Great Rock Albums of 1981: Devo- Dev O Live

I must admit, I was never much of a Devo fan. I saw them on "Saturday Night Live" in the late 70's and I can't really say they impressed me. Therefore, it would be easy for me to pass them by on that account, however, I can't deny that they are part of our history and the fact I wasn't impressed with them back then can't hide that fact. I remember this album because my then girl friend used to play the hell out of the single "Whip It." Not a bad song, although my favourite all time Devo song appears on a soundtrack that I will be visiting later on in our tour of 1981.

Thanks to YouTube, I was able to give the album a fresh listen. Maybe it's me mellowing with age or the fact that my musical horizons are much more broader than they were back then, but I somewhat enjoyed listening to "Dev O Live" this time around. The intro song "Freedom of Choice" was a good way to open the concert this live recording was taken from. I also liked "Girl U Want." Listening to the six song EP that was released in 1981 encouraged me to listen to some of the full album they released in 1999 on the back of this one. My ears are more in tune with their new wave sound. It's not hard rock or metal but it is far better than much of the synth stuff that would come out later in the decade. "Planet Earth" was a pretty cool song too.

Track Listing:

1. Freedom of Choice

2. Whip It

3. Girl U Want

4. Gates of Steel

5. Be Stiff

6. Planet Earth

[caption id="attachment_2133" align="aligncenter" width="274"] Devo[/caption]

Mark Mothersbaugh- guitar, keyboards, vocals

Gerald V Casale- bass, keyboards, vocals

Bob Casale- guitar, keyboards, vocals

Bob Mothersbaugh- guitar, vocals

Alan Myers- drums

In the end, I was pleasantly surprised by this album. Plus, from the footage I saw on YouTube, I think they would have been fun to see live.  My conclusion is that Devo does deserve a place in the annals of rock and metal history for 1981 and not just because of "Whip It."

Next post: Cheap Trick- All Shook Up

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 1981: The Who- Face Dances

In 1985, I remember listening to a radio programme about The Who and the concluding bit stated that the death of Keith Moon in 1979 marked the end of The Who as a band. The programme went on to admit that the band would continue to tour and that Roger Daltrey, Pete Townsend and John Entwistle would all have successful solo projects, however, The Who as a band, were gone. My reaction was then as it is now, "What about the 1981 album with Kenney Jones?" For me, "Face Dances" has always been a good album but it's Kenney Jones I feel sorry for. Because he was the replacement drummer for Moon, he didn't get the respect he deserves. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Jones has been relegated to a pub trivia question and that's not fair on him. It is the exact same thing I said about Jimmy Farrar, had been Jones made it with another band, his drumming efforts would have been more appreciated.

That said, the radio programme also stated that after Moon's death, The Who's sixties hard rock lyrics and rebelliousness as well as their seventies creativity were gone as well. Not entirely true! When I listen to "Face Dances" I hear a little bit of both of these elements in the album. While there isn't the crashing hard sound that they made famous in classics like "My Generation," the elements of hard rock are definitely there in songs like "Don't Let Go the Coat" and "Another Tricky Day" to name two. Plus, the big single from the album, "You Better, You Bet" definitely has reminds me of that creativity that radio programme praised them for over the likes of the rock opera "Tommy."  Whichever way you want to view "Face Dances" the one thing I can say about it throughout is that you know that it is definitely The Who on this album. Their trademark truly resonates on it.

Track Listing:

1. You Better, You Bet

2. Don't Let Go The Coat

3. Cache Cache

4. The Quiet One

5. Did You Steal My Money

6. How Can You Do It Alone

7. Daily Records

8. You

9. Another Tricky Day

[caption id="attachment_2127" align="aligncenter" width="160"] The Who[/caption]

Roger Daltrey- vocals

Pete Townsend- guitar, vocals

John Entwistle- bass, vocals

Kenney Jones- drums

Hopefully, I have provided sufficient evidence that the radio programme was wrong in regards to The Who being finished in 1979 because in 1981, they put out one very good album in "Face Dances." It showed the world that they were still a force to be reckoned with in the music world. Thinking of Keith Moon, his passing opened the way for the many drummers who would join him since. John Bonham would follow him a year later. I believe that Moon, Bonham, along with the likes of Cozy Powell, Levon Helm and Razzle are drumming away together in a better place.
[caption id="attachment_2128" align="aligncenter" width="200"] Keith Moon[/caption]

Next post: Devo- Dev O Live

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 1981: Greg Kihn Band- Rockihnroll

"Tom Sawyer" by Rush lifted my spirits while I was on mess duty in 1981. In the summer of that year, "The Break Up Song" by the Greg Kihn Band made air alert more bearable. For those who never served in the military, when a marine battalion is placed on air alert, that means the president at any time can order them to go where he needs them to. In 1980, President Carter ordered my battalion to Key West Florida to deal with the influx of Cuban refugees (actually it was Castro emptying his prisons.) In 1981, Regan never ordered us to go anywhere but that didn't stop the top brass from playing (sorry but I have to use the real term here so I apologise to any who might be offended) fuck fuck games with us. Things like getting us up at two in the morning and putting us on trucks to drive forty miles to the air base just for someone to say, "Good job boys." We couldn't go more than fifteen miles from the base and had to let the duty NCO know where we were at all times. Of course, because we were limited to where we could go, we went to the field a lot. So it's no wonder I needed something to raise the spirits a little and "The Break Up Song" was it.

I think what first caught my eye to the song was the guitar sound along with those famous lyrics "ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah." Although at the time, I thought each of those "ah's" started with a "b." It was another three years before I learned I was actually singing the wrong thing. Saying that, I did mentally compose my own x rated version but I won't go there. The rest of the "RocKihnRoll" album goes along the same vein. Like the big single, the great majority of the songs on the album have that catchy guitar intro that turns your head to it and makes it worth a listen. While the rock doesn't go too heavy, it's there and you definitely notice it. Even the ballad "Sheila" which starts with a keyboard, suddenly goes into a hard rock moment. I found it difficult to pick tracks other than "The Break Up Song" that stand out and that isn't a bad thing for this album. However, I would vote for "Womankind" and "Trouble in Paradise" as other songs of note. The Greg Kihn band shows that they were a good tight band here.

Track Listing:

1. Valerie

2. The Break Up Song (They Don't Write' Em)

3. Womankind

4. Can't Stop Hurtin' Myself

5. Trouble in Paradise

6. Sheila

7. Nothing's Gonna Change

8. The Girl Most Likely

9. When The Music Starts

10. True Confessions

Greg Kihn Band

Greg Kihn- vocals, guitar

Dave Carpender- guitar, vocals

Larry Lynch- drums, vocals

Steve Wright- bass, vocals

Gary Phillips- keyboards, vocals

In my quest to list guitarists who may not have had the respect they possibly deserve, I must add Dave Carpender. Watching the live performance of the album closer "True Confessions," I must say that he can bend the six string a little bit. That only adds to what a good album this is. It was just what was needed back in 1981, not only for me, but I think for music in general.

Next post: The Who- Face Dances

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