Great Rock Albums of 1984: Honeymoon Suite

 

Now that Download is done and dusted, not that I didn't enjoy posting about it because I totally did, I will go back to the great albums of 1984. One note, Teal, my stepson, was going to give Mastodon another chance after their lackluster performance last year at Bloodstock. He never saw them. I didn't either because they were on at the same time as Suicidal Tendencies, so for me, there was no hard decision to make.

In 1984, I was totally impressed by a song I heard on MTV from a Canadian band called Honeymoon Suite. That song was "New Girl Now" and although it only reached 57 in the US charts, probably why I liked it so much, it did go gold in Canada. I just like that hard rock intro with the keyboards giving it the right amount of support to compliment the sound. While, I never have had any personal experience from the lyrics, I do like them. Besides, all those ingredients make the song very catchy and the guitar solo is well done. So there, I've broken down my all time favourite Honeymoon Suite song.

I have come to the conclusion that Honeymoon Suite did things ass backwards on their 1984 debut album. Listening to some of the other songs, you would have thought they would have been more successful as a single than "New Girl Now." All of the first four tracks were released as singles and my fave was the only one to chart in the US. However, the other three songs have more of that 80s soft rock single feel to them. Especially, the fourth track, "Stay in the Light." As for the second track, "Burning in Love," I ask myself, "Are these guys trying to imitate Rush here?" The middle of the song goes very keyboards progressive rock, that's all. Saying that, it is very well played.

After those four songs, the album goes more hard rock. "Now That You Got Me" doesn't send me headbanging away but I do like it. The guitar talents of Derry Grehan show themselves more here and do so more on the remaining tracks. "Funny Business" is a real rocker. That one does get me headbanging away to it. However, it does sound that lead singer, Johnie Dee's voice sometimes struggles to keep up with the song. But that criticism is swept away by another Grehan guitar solo. Each solo does seem to get better with each song from track five on. Dee's voice is more suited for the track after, "Heart on Fire," which is just as rocky as the predecessor, only there's more of a keyboard accompaniment on it. "Turn My Head" is a bit of a paradox. It starts out as a rocker but goes 80s soft rock in the middle only to finish off hard again. "It's Your Heart" is a total rocker but the album ends with a ballad, "Face to Face." It's nothing spectacular except that Grehan plays his best guitar solo on it and that's a great way to end the album.

In short, Derry Grehan is a fantastic guitarist and I have to give credit where due to keyboards player, Ray Coburn. Furthermore, the rhythm section of Brian Brackstone and Dave Betts is sound. I don't want to criticize lead singer Johnnie Dee, he does have a good voice but he wouldn't have the range for a metal band. It seems that the rest of the band has to slow down for him on the harder songs. On the other hand, he does nail "New Girl Now" very well.

Track Listing:

1. New Girl Now
2. Burning in Love
3. Wave Babies
4. Stay in the Ligtht
5. Now That You Got Me
6. Funny Business
7. Heart on Fire
8. Turn My Head
9. It's Your Heart
10. Face to Face

Honeymoon Suite

Derry Grehan- lead guitar, vocals

Johnnie Dee- lead vocals

Brian Bracksotne- bass

Ray Cobourn- keyboards, vocals

Dave Betts- drums

Ray Cobourn- keyboards, vocals

Dave Betts- drums

I have to admit, in 1984 I liked the song "New Girl Now" as much as I did many of the metal songs going around at the time. It is a great song and fortunately, the rest of the album is pretty cool too.

Next post: Scandal Featuring Patty Smyth- The Warrior

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

Great Rock/Metal Albums of 1984: HSAS- Through the Fire

 

Late in 1983, Sammy Hagar and Journey guitarist Neil Schon did a project together along with bassist Kenny Aaronson and drummer Michael Shrieve. Together, they formed a band called HSAS which was short for Hagar, Schon, Aaronson and Shrieve and the result was their one and only album, "Through the Fire." Was it a success? Maybe not according to the charts but it made my spring in 1984 and continued to do so for years after.

Confession, I never bought the "Through the Fire" album, I cheated. Instead, I recorded their full performance from an MTV concert. Besides, they played every song on the album plus a few songs that didn't get on it. Having finally listened to the album, I feel no shame as it simply brings back all the great memories of that taped concert.

While most trendy types might not remember HSAS, I'm sure that a lot of metalheads and a few non ones do. When Sammy Hagar toured solo at the end of the year and even during his first tour with Van Halen, there were signs around many a concert venue that read, "Sammy Hagar, Top of the rock." That's because it's the best known song from the album. He played it that night I saw him and it is a brilliant song. However, it's only my second favourite. The top slot goes to the very next track, "Missing You." That song really cooks and Neil belts out great guitar solo on it.

Hearing the next three tracks, I am now convinced that when the band played live, they played all three together as one song. Each track quickly goes from one to the next so you don't really get a break. Furthermore, all three are in the way out space rock mode and they fit very well together. In the MTV concert, only the title of the first song, "Animation" was introduced but it went on for far longer than the four minutes it says the song lasts on the label. Actually, I am pretty sure that the song lasted for the duration indicated by the three songs.

There is one blip in comparing the album with the concert and that comes in the form of the band's cover of the classic, "Whiter Shade of Pale." The song closes the concert and I think it was a great song to close the show with. However, it's not the closer on the album and now I wonder if it should have. It's still done very well and I think that Procol Harum would have been impressed. After that comes the hard rocker, "Hot and Dirty," which Sammy stated in the concert that it was about Kenny the bass player's girlfriend. Can't fault the song, it's really good and Neil Schon shows his talent up and down all of it. While not a ballad, "He'll Understand" is, to quote Sammy, on the tender side. It starts out as a ballad but that changes not far into it and has a smoking guitar solo. The irony is the closer because I am fairly certain that it was the opener for the concert. However, it works both ways.

HSAS in concert

The reason why all nine songs are so good is down to the talents of the four men who comprised HSAS. Sammy's vocals and Neil's guitar work were always going to be a lethal cocktail, no doubt about that. But we should raise a glass to the rhythm section of Aaronson and Shrieve because together, they make a fine one.

Track Listing:

1. Top of the Rock
2. Missing You
3. Animation
4. Valley of the Kings
5. Giza
6. Whiter Shade of Pale
7. Hot and Dirty
8. He'll Understand
9. My Home Town

 HSAS

Sammy Hagar- vocals

 Neil Schon- guitars

Kenny Aaronson- bass

Michael Shrive- drums

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-QdcrubBBY

 For the last 33 years, I have been asking myself "What if?" What if HSAS went beyond this one project and put out more albums? I think that they would have made a huge impact on the music of metal's golden decade. History does sort of support me. When Neil went back to Journey, they didn't make any impact after, at least not on me. Then there's the case of Van Hagar, although I've always said that Sammy can't be blamed for that. What we are left with is one fantastic album and three decades of me wondering, what if.

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

Great Rock Albums of 1984: Dennis DeYoung- Desert Moon

 Journey wasn't the only band whose members carried out solo projects in 1984. By the way, Steve Perry wasn't the only member of Journey with his fingers in another pie in this year but that's a story for another time. Styx had only disbanded less than a year before and by the end of 1984, two former members of the band had released solo albums. The first of these was by former singer and keyboards player, Dennis De Young, who came out with "Desert Moon," in the middle of the year.

 

Like Steve Perry, if I allowed myself to be influenced by singles on radio or MTV, I would have ignored this album. The first single, the title track, while not a bad song, sounds a little too much like the very successful Styx single "Babe." While a big hit for the band, "Babe" was never in my top ten of favourite Styx songs. Fortunately, it's not the best song on the album which bears its name.

When I first heard the opener, "Don't Wait for Heroes," I was quite upbeat. Maybe Dennis was taking the progressive/hard rock formula that worked so well with his former band and incorporating it in his solo album. For me, this is the best song on the album. The next track, "Please," tries to carry this on and does so reasonably but doesn't quite come up to the opener. "Boys Will Be Boys" is a better track and could have been as good as the "Don't Wait for Heroes" but Dennis goes a bit too new wave with it and I found that a turn off. After the title track, "Suspicious" is a very interesting track. It's a definite progressive rock track, in fact, it sounds very suspiciously (yep pun intended) like 10CC. Still, it's a very upbeat and enjoyable song, with some good guitar solos compliments of Tom Dziallo. It gives the opener a very close competition for my top spot.

My biggest criticism of "Desert Moon" is the cover of the Jimi Hendrix classic, "Fire." I know Dennis was a keyboards player and that song would have worked if done right but it wasn't. He tries to make it too new wave or something and it just doesn't work. The album ends with two softer ballad type songs. Dennis's voice was well suited to such songs, although the former, "Gravity" transforms into a cabaret type of song, which doesn't rock me until the guitar solo which does save it a little.

Track Listing:

1. Don't Wait For Heroes
2. Please
3. Boys Will Be Boys
4. Fire
5. Desert Moon
6. Suspicious
7. Gravity
8. Dear Darling (I'll Be There)

[caption id="attachment_3899" align="aligncenter" width="276"] Dennis DeYoung[/caption]

Dennis DeYoung- vocals, keyboards, piano, percussion

Tom Dziallo- all guitars, bass, backing vocals

Dennis Johnson- bass

Tom Radtke- drums, percussion

Steve Eisen- conga, saxophone, conductor

Rosemary Butler- duet vocal on "Please"

Sandy Caulfield- backing vocals

Suzanne DeYoung, Dawn Feusi, Pat Hurley- additional backing vocals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs_W-Xj-GVA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoZkDKpa_1M

Dennis DeYoung was the first former Styx member out of the starting blocks with a solo album. "Desert Moon" has some good moments and overall is an okay album. However, it doesn't rock all the way through leaving it unbalanced. Still might be worth a listen, I'll let you judge from my two favourite tracks.

Next post: HSAS- Through the Fire

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