Great Rock Albums of the 70s: Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon

Question: What does a metal head do when they feel like mellowing out a bit? Yes, I can already hear many metal heads screaming, "Me, mellow out, never!" But I know there are many who once in a great while like to take it down a notch. So, do you listen to Air Supply or whatever love song is in the top 10 at the moment? I say a big "HELL NO!" to that, what many of us listened to and many still do now is Pink Floyd.
Throughout the 70s, Pink Floyd put out several really good albums such as "Animals," "Wish You Were Here" and the most popular of those, "The Wall." I will be looking at the last one at a later date. However, it is "Dark Side of the Moon" that got me truly listening to Pink Floyd and was my official mellow out party album. I've known rockers the world over to put this album when having partied their hearts out and want to relax and unwind a little. The songs on this album provide the perfect atmosphere in which to do that. Also there is something to be said about the album, like many Pink Floyd albums, to be thoroughly enjoyed after puffing the magic dragon. It is probably the way one song leads straight into the next that keeps the buzz going. Even in the days before CDs when you had to pause to turn the tape over, the first track on the second side, "Money" does a great job in returning you back to the proper atmosphere.

Track Listing:

1. Speak to Me

2. Breathe

3. On the Run

4. Time

5. The Great Gig in the Sky

6. Money

7. Us and Them

8. Any Colour You Like

9. Brain Damage

10. Eclipse

Pink Floyd

David Gilmour- guitar, synthesisers, vocals

Roger Waters- bass, vocals, synthesisers, tape effects

Nick Mason- percussion, tape effects

Richard Wright- keyboards, synthesisers

One thing I need to mention is that I can include David Gilmour in that growing list of underrated guitarists. His efforts, especially on his solo on "Money" proves that he can smoke a finger board. His style helps to create the music that Pink Floyd is best loved for. So, if you ever want to relax and just go mellow for a few brief moments, then this is the album to have on your stereo.

Next Post: The Sweet- Desolation Boulevard

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Great Rock Albums of the 70s: Heart- Dreamboat Annie

Forget about power ballads such as "What About Love" and "Alone" which Heart were famous for in the 1980s, because a decade earlier, Heart were a true hard rock outfit. I freely admit as a red blooded male, it was the attractiveness of the Wilson sisters that first turned my head in their direction, they were the first true rock chicks, but when I heard this album, I was hooked by their cool hard rock sound.
"Dreamboat Annie" was the album that launched Heart into the ionosphere in rock. It served as the springboard for what would be a string of albuns and singles that would keep them at the top throughout the last half of the 1970s. Hits like "Magic Man" and "Crazy On You," along with the ballad "Dreamboat Annie," helped to make this album the great album it became.

Track Listing:

1. Magic Man

2. Dreamboat Annie (Fantasy Child)

3. Crazy On You

4. Soul of the Sea

5. Dreamboat Annie

6. White Lightning and Wind

7. (Love Me Like Music) I'll Be Your Song

8. Sing Child

9. How Deep It Goes

 10. Dreamboat Annie (Reprise)

Heart

Ann Wilson- vocals

Nancy Wilson- guitar

Roger Fisher- guitar

Howard Leese- guitar, keyboards, backing vocals

Michael De Rosier- drums

Steve Fossen- bass

If you want a good nostalgic rock out, then this is a great album.

Next Post: Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon

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Great Rock Albums of the 70s: Alice Cooper- Welcome to My Nightmare

Wtih the release of the new Alice Cooper album, "Welcome 2 My Nightmare," I felt it was only appropriate for me to visit the original "Welcome to My Nightmare" album, which was released back in 1975. It also helped me to choose which of the great Alice Cooper albums to feature on here. Back in the 70s, Alice put out some classic memorable albums such as "School's Out," which was the first Alice Cooper album I ever heard. There was also "Billion Dollar Babies" and "Goes to Hell." But it is this memorable classic rock album that I am visiting here.
What makes "Welcome to My Nightmare" so great? The opening title track gives you the answer. The song "Welcome to My Nightmare" is one of the best concert opening songs in history. With Alice's vocals behind it, the song reaches out and grabs you by the throat and says, "You're gonna listen to me." One reason I was glad he opened with that song when I finally got to see him live in 1988. As far as the album goes, the title track sets the stage and draws the listener in to not only listening to the entire album, but loving it as well.

Track Listing:

1. Welcome to My Nightmare

2. Devil's Food

3. The Black Widow

4. Some Folks

5. Only Women Bleed

6. Department of Youth

7. Cold Ethyl

8. Years Ago

9. Steven

10. The Awakening

11. Escape 

Another great item I really like on the album is the vocal by Vincent Price on the track "The Black Widow." It takes a good song over the edge to make it great. Forget Michael Jackson and "Thriller," Alice Cooper had the idea first and does it a lot better, although I could be a bit biased here.

 

Personnel:

Alice Cooper- vocals

Bob Ezrin- Synthesiser, arranger, keyboards, vocals

Vincent Price- Speical effects, vocals

Dick Wagner- guitars

Steve Hunter- guitars

Joseph Chirowski- synthesiser, vocals, keyboards, clavinet

Prkash John- bass

Tony Levin- bass

Pete "Whitey" Glan- drums

Johnny "bee" Badanjek- drums

One of my regrets when writing "Rock And Roll Children" was the book was set during the mid 80s when Alice Cooper had nearly faded into obscurity through heavy drinking. That is why he only gets a brief mention in the book. What the characters didn't know was that Alice Cooper was a major influence on many of the great metal bands of the 80s and it was albums such as this one that made it so.

Next post: Heart- Dreamboat Annie

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Great Rock Albums of the 70s: Blue Oyster Cult- Agents of Fortune

When I first heard of the band Blue Oyster Cult, it was in the religious world where everyone there was describing them as Satanic. The name Blue Oyster Cult gives the impression that if you listen to any of their albums, you will immediately start sacrificing chickens, goats and virgins on the altar of Beelezebub. Of course, it doesn't help when the first big single is entitled, "Don't Fear the Reaper," but it was that song that got me listening to them. Although Blue Oyster Cult have a number of other singles and many great albums, it is this song which the rock and metal world identify them with. Proof of this is I have a number of rock compilation albums and the song appears on at least three of them.
Although "Don't Fear the Reaper" is the song that thrust the band and this album, "Agents of Fortune" into the spotlight, the entire album is brilliant and puts Blue Oyster Cult into the category of one of the great metal influences. Songs like "Extra Terrestrial Intelligence" and "Tattoo Vampire" also make the album great. In fact, all of the songs in my metal opinion make this album.

Track Listing:

1. This Ain't the Summer of Love

2. True Confessions

3. Don't Fear the Reaper

4. Extra Terrestrial Intelligence

5. The Revenge of Vera Gemini

6. Sinful Love

7. Tatto Vampire

8. Morning Final

9. Tenderloin

10. Debbie Denise 

Blue Oyster Cult:

Eric Bloom- guitar, percussion, vocals

Albert Bouchard- drums, percussion, harmonica, vocals

Donald "Buck Dharma" Roesser- guitar, synthesiser, vocals

Joe Bouchard- bass, piano, vocals

Alan Lanier- guitars, keyboards, bass, vocals

Apart from great albums such as this one, Blue Oyster Cult have always been known for being a fantastic live act. One of the major regrets of my life is not having been able to see them in concert. This is probably why I have the main characters in Rock And Roll Children lament over the fact they didn't see them open for Rush. I only have great albums like "Agents of Fortune" as a consolation.

Next Post: Alice Cooper- Welcome to My Nightmare

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle