Great Rock/Metal Albums of 1984: Slade- Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply

 

Throughout the later half of the 1970s, Slade had been trying to break into the American music market but with little success. Back then, I heard the name but nothing more. However, in 1983, Quiet Riot covered their 1973 hit "Cum On Feel the Noise." Once Americans realized that the song had been originally written and recorded by Slade, a curiosity about the band arose and people began to check them out. Honest, it was on my to do list but I didn't get around to it. That was until radio played the single, "My Oh My" from the 1984 "Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply" and then MTV played the video for "Run Run Away" quite a lot. Therefore, I had no other choice than to investigate Slade. It would be this album first. That led me to listen to them more and is why I site them as an 'honourable mention' in my series of "Other Great Metal Influences."

The big question back in 1984 was should Slade be considered heavy metal? Of course, the trendies thought anything with a fuzzy guitar was heavy metal and some of the more self proclaimed hard core metalheads claimed the opposite citing the fact that Jim Lea wrote "Run Run Away" on his fiddle. Well that happens to be my favourite Slade song of all time and yes, there is definitely a folk influence in the song but for me, it still rocks. I love the crunching guitars at the beginning and the folk provides a cool twist. Amusing anecdote: For the first few weeks of hearing "Run Run Away," I thought the lyrics "See chameleon" were actually "See comedian." My ears were playing tricks on me.

"My Oh My" is another reason why I'm such a sucker for a good power ballad because that's exactly what it is. I could never explain why but the lyrics to it really got to me then and when I hear it now, I think about that. Folk influenced tunes and power ballads aside, the album blows apart any argument that Slade aren't capable of going total rock out. The best examples are the three tracks, "Slam the Hammer Down," "In the Doghouse," which has the best guitar solo on the album and the title track. All of these are really cool songs and stamp the argument that Slade can be considered heavy metal. Not that the other songs don't rock because they surely do. Except for "(And Now the Waltz) C'est La Vie," which is the other power ballad on the album. It's good and better what some bands are capable of but I prefer "My Oh My." Also the closer, "Ready to Explode," is cool with the car racing commentary and it rocks pretty well too. Unlike the shorter tracks, it's eight minutes long and you are not bored for one second of it. However, it's the three mentioned ones that are the big headbangers on this album.

Track Listing:

1. Run Run Away
2. My Oh My
3. High and Dry
4. Slam the Hammer Down
5. In the Doghouse
6. Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply
7. Cheap'n Nasty Luv
8. Can't Tame a Hurricane
9. (And Now the Waltz) C'est La Vie
10. Ready to Explode

[caption id="attachment_265" align="aligncenter" width="282"] Slade[/caption]

Noddy Holder- rhythm guitar, lead vocals

Dave Hill- lead guitar, backing vocals

Jim Lea- bass, keyboards, backing vocals, accompanying lead vocal on "Ready to Explode"

Don Powell- drums, percussion, gongs

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikMiQZF-mAY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2F2otpxkro

Quiet Riot may have helped Slade get the recognition they so dearly deserved in America but it was the "Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply" album that made everyone take notice that they were for real. They did start a tour in support of Ozzy in this year but Noddy Holder's marital problems and Jim Lea coming down with hepatitis killed the tour. Shame, because I would have loved to have seen them.

Next post: Black N Blue

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

Great Rock Albums of 1984: Big Country- Steeltown

 

After much contemplation, actually thirty plus years of it, I have arrived at the conclusion that Scottish rockers, Big Country have been given a bad rap by many in the rock world. I think that because of their first big hit "In a Big Country" from their 1983 album, "The Crossing," which sounded a little new wave pop to some and the fact that MTV played the video to death. What also didn't help them was that on this, their 1984 album, "Steeltown," they went on tour with Hall and Oates, which led me and many others to conclude they were simply a top forty band. In truth, they weren't and had some interesting sounds that metalheads and those not into trends could like together.

What they do so well on this album and their others as well is to blend the hard rock, new wave with their Celtic roots. Blended together, it makes a very interesting but enjoyable sound. The title track is the prime example of what I mean. One minute you are gently rocking away to it and the next you find yourself lost in the Celtic melody of the song. An added bonus is the political/historical message in the lyrics. "Steeltown" is about the town of Corby where many local Scots went to work in the newly opened steel mill in 1935 only to find themselves unemployed when it shut down in the early 1980s following the decline of the steelworks. The song was very apt for that time.

The rest of the album follows along in the same vein. Hard rock with great local melodies entwine themselves in every song. One thing I find on a personal note is that "East of Eden" was their only top 20 single from the album but I think that there are better songs on it and with me, that's usually the criteria for a good album in my twisted mind. As far as singles go, I prefer the non top 20 reaching one, "Where the Rose is Sown." That only made it to 29  but it has all the things I like on the album. "Come Back to Me" is also an interesting one. It's kind of a ballad but it's not but it does have some nice drum work on it. "Rain Dance" also stands out for me and "The Great Divide" is the hardest rock track but I can't say there's a bad song on here.

Track Listing:

1. Flame of the West
2. East of Eden
3. Steeltown
4. Where the Rose is Sown
5. Come Back to Me
6. Tall Ships Go
7. Girl With Grey Eyes
8. Rain Dance
9. The Great Divide
10. Just a Shadow

[caption id="attachment_3247" align="aligncenter" width="295"] Big Country[/caption]

Stuart Adamson- lead vocals, guitar, piano

Mark Brzezicki- drums, percussion, vocals

Tony Butler- bass, vocals

Bruce Watson- guitar, mandolin, sitar, vocals

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

For the reasons I mentioned at the start of the post, this album largely passed me by in 1984. Don't worry, I've already given myself 40 lashes for it. It would be the next album when I would stop and say, "Hey wait a minute, these guys are pretty good." Still, better late than never and I can say that this album is the real deal.

Next post:  REO Speedwagon- Wheels Are Turnin'

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

Great Rock Albums of 1983: Big Country- The Crossing

 

It was the beginning of December in 1983 when MTV finally came into my household. That was because we were offered a really good deal on it, so my mother agreed to it but that's not important here. What I did discover almost straight away was that while many an act owed their success to MTV, that channel also had the potential to kill an act. In those first few weeks, just about every time we switched on the channel, the video for Big Country's first big hit, "In a Big Country" would be playing. It got played to the point that whenever it came on, either me or my sister and even my then 12 year old brother would crack the sarcastic comment, "Hey, never seen this one before." The irony is that when I first heard that song, I thought it was decent enough. I liked Big Country's Scottish Celtic-folk sound mixed in with a bit of hard rock. It was definitely something I would call new wave. Unfortunately, the over saturation of the song on MTV put me off and as a result, I never got to appreciate how good their debut album, "The Crossing" was.

Another ironic point about this album was that by chance, I saw the video for their second single, "Fields of Fire." I say by chance because unlike "In a Big Country" they hardly played it and that's a shame because I preferred "Fields of Fire" to the other one. It is a bit harder. Throughout "The Crossing," the folk-rock combination weaves its way in, out and around all the tracks. The first three or four tracks edge closer to the more progressive side. There are some very interesting musical arrangements here, especially with the song, "Chance." Things tend to sound a bit more harder after that, although the track "1000 Stars" does slightly remind of U2. Furthermore, I do like the acoustic folk sound on "The Storm." But "Harvest Home" is more hard rock for and that is followed by my favourite track, "Lost Patrol." Another song, I will add to my list of songs that would sound good metalized.

At first, I didn't know what to think about the closer, "Porrohman." But once I sat down and really listened to it, I found it to be one of those that absorbs you in and you have no choice but to just enjoy it to its end. A great song to end the album with. One more point I have to make is about the vocals of Stuart Adamson. What makes his vocals good is that they fit right in with the music and that does well here.

Track Listing:

1. In a Big Country
2. Inwards
3. Chance
4. 1000 Stars
5. The Storm
6. Harvest Home
7. Lost Patrol
8. Close Action
9. Fields of Fire
10. Porrohman

 

Stuart Adamson- vocals, guitar, piano, ebow

Bruce Watson- guitar, vocals, ebow, mandolin, sitar

Tony Butler- bass, vocals

Mark Brzezicki- drums, percussion,vocals

Did you know that some people actually consider Big Country to be one hit wonders. I don't. From what I heard from their later work, they seem to go a bit more harder. Still, they were never one hit wonders. That label kept people like me from hearing how good "The Crossing" actually was.

Next post: Robert Plant- The Principle of Moments

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