Great Rock Albums of 1983: Peter Gabriel- Security

 

To be perfectly honest, Peter Gabriel pretty much escaped my listening ears throughout most of the 1980s. The reason was that by 1983, I was a full fledged metalhead and he was too soft for me. Sure, I heard some of his stuff compliments of radio, including, "Shock the Monkey," the big hit from this album, "Security" and his 1980 hit, "Games Without Frontiers" continues to be my favourite song of his. It wasn't until 1990, when my then wife, asked for his "Greatest Hits" album for Christmas, that I really started listening to him and that is the reason why I am posting about the "Security" album now.

This album is further proof that I might be mellowing with age a bit. I stress, a bit, just play a Slayer album and that will reinforce it. "Security" is a good progressive rock/new wave album. Note: I only call it new wave because to ignorant American record executives, anything that didn't sound mainstream was branded such in 1983. Anyway, "Security" opens very mysteriously with "The Rhythm of the Heat," where a subtle keyboard intro grabs your attention and fortunately, the song is strong enough to keep it. I especially like what they do with the drums at the end of the song. Those heavy drums appear again in the third track, "I Have the Touch" and are done just as nicely. Sandwiched between those two songs is the rather interesting "San Jacinto." Listening to it, especially with the repeated lyric, "Hold the Line," I ask myself if this song is about the battle in 1836 that gave Texas its independence from Mexico. I wonder because I've just finished watching the series of "Texas Rising." Still, it's probably the hardest song on the album, I do hear guitars on it.

Things seem to slow down after "Shock the Monkey." The remaining songs aren't as catchy as their predecessors but still worth listening to. "Lay Your Hands on Me" has some good moments with the chorus and what becomes the trademark heavy drums. The two combine to close out the song very memorably.

One label you can not give to this album is synth pop. Sure, keyboards dominate the album but they're done very well. Peter Gabriel shows that he is a true talent with the songs on it, both as a singer and as a writer, leaving me to agree with several people who claim that the true talent went when he left Genesis. Having been given the "And Then There Were Three" album in 1983, I would be inclined to agree.

Track Listing:

1. The Rhythm of the Heat
2. San Jacinto
3. I Have the Touch
4. The Family and the Fishing Net
5. Shock the Monkey
6. Lay Your Hands on Me
7. Wallflower
8. Kiss of Life

[caption id="attachment_3161" align="aligncenter" width="236"] Peter Gabriel[/caption]

Peter Gabriel- vocals, electric piano, programming

Tony Levin- bass, stick

David Rhodes- guitar

Jerry Marotta- drums, percussion

Larry Fast- synthesizers

I won't say that I'm fully converted to Peter Gabriel, but I do like this album. With what was to pass as mainstream in the golden decade, I am glad to discover that there were some artists who played true progressive rock without selling out, unlike Gabriel's previous band.

Next post: The Police- Synchronicity

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

Great Rock Albums of 1983: Berlin- Pleasure Victim

 

Everybody forget all about the 1986 single, "Take My Breath Away" for a moment, well actually, you can forget about it all together for all I care. Three years earlier, the artists behind that single didn't sound very much like that. In 1983, when new wave was mentioned, Berlin was the second name that came to mind after Missing Persons. They too, incorporated everything I associated about the new wave genre back then.

Berlin came to my attention in said year when I heard their first single, "Sex, (I'm A)" on the radio. It was the lyrics to the song that caught my ear. Hearing "I'm a bitch, I'm a slave, I'm a Goddess, I'm a little girl when we make love together" amused me very much. Note: I know the above isn't in the correct order of the song but all those lyrics appear in it. Still it's a cool song. The rest of the album, "Pleasure Victim," follows in what I call the new wave vein. While keyboards and synthesizers dominate the songs, they are used very well and not played in the dumb choppy way that synth pop bands would later use. There is a hint of guitar in them as well, especially in the hardest song, "Masquerade," which is my number one on the album. "The Metro" is also a good tune, probably because I remember it as their second single from the album. Though, I'm not impressed with the last two songs on "Pleasure Victim," the other songs are good enough to carry the album. Listening to it again after so many years, I remember why I liked the new wave sound in 1983.

Let's talk about ladies for a moment. In this case, it's Berlin's lead singer Terri Nunn. She has a great voice, as good as any of the female singers around at the time. Both her and Dale Bozzio were every bit as good as the one female singer who got most of the accolades throughout the mid 1980s. Fifty 80smetalman points if you can guess who I'm referring to here. Anyway, Terri Nunn didn't get the respect she deserved back then both as a singer and as a beautiful woman. I don't remember seeing any Terri Nunn posters around at the time. Thinking about her and Dale Bozzio, there is little to choose from in physical beauty or vocal ability.

[caption id="attachment_3155" align="aligncenter" width="314"] Terri Nunn[/caption]

Track Listing:

1. Tell My Why
2. Pleasure Victim
3. Sex (I'm A)
4. Masquerade
5. The Metro
6. World of Smiles
7. Torture

[caption id="attachment_3156" align="aligncenter" width="412"] Berlin[/caption]

Terri Nunn- vocals

Chris Ruiz-Velasco- guitar

David Diamond- synthesizers, backing vocals, guitar

John Crawford- bass, co-lead vocals on "Sex (I'm A)," synthesizer

Daniel Van Patten- drums, percussion

Reflecting back to 1983, I think the year was a reckoning for the two bands I will forever associate with new wave. A year later, Missing Persons would continue to go in the new wave direction and their album would commercially flop, though I still intend to visit it. For Berlin, they would essentially become a top forty band but that's further down the road. For now, "Pleasure Victim" was a cool new wave album that was different to all that was around at the time.

Next post: Peter Gabriel

To buy Rock And Roll Children,

Great Metal Albums of 1983: AC/DC- Flick of the Switch

 

Once again, I'm mixed things up here and throwing in a metal album. Usually I don't visit metal album until the second half of my journey through any given year but there are exceptional circumstances. Those of you who have been following for a while have probably guessed why I'm writing about an AC/DC album. That's right, AC/DC tribute band Hell's Bells are coming to town this weekend. Unfortunately, they picked the same weekend as my step-granddaughter's christening so I won't be able to see them this time. Therefore, as my consolation prize, I thought I'd visit their 1983 album, "Flick of the Switch."

[caption id="attachment_1987" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Hells Bells at their usual greatness[/caption]

What kind of drugs was I on in 1983? I remember listening to some of this album and not being very impressed with it. In fact, and this is going to confirm I must have been on drugs, I rated this album below their 1985 "Fly On the Wall" album. An album most AC/DC stalwarts say was their worst. Recently, I listened to the entire album after so many years and hell, this album is pretty good. Okay, it's not near the same level as "Back in Black" or "Highway to Hell" or even "For Those About to Rock, We Salute You," but this is in no way, shape or form a bad album.

From the very first note, "Flick of the Switch" has everything that has made AC/DC legends for forty odd years. It has all the trademark riffs that they had been known for, the tight rhythm section of Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd. Brian Johnson's voice hadn't begun to suffer and he still hits some pretty good high notes on the album. The closer, "Brain Shake" is the perfect example of that. Most importantly, Angus Young still blows people away with his solos. When I hear them on the songs on this album, I don't get that 'it's all been done before' feeling. There may have been a desire to go back to rawness and their might have been in fighting between Rudd and Malcolm but AC/DC come together to put out a fine album.

You know, I can't  find a song that I don't like on "Flick of the Switch." On the other hand, I find it difficult to pick ones that stand out. When I hear one track and think, "That's pretty good," the next one comes on and is just as good. If there is one standout track, it would have to be "Guns for Hire" and that's only because I heard it before on the "Iron Man 2" soundtrack. Then again, "Badlands" is also a really cool song.

Track Listing:

1. Rising Power
2. The House is On Fire
3. Flick of the Switch
4. Nervous Shakedown
5. Landslide
6. Guns for Hire
7. Deep in the Hole
8. Bedlam in Belgium
9. Badlands
10. Brain Shake

[caption id="attachment_1989" align="aligncenter" width="327"] AC/DC[/caption]

Brian Johnson- lead vocals

Angus Young- lead guitar

Malcolm Young- rhythm guitar

Cliff Williams- bass

Phil Rudd- drums

Now that the drugs have totally cleared my system, I can say that "Flick of the Switch" isn't the worst album by AC/DC. It's a good, solid album that may have come too soon after their classics. On the down side, it would be during this tour that Phil Rudd would leave the band and be replaced by Englishman Simon Wright. The result would be that this band from Australia wouldn't have any members who were actually born there.

Next post: Berlin- Pleasure Victim

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Great Rock Albums of 1983: Missing Persons- Spring Session M

 

Whenever someone says new wave in the 1980s, the first artist to enter my brain is Missing Persons. For me, they were everything I thought new wave was back then. They weren't hard or heavy like metal but they didn't sound like a trendy top forty band or even synth pop. They were completely different in a good way. Furthermore, Missing Persons was a band who could actually play well. Then again, any band that features the likes of Terry Bozzio, Warren Cuccurullo and Patrick O'Hearn has to be good. If those names sound familiar it is because these three played with Frank Zappa throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s and as we know, Zappa always had the best musicians playing for him. So it was quite clear that Missing Persons weren't going to be a Tinseltown Rebellion band that Frank recorded a good parody about.

Before I launch into the fullness of Missing Persons' 1983 album, "Spring Session M," I would start with the singles from the album. The first one I heard on the radio upon my return from serving in the Far East was "Words." My first impression of it was that the lead singer was trying to sound like a fourteen year old girl. At first, I thought it was amusing but listening behind the vocals, I heard the music and it sounded okay. The guitar wasn't heavy on a bang your head along to it scale but enough to catch my interest. The synthesizers were used very intelligently without taking over. My conclusion was that it was a good song after all. However, the third single, "Walking in LA" has a guitar hook that definitely works and Dale Bozzio's voice sounds much better on it. The other single, "Destination Unknown" is a more way out there song with some good keyboard hooks. Those were enough to get me to listen to the rest of the album and I wasn't disappointed.

[caption id="attachment_3139" align="aligncenter" width="188"] Dale Bozzio[/caption]

The rest of the album is as solid as the three singles. The songs are just hard enough to catch the ear of this metalhead and think, "This is okay" and the keyboards and synthesizers are done just as intelligently. Dale Bozio does not sound like a fourteen year old on the other songs, in fact her vocals are quite decent. Her best effort is on the track, "Tears." However, the rest of the band plays consistently well throughout the entire album. The two opening tracks seem to stand out the most although "Bad Streets" is probably the closest they come to a rocker. It is the heaviest song on the album and done very well and Cuccurullo does hammer out a pretty cool guitar solo.

Track Listing:

1. Noticeable One
2. Windows
3. It Ain't None of Your Business
4. Destination Unknown
5. Walking in LA
6. U.S. Drag
7. Tears
8. Here and Now
9. Words
10. Bad Streets
11. Rock and Roll Expression
12. No Way Out

[caption id="attachment_3140" align="aligncenter" width="246"] Missing Persons[/caption]

Dale Bozzio- vocals

Terry Bozzio- drums, backing vocals, percussion, synthesizer

Warren Cuccurullo- guitar, backing vocals

Chuck Wild- keyboards, synthesizers

Patrick O'Hearn- bass, keyboards, synthesizers

If new wave had continued in this direction, I would have been more into it. Missing Persons were talented musicians all as shown in the album "Spring Session M." Unfortunately, things went down hill fast after this and my musical tastes went in a harder direction.

Next post: AC/DC- Flick of the Switch

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Great Rock Albums of 1983: The Tubes- Outside Inside

 

Thoughts have always lingered in the back of my mind that The Tubes were one of those bands I should have checked out ages earlier but never got around to doing so. They had been around since the early 1970s and I had heard of them but never listened to them let alone bought any of their records. It took until 1983, during my final weeks before before leaving the marines that I finally got to hear them. That was only because their only top ten hit, "She's a Beauty" got plenty of airplay on the radio. I have to admit, it was a very good song and I did delight in listening to it again after so many years. Some additional useless info: "She's a Beauty" is about conversing with ladies in a private conversation booth. While I got up to many vices while in the marines and some since leaving, I never had that experience.

Don't ask me why but before I finally heard the above song, I always thought The Tubes to be punk. Maybe that was because of the fact they never had any real air play until 1983 and most music that didn't make it to radio was considered to be that. However, listening to the album, "Outside Inside," it is a far cry from anything punk. I wouldn't even call it new wave. If anything, their sound is progressive rock at best but I have to say, there isn't really anything that comes to mind I can compare them to. That's always a good thing in my book because that makes them unique. Most of the songs on the album are keyboard dominated. The best ones are "No Not Again" and "Glass House" although "Theme Park" deserves an honourable mention. There are some rather way out sounds on it along with some good harmonizing. Then there are some more harder rock tunes like "Out of the Business" and the funkier "Monkey Business" with the top ten single bridging the gap between the two camps and resulting in an album I regret not paying more attention to back in the day.

Track Listing:

1. She's a Beauty
2. No Not Again
3. Out of the Business
4. The Monkey Time
5. Glass House
6. Wild Women of Wongo
7. Tip of My Tongue
8. Fantastic Delusion
9. Drums
10. Theme Park
11. Outside Lookin' Inside

[caption id="attachment_3133" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The Tubes[/caption]

Fee Waybill- vocals

Bill Spooner- guitar, vocals

Roger Steen- guitar, vocals

Rick Anderson- bass

Michael Cotten- synthesizer

Mingo Lewis- percussion

Prairie Prince- drums

Vince Welnick- keyboards

Martha Davis- guest vocalist on "Monkey Time"

In the eyes of many less educated, The Tubes will be considered one hit wonders with "She's a Beauty" being their only contribution. This is not true in the least. After listening to "Outside Inside" and reminiscing about their top hit, I am sorely tempted to go back into their archives and listen to what I've missed all those years. I think I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Next post: Missing Persons- Spring Session M

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 1983: Talking Heads- Speaking in Tongues

 

What a difference thirty-three years can make! I didn't bother too much with the Talking Heads' 1983 release, "Speaking in Tongues" because when I first heard the single, "Burning Down the House" on the radio, I thought that with the strong bass, they were trying to sound more disco. Yeah, I know. Rolling Stone magazine stating that the band was experimenting in funk put me off a bit too. It may be because that while my experiences in the marines opened my mind up to different music, it also closed my mind to certain types. I regret that now. Going back to the Talking Heads, I can say that over the past three decades, "Burning Down the House" has slowly grown on me enough to finally give the "Speaking in Tongues" a listen. Now, I have come to the conclusion that in 1983, times had finally caught up with the Talking Heads and that their first album, "77," was way ahead of its time.

In this case, it was probably a good idea that the album started off with their only top ten single. For me, "Burning Down the House" brought me into familiar territory. I now realise that the song sounds more like traditional Talking Heads than I had originally allowed myself to believe. The rest of the album follow suit. In fact, my initial reaction was that all the songs, while all well done, sounded pretty much the same. However, when I listened to the album again, I began to find subtle differences in the songs. The use of more keyboards on the album was done very well but done without sounding like the synth pop the 80s would eventually degenerate into. Two great examples of the keyboard use are the tracks "Slippery People" and "I Get Wild/Wild Gravity." There are some really nice unique keyboards usages with those two songs. Other standout tracks for me are "Swamp" and "Girlfriend is Better." Something else that this album has in common with the debut is a really good closer track and "Moon Rocks" is quite amusing.

Another thing I first discovered on "77" and shows through more on "Speaking in Tongues" is that Tina Weymouth is a very underrated bass player and I wonder if the lack of respect shone to her abilities is down to gender.

Track Listing:

1. Burning Down the House
2. Making Flippy Floppy
3. Girlfriend is Better
4. Slippery People
5. I Get Wild/Wild Gravity
6. Swamp
7. Moon Rocks
8. Pulled Up the Roots
9. This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)

[caption id="attachment_627" align="aligncenter" width="230"] Talking Heads[/caption]

David Byrne- vocals, guitar, keyboards, keyboard bass, percussion

Chris Frantz- drums, backing vocals, synthesizers

Jerry Harrison- keyboards, guitar, backing vocals

Tina Weymouth- bass, keyboard bass, backing vocals, guitar

Man I have seen the light and am now converted! I am glad I was so wrong about the Talking Heads in 1983 and their album "Speaking in Tongues." They were considered punk in the late 1970s and new wave in the 1980s but the 'new' can't be emphasized enough. They were ahead of their time and in 1983, the rest of the world finally caught up with them.

Next post: Greg Kihn Band- Khinspiracy

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