1983 Triumphs and Tragedies

 [caption id="attachment_3349" align="aligncenter" width="539"] The Alamo[/caption]

The only tragedy I remember from 1983 actually happened the year before. Due to my military service, I didn't find out about it until 83 when I read about all the fallout from it. I'm talking about when Ozzy Osbourne pissed on the Alamo. He claims he was drunk as a skunk, (I've never seen a drunk skunk so I have nothing to compare it to.) Ozzy also said he didn't know it was such a national shrine, well it is in Texas. The result of his action got him banned from the city of San Antonio for ten years, although that was lifted a few years later when he made a large donation to the Alamo charity.

[caption id="attachment_2343" align="aligncenter" width="199"] Ozzy Osbourne[/caption]

Ozzy was already getting himself a reputation outside the heavy metal world for the wrong reasons. His infamous biting the head off a bat was making its rounds. Of course, the religious element in America embellished things further. There were rumours he blew up goats on stage and at one show, he supposedly threw a puppy into the crowd and said he wouldn't sing anymore until the audience killed the puppy. While this was all untrue hype, it didn't help Ozzy when he actually did something for real. So for Ozzy and somewhat in the metal world, this was a bit of a tragedy because it overshadowed the two albums he released in the year. I'll be covering those soon enough.

Now for the triumphs. It seems that 1983 was a cool year for festivals. I got to go to two of them. The first one, I mentioned when I posted about the Nantucket and Doc Holliday albums a few months ago. Those two bands topped the bill at the Mayfair Festival at Jacksonville, North Carolina. The other five bands remain pretty much unheard of with the bottom three being cover bands. So, I thought I'd include them in this little piece of history. They were Skeet Kelly, Roxy, Avalanche- who did a great cover of Sammy Hagar's "Heavy Metal," Peer Pressure- who did a reasonably decent cover of John Cougar's "Hurt So Good" and Eraxle- who closed their set with a fantastic cover of Van Halen's "Ice Cream Man." I consumed loads of alcohol and there were some interesting events between the bands like a wet t-shirt and a men's ugly legs competition. A fine day from what I remember.

[caption id="attachment_1322" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Nantucket[/caption]

Military commitments kept me from attending this festival but my sister went. I tried to pick her brains but she didn't remember much. In the June, Journey headlined in Philadelphia and with them were John Cougar, Sammy Hagar, The Tubes and Bryan Adams. From what she can remember, my sister says that Journey sounded great and had a fantastic light show. John Cougar and Bryan Adams were both very good as was Sammy Hagar despite his red spandex. Unfortunately, The Tubes weren't up to the rest of those who played that day. If this line up played in more cities than Philly, I would love to hear your account of the day.

[caption id="attachment_3350" align="aligncenter" width="387"] Journey Live[/caption]

It didn't matter that I was in the military for this one, I couldn't have gone to the US Festival because it was 3000 miles away in California. The US Festival was a three day festival where the first day consisted of new wave bands, the second day's line up was heavy metal and the third day's was a rock line up. From what I heard, all three days were fantastic although I do recall an interview with a local sheriff saying that he was going to try to ban such events following the festival. I didn't think about it then, but that was the first salvo fired at music in the 1980s. I think the best thing to do is just to let you look at the line up for the three days and I'm sure you will be just as awestruck as I was.

[caption id="attachment_3351" align="aligncenter" width="478"] Us Festival Showbill[/caption]

I did get to the final festival in 1983. This was my first Donington Festival as I happened to be in England at the time. From my memory, I can recall that Diamond Head were all right and Dio were very good. I didn't twig on who the lead singer was until they played "Heaven and Hell" but that was okay. They were brilliant. Then came Twisted Sister. I can still remember Dee Snider's quip: "We're not Culture Club or any of those gay boys or Duran Duran nor any of those other wimps. We're Twisted Sister and we play heavy metal rock and roll!" Of course I knew there must of been something about them when they were introduced as Twisted Fuckin' Sister. Their music was great too.

For me, ZZ Top took the concert. They played a magnificent combination of old and new material during their time on stage. Of course it helped that they played my two favourite ZZ Top tunes, "Jesus Just Left Chicago" and "La Grange." They also played quite a few songs off their new "Eliminator" album so they basically rocked. The big let down after ZZ Top was Meatloaf. I was not impressed, he just sounded terrible that day. Worse, my friend's English girlfriend didn't realize that they ran a special train after the concert so out of fear of getting stuck, we left early and missed headliners, Whitesnake. I remain gutted but overall, Donington 1983 was a kick ass day and proved that Great Britain could rock.

 

That was 1983 in a nutshell. The only real tragedy was Ozzy pissing on a national shrine but all the great concert festivals more than compensated for it. Just posting about it has me psyched for Bloodstock in two weeks. It was no wonder I was super excited when I got out of the marines that year.

Next post: Great Soundtracks

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

Great Rock One Hit Wonders of 1983

 It's that time of the year, at least as far as the trip through 1983 is concerned, where I look back on those who had one song that got my attention and nothing more. In short, it's time to look at the great rock one hit wonders of 1983.

Now you would think that with a name like Rough Trade, this would be a power chord happy heavy metal band. Unfortunately, there is too much piano in their hit "High School Confidential" to make that even possible. However, the song is memorable enough that it has never escaped my memory after all these years.  Maybe it was because when I heard it in '83, I was amused by the lyrics: "She makes me want to cream my jeans." Wow, the things that amused my young mind then. Thinking about it though, the song might sound really cool if metalized.

Doctor Demento

Here's a classic example of how attitudes have changed in the past thirty-three years. Today, if anyone put out a song about a clown who is a peadophile, that person or persons would be hung, drawn and quartered. Things were a bit different in 1983 where a song called "Kinko the Clown" got loads of airplay on the Doctor Demento show. Even then, it was too tasteless for mainstream radio. Back then it got lots of laughs from people who heard it, me included. Today, I see the not funny side about it.

No the Three Stooges didn't put out any songs in 1983. If they did, I would have bought it because I was a big fan of theirs since I was 12, coitenly, nyuk nyuk! Like most fans of this classic comedy group, my favourite Stooge was Curly. So you can imagine how excited I was when I heard the song, "Curly Shuffle" by the Jump in the Saddle Band. The song is definitely of the swing jazz genre but it is played so well that it rocks! Throwing the phrases and sounds made by Curly into the song take it up even higher. Once again, proof that humour belongs in music. So don't be a victim of coicumstance!

[caption id="attachment_3345" align="aligncenter" width="274"] Martin Briley[/caption]

Naturally, I save the best for last. "Salt in My Tears" by Martin Briley is simply a great rocker, nuff said! Thirty three years on, I still head bang along to it. A great rocking hook and though the guitar solo is mind blowing, it is sufficient here. From a personal historical aspect, this song came out just before I got out of the marines and it immediately had me thinking of an ex girlfriend while I was in and how I wanted to sing the song to her. While I don't think about her anymore, those lyrics continue to amuse me.

Well those are my choices for the great rock one hit wonders of 1983 and hopefully they'll bring back some memories for you.

Next post: Triumphs and Tragedies

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

Great Rock Albums of 1983: Dave Edmunds- Information

 

Radio can be very misleading. In the summer of 1983, the single "Slipping Away" from Dave Edmunds' "Information" got a considerable amount of airplay on radio. Then in the November, when I started my job working the Saturday and Sunday midnight to eight shift at a parking lot in Atlantic City, the radio seemed to play his cover of Bruce Springsteen's "From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)" at least once during my first few shifts. Naturally, I assumed both songs were from this album, which I never bought for some reason. It was only when I did my preliminary research for the post that I discovered that "From Small Things" was actually on the album prior to this one. Shame, because I really liked that song but listening to "Information," I am not disappointed too much.

Another historical point, back in the early 1980s, there was a brief heyday for what some would call "Rockabilly" music. Rock music with a country music style vibe but unlike Southern Rock, this genre doesn't have the ferocity of it relative. That's the category this Dave Edmunds seems to fall in and I would site the track "The Shape I'm In" as evidence. Saying that, he is still much more rock than the artist most known for rockabilly in the very early 1980s. Here's my weird mind at work again but the whole rockabilly thing has made me think of her again. Juice Newton, who had several hits between 1981 and 83. Hell, she even covered a Dave Edmunds single, "Queen of Hearts" and her version doesn't stray far from Dave's musically.  Confession time! In 1981 and 2, I had a serious crush on Juice Newton.

Enough of Juice for now, let's get on to "Information. The best way to describe this album is Dave Edmunds would be the result if The Ramones played country music. Each song starts out in the one, two, three go style that the Ramones were famous for throughout the 1970s. The best examples of this are "Don't You Double" and "Don't Call Me Tonight." The latter song has a guitar solo in the style of Eddie Cochran, making it sound a quite fifties but it's still well done. Dave Edmunds is very good at keeping the tempo going on every song. Another interesting track is "Feel So Right" which has that Ramones one, two, three start and goes into the rockabilly sound. However, as the song progresses, you are led to conclude that if you didn't know that Jeff Lynne of ELO fame had produced the album, you would have discovered it for yourself with said song. Then again, the more I think about it, I can hear a little bit of Lynne influence on "Slipping Away." These factors combined make "Information" another album I regret not buying back then.

[caption id="attachment_1636" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The Ramones[/caption]

Track Listing:

1. Slipping Away
2. Don't You Double
3. I Want You Bad
4. Wait
5. The Watch on My Wrist
6. The Shape I'm In
7. Information
8. Feel So Right
9. What Have I Got to Do to Win?
10. Don't Call Me Tonight
11. Have a Heart

[caption id="attachment_3340" align="aligncenter" width="213"] Dave Edmunds[/caption]

Dave Edmunds- guitar, vocals

Geraint Watkins- accordion

Jeff Lynne- bass, synthesizer

John David- bass

Dave Charles- drums

Paul Jones- harmonica

Richard Tandy- synthesizer

I think this was another hidden gem from 1983 that didn't get the respect it deserved at the time. Maybe because rockabilly was already in decline or because of its unique sound, it was too hard rock for trendies but not hard enough for metalheads. All I know is that I enjoy "Information" and I know I would have liked the album if I first listened to it back then.

Next post: One Hit Wonders of 1983

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

Great Rock Albums of 1983: John Cougar Mellencamp- Uh Huh

 

One type of person whom most other people in the world find annoying is the guy who acts all tough but clearly isn't. This was a major problem for John Cougar Mellencamp back in the early 1980s, especially in the eyes of many metalheads. My sister saw him live in 1983 along with Journey (who headlined,) Sammy Hagar, The Tubes and Bryan Adams. Anyway, while Cougar was on stage, ( he hadn't reclaimed is family name yet), someone threw something onto the stage. In response, John called out, "Hey mother f*cker, throw some shit up here again and I'll come down and stomp on your ass." While this was amusing, I remember one friend who said that he would have thrown something else at the stage so he could kick John Cougar's ass because Cougar was a wimp.

JCM's 1983 album "Uh Huh" established him as a true American rock act and many of my British friends agree. My thoughts on the album was while it wasn't a metal album, it was still hard enough for metalheads to enjoy. I have always enjoyed "Uh Huh," even the singles, which are the first three songs on the album. "Crumblin' Down," "Pink Houses" and "The Authority Song" were all good tunes that stretched across the barriers that were being erected in music back then. They had a commercial appeal and a hard rock enough sound that no one who liked those songs would be accused of leaving their chosen camp. Of the three, "The Authority Song" is my favourite because it highlights perfectly the phase I was going through at the time. It was kind of and I stress kind of my theme song for a brief period.

After the three singles, there is still plenty of straightforward American rock and roll to be had. "Play Guitar" and "Lovin' Mother Fo Ya" definitely qualify but the best song of all on the album has to be "Serious Business." The lyrics alone make the song for me. I mean how could one not like lyrics that go :

"This is serious business, sex and violence and rock and roll."

Hell, I'm singing those lyrics now as I type this. This is why I found "Uh Huh" to be such and enjoyable album. John Cougar Mellencamp has a bit of fun on it.

Track Listing:

1. Crumblin' Down
2. Pink Houses
3. The Authority Song
4. Warmer Place to Sleep
5. Jackie O
6. Play Guitar
7. Serious Business
8. Lovin' Mother Fo Ya
9. Golden Gates

[caption id="attachment_2514" align="aligncenter" width="176"] John Cougar Mellencamp[/caption]

John Cougar Mellencamp- vocals

Larry Crane- guitar

Kenny Aronoff- drums, percussion

Toby Myers- bass

Mike Wanchic- guitar, backing vocals

Louis Johnson- bass

Carol Sue Hill- vocals

Maggie Ryder- vocals

Jay Ferguson- vocals

When I was teaching full time, I did an American theme in a cookery lesson which the class was making sloppy joes and corn dogs. One of my British colleagues remarked at this, "Sloppy Joes and corn dogs, it sounds like a John Mellencamp song." Yes, many people outside the US regard John Cougar Mellencamp as truly and American artist, especially with some of the topics he sings about in later albums. That was before "Uh Huh," where while there are some hidden themes, it's still a fun rocker of an album.

Next post: Dave Edmunds- Information

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

Great Rock Albums of 1983: Rolling Stones- Undercover

 

If the Rolling Stones 1981 album "Tattoo You" was a move away from the band's disco albums (at least I thought so) of the late 1970s, then the 1983 "Undercover" album moved them even further away. Saying that, when I first heard the album's first single "Under Cover of the Night," I thought it was a bit of a dirge. It did take me a couple of listens to get used to it. By then, the second single, "She Was Hot" came out and was, in my humble opinion, much better than its predecessor. Unfortunately, memories of the song will be forever in twined with the cheesy video for it. That was one drawback with MTV, good songs could be ruined by bad videos that stick in your mind but anyway.

[caption id="attachment_3331" align="aligncenter" width="300"] A shot from the video for "She Was Hot." Cheesy or not?[/caption]

One thing about the Rolling Stones over the decades was that if I didn't buy an album myself, someone I knew would and eventually I would listen to it. That's what happened with "Undercover." I listened to it and I liked it. "Undercover" takes the Rolling Stones even further back to their roots. This album is more hard rock than anything that they had put out in years, at least I thought that back in 1983. After the two singles are done and dusted at the beginning of the album, the third track, "Tie You Up" starts the hard rock off in earnest. And goes on that path for the next two songs. Then comes the track, "Too Much Blood," which for me is a song of two halves. At first, I thought the jazz infusion, with the horns was nicely done. Then somewhere in the middle, it begins sounding like a dance track making me think they hadn't totally gotten over the disco thing.

"Pretty Beat Up" also has horns and a bit of a rock/jazz fusion and the best part is that it doesn't become a dance tune anywhere I can hear. For me, the best is saved for last. "Undercover" goes out on a real high with the last three tracks. All of them are hard rockers and sound like the Stones of the 1960s that I grew up on. If anything, it is these closing songs that has kept me coming back to the album after so many years.

Track Listing:

1. Under Cover of the Night
2. She Was Hot
3. Tie You Up (The Pain of Love)
4. Wanna Hold You
5. Feel On Baby
6. Too Much Blood
7. Pretty Beat Up
8. Too Tough
9. All the Way Down
10. It Must Be Hell

[caption id="attachment_2295" align="aligncenter" width="374"] Rolling Stones[/caption]

Mick Jagger- vocals, harmonica, guitar

Keith Richards- guitar, lead vocals on "Wanna Hold You"

Ronnie Wood- guitar, backing vocals

Bill Wyman- bass, percussion, piano on "Pretty Beat Up"

Charlie Watts- drums

It has been said that "Undercover" is one of the weaker albums by the Rolling Stones. I never agreed with that or really cared, I just liked it.

Next post: John Cougar Mellencamp- Uh Huh

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