Great Rock Albums of 1985: Michael Stanley Band- MSB

Here's yet another band brought to my attention during my time in the marines. Even though the Michael Stanley band had been going since the early 1970s, they had never come to my attention. It's probably the combination of not gaining attention in the Northeast USA and the fact they didn't have any songs played on AM radio being the reason why. Thankfully, one of my marine buddies was into them and being 1982, it was the album "MSB" I got to hear first from them.

My first reaction upon hearing this album was to say it was straight ahead rock and roll but that would be so unfair to it. Besides, I don't want to brandish that label around too much because there are bands out there where the label fits. Instead, "MSB" is a widely versatile album yet at the same time, the Michael Stanley Band remain true to their rock roots. Take for instance the very first song, "In Between the Lines." The sax in the song in the song provides a jazz element sort of like the old 1979 hit "Cool Change" by the Little River Band but only much rockier. The very next track, "If You Love Me," has a definite gospel- soul feel to it but at the same time highlights the skilled musicianship behind this band. Then come some straight forward rockers, most notably the song, "When I'm Holding You Tight," which gets my vote for best guitar solo on the album. Things slow down a bit with the next two tracks but "Spanish Nights" is a superb ballad. The album goes back to and goes out on some very good rock tunes, most notably "Love Hurts" and "Hang Tough." In the end, I find myself being eternally grateful that I got to hear this album then and appreciate it even more when I listen to it now.

Track Listing:

1. In Between the Lines

2. If You Love Me

3. Night by Night

4. When I Hold You Tight

5. Spanish Nights

6. One of Those Dreams

7. Love Hurts

8. Hang Tough

9. Just a Little Bit Longer

10. Take This Time

[caption id="attachment_2588" align="aligncenter" width="294"] Michael Stanley Band[/caption]

Michael Stanley- guitar, vocals

Tommy Dobeck- drums

Bob Pelander- keyboards

Greg Markasky- lead guitar

Kevin Raleigh- keyboards, vocals

Michael Gismondi- bass

Rick Bell- saxophone

I am expecting some responses along the lines of "I've never heard of these guys" or no response at all due to the fact of not ever having heard of them. So, the teacher in me is going to set you a little homework. The "MSB" album is easily available on Youtube. Have a listen to this album and you will see what you have been missing all of these years.

Next post: The Clash- Combat Rock

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Great Rock Albums of 1982: Rush- Signals

Rush's 1982 album "Signals" is almost another album in that year that escaped my attention. Fortunately, there was somebody in my platoon who was a huge Rush fan so thanks to him, I got to listen to this album. My first reaction to "Signals" was that it wasn't as hard rock as some of the songs on their previous "Moving Pictures" album but it was an enjoyable album nonetheless.

In the eyes of many, "Signals" marked the beginning of Rush's turn towards more synthesizer oriented music. While I won't dispute that belief, I can say that some of the old Rush is still present in some of the songs. You just have to listen carefully. Alex Leifson's guitar is definitely there underneath the keyboards of Geddy Lee.  Together, they make a definite statement for progressive rock not long before it gave way to more synth pop later in the 80s were quality musicianship wouldn't count for much. What is good is that every song on this album follows along in this formula although I can say that Liefson does hammer out great guitar solos on tracks 2, 3 and 4. That's probably why those songs stand out for me even though it was "Subdivisions" and "New World Man" that got the most radio airplay at the time. Those two songs probably deserved it anyway. If I were to compare this album to anything, it would be the second side of the "Moving Pictures" album and that's definitely a good thing.

Track Listing:

1. Subdivisions

2. The Analogue Kid

3. Chemistry

4. Digital Man

5. The Weapon

6. New World Man

7. Losing It

8. Countdown

[caption id="attachment_860" align="aligncenter" width="242"] Rush[/caption]

Geddy Lee- vocals, bass, keyboards, Moog Taurus pedals

Alex Liefson- guitars, Moog Taurus pedals

Neil Peart- drums, percussion

Whether or not you liked Rush or thought they sold out during what was now commonly called, "their synthesizer period," you can't fault this album. "Signals" in my mind, will always be considered a great progressive rock album.

Next post: Michael Stanley Band- MSB

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Great Rock Albums of 1982: The Greatest Hits of the Outlaws, High Tides Forever

 Whether it was down to the lack of commercial success of the 1982 studio album, "Los Hombres Malo," or simply because they thought it was the appropriate time but in 1982, The Outlaws decided to release a greatest hits album. So, they chose eight of their best songs and put out what was to be a must have for any Outlaws fan or someone who considered themselves a purveyor of Southern Rock. I was the latter.

It might have been only eight songs buy by God, what eight great songs they are! There are the three best known songs, at least to me, "Green Grass and High Tides," "Ghost Riders in the Sky" and "There Goes Another Love Song," which I had always thought was on the "Los Hombres Malo" album because I remember it being played quite a bit on radio in early 1983. As an added bonus, the version of "Ghost Riders" is a live recording that sounds really good. The album also opened my eyes to some of the lesser known Outlaws jams as well. "Hurry Sundown," "Holiday" and "Stick Around for Rock and Roll" are all great songs as can only be done by the Outlaws. All three have those long guitar solos in that Southern Blues based fashion. The only track that doesn't go in this mold is "Take It Anyway You Want It." It actually has a more harder edge but lasting only three minutes and fifteen seconds, is very short for an Outlaws song. It's still a decent song goes well in this compilation of Outlaws' history.

Track Listing:

1. Stick Around for Rock And Roll

2. There Goes Another Love Song

3. Take It Anyway You Want It

4. Green Grass and High Tides

5. Ghost Riders in the Sky

6. Hurry Sundown

7. Holiday

8. You Are the Show

[caption id="attachment_1329" align="aligncenter" width="179"] The Outlaws[/caption]

Rick Cua- bass, lead and backing vocals

David Dix- drums, percussion

Dave Lane- fiddle, violin

Dave Lyons- keyboards, lead and backing vocals

Freddie Salem- guitar, lead and backing vocals

Hughie Thomasson- guitar, banjo, lead and backing vocals

There are so many greatest hits albums around that it's no wonder that the Outlaws would put out one of their own. "High Tides Forever" contains the classics that made their name at the time.

Next post: Rush- Signals

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Great Rock Albums of 1982: Johnny Van Zant Band- Last of the Wild Ones

 Owing to the fact that I spent two thirds of 1982 overseas combined with the expectations of the military, I only managed to attend one concert in 1982. It was at a local club in Jacksonville, North Carolina called the Chateau Madrid. It's not there any more and unlike the Driftwood, I couldn't find any pictures of it on line. Anyway, there are no prizes for guessing who it was I saw that night as I am visiting the album from that tour of the Johnny Van Zant band right now. I remember it being a good night and Johnny and Co were on form and I loved when they played Lynyrd Skynyrd's "I Ain't the One." However, what could have ruined that night was the fact it was in a club full of drunk marines, yes I was one of them but I didn't get involved in any scraps that night. No kidding, while I was enjoying the show, two marines to my right suddenly went to the floor in a heap and started hooking and jabbing. A few minutes after the bouncers broke up that fight and ejected the participants, two more guys on my left engaged in similar festivities. Those weren't the only two bouts on the card that night but I didn't let it spoil my enjoyment of the evening.

"The Last of the Wild Ones" is the third album from the Johnny Van Zant Band and it is definitely a power Southern Rock album. Some of the tracks are almost metal such as the opener and "Can't Live Without Your Love." Both of these are some very heavy songs where Robbie Gay and Erik Lundgren show what they are capable of with a guitar in their hands. The track "Inside Looking Out" sounds like what I think Boston would have sounded like if they had come from south of the Mason-Dixon Line. The power ballad, "Still Hold On" is the one song of such genre that comes closest to the bar set by April Wine the previous year as to what a power ballad should sound like. "It's You" is the one song I remember getting air play at the time and it's not your standard made for radio single. This song rocks and I can't believe how much I had forgotten of the song, shame on me I know. My question is why this album didn't break the band out of the Southeast as had it gotten more notice up North, it would have done well.

Track Listing:

1. Good Girls Gone Bad

2. It's You

3. The Last of the Wild Ones

4. Still Hold On

5. Can't Live Without Your Love

6. Danger Zone

7. Together Forever

8. Inside Looking Out

9. The One and Only

[caption id="attachment_2173" align="aligncenter" width="292"] Johnny Van Zant Band[/caption]

Johnny Van Zant- vocals

Robbie Gay- lead guitar

Erik- Lundgren- lead guitar

Danny Clausman- bass

Robbie Morris- drums

Maybe it was because the corporate record companies had made their millions out of Southern Rock the previous year the reason for why this album seems virtually unknown outside the Southeast of the USA. This is a shame because they alone got to enjoy what a great album "The Last of the Wild Ones" really is and many got to do it without having drunk marines fighting around them.

Next post: Greatest Hits of the Outlaws- High Tides Forever

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Great Rock Albums of 1982: Charlie Daniels Band- Windows

If there was one song whose lyrics really made me think in 1982, it was the single by the Charlie Daniels Band, "Still in Saigon." For those unfamiliar, it's a very haunting song about a Vietnam Veteran and his struggles with the war ten years since coming home. Two lines that still stick in my mind and even more so since I listened to the 1982 "Windows" album are:

"All the sounds of long ago will be forever in my head,

Mingled with the wounded's cries and the silence of the dead."

Those lyrics make me glad that while I served, I never had to fire a live round at a living target nor had any live rounds fired at me. "Still in Saigon" was the first true song that I know of that showed true sympathy to those who served in Vietnam. At the time, some thought it was a bit contradictory to their previous patriotic 1980 hit "In America." There is nothing unpatriotic about "Still in Saigon" and if America apologised to the Vietnam Veterans for they way it treated them every day until the last veteran died, it might just be enough. For me, the song would come to mind in unfortunate circumstances a year later when my old unit got blown up in Beirut.

Like I have said many times before, one song does not make a good album but there are plenty of good ones on "Windows." Charlie Daniels seems to go more rock than country on this album although there is the country ballad type "We Had It All One Time" there's nothing wrong with that song. "Ragin' Cajun" is the other known single from the album which features some fiddle playing reminiscent of the old 1979 classic, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." It's a good rock hoe down. The gem in the dark for me on this album is definitely "Partyin' Gal." I knew a few ladies who partied like that in those days so it should be a tribute to them. It is probably the most rock of all the songs on the album. If "We Had It All One Time" is the country ballad then "Blowin' Along With the Wind" is the rock one. It's not a power ballad, more of a progressive one but it slots in nicely with the rest of the line up. Whether you're country or rock or both, you can't go wrong with "Windows."

Track Listing:

1. Still in Saigon

2. Ain't No Ramblers Anymore

3. The Lady in Red

4. We Had It All One Time

5. Partyin' Gal

6. Ragin' Cajun

7. Makes You Want To Go Home

8. Blowing Along With The Wind

9. Nashville Moon

10. The Universal Hand

[caption id="attachment_1335" align="aligncenter" width="264"] Charlie Daniels Band[/caption]

Charlie Daniels- vocals, guitar, fiddle

Tom Crane- guitar, vocals

Joel "Taz" Di Gregorio- keyboards, vocals

Fred Edwards- drums, percussion

James W Marshall- drums, percussion

Charles Hayward- bass

One song made me think in 1982 but an entire album rocked the year away.
 "Windows" proved to many, especially many up North, that the Charlie Daniels Band were certainly not one hit wonders.
Next post: Johnny Van Zant- The Lat of the Wild Ones

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