Great Rock Albums of 1979: Jefferson Starship- Gold

As I said a few posts ago, 1979 was a big transitional year for me and I will probably say it a few more times as I continue to visit some of the great rock and metal albums from this year, so I ask your forgiveness in advance if I go on about it too much. It also turned out that 1979 was also a major transitional year for my favourite band from the 70s, Jefferson Starship. When I saw that the "Gold" album had been released in the February of that year, I just thought it was a typical greatest hits release from their albums from 1974-78 and didn't realise what was going on behind the scenes. It would be a long time later before I learned that Grace Slick had said "I don't want to play with you guys ever again," after a bust up in Germany. She would also have to go to rehab for her problems with the bottle. Also, Marty Balin would also leave the band to persue a solo career. Therefore, "Gold" would mark a major change in the flight plan of the Starship.

First, let me be the first one to declare that I should be lined up against a wall and shot for not including the "Red Octopus" album in my "Great Rock Albums of the 70s" chapter in my tour. This was a great album that hit number one in the charts and unprecedented four times! And don't be fooled by the three singles from the album that appear on here, althought I do really like "Fast Buck Freddie." There are some other hidden rocking gems on this album so, it's no wonder this album was so popular.
Anyway, back to "Gold." Needless to say, it's a greatest hits album so the songs that appear on here will have had some form of commercial success and be familiar to most people, that's a given. However, this album had a little surprise for me the first time I listened to it. I had never heard the album "Dragon Fly" so when the song "Ride the Tiger" came blasting out of my speakers, I was totally amazed. This was a true hard rocking song that showcases the talents of Craig Chaquico with the ever competent Paul Kantner backing him up on rhythm guitar. As a result, "Ride the Tiger" went instantly to number one in my favourite Starship song list at that  time and continues to be up there in the top five of all time. In addition, the album featured a new single, "Light the Sky on Fire," which also went of the grain of the more mellower songs from this time period and left me impressed by the musicianship.

Track Listing

1. Ride the Tiger

2. Caroline

3. Play on Love

4. Miracles

5. Fast Buck Freddie

6. With Your Love

7. St Charles

8. Count On Me

9. Love Too Good

10. Runaway

Bonus tracks

Light The Sky On Fire

Hyperdrive

Jefferson Starship

Grace Slick- vocals, piano

Marty Balin- vocals

Paul Kantner- rhythm guitar, vocals

Craig Chaquico- lead guitar, backing vocals

Pete Sears- bass, keyboards

David Freiberg- bass, keyboards, backing vocals

John Barbata- drums, backing vocals

Papa John Creach- violin

"Gold" marked an end of an era for Jefferson Starship. It put the final nail in the coffin that laid to rest the band's reputation for mellow out love songs. After "Gold," their sound would change forever and be the source of much debate that carries on to this day. As for the new sound, well you will have to stick around as I'm not going to tell about that til much further down the line.

Next post: Frank Zappa- Sheik Yourb0uti

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

Great Rock Albums of 1979: Blondie- Parallel Lines

Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson were the first rock ladies to tingle my teenage hormones and Deborah Harry from Blondie was definitely the second. I still have nice memories of when I first saw her on the old Midnight Special show in the mini skirt and green tights. The band played their most popular hit, "Heart of Glass" and while I class the song as one that's not bad, it wasn't the song that I was thinking about.
Musically, while most people will say that "Heart of Glass" was their best song, it wasn't the song that attracted me to them in that way. That honour belongs to another single from the album, "One Way or Another." For me, that song proved to me that Blondie could rock. Furthermore, there are song other cool rock type songs like "11:59" and "Will Anything Happen." The rest of the album contains some good to passable rock tunes which makes this it all around, a pretty good album.

Track Listing:

1. Hanging on the Telephone

2. One Way or Another

3. Picture This

4. Fade Away, Radiate

5. Pretty Baby

6. I Know But I Don't Know

7. 11:59

8. Will Anything Happen

9. Sunday Girl

10. Heart of Glass

11. I'm Gonna Love You Too

12. Just Go Away

Blondie

Deborah Harry- vocals

Frank Infante- guitars

Chris Stein- guitar, 12 string guitar and ebow

Jimmy Destri- keyboards

Nigel Harrison- bass

Clem Burke- drums

I admit, it was the fabulous look of Deborah Harry which first got me into Blondie and I know I wasn't the only teenage boy guilty of this. But beyond the sex, there is some really good music from "Parallel Lines" and it is easy to see why it went so high in the album charts and why it's considered Blondie's most popular album. So, here's a photo of Deborah Harry so those who aren't old enough to remember her in her prime can see what the fuss was all about.

Next post: Jefferson Starship- Gold

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

Great Rock Albums of 1979: The Blues Brothers- A Briefcase Full of Blues

This album taught me a valuable lesson: Never judge an album until you've heard it all the way through. I first saw the Blues Brothers on the old Saturday Night Live show and seeing that the band was fronted by Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi, I expected it to be some kind of satirical take on music. After all, Gilda Radner introduced us to punk rock star Candy Slice on the show. As a result, I was somewhat disappointed at first when the music didn't have me rolling on the floor with laughter.

That changed one night in early 1979. I was at the roller rink, skating hard in an attempt to ignore all the disco being played when "Soul Man" came blasting out of the speakers. My first thought was, "This song is good" and then I recognised the voice of John Belushi as Jake Blues. The song immediately went to number one in my mind and a week later, I got to hear the album "Briefcase Full of Blues" in it's entirety. I was hooked!
The other thing that made me a bit wary of this album was that it was a blues album. I remember John Belushi saying in an interview that he had been getting tired of rock and roll and that was why he turned to the blues. Back then, I was way too naive to realise that rock music came out of the blues.  This album taught me different and I'm forever grateful for it. "Briefcase Full of Blues" is a bonefide classic album with some great tracks other than "Soul Man." "Rubber Biscuit," Messin' With the Kid" and "Hey Bartender" all do it for me. What helps make this album so good is the fact that Ackroyd and Belushi were able to round up some of the best studio musicians that were around at the time, including Paul Schaffer, who most people know from the David Letterman Show.

Track Listing:

1. Opening: I Can't Turn You Loose

2. Hey Bartender

3. Messin' With the Kid

4. (I Got Everything I Need) Almost

5. Rubber Biscuit

6. Shot Gun

7. Groove Me

8. I Don't Know

9. Soul Man

10. B- Movie Boxcar Blues

11. Flip Flop and Fly

12. Closing: I Can't Turn You Loose

Jake Blues (John Belushi)- lead vocals

Elwood Blues(Dan Ackroyd)- backing vocals, lead vocals on "Rubber Biscuit," harmonica

Matt "Guitar" Murphy- lead guitar

Steve "The Colonel" Cr0pper- lead guitar

Donald "Duck" Dunn- bass

Paul "The Shiv" Schaffer- keyboards

Steve "Getdwa" Jordan- drums

Lou "Blue Lou" Marini- alto and tenor saxophones

Tom "Triple Scale" Scott- alto and tenor saxophones

Tom "Bones" Malone- tenor and baritone saxophones, trombone, trumpet

Alan "Mr Fabulous" Rubin- Trumpet

This album opened my eyes to the wonderful world of the blues and forced me to appreciate its influence on rock. It also showed me that even people who have a reputation for being funny, can be serious singers too. A great album that helped me to see there are more types of good music out on the horizon.

Next post: Blondie- Parallel Lines

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

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle