I am not a fan of live albums, there are exceptions, Foghat, Cheap Trick, Frampton, KISS... I was hoping this would be one, it wasn't all that. Still a memory, of playing this over and over. There were two reasons I bought this. I have seen Alice Cooper 3 time by then, and there was a cyclops on the cover.
I Love the Dead / Go to Hell / Wish You Were Here (Live)
Well, if you didn't know .. During this era, I hated bands like ABBA, The Bee Gees, any Disco, I hated the fluff shit... I was a punker, and a rocker...but after I broadened my music taste, somewher in the mid to late 90s, when my daughter started listening to music...any how...I am a HUGE ABBA fan
When this came out, my older brother had this one, and he listened to it a lot...There are so many great songs on here, I could listen to these ABBA release front to back and sing along the whole way.
I heard this album when I turned 16 and was spending some of my money from first job, I think it was Steak Knife
There we go, yup, that's the place...maybe not the from the date in the 70s I worked there...any how... I decided I had a job and I was Big Time Bad. I decided to go to get my haircut and styled... Not at the barbershop my dad took me, where you got a piece of Bazooka Joe, but a place where they washed, conditioned, cut and styled you hair, and it was just for guys.
So I walk in two dudes in silk shirts, gold medallion changes, hairy chests... whatever..it was the late 70s...total disco guys. Posters and pictures of guys with all types of hair and flared collars and pants, were all over the walls,any how...I'm waiting for my chair time, and notice there is this jazzy type of soothing music on. I had no idea what it was but, if this is what adults listened to, I can dig it... A lot of piano and intricate bass, with some occasional unique sounding vocals.The more I listened to it, the more I enjoyed it.The song was coming to an end, and the next song started, and this is what I heard...
Woah! - What was this? The bass and strumming guitars followed with those unique vocals. Magical...This stuff was awesome. Horns, complex arrangements, strange breaks and tempo changes... a guitar that was not distorted doing the solo..blew me away. the song had the same outro as the intro, this time with some saxophones mixed in. I will never forget that day and when the stylist went over to the turntable and grabbed the cardboard album covered which was placed on top of the turntable, I saw the cover, and only caught the red AJA in the upper right hand corner. He turn it over and played the other side. This song was a little more jazzy than pop, I remember him singing about a black cow and getting out of here, a bit weird but aurally pleasant. Next song a little lighter, about running to some chick named Aja.
Finally.. chair time, the song seemed to last forever... I was used to the radio plays about 3 or 4 minutes songs. The stylist asked me what he could do for me..I said shampoo and style...which was I think about 8 bucks.... different from 2 dollar hair cuts my dad takes me to. How would you like that styled? ummmm .. I had no idea what to say....looking around at the posters, I pointed to one that looked like a John Travolta and Maurice Gibb love child, and said "ahh.. something like that."
"You got it". The barber cape goes on, the chair gets pumped up, and woah, I get tilted back, face up in a sink that has a U in it where your neck fits. I feel the water which seemed to have no temperature hit my hair. Then the smell which all shampoos will be measured by, cherry almond.... Vidal Sassoon I believe... I was used to using what we had at home... Agree or Brecks shampoo...so this was an amazing experience for me. Hair is washed, conditioned, and the scissors start, as does, this....
HOLY SHIT! AMAZING! Where was this hiding? Every once in a while, you hear something and your ears open and your mouth drops. Catchy, melodic, well crafted, this sounds like Toto had sex with Styx, Chicago and Boston. WOW... BLOWN AWAY! Maybe it is just me. So good you get two!
I didn't know what to expect when I gave this a listen. I was pleasantly surprised. There are some good tunes on here. The guitars are hard and heavy, some sound like Axe or Alice Cooper songs. Definitely worth a listen.
Ahh! Good one...I found out about these guys on the seconds sampler from the CBS called Exposed II. Exposed and Exposed II...so many great songs and that might be where I got my musical taste from. There was anything from Judas Priest, Loverboy, Adam & The Ants to Karla DeVito and Holly &The Italians. My younger brother enjoyed these songs just as much as me.
GUESS WHO
If I had to to pick a part of the song that I remember the most, is the fade echo vocals ear the end chorus of the song
This band had the very first song played on MTV August 1st, 1981. The beginning of the Music Television Generation, when your eyes and ears exploded from the onslaught of musical libations from all over the planet. I remember tuning in on the FM radio to get the stereo simulcasted audio for cable's broadcasted video... which on most days...were in sync.
This song has so many memorable points, but I will have to go to the enchanting female reverbed vocals opening the final chorus, accompanied by electric drums
Bob Seger at his finest, and there are a lot of great songs on this album;
Fire Lake, Against The Wind, You'll accomp'ny Me and The Horizontal Bop. Back when this came out, to me he was on the edge of Rock and Country. I do think that any 'country' sound in his music is subtle. There was one song on here that to me was flat out Rock, and when you heard it, images of female asses filled your head, well mine any how.
HER STRUT
One part in particular, stood out for me, which was an innuendo about "We do respect her but(butt), we all love to watch her strut.
Another roller skating song, this one is a slow one. Couples Only, in the regular skating direction. I had my own skates, but I never figured put how to skate backwards, which left me sitting out and listening to the jams.
SHINING STAR
I remember the intro to the chorus, and the harmonies they had
A Punk anthem extraordinaire, that opening guitar sound...tremendous...I never appreciated simplicity as much as I did with Punk music, less is more. Raw was real. These guys captured their energy and attitude. This, among other 'punks',was on rotation down in Cutter's Basement. There was a group of four of us that embraced the obscure. There we loaded our cassette tapes with audio ammunition to defeat the ear's of our adversaries.
If The Kids are United, they will NEVER be divided!
Woah! What a find! Never heard of these guys, and them I heard a couple of their songs and I don't know why. Then I do a little more digging and these are the two guys from Tears For Fears. I think I may have to give these guys a better listen.
Lemmy...I respect what he did for the genre, not quite in my rotation of must listen to bands...quite the contrary more of an avoidance. I do remember first seeing this video, that made my jaw drop. The angst of Punk with the guitars of rock, and they were HEAVY.
I think the illusion of what I thought was hard rock or metal, left me a little confused when I saw and heard Lemmy. Gravel and grit, Raw and Real, which I more associated to Punk. Nonetheless, The only card I need is.. THE ACE OF SPADES! THE ACE OF SPADES!
We heard the hype and the rumors and all the news on these solo albums from KISS, and I bought each and every one of them. I'm a huge KISS fan. Well I was...Gene $immons tarnished that for me with his relentless marketing schemes. To his credit, he will never have to go hungry.
Enuff...
Ace, the spaceman, probably the least favorable vocal of the four. The 'hit' Back In the New York Groove...a little overplayed during the release of the solo albums. For me there was a shining spot on this release.
A simple instrumental, that stood out from the rest of the blather on this album. I love the shrieking keyboards midway through the song.
Don't get me wrong. I have listened to Accept before...not their very first release. In my option they do the Rock Ballads very well on this album. Their harder songs on this album are a bit 'all over the place'. I did like the song structure on Lady Lou, just a goofy song title.
Madness! There was this sub-genre of Two-Tone that was a bit of Ska and and bit of New Wave that overall was just plain fun. My younger brother enjoys the nutty mambo like ska dance
That psuedo-harmonica solo in between the verses is the most memorable part of the song for me.
I love a bit of trivia now and then. ABACAB, The title of the song was gotten while the band was working on the earlier version of the song. According to Genesis guitarist, Mike Rutherford, he and the other members of the band (Phil Collins and Tony Banks) labeled the sections of the earlier version of the song with the alphabets A,B, and C with “A” referring to the “verse”, “B” referring to the “chorus” and “C” referring to the “bridge”.
So the initial structure of the song was in the order: A-B-A-C-A-B. https://www.songmeaningsandfacts.com/meaning-abacab-genesis/
I have listened to the occasional Boomtown Rats song, but never considered them in the top tier of New Wave. They reminded me of a dysfunctional version of Adam A& The Ants. I did find one song on here enjoyable.
All skate in the regular skating direction...
What a jam...
What a bass line...
The part that I associated with this song is right in the beginning...it's that echo guitar riff...
I blame my older brother on a lot of the dance and disco music that I have fond memories of, not this one. :)
My wife doesn't care for Rush..me on the other hand..well there are not my favorite but I do enjoy some of their music. I remember when this came out and how it was like no other song I have heard before. I recall in school the Rush logos on the Burnouts army jackets wonder what that was all about, and I found out...
The standout moment in this song has got to be the iconic bells right before the philosophers and plowmen...
Oh my! Some of my and my younger brother's favorite. We prefer the live version as we heard on Urgh! A Music War but this was the epitome of what Punk Music was, well that and the Pistols :)
The part that of the song that is memorable to me is that opening bass line...
For me, one of the early transition songs, that lured me away from punk and new wave to hard rock and metal. The opening riff captured my attention, but the most memorable part of the song for me, comes after break and fantastic guitar solo....there's a keyboard vs. drum part exclamation pointed by a monstrous drum fill.
There are two songs on here that punched a hole in the radio airwaves of 1978. I don't know what it is about Billy Joel that I enjoy so much. Was it his New York attitude?
He married a super model?
First, Big Shot...the part of the song that I can't wait for is beginning part of the chorus near the end...nononononono You had to be a beeg schot- deen't you.
BIG SHOT
Second Memory is My Life. My Favorite part comes after the second drum.bass break, when he sings 'Don't Get Me Wrong' at about 3:26
Every once and a while, there is an album that you listened to from the first track to the last track.
To me Foreigner 4 is one of those albums. Ever since Foreigner's debut in 1977, there were always one of my favorites, It had guitars and catchy choruses, melodic rhythms and distinct vocals. Iconic.
Full of grit, storytelling and looking for romance, to me a music staple. If albums had a hall of fame, this one would be in there.
A great storytelling song, which is Foreigner's MO. The best part of this song for me is right before the chorus, when Lou is singing
I gotta stand up, I gotta face it
Don't want to lose it
I want to taste it while it's hot
Don't want to waste it, I need it so bad
The music behind that, along with the vocal timing..love it!
I'm Going To Win
A song about a problematic relationship that the guy is trying to patch up, and his pleads to reconcile. My favorite part is, after the second chorus, the eerie piano that opens the song starts again accompanied by a sustained guitar note, and when Lou speaks, And I ask myself...and sings, What's wrong with me? How could I be so blind? -
BREAK IT UP
An anthem about hitting the streets and looking for the ladies. My favorite part is right after the second chorus, it's the whistle intro before the guitar solo... This one of a kind subtle intricacy is what makes a song memorable.
I always thought this was James Taylor...This takes me back to when would get ready for school in the morning, my older brother loved the softer stuff, where I liked punk, new wave and metal. We would take turns on alternating days listening to the local radio stations. It's funny how during the time, I would cringe at this sappy shit. Now...it takes me back to when responsibility in my life was next to zero and never took a chance to recognize it.
The part that I enjoy the most is the intro. Some strings, much like a TV theme song, and then the bass kicks in, and the music changes into nearly a country song, an octave change, and we have ourselves a love song.
Wow....When I was going over albums from 1980, I saw this and thought I would see what was on it. I thought I would listen to Midnight Rocks, and hey... I have heard this one before and forgot all about this one...
It's so strange that songs like this are buried in the mind somewhere and BAM ... Musical Flashback!
I think I dismissed it back in the day since it wasn't no where near the caliber of Year Of The Cat or Time Passages. The part of the song I enjoy the most, is the vocal timing on the verses...So similar to a Simon & Garfunkel song.It's hypnotic.
My cousin was a HUGE Elton John fan, and we were baptized endlessly with his music. I didn't care for him at the time, well...maybe some Bennie & The Jets, and Pinball Wizard, but this light airy stuff I ignored. Only to now realize that the man and his music is legendary. My favorite part of Little Jeannie well after the sax solo when Elton sings, Oh Jeannie...it's the echo, 'Oh Jeannie'..love it!
I am not a fan of live albums, there are exceptions, Foghat, Cheap Trick, Frampton, KISS... I was hoping this would be one, it wasn't all that. Still a memory, of playing this over and over. There were two reasons I bought this. I have seen Alice Cooper 3 time by then, and there was a cyclops on the cover.
