Great Rock Albums of 1979: Cheap Trick- At Budokan

I thought I'd begin the tour through 1979 with albums that were actually released in 1978. Cheap Trick's "At Budokan" was officially released in Japan in 1978 and then in the US in 79. This has been called by many as one of the greatest live albums of all time and I can't really disagree. It was one of the first albums I purchased on cassette and the intensity of the live album blew my young mind.
The first few songs come as a whirlwind, one song after another speedy procession that once you're caught up in it, there's no way you can escape. It slows down a little bit with "Need Your Love," but that only acts as a nice little breather before launching into the three best tracks on the album. "Ain't That a Shame," the world famous "I Want You to Want Me" and completing the trio is "Surrender." By the end of that, you're in league with those in Tokyo who were lucky enough to see this live, you don't want Cheap Trick to leave the stage either.

Track Listing:

1. Hello There

2. Come On Come On

3. Look Out

4. Big Eyes

5. Need Your Love

6. Ain't That a Shame

7. I Want You to Want Me

8. Surrender

9. Goodnight Now

10. Clock Strikes Ten

Cheap Trick

Robin Zander- lead vocals, rhythm guitar

Rick Neilsen- lead guitar, backing vocals

Tom Petersen- bass, backing vocals

Bun E Carlos- drums

There is no better way to start something new than Cheap Trick, "At Budokan." This is a classic hard rock album and the fact that it's live, only makes it that much better.

Next post: Blues Brothers- Briefcase Full of Blues

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

Also available in Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

 

1979: The Year The Dam Began to Burst

In a song from a fantastic album I will be visiting much further down the line, Saxon asks, "Where were you in '79 when the dam began to burst?"

Saxon

Well, I can definitely say where I was in 1979 and unfortunately, I wasn't wearing denim and leather. For me, that year was a major and I mean major turning point in my life. The middle of the year was especially eventful for me. In the space of 32 days from June 7 to July 9, I turned eighteen, graduated high school and then was off to Parris Island, South Carolina for boot camp in the marines. For the next twelve weeks, I was ruled with an iron hand. I heard no music, saw no movies and didn't even see any television until the last three weeks of training and then that was only for one hour a night. I did get teased one night when I pulled a guard duty near a window with the radio blaring out. I don't remember any songs, but I do remember hearing an advert for the Ted Nugent concert in Savanah, Georgia in a few weeks time.
The top songs before and after boot camp pretty much sums up the year for me musically. Before I left, the popular song was the disco tune, "Ring My Bell" by Anita Ward. When I came home on leave after graduation, it was "My Sharona" by The Knack. My "Death before disco" attitude was already entrenched in my mind, so I was happy that disco seemed to be on the way out. One thing that definitely died that year was my AM clock radio.
One thing that the marines did for me was to open my mind to new forms of music. Being around many more African Americans introduced me to rap and non commercial soul music. Being stationed in North Carolina, I got a better feel for country music, but the best thing was discovering a genre that was made it's way into more mainstream, Southern Rock. It was here, I first heard great albums by Molly Hatchet, 38 Special and Blackfoot and will be visiting their albums down the line.

Molly Hatchet

Of course, the marines provided my access to the up and coming genre I would come to know and love as heavy metal. It was here, I first heard Van Halen and Rush as well as Ted Nugent. My musical world was definitely growing as you will see from all the albums that will be visited throughout the next few months.
Next post: Cheap Trick- At Boudakan
To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html
Also available on Amazon, Froogle and Barnes & Noble and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

A Metal Book Worth Reading

While I was going through my daily dose of heavy metal google alerts this morning, I can upon a book that sounds fascinating to me. The book is called "What Are You Doing Here?" by Laina Dawes. It tells about the struggle on an African American woman in the world of heavy metal.

When Laina Dawes was eight years-old, she sat in front of her television watching the made-for-television movie “Kiss Meets The Phantom of the Park.”  Soon after, her parents gave her Kiss’ Double Platinum record, and later followed an obsession with bands like Judas Priest and Black Sabbath.  Laina Dawes is a bona fide metal head. But her fandom is complicated, though it probably shouldn’t be, by the fact that Laina is a black woman.
During her time in the heavy metal scene, she has experienced a lot of racism and sexism, as well as judgment and hostility from various black communities. Laina Dawes is the author of “What Are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal" (Bazillion Points, 2013).
Dawes talks with host Frank Stasio about the complicated relationship she has with heavy metal. She says that although heavy metal has in the past been viewed as a white male scene, the music can be powerful for anyone who feels like they need an outlet for anger.
“Heavy metal has always had this stereotype of being a working-class blue collar music for predominantly men who are frustrated by their day job, and want to listen to music to let out their aggressions…” Dawes says. “I think that translates to how people are still drawn to the music…It’s for the positive energy and the positive aggression that you have the ability to let out…and we’re not able to do that in other aspects of their lives.”
Dawes grew up in rural Kingston, Canada, as one of the only black people in her community. Listening to heavy metal was one of only a few things that helped her deal with her frustration and feelings of isolation. 
Dawes tells host Frank Stasio that “the music was what got me through…I never did fit in, and I always felt like an outsider, but I knew that I desperately needed something to make me feel better, and to make me feel more empowered then I did in my everyday life.”
Although heavy metal can be very empowering to its listeners, the scene surrounding it can be very racist and sexist. Dawes spoke to many black women involved in those scenes in their respective communities who survived violence inflicted on them on the basis of their race.
“One of the women I interviewed for the book was knocked unconscious” states Dawes.
“Another girl in Atlanta was chased around the venue by a bunch of skin heads, because they had warned her that she had to leave because they didn’t want her there…And then they stayed so they chased her,” she recalls.  “You get these extreme stories of people violently reacting to your presence.”
And not only has there been push back from white people in the heavy metal scene, but black communities have taken issue with black people’s participation in heavy metal. Dawes explains that listening to heavy metal as a black person is often seen as something that makes you “less black.”
“One of the reasons I’ve faced resistance from various black communities is the [link to culture]. Blues music is not just music, it’s seen as a narrative of the lives of African Americans who came before us…it has a connection to African-American listeners,” says Dawes. “But on the other hand in terms of listening and participating as a fan or musician it should be wide open.”
But there are still black women breaking down barriers and performing heavy metal. Dawes says that her favorite part of this project has been meeting women who challenge the norm with their passion for the genre.
“The best part of this journey is meeting extremely strong women who want to play the music that they’re passionate about and also realize that there are a lot of roadblocks in their way,” Laina reflects. “And for them it’s not about the money. It’s about them being passionate about their art.”
I, for one, am going to read it because I have always battled against the accusations of heavy metal being sexist and racist and I've always believed that knowledge is the best weapon.

Great Metal Albums of 1978: Van Halen I

I thought what better way to end the tour through 1978 than to visit the very first album by Van Halen. Like so many great rock and metal albums that came out in this year, this album didn't come into my fields of vision for another year when I heard a marine buddy blasting it through the barracks. I only heard part of the album, but I was hooked. The weird thing was that I actually bought II before I bought this one.
Some metal officiandos have compared Van Halen to Led Zeppelin and I admit there are some similarities. But Van Halen I gave Van Halen a unique sound of their own. To me this was just as heavy as Ted Nugent and it opened my eyes to a whole new world out there in music. You could say that Van Halen I was the final rock in the stream that caused the rivers of rock to overflow.
What really made this album for me was the fantastic guitar work of Eddie Van Halen. "Eruption" totally blew my mind and the way they metalised a classic Kinks song let me know that heavy metal was the road I wanted to travel down. I can't really think of a track I don't like but if you were to ask my favourite, it has to be "Ice Cream Man." I loved the way it starts with the accoustic and then rips into a full metal frenzy. Yes, I can say that for me and others, Van Halen I was the album that paved the way.

Track Listing:

1. Running With the Devil

2. Eruption

3. You Really Got Me

4. Ain't Talin' About Love

5. I'm the One

6. I'm on Fire

7. Jamie's Crying

8. Atomic Punk

9. Feel Your Love Tonight

10. Little Dreamer

11. Ice Cream Man

Van Halen

David Lee Roth- lead vocals, accoustic guitar

Eddie Van Halen- guitars, backing vocals

Michael Anthony- bass, backing vocals

Alex Van Halen- drums

I hope you have enjoyed my little tour through the rock and metal history of 1978 and will continue on the ride to 1979. There will be plenty of albums to come in that year. So, I will leave you for now with one artist I first discovered in 1978 on the Saturday Night Live show. I admit, I like some of Kate Bush's eccentricities and her early music. It is also probably why I have a thing for British women, after all, I married two of them.

Next post: 1979- The Year the Damn Began to Burst

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

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London