Great Rock Albums of 1981: Styx- Paradise Theatre

REO Speedwagon's "Hi Infidelity" might have been the first album I encountered when I returned to the States in 1981 but "Paradise Theatre" from Styx was the first album I encountered when I got home on leave. After being slightly disappointed with their more progressive "Cornerstone" album, I was more optimistic that, with this album, they would return more to the harder sounds of "The Grand Illusion" and "Pieces of Eight." My optimism became well placed when I heard the first single offered up to radio from the album, "The Best of Times." The start took me back to the days of "Come Sail Away" and like those days, the song has that traditional Styx guitar solo compliments of Tommy Shaw. Then came the second single, "Too Much Time On My Hands." That song reminded of the very popular "Renegade" from the "Pieces of Eight." Those songs were more than enough for me to check out the rest of the album.

What I find interesting on the "Paradise Theatre" album is that Styx try to go back to their roots while at the same time, also try to branch out into different directions. First there are the more traditional Styx tracks like the two already mentioned plus the very memorable "Snowblind," "Rockin' In Paradise" and "Halfpenny, Two-Penny," all cool rockers. Then there are the other songs which they incorporate saxophone solos from Steve Eisen. It's easy to think "What the hell are they doing here?" especially from those in the "No horns in hard rock or metal" brigade, but in each and every song, those sax solos work. Most notable is the track, "Nothing Ever Goes as Planned." That song works well on so many levels. All of that aside, I think the main element that convinces me that they are going back to their roots with this album is that Tommy Shaw and James Young work their magic on each and every song save for the short opener and closer. They definitely demonstrate they still know how to bend a six string and as it did then, it makes it for me now.

Track Listing:

1. AD 1928

2. Rockin' in Paradise

3. Too Much Time On My Hands

4. Nothing Ever Goes As Planned

5. The Best of Times

6. Lonely People

7. She Cares

8. Snowblind

9. Halfpenny, Two-Penny

10. AD 1958

11. State Street Sadie

Styx

Dennis DeYoung- keyboards, vocals

Chuck Panozzo- bass

John Panozzo- drums

Tommy Shaw- guitars, vocals

James Young- guitars, vocals

After six months away from home while serving your country, two weeks of leave is something that is definitely needed to regain one's sanity. I managed to do that and this album from the dependable Styx was certainly a great help. Some say that this album was a sort of last hurrah for them. I don't know about that nor do I care, I just love the album.

Next post: Joan Armatrading- Me, Myself and I

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Great Rock Albums of 1981: REO Speedwagon- High Infidelity

Late February in 1981, I have just returned to the US after being in the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean for six months. Desperately recovering from a six month diet of powdered eggs and milk, I go into the café at the PX. Being away from the American music scene for so long, I have a look at the juke box and I spy a new song from REO Speedwagon called "Keep On Loving You." Naturally, I have to listen to it so I put my quarter in and wait. My thoughts upon hearing it was sure, it's a power ballad but after "Time For Me to Fly," I came to the conclusion that they did those well anyway. I thought the same with the song I was listening to at that moment, especially when Gary Richrath delivers with a killer guitar solo as he normally does. My ending thought was that a new album from REO Speedwagon was definitely a great thing to come back to when I returned home.

In order to appreciate this album, I had to take myself back to the same mindset I was in during 1981. I thought this was a great rocker of an album back then and listening to it again after so many years with that frame of mind reminded me so. The problem was is that when I first tried to remember the album, the power ballads came to mind first as did the two more pop sound tracks, "In Your Letter" and "Out of Season." However, even those songs aren't as poppy as I made myself believe, especially the latter where Neil Doughty shows he can dominate a keyboard. He does the same with the opener "Don't Let Him Go" even though the song is a good album opening rocker. I also forgot what a great little rocker "Follow My Heart" was but two songs still stick out for me because some of the shit I went through in that year. The lyrics from "Take It On the Run" could have been written especially for me back then but still, the song is probably my favourite on the album. As he does with most of the songs, Richrath rocks it. The result of the last song made the next one on the album totally appropriate. I don't want to bore you with details of my personal life, but if there had been a He Man Woman Haters Club, I would have joined it, nuff said on that. The songs after that one are all good rockers and the band shows a bit of versatility by letting Bruce Hall sing lead on "Someone Tonight." The closer "I Wish You Were There" is another power ballad but it is takes the album out on the right note. It was no wonder, this album got played to death in my car stereo back in 1981.

Track Listing:

1. Don't Let Him Go

2. Keep On Loving You

3. Follow My Heart

4. In Your Letter

5. Take It On the Run

6. Tough Guys

7. Out of Season

8. Shakin' It Loose

9. Someone Tonight

10. I Wish You Were There

REO Speedwagon

Kevin Cronin- lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano

Gary Richrath- lead guitar, 12 string guitar, backing vocals

Neil Doughty- piano, synthesisers, keyboards

Bruce Hall- bass, lead vocal on "Someone Tonight"

Alan Gratzer- drums, backing vocals

This album would be a major turning point in some respects for REO Speedwagon. While "Hi Infidelity" is a rocking album, the fact that they would have a ballad type single in the Billboard Top Ten would prove to be their ultimate downfall. So you could say it was here where they would go from being good to being popular and they weren't the only band this would happen to in 1981. Saying that, if you can forget all that history and just have a listen to the album, you will see why everyone I know was screaming about so much back in that year.

Next post: Styx- Paradise Theatre

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Great Rock Albums of 19891: Fleetwood Mac- Live

Fleetwood Mac has always been one of those intriguing, controversial bands who put out some great albums in the 1970s and 80s. Most everyone knows of their best known "Rumours" album and a good many can say the same for the follow up "Tusk" album. Both are great albums and probably one of the reasons they put out a live album on the wake of the previous two. Much of the material from the mentioned studio albums is to be found on "Live" and for good reason. Those albums gave us so many great classic songs. For me, however, and this will be an ongoing theme for me throughout the tour of 1981, it had some personal meaning in my own life at the time. One of my comrades in arms bought this album at the PX in Rota, Spain just before we sailed back to the USA. It got played a lot on the voyage home and it was this album that made the trip home a lot easier.

Fleetwood Mac "Live" not only had great musical  memories, it also gave me one small regret and hearing again after so many years brought it back. That regret is the fact that I never saw them live. Listening to this album, I can safely say that it would have been totally awesome to see Fleetwood Mac in concert. Not just the great songs on it, but the energy they put behind each of the songs they play.  I have always said the Lindsey Buckingham does not get the respect he deserves as a guitarist, his efforts on the live album are proof of that. I mean, the man can play. Of course, the rest of the band are all very good on the album.

While, the album is heavy laden with songs from "Rumours" and "Tusk," there are some classic gems from Fleetwood Mac's past that pop up on the album too. I absolutely love the live version of "Rhiannon" and "Landslide" is nicely done as well. Then there is the live version of my all time favourite Mac song, "Go Your Own Way." If there is a heavy metal cover of this song anywhere, someone please let me know because I would love to hear it. This song would sound fantastic if it was metallised. Saying that, if I have to pick out one personal disappointment about "Live," it's the absence of "The Chain" on it. I would have loved to have heard John McVie play my all time favourite bass line live. By way, I have heard Shark Island's cover of said song and it is done well.

Track Listing:

1. Monday Morning

2. Say You Love Me

3. Dreams

4. Oh Well

5. Over and Over

6. Not That Funny

7. Sarah

8. Never Going Back Again

9. Landslide

10. Fireflies

11. Over My Head

12. Rhiannon

13. Don't Let Me Down Again

14. One More Night

15. Go Your Own Way

16. Don't Stop

17. I'm So Afraid

18. The Farmer's Daughter

Fleetwood Mac

Lindsey Buckingham- guitars, vocals

Stevie Nicks- vocals

Christine McVie- keyboards, vocals

John McVie- bass

Mick Fleetwood- drums, percussion

My fellow music blogger Every Record Tells a Story recently posted his view of the top ten double live albums. This album wasn't mentioned. I'm not saying that it should be in the top ten of any double live album list, especially against the albums ERTaS lists. However, this album is worth a definite mention as a great double live album. For me, it will forever be the closest I ever get to seeing Fleetwood Mac live.

Next post: REO Speedwagon- Hi Infidelity

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Great Rock Albums of 1981: The Police- Zenyatta Mondatta

This classic album from The Police first came to my attention when my ship had pulled into Rota, Spain for the final stop before sailing across the ocean and home. I didn't clock it at first when I went in the PX although it was there, I heard about it when the ship got a two month out of date tape of old Casey Kasem who presented the US chart show back then. On that episode, he showed the video to the album's first single "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and I must say that I liked it. Although I have to say that a friend of mine liked it more because he used to sing it a lot, even one night when after a bit too much to drink, tried to dance while singing and ended up on his bum. God, the things that trigger memories.

Casey Kasem, anyone remember him?

With "Zenyatta Mondatta," The Police once again prove that the rock/reggae fusion works well. The fusion is very plentiful throughout the entire album, the only possible exception being the penultimate song "Shadows in the Rain" which sounds rather spacey to me. Still even that's not a bad song. What I find more interesting and I didn't really notice it when I first heard the album all those years ago is that Andy Summers does bend the six string a little bit on a couple of songs. The most noticeable is the third track "When the World is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" and it leaves me to wonder what Andy would have actually sounded like if he had been given more autonomy on the guitar. Still, he does play well as does Stewart Copeland on the drums. Back on the subject of the album, I found the track "Canary in a Coal Mine rather good too and of course there is the other big single, the one I used to call "The baby talk song:" "De Do Do Do De Da Da Da." There are also a couple of good instrumentals on it which, shoots down the myth believed by younger Police fans who never heard them until their last album that they were all about Sting. What rubbish!

Track Listing:

1. Don't Stand So Close to Me

2. Driven to Tears

3. When the World is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around

4. Canary in a Coal Mine

5. Voices Inside My Head

6. Bombs Away

7. De Do Do Do De Da Da Da

8. Behind My Camel

9. Man in a Suitcase

10. Shadows in the Rain

11. The Other Way of Stopping

The Police Sting- lead vocals, bass, synthesiser Andy Summers- guitar, guitar synthesiser Stewart Copeland- drums, percussion, synthesiser "Zenyatta Mondatta" is a good steady rock album with songs that are consistent throughout. Like other musical trios whose albums I've visited here, it shows plainly that three can sometimes be enough.

Next post: Fleetwood Mac- Live To buy Rock and Roll Children, go to
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