Great Rock Albums of 1979: Little River Band- First Under the Wire

This has always been my impression of the Little River Band and this album. It was the album you play on your car cassette deck, (remember they didn't have CD's back in 1979) on you way home from a good night out. You have a lady in the car with you, could be your girlfriend or maybe you got lucky with that girl at the end of the bar, no matter. Anyway, you put this album on because it's a good mood enhancer. The soft rock tones won't scare the lady off but it has enough of a hard edge to let you know that you're not selling out and going to buy an Air Supply album next time you're at the stores.

One of the ironic things about "First Under the Wire" is that one of the hardest tracks on the album, "Lonesome Loser" is probably one of their most successful singles. I won't go as far as to say that it's a headbanger, but there are some pretty impressive guitar licks in the song. This is the other thing about the Little River Band, although they are classed as soft rock, there are some impressive guitar solos in a good number of songs. This is true with the other hard(ish) song, "Hard Life." The rest of the album has that late night mellow out feel with a little bit of a jazzy rock vibe. The other single, "Cool Change" is an example and is a good song if you ever find yourself out to sea in a small boat.

Track Listing:

1. Lonesome Loser

2. The Rumour

3. By My Side

4. Cool Change

5. It's Not a Wonder

6. Hard Life (prelude)

7. Hard Life

8. Middle Man

9. Man on the Run

10. Mistress of Mine

Little River Band

Glenn Shorrock- vocals

David Briggs- lead guitar

Greaham Goble- guitar

Beeb Birtles- guitar

Barry Sullivan- bass

Derek Pellici- drums

Mal Logan- keyboards

So if you want something to either mellow out to or to get your partner in the mood, then album might just do the trick. It is a soft rock album but there are moments of hardness to it. An enjoyable album.

Next post: Led Zepplin- In Through the Out Door

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