account of one song, there was sufficient talk in certain circles that the “White Knuckle Ride” album was worth an investment. Trust me, it was. While it’s definitely an AOR album, it is done with the pure craftsmanship of the band. Marshall James Styler does most of the vocals and is quite adept at keyboards. Greg Walker is a very good guitarist and plays some really good solos on most of the songs here. Of course, we can’t take anything away from the rhythm section of David Corcoran and Rickey Ellis, they hold the album together with seemingly little effort.

“White Knuckle Ride” seems to move into three areas in regards to the tracks. The opener, “She’s So Hot,” the second single “Rescue Me” and “Don’t Turn Your Back” fall into the 80s AOR sound without question. They are all nicely done with Styler’s keyboards and Walker’s guitar solos. “Backfire,” “Work it Out” and of course “Little Lady” are definitely the more harder tracks on the album. Walker’s guitar really shines on these.  Plus his intro solo on “Me and Michelle” reminds me a lot of the Derek and the
Dominoes classic, “Layla.” The rest tend to be more progressive rock and “A Woman Like You” ventures into all three camps. In spite of the mixture, all of the tracks fit together very well and that’s why the album is so enjoyable.

Track Listing:

1. She’s So Hot
2. Rescue Me
3. Don’t Turn Your Back
4. Top of the Bay
5. Backfire
6. Little Lady
7. A Woman Like You
8. Work It Out
9. Me and Michelle
10.  (I’ve Got a) Little Black Book

Duke Jupiter

James Marshall Styler- keyboards, vocals

Greg Walker- guitar, vocals

Rickey Ellis- bass

David Corcoran- drums, percussion, vocals

Duke Jupiter came and went and have vanished into musical history. I bet my UK readers have been asking, “Who the hell’s he talking about?” Like many American one hit wonders or lesser known bands, they didn’t impact in Britain and were considered a flash in the pan in the US. In fact, I regret not giving them a mention in “Rock and Roll Children.” In spite of this, I have always remembered them and I will say that if you should listen to the “White Knuckle Ride” album, especially “Little Lady” and you’ll see why.

Next post: AC/DC – 74 Jailbreak

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Great Rock Albums of 1982: The Outlaws- Los Hombres Malo

 It often pays to be in the right place at the right time and in the case of the Outlaws “Los Hombres Malo” album, I was fortunate to be in the south when this album was released. Otherwise, it might have passed me by. “Los Hombres Malo” isn’t one of the Outlaws’ better known albums like “Ghost Riders” or “In the Eye of the Storm” or in fact, some of the classic albums they made in the mid to late 1970s. All that aside, it’s still a pretty good album.

The Outlaws have never been as heavy as Southern Rockers such as Blackfoot or Molly Hatchet. Their sound is more bluesier with some great long lead guitar solos like their all time classic jam, “Green Grass and High Tides.” It is more of the same with “Los Hombres Malo.” “Don’t Stop” is a classic Outlaws type song and opens the album quite well and it’s followed up by the similar sounding “Foxtail Lilly.” “Rebel Girl” is the only song I remember getting any airplay, even on southern stations and it is a decent song except that the guitar solo isn’t as long. My assumption: they were asked to shorten the lead for airplay. The rest of the album goes back to the more traditional Outlaws sound and if, while listening to it, you think that every song is in the same vein, the album throws a curve ball with the more slower “Running.” It’s a ballad done the Outlaws’ way. “Easy Does It” and “All Roads” end the album just fine. While this album doesn’t make me want to forget some of the more classic albums, it doesn’t make me want to discard it for them either.

Track Listing:

1. Don’t Stop

2. Foxtail Lilly

3. Rebel Girl

4. Goodbye

5. Back From Eternity

6. Won’t Come Out of the Rain

7. Running

8. Easy Does It

9. All Roads

The Outlaws

Rick Cua- bass, lead and backing vocals

David Dix- drums, percussion

Dave Lane- fiddle, violin

Dave Lyons- keyboards, lead and backing vocals

Freddie Salem- guitar, lead and backing vocals

Hughie Thomasson- guitar, banjo, lead and backing vocals

One event I regret missing in 1982 was that the Outlaws and Blackfoot toured together. That must have been an amazing show. They would have played some songs from “Los Hombres Malo” and that would have been cool.

Next post: The Top in in Israel, in April 1982.

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

 

 

Triumphs and Tragedies in 1981

As always, I like to start with the bad news first before progressing onto the good news. The biggest tragedy of this particular year for music fans of all kinds with the death of reggae legend Bob Marley who died from cancer in May of 1981.

Bob Marley

Whether one was a devout reggae fan, Bob Marley worshipper, total stoner or none of the above, there were very few people around my age at the time who couldn’t help but shed a tear at the passing of this great legend. His music brought reggae into the mainstream for many people, me included as did his relaxed, “be mellow” attitude towards life. Something we all probably still need to adhere to these days. While Bob may not be with us and I have to agree with his son Ziggy’s philosophy that money doesn’t buy life, his music still is alive and very well in the world today. R.I.P. Bob Marley

The Round Up

Now onto the first triumph which was at the time a local one for me and the sad thing was that I never got to see it due to being in the service. In June of 1981, Southern Rock converged on Philadelphia’s JFK Stadium as some of the great Southern Rock bands played what I later learned was a brilliant show. Oh, how amazing it would have been to see the likes of The Allman Brothers, Molly Hatchet, 38 Special and the Marshall Tucker Band on the same day. Unfortunately, I didn’t and therefore I implore anyone out there in the cosmos who is reading this and went to this great festival, please share your experiences!

Donington 1981

The second tragedy came in the form of another great music festival across the Atlantic. In the August, the second Monsters of Rock Festival at Donington Park took place. With AC/DC as the headliner and the likes of Whitesnake, Slade and Blackfoot on the bill, it couldn’t help but to be a great show. Of course, I wasn’t at this one either but I do know someone who was and he said it was a brilliant day. It also explains why Blackfoot didn’t appear at the Round Up.  Furthermore, the promoters did a good job in ironing at some of the things that went wrong at the 1980 festival. So, two great musical shows on both sides of the ocean, the result was two triumphs for rock and metal in 1981.

There was one more triumph in 1981 but that deserves its own billing and will be spoken about later. To give a hint, it was considered a total triumph in 1981 but nowadays, it is more of a tragedy.

Next post: U2 -Boy

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Great Rock Albums of 1981: Johnny Van Zant Band- Round Two

Whether it was the glam metal scene in LA or the thrash scene in San Francisco back in the 1980s, of all the bands from those areas who gained world wide popularity, there were many bands who were just as good but never fully broke out of the local scene. The same thing can be said of Southern rock in the earlier part of the decade. I was fortunate to have been stationed in North Carolina during this time, so I was fully able to appreciate it when Southern Rock was at the height of its glory. It gave me a good feeling whenever I trotted back across the Mason-Dixon Line to New Jersey, that many of my friends were listening to Blackfoot, Molly Hatchet, The Outlaws and 38 Special. Unfortunately, not so many people heard of Johnny Van Zant when I mentioned them up north. They were mainly well known just in the south.

As all my British friends would say, this was a bloody shame because the Johnny Van Zant Band were a very good band and their second album, “Round Two” bears witness to this fact. There is a definitely influence from Johnny’s older brother on this album because I can detect some Lynyrd Skynyrd sounds here. But in no way does this band simply rip off the great Skynyrd. They bring their own brand of hard rock to tracks like “(Who’s) Right or Wrong,” “Shot Down” and “Standing in the Falling Rain.” Lead guitarists Robbie Gay and Eric Lundgren  know how to play on these songs as well as others. They also do a very hard version of the Beatles classic “Drive My Car.” The album does have a ballad in the form of “Yesterday’ Gone.” I must declare that of all the Van Zant boys, Johnny’s vocals are the most attuned for singing ballads. Not that he can’t sing harder songs just as well, maybe better. It’s just too bad “Round Two” has been allowed to lay dormant for so many years.

Track Listing:

1. (Who’s) Right or Wrong

2. Standing in the Falling Rain

3. Yesterday’s Gone

4. Let There Be Music

5. Keep Our Love Alive

6. Night Time Lady

7. Drive My Car

8. Shot Down

9. Cold Hearted Woman

10. Play My Music

Johnny Van Zant Band

Johnny Van Zant- vocals

Robbie Gay- lead guitar

Erik- Lundgren- lead guitar

Danny Clausman- bass

Robbie Morris- drums

As I progress through hard rock and metal history, I am discovering albums and bands that I took little notice of or missed completely. I can’t say that I missed the Johnny Van Zant Band because I saw them live in 1982 but that’s another story. I do regret not listening to this album more back in the time and I wish more people did as well. Here’s everyone’s chance to rectify that now.

Next post: Nantucket- Long Way to the Top

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

 

 

 

Great Rock Albums of 1979: The Outlaws- In the Eye of the Storm

Throughout the 1970s, while Yankees like me were reveling in the Southern delights of Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Allman Brothers, there was another band down in the Deep South playing some fine rock and roll to their fans down there. They were The Outlaws. They had a more of a Southern Boogie rock sound, not as hard as Molly Hatchet or Blackfoot nor were they progressive like Nantucket. The Outlaws, in my view, laid somewhere in between the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. What they did have, like all the bands I just mentioned, were guitarists who could dazzle you with long guitar solos.

My indoctrination to them was through their 1980 album, “Ghost Riders,” an album I will definitely be visiting it when I get to 1980. Therefore, I am visiting the 1979 album “In the Eye of the Storm” kind of regressive and thanks to the wonders of You Tube, I was able to have a listen and see what I’ve been missing for all these years. “In the Eye of the Storm” for me reminds me of all the good things about The Outlaws. There’s the Southern Boogie sound in all of their tracks, I noticed that from track one. They bring a harder edge to it with songs like, “Miracle Man” and “Long Gone” and then there’s those cool guitar solos in “Blueswater.” This album gave us a good view of all the good things to come with the later Outlaws material and is a great album in its own right.

Track Listing:

1. Lights Are On But Nobody’s Home

2. Miracle Man

3. Blueswater

4. Comin’ Home

5. I’ll Be Leaving Soon

6. Too Long Without Her

7. It’s All Right

8. (Com’on) Dance With Me

9. Long Gone

The Outlaws

Harvey Dalton Arnold- bass, vocals

David Dix- drums, percussion

Billy Jones- guitars, vocals

Freddie Salem- guitars, vocals

Hughie Thomasson- guitars, vocals

Monte Yoho- drums

The Outlaws were to finally get noticed north of the Mason-Dixon Line with their next album, but they still thrilled many of their fans south of the line with this one. This album is yet another fine classic rough diamond in the collection of Southern Rock.

Next post: Charlie Daniels Band- Million Mile Reflections

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