Great Rock Albums of 1980: Bob Seger- Against the Wind

For those who read my posting for Bob Seger's 1978 album "Stranger In Town," I apologise in advance for repeating myself but the fact remains, Bob Seger is the forgotten hero of 70's rock. With The Silver Bullet Band, he had a string of hits and great albums throughout the decade that live on today. Classics like "Night Moves," "Rock and Roll Never Forgets," "Hollywood Nights," "Old Time Rock And Roll" and my personal favourite, "Main Street" continue to give old men like me classic musical memories. Therefore, when his 1980 album "Against The Wind" was released, everyone was certain that he would continue his musical domination into the next decade.

Back in 1980, this was the album that knocked the iconic Pink Floyd album "The Wall" off the number one spot. I can see why this album is considered one of his best. It doesn't just rest on the laurels of Bob Seger's previous achievements but is an improvement on it, especially with the quality of the musicianship on the album. I can safely say that I think The Silver Bullet Band was at their very best when recording the album. The title track, which was a top ten hit, is a prime example. I love the musical interlude in the middle of the song where the piano and the guitar trade off each other. Then there is the ballad "No Man's Land," where my best memory of the song was when it was played at the heavy metal club I used to frequent in London in dedication to a fellow metalhead who had tragically passed away. From the more AOR "You'll Accompany Me" to the more vociferous "Her Strut," this album demonstrates why it knocked Floyd off the top spot and stayed there for six weeks.

Track Listing:

1. The Horizontal Bop

2. You'll Accompany Me

3. Her Strut

4. No Man's Land

5. Long Twin Silver Line

6. Against The Wind

7. Good For Me

8. Betty Lou's Getting Out Tonight

9. Fire Lake

10. Shinin' Brightly

Bob Seger

The Silver Bullet Band- tracks 1-3, 6 & 8

Bob Seger- vocals, guitar

Drew Abbot- guitar

Alto Reed- horn, saxophone

Chris Campbell- bass

David Teegarden- drums, percussion

The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section- tracks 4,5,7, 9 & 10

Barry Beckett- piano, keyboards

Randy McCormick- organ, keyboards

Pete Carr- guitar

Jimmy Johnson- guitar, horn

David Wood- bass

Roger Hawkins- drum, percussion

I once saw a band called The Queer Boys in London who I thought sounded like a combination of The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and Bob Seger. Now this would lead me to conclude that the music of Bob Seger had an indirect impact on heavy metal. Maybe it did, but what I do know is that he put out some great music and the album "Against The Wind" is arguably his best.

Next post: 38 Special- Rocking Into the Night

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Great Rock Albums of 1980: Grace Slick- Dreams

The release of "Freedom At Point Zero" proved to the world that for Jefferson Starship, there was life after Grace Slick. So, the question asked back then was "Is there life after Jefferson Starship for Grace Slick?" At first, the answer to that question looked negative as she battled with the booze in 1978 and 79. Fortunately, she overcame that battle and in 1980, released the album "Dreams," which proved to me that Grace Slick could survive without the Starship.

In making "Dreams," it has been said that Grace wanted to be as far removed from her links with Jefferson Starship as possible. For one, she recorded the album in New York and only used East Coast musicians in order to sever her links with the West Coast, from where she came from. Furthermore, none of the then current or previous members of Jefferson Starship appear on the album. Therefore, it was evident that she wanted a totally clean break and with "Dreams," I can say that it definitely worked for her, even if the charts didn't agree.

Recently, I came across a Grace Slick Greatest Hits compilation and was bewildered that there were no songs from "Dreams" on it. This is one hell of a fine album and shows that Grace's voice is suited to many genres. First, there's the title track which gives the album a very theatrical introduction and sets a welcome feel to the rest of it. Next, there's the Spanish influence in the track "El Diablo" that has some rather impressive acoustic guitar on it. "Face to the Wind" is the first song leaning towards harder rock and has an impressive guitar solo and that leads to my favourite track on the album, "Angel of the Night." This song is a total rock and I particularly love the lead guitar in the intro. I can still envision a heavy metal band covering this song, it would be ace. "Seasons," while not a brilliant song, amuses me and should I ever return to full time teaching, would not hesitate to use it in a school assembly. The remaining tracks are more of a psychedelic/progressive sound that keep the album going. "Do It the Hard Way" and "Let It Go" definitely stand out. So, my question is: "How come this album has been ignored?"

Track Listing:

1. Dreams

2. El Diablo

3. Face To The Wind

4. Angel Of The Night

5. Seasons

6. Do It The Hard Way

7. Full Moon Man

8. Let It Go

9. Garden Of Man

Grace Slick

Note: Many musicians were used in different songs on the album, I will only name the main contributors.

Grace Slick- vocals, piano

Scott Zito- lead and acoustic guitars

Sol Ditroia- rhythm guitar

George Wadinius- guitars

Neil Jason- bass

Alan Schwartzberg- drums

Jim Malin- percussion

Frank Owens/Joe D'Elia- piano

Geoff Farr/Edward Walsh- synthesisers

This was the album that brought Grace back into the rock world and proved that she could make it on her own. Even if she did return to Jefferson Starship a year later. If you're feeling nostalgic for great albums that haven't been considered classic, then go and have a listen to "Dreams." I'm sure afterwards, you might feel the same way I do about it.

Next post: Bob Seager- Against the Wind

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Great Rock Albums of 1980: Linda Ronstadt- Mad Love

Throughout the entire decade of the 1970s, Linda Ronstadt produced a string of hits, most of which I liked. Her countryfied sound had a rock feel to it made her well known to many listeners, me included. I really enjoyed her sound and as a teenage male, liked the look of her as well and unlike some of my peers, I didn't give a shit to the fact that she never wrote any of her songs. I still listen to great singles such as "You're No Good," "When Will I Be Loved," "It's So Easy" and "Poor Poor Pitiful Me." These were the songs that mad her a household name in the seventies.

I wasn't surprised that when she brought out "Mad Love" in 1980, she, like Billy Joel with "Glass Houses," decided to go for a more harder rock sound. The first song to reach my attention was "How Do I Make You" which let everyone know that Linda Ronstadt wanted to rock. She really propels herself into the vocals with this song backed up by a pretty decent guitar solo. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that if you took out the piano and added a harder guitar, a thrash band could easily do a cover of this song and it would sound pretty good. If one song wasn't enough to convince people of her willingness to rock, the track "I Can't Let Go" goes further to back up the statement. I love the guitars mixed in with her repeating backing vocals. The rest of the album is also full of some hard rocking, at least for her, tunes and even the more progressive sounding "Girls Talk" and the ballad "Hurt So Bad" does nothing to lessen the album's sound.

Track Listing:

1. Mad Love

2. Party Girls

3. How Do I Make You

4. I Can't Let Go

5. Hurt So Bad

6. Look Out For My Love

7. Cost of Love

8. Justine

9. Girls Talk

10. Talking in the Dark

Linda Ronstadt

Linda Ronstadt- vocals

Doug Dugmore- electric guitars

Waddy Watchel- guitar, backing vocals

Mark Goldenberg- electric guitars, backing vocals

Bob Glaub- bass

Russell Kunkel- drums

Bill Payne- keyboards

Danny Kortchmar- electric guitars

Mike Auldridge- dobro

Peter Bernstein- accoustic guitars

Peter Asher, Steve Foreman- percussion

Michael Boddicker- synthesiser

Rosemary Butler, Kenny Evans, Nicolette Larson, Andrew Gold- backing vocals

 It has been said that in the early 80s, rock ruled the world. I don't know if I agree with this but there was a move by some artists in 1980 to a more harder rock sound. I always believed that Linda Ronstadt always had the ability to do this and the album "Mad Love" is offered in evidence to the fact.

Next post: Grace Slick- Dreams

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Great Rock Albums of 1980: The Clash- London Calling

The Clash were born out of the wave of punk rock that came out of the UK in the late 1970s. To my regret, I have never listened to their first two albums, I know, shame on me, but their third album "London Calling" definitely got my attention. I first saw them on a late night music television show called "Rock World" where the announcer described them as loud and angry. I think he used one other adjective but I can't remember what it was. Those labels were enough to engage my interest and hearing the title track and hit single, convinced me that they were for real. 

Apparently, "London Calling" isn't as loud or angry as the first two Clash albums. I agree that in some of the songs, there are hints of other forms of music like ska and reggae. But now as it was then, this album was definite punk in my eyes. There are so many examples I could chose from but the ones that stick out for me are "Revolution Rock," "Spanish Bombs," "The Four Horsemen" and "Lover's Rock." However, I won't take anything away from any of the other tracks because in my humble opinion, there is not a weak track on the album. 

Track  Listing:

1. London Calling

2. Brand New Cadillac

3. Jimmy Jazz

4. Hateful

5. Rudie Can't Fail

6. Spanish Bombs

7. The Right Profile

8. Lost in the Supermarket

9. Clampdown

10. The Guns of Brixton

11. Wrong'em Boyo

12. Death or Glory

13. Koka Kola

14. The Card Cheat

15. Lover's Rock

16. The Four Horsemen

17. I'm Not Down

18. Revolution Rock

19. Train in Vain

The Clash

Joe Strummer- rhythm guitar, vocals, piano

Mick Jones- lead guitar, vocals, piano, harnmonica

Paul Simonon- bass, vocals

Topper Headon- drums, percussion

Punk made the cross Atlantic voyage from Britain to America sometime in the early 80s. One of the vessels that carried across the ocean was The Clash and this album. It certainly got me listening and I know I wasn't the only one. 

Next post: Linda Ronstadt- Mad Love

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