1273. Deep Purple / Stormbringer. 1974. 4.5/5

Following the demise of the Mark II lineup of the band, Deep Purple had moved onward with their new recruits and released the album “Burn” in February 1974 to critical acclaim and fan delight. You can hear all about that album on the episode featured in Season 6 of this podcast. After its release the band had embarked on a US tour that included co-headlining the California Jam festival at Ontario Motor Speedway in southern California in April 1974. Attracting over 250,000 fans, this festival also included 1970s giants such as Black Sabbath, Eagles, Seals & Crofts and Earth, Wind & Fire. Portions of the show were telecast in the US, exposing the band to a wider audience and showcasing the new lineup with David Coverdale on lead vocals and Glenn Hughes on bass and backing vocals. During the show, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore doused his amplifiers with petrol and set them on fire, which ended up blowing a hole in the stage.
One of the reasons for the break up of the Mark II era of the band was that they had no time off whatsoever. Constantly on tour, they even had to resort to writing and recording albums on two week layovers from tour dates. It all proved too much, and eventually the tensions between certain bandmates created rifts that meant members were moved on. And yet, despite all of those signs, and the obvious need to set out their calendar better in order to have time off, Deep Purple returned to the studio in August 1974 (just 6 months after “Burn” had been released) in order to star writing and recording the follow up album. It was a grinding schedule, and surely it must have been questioned why the band needed to release an album less than nine months after their previous effort, especially one that had done well in sales, and of the further exposure the band had been receiving because of its live schedule. Or, indeed, is this the reason the band was pushed to the studio, to back it up with another album in order to cash in on this all? Whatever the actual reason was, the band spent two months in studios in Germany and then Los Angeles putting together the follow up to “Burn”, a time that would bring further desperation to the future of the band, but also give the world some of their best songs, in the form of the album “Stormbringer”.

The opening blast of the title track “Stormbringer” is the perfect start to this album, highlighting the vocals of Coverdale and Hughes, the organ of Lord and timekeeping of Paice, that wonderful sounding bass of Hughes and the trademark Blackmore riff and solo. It’s a brilliant song, matching the awesomeness of the opening title track of the previous album “Burn”. From here though, the true new focus of Deep Purple’s progression comes to the fore. “Love Don’t Mean a Thing” is the immediate best focus of this sound, coming after the bombastic nature of the opening title track, moving into that tight blues funk groove which sounds so natural, but of course is so different from what the Mark II lineup had produced. And as much as Coverdale and Hughes’s vocals can sing that earlier stuff, they are made for what they write together here. This has a beautiful combination of their vocal strengths and serene guitar solo that suits the song perfectly from Blackmore which fades out the track. “Holy Man” has Hughes taking on lead vocals, and he just kills this with his vocal chords. One of the most amazing voices in music history, and Blackmore’s guitar is again superb on this track. “Hold On” continues on this musical path, but also almost adds a small taste of gospel in the backing vocals of the chorus, all of it combined together in another perfect session. Apart from the opening track, the first side of the album is such a world apart from what Deep Purple had done previously that it is okay to believe that it is a different band altogether. In fact, the more you listen to the first half of this album, the more you hear the direction that the beginnings of the band Whitesnake took on, and begin to understand where that direction began. Both Hughes and Coverdale had brought elements of other genres with them to the band, Hughes with funk and Coverdale with blues, and that all begins to come more into focus on “Stormbringer” than it did on “Burn”. And as Blackmore himself was not involved in writing either “Holy Man” or “Hold On”, you begin to hear why they sound the way they do, and perhaps why Blackmore’s disillusion with the direction of the band was building.
The second side of the album heads back to a much more upbeat and energetic way with “Lady Double Dealer” coming out of the blocks with a similarity to Led Zeppelin, combining the blues elements with the higher velocity vocals and guitar. Blackmore’s solo also brings back memories of his best days on the guitar and a sectioned off Lord solo as well to remind fans of when they formed that lasting partnership. “You Can’t Do It Right” mirrors what a harder version of an old styled blues track would sound like, but comes across as so much more than that. “High Ball Shooter” continues down this same path, a true Blackmore rocking riff throughout with great vocals again from Coverdale and Hughes that is punched higher with Jon Lord’s first true organ solo of the album after the opening track, one that truly reminds you this IS a Deep Purple album. “The Gypsy” falls back to mirroring the songs on the first side of the album, while the last track on the album, “Soldier of Fortune” is the acoustic ballad written by Blackmore and Coverdale that while never released as a single has become one that has reached folklore status within the Deep Purple fandom. Not only has it been covered in latter years by Coverdale in Whitesnake and Blackmore in Blackmore’s Night, but also by many other bands. Given the way the album had progressed to this point, it feels as though it is a strange choice in which to close out the album, though its overall popularity seems to suggest that the band knew what they were doing, and not this reviewer.

When people think about or have promoted to them the band Deep Purple, it is basically the Mark II lineup that is highlighted, with Blackmore and Gillan as the central pieces of the puzzle. It generally brushes over the first three albums and that Mark I lineup, and often ignores the band of this era with Coverdale and Hughes, and eventually Tommy Bolin. And that is a huge disappointment because the two albums of the Mark III lineup are especially brilliant in the Deep Purple discography.
There is so much different here from those hard rock albums of the Mark II phase of the decade, but this is a transformed band with two main songwriters gone and two more brought in in their place, and with a different focus. But that doesn’t make them any less excellent at what they do. The double change though perhaps brought in a faster incorporation of a different sound than would have been the case if just one of the writers and players had been substituted between albums.
Despite this, what is not to love on this album? Don’t compare it to other albums, just sit there and enjoy the wonderful musicianship, the amazing blending of vocals, the guitar, the organ and the excellent songs.
What interests me most about this album, and the subsequent tour, is Ritchie Blackmore’s involvement. Blackmore publicly disliked most of the album, suggesting in later interviews that it was "shoeshine music" out of his distaste for its funk and soul elements. And of course he was already in the process of preparing to leave Deep Purple to start his own band that would become Rainbow, and band that moved back to a sound that concentrated on... Ritchie Blackmore. But having said that - is this Blackmore’s triumph? It his time in Deep Purple he had gone from the first three albums where he was important but playing second banana to Jon Lord on organ, to being the centre focus with his duels with Lord on keyboards on those seminal Mark II albums, and yet here proves he can still provide an amazing sound on guitar on tracks that provide funk rather than hard rock, and still be as impactful on each song without the bombasticness that he had become renown for. It really is a triumph for his craft, even though he decided to leave because of the direction the music was going in. And certainly, he revived his stature in Rainbow as a result.
I first came across these Mark III and IV albums around 35 years ago, getting all of the Deep Purple Mark II, III and IV albums in a box set on CD from a mail order record club I joined at that time, which for a while was a great source of old albums on the newest format. And I enjoyed all of them. Even then the difference in the music was noticeable from one to the next, but that didn’t deter me in the slightest. And just as “Stormbringer” brought a change from “Burn”, so again did “Come Taste the Band” after this album.
I’ve probably already explained here in this spiel that the style of this album doesn’t bother me. In fact, just a few weeks ago I was at our local record store Music Farmers in Wollongong, buying some albums on my birthday as my own present to myself, and came across an original 1974 Australian vinyl pressing of “Stormbringer”, and bought it immediately. And it has barely left my turntable since. It is remarkable timing given its anniversary and therefore requirement for me to do a podcast episode on it... fate has a funny way of coming around when required... but it has been a joy to sit in the Metal Cavern and have this playing often, and continued to enjoy it each and every time.
Blackmore’s departure almost spelled the end for Deep Purple at that point in time, but a determination to try and make the band work meant that they went on the search for a new guitarist, and then to conjure up another album. That story of course is yet to come, and that further storm was just on the horizon.

1059. UFO / Phenomenon. 1974. 4/5

The early years of the band UFO appear from this distance in time as being on a completely different timeline from what the band eventually travelled through the decade of the 1970’s.
Lead singer Phil Mogg, guitarist Mick Bolton, bassist Pete Way and drummer Andy Parker formed the band in 1968 and having signed to Beacon Records they had released their debut album “UFO 1” in 1970, and was quickly followed by their second album, “UFO 2: Flying”. While neither album had reached the charts, and indeed at this time UFO attracted little interest in Britain and America, a single had attracted some sales in Germany, reaching #30 on their singles charts. The majority of their early work on both of these albums was strongly influenced by space rock - indeed, their second album featuring a 26-minute title track and a 19-minute-long track "Star Storm" and was subtitled One Hour Space Rock. Following that second album that was modestly popular at the time, the band soon realised the style was somewhat limited. Mick Bolton left the group in January 1972, and UFO set out to find a guitarist who could provide the band with a more standard rock sound.
After flirtations with future Motorhead guitarist Larry Wallis and future Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden, who played as a temporary touring guitarist for the band when they toured Europe, the band recruited Michael Schenker from the Scorpions in June 1973. Scorpions had opened up for UFO on that European tour, and they were so impressed with the young guitar maestro, who was only 18 years of age but already a well-respected guitarist, that they asked him to join. Having consulted his brother Rudolph, who gave his blessing, the deal was done. The injection of Schenker both on guitar and as a songwriter, meant that UFO were ready to make the jump from 60 based space rock band to fully fledged hard rock icons, and the first step to that process was the writing and recording of their first album together, titled “Phenomenon”.

Breaking away from their space rock style, UFO produce an album here that mixes a style that is of the mainstream hard rock of the era along with the extended instrumental passages that were common on the first two albums. The opening salvo of “Too Young to Know” has a sound that incorporates a sound similar to contemporary bands such as Bad Company and Free, as well as the Rolling Stones. Phil Mogg’s smooth vocals are the immediate focal point of the song, while Michael Schenker’s easy listening guitar also makes its presence felt through the majority of the song. The rhythm of Andy Parker’s drums and Pete Way’s bass guitar keep the momentum throughout the song. “Crystal Light” generally sticks to the same style of song that the band had produced on their first two albums, without it stretching beyond almost four minutes that this song goes for. There is an almost-Eagles-like feel to this song, in the quiet tones of the song rather than any of the country rock themes that band had around this time.
The star attraction of the album, and the first sign of the band’s growing direction, comes next with “Doctor Doctor”. From the subdued guitar beginning, into the Schenker riff supported by Parker’s hard drums, and then into the main riff of the song, this is the song where your ears immediately prick up and think ‘wow... that’s different!’ And it is as brilliant today as it was 50 years ago. This is where the harder edge of the band began to appear, and the popularity and success of this song is what drove what came beyond this album. Great melody, heavier sound, and Schenker’s guitaring, including amazing solo. The genesis of what UFO became is the basis of this track.
“Space Child” follows a similar type of path to “Crystal Light”, a quiet introspective song dominated by Mogg’s soaring vocals in the first half of the song and then Schenker’s restrained guitar solo in the middle of the track. This is followed by the other dominant hard rock track of the album, “Rock Bottom”, where again it is Schenker and his guitar that steals the show. It takes centre stage from the very beginning of the song, driven by Andy Parker’s drums through the opening section of the song alongside Mogg’s vocals. Once we reach the middle of the song it is Schenker’s freeform guitar solo that takes command, enhanced by the quite brilliant bass line from Pete Way in conjunction. It is a superb few minutes of music, showcasing both Schenker’s talents and again exacerbating the direction the band was to go on the back of songs such as this. Schenker would always extend the solo section when the song was played live, which again is always a treat. Alongside “Doctor Doctor” this is one of the band’s greatest songs.
Side two sits back in the middle range of the rock/hard rock genre. It opens with “Oh My”, a solid rock track, and moves into “Time on My Hands”, a song I feel mirrors the Eagles feel of “Crystal Light”, inoffensive but not with the power of the major songs here. “Built for Comfort” is a cover of the Willie Dixon blues song, and seems like a slight mismatch to the other material here. “Lipstick Traces” is motivated by the previous track, and instrumental concentrating on the quiet technical side of Michael Schenker’s guitar skills. It a likeable song, though again feels slightly out of place. The album then concludes with “Queen of the Deep”, a creeper that builds from a slow start to a bigger finish, again in the main through Mogg and his terrific vocal line and the Schenker/Parker/Way solid rhythm, with Michael’s solo again concertina-ed with Pete Way’s bass line and Andy Parker’s collared drumming.

When I first started listening to the UFO studio albums, it was a tough experience. I had first discovered the band on a Michael Schenker Anthology two album collection I had bought from my go-to second hand record store, Illawarra Books and Records, in 1988, and then from the same store the amazing live album “Strangers in the Night”, which was the first episode of this season of the podcast, back in January. That album acted as a best-of album for me for the band, and so I started to delve back into the studio albums that preceded that live album. The problem being, given how good all of those songs sounded live, it was difficult to go back and listen to studio versions of the same songs that didn't have the same energy and tempo.
This meant that once I first got “Phenomenon”, I found the songs and music to be much slower and less intense than I was expecting. Given that by the end of the 70’s decade the band had built itself up to being a furious hard rock band verging at times into NWOBHM style heavy metal, some of the songs on this album ailed to mesh with me at the time, and while I didn’t hate it, it wasn’t in the genre of music that I was very much into at that time.
In more recent years when I’ve gone to the album, it has been far more entertaining. Because I’m older? Because I’m more tolerant? Probably bits of both. But I think the main thing I did was realise that I love this band, so surely if I listen to this album and ACTUALLY listen to it, then I will enjoy it. And that is what occurred. Taking the time to listening to the album and not trying to make it something it isn’t. Because it’s not a 1980’s heavy metal album, it’s an album that is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and it was a band that was still discovering exactly what they wanted to be, especially with a brand new guitarist joining the ranks for this album.
I’ve had this on my playlist rotation for the past three weeks, and on top of that I have spent the past two days listening only to this album, back-to-back, over and over again. So in this three week period that’s approximately 30 times I have listened to this album from start to finish. And each time I grow more entranced with it again. Even now after all these years, I have picked up pieces that I haven’t really noticed before, and others that have grown in stature for me. That brilliant bass line from Pete Way underneath Schenker’s guitar solo in “Rock Bottom”, Phil Mogg’s vocal melody in “Oh My”, the wonderful mood of “Queen of the Deep”. All of those things are just a part of the mystique and beauty of “Phenomenon” as an album.
This was the first of a five album stretch that the band did through the 1970’s that is the golden era of UFO. All of it is terrific. This song is the leading light to where they were headed over those years.

1019. Kiss / Kiss. 1974. 4/5

As all good Kiss fans know, the origin of the band can be traced back to a band called Wicked Lester, a New York City–based rock band led by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley that recorded one album, which was shelved by their record company, at which point both Stanley and Simmons decided to move on and start a new band, which became Kiss. Following an ad placed by drummer Peter Criss in a magazine and having gone to see him play in his band (and indeed, legend has it that it was his singing ability that impressed them the most), he auditioned and got the job as drummer. A few months later, the band added lead guitarist Ace Frehley to the group, and the original foursome was complete.
The band was immediately focused on producing a harder style of rock than their previous bands had done, and they were also experimenting with their stage image, utilising makeup and trying out different outfits along the way.
The band’s first live performance took place on January 30, 1973, for an audience of fewer than ten people at a club in Queens that Gene Simmons had cold called and convincing them to hire the band for a three-night performance, despite never having played together before. The band was apparently paid $50 for performing two sets on that first evening. For those first three gigs, January 30 to February 1, they wore makeup, but not in the form that the world was soon to know them. Their iconic character designs that everyone now associates with Kiss made their debuts a month later.
The band recorded a demo early on, but it was on the back of constant gigging that the band got itself to be known, and through constant self-promotion. While the band entered the studio for the first time in October 1973, their affairs were still coming together. Firstly, they secured manager Bill Aucoin, apparently on the condition set by the band that he had to get them a record contract within two weeks. This came to pass in early November when they were signed by Casablanca Records. After spending six weeks in the studio, Kiss was ready to unleash itself on the world with its self-titled debut album, and the world would never be the same again.

There are some things in life that really make you feel your age. The fact that this album is now 50 years old, only four years younger than myself, really does remind you of your mortality in some respects. It’s a long time to be out there on-stage wearing makeup, that’s for sure. And it is on stage that Kiss make the magic happen, not just with the stage show, but with the energy of their performance. This is where their drive is at its best, and in some ways, this is what is missing from their debut album. Yes, it was a different age in regard to recording, but first impressions of the songs here should make this a monster. That it wasn’t on its initial release is part of that mystery.
Now, the ‘no energy’ phrase is not completely fair, but again on one hand I think it stands to reason. Listening to this album today, and then listening to the frenzied madness that comes from the same songs on the “Alive!” album, released just 18 months later and after another two studio albums – (and that is just...wow!) - and you can hear what they are missing from the recorded studio versions here. Where’s that bottom end? Where’s the blazing guitars? Where’s the high energy vocals? For the most part, that isn’t here. That doesn’t mean that, in retrospect, this isn’t a great album. It just means that it feels like the songs here have had their legs cut off at the knees compared to the live versions as they are played. You could use the same argument with other albums of the era of course, and you would be correct. It just seems a bit more noticeable here because of what Kiss became, and if you happened to listen to “Alive!” before you listened to this album, which was the case for a lot of people, you would wonder the same.
If you are a Kiss fan, you already know where the strengths of this album lie. If you aren’t a big fan, you still know the important songs off this album. There are still the strange moments. I know that the band was brought back into the studio to record the cover version of “Kissin’ Time” some three months after the album was initially released and not doing as well as they all hoped. But seriously, a Bobby Rydell cover? Did they really think this was going to lift their sales? Did they just record it because of the title? I don’t know. I do know that it is a bit of a misnomer on the album, and the band weren’t overly happy about it. I do wish I had one of those initial pressings of the album that doesn’t have it. But then you can add to that the instrumental piece “Love Theme from Kiss” which just seems out of place and unnecessary to the whole scheme of the album. Is it a time filler? Did the band really like it? Judge for yourself.
The rest of the album speaks for itself. “Nothin’ to Lose” has that 60’s rockabilly sound about it that can get a bit annoying depending on your mood and how often you are listening to it. Did Kiss really need piano in a song in the direction they were heading? The lyrics are also extremely dodgy, but perhaps that is just my old age showing. Anyway. “Firehouse” is a good song that just doesn’t have the energy and fire it should have. The plodding style of this studio recorded version, both musically and vocally from Gene, just holds back its potential. Of course when played live this is where Gene would breathe fire, so maybe that’s why the studio version is a very slight disappointment in this regard. The same can be said for “Let Me Know”, a re-recorded version of a Wicked Lester track, though there is no live version to compare it to. It sounds better when Paul is singing rather than Gene. It should be remembered that these are small and insignificant criticisms on my behalf. Again, it comes to the age of the recording rather than the quality. I’d just like to hear more grunt in them. You can’t change time though.
In some ways you could argue the same about the remainder of the songs here too, but they are the classics and it is hard to go past them. The awesome opening song “Strutter” continues to be a radiant gem after all these years, and still holds its brilliance to this day. Add to this “Deuce”, which could be considered to be the twin of “Strutter” such is their importance to the Kiss lineage of greatness. “Cold Gin” has become a staple of live cover bands all over the world. Anthrax, Skid Row and hundreds of other bands have all done their version, none as good as listening to Gene sing this original version. Along with “100,000 Years” and the album closer “Black Diamond”, these were the songs that built the palace that Kiss became in a short space of time, and these for me still hold the foundations for my love of the band.

For those of you who have listened to the other episodes on this podcast that relate to Kiss, you already know that my first experience with the band was through my cousin David, who at one stage was living with my grandmother, and had his room covered in Kiss memorabilia and played Kiss loud whenever we visited. Then I had those 80’s albums that many people stick their nose up at but which I still love to this day. This album I didn’t hear until I started going back to pick up the band’s back catalogue, and as I mentioned earlier, I knew many of the songs from the greatest hits compilation I had along with the “Alive!” album, which also cruelled my first experience with the studio versions of the songs.
That didn’t last long though. A number of listens back to back soon found those comparisons eradicated, and I just accepted the album for what it is. And overall, it’s a ripper. Sure, I would dispose of a couple of songs if I was editing it now, but for a debut album it is still an album that has everything you are looking for. I’ve had this spinning around again for the last 2-3 weeks, and enjoyed every moment of it. As soon as songs like “Strutter” and “Cold Gin” and “Deuce” come on, the mood lightens, the strut comes out with Ace’s guitar, and the vocals come out loud. And the strange looks from my family arrive not long after – except for my 16 year old son, who sings along heartily.
Kiss has not always managed to make great albums. They have had their ups and downs, and in many ways a lot depends on how you take the band and how seriously you want to take some of the lyrical content which they tend to throw up as to whether you enjoy their music or not. Some fans swear by the first four albums as the only ones you ever need. Others, myself included, find just as much joy in some of the work from the 1980’s as their early material. One thing that is for certain is that if you haven’t heard this album, then you have missed out on something terrific, because this is where it all began, and in particular the five ‘foundation’ songs here are the basis of what became the monster.

970. Queen / Sheer Heart Attack. 1974. 4.5/5

Queen is the servant of all varieties of music. There is no one way to try and pigeonhole what genre of music they sit in, because each writer and performer has a different style, strength and love. The fact that they have been able to marry that all up over the years and make albums that don’t turn people off because of it is amazing. Here on “Sheer Heart Attack” this is true as it always is.
The lead up and progress of writing and recording the album was not short of problematic. On the band’s first tour of the US, as support to Mott the Hoople, guitarist Brian May was diagnosed with hepatitis, which required cancelling the remainder of the tour, returning home, and May being hospitalised as a result. The other three members of the band – lead singer Freddie Mercury, bass guitarist John Deacon and drummer Roger Taylor – returned to Trident Studios in June to begin the process of putting together material for their next album, with May unable to join them until a month later. They then spent a month recording the backing tracks to the majority of the songs in a studio in Wales, before returning to London for further recording. This was then halted again, as May was diagnosed with a duodenal ulcer which required surgery. Although he was allowed to recuperate at home, he was absent from the studio for another three weeks. During this time he wrote two songs while the rest of the band continued with overdubs on the tracks so far recorded. When May returned the final recording could be done, and then the time consuming task of mixing could commence.
To showcase the sound that Queen created, the 24-track facility at Trident Studios still meant that many of the songs had to be mixed down, with multiple tracks needing to be mixed onto a single track in order to have the songs completed to the vision of the band. With so many vocal harmonies and instrumental overdubs being created in order to have each song sound as big and grandiose as they do, it showed that while the songs themselves may be moving to a more compact and less extravagantly lengthy tome, that the care and precision that the band exacted from themselves to produce their amazing spectacle was no less than they had practiced on the first two albums of their career.

The overall style of this album does progress from both “Queen” and “Queen II” in that there is probably less of the real prog rock that categorised those early albums, and a more formularised approach to the individual songs. That’s not to say that the style of the songs doesn’t change, they most certainly do, depending on the writer of the song itself. It’s just that the songs themselves seem to be moving out of that early experimental atmosphere and into an entirely different arena, one that retains the inspiration of those early tracks and combines it with structure that is more reminiscent of the 3-to-4-minute track.
The opening half of the album showcases this merging perfectly. Brian May’s assault during “Brighton Rock” is spectacular, and he shows off all of his skills within the framework of the song perfectly. Topped off by Freddie’s marvellous vocals, changing as they do from falsetto to mainstream, and the rollicking rhythm section, halted only by Brian’s unaccompanied solo in the middle, makes this a superb opening track, and also the longest on the album. This is followed by the world renowned “Killer Queen”, the kind of radio friendly short sharp heightening of every great part of Queen that made them the band they are. The wonderful combining of Roger Taylor’s crisp drum work and John Deacon’s precision bass playing, Brian May’s scene stealing guitar riffs, combined with the easy tinkling on the piano, and topped off with Freddie’s wonderful vocals and lyrics, backed by the support vocals of the other three members. It seems such an easy task on paper, but the right combination of everything here makes a single that the whole world knows and loves.
The three songs in the heart of the first side almost form a medley, such is the way they segue into each other. Roger’s excellent “Tenement Funster” starts it off, with his lead vocals showcasing how well he sings, despite being the drummer and possibly third in line for vocals in this group. Brian’s layered guitar solo is killer here as well. This is succeeded by Freddie’s “Flick of the Wrist”, which lifts the pace while combining layered vocals of the four all over the top and the introduction of the piano as well. And finally, the third part of this triumvirate is “Lily of the Valley”, a quieter, slower Freddie song, concentrating on his vocals rather than the band as a whole, who are for the most part sedately in the background. Each song is terrific on its own, and even as a merged entity it works just as well.
The first side concludes with the brilliant, heavy “Now I’m Here”, dominated by May’s guitar and the layered vocals throughout, Freddie accentuating the power required through his singing on the song. This has been a favourite of mine since I first heard it, which was well after its initial release. It was one of the songs that drew me to Queen, quite simply because of the grunt it has with the guitars and drums and Freddie’s aggressive vocals. Quite simply a ripper.
The opening track of side two is “In the Lap of the Gods”, dominated by Roger’s amazing vocal, so high it is impossible to recreate, though it is Freddie who sings the basis of the song itself. It not only harks back a little to those early albums innovations but looks forward to where it took the band on following albums. Those vocal overdubs are amazing but take special attention to Roger’s part. Amazing. This moves straight into the second heavy song of the album, “Stone Cold Crazy”, which again is important in not only being a great song but in giving each member a chance to shine. Roger’s drumming throughout is a joy, John’s bass line perfectly awesome, Brian’s heavy guitar riff the star attraction and Freddie as always emoting throughout. It is no surprise a band such as Metallica covered this song, because it has elements for each member of the band to show their wares.
The versatility of the band is then proven in Brian’s “Dear Friends”, a quiet reserved short tale which shows that he doesn’t always write just the guitar heavy anthems. This is followed by John Deacon’s first solo composition recorded by the band, “Misfire”, a great song on which he plays most of the guitars. “Bring Back That Leroy Brown” follows a familiar take, with Freddie injecting his jangling piano into the song which highlights a separate style of song from most of those here on this album. It wasn’t the last time these changes were noticeable on a Queen album, which in essence highlighted the fact that their style couldn’t be nailed down.
If there is one song that doesn’t do it for me here it is probably "She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettos)". Perhaps it is too much change through the back half of the album for me, but it has never been a favourite of mine. The album concludes with the crowd anthem “In the Lap of the Gods… Reprise” which gives off a good vibe to complete the full set.

As someone who grew up through the 1980’s, and whose introduction to Queen was radio singles and then albums such as “The Works” and “A Kind of Magic”, the journey backwards through the plethora of albums the band released during the 1970’s was always an interesting one. Most of that happened after the passing of Freddie Mercury, when instead of just enjoying the albums I knew and the songs from the “Greatest Hits” album, I decided I really should own those other albums as well. And I did eventually discover them all, and each one autonomously from the other. And as with all instances like this, the first part of that was not only enjoying those songs on those albums that I already knew, but getting beyond that to know the other tracks on the album.
Here on “Sheer Heart Attack”, the songs I knew are some of the bands best. “Killer Queen” has always been a gem, “Now I’m Here” one of my favourites, “Stone Cold Crazy” another of their best, and “Brighton Rock” I had heard and loved from the “Live Killers” album. And so it was the variety and expanded experience of the rest of the album that surrounded these tracks that I had to get to love. And I did. Because it is Queen after all, so what is not to love? Even “Hot Space”!
I have no memory of when I first heard this album. It was certainly in the early 1990’s, and I don’t recall what my initial reaction to the album was. But I remember when I was going through the process of listening to the album that there was a period where the songs I didn’t know were the filler that was there until those hits came on. That of course melted away over time, and the album became a WHOLE experience for me, not just a few songs here and there. And, more than that, I remember thinking at the time how cool it was to have “NEW” songs from Queen to listen to and to get to now, even though they were never going to release any more music now that Freddie was gone (little did I know at that time...)
And as I have had “Sheer Heart Attack” back in the CD player in the Metal Cavern for the past couple of weeks, I have realised just how much I actually enjoy this album. Prior to this month I’m sure if I had been asked what I thought of the album I would have said, ‘yeah, it’s good!”. Whereas now, should you be wanting to ask, I would probably say “Yes! Sheer Heart Attack ROCKS!” And that’s how I think of it, a new-ish album all because I didn't actually discover it until 20 years after it had been released. 50 years on, and it is hard to believe it can be that long since it was released on the world. It still sounds amazing, and there is still so much on this album that is groundbreaking with the way the band wrote and recorded songs.

901. Billy Joel / Streetlife Serenade. 1974. 2.5/5

After two albums that had had varying degrees of success and popularity, and a career that was beginning to head in the right direction, the story goes that Billy Joel was under some pressure from the record company to get out another album to build on the success of Piano Man. Writing time was at a premium, and one could safely say that that does seem to come through in the music on Streetlife Serenade.

"Streetlife Serenader" starts the album off calmly and, dare I say it, serenely. As it turns out, the opening song seems to set the standard for the majority of the album, as for the most part the songs here are set in a calming atmosphere that is rarely broken free of. "Los Angelenos" and "The Great Suburban Showdown" are songs that are fine but that don't quite break out of the mould that has been set here. "The Great Suburban Showdown" could have been an Eagles song without the harmonies that band would have brought to the table.
"Roberta" is a pretty song, featuring the best of Billy's 'sweet' vocals. "Last of the Big Time Spenders" is again kept afloat more by Billy's marvellous vocals than by the music itself. "Weekend Song" sounds like it should be being performed live in a blues club, while "Souvenir" is a short piano ballad which on its own is another that showcases the best of his ability on both the keys and his vocals.
The two piano instrumentals on the album are of differing styles, and both are excellent. "Root Beer Rag" is very much as the title suggests, a honky tonk ragtime musical piece "The Mexican Connection" closes the album in its beautiful style, upbeat in mood and writing, it has the other instruments firmly in the background while the piano takes centre stage. It is a clear, crisp musical interlude to finish off the album on a high note.
"The Entertainer" is the song that stands out from the crowd on this album. It is the one song that shows some urgency, some real passion and energy. The song builds throughout its 3 minutes and 41 seconds, with another instrument coming into the song with each verse, until by the end we have a cacophony all blended together to make the song sound like a musical production in itself. Billy's vocals also build through the song, starting off quietish as he explains his way through his career, until we get to the end where he is at his biggest point. It's a cleverly written and performed song, which is still one of my favourites of his, and really does tower over this album as its masterpiece.

I'm still not sure exactly how I feel about this album. You can't question the musicianship on the album, but it does feel as though there is something missing in the song writing. "The Entertainer" is the absolute stand out song on the album, but apart from that the others all have little to distinguish themselves from the ordinary. It is an easy listen to put this album on and let it run through, but even now when it is over, there's probably not a lot of encouragement to listen to it once again.

Rating:  "I'm not a serenader, and I'm not a long haired band".  2.5/5

793. Queen / Queen II. 1974. 4/5

Queen has always been amazing in the studio. The way that they record their instruments and their vocals, and layer them over each other a thousand ways and the get the sound onto their albums that they do is remarkable. With equipment in the modern age it is a whole lot easier to do, but to do it well still takes talent. These guys were able to do it on limited studio time and budgets, and come up with amazing sounding albums. It is quite possible that in this regard, “Queen II” is the standout.
As was related in the episode in Season 5 of this podcast on Queen’s debut album, the delay in its release meant that the band had already moved on from those songs by the time it was released, and had already not only been writing new material but playing new material in their live sets. The first recording sessions for this album actually came less than a month after the first album’s final release, such was the desire of the band to move on from that experience and begin creating even more elaborate and complex songs that their first experience in the studio had been incapable of producing.
Having spent their time on the debut album recording in off hours of Trident Studios to save on costs, this time the band insisted on being able to use the studio during more regular hours. They also had a number of songs already written, but because of their complexity, and the desire of the band to make sure that they were given the time they deserved, they had held them back to be recorded at a time when they had greater freedom to express themselves in the studio, something they had created for themselves with the delivery of that first album.
Recording took place over a number of months, interspersed with short tours in support of bands such as Mott the Hoople as well as their own shows. Their record company wanted to hold back the release as long as possible, as the debut album had only come out recently in some territories and they did not want to overlap the sales of that album with the release of the follow up. It became one of the most ambitious projects of the band’s career, providing such a unique collection of tracks and wall of sound recording techniques that it not only inspired a new generation of recording artists with its sound, but found a fan base that accepted its virtues without really being sure of how they felt about it.

The band's little gimmick for this album was that rather than have the album with Side A and Side B, they chose to have Side White and Side Black, which also had differing personalities of the music as a result. The White side of the album was almost completely composed by Brian May, apart from the last song which was composed by Roger Taylor, while the Black side was completely composed by Freddie Mercury. It’s interesting that they claimed that this was because of the style of music rather than the composer, something that would surprise those that know the style of music each artist preferred to write.
After opening with the instrumental piece "Procession" the album moves into "Father and Son". There are so many pieces to this song that it is hard sometimes to take it all in. There are the quiet, slower parts where the piano or acoustic guitar may be playing, with Freddie's mellow voice singing his sweet vocals over the top, and other pieces where Roger's drums and Brian's guitar crash in and play in an almost heavy metal way, before coming to a conclusion in a more typical Queen type atmosphere. There's a bit of everything here, and it is not the only song that has this. "White Queen (As It Began)" was apparently written some years earlier by Brian, and once again mixes a multitude of guitars and slightly heavier moments with greater moments of acoustic guitars and of reflection from Freddie. It is interesting listening to these songs given Brian’s and Roger’s preference for more uptempo and guitar/drum invested hard rock. "Some Day One Day" is another of Brian's songs, the first to have Brian on lead vocals for the entire song. Again, the acoustic guitars dominate, while another mix of many electrified guitars punctuate through the middle and end of the song. The closing song of the White side is Roger's "The Loser in the End", on which he also sings lead vocal throughout. I always enjoy Roger’s contributions to Queen albums, and when he sings lead vocal as he does here it adds to the depth of the album.
The Black side of the album continues the rare mix of acoustic and electrified timing changes along with the multi-layered instrumentalising that preceded it, but perhaps with a greater frenzy. "Ogre Battle" would be a case in point. The beginning of the song is actually the end of the song in reverse, before bursting into a heavy drum beat and guitar riff from Brian and John. Freddie and Roger's vocal melodies scream over the top, while the middle of the song is a cacophony of guitars and Freddie 'ogre' screams. An ogre battle indeed, this ranks as one of Queen's heaviest songs. This then segues into "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke", by which Freddie was inspired by the painting of the same name by Richard Dadd. The chaotic and frenetic qualities of the song could be accurately portrayed by the painting itself, which surprisingly when you look at it you can feel the way Freddie wrote this song. Terrific. Another segue moves into "Nevermore", another quieter and soothing song following the energy that has been used in the previous two tracks. This short break is then followed by "The March of the Black Queen", where the sound levels are cranked up again, unleashing the boundaries of Queen's every resource. Fast and heavy drums and guitars mix with quiet vocal melodies over acoustic guitar, and multi layered guitars and vocals blend into piano driven choirs of tunes. As they were to do again in the future with similar success, several different pieces of music has been fused together to create a spectacular piece. This is still an amazing song, and when you listen to it you can understand why it just couldn’t be reproduced to be played live on stage. It is a production in itself, a song that for a band’s second album is truly remarkable. "Funny How Love Is" follows this, built around a wall of multi-tracked vocals, piano and guitar, with Freddie's lead standing out at the front of the song. To complete the album is the brilliant and timeless "Seven Seas of Rhye", now in its completed form with lyrics, after an uncompleted section appeared on their first album. This was the only single lifted from the album and was the band's first Top Ten single in the UK.

For those who are paying attention to my Queen album retrospectives, you already know that my discovery of Queen came by the radio singles, and then the arrival of “The Works”, which recently received its own episode here on this podcast. And it wasn’t for a few years after that moment that I went back to listen to all of the albums from the 1970’s rather than concentrate on the “Greatest Hits” album and the “Live Killers” album. And it is fair to say that when I got around to “Queen II” for the first time, it was completely different from anything I expected. And it still is today. There’s no ‘singles’ being written for radio airplay here. This is an album that utilises every recording technique that can be found in the studio (no synths though! - that much is made clear in the linear notes). The songs rise and fall, fade and then bounce back hard in your face. Guitar on guitar on guitar, vocals layered time and again. A cacophony of sound, coming at you out of the speakers. It was all a lot to take in those first number of times I listened to the album, and perhaps it isn’t a surprise that it didn’t grab me at first. In fact, it took quite a while to grow on me. I went through much of the remainder of the band’s catalogue, and knowing what I liked and didn’t like, before I finally settled on “Queen II” again, and listened to it again. And, perhaps finally, having it on my stereo, and just sitting back and appreciateing it rather than playing the album while doing other things, and looking to radio songs to sing along to, is where I found my goal. The amazing way the band has constructed the album, to appreciate their incredible musicianship throughout, and enjoy the way the songs opened themselves out. Yes, it really did take me some time to get this album, but once I did, I discovered something unique and special, something that in the years since has allowed me to marvel at this album along with those who have always marveled at its wondrous sounds.
Along with the debut album that followed it, “Queen II” was the opening act of Queen’s career, as they experimented with their own influences to make a sound that was uniquely theirs, something with which they succeeded. From “Sheer Heart Attack” onwards there was a more structured way about the songs the band wrote (albeit still in a unique and multi-faceted way). What you have here is a band that was willing to do things their way, and record songs in a way that emphasised and utilised their many boundless talents to create an album that sounded bigger than an album with four members had any right to be. While it made playing some of the songs live an impracticality, it makes for an amazing sounding album. Not everyone will get it or perhaps be able to appreciate it for its brilliance, and of course it took me a long time to discover this myself. I for one now continue to marvel at the techniques used here, and the material that it provides.

687. Judas Priest / Rocka Rolla. 1974. 2/5

The band Judas Priest was formed in Birmingham in 1969, the location of a number of groups over the years who went on to produce amazing albums and careers. One of the interesting facts about this band is that, of the members who were a part of this original formation of the band, not one would survive to be a part of the recording of the band’s debut album some five years later. The closest was lead vocalist Al Atkins, who would be credited as a co-writer on several tracks that appeared on “Rocka Rolla”. That initial formation of Judas Priest dissolved in 1970 after the record label that had signed the band to a three-album deal went broke. Following this, Atkins joined a band called Freight, which also contained guitarist K.K Downing and bass guitarist Ian Hill. It wasn’t long until the band decided to ditch their name, and take on the moniker of Atkins’ previous band, playing their first gig together in March 1971.
A succession of drummers ran through the band over their initial years together, and while Atkins continued to write material that would eventually come to light on a Judas Priest album, he himself also left the band due to the lack of income the band was bringing in, and the necessity to support his young family with stable employment.
With the departure of Atkins, Downing and Hill went out and recruited two new members, drummer John Hinch and his lead singer from his band, Rob Halford, who was also the brother of Hill’s then girlfriend. The band then played gigs all through 1973, and in 1974 made their first tour of Europe, all still without a record contract. On their return to England in April of 1974, they signed a deal with Gull Records, and began preparations to record their debut album. It was at this time that the band decided to fill out the group with a second guitarist, and so recruited Glenn Tipton to join the band. However, as this came at the time when the songwriting had been completed, his contributions to this album were minimal, and would become more important down the track.
And so, after five years, one dissolution, one rebirth, countless changes in personnel and a long apprenticeship on the gigging tour, Judas Priest finally had their chance to show what they had to offer on vinyl, with the album that became their debut opus, “Rocka Rolla”.

For most fans or acquaintances of the great Judas Priest, this album would probably be a complete mystery unless you grew up with it as a part of your listening collection. Shrouded in the mists of time, with very little exposure to the world, this album is one whose style is as startlingly different to what most fans began with when sampling this band as is Alice Cooper's debut album “Pretties For You” or Pantera's debut album “Metal Magic”. The fact that the band has ignored it completely when it comes to live sets for over 30 years of course has a number of reasons behind it, but it also perhaps indicates that the band knows what the fans really want to hear, and that isn’t necessarily provided on this debut album. But everyone has to start somewhere, and the influences on Priest on their debut album seem to come from a time several years in the past, and perhaps are not as representative here on the 1974 release as they could well have been had it been recorded in 1969.
Technical problems during the recording contributed to the poor sound quality of the record. Producer Rodger Bain, whose resume included Black Sabbath's first three albums and Budgie's first album, took control of the decisions over the young and green members, decisions which the band did not always agree with, which caused some tension. And while this album is a good deal mellower than the raucous and metallised material that was to come down the line, there are certain moments when you can hear that fabled Judas Priest sound in its infancy. For the most part, however, this album is rooted in the folksy blues music that feels as though it would be much more suited to the late 1960's rather than the advancing of the mid-1970's. A lot of it could almost be influenced by the first couple of Deep Purple album's, which is somewhat surprising given what Deep Purple had evolved into by the time this album was released. However, having said this, it has been reported that many of the band's better known and stylistic songs, such as "Tyrant", "Genocide" and an early version of "Victim of Changes" were ruled out of being placed on this album by their producer, Rodger Bain, because they weren’t commercial enough. He also cut the song "Caviar and Meths" from a 10-minute song down to a 2-minute instrumental. Many of these songs of course eventually found themselves onto the next album, which itself is a much more recognisable Priest-sounding album. Just what would the addition of those songs to this album have created at the time? It’s an interesting question and one that would be well worth debating.
There is no duelling of those Downing and Tipton guitars here, and there is no great hint of any of the speed and heaviness that was to come from this band as they established themselves. The songs tend to in places just plod along, the drum and bass beat sometimes barely getting above a crawl as Halford croons lightly over the top.
"One for the Road" is an example of this though not in a terrible way, but it does struggle to reach its conclusion as the bulk of the song feels like it just repeats itself over and over again. It is a reasonable track but out of kilter with what was produced as opening tracks down the path a little. The first single, "Rocka Rolla" is a better song with a slightly rockier feel, and the dual guitars making themselves more prominent, as well as the shirking squeal of Halford's harmonica. Still, it honestly sounds more like The Eagles than Judas Priest. The suite of "Winter", "Deep Freeze" and "Winter Retreat" is an interesting delving into more hippy rock along with the very 1970's guitar improv. For much of the time it feels as though perhaps the album has stopped, frozen in time if you will. It's a very... unique... almost Pink Floyd expedition, and one that seems so very unlike the band that was to emerge from this album.
"Cheater" comes across in a similar vein as "Rocka Rolla", closer to a rock song that the other efforts, with a snazzier pace and the return of the harmonica, but more importantly those single guitar solos that showcase what makes this band great.
"Never Satisfied" rambles along, again falling into the trap of predictability and repeating riff that the opening track “One for the Road” suffers from. "Run of the Mill", while on the surface appearing to be a slightly long and overdrawn song, showcases Rob Halford's amazing vocal range for the first time, as he really ups the intensity towards the end of the song. It wants to be "Victim of Changes”, but it doesn't quite have the power or the catchiness of that great track at this point. Despite this, this track becomes the forerunner to those style of ballad/epic songs that Judas Priest was to become renown for, and as such is an important piece of the puzzle going forward.
"Dying to Meet You" slumps along at a similar tempo, a sluggish song that at times struggles to keep the listener interested. The micro half-song that follows, "Hero Hero", comes much closer to being in the same street as you would expect of a Judas Priest song, but again it is much too little in comparison to what has come before. The album closes with a two-minute instrumental titled "Caviar and Meth", a song that in the days before Al Atkins was replaced as lead singer by Rob Halford was in fact a fourteen-minute monster. What was recorded here was just the introduction to that original piece, another of those production ideas that perhaps didn’t turn out for the best.

My foray into Judas Priest did not begin until the middle of the 1980’s, where I first began my entrancement with heavy metal music. And it was the albums from the 1980’s that I first heard and bought and came to know. So, it wasn’t for some time until I came to delve back to the albums of the 1970’s and truly experience just what they held.
When I first got my first copy of “Rocka Rolla”, I won’t deny that it was a complete surprise. Should it have been? I mean, the style of music here is certainly of that era, and it is the band’s first album after all. But there is no doubt that I expected something completely different from what I got, and that threw me a curve ball for a while. Trying to reconcile what I found here compared to the albums I knew so well - “British Steel”, “Screaming for Vengeance”, “Defenders of the Faith” and “Painkiller” - was a tough gig. So it probably got very short shrift at that time, and I went back to those albums I knew. Eventually I came back to it, well into the great black hole between 1990 and 2005, and with a less cynical or narrow field of vision (or hearing). And here is where I found my appreciation for the album as it was recorded. Did I go back to listen to it often? No, there are a lot of other Judas Priest albums I head to before that.
Over the last three weeks, I have had my CD out of its cover and back in my stereo again, and it has been a real joy – and I mean that. It has a lot of variables compared to those albums that followed it, all of which I am more inclined to follow, but that doesn’t mean this doesn’t have a lot to offer the fan.
As a piece of history, especially of this band, this is still an interesting listen. It is not a write-off, but it is of a different era, and most certainly was written and performed that way. While it is worth a listen for all of the fans who have not experienced it, in the long run I would be surprised if many fans revisited it on a regular basis. And that’s okay, because just around the corner there is a little album waiting to be recorded called “Sad Wings of Destiny”, and that’s where things start to get very interesting indeed.

510. Kiss / Hotter Than Hell. 1974. 3/5

In February of 1974 Kiss had released their self-titled debut album, rising on the back of their hard touring schedule and the marketability of their costumes and make up which were beginning to give the band some traction. Touring on the back of the album’s release saw them gain a core following, something that their management and record company looked to take advantage of. With this in mind, just six months after that debut album’s release, Kiss, was back in the studio, writing and recording the follow up album. In the modern day and age, it seems like a ludicrously short time between albums. Releasing albums every year must have been difficult enough, but creating another album in a timespan shorter than that surely would create some problems. In recent episodes of this podcast, we have seen the result of bands who have had to create new material under such time constraints as this, and the general feeling about those albums is that, given a little more time to compose and refine the material those albums may have ended up being better than they were.
Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise were again chosen as producers, but as they had just relocated to Los Angeles, the New York based band followed them to the west coast, something that didn’t take long to not sit well with them. They were out of their comfort zone, something that may have affected their mindset in that regard.
How much pressure would have been on the band to come up with an album that could be a worthy follow up to their debut just months after they had finished recording that album? To know now, looking back, at the number of iconic tracks that album contains, it feels as though it was always going to be a difficult proposition. Added to relocating to unknown territory to record the next album, the whole situation in retrospect looks as though it was a pressure cooker. IN fact, one might say that it was “Hotter Than Hell”

This album has been described as moody and darker than the debut album, and in a way that is channelled by the plodding pace of many of the tracks here as well. “Got to Choose” leads off that way, Gene’s bass taking prominence, and Paul’s vocals are in his lower range than his best tracks where he hits the high range which in most cases brings the enjoyment to the song. Here it is a slower and less energetic start to the album, brightened by Ace’s guitar solo through the middle of the song. “Goin’ Blind” is a reworking of a Wicked Lester song, that musically drags the mood down to the depths and the lyrical content about a romance between a 16 year old girl and 93 year old man hardly engendering itself to anyone. The title track on this studio album mirrors the opening song, barely getting out of second gear as the music plods along to a morbid drum beat and Paul’s vocals not being pushed at all. When it has been played live it always sound better, but the bones of the track remain as a slow tempo mood stomper.
The one major exception to this is “Parasite”, probably not surprisingly written by Ace given what is happening around this song on the album. It brightens up the album immediately after the slow start and jumps out of the speakers at you as one of the top shelf songs from the album. Ace’s guitaring is fabulous, and Gene’s vocals are at their best with the galloping beat. Ace wrote three songs on this album, handing one each to the other band members to take on the lead vocals of the track. His confidence in his own vocals at this point in time was visibly low. In the case of “Parasite” at least, the choice of Gene to sing it is perfect. Alongside this, the middle album tracks of “Let Me Go, Rock ‘N Roll” and “All the Way” show some enterprise and energy. “Let Me Go, Rock ‘N Roll” has a 1950’s rock and roll sound to it, with Ace’s guitar shadowing that era’s sound during his riff and solo, and Gene again getting up front and energetic in his vocals. It is only a little over two minutes in length, but it is a good pick me up. “All the Way” is a typically upbeat Gene song to follow it, with great support vocals during the chorus and another Ace special in the solo section. And yet another Gene song “Watchin’ You” follows in the same wake with a great drum beat from Peter helping to drive the track. After the downside mood in the first third of the album this middle section lifts the album, even if lyrically it isn’t Shakespearean.
“Mainline” is written by Paul but sung by Peter, and this combination gives the song a very early 70’s contemporary sound. At times Peter sounds like great Australian rocker Billy Thorpe, and on this song the resemblance is almost uncanny. This is followed by “Comin’ Home” with Gene’s bass line coming through as a dominant force, and Paul’s vocals sounding the most Paul-like for the album. One thing that is unusual on this album is that of the ten tracks, Gene sings five, Peter two, and Paul only three. “Strange Ways” is the second of those Peter sung tracks, with a tempo reminiscent of the earlier tracks on the album. Musically it is a strange choice to close out the album. Reverting back to what had come at the top of the album, and then having an abrupt end to the song and therefore the album, feels like a less than satisfactory conclusion.

Yes! It’s Kiss again! And my entry story remains the same. (I wonder if my cousin David ever actually listened to my podcast – which he definitely won’t - if he would actually remember his days living at our grandmothers and his walls covered in Kiss posters and me outside his bedroom door listening to him playing these albums at high volume...).
Anyway... yes... a foray from my cousin, to the singles on the radio and “Crazy Nights”. Most of you will know the story by now. And the discovery of the 1970’s albums was what came after all that. And when I started going back for those albums, there were some that grabbed me immediately, fastened themselves onto me, and clung on for dear life. And there were others that... just didn’t make the cut. “Hotter Than Hell” was certainly one of the latter. Through no fault of its own, it didn’t have the components that I was looking for in a Kiss album by the time I got around to listening to it. I like music with a good tempo, with energy. I like the vocals to be expressing themselves, not just going through the motions. And for the most part here, “Hotter Than Hell” can’t offer that. Compared to others such as the debut album and then “Dressed to Kill” and “Destroyer”, it was less enticing. I did listen to the album when I got it, but in the queue to be the Kiss album I chose to listen to when that desire came, it was a long way back.
As I have had my CD copy back in the stereo over the last couple of weeks, I have wondered if I would feel differently about this album if I had been old enough to listen to it when it was released, rather than trying to come to terms with it in a future time. And I still come to the same conclusion, even after giving this another dozen or so at least listens for this episode. That of those first four albums in particular, this is the weakest, where the material overall just doesn’t compare to those other three albums. And my tastes also want those opening songs to be faster and more energetic, such as they would have played them live on stage. Because then I think they would have all sounded far better than they do here.
In conclusion? I don’t mind “Hotter Than Hell”. Perhaps I have sounded harsher here than I need to be, and that is just my own musical bias coming through. In the Kiss catalogue, this is not a top 10 album. For me it is probably nearer the bottom than the top. That doesn’t make it a bad album, just one that I find less great than others. Far better was just around the corner for the band, including the live album that was to be the single greatest influence on their fortunes for the rest of their career.

392. Scorpions / Fly to the Rainbow. 1974. 3/5

Scorpions had released their debut album in 1972, titled “Lonesome Crow”, having done their time out in the pubs and clubs like all bands of their ilk. On the back of the album, they toured Europe and the UK, and in particular as support to the British hard rock band UFO, who were also trying to find their niche in the music market. So impressed were the band with the Scorpions young guitar prodigy Michael Schenker that they asked him to join their band. Having consulted with older brother Rudolph, who encouraged him to further his career, Michael left Scorpions for UFO, a decision that was to benefit both parties until the end of the 70’s decade. In order to complete the tour, Michael suggested his friend Uli Jon Roth come in and fill in on lead guitar, which he then did. At the end of the tour Uli Jon was asked to remain a part of the band, but he instead decided to remain in his own band, called Dawn Road. This and Michael’s departure led to the Scorpions breaking up at this time.
All was not lost, however. Despite the demise of Scorpions, Rudolph had decided that he wanted to work with Uli Jon, and having attended some of Dawn Road’s rehearsals he decided to join the band, which at that time consisted of Uli Jon Roth on guitar and vocals, bass guitarist Francis Buchholtz, drummer Jurgen Rosenthal and keyboardist Achim Kirschning. Once he was in the mix, Roth and Buchholtz convinced Rudolph to invite Klaus Meine to come on board as lead vocalist, reprising his role from Scorpions, which he eventually agreed to. With two bands figuratively merging into one, the new group decided to forego the Dawn Road name to retake the name of Scorpions, as that name was already well known in the German music community and had of course already released an album, which Dawn Road had not. And thus came the second coming of Scorpions the band.
This was the lineup that entered the studio to record what would now become Scorpions sophomore album. As a part of his agreement to join UFO, Michael Schenker contributed to the writing of three songs on the new album, thus allowing a direct correlation and similarity in the writing partnerships between the first two albums. And with Rudolph and Klaus contributing the majority of the rest of the writing, the band was ready to take the next step in their career.

Creating a tradition that would last for decades, the Scorpions open their album with the hard rocking and fast tempo of "Speedy's Coming", a song that not for the last time references the band's fans and they way they both interact. It is a terrific opening statement from the newly constituted band, composed by Rudolph and Klaus and showing off each aspect of the new band lineup, especially showcasing Klaus Meine's amazing vocals and Uli Jon Roth's wonderful lead guitar work. On this track too you get a real feel for Francis Buchholtz's bass sound, it is very prominent here and adds greatly to the sound of the song. Following this comes the very middle-eastern influenced sound of the Schenker/Meine song "They Need a Million" featuring the lead vocals of rhythm guitarist Rudolph Schenker, one of the very few times he performed this role in the band's career. And, he does an admirable job of it as well. Certainly not well enough to justify doing the role over Klaus, but it is still interesting to hear him do so on this track. Then comes "Drifting Sun", the only song on this album composed by Uli Jon Roth, and also featuring him on lead vocals. It must have been an interesting time for the band, and with three different lead vocalists on the first three songs of the album, perhaps they thought at the time this would be a direction they might head in. Once again, Uli Jon is not in the same race as Klaus Meine when it comes to singing, but here, unlike some of his efforts on future albums, his vocals are quite listenable, and his lead guitar is great once again. It's a long rambling song in the style of the era, and one that is enjoyable as a result. Closing out side one of the album is the first of the tracks co-written by Michael Schenker, this one along with Klaus, "Fly People Fly" with Klaus returning on lead vocals, a song that harps on rising above your struggles and reaching for the sky.
The second side of the album is kickstarted by "This is My Song", Rudolph and Klaus's remonstration with the state of the world, of the negativity that prevails and their hope for a better world. The lacklustre start does brighten towards the end with Uli Jon's solo guitar stretching through the back half. "Far Away" is composed by Rudolph and Klaus along with Michael, follows on from this song, with Klaus's lyrics encouraging of leaving behind any troubles and of searching for positives in your life. Again the song starts off in a quiet melancholy phase before breaking out at the halfway point and coming home in a harder fashion. The album then concludes with the epic title track "Fly to the Rainbow", composed by Michael Schenker and Uli Jon Roth, the only time they have collaborated together. At almost ten minutes in length, it covers the gamut of music at the time, including psychedelic elements and hard rock themes, with the bass guitar from Francis again booming through as a major player throughout the song, topped by the drums of Jurgen Rosenthal. Uli Jon has a ball on his guitar during the song, breaking out at times of his choosing to penetrate the songs veneer. This song is again perhaps the final great song of that era in regards to its sound. It is born of the 1960's, and by 1974 music had morphed into a different era, and this is the final remnant of the psychedelic period, one which all members of this band originated from, but were well on their way to helping to form what was to come in the music world.

Those who have followed my Scorpions journey will know that it was those albums of the second era of the band, from 1979 through to 1993, that initially grabbed me by the you-know-what's and turned me into a fan. The World Wide Live album was that first stop, and the other albums from that point on are still a major part of my music makeup. Delving back into the albums of the 1970's became a task that followed all of this, and was an interesting period in itself. The Uli Jon Roth years are a different kettle of fish in the Scorpions discography and journey, and having digested the later material first, it is a challenging thing to firstly listen to and then appreciate this era of the band.
This first album of the merged entity does however deliver. It would be hard not to, with Klaus Meine's voclas and Uli Jon Roth's guitar alone. Both are spectacular and are afforded the opportunity to shine. This is not to overlook the excellence of Rudolph Schenker's guitaring as well, always so important in the band's music, and Francis Buchholz on bass guitar is excellent as is Jurgen Rosenthal on drums.
It has been a little over 20 years since I first heard this album in full, and listening to it again in recent weeks it has been noticeable to me how much I still enjoy it. "Lonesome Crow" is almost a standalone album, given the time since it was recorded and released and the change in personnel, and this merged group could easily have gone bust very quickly. But the choice to insist that Michael Schenker contribute to the writing of this album before leaving for UFO, and only one song from Uli Jon, meant that the writing stayed on a similar path that the original Scorpions had done, and allowed the other influences to seep in slowly, and I think that not only works here on "Fly to the Rainbow" but for the basis of the future albums. Achim Kirschning decided to leave after the recording of the album. Soon after, Jürgen Rosenthal had to leave as he was drafted into the army. He was to become the first of several drummers over the next few years. This album began a run of several albums through to 1978 where the Scorpions built their reputation through Europe and the UK, and eventually into the US, as a band with great songs and great musicianship. It may not be what people who grew up with the band through the 1980's would remember, but with a consideration for the times it was recorded in, this album holds its own for the era.

360. Elf / Carolina County Ball. 1974. 1.5/5

Having been in a multitude of bands – or at least been in bands that have had a multitude of band name changes – Ronnie James Dio appeared to have hit paydirt when his latest iteration had settled on the name of Elf for their current formation in 1972, having originally been called the Electric Elves in 1967, before shortening that to the Elves in 1969, and finally Elf in 1972. With that name the band had released their self-titled debut album produced by Roger Glover and Ian Paice from Deep Purple, the story of which you can hear on the episode dedicated to that album in Season 3 of this podcast.
Following this album, Dio, who both sung and played bass guitar on the album, decided they needed a new member to take over the bass duties, and so Craig Gruber was hired to perform that task. Also guitarist David Feinstein, who was Dio’s cousin, quit the band, and Steve Edwards was brought in to replace him.
Elf then supported Deep Purple on two separate tours, becoming a well liked touring partner with the band and in the process making other connections that would be instrumental in future plans. After this the band entered the studio to write and record their follow up album in January and February in 1974, and album that when released in the United States and Japan was titled “L.A. 59” after the second track on the album, but for the rest of the world would be known by the first track on the album, “Carolina County Ball”.

Listening to this album, it is interesting even today to hear the kind of music the band plays. For 1974, several songs here are just old time blues ragtime songs. Sure, you may well have heard a bit of this from Marvin Hamlisch on the soundtrack to the movie The Sting, but it probably isn’t what you expect from this album. “Carolina County Ball”, the title track, is very much what this is. The boogie woogie piano throughout, before the wailing blues guitar riff at the end, sets up exactly what you can expect to hear on this album from the outset. And yes, the debut album had this kind of heavy blues influence upon it. But is this what people expected that the follow up would be like as well?
All of the songs on the album are written by Dio and keyboardist Mickey Lee Soule, who also contributed rhythm guitar when needed... which wasn’t often. The piano is the overwhelming influence in the music on the album, probably to excess when there are other elements of the band that could have been utilised better. The opening tracks including “L.A. 59” and “Ain’t it all Amusing” are entertaining enough but are countered by songs such as “Happy”, which paradoxically is quite dreary and uninteresting. "Rocking Chair Rock 'n' Roll Blues" has the quiet slow start that builds to something more powerful by its conclusion, and is a reasonable example of what Dio can do with his voice at both ends of the spectrum, but maybe making this two songs instead of just one would have worked better.
Dio’s vocals showcase here exactly what was being searched for by two of the main influences on his climb to immortality. The power he exhibits at times on songs such as “L.A. 59” and "Annie New Orleans” are certainly more important than any of the music produced here.
The drumming by Gary Driscoll is especially imposing on songs like “Ain’t It All Amusing”, a song dominated by his drum work and the blues guitar of Edwards who also shines when given a decent opportunity to do so. Indeed, this is where the band needed to steer their direction – more guitar from Edwards, and less keyboards from Soule. As it turns out, the future was to pan out in that way, which worked for some of the members of Elf, and not so much for others.

One of the things about doing a podcast called ‘Music from a Lifetime’ is that not all of the albums that I review from the music that I have listened to and/or purchased over the course of my lifetime, turn out to be good. Sometimes it just turns out to be very very different from what you expect it is going to be.
I don’t think anything could have prepared me for Elf and the music they produced on their three albums. Because I came into Elf as the result of one man – Ronnie James Dio. Because at some stage in the early 1990’s, when the band Dio had begun to run out of steam, the Black Sabbath mark II lineup had finally been brought undone by the same jealousies as they had with their original break up, I felt a need to go back and find the roots of the man with the magic voice.
The first time that I heard this album was having purchased the CD from Utopia Records in Sydney, a CD that contains both this album and its follow up “Trying to Burn the Sun”. And I can’t tell you the excitement I felt as i headed for home with the anticipation of what I was going to hear. And then I put it on... and in the immortal words of Edmund Blackadder... “I think the phrase rhymes with clucking bell”.
This was simply nothing like what I imagined I would hear. I would probably have been less surprised if it had been full of Dio just singing gospel songs. The blues? And, I mean, almost pure, unadulterated blues?! I just couldn’t imagine that this was the kind of music that Ronnie James Dio would be involved in. Of course, over future years and further deep diving, I discovered Ronnie and the Red Caps and Ronnie Dio and the Prophets, and got a much clearer aspect of his musical journey. But that doesn’t make this any less difficult to digest.
Over the last couple of weeks, I have resurrected that same CD, the one that I purchased all those years ago, and promptly abandoned to the shelves to collect dust, only moving when I moved house, and it went from shelves to moving box to shelves again. And I have played it again, and searched desperately for something to grab a hold of. And of course, being older and wiser now, I found... not much. I enjoyed Gary Driscoll’s drumming. Steve Edwards when given the chance plays some nice solos. Ronnie’s voice is amazing. There are several pl aces throughout where you can hear exactly why Roger Glover asked him to participate on his post-Deep Purple project “The Butterfly Ball” and then create the best moments on hat album, and why Ritchie Blackmore asked him to join a new project with him post-Deep Purple, the project that became the band Rainbow. So there are moment here that sparkle. But, through the whole experience, every time I have listened to this album over the last little period in order to do this podcast episode, I spent the whole time the album was on looking forward to it being over, so I could then listen to something that I WANTED to listen to, something that I would ENJOY. And sadly, that is the only true impression I can offer of “Carolina County Ball”. The almost desperate desire to run as far away as possible from it. It led to much greater things, but that doesn’t make it a good album. I will say this though. Compared to albums such as Echobrain’s self-titled debut album, or Metallica and Lou Reed’s “Lulu” album, this album is a bloody masterpiece.

165. Roger Glover And Guests / The Butterfly Ball. 1974. 3/5.

When this was first put together it was anticipated that it would be accompanied by an animated feature, telling the story completely of The Butterfly Ball. As it turned out, the movie fell through, but here remains the soundtrack.

Roger Glover was instrumental in putting this together, telling the story of the day when all animals put aside their differences and attended the Butterfly Ball. Though it is not a heavy metal album, it features some artists who have gone on to big things – David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes and Ronnie James Dio being the biggest.

This is a good musical experience, and well worth a listen. As favourites go, Glenn Hughes singing Get Ready, David Coverdale singing Behind The Smile and Dio singing Sitting In A Dream. Ronnie's great Love Is All is the highlight of the album, and was a hit single throughout Europe in 1975.

Rating : An interesting project that is still being considered for a revival. 3/5.

159. Deep Purple / Burn. 1974. 5/5.

Following on from the success of the album “Who Do We Think We Are”, the episode of which you can find on Season 4 of this podcast, the final throes were enacted for the Mark II line up of Deep Purple. Firstly, lead singer Ian Gillan resigned from the band, and then a little later bass guitarist Roger Glover was also let go. As was related in that other episode, Gillan had said in a 1984 interview that the band had been pushed t record and tour and record and tour, despite the fact all members needed a break. This of course led to growing tensions, none more so than between Gillan and guitarist Richie Blackmore, which culminated in Gillan’s decision to quit. In interviews later, Lord called the end of Mark II while the band was at its peak "the biggest shame in rock and roll; God knows what we would have done over the next three or four years. We were writing so well."
Glover was apparently dismissed from the band on the insistence of Blackmore, however, according to drummer Ian Paice, Glover had told both he and keyboardist Jon Lord some months earlier that he wanted to leave the band. This had actually led to Paice and Lord dropping in on gigs played by a band called Trapeze, who at that time had a lead vocalist and bass guitarist called Glenn Hughes as their frontman. With both Gillan and Glover now gone, the band hired Hughes, and at the time they apparently debated continuing as a four piece with Hughes filling both vocals and bass roles. Hughes himself recalls that he was told that the band was going to bring in Paul Rodgers from the band Free to act as co-vocalist, as both bands had just toured Australia together, while Rodgers has admitted that he was asked to join, he instead continued with his plan to form a new band that became Bad Company. Auditions instead brought forth the figure of a then unknown young vocalist named David Coverdale, who eventually became the man to replace Ian Gillan in the band.
Recording of the album once again took place in Montreux during November 1973, and with two of the writers and performers being replaced in the band, it led to exciting new combinations being formed, and a change in the overall direction of the music that was to be the hallmark of the newly crowned Mark III line up of Deep Purple.

Several things become obvious when you listen to this album compared to the ones that come before it. The addition of both Coverdale and Hughes firstly gives the band an amazing vocal duo that they haven’t had to this point in time. Coverdale is a terrific vocalist, one that brings a bluesy element back to the band in his voice. But behind him he has Glenn Hughes, the man who in the years since has been dubbed The Voice of Rock. Here is a guy who is simply supreme, the smooth, resilient and high-pitched gem of a voice gives the band something it had never had – two vocalists capable of singing lead, which they do switch between through the course of the album. Secondly, there is a noticeable transformation occurring in the music being written, moving away from the hard rock focus the band had used in Ian Gillan’s term with the band, and to a style incorporating more soul and funk through the rhythm section. It is not a total change, but those elements creep in more here than they had on earlier albums. Along with this, there sounds like there is an increased focus back on Jon Lord’s keyboards and a lesser influence of Ritchie Blackmore’s guitar. The dominant instrument on most of the songs is the Hammond organ, while Ritchie’s guitar solo piece is mostly the only time you really notice him in the foreground of any song. When you listen to “Burn”, it becomes easier to understand just why Blackmore was in the throes of deciding he needed to move on from Deep Purple to form another band, because while he was a writer on all of the tracks here it does sound at times that his own contributions are becoming less important to the music.
None of that takes away from the fact that this is a remarkable album. The opening title track, the first of the next era of the band, remains one of its finest. “Burn” is a masterpiece, from the opening guitar riff, into Ian Paice’s amazing drumming. Seriously, take a good listen to what Paice is doing throughout this entire song. It is next level. He has always been an amazing technician but is often underappreciated for what he does on his instrument. On “Burn”, the song and the album, he is a star. The dual vocals from Coverdale and Hughes, Lord’s wonderful Hammond riff alongside the guitar, and Roger Glover’s bass line underneath it all. This is one of the band’s greatest, one that hasn’t been played live by the band since 1976, though has remained in the setlists of both Coverdale’s and Hughes's bands since. “Might Just Take Your Life” is a more sedate track, with heavy influence of the Hammond organ and the bluesy vocals from both singers. It has a great groove and wades along wonderfully well and is well served with the new harmony vocals of the young gun vocalists. “Lay Down, Stay Down” picks up the pace again with more switch in lead between Glenn and David. The familiar Deep Purple rhythm riff underneath, that you can often pick up in many of their songs, also has Ritchie’s solo through the middle to appropriate that he is indeed in the mix.
“Sail Away” is the first of two songs composed by Coverdale and Blackmore, and it has a that familiar Coverdale sound that he took with him when he moved on with Whitesnake following Purple’s demise. The blues base here, along with his lower range smooth vocals is well complemented by the bass of Hughes combining with Lord’s Hammond organ to create a terrifically atmospheric song. “You Fool No One” opens the second side of the album, with Ian Paice’s drum work again taking centre stage throughout, it is spectacular again, along with that amazing vocal duo again producing a sensational performance – especially when Glenn Hughes comes in with that higher pitched awesomeness, he is always so obvious when he makes an appearance. “What’s Goin’ On Here” is very much in the blues bar theme, with tinkling ragtime piano and blues riffing guitar. It’s another interesting track given what the band had produced prior to this album.
Ritchie’s fingers are all over the classic song “Mistreated”, with his guitar regaining some of its prominence that is buried on other tracks and Lord’s keys being supporting rather than dominating. This also allows Coverdale to showcase his own amazing vocals in singularity throughout. “Mistreated” was written solely by these two, and it is noticeable listening to the song because they are the two that hold the top end of the song. Blackmore’s guitar riff is the star, and his mournful solo through the middle of the song and a far more energetic one to close out the track are both beauties. This is another of Purple’s great tracks, one which Ritchie did live when he formed Rainbow, and I must say that Dio’s vocal for me does outstrip Coverdale here... but this is a much more bluesy version than what Rainbow played.
However – what the hell is the final track on the album? The psychedelic, synth based, LSD trip inducing instrumental track “’A’ 200” has always confused me, and made me wonder what the thoughts behind it were. Sure, this was the era for such a song, but I just didn’t expect it from Deep Purple. It sounds like a jam session between the three composers, Paice, Lord and Blackmore, and they just thought “OK, we’ll use that”. With two great vocalists to utilise, couldn’t they have just written another great track using them? Then again, what would I know.

Deep Purple was one of those bands that I think I always sort of knew about, and who didn’t know “Smoke on the Water” and even “Black Night”, even if you didn’t know the band. So once I started listening to heavier music in my mid-teens in the mid-1980's, Deep Purple was one of the bands that was almost immediately there on the horizon. The arrival of those 80’s Mark II reunion albums of “Perfect Strangers” and “The House of Blue Light” combined with “Machine Head” and “In Rock” gave me a basis for what the band was like.
I eventually joined a mail-order record and CD club, who sent me out a catalogue every two months, filled with new releases and callbacks and rarities, as well as cheap new blank C-90 and C-60 cassettes, which was my main purchases from that club. But on one occasion they had a CD box set of the Deep Purple albums stretching from “In Rock” through to “Come Taste the Band”, and I had to get it. And it was then that I first listened to the full album of “Burn” rather than just the two songs I knew off the greatest hits album I had. And it was amazing. I had by this time already also had some Whitesnake albums, so I knew Coverdale’s vocals well, but hearing him in all his glory on this album, with Glenn Hughes alongside him, was a real eye – or ear – opener. Their combination when I first heard it was groundbreaking, something I had been completely unprepared for. The changing of the lead vocalist for verses was done so perfectly, and was such a breath of fresh air, as good as Gillan is. And while some may say the style of music the band played n Mark III was the real change, the real change was the harmony vocals combined. And the album just opened a whole new section of music for me.
As I do, I have been listening to this album again for a couple of weeks in preparation for this episode, and not only have I fallen in love with it all over again, I have actually heard more of what the band does on these songs than I have ever noticed before – things like how amazingly good Ian Paice and his drumming is on “Burn”, it feels like I should have known this before now, but I have really noticed it more now than ever. Just how piercing Glenn Hughes’s vocals are when he gets his chance to shine, they cut through the speakers and make you admire his talent all over again. And how commanding David Coverdale is as lead vocalist, in his first real big break, in one of the biggest bands in the world. The pressure on him to replace Ian Gillan must have been enormous, and yet he sounds like he has been in the band for years.
It wasn’t until a decade after its release that I first heard this album – being four years old at the time surely I can be forgiven. But I have made up for it since then. This is a truly fantastic album, one that sometimes gets lost in the band’s history because it ISN’T of the Mark II era. And given that this album is now fifty years old, it is as good a time as any for everyone to take a listen, and discover for yourself just how awesome it is.