Great Rock Albums of 1981: Moody Blues- Long Distance Voyager

Now onto the next album of 1981 and another story from my past. This won't be a military story although I was serving then. This was a case of "It always happened when I was there" type of thing." It's like the case when I visited the Styx "Cornerstone" album where every time I went through the back gate of the base, the bar across the road always had "Babe" blasting out of its juke box. In this scenario, every time I was on leave or a weekend, 72 hour or 96 hour pass, I would meet my friends at a bar called Bob and Dan's. It's not there anymore but it did serve some really tasty fried mushrooms. It seems that for a good chunk of the year, every time I was in there, it would play "Gemini Dream" by the Moody Blues. It was one of those songs that rapidly grew on me and it provided a good back ground atmosphere inside the bar.

Saying that, the entire 1981 Moody Blues album "Long Distance Voyager" provides a good listening atmosphere whether you're sitting in a bar, driving or just chilling at home. The album straddles the gap between 1970s concept progressive rock and the more sythnesiser sound more in line with the 80s. I hear both of these in the album. The two singles, "Talking Out of Turn" and the one from Bob and Dan's deliver the more 80s sound while "In My World" is the more 70s. The combinations work throughout the album very well giving us an good solid progressive album and I do like the closer, "Veteran Cosmic Rocker."
Track Listing:
1. The Voice
2. Talking Out of Turn
3.  Gemini Dream
4. In My World
5. Meanwhile
6. 22,000 Days
7. Nervous
8. Painted Smile
9. Reflective Smile
10. Veteran Cosmic Rocker

[caption id="attachment_2115" align="aligncenter" width="242"] The Moody Blues[/caption]

Justin Hayward- guitars, vocals
John Lodge- bass, vocals
Ray Thomas- vocals, flutes, harmonicas
Graeme Edge- drums
Patrick Moraz- keyboards

I have the CD to Justin Hayward's "War of the Worlds" so it's good to see that he is still on the go  and making enjoyable music. He has been doing so for many years now both with the Moody Blues and solo. "Long Distance Voyager" adds another note to his credit.

Next post: Greg Kihn Band- Rockhinroll

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Great Rock Albums of 1981: Rory Gallagher- Stage Struck

I must confess that I'm cheating a little bit here. I never heard of Rory Gallagher until 1982 when the ship I was on played a concert video of him live at Montreux. Even then, the video didn't name the brilliant guitarist who was kicking so much ass in the video. It was another four months before I finally learned his name. Because I saw the video so early in that year, I naturally assumed that the concert took place in 1981 and it was in support of an album he released in the year. However, I learned that "Stage Struck" was actually released in the tail end of 1980. Therefore, to quote from "Full Metal Jacket:" "That's why God passed the law of probability." I can infer that because I was still serving on a ship at the time, I wouldn't have known about this album until early 1981 and that is why I am including it in this year.

I can't say that any of the songs from this album were recorded from the concert I watched. There is a "Live At Montreux" that was released in the later years but that's irrelevant here. Because "Stage Struck" is a brilliant live album that showcases the music and talent of this wonder. The majority of the songs on it are from his last two studio albums, "Top Priority" (I'm kicking myself for not visiting that one in 1979) and "Photo Finish," which I did. It's no wonder this album is so good.

He opens the show with a song that if he was still alive and could play at my dream festival, it would be in his contract that he opens his set with "Shin Kicker." It is also the opener for the "Photo Finish" album and there is no better song in which to open a concert or show. It's one of those that grabs you by the balls and makes you give it your undivided attention. Nor do you get time to rest before the second one, "Wayward Child" takes over and you're rocking away to it. Right after that, there is probably my all time favourite Rory Gallagher song, "Brute Force and Ignorance." A great blues/rock gem that features some great guitar work. But the guitar display doesn't end there. The next three tracks are all big blues rockers with him soloing away to the point that you are left feeling breathless. The last two songs, "Last of the Independents" and "Shadow Play" are great songs from the "Photo Finish" album that take the album to the climax. I can't say conclusion because if I was at the concert and it ended here, I would have my lit cigarette lighter and held it aloft screaming for more.

Track Listing:

1. Shin Kicker

2. Wayward Child

3. Brute Force and Ignorance

4. Moonchild

5. Follow Me

6. Bought and Sold

7. Last of the Independents

8. Shadow Play

          Rory Gallagher

Rory Gallagher- vocals, guitar, harmonica

Gerry McAvoy- bass

Ted McKenna- drums

I believe that Rory Gallagher never quite got the total recognition he should have. I know many Americans who have never heard of him and that's a shame. Rory was a great guitarist and a decent singer. One concert video from more than thirty years ago, still remains strong in my memory and the albums I have posted here also bear witness to his greatness.

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Great Rock Albums of 1981: Rush- Moving Pictures

Sorry but I'm going to have to relate yet another experience from my military days to this album. Mess duty in the service involves long hours in sweaty conditions in order to feed marines who really don't want to eat the military slop and are first to complain if you do anything wrong. I was on one of the serving lines during those five weeks of mess duty in 1981 and was in a constant struggle between those who complained that we weren't giving them enough food and superiors who complained we gave them too much. No wonder I wanted to smash my head against the wall at times. Then one evening meal, the mess sergeant had the local radio station playing in the mess hall when the song "Tom Sawyer" came on.  I was hooked on it straight away and every time I heard it, I would be uplifted by the fast guitar and the drums after the guitar solo. Now, it would be untrue for me to say that "Tom Sawyer" got me through mess duty, I would have made it through anyhow. However, it did give me a massive boost and made a crap duty a little bearable.

Naturally, I went and bought the album. I was already taken by the opener to "Moving Pictures" so that was a bit of a given there. My worry back then (and I would get burned on this two years later) was that if I bought an album on account of one song and the rest of the album sucked, then I would be a little miffed at wasting my money. Needless to say, that is definitely not the case with my all time favourite Rush album. "Red Barchetta," a song about an restored antique car is also a cool song with some great guitar riffs and I've always considered the instrumental "YYZ" a great song to have on in the car while on a long trip. The music in that song just brightens the journey up throughout its duration. "Limelight" is another great one for me and I can understand why after listening to these first four songs, some people back then thought Rush was heavy metal. They should have listened more to the last three songs. Side two, (since I mainly bought cassettes back then, is more of a progressive rock sound. Still, all three of those songs, especially "Witch Hunt," are all good listeners.
Some of my favourite Rush lyrics appear on this album. Most songs have something for me.

Tom Sawyer- His mind is not for rent to any God or government

Red Barchetta- lyrics about cruising in an old car with your old uncle definitely work here.

Limelight- All the world should be a stage and we are merely players, performers and portrayers

Vital Signs- Everybody's got mixed feelings on the function and the form, everybody must deviate from the norm

Witch Hunt- The entire song made perfect sense to me a few years later when the likes of the PMRC emerged. Did they foresee their coming with this song?

Track Listing:

1. Tom Sawyer

2. Red Barchetta

3. YYZ

4. Limelight

5. The Camera Eye

6. Witch Hunt

7. Vital Signs

[caption id="attachment_860" align="aligncenter" width="128"] Rush[/caption]

Geddy Lee- vocals, bass, bass pedals, synthesisers

Alex Lifeson- all guitars, moog Taurus

Neil Peart- drums, percussion, all bells

"Moving Pictures" highlights the problem I had with people's mind set throughout the 80s. This is the tendency to put music into nice, neat little categories and because of tracks like "Tom Sawyer" and "Limelight" on this album, people believed that Rush was heavy metal. I believe it is that categorising that influenced them into a more synthed out sound later on. So, when you dust this album off to play it again, (I know some of you haven't stop listening to it and I don't blame you) do so without trying to categorise. Just enjoy it for the great album it is and appreciate what fine musicians the members of Rush are.

Next post: Rory Gallagher- Stage Struck

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Great Rock Albums of 1981: Joe Walsh- There Goes the Neighborhood

After the break up of The Eagles in 1980, Joe Walsh was the first ex-band member out of the blocks with a solo album. Of course, he was already experienced in that department having had a number of solo albums before joining and whilst with the band. Most notable of those was the 1978 album, "But Seriously Folks," which I visited on here a long time ago. It's sometimes hard to believe that I've been at this for three years now. "There Goes The Neighborhood" was his first solo release since "But Seriously Folks" and on account of rockers like the famous "Life's Been Good" on that album, it took me a rather long time before I was able to warm to this 1981 effort.

I realise now that I was guilty of pigeon holing Joe Walsh back then because there are no rockers like his very famous 1978 single on this album and that is something I don't do for many other artists and don't like it when the media and so called music fans do it. Now with my wrist slapped and a refamiliarisation of the album thanks to YouTube, I can talk about this album through a fresh pair of ears. What put me off the album in 1981 was the first single, "Life Of Illusion," which each time I heard it, gave me the impression that I was dining in an Italian restaurant. Don't ask where I got that from. I didn't have that impression this time around but it's still not the best song on the album. The tracks "Down On the Farm," "Bones" and "Rivers (Of the Hidden Funk) all top it for their more bluesy guitar sound. The last of those featured former band mate Don Felder, who co-wrote the song, on guitar and although it's not stated, I can't help wondering whether or not the two did their guitar solo trade off like they did on a very famous Eagles classic. The rest of the album varies between that blues sound and a more progressive rock sound.

Track Listing:

1. Things

2. Made Your Mind Up

3. Down On The Farm

4. Rivers (Of Hidden Funk)

5. Life Of Illusion

6. Bones

7. Rockets

8. You Never Know

[caption id="attachment_841" align="aligncenter" width="98"] Joe Walsh[/caption]

Joe Walsh- guitar, vocals, synthesiser

Don Felder- guitar, backing vocals

Jody Boyer- vocals

Victor Feldman- percussion

Ross Kunkel- percussion

David Lindley- percussion, violin, vocals

Bob Mayo- guitar

Kenny Passarelli- bass, backing vocals

George Perry- bass, backing vocals

Timothy B Schmidt- backing vocals

Tom Stephenson- keyboards

Joe Vitale- drums, flute, keyboards

Now I know why I try not to pigeon hole artist if I can help it. So, "There Goes The Neighborhood" wasn't the hard rocker that Joe Walsh's previous album was. It's still not a bad album and there are a few tracks where he still works some magic with the guitar.

Next post: Rush- Moving Pictures

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