Great Metal Albums of 1981: Sammy Hagar- Standing Hampton

According to Wikipedia, "Standing Hampton" by Sammy Hagar was released in 1982 but other sources state it was actually 1981. I always thought the latter because I remember hearing some of the songs on it in that year. One of these was definitely the track "Heavy Metal" which appears on the soundtrack for the film of the same name, which I covered a few weeks back. Fair dues to the film makers, when they pieced together the songs for the soundtrack, they took them straight from the album and that is a good thing, especially with Sammy's song. Wikipedia says that it is a different version but I am beginning to doubt a lot of what they say because it doesn't sound different to me. Either way, "Heavy Metal" is definitely a mind blowing anthem.

True, "Standing Hampton" starts off with the more airplay oriented "I Fall in Love Again," which isn't a bad song but not as heavy as the others on the album. After the opener, the rest of the album kicks into gear with "There's Only One Way to Rock" and that is definitely heavier and goes on throughout rest of the album, including the heaviest song mentioned above. Great heavy tracks like "Baby It's You," Baby's On Fire" and "Can't Get Loose" go together very well to stamp Sammy firmly on the page of heavy metal. Now, one might think "Sweet Hitchhiker" would make a fantastic closer to a great album and it is a fine song but Sammy goes on better and ends things with a magnificent cover of the famous Janis Joplin jam "Piece of My Heart." I'm sure Janis would be proud of Hagar's efforts on the song.

Track Listing

1. I Fall In Love Again

2. There's Only One Way to Rock

3. Baby's On Fire

4. Can't Get Loose

5. Heavy Metal

6. Baby It's You

7. Surrender

8. Inside Looking In

9. Sweet Hitchhiker

10. Piece of My Heart

[caption id="attachment_1954" align="aligncenter" width="228" class=" "] Sammy Hagar[/caption]

Sammy Hagar- lead vocals, lead guitar

Gary Pihl- guitar, backing vocals

Bill Church- bass, backing vocals

David Lauser- drums, backing vocals

One of the things I really enjoy about writing this blog is the opportunity to go back in time and fully appreciate artists I didn't fully appreciate at the time. It would be another album before I really got listening to Sammy Hagar so in my view, his best was yet to come. "Standing Hampton" was a great stepping stone for him towards greater glory.

Next Post: Anvil- Hard and Heavy

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Great Metal Albums of 1981: Saxon- Denim and Leather

I know I've said this before, but Saxon didn't fully come to my attention until 1985. I had heard of them before that and even remember liking one of their songs but I can never remember which one. I blame it on the booze. Their master song "Princess of the Night" appears on a compilation album I had bought in the above year but it would be more than another year until I saw this great album "Denim and Leather" on sale at my local record store for $3. I snapped it up without further thought and it is probably the wisest investment I ever made.

"Denim and Leather" is my all time favourite Saxon album and it is easy to understand why. But before I sing it's praises, let me begin with the one minor flaw with the album, if you want to call it that. It is with the song "Rough and Ready," which is about being a hard man. Now, in my mind, there is nothing more ridiculous than someone who is clearly not hard trying to sound like they are and sorry Biff, you're not convincing here. Saying that, the song does redeem itself with some good musicianship equal to the rest of the album.

That leads nicely to the monster classics on this album, there are no fewer than five blockbusting songs on "Denim and Leather." Of course,  I have to mention the track already mentioned "Princess of the Night." It has such a killer intro that stays with you long after the song is done. Even now, I listen to it and say "wow!" Not taking anything away from the three songs that follow "Princess of the Night," especially "Never Surrender," but "Play It Loud" is definitely the "Wheels of Steel" of the album in the sense that it is the perfect song to play at full volume when driving in your car. I bought the album on cassette so I got to do a lot of that back in the day. Just when you've gotten over it, your ear drums are once again assaulted by another great one in the form of "And the Band Played On." The guitar work in this song is completely amazing, my head just wants to keep banging away to it even when it's over. "Midnight Rider" follows on and between this song and "Princess of the Night," I get the impression that Saxon are into trains because that's two songs about them. That doesn't stop the former from also being a killer song. Then following "Fire in the Sky," which like April Wine's "Caught in the Crossfire" is about nuclear destruction, a relevant fear back in 1981 with Ronald Regan wanting to put cruise missiles everywhere, is one of the finest album closers of all time. The title track "Denim and Leather" is the best way to bring any album to a close. Like the other gems on the album, it has that memorable guitar crunch that aids Biff Byford's vocals in creating history. For me, Saxon's "Denim and Leather" is definitely my pick for one of the best albums of 1981.

Track Listing:

1. Princess of the Night

2. Never Surrender

3. Out of Control

4. Rough and Ready

5. Play it Loud

6. And the Band Played On

7. Midnight Rider

8. Fire in the Sky

9. Denim and Leather

[caption id="attachment_1148" align="aligncenter" width="209" class=" "] Saxon[/caption]

Biff Byford- vocals

Graham Oliver- guitars

Paul Quinn- guitars

Steve Dawson- bass

Pete Gill- drums

When people mention NWOBHM, they are quick to say Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Def Leppard, but Saxon only gets mentioned as an after thought in many cases. I think the problem was that they put out their three greatest albums in rapid succession, sort of like Blackfoot. Furthermore, Oliver and Quinn often get left out when great guitar duos are mentioned. They are every bit as good a combo as Downing/Tipton and Smith/Murray. It is a shame that they didn't make it as big as the the others but they're every bit as good. "Denim and Leather" is proof in the pudding.

Next post: Sammy Hagar- Standing Hampton

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 Metal Albums of 1981: Judas Priest- Point of Entry

You probably have already noticed that I didn't go to Bloodstock this year and it wasn't because of all the rain. While I would have loved to have seen Megadeath and Saxon on stage, my finances are dictated by other priorities, mainly my trip to the US in October. Enough of that said, onto the "Point of Entry," the 1981 album from metal gods Judas Priest.

Many people have shot down "Point of Entry" over the years and I ask myself if this is fair. One such person even put the album on a par with "Turbo" and to me, that is totally way off base. I will be the first to admit, it is not one of Judas Priest's best albums. What highlights this the most is that it is unfortunately sandwiched between what I think is their two best albums of all time: "British Steel" and "Screaming for Vengeance." I think that most of the other albums would pale significantly when put between those two monuments to metal. Taking them out of the equation and listening to "Point of Entry" on its own, I can safely say that it doesn't totally suck.

"Heading Out on the Highway" is an adequate opener and "Don't Go" does move the party along to the one of the more stronger tracks, "Hot Rockin'." But I'm not too sure about "Turning Circles" and "Desert Plains," maybe another listen is due here. However, the most of the remainder of the album is quite good. I do like the guitars in  "Solar Angels" and "You Say Yes" would be a great song to sing along to when drinking heavily. I'm going to have to try it just to make sure. "All the Way" and "Troubleshooter" are decent songs too but I'm not too sure about the closer. A good closing song should make me feel uplifted and I can't say that "On the Run" does that. Overall though, I think "Point of Entry" is a good album from Judas Priest and there are some of the famous trademark screams from Halford and the solid guitar work of Tipton and Downing. Maybe after the likes of the albums that precede and succeed it, the bar may have been set too high.

Track Listing:

1. Heading Out on the Highway

2. Don't Go

3. Hot Rockin'

4. Turning Circles

5. Desert Plains

6. Solar Angels

7. You Say Yes

8. All the Way

9. Troubleshooter

10. On the Run

[caption id="attachment_1108" align="aligncenter" width="128"] Judas Priest[/caption]

Rob Halford- vocals

Glen Tipton- guitar

KK Downing- guitar

Ian Hill- bass

Dave Holland- drums

 "Point of Entry" isn't the terrible album made out to be. If I were grading it I might be tempted to say it wasn't done at the best of the band's ability and it doesn't stand out from many of the great metal albums that came out in 1981, but it's still good enough to be included among them.

Next post: Saxon- Denim and Leather

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