Great Rock Albums of 1979: Molly Hatchet- Flirtin' With Disaster





1979 brought a new genre of rock into the limelight, Southern Rock. The roots of this country boogie style meets heavy rock go back to the early seventies with the band many officianadoes credit as the creators of southern rock, The Allman Brothers.

Allman Brothers

Their blues based southern sound was unique at the time and would be a mainstay throughout the seventies. The cause of southern rock was further pioneered later in the decade by the great Lynyrd Skynyrd who brought a more harder edge to it. For a teenager like me who lived in the North, Skynyrd was one band from the South you could listen to and not only rock out, you wouldn't be looked upon as some kind of redneck, although a lot of young rockers who were labelled such were into them too.

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Okay, enough of the history lesson, (I'm sorry, it's the teacher in me again) on to 1979 and this fantastic album from Molly Hatchet. It was this album that thrust them into the light and make the entire rock world at the time stand up and take notice of them. They had a much harder sound than even Skynyrd and even the more slower songs like "Long Time" have a rockier edge that make you want to stand up and go "Yeah!" with a raised fist and a can of Budweiser in the other hand. When you listen to "Flirtin With Disaster" you are in no doubt that you are listening to a true hard rock album.
For me, the album was the thrash metal of 1979. Yes I know it doesn't come anywhere near thrash but with the exception of maybe Van Halen, AC/DC or Ted Nugent, there was nothing heavier. I can say that "Flirtin With Disaster" completely sealed my cross over into hard rock and metal forever. When I heard this album, there was no going back.
The great thing about it is that although it's a classic hard rock album, many of the songs still contain that southern boogie vibe originally began by The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Take the song "Jukin City" as an example. Hard guitars start the song and set a rhythm that is so catchy, it stays in your head long after you have head banged your way through its entirety. The same can be said about the other songs on the album and especially the title track. In each and every one you are greeted by some hard but strangely melodic guitar sound that makes you just want to rock out! That said, there is not enough credit given to the guitar combination of Roland, Hlubeck and Holland. Sure other bands have three guitarists, but none that work so well together as the forementioned three. I practically love every guitar solo on the album.

Track Listing:

1. Whiskey Man

2. It's All Over Now

3. One Man' s Pleasure

4. Jukin City

5. Boogie No More

6. Flirtin With Disaster

7. Good Rockin

8. Gunsmoke

9. Long Time

10. Let the Good Times Roll

Molly Hatchet

Danny Joe Brown- vocals

Bruce Crump- drums

Dave Hlubeck- guitar

Steve Holland- guitar

Duane Roland- guitar

Banner Thomas- bass

I sincerely believe that if Molly Hatchet had never been around (yes that would have been tragic) I am convinced that some heavy metal band in the 80s would have taken the name. The name alone indicates a heavy rock or metal band and was reason why I had to listen to the album. Furthermore, back in 79, the Frank Franzetta paintings which adorned the covers of this and other Hatchet albums inspired many bands long after in their album cover choices. So, why Molly Hatchet deserves all the credit for getting Southern Rock noticed by the masses, it should also be given the credit for its influence on the 80s metal scene after. This album is without a doubt their best one and one of my favourites of all time.

Next post: Bad Teacher

To buy Rock And Roll Chilren, 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 Knack- Get the Knack

I mentioned when I introduced 1979, that for three months of that life changing year, I was in a place where I was starved musically, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina or to quote the film "Full Metal Jacket," home for the crazy brave. When I left that lovely place as a US Marine, I came home on leave and found that the song of the day was "My Sharona" by The Knack. When I listened to it, I thought it was a lot better than all the disco that was around before I went to boot camp and so I bought the 45. A friend played the entire album for me not long after and I must say that I was impressed.
"My Sharona" is by far the best song on the album and Berton Averre's guitar solo on the song is very good indeed. It has always baffled me why he isn't given more space to showcase his talents on other tracks on the album. That is not to say that the other tracks aren't good, I especially like the second single "Good Girls Don't" although I much prefer the lyrical version of the song not meant for radio and "Frustrated" is too a good song just because Averre plays a guitar solo on that one too.
"Get the Knack" was one of the fastest selling debut albums since the debut from The Beatles in 1964. Many began comparing them to the legends from Liverpool and I think that was the big mistake. Okay, there were similarities, but I never thought The Knack were that good. Most of their songs were short sharp rockers that you got into then got out of. It was as simple as that.

Track Listing:

1. Let Me Out

2. Your Number or Your Name

3. Let Me Out

4. (She's So) Selfish

5. Maybe Tonight

6. Good Girls Don't

7. My Sharona

8.Heartbeat

9. Siamese Twims (The Monkey and Me)

10. Lucinda

11. That's What Little Girls Do

12. Frustrated

The Knack

Doug Fieger- rhythm guitar, vocals

Berton Averre- lead guitar

Doug Gary- drums

Prescott Niles- bass

In past posts, I have spoken about the Sophmore jinx and I will be mentioning that again when I visit The Knack's next album. For debut albums, "Get the Knack" is one of the best. It's a fun album that rides well on the back of a classic single and if there's one good thing that can be said about it, it did knock disco off the charts.

Next post: Molly Hatchet- Flirtin' With Disaster

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

Also available Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyels book shop in London

Great Rock Albums of 1979: The Eagles- The Long Run



"The Long Run" was the long awaited follow up to The Eagles' great 1976 album "Hotel California." That previous album began to take them away from their easy listening sound to more of a harder rock sound and "The Long Run" continued along in that direction. My first taste of this classic album was when I was on leave after just finishing boot camp and the song "Heartache Tonight" came on my AM car radio. I was very impressed by the harder sound of the guitars and even more impressed by the guitar solos in it. Side tracking for a moment, I will say that Joe Walsh and Don Felder never receieved the respect due them as guitarists, even after their solo tradeoff in the song "Hotel California." Anyway, tracks like the last one mentioned as well as "In The City" which Joe Walsh brought over from "The Warriors" soundtrack, "Disco Strangler" and "Teenage Jail" are just some of the harder rock songs that help make this album so great.
Saying that, "The Long Run" doesn't totally take them from their roots of the easy listening countrified sound. There are a couple of tracks that remind us where they came from. Such songs as "The Sad Cafe" and "I Can't Tell You Why" bear testimony to that fact and to me, the title track of the album serves as the bridge between the soft and the hard. Add all of these things together and you get a fantastic album that has continued to remain so over three decades.

Track Listing:

1. The Long Run

2. I Cant Tell You Why

3. In the City

4. The Disco Strangler

5. King of Hollywood

6. Heartache Tonight

7. Those Shoes

8. Teenage Jail

9. The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks

10. The Sad Cafe

The Eagles

Glen Frey- electric guitar, keyboards, synthesiser, vocals

Don Henley- drums, percussion, vocals

Don Felder- electric, accoustic and slide guitars, organ, vocals

Joe Walsh- electric and slide guitars, keyboards, vocals

Timothy B Schmit- bass, vocals ]

"The Long Run" was the first album not to feature founding member Randy Meisner on bass who was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit. I have also noticed that when I posted the tracks, I don't remember them being in that order in my cassette. I guess it's a trip back up the loft to see for myself or maybe I should just get a CD. Still, this is a brilliant album and the first new album I listened to as a marine.

This would be the last Eagles studio album before their break up in 1980. I have always put that down to so many talented musicians each wanting to go a separate way. The evidence is the solo albums each one of them recorded afterwards that I will be visiting down the line.

Next post: The Knack- Get The Knack

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