Great Metal Albums of 1984: Rock Goddess- Hell Hath No Fury

 

Girlschool wasn't the only female band to come along on the new wave of British heavy metal, (NWOBHM). In early 1984, I happened to catch another band of ladies who proved they could rock as hard as the men. That band happened to be the trio known as Rock Goddess. I have to admit, when I first saw the video for the big single from this album, "Hell Hath No Fury," "I Didn't Know Till I Saw You Rock and Roll," I was totally smitten. Not only did these three ladies tingle my then 22 year old hormones, they could play metal as well and play it well. Note: this single doesn't appear on the UK release of the album.

While the mentioned single can still be found on some compilation albums from time to time and is the song Rock Goddess is best known for, I can say with certainty that the entire album kicks ass. It's just one complete blow your eardrums to pieces rock party from start to finish. In fact, if I had to pick, I would say that the opening title track is probably the least strongest track on here. I can't use weakest because I don't think that applies. "Gotta Let Your Hair Down" is a great example of what I mean by blow your eardrums metal. When I hear that song, I regret the fact that I never seen them live.

Because they are an all female band, I feel the need to make the cliched comment that they are just as good as their male counterparts. Take singer/guitarist Jody Turner. Now, I admit that her guitar playing isn't equal to greats like Blackmore or Van Halen but it's good enough. Her best guitar effort can be found on "In the Night" and runner up is "Hold Me Down." Plus she has the added gift of having a good singing voice that can bellow to the high extremes and then soften to a melodic purr. If that's not all, she was the songwriter for the band and to me, she does write some good songs. I find, "The Visitors Are Here," a song about an alien visit, quite cool. As for the rhythm section of Julie Turner and Dee O'Malley, they are as tight as any other section I know of.

Track Listing:

1. Hell Hath No Fury
2. I Didn't Know I Loved You Till I Saw You Rock and Roll
3. Gotta Let Your Hair Down
4. In the Night
5. Hold Me Down
6. The Visitors Are Here
7. You Got the Fire
8. It Will Never Change
9. Don't Want Your Love
10. God Be With You

[caption id="attachment_4233" align="aligncenter" width="301"] Rock Goddess[/caption]

Jody Turner- guitars, lead vocals

Julie Turner- drums, backing vocals

Dee O'Malley- bass, keyboards, backing vocals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3ENh47nlKM

My question has always been, why didn't Rock Goddess go further? According to Wikapedia, there were problems from the outset. Julie Turner was still a school age minor and there were legal limitation on how many live shows she could perform. Right before the scheduled US tour, Dee O'Malley announced she was pregnant and left the band. That was typical of the band's history as bassists and sometimes second guitarists would come and go so they never became fully solid. Damn shame in my opinion because they could have achieved so much more.

Next post: White Wolf- Standing Alone

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

Great Metal Albums of 1984: Accept- Balls to the Wall

 

If ever the saying, "never judge a book (or an album) by its cover" was relevant, it was certainly the case with Accept's album "Balls to the Wall." Ever since it's launch, the cover of the album has brought criticisms of homo-erotica and this debate continues even today. For me, while I never or will ever enter into that debate, I must admit that I was rather homophobic in 1984 and used to have the album face down whenever I listened to it. But homo-erotic album cover or not, it never stopped me from enjoying the content the album contains.

The title track is probably the best known Accept song ever. I remember it getting a considerable amount of airplay on the radio, though I don't recall ever seeing the video for it on MTV. That song totally blew me away at first listen. That catchy chorus just gets you banging your head away and singing along to it with all your heart and soul. It does the same for me even after all these years. Even if the song had homo-erotic overtones, which the band has always denied, I wouldn't have cared then or now.

As was the case in 80s Reagan America, the fact that the cover of the album was thought to entertain homosexual contents, meant the rest of the album must do so as well. Songs like "London Leatherboys" and "Love Child" also were accused of the same. Let me tell you that it was all a load of nonsense. The great track, "London Leatherboys" was about bikers and even if it wasn't, it's such a cool metal jam. "Love Child" is about gays but it's also about all people who are oppressed, which back in that time, was any non-conformist group or individual. It still doesn't stop it from being a great song. I have to agree with the words of guitarist Wolf Hoffmann who said, "You Americans are so uptight about this." He was totally correct.

In addition to the tracks I've already mentioned, the rest of the album is of the same greatness. Except for the acoustic closer, which in itself, isn't a bad song, each one of these tracks totally kicks ass. Then as now, I can't really pick a favorite apart from the famous title track. Power and melody are fused so well it's amazing. There is something to like about each and every one here whether it's hard riffs, catchy choruses or blistering guitar solos. "Balls to the Wall" was my metal introduction to the year 1984 and what a great one it was.

Track Listing:

1. Balls to the Wall
2. London Leatherboys
3. Fight Back
4. Head Over Heels
5. Losing More Than You Ever Had
6. Love Child
7. Turn Me On
8. Losers and Winners
9. Guardians of the Night
10. 
    Winter Dreams

[caption id="attachment_4225" align="aligncenter" width="259"] Accept[/caption]

Do Dirkscheider- lead vocals

Wolf Hoffmann- guitar

Herman Frank- guitar

Peter Baltes- bass

Stefan Kaufmann- drums

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjvrLbmmi40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-q2UquiCRw

Like I said, "Balls to the Wall" was my metal introduction to 1984 as I first heard it in early February of that year. I don't think I could have asked for a better one than this.

Next post: Rock Goddess- Hell Hath No Fury

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

Great Rock/Metal Albums of 1984: Bon Jovi

 

Before I launch into the debut album by a band considered to be a symbol for 1980s hard rock and heavy metal, I thought I first begin by naming four more films of 1984 I missed. Two of them I can't believe I did and two of them starred comedian Eddie Murphy.

[caption id="attachment_4216" align="aligncenter" width="182"] Beverly Hills Cop was considered to be on a par with Ghostbusters at the time.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4217" align="aligncenter" width="183"] Conan the Destroyer with Arnie Schwartzeneger was a big let down in comparison with the first film[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4218" align="aligncenter" width="275"] Another children's favourite, Gremlins. Thanks to keepsmealive for bringing it to light for me.[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_4219" align="aligncenter" width="182"] Hot Dog- about freestyle skiing had its funny moments.[/caption]

There was a fifth film called Best Defense with Eddie Murphy and Dudley Moore which was okay but just okay.

Now onto the self-titled debut from Bon Jovi. While I have always liked this album, at the time, I thought it was nothing spectacular. Yes, the single that got them on MTV, "Runaway," was very good, probably still one of my favourite Bon Jovi jams, even if one friend of mine considered it to sound too much like Rick Springfield. Furthermore, I felt exactly the same way when I saw them open for The Scorpions in this year. I thought they weren't bad but not anything phenomenal.

Like all Bon Jovi albums, when I listen to it, I ask myself the question why Bon Jovi are considered heavy metal. True, there are some hard rocking songs on the album and there was the potential for more had not the keyboards been too heavy on them. The tracks I'm talking about are "Burning For Love" and the second single, "She Don't Know Me." The latter officially became the first song I liked on account of the video for it. Had I heard it on the radio or the album, I wouldn't have liked it so much. The former does have a great guitar solo on it though.

On the other hand, there are some decent rockers on the album in addition to "Runaway." "Love Lies" is definitely one of those. Whenever I listen to it, I remember why I have always held the guitar abilities of one Richie Sambora in such high regards. He does shine here. "Breakout" can't make up its mind as to whether it wants to be a rocker or not. I do like the standard keyboard intro followed by the thunder of the guitar. However, the keyboards come back in and take over a little too much in some places. The song sounds like a power struggle between the hard rock and commercial sounds. The decider is again, another good guitar solo from Richie. I have always said that a good closing song can do wonders for an album and "Get Ready" does that job well on the album. It is a strong rocker which ends things quite well. Plus, it gets some good support from the penultimate track.

Track Listing:

1. Runaway
2. Roulette
3. She Don't Know Me
4. "Shot Through the Heart
5. Love Lies
6. Breakout
7. Burning For Love
8. Come Back
9. Get Ready

[caption id="attachment_4220" align="aligncenter" width="290"] Bon Jovi[/caption]

Jon Bon Jovi- lead vocals, rhythm guitar

Richie Sambora- lead guitar, backing vocals

Dave Bryan- keyboards, backing vocals

Alec John Such- bass, backing vocals

Tico Torres- drums, percussion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omLgJe9cnCw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s86K-p089R8

Now here's the big question I am going to explore on all my Bon Jovi posts in the future. Someone once commented that Bon Jovi represented everything that was wrong with heavy metal in the 1980s. What? I never thought there was anything wrong with metal back then. It's something I'm going to investigate though. Thinking back to 1984 and this debut album, I certainly wasn't thinking that. Then, I would never have thought that the band would go onto achieve so much.

Next post: Accept- Balls to the Wall

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

I Can't Believe I Missed This One

 I'm surprised that no one has pulled me up on this, missing what was for me, the zainiest film of 1984. I'm talking about the very first Police Academy film! It is true that usually the original film in a series is the best and and that is certainly the case here. I laughed my butt off from start to finish.

 

[caption id="attachment_4211" align="aligncenter" width="289"] The graduates from the first Police Academy.[/caption]

I always like Tackleberry best.

[caption id="attachment_4212" align="aligncenter" width="253"] Here's Tackleberry[/caption]