Great Rock Albums of 1984: Molly Hatchet- The Deed is Done

 

In the mid and late 1980s, there was a belief that whenever a hard rock or heavy metal band incorporated keyboards into their sound, they had sold out and were trying to sound more commercial friendly. Yes, this was the case for a good number of bands back then and Molly Hatchet were accused of the same when guitarist Steve Holland was replaced with keyboards player John Galvin, who had played with Danny Joe Brown when he had his own band. Sure, the band moved away from their Southern Rock stylings to a more commercial friendly arena rock sound but their 1984 album, "The Deed is Done" is by no means in any shape or form a sell out.

While there are notable differences with this album and their very famous hard smashing album "Flirtin' With Disaster," the hard rock sound is there for all to hear. Even with two guitars, Molly Hatchet really rock out on the album, the keyboards only give it a more melodic back ground. The most prominent examples are the two tracks released as singles, "Satisfied Man" and the one I prefer slightly more, "Stone in Your Heart." These are both rockers with John's keyboards providing excellent melodic back up. Unlike so many bands who tried using keyboards, Molly Hatchet does it right here and unfortunately, this is why the album didn't sell as well as the fore mentioned biggie. Some metalheads scoffed at the use of keyboards while mainstream trendies were put off by the hard guitars and labelled them heavy metal. That's another issue about the 1980s, but I'll save that for another time.

As for the rest of the tracks, they cook as well and the now guitar duo of Duane Rolands and Dave Hlubeck show that even with two guitars, they can still kick ass. There is many a good hard rock song on "The Deed is Done" to be heard. However, if someone moaned about them using keyboards, then that person might have really been freaked out by the use of a saxophone on the track, "She Does She Does." What younger metalheads didn't understand in the 80s was that saxophones were employed very well in many a good rock song throughout the ages and it is done very well on this track. And while Molly Hatchet may have moved a little away from their Southern Boogie Rock sound, it is still there in the tracks, "Heartbreak Radio" and "I Ain't Got You". In fact, the second half of the album really rocks. "Good Smoke and Whiskey" wasn't only a great track, it was my theme song for a while. However, my personal favourite on this album has to be "Man on the Run." The old style of Molly Hatchet is stamped on it from the very beginning and the keyboards, like on the hits, provide the necessary support. This song is probably the best example of how you can incorporate the old Hatchet with the new. So what you do get with "The Deed is Done" is a more melodic hard rock sound in places but with the traditional southern sound not completely forgotten. It does make an excellent combination to the open minded.

Going on a little more about the keyboards, John Galvin is definitely underrated in this position. Some have compared him to Lynyrd Skynyrd's Billy Powell, probably because their both from Southern Rock bands. Like Southern Rock bands, the piano is given that honky tonk sound which only works with bands like these two giants. However, John's work with organs and synthesizers can't be ignored because he plays them well. Oh yes, with all the talk about keyboards, I forgot to mention that the album also marked the return of Bruce Crump on drums. It was good to hear him return on the album.

Track Listing:

1. Satisfied Man
2. Backstabber
3. She Does She Does
4. Intro Piece
5. Stone In Your Heart
6. Man on the Run
7. Good Smoke and Whiskey
8. Heartbreak Radio
9. I Ain't Got You
10. Straight Shooter
11. Song For the Children

[caption id="attachment_4097" align="aligncenter" width="334"] Molly Hatchet[/caption]

Danny Joe Brown- vocals

Duane Rolands- guitar

Dave Hlubeck- guitar

John Galvin- keyboards

Riff West- bass

Bruce Crump- drums

Additional Musicians

Jim Horn- saxophone

Jimi Jamison, Tom DeLuca, Steve Bassett, Terry Manning- background vocals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1wIhEICMoI

I think that I've established before the metal court that "The Deed is Done" album was in no way a sell out for Molly Hatchet. While the album marks a departure from their traditional Southern sound, it still rocks and rocks hard. It's just a shame there were too many musically narrow minded people around in the mid 1980s who didn't give the album a chance.

Next post: Blackfoot- Vertical Smiles

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

Great Rock Albums of 1984: Toto- Isolation

 

It is probably the case that "Isolation" is most likely my favourite Toto album was the reason that it didn't do as well as its predecessors in the charts. Some would say one reason why I like it more was down to the fact that it doesn't have any cheesy singles like "Rosanna" or "Africa." I never thought either of those songs were to begin with. That accolade goes to "99" in my opinion. Besides, "Rosanna" has a really cool guitar solo on it. Additionally, there are no songs on "Isolation" that would be called 'party killing' tunes in the realm of Wayne's World.

[caption id="attachment_324" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Wayne puts 'Any song by Toto' as number 2 on his party killing tunes list.[/caption]

Now, some may say that the single, "Stranger in Town," from this album is slightly cheesy. Again, I don't agree, I've always liked it. In fact, it is my second favourite Toto song. "Hold the Line" remains number one. If there be cheese, Toto do what they normally do and hide any cheese behind some good musicianship. There is plenty of that to be heard on the song and every other track on the album. "Stranger in Town" is the third track on the album following two rather good tunes. I also really like the track that comes after, "Angels Don't Cry." There is some good guitar work and it reminds me of late 1970s Styx or Kansas in the sense there are some crunching guitars backed up by some cool but not dominating keyboard playing. The same can be said for "Endless." Even the more keyboard dominated tracks are done very well with some good guitar solos in them. I never bought the critics claim that "Isolation" was a Journey clone. Where did they get that one from?

The new event which occurred on this album was that it was the first one to feature Fergie Frederiksen on lead vocals who replaced Bobby Kimball after the band terminated his services. I never knew what lead to the switch in singers but I've never bothered to find out. Admittedly, I didn't even know they had a new singer until I looked on the credits of the album. However, Bobby Kimball still provides backing vocals on three or four of the songs.

Track Listing:

1. Carmen
2. Lion
3. Stranger in Town
4. Angels Don't Cry
5. How Does it Feel
6. Endless
7. Isolation
8. Mr Friendly
9. Change of Heart
10. Holyanna

[caption id="attachment_4090" align="aligncenter" width="279"] Toto[/caption]

Fergie Frederiksen- lead and backing vocals

Steve Lukather- guitars, backing vocals, lead vocal on "How Does it Feel"

David Paich- keyboards, backing vocals, orchestral arrangements, lead vocals on "Stranger in Town" and "Holyanna," co-lead vocals on "Carmen"

Steve Procraro- keyboards, electric sounds

Mike Procraro- bass

Jeff Procraro- drums, pecussion

Bobby Kimball- backing vocals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSeldKAqM-w

Back in 1984, Toto's "Isolation" album was my come down a little bit album after listening to three or four metal albums on the trot. The great progressive rock musicianship that comes out of the speakers when it's played was the reason why. I didn't think about it then but for me, I've come to the conclusion that after the demise of both Styx and Kansas in 1984, this album was the progressive album that carried that sound on.

Next post: Molly Hatchet- The Deed is Done

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

Great Rock Albums of 1984: The Kinks- Word of Mouth

 

In the waning months of 1984, I was hit by a sudden epiphany one day whilst I was watching MTV. The video for The Kinks' first single, "Do It Again" from the 1984 "Word of Mouth" album came on and it hit. While many bands and genres in rock had come and gone, the Kinks were still going strong for twenty years. In fact, "Word of Mouth" was their 20th album! What helped was the fact that I really liked "Do It Again." On Friday nights, after a heavy night's partying, my friends and I would go to our favourite diner. Back in the day, diners had individual juke boxes in each both, so we would have to put on some tunes while we awaited our feasts. In the last months of 1984 and the first months of 85, "Do It Again" was constantly selected. Why not, it was a great song and still is.

One thing the Kinks have always been so successful at during their tenure was to bend a little with music trends while at the same time, remaining The Kinks. On this album, their sound is definitely in the no man's land between hard and progressive rock and I don't mean this in any derisory way. I mean that track I have loved so much over the past three decades and opens the album is a good hard rock song. The next couple of tracks follow suit, although the title track is the harder one of the two which follow "Do It Again." Then comes another really great track that is hot on the heels of my favourite track. "Living on a Thin Line" has both elements of hard and progressive rock. There's a very catchy melody accented by keyboards but the guitars really crunch when required to do so. An added bonus for me back then and now is the political statement in the lyrics. Dave Davies wrote the song to convey his hatred of politicians with the insinuation that politics in Britain then hadn't moved on much from England in the middle ages. I can see that as this album came out during the peak of the miner's strike.

Following on are two very interesting rock songs in the form of "Sold Me Out" and "Massive Reductions." The keyboards on the latter track are a bit of a paradox for me. In my mind, the Kinks' 1983 single "Come Dancing" was the worst song they ever made. I know a lot of you probably don't agree and that's cool. Anyway, on "Massive Reductions," the keyboards sound very similar to that song I don't like very much. However, with the hard rock of the guitars, the keyboards work well on that song. "Guilty" is a straight forward rocker and the lyrics "Guilty until proven innocent" seemed to ring true for me at the time. Not that I was in any trouble with the law. "Too Hot" is a fun song that reminds me of the Kinks of old, not that they really changed that much over the years. It's just a catchy vibe that makes you want to wiggle back and forth in your chair.

Another interesting song is "Missing Persons" which is the closest song to a ballad on the album. It is a slow song but the drums are done in military fashion and it does get harder when it needs to punctuate its point. "Summer's Gone" is a cross between 1960s pop and heavy metal. Sounds weird I know but believe me, it works on here. Some good guitar work on here too. Maybe it was a summertime fun song for the 1980s. "Going Solo" is a good closer and I have always wondered about it. With the lyrics: "My little girl's going solo" combined with the fact that the band members were parents, that it's about a daughter who's grown up and leaving the house. Just a thought, but you can't fault the album.

Track Listing:

1. Do It Again
2. Word of Mouth
3. Good Day
4. Living on a Thin Line
5. Sold Me Out
6. Massive Reductions
7. Guilty
8. Too Hot
9. Missing Persons
10. Summer's Gone
11. Going Solo

The Kinks

Ray Davies- guitar, vocals, keyboards, harmonica

Dave Davies- guitars, backing vocals, lead vocal on "Living on a Thin Line" and "Guilty"

Jim Rodford- bass, backing vocals

Mick Avory- drums on "Missing Persons," "Sold Me Out" and "Going Solo"

Bob Henrit- drums on all other tracks

Ian Gibbons- keyboards and backing vocals

Twenty years and the Kinks were still going strong as the "Word of Mouth" album certainly showed. Looking back, it amazes me just how much good rock was out there in the year so much metal was being aired.

Next post: There will be no post later on this week as I'm off to Newcastle Upon Tyne for a much needed break. However, I will go to Trillian's and if I happen to see a good band or two whilst I'm there, you'll read about it here.

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