Great Rock Albums of 1984: Greg Kihn Band- Kihntagious

 

One of the biggest questions I have about 1984 is why did the Greg Kihn Band fade into oblivion in this year? The band was riding high on the wave of their very successful 1983 album, "Kihnspiracy," which, in spite of the album having the ballad hit single "Jeopardy" on it, was a good rocking album. MTV seemed to like them as the video for the first single from the 1984 album, "Kihntagious," "Reunited," got a lot of play. I still think that it is a pretty good song. So I ask why did this band fade away so rapidly?

Could the answer be with "Kihntagious?" The already mentioned single leads off the album and gives it a promising start. Then comes the misleading "Rock," the second single. This was released as a dance track and though there's some good individual spots of musicianship on it, (Greg Douglass does some good lead guitar work on it), the dance vibe does sort of kills it for me. However, that is simply the weakest track on the album. "Stand Together" takes me back to their first album. It's a good rocking track. "Confrontation Music" has a strong reggae vibe which I like quite a bit. Plus, Douglass probably plays his best guitar solo on this one. "Work, Work, Work" is a rocking closer that works on different levels.

Track Listing:

1. Reunited
2. Rock
3. Make Up
4. Stand Together
5. Confrontation Music
6. One Thing About Love
7. Worst That Could Happen
8. Trouble With the Girl
9. Cheri Baby
10. Hard Times
11. Work, Work, Work

Greg Kihn Band

Greg Kihn- vocals, rhythm guitar

Greg Douglass- lead, slide guitars, backing vocals

Larry Lynch- drums, vocals

Steve Wright- bass, backing vocals

Gary Phillips- keyboards

Listening to "Kihntagious," I can't still fathom as to why the Greg Kihn Band slipped into obscurity after. I mean, this isn't a bad album by any stretch of the imagination. I guess the answer is somewhere out there.

Next post: U2- The Unforgettable Fire

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

Great Rock Albums of 1983: Greg Kihn Band- Kihnspiracy

 

1983 was the most commercially successful year for the Greg Kihn Band. They're best known hit "Jeopardy" went to number two in the singles charts and only "Beat It" by Michael Jackson kept it off the top spot. Maybe they should have gotten Eddie Van Halen to play a guitar solo on that song.

"Jeopardy" opens the 1983 album, "Kihnspiracy" and once the single is done and dusted, that's when the album really kicks into gear. The very next track, "Fascination" begins with a great luring guitar intro and it is a rocker that really shapes the rest of the album. Likewise with the next track, "Tear Down the City" but only this begins with some cool lead guitar licks. Things go down a similar vein with the next couple of tracks. "You Can't Love Them All" is a very amusing track and the guitar solos on it are first rate.

Having this on cassette, I can say that side two does eventually slow down. "I Fall to Pieces" isn't as fast as any of the songs on side one, barring the big single but the hard guitars are strongly felt nonetheless. "Someday" is the song where keyboards are heard the most but it is still a rock song. Lead guitarist, Greg Douglass, who joined the band on the album shows he knows a little about how to play a guitar. "Curious" is the hardest song on the second side and then the album goes out with two slightly more softer songs, although "How Long" does have a cool, almost acoustic intro. Listening to the album after so many years, I think some of these songs would sound really cool if covered by a metal bands. A surprisingly good forgotten album.

Track Listing:

1. Jeopardy
2. Fascination
3. Tear Down the City
4. Talking to Myself
5. You Can't Love Them All
6. I Fall to Pieces
7. Someday
8. Curious
9. How Long
10. Love Never Fails

[caption id="attachment_2119" align="aligncenter" width="287"] Greg Kihn Band[/caption]

Greg Kihn- lead vocals, rhythm guitar

Greg Douglass- lead/slide guitars, vocals

Larry Lynch- drums, vocals

Steve Wright- bass, vocals

Gary Phillips- keyboards

The tragic thing about the Greg Kihn band is that when people think of them and remember 1983, they will always be associated with their biggest single and not for the hard rocking album that "Kihnspiracy" is. That is a tragedy.

Next post: The Tubes- Outside Inside

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

Great Rock Albums of 1981: Greg Kihn Band- Rockihnroll

"Tom Sawyer" by Rush lifted my spirits while I was on mess duty in 1981. In the summer of that year, "The Break Up Song" by the Greg Kihn Band made air alert more bearable. For those who never served in the military, when a marine battalion is placed on air alert, that means the president at any time can order them to go where he needs them to. In 1980, President Carter ordered my battalion to Key West Florida to deal with the influx of Cuban refugees (actually it was Castro emptying his prisons.) In 1981, Regan never ordered us to go anywhere but that didn't stop the top brass from playing (sorry but I have to use the real term here so I apologise to any who might be offended) fuck fuck games with us. Things like getting us up at two in the morning and putting us on trucks to drive forty miles to the air base just for someone to say, "Good job boys." We couldn't go more than fifteen miles from the base and had to let the duty NCO know where we were at all times. Of course, because we were limited to where we could go, we went to the field a lot. So it's no wonder I needed something to raise the spirits a little and "The Break Up Song" was it.

I think what first caught my eye to the song was the guitar sound along with those famous lyrics "ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah." Although at the time, I thought each of those "ah's" started with a "b." It was another three years before I learned I was actually singing the wrong thing. Saying that, I did mentally compose my own x rated version but I won't go there. The rest of the "RocKihnRoll" album goes along the same vein. Like the big single, the great majority of the songs on the album have that catchy guitar intro that turns your head to it and makes it worth a listen. While the rock doesn't go too heavy, it's there and you definitely notice it. Even the ballad "Sheila" which starts with a keyboard, suddenly goes into a hard rock moment. I found it difficult to pick tracks other than "The Break Up Song" that stand out and that isn't a bad thing for this album. However, I would vote for "Womankind" and "Trouble in Paradise" as other songs of note. The Greg Kihn band shows that they were a good tight band here.

Track Listing:

1. Valerie

2. The Break Up Song (They Don't Write' Em)

3. Womankind

4. Can't Stop Hurtin' Myself

5. Trouble in Paradise

6. Sheila

7. Nothing's Gonna Change

8. The Girl Most Likely

9. When The Music Starts

10. True Confessions

Greg Kihn Band

Greg Kihn- vocals, guitar

Dave Carpender- guitar, vocals

Larry Lynch- drums, vocals

Steve Wright- bass, vocals

Gary Phillips- keyboards, vocals

In my quest to list guitarists who may not have had the respect they possibly deserve, I must add Dave Carpender. Watching the live performance of the album closer "True Confessions," I must say that he can bend the six string a little bit. That only adds to what a good album this is. It was just what was needed back in 1981, not only for me, but I think for music in general.

Next post: The Who- Face Dances

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