Great Rock Albums of 1985: Joe Walsh- The Confessor

 

Another example of if I had paid attention to MTV in 1985, it would have resulted in my missing out on another great album. When the made for MTV video for the title track of Joe Walsh’s album, “The Confessor,” came on, I wasn’t that impressed. Fortunately, I knew of old from his 1981 album, “There Goes the Neighbourhood,” not to judge Joe on the singles. Therefore, I was able to delve into this offering without hesitation and I would have more regret if I hadn’t.

“The Confessor” is an album of three, possibly four parts. The first two songs all have a reggae vibe to it and I have always thought that if Joe wanted to go full on reggae, he was quite capable of doing so. Saying that, each of the first two songs have their own unique stamp on them. The opener, “Problems” might sound reggae through the verses but definitely more hard rock in the chorus. With “I Broke My Leg,” again there’s a reggae vibe to it but Joe throws in some interesting reverb work on the guitar. Those first two tracks make for an interesting hook for the rest of the album.

Tracks 3-6 go into more familiar Walsh territory. The guitar work on “Bubbles” reminds me a little of his 1970s classic, “Rocky Mountain Way” and the song itself, sounds a bit more from said decade. “Slow Dancing” isn’t one for actual slow dancing but it has a way out bluesy feel to it with some more interesting guitar work from you know who. The next track, “15 Years,” could be a contender for hidden gem on the album. More harder rock than the previous two and he nails the solo on it. It’s a great blues based rock song. At the end of the second act is the title track which you get in it’s full seven minute glory and not the four minute MTV version. I much prefer that one, especially as you get to hear much more of Joe’s cool guitar work. It starts with a cool cowboy sounding acoustic guitar before going much harder. I can’t think that a certain band from New Jersey got the idea for a similar song on their 1986 album from Joe on this one.

If “15 Years” wasn’t hard enough, you will not be disappointed with the next two tracks. “Rosewood Bitters,” a song Joe originally recorded with the Michael Stanley Band. This was my second contender for hidden gem. It’s more of a melodic rock tune with some cool guitar hooks. However, I think I’ll have to go with the full rock tune, “Good Man Down” for actual hidden gem. This song is a belter and Joe really rocks out on it, guitar solo and all.

The final track, “Dear John,” goes back to the more reggae sound of the first two tracks. Was this Joe coming full circle on the album? Your guess is as good as mine. Whatever he was thinking, it worked for me as I really like “The Confessor.”

Track Listing:

1. Problems
2. I Broke My Leg
3. Bubbles
4. Slow Dancing
5. 15 Years
6. The Confessor
7. Rosewood Bitters
8. Good Man Down
9. Dear John

Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh- lead vocals, lead guitar, synthesizer, bass, talk box

Waddy Watchel- guitar

Mark Andes- bass

Mike Procraro- bass

Dave Margen- bass

Dennis Bellafield- bass

Rick Rosas- bass

Denny Carmassi- drums

Joe Keltner- drums

Rick Moratta- drums

Jeff Procraro- drums

Chet McCracken- drums

Randy Newman- keyboards

Alan Pasqua- keyboards

Jerry Petersen- saxophone

Earl Lon Price- tenor sax

Kenneth Tussing- trombone

Timothy B Schmidt- backing vocals

Critics rubbished “The Confessor” saying that Joe Walsh was a decade behind the times. I guess they expected him to use synths all throughout the album. What do they know? The answer is that in spite of the critics, the album sold pretty well and I can certainly understand why. Who cares if it was too 1970s for some people? I don’t.

Next post: Heart

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Great Rock Albums of 1985: Molly Hatchet- Double Trouble Live

 

It was only logical that after six great studio albums, Molly Hatchet would put out a live album and boy what a live album! This album is so brilliant that it almost, I stress almost, removes my regret of never having seen this great band live. There was a couple of near opportunities to do so but the US Marine Corps had other ideas at the time. That means, I have had to settle for the consolation prize, not a bad one in any way, of “Double Trouble Live.”

What is cool about this live album is that the song selection has offerings from each of the studio albums. This includes the “Beatin’ the Odds” and “Take No Prisoners” albums when Jimmy Farrar handled the vocal duties. I have to say that Danny Joe Brown does a good job on both of the songs “Beatin’ the Odds” and “Bloody Reunion.” Speaking of Danny Joe, the band even plays a track, “Edge of Sundown,” from his one album with the Danny Joe Brown Band. Therefore, this album has a great diverse mix but Molly Hatchet shines on each and every song.

Of course, there are all the familiar Molly Hatchet classics we have come to love. “Flirtin’ With Disaster,” “Bounty Hunter,” “Fall of the Peacemakers,” “Stone In Your Heart,” “Satisfied Man” and “Boogie No More” are all played brilliantly live. You’d expect nothing less. On top of that, it was only natural they opened with “Whiskey Man” but the song where they really go above and beyond is “Gator Country.” That has always been a cool song but live, guitarists Duane Roland and Dave Hlubeck go absolutely nuts and turn it into a great jam session, well done lads!

When I first heard the album, I was slightly perplexed as to why they would cover Lynyrd Skynyrd’s legendary “Freebird.” After all, most Southern rock bands have their own answer to the Skynyrd classic. Blackfoot has “Highway Song” and even Molly Hatchet had “Fall of the Peacemakers.” So I asked myself, “Why?” The answer came when I listened to the track. Molly Hatchet definitely do it justice. I mean, I have heard some awful attempts covering this classic and I wanted to take an Uzi to those pretenders but Molly Hatchet would have made Ronnie Van Zant proud. There is also a cover of the Allman Brothers classic, “Dreams I’ll Never See” and again, it’s nicely done. Like I said, “Double Trouble Live” nearly removes my regret of not having seen them live.

Track Listing:

1. Whiskey Man
2. Bounty Hunter
3. Gator Country
4. Flirtin’ With Disaster
5. Stone in Your Heart
6. Satisfied Man
7. Bloody Reunion
8. Boogie No More
9. Freebird
10. Walk on the Side of Angels
11. Walk With You
12. Dreams I’ll Never See
13. Edge of Sundown
14. Fall of the Peacemakers
15. Beatin’ the Odds

Molly Hatchet

Danny Joe Brown- vocals

Dave Hlubeck- guitar

Duane Roland- guitar

John Galvin- keyboards

Riff West- bass

Bruce Crump- drums

It has been said the “Double Trouble Live” is one of the best live albums of all time. It’s definitely one of the best in 1985. The only reason it’s not number one for the year as there is a definite contender as well but I’ll get to that one in due course. In the mean time, have a listen to a fantastic live album from Molly Hatchet. You too might not feel so bad if you haven’t seen them live.

Next post: Joe Walsh- The Confessor

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Great Rock Albums of 1985: Stevie Ray Vaughn- Soul to Soul

 

If I had relied on MTV for musical influence back in 1985, I would have never discovered this cool album from Stevie Ray Vaughan. I remember not being overly impressed with the music video for the song, “Change It” from the album. That was because that a huge part of Stevie’s guitar solo on the song got cut out of the video and that was a damn shame. What he could do with a guitar was what Stevie Ray Vaughan was all about and the 1985 album, “Soul to Soul” demonstrates this to a tee.

At the time, blues based guitarists seemed to be not trendy enough for the then current generation of MTV slaves. Eric Clapton was accused of being too ‘new wave’ and in spite of some great albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Rory Gallagher had not really broken through to the USA. Furthermore, Pat Travers seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth, it was reassuring that Stevie Ray Vaughan was able to carry the torch in traditional blues based style.

Any doubt about it is erased on the very first track of “Soul to Soul.” “Say What” is a blinding blues instrumental where Stevie just takes his guitar and does what does best with it. He does take over the vocal duties on the songs after that and while his vocals are okay, it’s the guitar work that impresses me more. “Look at Little Sister” is the hidden gem on the album because of the upbeat tempo along with the combination of saxophone and guitar which sounds perfect for this song. The following track “Ain’t Gone n Give Up On Love” is also an amazing blues song reminding me of some of the blues Gods who have gone before such as John Lee Hooker and BB King. There’s another blinder of a guitar solo on that one.

Thinking about it and my Swiss cheese memory might be to blame here, maybe it wasn’t “Change It” that I saw on MTV all those years ago. Listening to it now, this song is much better than what I remember seeing on the video. I have to confess it is a great song. The remainder of the album doesn’t depreciate in any way. The fast paced “You’ll Be Mine” takes things up a notch or four leading right to the great guitar solo intro on “Empty Arms.” After more blistering guitar solos on “Come On (Part III), the album concludes nicely with the slow blues number, “Life Without You” making “Soul to Soul” a classic blues rock album for the 1980s.

Linking past to present, while I have always loved Stevie Ray Vaughan’s music, I think the reason I like it even more these days is because this album especially reminds me of the television show, “NCIS- New Orleans.” Mrs 80smetalman and I are both big fans of the show and with every song here, I think of the end of the programme when after solving the big case, the team are all celebrating in the bar owned by Scott Bakula’s character and this type of music always seems to be playing in the background. Think about it, if it hadn’t been for Stevie’s tragic death from a helicopter crash in 1990, he might have made a guest appearance on the show. That would have been awesome!

Track Listing:

1. Say What
2. Lookin’ Out the Window
3. Look at Little Sister
4. Ain’t Gone n Give Up On Love
5. Gone Home
6. Change It
7. You’ll Be Mine
8. Empty Arms
9. Come on (Part III)
10. Life Without You

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stevie Ray Vaughan- guitar, vocals, drums on “Empty Arms”

Tommy Shannon- bass

Chris Layton- drums

Reese Wynans- keyboards

Joe Sublett- saxophone on “Lookin’ Out the Window” and “Look at Little Sister”

Stevie Ray Vaughan proved that blues based rock was still alive and well in 1985 in spite of what the synth pop addled MTV youth might have said. “Soul to Soul” is a fantastic album.

Next post: Molly Hatchet- Double Trouble Live

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