Great Rock Albums of 1981: George Harrison- Somewhere in England

Once again, I know that I'm repeating myself here because I did say this when I visited Mr Harrison's self-titled 1979 album but I feel the strange need to say it again. Of all the solo work from the members of The Beatles, it's George's the I like the best. I did really like Paul McCartney with Wings in the early 70s but I felt he went too disco at the tail end of the decade. For the more astute, you may have realised that I never visited Wings' 1979 "Back to the Egg" album, now you know why. However, George Harrison was consistent with his music throughout and didn't bow to trends in music. While the 1976 album "33 1/3" remains my favourite of his albums, "Somewhere in England" has to rank up there as well.

Warning, this is not a bang your head rock album. George Harrison's music has always appealed to my more mellower side and this album is no different. However, what comes through on most of the tracks is a subtle lead guitar in the background and for me, that makes most of the songs where it happens. Most notable is the opening track, "Teardrops" and "Unconciousness Rules." Other tracks have this guitar sound on it as well and there are one or two tracks that make you think George is going to let loose, especially with some of the guitar intros on a couple of tracks but the song goes into the more melodic sound that I know him for. Even so, he makes it sound really good and since the album was released just a few months after former band mate John Lennon's death, the single "All Those Years Ago" is not only a dedication to him, the other former band mates, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr appear on the song marking a true tribute to Lennon.

Track Listing:

  Blood From a Clone

Unconciousness Rules

Life Itself

All Those Years Ago

Baltimore Oriole

Teardrops

That Which I've Lost

Writing On the Wall

Hong Kong Blues

Save the World

[caption id="attachment_1203" align="aligncenter" width="253"] George Harrison[/caption]

George Harrison- Lead vocals, guitars, keyboards, synthesisers

Alla Rakha- tabla

Gary Brooker- keyboards, synthesisers

Al Kooper- keyboards, synthesisers

Mike Moran- keyboards, synthesisers

Neil Larsen- keyboards, synthesisers

Tom Scott-Lynicon- horns

Herbie Flowers- tuba, bass

Willie Weeks- bass

Ray Cooper- keyboards, synthesisers, percussion, drums

Jim Keltner- drums

Dave Mattacks- drums

 I probably appreciate this album much more these days as I'm mellowing with age, although play a Slayer or Amon Amarth song and I will be going full tilt. Over the years before his death, George Harrison put out some good light rock and "Somewhere In England" is one of the best.

Next post: Rick Springfield- Working Class Dog

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Great Rock Albums of 1980: Paul McCartney II

1980 saw the parting of Paul McCartney from his band Wings. According to long time member Denny Lane, the final straw was McCartney's arrest for possession of marijuana in Japan in the January. However, I like to speculate that there might have been dissent in the ranks due to the direction the band was going. See, if you have been following me for a while, you might have noticed that I had left out Wings album "Back to the Egg" on my journey through 1979. This was because I was rather unimpressed with it as I felt it was too disco. Fortunately after the departure from Wings, Paul McCartney, never one to be idle for too long, went back to his farm in Scotland to do private recordings. The result was the album "Paul McCartney II."

The first thing I liked about this album when I first heard it all those years ago was that it wasn't disco. Track one, "Coming Up," which was also the big single from the album, has a catchy rock type sound to it that you can't get out of your head long after the song is over. The rest of the album experiments with different types of music and if it had been a musician of lesser talent, would not have worked. While there are no hard rocking tunes on "II," I really love the blues riff in the third track, "On the Way" and when I heard the preceding track, I first questioned whether it was Paul McCartney. Still, it's good to see the man has a sense of humour. The rest of the album is a mix of light progressive rock, slower songs and more humourous playing. The tracks that stand out for me in the remainder of the album are "Frozen Jap" and "Bogey Music," though I can't help wondering if the former mentioned song was a dig at his 11 day incarceration in Japan.

Track Listing:

1. Coming Up

2. Temporary Secretary

3. On the Way

4. Waterfalls

5. Nobody Knows

6. Summer's Day Song

7. Frozen Jap

8. Bogey Music

9. Darkroom

10. One of These Days

Paul McCartney

Wikipedia doesn't list any personnel which leads me to conclude that all instruments and vocals were done by the man himself.

Although I didn't realise it back then, disco was dying. Artists like McCartney who had dabbled in such sound in the late 70s, were seeing the error of their ways and going back to what made them in the first place. Albums like this one shows that it was the best decision Paul McCartney made.

Next post: Gillan- Glory Road

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Great Rock Albums of 1978: Wings- London Town

Once again, I am forced to include another album I left out in the last chapter of great rock albums of the 1970s. This time it's the "Band on the Run" album from Wings. This is particularly surprising for me because the title track to this album was my favourite song throughout most of 1974. Furthermore, I like the song "Jet" almost as much. So I can't explain why such a classic album was missed, so here it is now. "Band on the Run" is a classic rock album in the true sense of the word.

First, let me clarify something I mentioned in a previous post, "1978: The Year the Rivers of Rock Began to Overflow." I said that Paul McCartney and Wings were going disco that year. Not quite, the 1978 Wings album "London Town" is not a disco album, that applies to the next album they put out, which I won't be visiting when I cover 1979. Saying that, "London Town" is not quite as good as "Band on the Run" although some may disagree with me.

In spite of that, there are some good moments on "London Town." Many will remember the pop single "With a Little Luck," an average song that is somehow improved on by the talents of McCartney. However, it is the track, "I've Had Enough" that makes the album for me. I remember watching a clip of this song on the old "Midnight Special" show in the 70s and found myself moving my head the way they were. You could say it was the first song I head banged to.

Track Listing:

1. London Town

2. Cafe on the Left Bank

3. I'm Carrying

4. Backwards Traveller

5. Cuff Link

6. Children Children

7. Girlfriend

8. I've Had Enough

9. With A Little Luck

10. Famous Groupies

11. Deliver Your Children

12. Name and Address

13. Don't Let It Bring You Down

14. Morse Moose and the Grey Goose

Wings:

Paul McCartney- bass, vocals, guitar, drums, percussion, flageolet, keyboards, violim

Linda McCartney- keyboards, vocals

Denny Laine- guitar, bass, vocals, flageolet

Jimmy McCulloch- guitar

Joe English- drums

Comapred to "Band on the Run," it's not the greatest Wings album, but "London Town" is still a good listen.

Next post: Alice Cooper- From the Inside

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