Bruce Koenig. 1980 Kingsnake (LP). Scored this one cheap at a local store. Worth a try I figured. Koenig is from Milwaukee, and his sole work represents the bar scene of the era. Misleading cover indicates a country rock affair, with the cowboy hat, Jim Beam, and ladies of the evening purring up close. The back cover is far more accurate. Some harmless looking guys playing club rock. Not so much boogie, more singer songwriter influenced with funk touches. Koenig plays keyboards and sings. A lot. Not too much room for instrumental prowess. Reminds me a bit of Peter Berkow & Friends from nearby Illinois. I'd submit it's average for the style. (Dec)
ZZ Top - Rio Grande Mud. 1972 London (LP). This album was in RT's stash. I recently wrote about my acceptance of Tres Hombres, their follow-up to the album in hand. And last year I filed the debut into the collection as well. But what of Rio Grande Mud? Man, does this ever go hard for the blues. Much more so than the others. It's as "clean" as the cover indicates. Harmonica is just as much a key instrument as guitar. 'Just Got Paid' is an all-time classic hard rock tune, but mostly this is straight blues. I still enjoyed a +1 listen, but I'm going to let this one sail. (Oct)
Foghat. 1972 Reprise (LP). As mentioned on the Stone Blue post, Foghat were one of my favorite bands as a young teen. They were a very popular band in the mid to late 70s when I first started listening and collecting music. All these years later, I'm finally hearing their debut. Pulled it out of the Denver Record show for a couple of bucks. The most known track here - and by far the best IMO - is the opener 'I Just Want To Make Love To You'. The rest is boogie / pub rock and far from my interest area. I had presumed as much going in, so it met my low expectations. (Oct)
Black Pearl. 1969 Atlantic (LP). Black Pearl play a decidedly psychedelic boogie-soul-blues type of music, similar to other west coast bands during that era. The guitarist is accomplished and his sound is welcome. The songwriting isn't for me though. I like the execution but not the style. It's certainly good, and if you enjoy the genres as noted above, Black Pearl will find a place in your collection. (Oct)
Jim Oliver - Runaway Children. 1986 Runaway (LP). I had high hopes for this one - coming from my current hometown. Featuring a fantasy cover, and Discogs' description of hard rock meets avant-garde, could this be Colorado Springs' version of Richie Duvall or Tom Nehls? Nope. Maybe even Jimmy Hotz? That's closer, but Oliver is more AOR focused than the more proggy leaning Hotz. Despite all the window dressing, and a synthesizer focus, the music is pretty boring mid 80s styled commercial FM rock. More like what Alan Parsons was up to at this point, without the experience. What a bummer. (Oct)
Freeway - Off the Streets. 1979 Big Girl (LP). This one looked intriguing. A small label pressing from Houston that was produced by ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard and featured his wife at the time, Cathie. She's only on a couple of cuts and shares the limelight with two other male vocalists, so it's not really female fronted AOR. It is, however, Album Oriented Rock. Of the worst kind. Pure unadulterated pop slop worshiping at the altar of the FM radio god. Ten relatively harmless tracks with a little bit of heaviness in the guitar, and no memorable songs. It's bad hairstyles and bad tunes. Disappointing. (Oct)
Freeze. 1979 Titanium (LP). Similar to Lucksinger, this is Female Fronted AOR, though it's advertised (and registered on Discogs) as prog. Maybe the last two tracks qualify for the latter designation but even that's a stretch. I like this Chicago based band though, it's a bit more raw and the musicianship is high, especially the guitarist. Unfortunately there are no real highwater marks and there's just not enough here to keep. Fell just below the "Mendoza Line". Pardon the baseball metaphor, 'tis the season. (Oct)
Brave Belt. 1971 Reprise (LP). This isn't for me. Country rock, pretty much what the cover advertises. This is Randy Bachman's first band after leaving The Guess Who. I was hoping for a couple of good cuts similar to his former band, but there were none to be found. Disappointing. Ultimately they evolved into Bachman-Turner Overdrive and were even more boogie rock focused. (Oct)
Lucksinger. 1986 private (EP). I'm always on the lookout for private releases, and this one fit the bill. Pulled this out of a local record shop for a couple of bucks. From Los Angeles, Lucksinger were your classic mid 80s AOR band. What is today known as Female-Fronted AOR which has a niche following. For my tastes it fell a bit flat as they didn't take any chances. Just six 3 to 4 minute tunes, each clearly attempting to get radio airplay. No inventive musicianship or compositions, just pure mid 80s commercialism. For what it is, I'd submit it rates out to be average. (Oct)
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