Baby Boom - Driven Too Far. 1987 Cheese (EP). Pulled this out of a local buck bin (Dec), and one of their 45s was stuck in there as well. So I'll be checking that one out soon too. Private pressing from Red Bank, New Jersey. Driven Too Far is what one would just call a rock album (or EP in this case) similar to The Flying Boxcars below. Four straightforward songs with two guitarists who never take the spotlight. As it plays on, I think their spirit guide was Dire Straits. Decent effort.
Eric Quincy Tate - E.Q.T. 1975 GRC (LP). Found this sealed for a buck at the same store in Denver as The Flying Box Cars below (Nov). Don't want to break the seal yet, so I'll check it out on YouTube first. There's no one named Eric Quincy Tate in the band. They apparently were discovered by none other than UMR favorite Tony Joe White, which makes me want to hear their first album. This is their 3rd effort. Based on what little data is out there, EQT were from southern Texas (either San Antonio or Corpus Christi). Eventually they migrated to Atlanta. Technically this falls in the Southern Rock genre, but to me it's more country rock. There's nothing on the first side that caught my attention. The second side is much more interesting. 'Drivin' Wheel' sounds like one of the Allman Brothers bluesy tracks with some fine guitar from Wayne Sauls and Hammond from Joseph Rogers. This leads to the 15+ minute closer 'Big Boss Jam'. Starts off in hard-times blues territory before finally getting into jam-rock mode five minute in. It's mostly a boogie styled jam with plenty of pounding piano. Not my kind of album, but not hard to listen to either. Average for the style.
Queen - News of the World. 1977 Elektra (LP). Also from the Colorado Springs Record Show (Nov). This time from a dealer I only knew from Denver who usually has good deals (as was this). I haven't heard this album since it came out. I was in junior high. There are few albums in the world that have as iconic an opening as this one does. 'We Will Rock You' is still, and maybe forever, played in arenas worldwide. 'We Are the Champions' is no less used in a similar setting, usually after all is said and done and your team won. Despite this, the album isn't nowhere near their most famous, nor as highly regarded. As noted here (too) many times, I'm no fan of Queen. They just don't seem able to bring any kind of consistency, and their theatrical glammy roots always rubs me the wrong way.
Zebra. 1983 Atlantic (LP). Same dollar bin as below (Nov). Much was made when this New Orleans based band arrived on the world stage, with comparisons to Led Zeppelin and Rush being brought forth. Randy Jackson gives a Plant like performance without the blues edginess. Though billed as a proggy hard rock band, it's definitely AOR. 'Who's Behind the Door', which closes side one, was a minor hit and a very intriguing song, and the one place you can hear the Rush influence. The album closer might be the best track here. 'The La La Song' is probably the heaviest and proggiest thing here despite the fluffy premise. Other than the ill advised boogie rocker 'Slow Down', everything here is easy to absorb. But it all seems watered down. A production boost to highlight the hard rock angle of the band would have gone a long way to obtaining street cred, and an album that would be revered highly today. As it stands, it's a mere anachronism in the time of New Wave synth pop.
The Alan Parsons Project - Stereotomy. 1985 Arista (LP). Found for a buck at the Colorado Springs Record Show (Nov). I've had it before, both on LP and CD, but why not try it again? Parsons' post Eye in the Sky albums all struggle with catchiness. While he dabbled in prog rock, his Project efforts were always more AOR oriented. So when the music fails to be memorable, then there's nothing else to hold onto. The production is way slick and they're obviously working hard for radio hits. I had this rated too low, likely a reaction real time towards my disappointment that this wasn't Eye in the Sky. All the same, it's not something I need to own. I'll likely get a 600% return on my investment. Or six dollars for you math majors out there....
The Flying Boxcars. 1980 Rufert (LP). Found this in the buck bin of a Denver store this past weekend (Oct). I'm sure many of you wondered whatever happened to the perfectly named ex-Cain singer Jiggs Lee. I mean who wouldn't? Turns out he formed or joined The Flying Boxcars. This private press from St. Paul, Minnesota is what we used to call a "rock album". Eclectic without any identity or focus. Recorded (or written) between 1976 and 1980, the songs vacillate between AOR, boogie, hard rock, prog, and whatever else they felt like doing. They clearly wanted to be discovered and receive airplay. I'm guessing they did at least get some local or regional radio coverage. The highlights include the great synthesizer work, the occasional organ, and of course Lee's voice. Unfortunately none of the songs are highlights and the album sort of flies by without notice.
Aviary. 1979 Epic (LP). From the Rocky Mountain Record Show (Oct). Aviary is a large cage for birds, and the guys on the front certainly look like they belong in one! Remember "feathered back" hair? Haha. Well anyway, I had been told this is a very good proggy AOR album so I chanced it. While I can see the allure, the album comes from that strain I don't care for so much - that of Queen and ELO, with a little Beatles thrown in for good measure. Not for me I'm afraid.
El Chicano - Pyramid of Love and Friends. 1975 MCA (LP). Obtained with the below (Oct). Similar to Cinco but perhaps even more transparent on their commercial direction. They want that label money, that's for sure. I would submit that the songs are a bit better here than on the predecessor, but that's not saying much. I'm bummed honestly, expected much more from these. At least I can look forward to hearing their first two albums, if I ever find them that is...
El Chicano - Cinco. 1974 MCA (LP). From the same dealer as the Swallow (Oct). To date I've only heard Celebration, a solid Latin rocker in the Santana / Malo tradition. Two years later, El Chicano has toned down their sound considerably. While Carlos and co. were upping their game with high flying fusion, El Chicano seemed to have an eye on the radio charts. There's almost nothing here that is catchy, and there are very few instrumentals save the closer. All the songs except one are covers. Not a bad album but sounds like a sellout.
Swallow - Out of the Nest. 1972 Warner Bros. promo (LP). Also from Stanley but a different vendor (Sep). I had this LP about 20 years ago when I bought a few horn rock albums on ebay for deep discounts. I sold it back into the marketplace, but here it is for $2, and I forgot the contents (one more reminder as to why I keep these journals). Let's try it again. Swallow were from Boston and Out of the Nest features no less than an 11 piece band. With such a large lineup one would hope for more music! But alas it's mostly early 70s styled North American classic rock with some country thrown in. A4 is great and the sole Chicago styled brass rocker. B1 isn't too bad either from a horn rock perspective, other than some out of place vocals. The rest isn't for me. Overall average at best.
Foreigner - Foreigner 4. 1981 Atlantic (LP). Grabbed for a buck at the newly minted Stanley record show in Denver (Sep). My rating for this was really low, a reaction real time to what I perceived Foreigner to be back then. By 1981, I was going underground, and had no use for mass acceptance pop slop like Foreigner! As noted on their debut, I was a fan of theirs as they started when I was all of 12. In hearing that debut album again only a few years ago, my view softened considerably, and nostalgia took over (I kept the LP). I imagine a similar response will occur when I revisit Double Vision. A reunion with Head Games didn't have the same positive response, so will Foreigner 4 do any better? I'd submit very much so. Make no mistake, this isn't getting collection space, but it does represent the time and place quite well. Compared to the garbage REO Speedwagon and others were spewing out, this is downright Yes in their prime. Even Journey was below this effort in 1981. It's still way too much panning for hits for me to take overly seriously, but not bad. Not bad at all.
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