1229. The Clash / Give 'Em Enough Rope. 1978. 3/5

On the back of their self titled debut album in 1977, The Clash had begun their rise in the punk scene of the UK in particular. In and amongst the plethora of bands that seemed to crop up one day and be gone the next, The Clash and contemporaries the Buzzcocks were the driving force of the movement where it wasn’t necessarily the shock of the music and lyric topics that caught the attention, but the maturity of it. Touring behind that first album The Clash played on their own ‘Out of Control’ tour, which apart from a small riot when their first gig in Belfast was cancelled at the last minute due to the insurance being pulled from the venue, created a storm of the music kind. They also played at the ‘Rock Against Racism’ carnival in London later that year, which was attended by 100,000 people. In between this they released two non-album singles to great acclaim. “Clash City Rockers” was played on a BBC children's morning show after its release, alongside the unreleased (at that time) “Tommy Gun”, while “(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais” became a favourite with Clash fans and was voted single of the year in the 1978 NME Readers' Poll.
Before the Clash began recording their second album, their American based record company asked if they could produce an album with a 'cleaner’ sound than their debut, in order to reach American audiences. Sandy Pearlman, known for his work with Blue Öyster Cult, was hired to produce the record. Bass guitarist Paul Simonon later recalled, "Recording that album was just the most boring situation ever. It was just so nitpicking, such a contrast to the first album ... it ruined any spontaneity."
When the album arrived, it received mixed reviews in the UK music press, where some complained about its relatively mainstream production style in comparison to that debut album. Despite the backlash from sections of the music press, NME readers voted it the second best album of 1978 and The Clash were voted the best group in the same end of year poll.

"Give 'Em Enough Rope” is often overlooked in the band’s discography. It opens with the track “Safe European Home,” which is a fast-paced punk rock song that features Mick Jones’ guitar work and Joe Strummer’s vocals. The song describes Strummer's and Jones uneasy writing trip to Jamaica and their experiences with racism and violence. Jones later commented on the trip by saying, "we went down to the docks, and I think we only survived because they mistook us for sailors”. The song also contains references of Jamaican culture and buildings like the Sheraton hotel in Kingston. This is followed by “English Civil War,” which is a slower song that features a catchy chorus, and which is derived from an American Civil War song, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", that was popular among both sides of the conflict. Guitarist and vocalist Joe Strummer had learned the song at school and suggested to his bandmates that they should update it. The Clash’s version is about the state of politics in the UK at that time and warns against what things may come.
“Tommy Gun” is one of the most well-known songs from the album and from The Clash’s entire catalogue. The song features a driving beat and lyrics about gun violence. The lyrics especially deal with Middle Eastern terrorism, specifically the hi-jacking of aircraft. It is an especially interesting beginning to the album, with the band not shying away from what was going on in the world at home and abroad at this time, and not afraid to exhort their opinions on those matters. Listening to it today is just as revealing and important as it was when these songs were written all those years ago.
Continuing in this vein is “Julie’s Been Working for the Drug Squad”, a fast-paced punk rock song that features lyrics about drug enforcement, and acts as a commentary on the infamous "Operation Julie" drug bust that saw the largest LSD production ring in the world, based in Wales, dismantled by an undercover police operation. Side one is then closed out by “Last Gang in Town,” which is a more mid-paced song about gang violence.
Side two opens up with “Guns on the Roof,” a great song that is set up beautifully by Mick Jones and his excellent guitar riffs and solo work, as well as the rumbling bass of Simonon and terrific drumming from Headon. It is a song that talks about global terrorism, war and corruption, which in part was inspired by an incident that resulted in the Metropolitan Police's armed counterterrorist squad raiding The Clash's Camden Market base. Paul Simonon and drummer Topper Headon were arrested and charged with criminal damage for shooting racing pigeons with an air-gun from the roof of their rehearsal building. Strummer’s vocals here leave no doubt as to the band’s feelings about the whole incident.
“Drug-Stabbing Time” is strongly anti-drug lyrically with another great riff through the song and combined vocals that describes the paranoia of being caught in the act, which is somewhat ironic given the band's (specifically Mick Jones's) drug usage at this time. “Stay Free” moves back in style, and feels like a song that was written for that American market the band’s record company was looking for. “Cheapskates” is dominated by Strummer’s chanting thoughts firing out of the speakers, and the album then concludes with "All the Young Punks (New Boots and Contracts)" to round out the band’s second LP.

The Clash came to me, like many of my generation, through the radio hit “Rock the Casbah”, and the splash it made with one of my oldest school friends at that time, who then chased down every release by the band, which in time then found its way into my hands as well. And this all occurred at around the time that I was beginning to move away from just radio singles, and taping them off Kasey Kasem’s American Top 40 every Sunday arvo, and looking to move into whole albums by bands. Compilation tapes were still important in that, because it was a way of discovering multiple bands. So The Clash was a band that I listened to when I went around to this particular mate’s house, but were still some way away from me having a huge interest in them. That is a long winded way of saying that while I enjoyed The Clash, I didn’t really listen to their albums often or a lot.
In many ways, that is still the case, but the order I would choose to listen to them would be from first release to last release, meaning “Give ‘Em Enough Rope” rates very highly for me as a The Clash album. It is the punk sound I enjoy from them most rather than the reggae or rockabilly or straight rock they utilised in pieces later in their career. And while the producer of this album apparently felt so little about Joe Strummer’s vocals that he tried to have the drums drown them out on this record, I actually think they are quite good here. In fact the whole band sounds great. Mick Jones on guitar is wonderful once again, while I am still extremely impressed at how the bass and drums of both Paul Simonon and Topper Headon still hold up today. To me they often get overlooked for their contributions to the band, and certainly on this album I believe they are excellent and an important part of the success of this album. The reviews of the day were generally critical of the more produced sound of the album, and it is obviously a difference between the first two albums by the band. I have been listening to it now for a couple of weeks, and it still sounds great each time it comes up in my rotation. I enjoy the music, but it is the lyrics that I enjoy the most, the shaking of the fist at authority, and the standing up and telling it as they see it. Whatever else this album may be, its commentary on the era it was released is as fascinating today as it must have been on its release.

1227. Midnight Oil / Midnight Oil. 1978. 4/5

Midnight Oil the band was formed over a number of years, with the original members coming together from a variety of backgrounds. The original trio of drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James, and keyboard player/lead guitarist Jim Moginie performed together in a band called "Farm" as far back as 1972, and played cover version of songs by bands such as Cream, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Led Zeppelin. Eventually they decided to advertise for other players to come on board, an advert that was answered by Peter Garrett, who came to the band as lead vocalist and synth player. Garrett was studying in Canberra which made the band really a part-time gig, as the others were all based in Sydney. Having started playing on Sydney’s north shore, by 1975 the band was touring the Australian east coast on a regular basis. This then led to Garrett moving to Sydney the following year to complete his law degree, but also allowing the band to become a whole group rather than working in dispatches from different cities. It also led to the four piece deciding to change their name to Midnight Oil.
Following this, the group began to refine their sound, and began to develop a more aggressive, hard rock sound that was being more sought after in the Sydney pub rock scene. To help increase this, Martin Rotsey joined in 1977 to become the second guitarist with the band and Midnight Oil, with their manager Gary Morris, established their own record label Powderworks. The band had built a dedicated fan base in Sydney, which grew through constant touring, performing around 200 gigs in their first year as Midnight Oil. They became known for their furious live performances, and when they entered the studio to record their debut album, the hope was that they could transfer that energy onto vinyl. Sometimes that is not easy thing to do.

The album opens with “Powderworks”, a fast-paced rocker that sets the tone for the rest of the album. The song features a catchy riff, a driving rhythm section, and Peter Garrett’s distinctive vocals. The lyrics are about the band’s frustration with the music industry and their desire to make their own music. This is followed by “Head Over Heels”, a slower and more melodic track that showcases Jim Moginie’s keyboard skills. The song is a love song with a twist, as Garrett sings about a woman who is “head over heels in love with herself”.
The third track on the album is “Dust”, a dark and atmospheric song that deals with environmental issues. The song features a haunting synthesizer melody, a heavy bass line, and Garrett’s ominous vocals. The lyrics focus on the effects of pollution and nuclear war on the planet. The song is one of the earliest examples of the band’s social and political commentary, which would become more prominent in their later albums. “Used and Abused” is a hard-hitting punk rock styled song that criticizes consumerism and materialism. It features a fast tempo, a distorted guitar sound, and Garrett’s angry vocals. The lyrics are about the exploitation of the average person by corporations and advertisers, and how they waste their lives chasing after money and possessions.
Opening up the second side of the album is “Surfing with a Spoon”, a fun and upbeat song that celebrates surfing and freedom. The song features a catchy chorus, a surf rock guitar sound, and Garrett’s playful vocals, based around escaping from the pressures of society and enjoying life on the beach.
“Run by Night”, the band’s first single and one of their most popular songs, features another catchy hook, a grooved bass line, and Garrett’s confident vocals singing about living on the edge and taking risks in life.
The closing track is “Nothing Lost - Nothing Gained”, a complex and progressive rock song that features a long instrumental section, with various changes in tempo, mood, and style. The song showcases the band’s musical skills and versatility, as well as their experimental side. The lyrics are about finding balance and harmony in life, and accepting the consequences of one’s actions.
The album is an impressive debut that introduces the band’s unique sound and vision while displaying the band’s talent, creativity, and passion for music. Mixed with this the album also suffers from some flaws, such as uneven production quality, lack of cohesion in the tracks, and does not fully reflect the band’s live potential at the time, something that many fans of the day were disappointed with, and which would be rectified in their subsequent albums.

Growing up in Australia, Midnight Oil is a right of passage. And people can guess your age from which album you choose to offer as your favourite. Those older than me will often suggest Blue Sky Mining or Diesel and Dust as the ultimate. Those younger than me will likely to choose an album such as “Head Injuries” as the one that showcased them best. For me, it has always been “10-1” that is the go to album. All of this is to suggest that I had well and truly digested most of Midnight Oil’s great albums before I eventually got around to listening to this album. And I don’t really know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Because even from the first time I listened to this album I really enjoyed it, but also knew that their material further along the road was more polished, more intense and more amazing overall.
I wasn’t old enough to see them in concert in their early days, in sweaty Sydney pubs where the walls would bleed from the energy perspiring from band and crowd. Those that did generally found this album to be a tame imitation of the band they knew, which was always going to be a problem when trying to replicate that in the studio.
Looking back though, and listening to the album now, all of the bones are there for what was built upon this first foray onto vinyl. The experimenting of the sound in each song perhaps doesn’t give a true indication of what the band was when this was released back in 1978, but it gave the band its start, and the ability to widen their fan base, and push on to become the band they became.
For the fan of the band there is still lots to like about this album. It isn’t one of their biggest albums, and certainly not their most commercial, but if you turn it up loud and just let it come at you, then the misgivings of youth will still find you in the music.

1225. Whitesnake / Trouble. 1978. 3/5

By 1976, Deep Purple had finally collapsed in on itself and ceased to exist after ten years of amazing albums and several personnel changes. One of those had been lead vocalist David Coverdale, who had presided over the final three albums the band had released. Following their demise, Coverdale went out and immediately got to work on his own solo work, releasing his first solo album titled “White Snake” in 1977, and then “Northwinds” in early 1978. In an effort to distance himself from the hard rock sound that had been synonymous with Deep Purple, his solo work combined elements of blues, soul and funk to give it a different sound, and also characteristics that suited his vocals well. Long term friend, guitarist Micky Moody, had played on both albums, and when Coverdale started to assemble a backing band for his project he was the first to join. It was Moody who suggested the group needed a second guitarist, and through this they found Bernie Marsden who had started out as a member of UFO. Marsden then facilitated the recruitment of bass guitarist Neil Murray as they had recently played in another band together. Drummer Dave Doyle and keyboardist Pete Solley also came in to round out the initial group, which at the time was dubbed David Coverdale’s Whitesnake. Coverdale had not wanted his name attached to the band’s name, but record company interest was only fanned if it could be promoted in such a way.
The band were offered the chance to record for EMI, but only an EP rather than a full album. The four track was released in June 1978 (which included a cover of the song “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City” which became an unofficial fan anthem of the band) and the reaction was so positive that Whitesnake was offered the chance to record their full length debut soon after.
During this recording, keyboardist Pete Solley’s contributions were re-recorded by a man who had been chased and coaxed for some time by Coverdale to join the band. After much back and forth, his former Deep Purple bandmate Jon Lord agreed to come on board and provide his ample talents to the band. Thus came together the first outing for the band Whitesnake, and the debut album titled “Trouble”.

“Take Me With You” is a jaunty opening number, with a great bassline that is the mainstay throughout. It is a real rollicking rock song with a bluesy underbase, and immediately sets itself apart from what Coverdale’s previous band had been producing. This then moves into Coverdale’s slower paced “Love to Keep You Warm”, dominated by his smooth vocals and the more soul and funk sound that had come from his solo albums. These two tracks typified the direction of the music that this album brought to the table, and where the band would go over the next couple of albums as well. This is followed by “Lie Down (A Modern Love Song)” that is dominated by Jon Lord’s piano, an upbeat song that is a great counterpoint to the genre, with Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden combining perfectly to draw attention in the middle of the song, and finishing off in style.
It’s a brave move at any stage by any band to take on covering a Beatles song, and this is no different. “Day Tripper” is the one that gets the Whitesnake treatment here, and on first impressions you feel as though it doesn’t work. The energy and great vibe of the track is extricated on this version and replaced with a staccato and bluesier version of the original. Once you get used to it (after several dozen listens to be honest) it comes across better, but compared to the other tracks on the album it is a little out of place musically. “Nighthawk (Vampire Blues)” lifts the action again, with a great blues playoff between Marsden and Lord on guitar and keys respectively, and a rollicking pace throughout as Coverdale’s vocals play great games in a fun atmosphere.
“The Time is Right for Love” is a familiar tune and theme to any Whitesnake fan with a great drum beat setting the scene from David Dowle and super rumbling bass line again from the amazing Neil Murray that is the base of the song again. The secret to the enjoyment of this track is the tempo it is played at. It would have been destroyed if it was a slower paced ballad, but here as the excellently written up-tempo blues-based track, it is a beauty. On the other side of the coin, the title track “Trouble” IS that midtempo track, slowed back from the previous song, and with Coverdale crooning rather than belting, and the rest of the band dialling everything back. Another example of the two sides of Whitesnake on this, and to be honest, most of their albums.
“Belgian Tom’s Hat Trick” is a terrific instrumental where everyone has their moment, but it is the trade off between Marsden and Moody again that is the star of the show. Once again the faster tempo of the track is what brings it all to life, and as per usual whenever Jon Lord’s keyboards come to the fore it is a fun and frantic time. “Free Flight” finds that mid tempo again, before the closing track “Don’t Mess With Me” moves forward again and finishes the album on a high note.
The album tends to mix up the tempo of the songs throughout, which perhaps could have been altered slightly in order to keep the energy up in different spots, but the overall flow of the album is excellent still to this day.

Being in high school through the mid-1980's, it probably isn’t hard for you to believe that my first initiation to Whitesnake was their multi-million selling album ‘1987’, or self-titled, whichever way you know it to be called. That album is still such a massive part of my life and is so tied to that time of my life it is a difficult thing to get past. The other part of that is that ‘1987’ is such a different album musically than the band’s first albums were, but I didn’t discover that for a few years down the track, when I began to go back and find the albums of bands that I loved that I just hadn’t discovered. So you can probably imagine just how I felt the first time I heard this album, given how different every part of it is to those albums I knew of the band from the late 1980’s. This album is amazingly different, so much so that it was a real shock and something I didn’t process well on that initial discovery. Indeed, this album went away to collect dust for some time after that initial foray.
Thankfully though, I grew older, and more open to the changing musical styles of bands and the times they were recorded, and I went back to Whitesnake's “Trouble” for a second time. And this time around, I discovered exactly what I had missed that first time around. Because this is a very underestimated album, even within the Whitesnake catalogue. Most people know “Ready n Willing”, and “Saints n Sinners” and “Come an Get It”, and “Slide it In”, but how many people of my generation and younger have really appreciated the early Whitesnake albums? And “Trouble” in particular?
In my early twenties I was incredulous that there were fans out there who claimed that the early albums were so much better than the band’s later albums, that Coverdale had sold his soul to conquer America, and that Marsden and Moody outweighed anything that Vandeburg and Sykes and Vai had done in the latter years. I laughed. And then I really began listening to the albums of this era, and discovered that, even though I still love the albums from my era, that those people were right. That this band lineup is superb, their writing and playing is magnificent, and that they deserve to be on that pedestal as well. And this album Is a major part of that. In particular, Neil Murray on bass is just superb, in his element really in this genre of music. His bottom end to support the guitars of Marsden and Moody, and the leys of Jon Lord, is magnificent. And of course there is Coverdale himself, with those amazing vocal chords that are the star attraction of what the band does.
It took me a long time to get around to giving this album the time of day, and the time it deserved, to discover how good it is. And though there are a lot of years there that I have wasted due to not appreciating it sooner, the time since has been well spent. “Trouble” may not get the accolades of other great albums in the Whitesnake discography, but in my opinion it deserves them as much as any of those other albums.

1223. Black Sabbath / Never Say Die! 1978. 3.5/5

It would be fair to say that it was remarkable enough that this album ended up being made at all with the original foursome intact, as the lead up to its release was anything but smooth. The previous album “Technical Ecstasy”, the episode of which you can listen to in Season 1 of this podcast, had been a tough time writing and recording, and it had received a lukewarm reception on its release. The fact that the band had begun to expand its music (along with its mind with a furthering of drugs and alcohol) meant that the changes in the songs produced had brought some indifference in their fan base.
Following the tour to promote that album, and while in the process of beginning rehearsals for the next album, Ozzy Osbourne suddenly quit the band. Aside from his own problems, he has said in interviews and books that he had just become tired of the same quartet, and wanted to do something different. This brought about two situations, firstly with Sabbath immediately bringing in Dave Walker, who had sung in many bands including Fleetwood Mac and Humble Pie for a short time, and getting to work writing new material, and secondly Ozzy pulling together his own musicians in order to do the same. In early January 1978, Black Sabbath with Walker on vocals played live on a BBC music program. It was to be the only time they did so with this formation. Ozzy’s new band had been in rehearsals at the time, when suddenly he had a change of heart, and returned to Black Sabbath. No defining reason has ever been aired for this change of heart, though one could suspect that if Ozzy had seen or heard of his former band already playing together on British TV, perhaps he realised that he wasn’t ready to move on. Either way, Walker was out and Osbourne was back.
The difficulties didn’t finish there though. Back in the fold, Ozzy refused to sing or play any material that had been written with Walker as a part of the band. It mean that the better part of 6-8 weeks worth of material was unusable, and that the band had to start from the beginning again. As they had booked a studio in Canada to record in, it meant that the band had to pull double duty in order to write and record the new album. To do this, they actually hired out a cinema during the day where they could get together to write, before heading into the studio at night to try and put down the tracks as they went. The studio itself also produced a sound that was not to the band’s liking, so they tore up all the carpet in order to help improve that situation. On top of that, there was copious drugs and copious alcohol, such that often the band arrived at the studio to record, only to pack up again because one or more members were unable to perform. And it was no secret that the band themselves were just not getting on like they used to. Add all of this together, and in many ways it is remarkable that the album was made at all. Once it was released, there were many fans and critics who wished that it hadn’t.

Seriously, if you were asked to judge an album just on its first track, you would be giving “Never Say Die!” full marks, because the title track is an absolute ripper. Bombastic, fast, a great riff and bass line and hard driven drums. Truly one of the best Black Sabbath tracks, hands down. No one can deny that it immediately pulls you in to the album and sets it all up for the brilliance to come. And then it ends, like running into a brick wall, and you are left with the rest of the sodden mess. That's a bit harsh I know, but after the beginning its hard to describe the rest of the album in glowing terms.
Following the genius that is present on much of the first six albums, it feels as though the well had well and truly gone dry by the time this came out. Yes, the band had problems, drugs and alcohol were rampant and Ozzy was more or less finished in his enthusiasm for the task at hand, but given the great opening track you would have hoped for more following it. Instead, it mostly becomes a freeform instrumental recital, with fusions of jazz and early electronica replacing the great guitar and bass that the band it built on.
There is a fine line when it comes to comparing albums, and while this album simply cannot be held in the same esteem as the band’s first six albums, there are glimpses of the real Black Sabbath beyond the title track. “Johnny Blade” lyrically and musically is interesting, in that Ozzy actually sings off the riff rather than with it, Tony’s phasing guitar sound enhanced by Don Airey’s keyboards create a sound that harks to the previous album and the way it began to transcend what Sabbath had done to that point in their career. “Junior’s Eyes” began its life as one of the songs written while Dave Walker was in the band, but was transformed lyrically into being about the death of Ozzy’s father, who had passed just prior to his leaving of the band the previous year. “A Hard Road” was the second single released from the album, which did chart (marginally) in the UK, but contains little of the hard core elements of what made Black Sabbath great. The drums are not that frenetic and hard hitting style that Bill Ward had been renown for, the guitar and bass play along nicely together without actually making themselves known in the song. It’s all very genteel and is missing the attitude the band was once known for.
“Shock Wave” is perhaps the most Sabbath sounding song on this album. Tony’s guitar has its sound back, and his solo is true Iommi. Geezer’s bass plays as that second guitar that makes the best Sabbath music and Ozzy sings like he means it. “Air Dance” is a nice enough song but it just isn’t a Sabbath song. It sounds like it is about to break out on a couple of occasions during the track... and the just doesn’t.
“Over to You” is in a classic Sabbath style, not in the bombastic sense but in the psychedelic sense, a song that could almost be found of the “Volume 4” era of the band. No solo to speak of, but Tony’s riff and Geezer’s bass moving up and down the fretboard underneath gives the song a solid sound throughout. Ozzy’s vocal line is his best performance on the album as well.
The closing two tracks are a bit out of the box though, even for this era of the band. “Breakout” is an instrumental, but it is really just a jazz infused track, with horns and brass, and sounds more like the intro to “Saturday Night Live” than a Black Sabbath song. Ludicrous. This then segues straight into the closing number, “Swinging the Chain”, that has similar features but at least has less of the brass horns, which instead are replaced for the most part by the harmonica. Ozzy even refused to sing on "Swinging the Chain", leaving Bill Ward to add the vocals as he had done on “I’m Alright” on the previous album.
There is so much out of whack on this album, it is difficult to believe that it came together at all. Once you get into the deep dive of the time, and read each of the four members autobiographies and get to this part of their lives, it becomes a little clearer as to why this is such a conglomerate mash up.

“Never Say Die!” as an album has always been one of those difficult albums to reconcile with. When I first started listening to heavy metal music, I was exposed to Black Sabbath through a ‘best of’ collection from the time, that perhaps somewhat obviously had no tracks from this album on it. And it was at that time that I was listening to Ozzy’s solo albums and the Dio Sabbath albums, rather than the Sabbath albums of the second half of the 70’s decade. They were the ones that grew in significance to my listening. One of my best mates, who is now my brother-in-law, did get both “Technical Ecstasy” and “Never Say Die!” on vinyl, so I got copies of them from him, as well as hearing them often when I was around at his house as he manned the phones at the taxi base his family owned at the time. But this was never an album I just put on to listen to, there were so many better Sabbath albums that I could choose when I was after that kind of sound.
I don’t hate this album, but to me it isn’t Black Sabbath either. I listen to this the same way that I listen to sections of the Tony Martin era of the band, or even “Seventh Star”. These albums in particular are all so different from the sound and genius they created on the first six albums, and that’s the real trick to the situation. If you listen to and compare any of those albums with this one, then the other albums win, hands down, no question. But, if you just put this album on and listen without expectation, the everything flows in the right way. “Johnny Blade”, “Junior’s Eyes”, “A Hard Road”, “Air Dance” - none of these songs are “Symptom of the Universe”, “Children of the Grave”, “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”, “War Pigs”. They can’t be. So when I listen to this album and not expect Black Sabbath... it kinda works. For the most part. Not completely.
I’ve had a CD copy of this album for some time, but this year I was able to get the special vinyl release of the album that came out for Record Store Day, and I must say it is still the best way to listen to all Black Sabbath, putting the vinyl on the turntable and turning it up. It works for me for this copy of my album. I can’t say to you that everyone will enjoy this album. I can only offer that it is worth giving it a try.
If nothing else, the aftermath led to better things for all sides - Ozzy was fired after the band spent a year trying to write a follow up to this album, and he left to form Blizzard of Ozz where with the help of some wonderful musicians and writers he was able to rediscover his mojo, while the remainder of the band recruited Ronnie James Dio as Ozzy’s replacement, and well and truly rediscovered their magic. Despite the fact that Ozzy returned 35 years later to record the final Black Sabbath album “13”, “Never Say Die!” put a pin in that original lineup of Butler Iommi Osbourne and Ward. It was a somewhat tame way to conclude a period of music that this foursome had helped to create and then dominate. But then, perhaps the title track is what set up what came next.

1218. Peter Criss / Peter Criss. 1978. 2/5

In 1978, Kiss and their management, in their wisdom, decided that each member of the band would record and release a solo album, with all four to be released on the same day. It had been mandated in the band’s contract, but the recording and releasing all at once was apparently not specified. None of the members were to be involved in the other’s albums, this was a chance for each member to express themselves in their own way. The style of all four solo albums were completely different from each other, which could be seen to be either a good move to be that counterpoint to the main band’s normal sound, or one that maybe went too far.
Peter Criss had never had a problem with singing. In fact, Paul and Gene had reportedly come down to see Peter play in his band when he was trying to get the original gig as drummer for Kiss, and it was when he started singing a song while playing that the two of them decided that he was the man for the job. He had then sung vocals on some of the band’s better known songs, such as “Black Diamond”, “Hard Luck Woman” and of course “Beth”, so performing the vocals on his own solo record was not going to prove to be a problem. The direction that his album was going to take though was to be more of a talking point than it was with the other three projects. Peter’s previous band Chelsea, which had then morphed into Lips, had been a late-60's early 70’s pop rock outfit, while “Beth” had been the song he was best known for, a song that had been co-written by his former Chelsea band mate Stan Penridge, and then given the production magic by Bob Ezrin. With that kind of success, surely it made sense to continue to write songs in that direction in order to make the most of his solo opportunity? As it turned out, Peter’s musical direction was a lot more varied than anyone may have guessed at the time.

It was probably only natural that Peter looked to continue his writing and performing partnership with his old bandmate Stan Penridge for this solo album. These two co-write 6 of the 10 tracks here on the album, and Stan plays guitar on the majority of them as well.
“I’m Gonna Love You” kicks the album off and immediately shows that this was going to be of a much different style than any Kiss album. The horns and sax gave that away immediately, and it almost has a big band sound to it as a result of this and the chorused backing vocals. Then you take a left turn down the next alley and come across “You Matter to Me”, which is a solid R&B tune. You can almost see this being played on stage, with all the members of the band swaying back and forth as Peter sings the vocals. There more of this genre of music with “Tossin’ and Turnin’”, a cover of the Bobby Lewis song that topped the American charts some 15 years earlier. Peter Criss has a real Billy Joel vibe gong on vocally in this song, it could so easily have come from that artist’s later album “An Innocent Man”. Up to this point, the album had taken a step back in time, and was as far away from the hard rock scene his main band was involved in as you could imagine. That continues into “Don’t You Let Me Down”, which now flows into a soul number, with Peter crooning away in his best rendition of that style of music. By the time you get this far into the album, you can begin to imagine just how the Kiss fans reacted to it all those years ago, having bought the album hoping for four automatic repeats of the kind of music they loved from their heroes. On this album, it certainly wasn’t the case. "That's the Kind of Sugar Papa Likes" then closes out the first side of the album in a feast of repeated lyrics with backing vocals that continues to adhere to the same style as the songs that have preceded it on the album.
If you thought that perhaps side two would bring you something a bit less unexpected, then you would be wrong. “Easy Thing” comes as close to “Beth” as you are going to find on this opus, with acoustic guitar starting off slow and reminiscent, and holding that feeling through the course of the song. “Rock Me Baby”, with the use of piano, sounds like a 60’s pop-rock song without the instrument completely dominating the song as it would have if it was actually from that era. “Kiss the Girl Goodbye” again descends to the acoustic “is this the next Beth?” kind of anthem, which again misses the mark a tad. “Hooked on Rock ‘N’ Roll” again returns to the same era as “Rock Me Baby” with extended use of the sax again echoing that big band sound. “I Can’t Stop the Rain” is the piano and string ballad that brings us back to another “Beth” type clone, the kind of thing that if you don’t enjoy, will definitely bring you close to the point of complete disinterest. That it is the final song on the album may well come as cold comfort in this situation.

Despite my enjoyment of Kiss, I did not hear any of these four solo albums until about 20 years ago. I just felt no compunction to go and find them and listen to them. I didn’t know anyone who owned them, so it wasn’t until the years of downloading that I decided to get around to checking them out.
This is by far the most diverse and perhaps experimental of the four solo albums. Rather than shoot straight down the line and produce an album that more or less copied the successful format of the band he was in, Peter Criss instead goes down a far winding path and reaches back into a selection of genres to create something that is unique and, without pulling any punches, would have been abrasively abhorrent to the band’s fan base at the time it was released. But he would have known that going in, and yet he stuck to his convictions and did it anyway. And you can only admire him for that, for making an album so different and far apart from a Kiss album that it stands out like a proverbial sore thumb. He took the chance to record the kind of album HE wanted to make, not one that fans may have expected him to make. It was panned by media experts at the time, and probably harshly so, given this was exactly the case, that it wasn’t what they had expected either.
On the other hand, though, does that make it an enjoyable album? If you enjoy that genre of music, I’m sure it would be. If you do not, then like me you are going to be left unimpressed. Because, like all of those fans from 1978, I’m looking for Kiss or at least Kiss-like material. I’m not after old school rock n roll, I’m not after soul, and I’m not after R&B. It just isn’t fun for me, and thus listening to this album does become a punish. I admire Peter for his convictions, but I just do not enjoy this album on any level. And having lived through it more over the past two weeks than the remainder of my life combined, it has been a very difficult thing to get through. And I don’t say this about many albums that I listen to, but I am almost certain that this week I have listened to this album for the final time in my life.

1217. Paul Stanley / Paul Stanley. 1978. 3/5

In 1978, Kiss and their management, in their wisdom, decided that each member of the band would record and release a solo album, with all four to be released on the same day. It had been mandated in the band’s contract, but the recording and releasing all at once was apparently not specified. None of the members were to be involved in the other’s albums, this was a chance for each member to express themselves in their own way. The style of all four solo albums were completely different from each other, which could be seen to be either a good move to be that counterpoint to the main band’s normal sound, or one that maybe went too far.
In many ways, Paul Stanley had the most to lose from this solo album arrangement. For all intents and purposes, Paul was the face of Kiss, the main lead singer and guitarist, the one with the moves and hips and that voice that screamed out of the speakers at you. While the fans would have been interested in what the other three produced on their own, they EXPECTED Paul’s work to be brilliant, which would have made the process for him a difficult one. Of the four albums, Paul is the only one who does not include a cover song on his album, with all of the songs written by himself alone or in collaboration with Michael Japp. Given he was by now renowned for his voice and his persona, how far did Stanley dare to drift from what the fans knew on this album that was supposed to portray all of the elements of the individual that they could not necessarily show in a band of four?

From the outset, the album allows you to wonder if you will get something old or something new. The opening track “Tonight You Belong to Me” almost without fail reminds me stylistically of the Kiss track “Sure Know Something”, a song that Stanley wrote for the next Kiss album “Dynasty”. I’ve often wondered if this track was the forerunner for that. This song is sung with less toughness than that song does. It’s still a good song, whether any of this is true or not. It is followed by “Move On” which could easily be a Kiss song, with an Ace solo and the band doing the backup vocals rather than the girls that do so on this song. Both of those things are where there is a difference with this solo album. The fact Paul plays most of the guitars apart from the odd solo from guest Bob Kulick, brother of Bruce who would eventually join the band, does actually give it a poor-man's-Kiss feel on occasions. Perhaps not necessarily on “Move On”, but definitely on “Ain’t Quite Right”, where the title of the song actually explains it pretty well. Something is missing from this song to make it either ballad or rock, and it sits in purgatory as a result.
“Wouldn’t You Like to Know Me” is a pretty simple straight up and down pop rock song with few bells and whistles, aimed at the audience it is composed for. This is followed up by the rock ballad stylings of “Take Me Away (Together as One)”. This seems like a strange composition, not for the style of the song, but the lengths of the song as a result. It is the longest song on the album at five and a half minutes, but it is already dragged out by the softer slower style of the song.
“It’s Alright” opens the second side of the album with more energy, gets us back closer to what most of us have come into the album for. Unfortunately, this is then immediately brought back to earth by the straight out ballad "Hold Me, Touch Me (Think of Me When We're Apart)", complete with the backing crooning of the back up singers and the atypical ballad guitar solo that proliferated these types of songs through the 1970’s and 1980’s. Perhaps not surprisingly, this was the single released from the album which to me is a real shame as it indicates that Paul's best work is this kind of track, and it patently is not. But perhaps my view is not shared by others. “Love in Chains” is a much better song, more of the real Paul attitude in both vocals and guitar. “Goodbye” closes out the album with a certain amount of style, giving the album the pleasant ending it deserves.

Despite my enjoyment of Kiss, I did not hear any of these four solo albums until about 20 years ago. I just felt no compunction to go and find them and listen to them. I didn’t know anyone who owned them, so it wasn’t until the years of downloading that I decided to get around to checking them out.
This album is the one of those four that I expected would be the best, and perhaps that expectation was misplaced. Like I said earlier, there always felt as though more would be expected from Paul’s contribution to the solo albums because of his stature within the main band, and looking back I would say that it would be accurate to say that I did have that expectation and that it harmed how I felt about the album when I first heard it.
I’ve listened to this a fair bit over the last couple of weeks, trying to form an opinion now that would be a more accurate one than perhaps I formulated 20 years ago. And in the long run, it hasn’t changed a great deal. It’s a 50/50 album, one when half of the songs are good solid 70’s hardish rock tracks that have the bones of enjoyable music, and the other half are... a bit soft. They sound under-developed, like they are missing a bit of oomph in order to have them complete. Whether or not this is what Paul was looking for when doing this project, or whether the tracks just lacked the final finish that perhaps they wuold have received in the band environment, I don’t know. For me though, it still rates as a slight disappointment. Indeed, almost 30 years later Paul released his second solo album, “Live to Win”, which is a damned sight better in all departments. Perhaps he had learned from this effort that more energy and grunt makes for a better overall album. It certainly showcases his talent better than this first effort did.

1198. AC/DC / Powerage. 1978. 4/5

By the time 1978 had come around, AC/DC had built their reputation on the back of hard blazing live shows based on their amazing rhythm section holding together at the seams, while lead guitarist Angus Young and lead vocalist Bon Scott did their thing to create the powerhouse that the band had become.
One change had occurred in the group, with bass guitarist Mark Evans having been moved on, and Cliff Williams coming in to take his place. What hadn’t changed was the volatile way the band was received by fans over the globe. Having been adored by their home fans in Australia initially, their popularity had waned slightly as the band had relocated to the UK and built their reputation on the continent. This had led to better sales in the Uk and Europe. In the US however, they were still being held at bay by their record company who were continually unhappy with what the band had been producing. They had canned the release of “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”, and had been almost fooled into releasing the previous album “Let There Be Rock”, an episode you can find in Season 2 of this podcast. But that album had been one where the band had decided on a strategy of riffs on riffs in order to collate their new songs, and it was a strategy that they brought forward into the writing for their new album “Powerage”. Recorded back in Sydney in Albert Studios, the band worked at what they did best, the blues based hard rock that powered through the speakers and powered up the room.

When it comes to listening to albums by AC/DC in the Bon Scott era, I’ve found that in general there is a wider slew of song variations than became the case in the Brian Johnson era. More simply put, once we got to “Back in Black” and beyond, there is a certain style that the vast majority of songs sit in that gives them a certain sameness. Leading up to that album, and certainly pre-”Powerage”, there was a mixture of the high octane and the cooler blues based tracks on those albums, where the pace of the songs sometimes ebbed and flowed throughout. Overall though, “Powerage” may be the exception to that thought process, as what we have here are nine songs that sit much closer together in style and substance than those other releases. The rhythm section barely pauses for breath throughout. Angus slices through each song with his trademark solo lead, and Bon sings everything in his trademark energetic style. It’s a great fit all the way through, opening with the anthemic “Rock ‘N’ Roll Damnation”, a song that was basically written for the American market when their arm of the record company complained that there were no singles on the album. Following this is the wonderful “Down Payment Blues” with a great rock base carrying the song, and followed by “Gimme a Bullet” that picks up that beat from the leading song and carries it on perfectly.
The close of side one and the opening of side two centre on the AC/DC classics “Riff Raff” and “Sin City”. “Riff Raff” comes at you hard and fast with that driving drums and guitar fuelling Bon’s vocal masterclass, while “Sin City” is the obvious exception to the ‘rage-all-the-way-through' songs, but the energy seeps out throughout, and it retains its title of classic to this day. “What’s Next to the Moon” picks things up again following the slight change in mood, and is complemented by “Gone Shootin’” that follows it. “Up to My Neck in You” is top shelf classic Bon Scott era AC/DC, blown away with that charging rhythm section driving the song while Bon tells his story, and then the album concludes with the bombastic “Kicked in the Teeth”. And is interesting to this day that for many enjoyers of AC/DC the band that the songs that proliferate “Powerage” may not be considered classics from the AC/DC catalogue, but they all do their job in keeping the album moving and driving it (within the speed limit) to its destination.
And that is the beauty of “Powerage”. It doesn’t have the power-punch hit songs or singles of other albums, or the massive gap between high energy hard rock and slower bluesy ballad type songs. What it does have is a perfectly balanced selection of songs that doesn’t deviate in style and substance. Bon’s vocals are superb, Angus’s lead is wonderful, and the backing beat of Malcolm, Phil and Cliff is perfect. The foot tapping and air drums don’t quit for the entire span of the album, and makes it a joyful experience every time you put it on to listen to.

No doubt I’ve mentioned this already on this podcast when it comes to the AC/DC catalogue, but I didn’t start listening to the whole of the AC/DC album collection until I was beyond my high school years. I heard other people playing their albums on bus trips and in the school yard, most especially “TNT” and “Back in Black”, but discovering the goodness of the other albums came to me in trickles.
I distinctly remember first listening to “Powerage”, and not being overly ecstatic about it. At the time I guess I was looking for more like those two albums I just mentioned, and “Powerage” doesn’t fit that mould, so I didn’t seek it out often over a number of years. Eventually of course I went through a preiod of making an effort to go through a band’s complete discography, and I discovered that I had, of course, made a huge error in judgement. Because this album actually pulls itself into a category of its own, because it is so different from other releases. And while there will be those of you out there who proclaim ‘surely every AC/DC album sounds the same as the next one?’, that is patently not true. “Powerage” for me has a uniqueness that might be subtle but is still there. Following on from the quite brilliant “Let There Be Rock”, this album pushed forward with similar characteristics, ones that led to what became their initial masterpiece in their next studio album “Highway to Hell”. It draws together the strengths that the band had in its ranks, and focused more tightly on them to produce a bunch of songs that, while most are relatively unknown outside of the true AC/DC fans base, still sounds as fresh and marketable today as they did 45 years ago. And not every band or album can claim to be that.

1084. Judas Priest / Killing Machine. 1978. 3.5/5

As they have done on a few occasions during their long and storied career, Judas Priest tended to mix up just how powerful or aggressive their albums were, changing their sound from album to album in a rebuilding fashion, at times looking to move with the times, and at others abandoning that for what they knew was their tried and tested method. Up until this album there had been a gradual build and refashioning from a progressive rock to a more recognisable heavy metal sound, increasing with each release. And while some of that remains here on “Killing Machine”, there seems to be a lull overall, something that doesn’t quite hold up with the direction the band had been heading in.
Much of this can be assessed n the era the album was made. At the time punk was making its short and sharp incision into the populace of music in the UK, and while Judas Priest’s first albums had been clothed in progressive and complex songs, they were beginning to look to write and perform songs in that 3-4 minute range, that could be picked up by the radio and would make their mark not only with the fans of the shorter formed punk rock songs, but also in looking to make a play for the US market. “Sin After Sin” had brought that to the fore while the band’s previous album “Stained Class”, released just eight months previous to this album and one that was reviewed in Season 4 of this podcast, had settled into that nicely. While Judas Priest was an obvious influence of the soon-to-be-prominent NWoBHM, they were not actually part of that movement, so it would be unfortunate to try and label the band’s albums in several music genres. And while both of those earlier albums had been heard to building the band’s sound in that direction, “Killing Machine” itself does have one of those swayings of direction that I spoke of at the beginning of this oration. What becomes interesting is that it was yet another cover song performed by the band, one that didn’t appear on the original pressing of the UK version of the album, that helped to gain the band the exposure in the US that they were after, and indeed is the song that many still regard as the one that started the Judas Priest surge to immortality.

When you put this record on what you get is a polished, great sounding album. The playing from all members is superb. The drums are again perfectly played by Les Binks, with his expertise on hi-hats and cymbals especially pleasing. Ian Hill does as he always does with great bass riffs and bottom end throughout. The guitars of Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing are truly superb, and their riffs and solos are caught clean here by producer James Guthrie, while Rob Halford’s vocals are as always fantastic.
However, the songs themselves have taken an interesting turn and that is where the difference lies between this album and the previous two releases. Overall the songs are much less technical, and there is a much more basic beat and layout to them. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is quite noticeable from the beginning. There is nothing wrong with any of the songs on the first half of the album, it’s just that there is nothing overtly exciting about them either. The opening track “Delivering the Goods” has always been a classic, a barnstormer, and it gets the album motoring from the outset. Such a great riff throughout followed by superb solo slots from Glenn and KK and Les Binks terrific drumming and solo to close out the song. It opens the album on a brilliant note with attitude and style. This is followed by “Rock Forever” and “Evening Star”, which both have very basic song patterns, and trot along in a mid-tempo range. “Rock Forever” is a staple of Judas Priest albums from this point on in their career, solid heavy tracks that back up the better known tracks of the album, and hold that joy through the album. It might sound like a basic track with verse, chorus, verse, solos, verse, chorus, but everything is pure Priest in its output, and it’s a great song. “Evening Star” changes things up a bit, moving from a progressive part replete with synth and chorused background vocals to a basic chorus line. “Take on the World” is Priest’s effort here to be an anthemic song, one to be sung in stadiums all over the world, but without the drive or balls to really make it one. In the end it feels weaker than it is because it feels like it is trying too hard to be something it is not.
Side Two of the album opens up with “Burnin’ Up”, which also falls into the average ranking. A Judas Priest love song? Well, they occasionally do a good one (see “Turbo Lover” somewhat down the track) but this is really only average. The title track “Killing Machine” doesn’t seem to get out of second gear at any stage, and while it is much like “Rock Forever” in that it is one of those solid Priest tracks it doesn’t stand out beyond that. The power ballad “Before the Dawn” sounds great, with Halford’s vocals soaring throughout, but it just isn’t my style of song and doesn’t grab me in the slightest. And the closing track “Evil Fantasies”, even though it was written and recorded well before the song “Heavy Duty”, still sounds like a poor cousin to it, and Halford’s vocals for the first half just sound completely out of context with the song. In the majority of these songs, it just feels as though one of the major drawcards of Judas Priest, their twin guitar assault, has gone completely missing.
There are some major highlights here though. “Delivering the Goods” I have already mentioned as one of my favourites, along with the more markedly upbeat “Hell Bent for Leather” (which also substituted for the title of the American released album) and “Running Wild” which I’ve also always loved. “Hell Bent for Leather” is a beauty, rollicking along with an awesome riff and Rob’s hard piercing vocals chanting along the lyrics perfectly. It’s short, its sharp, and it is a great song to turn up and play loud at parties or on the road. All of this also describes “Running Wild”, a youth anthem of sorts of partying and drinking with the boys, and it has always been a favourite. It brings the album back to life when it exlodes after the title track. Perhaps surprisingly though it is the heavier cover version of Fleetwood Mac’s "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)" which is the star of the show. This was not on the original release of “Killing Machine” and only originally made it on the U.S release. I didn’t hear Fleetwood Mac’s version for many years after I first had this version, and this version puts it in the shade. That it is the redeeming feature here is interesting given that the other cover songs Priest had done on previous albums were also fan favourites. One thing that you can take from this album is that when performed live the songs on this album sound infinitely better. That isn’t meant to be a criticism, it is just meant to show that the band knew what they were doing in the writing process, it just took until they played them live to get the energy into them that they probably needed in the studio. Take a listen to “Unleashed in the East: Live in Japan” and you will know what I mean.

This album was one of the first Judas Priest albums I ever listened to. Not coming into this genre of music until the mid-1980’s, my introduction to the band was actually the “Unleashed in the East” live album, of which a number of songs from this album were on. And in many ways it initially cruelled my enjoyment of this album, simply because I knew those unbelievable live versions of these songs first before I heard the original studio versions. And for awhile that made it difficult for me to enjoy this album to its fullest, because I always wanted those live versions of the songs. Over time however, the album clicked into gear for me, and everything came up roses.
While it probably sounds as though I have torn this album apart a bit in regard to some of the songs, it really is not a bad album. Indeed, it is a quite fantastic album. When I put it on and just listen to it without trying to break it down for a review, I just love it. The couple of dead spots that I might consider a hinderance are unnoticeable as you play it from start to finish and have those true great and brilliant tracks suck you along for the ride. My favourite songs are spread evenly throughout which probably helps that. It is an album where the band did take some chances, and were still having a range of styles in the track list. The love song, the power ballad, the progressive range. All of this adds to the majesty of the album, even if on occasions I might look for the skip button for a couple of the songs if I can’t be bothered to stick with that change of styles. Judas Priest, both before this album and beyond it, would make such decisions in their song writing and recording, and much more extreme than you will find here. Rest assured, everything on this album is worth pursuing, and those stand out tracks are still at the top of the list of greatest Priest songs ever.
The band’s first live album followed this album, and showcased for those in any doubt that Judas Priest was a band worth reckoning. “Killing Machine” is often overlooked in Judas Priest’s early catalogue over “Sin After Sin” and “British Steel”, but it is well worth your while giving it a spin or two if you have never done so.

1083. Judas Priest / Stained Class. 1978. 4/5

Judas Priest’s transition from a softer and less technical style of music into a leading brand for the genre of heavy metal is more or less completed by the release of Stained Class. The progression of the heavy nature of the material from album to album continued here, with Stained Class certainly the heaviest overall album Judas Priest had released up to this time. With this comes further excelling of the skills of the band, with each member breaking out here to provide terrific individual performances that in turn make for a precision effort from the band.

“Exciter” is still perhaps the star of the album, and opens it up in blistering style, with a scintillating drum beat from Les Binks and hard core bass from Ian Hill, which is matched by the blazing guitars of K. K. Downing and Glen Tipton. Topping it off is Rob Halford’s high level vocals piercing through to create the kind of high energy and high velocity track that kicks off an album in the best way possible. "White Heat, Red Hot" continues this excellence with another rousing performance by the two guitarists.
The cover of Spooky Tooth’s “Better by You, Better Than Me” is surprisingly effective and enjoyable. Though it was record company-mandated in order to try and soften the heavy metal mood that permeated this new release, it is so well done again that it still fits in perfectly on the album. This was the song (and album) that was at the centre of the controversy in 1990 where the band was taken to court over supposed subliminal messages (“Do it!”) masked but heard if played backwards, to which two men shot themselves after listening to the album. The case was dismissed (check out the documentary “Dream Deceivers: The Story Behind James Vance Vs. Judas Priest” for the story, it is well worth a look), but it gave this song and album both free press and notoriety.
The title track “Stained Class” is another ripping song, rattling along with the fire and force that the first half of the album set up. This is followed by "Invader" which is simple in concept but perfect in execution. Sometimes the simple songs are the best, and this is one of them. “Saints in Hell” channels Led Zeppelin throughout, again utilising a middle section that sounds like it is a freeform live exposition piece, with Halford’s vocals almost Plant-like and the guitars almost Page-like, while the following track “Savage” is the most straight forward song on the album.
“Beyond the Realms of Death” is a throwback to the progressive roots of the band, switching between from the quiet acoustic opening to the full blown electric hard rock, as well as having the technically perfect guitar solo to the faster thrash based solo, and Halford’s immaculate vocals hitting all the extremes with precision. Blowing out to almost seven minutes, this has become a timeless classic for the band and taps into every corner of the Priest armoury. It is still a gem. “Heroes End” has tinges of Skyhooks in it, which is a very strange thing to say I know, but the less heavy aspects of the song still remind me of their style. It closes out the album nicely with a heavy riff and a rocking vocal track.
For me the most interesting part of this album is how few of the songs have become mainstream go-to Judas Priest songs, both by fans and the band itself. Much of the album has rarely been played live since the tour to promote it was completed which in itself is not an unusual thing, but for an album that is so highly regarded it has so few of its individual components making a name for themselves away from the album itself. Most can name “Beyond the Realms of Death” and “Exciter” perhaps, but beyond that the songs seem to become transparent. Even after the controversy over the civil action over the suicide attempts, Stained Class may remain a great album but as a whole rather than the sum of its parts.

Stained Class remains one of the great Judas Priest albums. Though the band’s musical style would vary over the course of the 1980’s decade, this album was written and recorded when they were still on the rise in their attempt to create a heavier environment away from their early progressive beginnings, and that is still here and can be heard in the songs on this album. The drive and determination is all enshrined in the vinyl it was cut into, and none of it has dated over the past forty years, which still makes it a pleasure to put on and air guitar to.

Rating: “Fall to your knees and repent if you please”.  4/5

1061. UFO / Obsession. 1978. 2.5/5

UFO the band had been busy over the middle years of the 1970’s decade, putting out several albums and building a respectable following throughout the world. On previous albums they had managed to mix some brilliant songs that still resonate when played with some material that feels a bit lacklustre and of a lesser quality than the absolute top shelf stuff. Much the same can be said of Obsession which capped off the period with an ambivalence that could be said to be harsh on one hand but fair on the other.

I’ve always felt that there was only one heavy hitter song on this album, and it happens to be the lead track, “Only You Can Rock Me”. It remains the one song that stands out from the crowd on this release, and is still instantly recognisable whenever it is played today. The fact that it signals a lowering of the boom once it is over is what is troubling about this album.
As for the rest of the songs, I think they can be categorised pretty swiftly into two groups, the good and the average. It turns out that the majority of the good songs have Michael Schenker as a co-writer, whereas the majority of the average songs do not. Into the former group of good songs you can list tracks such as “Pack It Up (and Go)”, “Hot and Ready” and “Cherry”. Each of these has a better tempo, a slice of Schenker shredding on guitar and great Phil Mogg vocals. These songs follow my idea of the better UFO songs more closely than those in the average group, songs like the three end tracks on Side A of the album in “Arbory Hill”, “Ain’t No Baby” and “Lookin’ Out For No. 1”. “Arbory Hill” is a Schenker short guitar instrumental that serves no real purpose on the album and doesn’t lift anything. “Ain’t No Baby” and “Lookin’ Out For No. 1” fall too much on the side of soft rock ballad. I never cease to be disappointed when I listen to this album and hear these two songs again. “One More for the Rodeo” is probably one of the better tracks again, but I’m not sure if this is only because it is sandwiched between “You Don’t Fool Me” and “Born to Lose”, which even for AOR songs are stretching the friendship just a little too far.

This album was the final one that Michael Schenker played on for UFO for almost fifteen years and it was going out with a whimper rather than a bang. While the band is competent here, the music just feels as though it is going through a recycling process and that they were beginning to strain out the hard rock side of the songs and fall into the comfortable AOR radio sound instead. That being the case, I am happy to leave that right here.

Rating: “Who’s taking time out, who’ll take a shot now”. 2.5/5

991. Queen / Jazz. 1978. 4/5

The pressure of writing an album, recording an album and then touring an album, only to start the whole process over again, all in the span of 12 or so months, must be an enormously difficult thing to do. The fact that Queen did this most of the way through the 1970’s and early 1980’s, producing a new album every year from their self-titled debut album “Queen” right through to “Hot Space”, is a remarkable achievement, and the fact that the quality is generally of the highest order is even more remarkable. Opinions on how high that quality is on some albums does tend to shift around, and this period of the band is one of those instances.
After the magnificence of what had been the “A Night at the Opera” album, the follow up of “A Day at the Races” had been mixed, some iconic tracks alongside others that seemed to want to head in the same direction but didn’t quite match up. This was then followed by “News of the World”, the episode on which you can find in Season 3 of this podcast. Written and released at the start of the dominating punk movement in the UK, it is an album that held its own as the band remained true to their own music rather than look to change with the times, and it has held up because of this fact.
Coming to this album the following year not a lot had changed in the music world with punk still making its presence felt and the AOR movement in the US also holding firm to the radio airwaves. The band had decided to record outside of the UK for tax purposes, and settled on Montreux as their main port of call for the album that became known as “Jazz”, where the Montreux Jazz Festival was being held and which the band attended, and likely inspired the name of the album.
It is interesting to read reviews of this album from the time it was released, with many big time American publications such as Rolling Stone and Creem being particularly derogative of the final product. It is difficult to decide whether or not this was an honest review of the album, or just an ongoing diatribe from these particular publications over the style of music Queen chose to write and record. From the language used in those reviews it appears that there was a personal affront in their composition rather than any true effort to critique what the band had released, something that these two magazines in particular were not adverse to doing when they wanted to bring a band back to heel.

The opening track “Mustapha” bounds along in an excited chanting of lines in various languages that at least all sound like they rhyme together and fit together in sentences, but to be honest I have pretty much zero idea what is being said or what the song is about. Despite this, it’s hard not to like Freddie’s enthusiasm and pronunciation of whatever it is he’s saying. I wonder if the band knew what the song was about? This is followed by the well-rounded and often sung “Fat Bottomed Girls”, which has a great rhythm line underneath the song, a great chorus track and guitar riff to go along with the grin hidden behind a hand of teenage boys everywhere as they sang it.
“Jealousy” rises and falls on Freddie’s vocals, manipulating the mood of the track simply in the nuances of his vocals. Along with the backing vocals, it is a beautiful song. The relative gentleness of the track allows it to transition into “Bicycle Race” without losing integrity. “Bicycle Race” morphed nicely with “Fat Bottomed Girls” by mentioning it within the song, but it also has lyrics that reference the era that the song was written, and as such became a fun song to learn and then sprout the lyrics back at the people around you as you sang. These two short-but-sweet songs were always a popular part of Queen’s armoury, and found plenty of airplay due to their short playtime. “If You Can’t Beat Them” is an easy listening sing along track in a typical John Deacon style. It’s catchy and easy to move along with. Brian actually played all the guitars on this song, which was unusual for songs composed by John.
“Let Me Entertain You” closes out the first side of the album and has always been one of my favourite Queen tracks, though it is one I found from their live recording before I had ever heard “Jazz”. It is one of the heaviest tracks written by Freddie, though much of that comes from Brian’s guitar riff and his solo burst. Still, Freddie sings this hard and loud, preaching to the audience as he did so well. This still sounds great today. Side Two then opens up with “Dead on Time”, another of Queen’s most aggressively hard songs led by Brian’s guitar again as well as Roger’s great drumming. These two songs back to back showcase the best of that heavier side of Queen, revealing that part of their personality for the world to hear. It’s a shame that this song was never performed live, I believe it would have sounded great.
The album dials back to that much gentler aspect of the band’s brilliance, with “In Only Seven Days” where Freddie shows how amazing his vocal capacity is, having shown his faster and energetic vocal range in the previous two songs, to slipping into this easy paced song with gentle higher vocals. Amazing. This is followed by “Dreamer’s Ball” which sounds like it could have come from the “A Night at the Opera” album. “Fun It” is a quintessential Roger Taylor track with all of his tricks of the trade thrown it. He again plays most of the instruments and shares lead vocals throughout with Freddie. “Leaving Home Ain’t Easy” is Brian’s quiet ballad, almost Beatles-ish in its composition. Having heard the harder side earlier in the album, these four songs showcase the lighter side of the band, without losing any integrity in the tracks. Terrific stuff.
“Don’t Stop Me Now” is in my opinion one of the five best Queen tracks of all time. Positive lyrics, driving drums and lead bass riff, the piano being the major instrument throughout with Brian’s guitar just coming it to make highlight spots, and of course Freddie’s vocals topping everything off. If you could write one song and play it for eternity, it would quite probably be this one for me. It is a brilliant piece of song writing and musicianship.
The final track “More of That Jazz” is written and almost completely performed by Roger, and it is very much his style of track. It is eclectic, staccato with lots of guitar and vocal lines and harmonies mixed into places that don’t seem to be in any form, but somehow come together to make a great song. Not only do we hear his own amazing vocal range, when you first hear the song you think something has happened to the recording, because suddenly snatches of other songs on the record start coming into the mix. It’s unusual, but became common place amongst Roger’s own solo stuff. Opinions no doubt range on it, but personally I like it.

There is something for everyone on “Jazz” and it all comes together in a perfect way. The musicianship is second to none with each members at the top of their game. The vocals of all three major contributors is superb, with Freddie quite awesomely showing he can sing just about any type of song. And the variety of the songs doesn’t intrude on each other, somehow, they all tend to mesh together perfectly despite the wide range of influences that come into them. It juggles the different nuances of the song catalogue of Queen once again, continuing the 1970's transition of the band from heavily progressive rock in the early days through to more radio friendly hard rock, but without compromising their amazing talents or ingenious song designs.
I didn’t listen to the 1970’s Queen albums until I had left high school and had well and truly been captured by their 80’s albums such as “The Works” and “A Kind of Magic”, and then “The Miracle”. And the difference in styles was immediately noticeable once I began to digest them all at that time. “Jazz” had always been one that attracted me, mostly because of the way it flows along, able to connect songs of different varieties without driving a wedge between them or losing the momentum that is created. It is generally the harder songs on the album that I love, such as "Mustapha", "If You Can't Beat Them", "Let Me Entertain You" and "Dead on Time", and in particular the guitaring of Brian and drumming of Roger that grabs me. But take a listen to Freddie's song "Jealousy", and his vocals throughout. Just magnificent. They are of course brilliant throughout the album, but they are showcased on this song in particular.
I am always interested in discussing Queen albums and where people like to rank them, because this album in particular is one where a large discrepancy of opinion lies. While I have always held it in high regards, others that I talk to are more circumspect, and less forthcoming in praise for it. Not to the point of those magazine reviews from so many years ago, as Queen lovers basically love every album they have released. But the opinions do differ with this one album, which often makes for a lively conversation.
The next few years, with the change of decade and the changes in the music scene worldwide, brought some recalibration from Queen. More factors became involved in their music, and their lives as a whole, as the 80’s approached and moved the goalposts. It may have been different, but they remained as ever, Queen.

912. The Police / Outlandos d'Amour. 1978. 4.5/5

Somewhere in the middle of all of that confusion in the late 1970's, when punk was suddenly the in thing in the UK, where new wave was finding its roots, and bands that weren't conforming were finding it increasingly difficult to find their feet, amongst all of that was The Police. They were a four piece that soon enough became a three piece, and with their unique take on those styles around them and between the three members, they recorded this debut album which began their world domination.
Some view this album as being punk influenced, while others view it as reggae influenced. With so much of punk music flavoured by reggae (a quick listen to The Clash and Stiff Little Fingers is all that is needed for that) surely there needs not be an argument, as both take their place within the framework of the songs on this album, but having been sewn by the particular talents of each of the three band members such that it sits in neither genre. It is a sound of their own. It is The Police.
The band had come together as a four piece, though with Andy Summers insisting when asked to join the band that they remain a trio, and their current guitarist therefore be replaced by him. This was something that both Sting and StewartCopeland were initially reluctant to do, leading to the band carrying on as a four piece for awhile, until Sommers finally made his request an ultimatum, and Henry Padovani was dismissed from the band. From this point on however, things began to click. Stewart Copeland was quoted in 2007 as saying "One by one, Sting's songs had started coming in, and when Andy joined, it opened up new numbers of Sting's we could do, so the material started to get a lot more interesting and Sting started to take a lot more interest in the group."
Copeland’s brother Miles had taken up management of the band, and had lent the band 1,500 pounds in order to start recording. He was reportedly unimpressed with what he heard when the band were writing songs for their debut album. And then he heard one particular song, one that he felt was a major outstanding song compared to the rest of their material, and in response to this he immediately went out and organised a record deal with A&M. The song? “Roxanne”

As with most debuts, the rawness of the band and music is obvious, and while that doesn't always date well in retrospect, the freshness of “Outlandos d'Amour” has stood the test of time. From the opening dramatic urgency of the drums and vocals in "Next to You" the album kicks off brilliantly. It drives along wonderfully between the vocals and pace of the music. This then moves into the slow paced and quiet opening to "So Lonely", which explodes brilliantly into the chorus, with the irreverent support vocals in the background of the chorus expressing the individuality of their song recording. How can a song go so easily between what is essentially just Sting's high pitched vocals and the barest of musical backing into the chorus that blends everything together without even really noticing? Stewart Copeland's drumming in this song is superb.
Everyone in the world knows "Roxanne". It is the song that allowed the band to get their record contract. It has dominated radio airplay for almost four decades. Everyone knows the words, and no one can hit those notes that Sting does, except of course Eddie Murphy (yes, a reference to the movie 48 Hours had to come when discussing this song). Great harmonies in the chorus, and a terrific song. This is followed by perhaps the only letdown for me on the album, "Hole In My Life", which is slow and drags and doesn't have any momentum whatsoever. This is rectified by "Peanuts", a lively jaunt that was apparently written about Sting's disappointment in his hero Rod Stewart, which years later he then rescinded when he discovered the trappings of fame himself.
Side Two opens with the brilliant "Can't Stand Losing You", which was banned by UK radio on its release as a single because of its subject matter of suicide. It’s an interesting point, given that in today’s overly protective world when it comes to sensitive topics you might consider that this song would also be within the ’cancel culture’ attitude of certain protest groups, and yet the lyrics are far less offensive in many ways than most of the big hits that turn up on radio an get airplay in the modern age. Anyway, it is a great song, and has always been a favourite. It’s interesting that it was re-released once “Roxanne” took off in the US, and did well in the UK on its second release.
"Truth Hits Everybody" is a great jiving song, driven in the main by Andy's fantastic guitar riff and Sting's harmony vocal over the top. The fact that the chorus/title is probably over sung, it isn't really noticeable. This is a great song, one of those songs that isn’t a single but that all great albums need to be considered as such. It’s catchy, it’s fun and it makes you take notice every time it comes on. It is a song that deserves to be better known outside of the hardcore Police fan base but isn’t. Indeed, it is a song that only the real fans who know all of the albums know, and perhaps that is its greatest gift.
This probably isn't quite the case for the following song, "Born in the 50's". The song is back in mid-tempo range, and is terrific all the way through, apart from the chorus which does become annoyingly nasal quoting of the title over and over. Apart from this it would be a terrific song, but to me it does get too monotonous because of this.
"Be My Girl - Sally" is one of those songs that could only come from a young band that has enough confidence in their ability. The song starts off simply with "Will you be my girl", until it runs out of puff, and we suddenly hear a spoken word poem, which was written by Andy about a blow up doll. Classic. Then we go back into the song as it started to finish it all up. Apparently it was an unfinished song by Sting, and to pad it out they used this poem by Andy. Different, unusual, and fits in perfectly with the band's persona at the time. The album then comes to a conclusion with "Masoko Tanga", which for the most part is an instrumental with some rambling spoken singing from Sting.
The winner on this first album is the first impression on the musicianship of the three members. Andy Summers was (and is) some ten years older than the other two, and his amazing guitar playing and style is the perfect fit with the sound the band had in these early days. Sting's bass falls in behind this, providing the bottom end foil, while Stewart Copeland's precision drumming is spectacular. Even on a low budget, he gets the perfect sound out of his hi-hats in particular and his drum rolls, which fit in snugly like a jigsaw piece. Add to this Sting's changing range of vocals to suit each song and moment and you have an amazing debut. An album everyone should hear in their lifetime.

The Police was one of the first bands that I developed an interest in on the radio beyond just enjoying the songs that were played. I had been given a copy of “Ghost in the Machine” some time after it had been released, while the first album by The Police that I bought was their last album “Synchronicity”, and which I played to its demise. And I wanted more. I didn’t just want the singles, the ones that the record company deemed I should listen to and enjoy. I wanted all of those albums. That there would only end being five of them is both a disappointment and a blessing.
When I first heard this album, it was a breath of fresh air. Everything about it jumped off the vinyl and with an energy that isn’t always prevalent on debut albums. The unique styles of all three musicians means that you can listen to every track three times, concentrate on just the one instrument on each listen, and find a difference nance or wave of each song. It really is amazing what these three can do.
I didn’t get a copy of this album until the mid-1980's, and even when my music obsession was turning towards heavy metal, this album and the band as a whole never became any less to me as a result. I have never been a fan of reggae while I am much more of a fan of that era of punk music, but the mix of the two here in the songs of the band’s debut album is perfect. And while each album by the band is different in regards to its content and recording, “Outlandos d’Amour” is perhaps the best example of the band purely in writing and composition. Having it going around again over the last few weeks has been a lot of fun, and I don’t think it has dated since its release.
If pushed I guess I will always decide that “Synchronicity” is my favourite album by The Police, but this would be a very close second. Its vibrancy is still its defining characteristic, and it is quite amazing that 45 years on since its release it can continue to have its most famous tracks still sung by music lovers the world over. That in itself is a pretty fair accomplishment. I’m not sure any of Sting’s solo albums can say that.

904. Billy Joel / 52nd Street. 1978. 3.5/5

With the world at his feet, Billy Joel set about trying to come up with a follow up album to be compared with The Stranger. Given its success and the pressure on him to find a collection of songs that would instill the same amount of excitement from his fans would have been daunting. It went on to become his first number one selling album in his native U.S, but was that on the back of past performances?

The opening track is brilliant, and Billy's vocals drip with irony and attitude throughout "Big Shot". "Honesty" comes straight at you with its balladesque basis, but in a different way from those on the previous album, "Just the way You Are" and "She's Always a Woman". They felt positive and happy, whereas this is loaded with sadness and disappointment. The different feeling it provokes causes a conflict with that from the opening song. This is exacerbated by the next song, "My Life", which again mixes emotions through the song with an upbeat tempo in the music. All three songs are some of the better known in Billy Joel's discography, and while I love "Big Shot" and "My Life", "Honesty" seems out of place with its dip in vibe.
"Zanzibar" is one of those songs in Billy's career that shines in its place, even though it was not released as a single. The many references to being in a bar and sports personalities and events, along with the a very jazz-influenced style in the music, makes it a easy and rewarding track.
"Stiletto" has an unusual structure, mixing staccato lyrical passages with two different sax breaks, a piano medley in another part as well as finger clicks which change up the way the song breaks. I like the song, maybe because of maybe despite the unusualness of it. "Rosalinda's Eyes" was apparently written about his mother, though the song doesn't grab me so much. "Half a Mile Away" returns to a upbeat style of song to lift the mood along the way.
"Until the Night", while inspired by the Righteous Brothers and having a sound that emulates theirs quite convincingly, for me is just a little too repetitive and a little too long to get the most enjoyment out of. Bring it in at about four minutes and then perhaps I would be OK with it, but it does feel as though it is dragging out longer than necessary by the time you get to the end of the song. The album concludes with the short and sweet title track "52nd Street".

While this is a good album it doesn't live up to its predecessor, but that was always going to be a huge task. What 52nd Street offers is some more very good songs, some that use the same pedigree as what has come before, and others that have taken a chance on a slightly different direction. Taken on face value without any negativity, this album is an enjoyable and interesting listen.

Rating:  "I don't care what you say anymore..."   3.5/5

860. Buzzcocks / Another Music in a Different Kitchen. 1978. 4/5

There is some deal of satisfaction about delving back into British music in the late 1970's to the early 1980's, and listen to what was forcing its way through onto people's turntables, and the way it transformed through those short years in so many different ways. Sure, there are bands who were more infamous for their stage antics and rebelliousness than their music, and there are others who mass produced albums at a rate of knots in a very short space of time, almost knowing that they had to get their stuff out into the world before their short burning flame died out. Many were ahead of their time, and others missed their chance, and other timed it perfectly. And perhaps the Buzzcocks personified each and every one of these things.

Another Music in a Different Kitchen is their first album, the first of three albums released over eighteen months. It flies in the face of the generic description of punk rock bands, whom were popularly thought of as unkempt and musically inept, unable to play their instruments well and vocally incompetent. In fact the first thing that hits you about this album is how tight the band is, with the rhythm section locked together perfectly. John Maher's drumming is superb, with each drum roll and fill absolutely locked in perfect synchronicity with Steve Garvey's bass guitar. They provide the perfect platform through every song, never missing a beat, and its not basic stuff either. This allows the lead guitar and vocalist Pete Shelley and rhythm guitar and vocals Steve Diggle to throw their riffs over the top and fit together like the final pieces of a puzzle.
On this album the band mixes genuine punk rock with pop similes in places to create what is a very listenable album no matter what your music tastes are or have diverged to.
The album opens with the show starting "Fast Cars", featuring those true punk vocals and guitars to kick start on a fast footing. "No Reply" follows this in a similar fashion utilising the dual vocals and repeating three chord riff from guitar and bass. "You Tear Me Up" too enters this category.
"Get On Your Own" is another good song that draws in some pop influences vocally and a less aggressive guitar riff and solo, with back up 'wooos' and lead vocals that start to try and be more in that fashion as well. "Love Battery" is almost the high definition of what punk was in those early days, and given that the Buzzcocks were at the forefront of the movement with very few contemporaries to learn from, you could consider this sound to be a part of their makeup.
"Sixteen" is one of the anarchy-type formatted songs, with two minutes of the same riff and drum fill, before a whole lot of freeform musicianship through the middle before returning to that basic riff to finish the song. This is followed by the single "I Don't Mind", where the change in style is stark and complete. This has the very pop oriented punk rock style, both musically and vocally, and you can hear the difference from what has come before, and why it was chosen, or written, for radio airplay. "Fiction Romance" is a different style again, featuring a very monotone vocal over a steady and looping guitar riff which barely changes throughout the song.
"Autonomy" is one of the most 'accessible' songs on the album without intending to be so, with its very alternative sounding guitars rather than punk rock, and harmony vocals throughout, and a singable chorus. Ahead of its time, really. Fast paced punk returns with "I Need", with atypical punk rock chords, and a great running bass line which steals the show in the middle of the song. "Moving Away From the Pulsebeat" closes the album in a most deranged way, with all instruments going off in their own directions by the end of a very long 7+ minutes.
Overall I think the album has the two halves of the album, with the songs that you would consider to be of a classic punk sound and the others that show the other influences of the band which they weave in. I think the start with "Fast Cars", "No Reply" and "You Tear Me Up", along with the change up of "Autonomy" are my favourite tracks on the album.

This is still a joy to put on and listen to. Even after over 35 years this still holds up well in the current music climate, and must be as influential to young bands of this genre now as it has been in the past.

Rating:  They may win you admirers, but they'll never earn you friends.  4/5