2023 Classic Rock / AOR Journal Vol. 1 - Complete

ZZ Top - Deguello. 1979 Warner Bros. This album contains a good number of their familiar radio hits. It came after a three year hiatus, and the group were energized. They changed their sound a bit to go with the times, something they truly mastered on Eliminator. I think this is a very good album, but I don't need to own it. Got this far in life without it, and it's not something I'm going to clamor to hear. Most of the tracks are played at the grocery store anyway lol. (Oct)

Sugarcane Harris - Sugarcane. 1970 Epic. Denver show find for cheap (Oct). Well regarded blues rock album, but I didn't derive much out of it. More blues than rock. I liked the opener though. This is the second album for me to try from Harris, but it's not looking like his albums are going to be my thing. (Oct)

*Malo - Evolution. 1973 Warner Bros. Finally the all elusive 3rd Malo album! At least in the wilds, this is by far the hardest title to track down. Not only that, but this is the first time for me to hear the album. And it lived up to expectation, including the cover. Just as great as the others from the original quartet of albums. For Latin rock fans, Malo are ground zero (along with brother Carlos of course). Found at a local store, and I paid close to retail for it (they usually charge less, but I had to have it). (Jul)

Billy Thorpe - Children of the Sun. 1979 Polydor. My memory stated that while the title track is awesome the remainder of the album is nothing of the sort. This copy fell to the buck bin at a local store, so I decided to hear it again after some 40+ years. That memory proved to be correct. This is 1979 pop rock with one very strange anomaly with the song 'Children of the Sun'. You'd think if an artist actually gets rewarded for being creative, he might stick with that formula. No way. Off it goes... As an aside the best use of this track IMO was used at the beginning of a season of Fargo several years ago. (May)

Kevin Ayers - Yes We Have No Mananas. 1977 ABC. Free from a local store (Apr). Ayers is considered prog royalty given his participation on the first Soft Machine album. So anytime an artist like Ayers releases a garden variety pop rock record, it has to be appended with a much more regal genre tag. "Intelligent Pop" states the radio station notes on my copy. Art rock, art pop, progressive pop. All fancy terms to obfuscate what the album really contains: Corporate approved radio friendly fare. This album is mostly worthless until the last two tracks, especially the finale, that shows Ayers still had a couple of good ideas left in the tank. Overall it rates out to about average. ABC also had Steely Dan in their ranks and they were much better at this sort of thing.

Supertramp - Crime of the Century. 1974 A&M. Estate sale find (Apr). I thought I'd heard this one recently, but it was Even in the Quietest Moments. I've reluctantly accepted Breakfast in America in recent times, but what of Crime of the Century from five years earlier? There are three major hits here including 'School', 'Bloody Well Right', and 'Dreamer'. None of which excite me too much. Supposedly the rest is labeled prog rock, but I really don't hear it. More of the same. The major exception to this is 'Rudy' by far and away my favorite track here and the only one I'd personally label as progressive. Overall a good and inoffensive record.

Steely Dan - Gaucho. 2003 MCA (SACD) (1980). I found a pile of SACD's from an estate sale recently, mostly classical, but this one and a Billy Joel release were the outliers. I can't sit still for Joel, and that CD is already sold and gone. But I held this one back (and some of the classical which my wife and I enjoy while having a late afternoon glass of wine). I've never actually heard this album, and I do like Aja. Gaucho comes across to me like a caricature of their sound. It's just way too slick. I'm amazed the original album didn't come with a tube of polish. It's not bad of course, but what pleasure can I possibly derive from it? For middle aged moms. (Apr)

Prism - Armageddon. 1979 Ariola. In my story about how I discovered Def Leppard, I mentioned a radio station down in San Antonio that was responsible for that. They also played a lot of cool AOR type music, and always the best tracks such as 'Last Chance' by Shooting Star. I could have sworn they also played a great song from Prism, and given that this was from 1979 and had a near 8 minute track called 'Armageddon' that this must have been it. Nada. What a pile of pop slop this album is. Almost no redeeming qualities whatsoever. This Canadian band is willing to slurp it up to get on the radio. I like me some good AOR. This is bad AOR. Probably the worst album I've endured in a year. Found this at a Denver area store and paid $5. I overpaid by $4.99. (Jan)

* - Keeping for the collection

2022 Classic Rock / AOR Journal Vol. 1 - Complete

R.E.O. Speedwagon. 1973 Epic (1971) (LP). Orange label. I was talking with Purple Peak Jeff recently and he was telling me how much he likes the first two albums from REO. This at a time when I've formally declared 'Keep on Loving You' *the worst song of all time*. But we all know that there's a huge difference between 1971 and 1980, especially in cash driven America. OK, I'll give it a shot then! And PPJ is right - it's much better. Definitely music of the Midwest, coming from the University of Illinois area. I like the way guitarist Gary Richrath jams on the rhythm guitar almost in a proto-metal way. 'Gypsy's Woman's Passion', 'Sophisticated Lady', and the 10 minute plus 'Dead at Last' are the highlights. Unfortunately REO brings a lot of boogie to the table. I never could get into this aspect of bar rock, complete with honkytonk piano. We all have different filters, and PPJ has always shown more tolerance to it. Very good on the whole but not enough to keep. (Sep)

George Harrison - Wonderwall Music. 1968 Apple (LP). A late straggler from the RT collection. Soundtrack from a rather bizarre film, the album is noteworthy due to its mix of East and West, with an emphasis on the former. As straight listening it's rather dull but has its moments. An old colleague used to love this album, but he really loved the film more. I can appreciate the associative thinking regarding that. (Sep)

The Kudzu Band - Chittlin' Circuit. 1976 De Vine (LP). Ran across this at a thrift shop. Never heard of this Georgia based band before so I picked it up. When checking for condition, it sounded pretty cool so I went for a full listen. Not bad at all. Definitely southern rock - slightly heavy - with additional synthesizers and flute. A little bit of boogie rock too. Not going to keep it, but worth hearing for sure. (Sep)

Max Webster - A Million Vacations. 1979 Anthem (LP). As noted on the Mutiny Up My Sleeve post, I picked up one more Max Webster at the thrift shop and this was it. Very similar but perhaps a -1 off. Just a little too much pop and not enough invention. I don't see this as a grower like the other one. (Aug) 

King Harvest - Dancing in the Moonlight. 1972 Perception (LP). Real oddball here. I'm likely to buy anything on the Perception label, as they're uniformly collectible. King Harvest are a French based band made up of American expats. The music is a mix of styles, but mostly soft rock. However the cover implies biker psych rock. Weird. Worth hearing but not going to keep. (Jun)

Head East - Flat as a Pancake. 1975 Pyramid (LP). Thrift shop find. Not in the best shape unfortunately. However I bought it because it has become increasingly impossible to find and expensive. This was Head East's debut, and was released privately in the St. Louis area. 'Never Been Any Reason' became a big local hit, so A&M signed them up and released the album to a much larger audience. Head East were something of a household name in the late 1970s and early 80s. The album starts off great with the hard rocking 'Jefftown Creek'. But mostly this is boogie and bar rock, the kind of music they played on Wet T-Shirt night. Not bad at all, but not really my thing. (Jun)

Supertramp - Breakfast in America. 1979 A&M (LP). Now here's an album I never thought I'd reconcile with. To me it was the epitome of the type of music I didn't care for in the late 70s. Annoying in fact. I bought this copy primarily for resale (even as a mass commodity, this album gets a quick 15 every time). But I'm holding onto it for now. Seems every track here was a hit at the time. And the closer 'Child of Vision' is actually proggy. I'll be damned. (May)

Box of Frogs. 1984 Epic (LP). Much was made of this release when it came out. Ex-Yardbirds guys playing classic rock and roll. Rock critics have always been annoyingly conservative when it comes to new music. Politically they are uber liberal and musically the exact opposite. It makes no sense. Prog rock, for example, is the ultimate thorn in the side of a rock critic. It wasn't until only a few years ago they hesitantly suggested that Rush wasn't so bad after all. Maybe. And the rising heavy metal tide was not welcomed either. Not at all. They would roll their eyes and effeminately state "music for neanderthal macho men". Right to my face in fact. Thanks. The Rolling Stones - now THAT is what rock music is "supposed to be". Period, and it's not debatable. Box of Frogs were the darling of these "analysts". Back to the basics. But the production was all 80s. "See, we keep up too" they'd claim. All of that to say, Box of Frogs isn't a bad album and I can appreciate what they're doing here. They have plenty of guest guitarists (speaking of the Stones...), and that's where the album shines. But the songwriting is really dull and predictable. An average album in aggregate. (Apr)

*Ten Wheel Drive - Construction #1. 1969 Polydor (LP). One could make an argument that New Jersey's Ten Wheel Drive are proto to this list! It's a mix of hard rock, horn rock, jazz, blues, etc.. Not too much progressive, but worthy of inclusion for that list. (Apr)

*Good Rats - Tasty Seconds (Cover of Night). 1996 Uncle Rat (CD). Thrift shop find (Apr). Apparently this was Good Rats' comeback album after a 15 year hiatus. Similar in construct to the Good Rats I know from the 70s, except it's far more muscled up and less reliant on boogie rock. Borderline heavy metal, this packs some meaty hard rock guitar and boozed up vocals. The band is completely revived here, and the energy level is infectious. Features an all star cast of Long Island's most known hard rock and metal figures. Nothing groundbreaking here, but there really wasn't much like this in the mid 90s. Kind of reminds me of the obscure Californian hard rock band Kai Kln. This CD is a "limited edition" and appears to have been released privately to an ever shrinking fan base.

Good Rats - Ratcity in Blue. 1998 Uncle Rat (1976) (CD). Thrift shop find (Mar). I've mentioned my college dorm room floor in the past. Our Resident Hall Monitor, the same gentleman who turned me onto early Genesis, was from Long Island, New York. Not a common background for Texas Tech sitting as it does in hardcore West Texas. Like most college listeners, his tastes in music were very eclectic, and one of his favorite bands were local heroes (to him) Good Rats. I heard them as humdrum hard and boogie rock myself. This is not one of the titles he had, or that I borrowed I should say, but it's pretty much humdrum hard and boogie rock. Ah well. There's is some decent guitar work, and I would qualify the album as good overall. Nothing more, nothing less. No more room for albums such as this. Though credit to the title which is a fun sendup of the Gershwin classic.

*Demon - The Plague. 1983 Atlantic (LP). Demon are most known as one of the original NWOBHM bands. I haven't heard their first two albums (I did eventually), but that's obviously where the metal component must exist. Because on their next two, including The Plague, there's some light hard rock guitar and a lot of synthesizers. Funny I was just reminiscing about Saga's World's Apart and The Plague pretty much follows the same model. It's more obviously progressive, and has a bit more of a hard rock component. However it's not as punchy and catchy as Saga were in those days, and that's most likely why The Plague was the only original American release Demon were to ever achieve. Besides, having a moniker and emblem such as Demon did the band no favors, as anyone would expect metal here, and then not receive it. Personally this album comes at a good time for me, perfectly capturing an era that I'm currently reliving. And how about that cover? Talk about predictive! (Feb)

* - Keeping for the collection

2021 Classic Rock / AOR Journal Vol. 1 - Complete

Supertramp - Even In the Quietest Moments... 1977 A&M (LP). Thrift shop find (Apr). Supertramp have become quite collectable in recent years - even their most commoditized albums are going for a tenner. Other than their out-of-nowhere 1985 prog(gy) album Brother Where You Bound, I've never had any use for Supertramp. But I'm trying to keep an open mind, and listening throughout to albums that I've dismissed in the past. To quote a part of my review for Brother: "And here comes along Supertramp - one of those bands that contributed to the dire state of the radio in the first place." Yep. The opener 'Give a Little Bit' is exactly what I was talking about there. Most folks will point out the album's closer as the grand progressive rock moment. 'Fool's Overture' is 10 minutes, and about double the length it needs to be. It's of the slow symphonic type, nothing overly progressive in my book. 'Lover Boy' is probably my favorite track, and I would call that one "good". It's not a bad album overall, but it's fairly average really. Oh well.

America - Hearts. 1975 Warner Bros. From RT (Apr). America are a band that I've passed on many times - even in thrift stores. Odd in that they have at least four songs that I think are superb - some of the best songs to ever be played on radio. In college, my roommate bought the America's History album, which is of course their famous greatest hits collection. Even then I loved those four songs. So when I went to our local used record store back then, I bought Holiday, which had one of these gems. I don't remember liking anything else, and sold the record off not too long after. Not surprised to see America in folk collector RT's stack. Maybe to amend that, I'm more surprised this is the only one I've run into so far. Now this album doesn't have any of those great four songs (which I won't mention until we get to their albums - if we get there). But it does have the 5th favorite, and that would be 'Sister Golden Hair', which is pretty good. In hearing the album opener 'Daisy Jane' - also on History - it's better than I recall. The best track for me is 'Company' and was that fuzz bass on 'Woman Tonight'? The rest is boring folk rock. So that assessment I made about America way back in 1986 seems to still hold court. Bummer.

Lighthouse - Can You Feel It. 1973 Polydor (LP). From the same estate sale (Mar). Being an enthusiastic horn rock fan, Lighthouse of course is a band that I do enjoy. Especially the debut album which has some fine horn charts, great melodies, and excellent lead guitar. By 1973, while Chicago is still cranking out hits, Canada's Lighthouse is desperately clinging on for survival, trying hard to regain that magic. The first thing you notice, while looking at the cover, is the band could have used a good dental plan. Then on the back cover, the producer is making excuses as to why it doesn't really sound that good. Too much music I believe was the lame excuse. He's right about one thing - it doesn't sound right. It has no heft whatsoever. It's a shame that a large talented band like this couldn't have come up with something more innovative. They should have gone full-on prog or funk or hard rock or something. But jeez, hearing them try so hard for radio airplay that sound like they're from 1970, just doesn't work. I think one track did manage to do OK on Canadian radio, and it's probably the best one here ('Pretty Lady'). I hesitated to buy this for fear of being stuck with it. But it does have the large poster, so that will help. Of course the giant 4 panel poster replicates the album cover... which highlights their teeth. Some guys just never do get plugged in right.

Mose Jones - Get Right. 1973 MCA / Sounds of the South (LP). From an estate sale (Mar). Mose Jones were a southern rock band, though they did have some groove to them. Probably the oddest aspect of their sound is the copious use of mellotron, hardly a southern rock staple. The music is as eclectic as their instrumentation, and is a mix of gospel, rock, funk, r'n'b, and folk. Highlights for me were the haunting acid folk of 'Ode to Drugan' and the jamming 'Julia's Beautiful Friend'. Interesting album, but not one for me to keep. Looks like Sounds of the South was a Al Kooper directed imprint back in the day, though it's new to me. The main group to have been on the short-lived project was Lynryd Skynryd. Nice gatefold cover.

Queen - A Day at the Races. 1976 Elektra (LP). Thrift shop find (Mar). The more I hear Queen, the less I like them. I figured it would be the opposite. They're just not for me. I find myself liking Brian May's guitar work... and little else. I've had good luck finding their albums at thrift shops and garage sales, which is great because they're easy to flip. I haven't heard them all yet, but A Day at the Races is my least favorite of their 70s output that I've heard to date.

Janis Joplin - Pearl. 1971 Columbia (LP). Thrift shop find (Feb). I don't know if I've ever been able to sit through a Janis Joplin album all the way through, which would include Big Brother and the Holding Company of course. It's obvious she puts everything into her singing. But ugh, that voice. She's just not my kind of girl (in any way, shape, or form). Her singing is both annoying and irritating. My favorite track on the album is 'Buried Alive in the Blues', which is instrumental lol. If she had been able to conquer her demons, my best guess is she'd eventually found her way to Country music, and obtained more fame there for the long haul. You can hear that twang in her singing. Just needed some control. Alright, so now I've heard one of her albums throughout. An accomplishment in of itself. 

J. Geils Band - Love Stinks. 1980 EMI (LP). One more from the 1980 era RT stack (Jan). There's a fine line between opportunist and selling out. Whereas REO Speedwagon is a clear example of the latter, J. Geils is more the former. At least that's how I hear Love Stinks. The title track is the most known song here, and 'Just Can't Wait' was another hit. Jay Geils and crew were from Boston, going back to the 60s, and clawed their way to the top with a fine mix of early rock n' roll, funk, and R'n'B. They're meant to be a fun group and yet they do bring some edge with them too. Of course they were smart to latch onto the late 70s AOR sound. I can respect this album, though it does stray from my personal interest area. A well spent 37 minutes before heading to the sell bin.

REO Speedwagon - Hi Infidelity. 1980 Epic (LP) Ha. Early 60s folk collector RT would just buy about anything on occasion it appears (Jan). This album is more like the 38 Special album below, in that it was played so often, it's pretty much part of my DNA. Unlike 38 Special, this is pure dreck. One of the most obvious pandering to the great FM radio god there ever has been. Even Journey put some elbow grease into their pop slop. I really tried to be objective, but it's just dentist-office painful to sit through. A couple of decent guitar solos I suppose. I had to spray down the stereo after playing this.

Shoes - Present Tense. 1979 Elektra (LP). Also from RT (Jan). This is exactly the kind of power pop that has gained a following in the last few years. Borrowing from the happy late 60s but with a modern indie styled vocal and songcraft approach. I kind of remember these guys back then, but they didn't make a mark. This really isn't my thing, but it wasn't painful to get through at least. I'm a bit surprised this album isn't more expensive, as most LP's in this genre have gone way up.

Blind Faith. 1977 RSO (LP) From RT (Jan). Another one of those albums that is highly praised (and has been all my life) but leaves me scratching my head. Early supergroup (1969) of Cream, Traffic, and Family but it doesn't remind me of any of them. Maybe a more bluesy Traffic. Like the Beck / Bogert / Appice, this album lacks bite. This has the girl cover, but is a later reissue. Not for me.

The Who - Face Dances. 1981 Warner Bros. (LP) From RT (Jan) Face Dances is not a critic or fan favorite, and has generally been panned across the board. And while I'm certainly not going to fall on my sword for it, I don't find it any better or worse than most major artist albums from this era. This was the first studio album without Keith Moon, so you know how that goes with the die-hard fans ("It's not The Who without Keith Moon" grumble, grumble, grumble...). But the year 1981 had more to do with the output than the personnel methinks. 'You Better You Bet' was the big hit of the day and it's pretty good. 

38 Special - Wild-Eyed Southern Boys. 1980 A&M (LP). From the RT collection (Jan). 38 Special were a band from Jacksonville, Florida, so they are often compared to The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. And certainly 38 Special have southern rock tendencies, but mostly they are a rocking AOR band, pretty far removed from the above groups. Once again, 38 Special were a band that enjoyed great radio airplay success while I was in high school. In hearing this album for the first time throughout, tracks like 'Hold on Loosely' and 'Fantasy Girl' were already etched into my DNA due to repeatedly listening to them for 40+ years. On the whole though, the album isn't so bad. It has a bit more muscle than others of its ilk, and the guitar work is a cut above. And since it's from 1980, the music definitely has a 70s sheen to it. 

Supertramp - Brother Where You Bound. 1985 England

FM radio was in a dire state in 1985. Trust me, kids, it never was worse. There was nothing on air worthy of your attention. Most markets were ignoring the rising heavy metal movement for example (Metallica were treated by the radio the same way Edgar Hoover treated the Mafia (i.e. they didn't exist)). There was no online underground with millions of choices available to you. It was just the same old songs - ALL the time. (Exactly like radio is now - except no one actually listens to the radio anymore). And anything that was new... wasn't... new. And here comes along Supertramp - one of those bands that contributed to the dire state of the radio in the first place. It's 1985. It's Supertramp. Oh good Lord, who cares what they do anyway? Then...

...then comes Brother Where You Bound. Just one of the damnedest anomalies ever released. Opener Cannonball sounds like a swinging jazz rock track from 1968, as played by Joe Jackson. It was cool in the purest sense, when everything around was cool only in the current sense (i.e. not cool). Great staccato piano and horns drive this most memorable tune. Horns? In 1985? Better Days provided another thoughtful piano driven groover with some well placed flute. But the crowning achievement had to be the 16 minute title track, with no less of a luminary than David Gilmour providing lead guitar, with a free jazz mid section, and horn charts. In 1985? What on Earth? I remember to this day the DJ's of the time expressing genuine enthusiasm about the prospect of the return of the long form track. The thought they might be able to refill their coffee, turn off the lights and chill to the music, or talk with listeners was an exciting dream. Could progressive rock really be back?

No. Not for the mainstream anyway. Supertramp were the most unlikely champion of a scene that just died in the 1980s. This album remains undiscovered even today. I really do think historians will see this one way differently than their contemporaries did. It will stick out - not like a sore thumb - but in a good way. One that can't be ignored.

Ownership: LP: 1985 A&M. Single embossed sleeve with lyric inner. Picked this one up at the Denver Record show for $1 (2021). In shrink with the original hype sticker no less. 

Former ownership: CD: A&M. Jewel case

I first bought this album when it was initially released, but it got purged in the 90s when trimming down the collection. 

1985 (first listen); 4/15/14 (review / new entry)