Great Metal Albums of 1982: Black Sabbath- Live Evil

 

 

Perhaps it's something to do with having black in the title of the bands' names but like Blackfoot in 1982, the mighty Black Sabbath also recorded a live album in the same year. Like the former, Black Sabbath were riding high on the wave of two very successful studio albums, "Heaven and Hell" and "The Mob Rules." It could be argued that with great albums such as these and a further legacy of great albums with the previous lead singer, it is only logical that they put out a live album.

"Live Evil" is everything I would expect from a live Black Sabbath album. It's a fine marriage of the great songs they were playing at the time from the last two albums and their classic older hits. I can easily imagine myself sitting in the audience, my anticipation ready to explode through the roof with the introduction of "E5150" and then having it actually do so when the band explodes into "Neon Knights." What a great song to open the show with. Then lead vocalist Ronnie James Dio shows right away that he can handle the Ozzy era songs in the way he sings "N.I.B." I am very tempted to actually take Lucifer's hand when I hear him sing the line. Then comes my favourite Dio era Sabbath song and possibly my second favourite over all, "Children of the Sea." Maybe with this one, it was a good idea that I wasn't in the audience at some arena but listening at home. There I could jump around to the song totally unheeded.

[caption id="attachment_2760" align="aligncenter" width="407"] Black Sabbath live[/caption]

Following "Voodoo" from "The Mob Rules" album, which is also nicely done, the band launch three of the best known Sabbath classics, "Black Sabbath," "War Pigs" and "Iron Man," the middle song being my all time favourite Sabbath jam. There is no need to repeat myself as to how well Dio handles the Ozzy songs, so I'll comment about the musicianship, especially the guitar playing of one Tony Iommi. He simply cooks, not only on these three songs but the entire album. We are also treated to a drum solo from Vinnie Appice following "War Pigs" although I have heard mixed comments about this. All I know is that it sounds okay to me. However, going back to Tony, it's "Heaven and Hell" where he really cooks. The song is twelve minutes long and most of that is him just laying down some cool guitar work. If I had been in the audience, I would be definitely holding my cigarette lighter high in the air.

"Heaven and Hell" serves as a great climax to the show. The final songs, "Sign of Southern Cross" combined with the remainder of "Heaven and Hell" lead things out nicely. However, if Black Sabbath left the stage at this point, I would have been one of the many thousands screaming for their return. Of course, as the album shows, they played the all too familiar "Paranoid" and end things with "Children of the Grave." While, I would have been booing when the main lights came back on, I would have still left with a very contented feeling that I had witnessed a piece of history.

Track Listing:

1. E5150

2. Neon Knights

3. N.I.B.

4. Children of the Sea

5. Voodoo

6. Black Sabbath

7. War Pigs

8. Iron Man

9. The Mob Rules

10. Heaven and Hell

11. Sign of the Southern Cross/Heaven and Hell

12. Paranoid

13. Children of the Grave

14. Fluff

[caption id="attachment_1949" align="aligncenter" width="291"] Black Sabbath[/caption]

Ronnie James Dio- vocals

Tommy Iommi- guitar

Geezer Butler- bass

Vinnie Appice- drums

Like some of the live albums I covered in 1982, at the time, this was the closest I had come to seeing them live. Fortunately, in the case of Black Sabbath, that would change a year later, so be prepared for when I visit that album. But if you haven't seen them live, then "Live Evil" is the best alternative to it.

Next post: Ozzy Osbourne- Diary of a Madman

To buy Rock And Roll Children, email me at tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

Great Rock/Metal Albums of 1982: Aerosmith- Rock in a Hard Place

 

Two reasons exist for why I have never listened to Aerosmith's 1982 album "Rock in a Hard Place" until this week. Yes, I hang my head in shame and will whip myself mercilessly for this transgression. If I may address the court, my first defense is of course, being in the military and spending eight months out of the twelve in this year overseas. A lot of music passed by without my notice. The second reason was that between the years of 1980-85, I considered Aerosmith to be lost in the rock wilderness. In my mind and many others too, they had truly gone from musicians dabbling in drugs to druggies dabbling in music. I don't know if was during the tour for this album but I heard a story that when they played live, a roadie would have a collapsible table near the stage and every time there was a guitar solo, Steve Tyler would go to that table and snort the eight lines of coke that the roadie had laid out for him. However, like so much of the stories like that, it was probably more hype than truth.

So what did I think of my introduction to "Rock in a Hard Place?" For one, it wasn't the diamond in the rough that lain hidden for over 30 years. I wouldn't hold in the same regard as I do classics like "Toys in the Attic" or "Get Your Wings." However, I do think it was better than the 1979 "Night in the Ruts." While the first few songs of "Rock in a Hard Place" is a bit of the dirge that its predecessor was, the second half of the album for me is quite good. While, I like the intro of "Jailbait" and it is better than the next two songs, which ironically are the two singles released from the album, it doesn't really grab me until track four, "Bolivian Ragamuffin." One surprise is that I have to say that "Cry Me A River" is their best ever attempt at a power ballad and that includes some of their better known ones in the 90s. "Joanie's Butterfly is a decent tune but my favourite on the album is definitely the title track. It seems that on "Rock in a Hard Place," the band came down long enough to just relax and enjoy making music. If I listened to the album when I should have, I would have said to the band, "Remember when you you to sound like this?" at the title track. Saying that, the best song is followed on by the last two which take the album out nicely. "Push Comes to Shove" is a very tidy closer.

I would be negligent in my duties if I didn't point out that this was the album without guitarist Joe Perry and rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford would leave during the recording. In fact, he only plays on "Lightning Strikes." I must say that from the solos, I thought that Jimmy Crespo is a good guitarist in his own right. At least enough where I never found myself saying "Come back Joe, all is forgiven."

Track Listing:

1. Jailbait

2. Lightning Strikes

3. Bitches Brew

4. Bolivian Ragamuffin

5. Cry Me a River

6. Prelude to Joanie

7. Joanie's Butterfly

8. Rock in a Hard Place

9. Jig is Up

10. Push Comes to Shove

[caption id="attachment_2755" align="aligncenter" width="322"] Aerosmith line up for Rock in a Hard Place[/caption] 

Steve Tyler- vocals

Jimmy Crespo- guitar, backing vocals

Rick Dufay- guitar

Tom Hamilton- bass

Joey Krammer- drums

For a band in the wilderness, it could be said that Aerosmith were calling out to be found. Unfortunately, I didn't hear them at the time. If I had heard this album back then, I would have most certainly listened to it. But as they say, better late than never.

Next post: Black Sabbath- Live Evil

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at tobychainsaw@hotmail.com 

Great Rock/Metal Albums of 1982: Blue Oyster Cult- Extraterrestrial Live

 

1982 featured two magnificent live albums from bands I've never seen live and with both, the results are the same: After listening to those albums, I regret not having seen them live even more. I've already visited the first album, Blackfoot's "Highway Song" and the second one is Blue Oyster Cult's "Extra- Terrestrial Live." All but two songs were recorded during the "Fire of Unknown Origin" tour, the band's previous album, so you know that this live album is going to be great straight away. The three songs that appear from that album sound even better live! The piano intro on "Joan Crawford" sounds even more eerie and they don't leave out the sound effects like the screeching brakes, which some bands tend to do live. Even "Burning for You" has a more upbeat feel that makes you think you're in the arena pumping your first along to the song. However, both of those songs pale to the live version of "Veteran of 1000 Psychic Wars." The song is extended to include some great guitar soloing from Buck Dharma. That takes nothing from the rest of the song where the keyboards sound just as fresh as when done in the studio. Fantastic!

Being a live album, Blue Oyster Cult don't disappoint with some of their classics from the 70s. No gold stars given for stating the obvious, "Don't Fear The Reaper" being the closer. After all it's their best known song. At the other end, "Dominance and Submission" is certainly a good song to open the show with and "Cities on Flame" and "Dr Music" are both great songs to follow on from that. Furthermore, Blue Oyster Cult show their versatility by playing an excellent cover of The Doors classic, "Roadhouse Blues," although I'm not too sure about Eric Bloom's tale about buying a six pack from the Seven-Eleven. It doesn't ruin the song though but that's hard to do. Like with all the songs mentioned, I was also very impressed with the live version of "Black Blade." They make that song come alive for real.

Saving the best for last, my all time personal BOC favourite, "Godzilla." It begins with one of the best live introductions to a song ever. Marrying past with then present, Eric Bloom explains to the crowd how the Cold War and nuclear testing caused a monster frozen in ice to come back to life. It is a fine intro before it rips into the great song I know it for. It is here where they fully launch into their famous three guitar attack and the pausing to hear bombs dropping is just superb and makes the song that much better. While any song following "Godzilla" would work here, it just so happens that with "Extra- Terrestrial Live," that song is "Veteran of 1000 Psychic Wars." Sheer brilliance if you ask me.

Track Listing:

1. Dominance and Submission

2. Cities on Flame

3. Dr Music

4. The Red and The Black

5. Joan Crawford

6. Burning For You

7. Roadhouse Blues

8. Black Blade

9. Hot Rails to Hell

10. Godzilla

11. Veteran of 1000 Psychic Wars

12. ETI (Extraterrestrial Intelligence)

13. (Don't Fear) The Reaper

[caption id="attachment_1443" align="aligncenter" width="248"] Blue Oyster Cult[/caption]

Eric Bloom- lead vocals, guitar, keyboards

Donald "Buck Dharma" Roesser- lead guitar, vocals

Alan Lanier- keyboards, guitar

Joe Bouchard- bass, vocals

Albert Bouchard- drums on tracks 1 and 8

Rick Downey- drums on all other tracks

 *Albert Bouchard was fired during the "Fire of Unknown Origin" tour and was replaced by roadie, Rick Downey

Wow, another great live album from a band I have never seen live. It's no wonder I regret not having done so.

Next post: Aerosmith- Rock in a Hard Place

To buy Rock And Roll Children, email me at tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

Great Rock/Metal Albums of 1982: Joan Jett and the Blackhearts- I Love Rock and Roll

Not long ago when I visited Pat Benatar's "Get Nervous" album, I ended the post by saying that in 1982, someone would come along and usurp Pat's throne as the queen of rock. Yes, I know I've just given it away, the usurper would be Joan Jett. Unlike Pat's bloodless ascension to the throne in 1980, Joan's would be a very bloody one in regards to music because as evidenced by the "Get Nervous" album, Pat Benatar was not going to give up the throne without a fight. So if we were to look at this coup, not in rock terms but in terms of medieval fantasy, which I love, it would have unfolded in two ways. If both ladies amassed armies, there would be lots of casualties, ransacked castles and burning villages on both sides. In the second scenario, if both ladies chose to forego the armies and engage in single combat, both would have had serious wounds inflicted on them by the other. However, the end result would have been the same, a victorious Joan Jett standing over a vanquished Pat Benatar.

[caption id="attachment_2743" align="aligncenter" width="308"] This is what a clash of rock armies might have looked like[/caption][caption id="attachment_2744" align="aligncenter" width="300"] And if they engaged in single combat[/caption]

Putting my love for fantasy aside, fortunately, there was no actual bloodshed. The reason why Joan Jett would usurp the crown as Queen of Rock is simply down to the fact that her album "I Love Rock and Roll" is just brilliant. I first heard about the album when my lieutenant shot it down saying the band only played two chords. If that's true, then they were the right two chords. My first induction to the album was once I returned to the US, the title track was dominating the juke boxes in just about every bar I went to and the second single, "Crimson and Clover" an old number by Tommy James and the Shondells got a considerable amount of play too. Furthermore, this would be the first and probably only album that had two songs that were common favourites of different dancers at the Driftwood. A dancer named Angie really knew how to move to "I Love Rock and Roll." She made that song come to life almost. "Crimson and Clover" was finely manipulated by a dancer named Mary. Trust me, watching her work her magic to that song was something else. It is little wonder why I have fond memories of both of these songs.

Because the two hit singles from the album were classics written by others in another era, it has been surmised by some that Joan's song writing is not up to much. When I listen to the other songs, I disagree. What those songs do is set an interesting vibe for the rest of the album. If I could give this album a theme, it would be "The early rock and roll years transformed to metal." Many of the songs do have a vibe like they could have been written in the 1950s or early 60s but that hard guitar sound blows everything out of the water. Joan Jett writes the other ones that make the album for me like "(I'm Gonna) Run Away," "Love is Pain" and "Victim of Circumstance" and while she didn't write "Nag," I'm going to mention it here anyway, I like it. How Joan Jett and the Blackhearts version of "Little Drummer Boy" missed my favourite Christmas song list, I'll never know.

While it's easy to sing the praises of Joan Jett, you can't take anything away from her band. Along with Joan, who should have been included in my list of great rhythm guitarists, Gary Ryan and Lee Crystal provide a solid rhythm section and while I don't know which guitarist does which solos but I am impressed by Rick Byrd and Irvan Arifin Harahap. These boys definitely played a key role in Joan's ascension to the rock throne.

Track Listing:

1. I Love Rock and Roll

2. (I'm Gonna) Run Away

3. Love is Pain

4. Nag

5. Crimson and Clover

6. Victim of Circumstance

7. Bits and Pieces

8. Be Straight

9. You're Too Possessive

10. Little Drummer Boy

[caption id="attachment_2745" align="aligncenter" width="193"] Joan Jett and the Blackhearts[/caption]

Joan Jett- lead vocals, guitar

Gary Ryan- bass, backing vocals

Irvan Arifin Harahap- guitar, vocals

Lee Crystal- drums

Rick Byrd- guitar

That is the story how Joan Jett became the new Queen of Rock in 1982 and arguably the first Queen of Metal. It is hard to fault it with a great album like "I Love Rock and Roll."

Next post: Blue Oyster Cult- Extra Terrestrial Live

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com