2024 Classic rock / AOR Journal Vol. 2 - Complete

*Heart - Dreamboat Annie. Capitol (MC) (1975). Grabbed this with the Neil Young and Bad Company below (Aug). I view Heart's debut as an album of missed opportunity. It could have been - perhaps should have been - one of the all-time great 70s hard rock / prog crossover albums. The two major hits from the album 'Magic Man' and 'Crazy on You' reference both genres brilliantly. I hadn't picked up on the excellence of 'Sing Child' until last night's listen, yet another strong prog number with flute. Much of the rest is folk rock or soft rock. I can understand hedging the bet that a female lead group in the middle 70s might not be accepted into the masculine world of hard rock, but they clearly were anyway. They were truly pioneers. I'm going to keep this tape. I've had the LP a few times, but I always go for the profit.

Queen - Queen II. 2011 Hollywood (CD) (1974). Thrift shop find (Aug). Queen II is usually the prog fans first choice when talking Queen. But to my ears they sound just as much like Queen here as anywhere else. To their credit, they had a unique sound. However that sound isn't for me. They needed to release Brian May off his leash and let him rip. The 20 minute EP bonus CD is better, demonstrating Queen in a more raw state. I was surprised at the quality of the B side 45 'See What a Fool I've Been' which looks difficult to score as an original.

REO Speedwagon - You Get What You Play For. 1977 Epic (2xLP). Garage sale (Aug). If there's ever been a band I should like but don't, it's REO Speedwagon. They're from the hardscrabble Midwest and their primary stock in trade is hard rock. But they also had this desire to play good times boogie rock, complete with pounding piano and dopey rock n' roll themes. Before disco, this was the music of choice for the party crowd. Styx did the same thing in the early to mid 70s. And that's what sinks this band for me. However the live version of 'Golden Country' - all by itself - almost had me keeping this. It's that good. More of that would have resulted in a monster outing. There were many bands in the Midwest that did just that, most privately released and very obscure.

Chirco - Visitation. 1972 Crested Butte (LP). This was from the very large garage sale south buy (Jul). One could argue that Chirco were influenced by the James Gang. Some hard rock, a little prog, boogie, and early 70s hippy-isms. Not bad. Despite the label name, the band aren't from the remote ski town of Crested Butte, but rather Denver.

James Gang - Live in Concert. 1971 ABC (LP). One more from the same sale (Jul). The best of the three, and James Gang were naturals for the live circuit. I do like that they improvise and add energy to tracks that weren't necessarily that way in the studio. But it's still a very typical early 70s styled concert, complete with drum solo.

James Gang - Straight Shooter. 1972 ABC (LP). Found with below (Jul). Better than I thought it would be. Troiano takes over guitar from Walsh and keeps the momentum. Hodge-podge of hard rock, funk, and country rock. The latter keeping me from full enjoyment.

James Gang - Rides Again. 1970 ABC (LP). From a large garage sale haul in Monument (Jul). I had this album once in the early 90s, but decided to try it again anyway. 'The Bomber' is a fantastic example of early metal and space rock jamming. 'Funk #49' is a well known hard rock track. But mostly it's fairly average 1970 styled eclectic classic rock. Had a +1 listen and curiosity satiated, but it can go.

Neil Young with Crazy Horse - Broken Arrow. 1996 Reprise (MC). Same find as Bad Company (Jul). I do like the fuzzy guitar tone of Crazy Horse, and when they jam it's very good. But the songs are not for me. Young is one of those artists that just bugs the crap out of me, not sure why. To date though, this is the best I've heard from him. But I still haven't heard his most classic albums beyond Harvest. I'll keep trying.

Bad Company - Bad Co. 198? Swan Song (MC) (1974). From a friend's garage sale (Jul). I've somehow managed to get this far in life without hearing Bad Company's debut in full. But I recognized over half of it anyway as they've been radio staples since I was a kid. What isn't played on the radio is inferior. Just not my band.

Eagles - One of These Nights. 1975 Asylum (LP). From the same thrift shop buy as below (Jun). For a short time in the 70s there were a lot of these countryish rock bands that went all in for soft rock. Think Atlanta Rhythm Section and Ozark Mountain Daredevils. Eagles were the king of them all. Side 1 is pretty good actually including the title track. Side 2 is difficult to get through.

Bad Company - Desolation Angels. 1979 Swan Song (LP). From a large thrift shop buy (Jun). This is the only one I should have left behind, as it's only a $5 record which surprised me. Musically that's what it's worth though. I never really understood the allure of Bad Company. A very ordinary 70s rock band with a little muscle, but not enough to qualify for hard rock. Their songs do tend to stick with you... in a bad way.

*El Chicano - Celebration. 1972 KAPP (LP). Excellent Latin rock with all the usual trappings: Hammond, percussion, Santana guitar, soulful melodies. CDs are scarce but I'd be interested in supplementing this copy. From What's Left (Jun).

A Raincoat - Digalongamacs. 1975 EMI (LP). Very odd and unique UK Baroque pop / glam like a mashup of The Beatles, ELO, and Queen. Has a quirkiness that reminds me some of the sillier UK psych outfits. Out of time for 1975 - forwards and backwards. I can't imagine who the audience for this band was, and it's possible they didn't have one. Not really my thing either but I can appreciate the creativity applied. From Dr. Boom (May).

* - Keeping for the collection

2021 Classic Rock / AOR Journal Vol. 4 - Complete

*Utopia - Ra. 1977 Bearsville (LP). A throw-in on an online deal (Nov). For some reason, I didn't embrace Utopia's second album like I did the first. It's a really odd mix that Rundgren has going here. It's a bit glammy like Queen and ELO at times. But there's some hardcore prog still going on - way out of fashion for when this was released. And of course, as noted eblow, Utopia did in fact embrace pop radio shortly thereafter. But this is unique enough to hold onto, for the short term anyway.

***The following came from a large CD drop at a thrift shop (Oct):

Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets. 2004 Virgin (CD) (1973). To me Brian Eno is something like David Bowie. Not the music content, though while in art rock mode, there are some similarities, but more in the fact that you really never know what you're going to get with him. And his debut definitely fits the "art rock" tag which is a style of music that I never truly embraced. For one, it's hard to define, so it's not always an indication of the music you will hear. Exhibit A would be Here Come the Warm Jets. For the first few songs, I was trying to figure out if I was going to sell it online, in a bulk sale, at the record show, etc... I mean, I'm not keeping it, right? Then comes the second half. Whoa, this is really quite good after all. It's unique, which is a +1 in my book, and probably will keep it here longer than normal. The CD is a dull commodity, and I'll keep an eye out for the LP, which will be tough to score. 

R. Stevie Moore - Phonography. 1998 Flamingo (CD) (1976). I wasn't quite sure which genre to put this in, but this section is sort of my "catch all" grouping. Moore's debut has a cult following among those that worship at the lo-fi bedroom recording altar. I can certainly appreciate the historical perspective, but that doesn't make the music any better. The only saving point is that Moore clearly doesn't take himself seriously here, which for many, ruins the experience. All the same, this isn't a pleasant listen and off it goes. This reissue is unique in that it has 8 bonus tracks. Excellent liner notes as well.

Utopia - Oops! Wrong Planet. 1995 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (CD) (1977). Wasn't sure I'd even listen to this one all the way through, but it really isn't so bad. It's the 3rd Utopia release, and they've clearly cut ties with their proggy past. Mostly standard issue AOR with some hard rock passages. Not really very consistent style-wise, but the 45 minutes flew by without discomfort. These gold discs always go for good coin, which is the primary reason I bought it.

***end of sale

*Klaatu - 3:47 E.S.T. 2002 Bullseye (CD) (1976). Thrift shop (Oct). Klaatu are one of those bands that I somehow managed to avoid in my initial record collecting days of the 1980s and early 90s. I sensed they were more of a pop rock group than the type of underground prog I was looking for, and yet that cover always drew me in. My instincts proved correct, and I'm certain this is an album I wouldn't have enjoyed much back then. But I do now. And one can sense they are a prog band in a pop group's body. One can also understand the comparisons to The Beatles (supposedly they were the Fab Four in disguise, as the story once went). The music has a lot of similarities to Abbey Road, if looking for one album to relate it to. I found myself enjoying it quite a bit, to the grade of excellent. There's quite a bit of mellotron as well. Very fine CD, with lyrics and historical notes. Another quality thrift shop find - always on the lookout for obscure reissues like this, which carry value. 

*Klaatu - Hope. 2002 Bullseye (CD) (1977). This was sitting next to 3:47 naturally enough (Oct). More pop oriented this go round, as to be expected, but certainly still falls into the very good category. I love the sound this band possesses. The album once again does not disappoint.

*David Bowie - Space Oddity / The Man Who Sold the World. 1972 RCA with picture sleeve (SP). From the RT collection (Sep). 'Space Oddity' is one of Bowie's signature songs, and is really an odd one for commercial radio to have picked up on. The b) side is even more strange. Bowie was always operating in his own world and on his own terms.

Heart - Little Queen. 1977 Portrait (MC). Thrift shop find and the beginning of my quest for cassettes (Aug). This is one of those albums that go to the very beginning of my LP buying experience. I can remember even contemplating buying the album at age 12 - and it would have been one of the first ten I ever bought. 'Barracuda' was the big hit and I loved it. If you think about it, up until that point, Heart had struck gold with 'Magic Man' (proggy hard rock), 'Crazy on You' (hard rock), and the aforementioned 'Barracuda'. Which tells us that Heart were an excellent hard rock band. Which further makes you wonder why everyone insisted they be a sugar and spice band instead. The Wilson sisters were tough broads at the end of the day, and spice was their comfort zone. You'll often hear references that Heart were nothing more than a Led Zeppelin copy band. Certainly one can hear 'Achilles Last Stand' in 'Barracuda', but as I often say, influence is not the same thing as copy. Honestly Heart should have focused more on Zep and less on the radio charts. I'm sure the record execs of the day had a hand in this ultimately bad decision. In any case, there's a few other fine tracks here including the title song and 'Go on Cry', but for the most part, 'Barracuda' ends up still being the highlight. I'll go +1 here, but it's not enough to keep.

Boston - Third Stage. 1986 MCA (MC). With the above (Aug). Going back to the beginning of these journals, I noted that I had finally warmed up to Boston's debut (1976), no doubt a combination of nostalgia and a reluctant easing of years of vitriol towards it. I have no history with Third Stage, and honestly have no idea of Boston's history past Don't Look Back (1978). At what point does a band become a caricature of itself? Allow me to introduce Exhibit A: Third Stage. As stated in that journal, Boston always had a reputation for purposely crafting the perfect AOR record, maybe even as an hypothesis. They were so successful, the pressure was on to surpass that, which Don't Look Back did not manage to do. By Third Stage, madness clearly had crept in, and one can see Tom Scholz spending years re-recording each note. "No no wait... it has to sound just like this.. no, no, hold on, no like this... no no....". Meanwhile Boston misses the entire 80s experience, including MTV's heyday. Those crucial early 80s years of dumbo AOR bands like Journey, Kansas, Styx, REO Speedwagon, ad nauseum, raking in millions and millions of dollars, while Boston is in the lab trying to perfect the formula. And finally, in 1986, Boston releases Third Stage. Yes - the perfect album for 1980! All the new music buyers looking around saying "who's Boston again?". Dad Rock long before the term existed. The whole musical world had changed, and here's Boston recreating Boston (the album). I guess one cannot say it's a bad album, it pretty much sounds just like the previous two. But it was so out of time, it must have been hilarious to those who waited. By 1986, I could care less what a band like Boston were doing, and doubt I even noticed it when released. I'm sure my story is similar to many others. Boston let opportunity slip by. A tragic tale.

Melting Pot - Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble. 1970 Ampex promo (LP). From Independent (Aug). This title goes back to my CDRWL days. Looks like I never featured it. In any case, Melting Pot were one more band trying to capitalize on the horn rock movement. When the group sticks to brass rock, they do an excellent job of creating the magic of same period Chicago or Blood, Sweat, & Tears. But like a lot of brass rockers, Melting Pot ventured into soul and the blues, while also trying their hand at cover tunes. All of which disappoint. So it's about half excellent and half OK. I'll give it a +1, but it's not going to stick around here. Comes in a cool thick gatefold cover. Though obscure, the record company clearly thought they had a big winner here. There are no less than five domestic pressings plus this promo. And there's also a Canadian and South African pressing. As such, not an expensive record, though you won't likely find it at a local record store, as I did here.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River. 1969 Fantasy (LP). Thrift shop find (Aug). I forced myself to listen to this, given its universal high ratings. Yep - sounds like CCR to me. For my tastes, it's a slog to get through albums like this. About the only track I liked is 'Sinister Purpose', mainly because it doesn't sound like them. I just don't get the allure for CCR.

Small Faces - First Step. 1970 Warner Bros. (LP). From the RT collection (Aug). A couple of seconds in and that sounds like Rod Stewart to me. Oh sure enough, there's his ugly mug right up front. I never knew Rod Stewart was in Small Faces. But then again, I wouldn't know who was in Small Faces to begin with. Apparently this is a late era revamped lineup. Pretty much what you would expect, this is mostly UK styled blues rock, which I could take or leave. What saves this is Ian McLagan's Hammond organ work, which is really great, especially on the instrumental 'Looking Out the Window'. Overall I'll grade it out as good.

Steve Miller Band - Fly Like an Eagle. 1976 Capitol (LP). From Independent for 50 cents (Aug). Did Miller hit paydirt with the title track or what? He must have been out of his mind when he wrote that track - it's inspiring on so many levels. And it was exploited to the hilt, rightfully so. This was actually the last 45 RPM record I bought as a kid before moving away from records for about a year, before finally buying full length albums. As for the rest, well it's typical SMB fare, and ultimately a bit dull. I do like 'Wild Mountain Honey' but the other hits on the album I can live without. And there are no hidden gems here. Good on the whole. No need to keep for the title track. I'll hear it next time I'm at the grocery store.

* - Keeping for the collection