1138. Men at Work / Business as Usual. 1981. 4/5

Similarities have been made in the past between Australia’s Men at Work and England’s The Police. Certainly both bands use the saxophone in their music, which is often a staple of New Wave bands and their style. Along with this is the utilisation of reggae in different ways, although for me it is much more subtle and not as prominent with Men at Work’s songs as it is with The Police, certainly in their early albums. Both bands have a lead vocalist with an automatically recognisable singing style and voice. And both bands eventually had quite a shortened career, The Police with five albums between 1978 and 1983, and Men at Work three albums between 1981 and 1985.Men at Work actually formed in 1979 in Melbourne, and consisted of the Greg Ham on flute, saxophone, keyboards and vocals; Colin Hay on vocals and guitar; John Rees on bass guitar; Jerry Speiser on drums and backing vocals; and Ron Strykert on lead guitar and vocals. From mid-1979 to mid-1981 they built themselves into one of the hardest working and more popular pub rock bands on the east coast of Australia. They had released two singles, one a self-financed independent release of “Keypunch Operator” (whose B-side was a little ditty called “Down Under”), and the second after having been signed by CBS titled “Who Can it Be Now”, the single that topped the Australian singles charts and remained in the charts for 24 weeks. It was with this success that Men at Work had entered the studio to write and record their debut album, one that was released 40 years ago today on November 9, 1981. A week prior to this, the band released the attached single, a song that they had rearranged from a previous version to place on the first album, and that the record company hoped would prove a success in promoting the band nationally and internationally, as well as push sales of the album. That single was “Down Under”.

Business as Usual fits very comfortably into the albums of the era in which it was released. It has the three main singles that were released from the album, all of which were popular on the radio and gave the band the national and international coverage it would have hoped for. This flows into the other tracks on the album, almost all of which are enjoyable on the same scale as those heavy hitters. “Who Can it Be Now” is a great opening track and showcases everything that is great about the band from the outset, including the sax and other great instrumentation throughout the song. This is followed by the mainstream soft rock stylings of “I Can See it in Your Eyes” which I think gets run down a little given the two songs it is sandwiched between. In the end it acts as quite a nice conduit between the opening song and then the overly familiarised strains of “Down Under” which follows it.
“Underground” continues the upbeat progression of the opening tracks, with the fast paced 4/4 timing of the drums and the punctuation of the sax driving the song along with plenty of energy. “Helpless Automation” follows and is written by Greg Ham, who also provides the lead vocal for the track as well. It closes out the first side of the album wonderfully well, with high tempo and once again great drumming from Speiser pushing the song along.
The second side opens with “People Just Love to Play With Words”, and a song that begins to show a different influence in the music, with John Rees dominating throughout with his roving bass riff throughout. This leads into the third single form the album, “Be Good Johnny”, still one of the band’s best. I still love how the song tells the story, without detracting from the actual song at all. It has been sung for generations now, with the name Johnny being substituted with any of a hundred thousand other people's name to suit the situation it gets brought up in.
The final three songs on the album take a much different style than what has come before them. “Touching the Untouchables” slows the tempo right back down to almost a lounge club act, allowing Colin to go back to crooning his vocals throughout with Greg’s sax coming into the mix with a greater influence. “Catch a Star” is very much in the reggae groove, the most noticeable of all the songs here that that genre is an influence on the band’s music. “Down By the Sea” closes out the album in a slower moodier pace than much of the album before it, resting on Colin Hay’s vocals dominating the sludgy pace of the track and the saxophone creating the atmosphere of the last moments of the album.

Most of you will know the story of the album’s most famous track “Down Under”. It helped propel the album to number one in the US, an amazing achievement for an Australian band’s debut album. It then became the unofficial anthem of Australia II’s campaign to be the first foreign based syndicate to life yachting’s most famous trophy, the America’s Cup, which they duly did in September 1983, and gave the song another lifespan in the charts. And then in 2010 there was the court case that claimed – and subsequently won – that the signature flute tune in the song had been ‘borrowed’ from the famous ‘Kookaburra sits in the old gumtree’ song from the 1930’s. Greg Ham, who had introduced the flute piece into the rejigged song that found its way onto the album, took the decision hard, believing that now he would always be known as the man who had plagiarised the piece. He suffered from anxiety and depression as a result. Two years after the decision, Greg Ham was found dead in his home after suffering a fatal heart attack at the age of 58.

With radio being a dominant force when it came to listening to music in those early days of the 1980’s, I knew all three singles from the album long before I was able to get this album. It wasn’t until sometime in 1984 that I purchased by cassette copy of Business as Usual, and it was one of the first albums I ever bought with my own money, and it was on the back of those three singles. And once I got it I enjoyed the whole album and didn’t just concentrate on those songs I had, by that time, known so well. As you might imagine from my review here, it was the first two-thirds of the album that really captured my attention and that remains the same now. The final three tracks on the album aren’t poor, they are just different in style from those that came before it, and so I could quite happily not listen to them if I chose that way.
This remains one of the best albums ever released by an Australian artist. It topped the charts in Australia, New Zealand, the US and the UK, and was followed up by the excellent Cargo which also sold extremely well. Not only was it the best selling album in Australia through 1982, it was the 12th best selling album in Australia in 1983, two years after its initial release. That's the sign of a terrific album.

1136. Black Sabbath / Mob Rules. 1981. 5/5

Black Sabbath the band had appeared to be a washed up entity as the new decade had approached, with Ozzy Osbourne having been moved on and the rest of the band ambivalent about moving forward. The addition of Ronnie James Dio as new lead vocalist and lyrics writer, lifting that burden from Geezer Butler’s shoulders, brought about the amazing and legendary Heaven and Hell album, and the sales of that album and the tour that followed breathed a second life into the band that had in many ways started it all in regards to the heavy metal genre. The band had lost drummer Bill Ward during that tour. Ward, who had become a full blown alcoholic by this time, claimed it was intolerable for him to get on stage with Ozzy. He had been replaced mid-tour by Vinny Appice, who then became a full member of the band for the writing and recording of Mob Rules.
All of the band members have acknowledged that the writing of the album was different than it had been for Heaven and Hell. The initial writing of that album had been purely Tony and Ronnie, after Geezer had quit the band for a period, and was done in their lounge rooms with small amps in an intimate atmosphere. For Mob Rules, the band bought their own studio and soundboard in an attempt to save money and give them the time to come up with new material. With the noise turned up loud, not everyone involved found it a perfect way for writing, and so the writing didn’t come as naturally as it had for the previous album. It also created a different type of song for the album. Martin Birch was again producing, and there does seem to be a different bombarding within some of the songs on this album compared to the previous album. Sonically it is a much bigger and louder noise throughout, and with the lyrical matter being dragged further away from the darker side that the band sang about during its first incarnation, the band feels like a completely separate entity than the one that contained Osbourne and Ward – and this has been a disputed argument over the years, with those in the corner of the original band suggesting these albums should never be associated with the band name Black Sabbath because they are of such a different sound and focus than the first eight albums of the band’s discography. When this foursome eventually reunited under the name of Heaven and Hell many years later, many felt it was a much better fit than to have both Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules, along with Dehumanizer 11 years later under the Black Sabbath label.
The band and Martin Birch have been accused of doing a carbon copy of Heaven and Hell when it comes to the style and arrangement of the tracks on Mob Rules. I’ve never really agreed with that statement, as to me the tracks here are in places more of a commercial bent than those on the previous album. Indeed, some of the tracks have been criticised for this, especially by Ozzy Sabbath fans. The second side of the album comes under the most scrutiny, particularly for the songs “Country Girl”, “Slipping Away” and “Over and Over”. “Country Girl” is seen as a similar track lyrically as “Lady Evil” from “Heaven and Hell”, and certainly comparisons can be drawn between the lyrical content of those two songs. “Slipping Away” is compared to “Walk Away”, and the closing tracks “Over and Over” and “Lonely is the Word” again are compared to be like for like. Now if you play both of these albums, and you then play these tracks next to each other, you can come to a conclusion that the formula in regards to the style of song being placed in the same order of the tracks of the album can be argued, and successfully. I can’t say that I have ever honestly thought about it much, as I just love both albums for what they are, but having thought about it for this album review I have to say that it is a fair point, that the success of the format of the previous album may well have ensured that a similar format was used for Mob Rules. Is that a bad thing? I wouldn’t have thought so. I’d have been more concerned about whether a similar number of songs where the mood and tempo is changed from the real big hitters of the album affects the overall enjoyment of said album. In this regard, that is a matter of personal taste.
I still like all three songs, but would I ever put them on a playlist for the car? Probably not. Do they compare to the outstanding tracks on the album? No. “Country Girl” is a song with the right groove and singable lyrics, but it was seemed a strange choice to me to be put into a live setlist, as Sabbath did for the Mob Rules tour. “Slipping Away” talks about regeneration, turning the page, starting over, and turns up the tempo further to keep the momentum of the album going. And “Over and Over” is such a typical Dio-written song lyrically that perhaps it doesn’t feel as though it fits a Black Sabbath album – but my word I love this song. Emotionally and emotively Dio’s vocals here are truly magnificent, soaring to the heavens and stealing the show, before Tony’s amazing guitar solo that goes on forever to play the song out is an underrated and often forgotten moment of brilliance in his amazing career. Yes, it is much like the album closers of Dio first two solo albums that were yet to come, but it is a brilliant piece of music and song writing.

So there are moments here that are challenged as being ‘great’ or ‘subpar’ - but let’s look at the remainder of the album. The opening salvo of “Turn Up the Night” kicks the album off in perfect fashion, a great riff from Tony and Dio jumping in from the outset with his anthemic vocals charging along. “Voodoo” is a moody and slower tempo follow up, and a track that is also vastly underrated as a song in the Black Sabbath catalogue. It is one that is often overlooked when discussing Sabbath songs, but to me has always been a terrific one. This then moves into the first of two epic tracks on the album, the amazing “The Sign of the Southern Cross”, an amazing song which features Geezer Butler’s remarkable experimenting on the bass guitar, drilling up sounds that are the base track of this song. The changing mood of the track from quiet and reflective to loud and hard mirrors the bobbing of the ocean, and always makes me think of that whenever I hear the song. The entire song is a triumph and remains one of their best. This then segues into “E5150”, the instrumental pause before the busting opening guitar riff of the title track “The Mob Rules” rips in and sets off another burst of energy and Iommi riffing goodness. This is the song that Heaven and Hell opened with as they toured the world in the late 2000’s, and what a way to open a concert.
That leaves the only song I haven’t yet mentioned, a song which to me is perhaps one of my favourite ten songs of all time. It is “Falling Off the Edge of the World”, which sits comfortably between the high energy of “Slipping Away” and the genius completion of “Over and Over”. The song builds from the opening words with atmospheric keys to the hard core drums, bass and guitar, and then once again into the solo riff that opens the gates, and the band is unleashed into the fury of the main song. Vinny holds the beat together on the drums as Geezer dominates with the underlying bass riff and Ronnie powers through the range of his vocals and smashes the song to send shivers down the spine, before Tony breaks into his solo piece that raises the song to its peak. I personally think this song is a masterpiece, with all four members of the band contributing heavily to the greatness of the track.

I didn’t find Black Sabbath and all of those bands until some years later after this release. 1986 was my real awakening to heavy metal music, and perhaps amusingly enough when it came to Black Sabbath the band, it was the Ronnie James Dio fronted albums that caught my ear first. As a result, it was both Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules that became my go to albums when it came to Black Sabbath. Now while Heaven and Hell was certainly the star, Mob Rules was the album that always felt bigger, harder, heavier and with more energy. Maybe I just played it with more bass on my stereo, or perhaps it was the differing styles in the drumming between Bill Ward and Vinny Appice that brought about the slight nuances in the songs between both albums. Whatever it was, even the three songs that may be considered the forgotten tracks of the album always sounded bigger and brighter than the ones off the previous album.
This album, along with so many of my discoveries over those couple of years at the end of high school, was massive for me. Each song is imprinted in my mind and still stirs memories of those days each and every time I put on the stereo. Everything about it is pure magic. Vinny’s drumming seals the songs tight. It might be uncomplicated, or at least sound that way, but it is the basis of everything that comes over the top of it. Geezer’s bass work is truly amazing as it always had been and always is, and the riffs he plays acting as a second guitar are still incomprehensible. How can this band have such a deep and full sound with just a guitar and a bass? Tony lights up the album again with his guitar riffs and solos, and it is a joy to hear the best of him on every song after the relative disappointments on the last two Ozzy-fronted albums. And I will never have enough superlatives to describe Ronnie James Dio’s vocals let alone his song writing ability.

I will always wonder what could have come if this foursome had stayed together instead of breaking up following the tour for this album. Reasons for the break up have varied, with stories about Dio sneaking in to the studio for the mastering of their live album that followed this, Live Evil, in order to raise the vocals in the mix, having been hosed down a little in recent years. In the long run, it appears that whereas Tony and Geezer had been in control of the band in the past, they were not ready for someone like Ronnie to come in and want a similar amount of say in what happened in and out of the studio, and it eventually caused the split. Ronnie and Vinny went on the form Dio and record Holy Diver, another of those albums that I devoured during 1986, while Tony and Geezer eventually brought in Ian Gillan and recorded Born Again. I still enjoy the Born Again album, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Holy Diver. Just what kind of follow up to Mob Rules could these four have produced if not for their egos? Perhaps the Dehumanizer album ten years later actually is the answer to that question.

1086. Judas Priest / Point of Entry. 1981. 3/5

Following the success of the British Steel album and the singles that were released from it, I guess it was a no brainer that Judas Priest would stick to the same formula for their next album and try to replicate that commercial success. Whether or not that was a good idea – and whether or not they achieved that – is a question that is still asked amongst the Priest fandom. Perhaps ignoring the debut album, the one Judas Priest album that rarely gets mentioned in any shape of form is Point of Entry. Is it purely because it just doesn’t have many songs on it that are considered classics, or is it because it is believed to have been out of step with the other albums that were released around it? The opinions are wide and varied.

The more I have listened to this album over the last couple of weeks, the more I have come to appreciate it for what it is. I had never owned a copy of this album, most probably because when I went out in my big-spending-on-albums in my youth this album just wasn’t on ANYONE’S radar for something I needed to have. As a result I only ever got snatches of songs on various best-of releases and the occasional acquaintance who had a copy and played it while I was over. The age of digital music brought easier access to such things and I was able to listen to it completely, before finally buying my own copy more as a way of completing my collection. But on heavy rotation in recent times along with the other Judas Priest albums, it fits neatly into the niche it was created for. It isn’t as regimented as British Steel and it doesn’t have the speed or upward energy of Screaming for Vengeance, and in places it has an easy listening feel to some of the songs, certainly in relation to previous albums. In fact Point of Entry is quite unique in the Priest discography in that it sounds as though the songs have been written in a way that may attract more commercial airplay than the band would usually have, but I’m not sure that it succeeded. Once again Rob Halford has kept his vocal range in check, for the most part eschewing any major extension of his famous vocal chords and in the main sticking to a range more within normal human hearing. A lot of the songs have periods within them that are deliberately quiet and soft, mirroring a reflective air which in turn shows a different side from the band than what we have seen on previous albums.
Most of this therefore has created the metaphorical vacuum that Point of Entry has seemed to fall into. When it comes to memorable tracks from the album, there is really only one, the opening track “Heading Out to the Highway”. It is the only song on the album that stayed in the live set list beyond the tour to promote it, and it is one of the fan favourites. But most of the rest of the track list just doesn’t stick in the memory of most. The other two singles released from the album were the next two tracks on the album, “Don’t Go” and “Hot Rockin’”, neither of which to me comes across as a single. Indeed, if commercial airplay was what the band was aiming for then it doesn’t seem like it came out of the oven the right way. And thus we have an album without highlights, without big musical hits that can help raise the profile of an album and also lift the mood of the listener when you have it on the turntable.
That said, put it on, play it loud and decide for yourself. Because when I do this, and when I have done this over the last couple of weeks, I’ve enjoyed the album immensely. I still love “Heading Out to the Highway”, I think it is a great song. The tempo change of “Don’t Go” and “Hot Rockin’” isn’t such a problem when you are just listening to the album and not trying to break it down in a review. “Turning Circles” is an unusual Priest song that works here because it fits the pattern of the writing. “Desert Plains” is a vastly underrated song, more so because it doesn’t have that massive fire and energy of a typical Priest song but is more of a slow burn. “Solar Angels” is like a sister track to “Desert Plains” and starts the second side nicely. “You Say Yes” is a bit clunky but enjoyable enough. “All the Way”, “Troublemaker” and “On the Run” all smoothly ride out the end of the album, and there’s just a hint of Van Halen in each of them.

Point of Entry probably ended up proving to the band that they needed to redefine the direction they were heading in if they wanted to make a bigger impression in the next decade. While the album did well enough at the time there’s no doubt in hindsight that it wasn’t exactly what their fan base was looking for. And while it will never rank as one of their best albums, it by no means is the worst offering. Different, yes. Out of character, yes. But for all of that it is still a good listen.

Rating: “Full moon is rising, the sky is black, I need your call I'm coming back”  3/5

1065. Motörhead / No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith. 1981. 4.5/5

It tends to follow in a band’s career that once you have released three or four studio albums the band is comfortable enough in itself and in its craft that it decides the time has arrived to release a live album. Why? Well a live album shows the real talent of the band, the ability to relate to their audience, and the ability to showcase the songs they have spent time on in a studio and examine just how they sound in the live environment, which is where a band spends most of its life. And so it was with Motörhead when they brought out this album No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith.

No doubt Motörhead was always a live band. I say this not having had the pleasure to see them live, but they built their reputation on loud raucous shows which is what enabled them to get a record deal in the first place. So the usual problems with recording a live show now come to pass. Firstly, to try and transfer the energy and sheer belligerence of a live show onto vinyl and not lose the impact, and to have a great set list that will showcase the very best that the band has to offer.
So how does No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith stack up? On the first point it is difficult for me to judge not having seen them live to compare, but to my ears this sounds great. The band sounds great, the mix is right, and the crowd noise is at the right level, not overbearing the songs not in the background. It is noticeable the lack of banter from the band between songs, but perhaps that just got taken out in the editing process.
In regards to the set list, that’s another matter. The band had the best songs from four albums to choose from, not only for their touring list but for what they wanted to put on this album. And many of them are their very best. The opening blazing of “Ace of Spades” into the rocking “Stay Clean”. The speed of “The Hammer”, the spitting of “No Class” and the excellence of “Overkill”. The tribute of “(We Are) The Road Crew” and the great finish of “Bomber” and “Motörhead”. All of these songs are terrific. But then the middle gets a little dreary with “Iron Horse” and “Capricorn” and “Metropolis”. Surely “Damage Case” had to be in there? Still, those three songs do sound better live than I would say they do on the studio versions, but for me they just pull this back a little from greatness.

As a live moment in time, capturing the band at one of their theoretical peaks, this is a great listen, and it doesn’t muck around either, 40 minutes from start to finish. It perhaps cannot fully reflect the greatness of Motörhead as a live band, but it comes as close as you are going to get.

Rating: “Another beer is what I need, another gig my ears bleed”. 4.5/5

965. Accept / Breaker. 1981. 3/5

In interviews with the band both at the time of this album’s release and at times since, this is the point where Accept decided to make the music they wanted to without an outside influences. There is little doubt that for at least half the album it can be heard that the direction of the music has gone up a notch in speed and aggression, and yet there is enough there that harks to the past that suggests that there were still a few tendrils holding them to that previous period.

The album kick starts on a great note with “Starlight”, with Udo reaching the heights with his vocals from the beginning, signaling that a new Accept appears to be in motion. This is followed by the faster paced title track “Breaker”, which continues the reimagining of the music, with Wolf Hoffman and Jörg Fischer’s guitars here giving an insight to a future sound of Helloween’s guitar sound. “Run If You Can” expands on this again, looking for the catchy chorus to endure the time between guitar riffs. “Can’t Stand the Night” does tend to begin reigning in back to a previous version of the band’s songs, with Udo stretching to maintain the dignity of his output in what is trying very hard to sound like a ballad like rock song.
“Son of a Bitch” is a classic, if only for young kids who want to release some pent up anger. The expletive-laced vocals, according to all reports having a crack at record companies, make for easy repetition after a few beers and this turned up loud. Probably not as effective at age 47 as it was at age 17, but still enjoyable in the right company. “Burning” jumps straight in with that AC/DC-like fast paced guitar and drums, evoking images of Bon Scott and Angus Young performing it. That’s not meant to be a derogatory comment, just a comparison of what is a great rocking track with similarities between styles. “Feelings” drops back a notch with a heavier riff, but is still driven along by Udo’s vocal power.
“Midnight Highway” is the first real change up the band throws at us here on this album. It moves back to a very 1970’s commercial rock tone which is immediately noticeable in the guitar sound, and then the bridge being sung by Peter Baltes, changing the tone of the song completely. It isn’t bad as such, but it is very noticeably different from everything that has come before it on the album. I don’t get good vibes from it whenever I put the album on, it tends to distract me.
And then… oh my god… what the hell is “Breaking up Again” doing here?! Seriously! I thought we were going in the new direction, taking on the mob and making a serious move towards that heavy sound that would make them the success they should be! Now, I am a renowned deplorer of ballads of most varieties and in most circumstances. But this is just vile. I cannot believe – still! – that this was allowed to make the album.
The album then concludes with “Down and Out” which while it doesn’t fully recover from the insanity of the previous track, at least allows the listener to finish the process with a slightly less bitter taste in the mouth.

This could have been an absolute top shelf album, apart from three things – “Can’t Stand the Night”, “Midnight Highway” and “Breaking up Again”. Those three songs drop this album back a full star in rating, and more is the pity. Take those out (which in the modern age you can do) and it really does have the right energy throughout. Put them back in, and you have a promising album that points to a promising future.

Rating:  “Icicle brains, bicycle chains”.  3/5

906. Billy Joel / Songs in the Attic. 1981. 3.5/5

Songs in the Attic indeed. Releasing a live album at this stage of his career was a no brainer, not only because it would give him and the band a break from writing new material, but it also gave them the opportunity to showcase their wares in the live environment. What it also did was to bring to light songs from the early albums of his career that for the most part would have been almost unknown for many of his fans who had only come to discover him through the success of The Stranger.

Perhaps the best part of this album is that almost all of the songs sound much better in their live setting here than they necessarily do from their studio versions on the albums they originate. Perhaps it could be argued that the production here, helmed by Phil Ramone once again, is part of that process. but it is hard to argue that the band sound great live on stage, and the larger and fuller piano sound along with Billy's vocals when singing to an audience rather than an empty studio are also major factors in this.
The songs that appear here are, for the most part, the best songs from his early work, though most were (and probably still are) relatively unknown to his fan base. And they sound better, fuller. "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" opens the album in style and sounds terrific here. "Summer, Highland Falls" and "Streetlife Serenader" are also upgraded here from their excellent studio versions, and given more life in the process without harming their initial fabric. "Los Angelenos" perhaps drags a little, but still sounds good. Two of Billy's early notable tracks, "She Got a Way" and "Everybody Loves You Now" are given a prominence here that they deserve. This live version of "She's Got a Way" made it into the charts upon its release, more so for the fact it was a "new" song to many who heard it.
The second side of the album is kicked off by the heavyweight duo of "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" and "Captain Jack", which both crackle on these live versions. Billy's vocal enthusiasm along with that of his band draw the best out of both these excellent songs, and the albums would have been worth it for these two songs alone. The final three songs are still hit and miss, and while the live renditions sound great, the trio of "You're My Home", "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" and "I've Loved These Days" aren't quite the dynamite finish you would prefer on an album of note.

When this was released it was an excellent way to get a taste of those early Billy Joel songs, and a feel for his writing in those days. Strangely enough, it is perhaps still the best way to experience his early work, as the majority of his best songs from that period are here, and performed wonderfully well.

Rating:  "Captain Jack will get you high at night, and take you to your special island".  3.5/5

891. Mötley Crüe / Too Fast for Love. 1981. 3.5/5

Sometimes it's hard to believe Mötley Crüe have been around for as long as they have. It was not until the mid-1980's that I started to be introduced to heavy metal music, and thus began listening to the Crüe as well. Their debut album, Too Fast for Love however was released way back in 1981, when I was but a boy in 6th class and oblivious to this kind of music. Only five years passed between the time this was released and the time I first heard it, but it still seems hard to comprehend that it was released so long ago.

It may not be their best album - well, let me clarify that, I don't believe it is their best album - but it shows all of the ingredients that were to help make them such a force throughout the remainder of the decade. My favourite songs from the album are those that have had the majority of the limelight - the killer opening track "Live Wire" which remains one of my favourite Mötley Crüe songs, the side one closer "Piece of Your Action" which has the best of that Crüe attitude, both musically and with Vince's spitting vocals, and the title track "Too Fast For Love" which apart from the endless repeating of the title track words through the middle and then the end of the song still comes across as one of the better songs.
The other songs are all middle of the road rockers that Mötley Crüe made their own over the course of the next three decades. Songs that had the requisite Vince Neil nasal vocal line, Nikki Sixx's rumbling bass, Mick Mars and his solid riff and short sharp flailing solo break and Tommy Lee's marvellous timekeeping and solid use of the cowbell. Songs such as "Come On and Dance" and "Public Enemy #1" and "Merry-Go-Round" are harmless songs that hold their ground but don't do anything that would break new ground. "Starry Eyes" probably sits in this category also, "On With the Show" ends the album somewhat limply.

I came to this album having already bought the three preceding albums, and so I guess I was always a tad disappointed with Too Fast for Love because of that, because of how far they progressed in a short space of time on those albums. This is still an enjoyable outing when you put it on, but it is the highlight songs that keep this album above the average.

Rating:  "If you're looking for satisfaction, I'm satisfaction guaranteed". 3.5/5

841. Roger Taylor / Fun in Space. 1981. 2.5/5

Up until the mid-1990's I was unaware that Roger Taylor had done his own solo albums away from his presence in Queen. It was only when his controversial song "Nazis 1994" made waves in the media during that time that I found out he was doing stuff since Queen's demise, but that he had also done stuff before that! Despite that knowledge it still wasn't until very recently that I was able to discover this music, via a box set containing all of his material. Fun in Space is the first of those albums.

This was released all the way back in 1981, and is as far removed from Queen's material as you can be given the contributions of all four members to that band. Here Roger not only takes on the lead vocals, he plays all of the instruments himself. A pretty fair way to showcase your ability.There is plenty of experimentation with the keyboards, and very little of the rock-infused music his other band is renown for. It's probably a bit too retro and funky and psychedelic and even rockabilly for my liking, but it is fun to hear this side of Roger's music uninhibited by outside influences. "No Violins" is a rock based opening. "Laugh or Cry", "Future Management" and "Let's Get Crazy" are fun enough pop rock songs in their own way. "My Country I & II" goes on too long in that kind of experimental freeform jam kind of way. "Good Times Are Now" settles back to some sort of normality, but is replaced by "Magic is Loose", which sounds like it is supposed to be a Broadway musical number on acid in space, like an early David Bowie song. "Interlude in Constantinople" continues in that vein with its keyboard dominated experimenting, before "Airheads' and "Fun in Space" complete the album.
What this does show is the amazing talent and versatility of Roger Taylor. His vocals here are terrific, and while he had done songs on his own in Queen here we are blessed with an album of Roger on lead vocals. as always, his drumming is terrific, but it is also great to hear him on those other instruments - the guitar, the bass, the piano. But then to not only play all of the instruments on the album, but to have written it all himself as well. It's quite extraordinary.

This album has helped me understand Queen's HOT SPACE album a lot more, because it came after this, and now I understand a little of how it came out the way it did. And just because you like Queen doesn't mean you will like this. In essence this isn't an album I would jump at to put on at a party or in a crowd of people. For me the main interest I had in it was to listen to what Roger can do in a solo place, and I enjoy it for its technical differences than perhaps the music itself. I wouldn't say that about many albums in a similar vein, but Roger Taylor is so obviously brilliantly multi-talented that just hearing him do his stuff is reward enough.

Rating:  Red light warning, break down coming.  2.5/5

820. Iron Maiden / Maiden Japan [EP]. 1981. 4.5/5

After two albums and a world tour, Iron Maiden put together a live EP from songs they had recorded in Japan, and released such under the amusing title of Maiden Japan. When it was slated for release, one wonders if the band was happy with the decision, and whether they knew that it would also signal the end of that first recording era of the band.

The original album has four songs on it, though my original Australian vinyl edition had five. The band sounds fantastic on it, and Paul Di'anno's vocals come across strong and proud. The songs are not in order on the album as they were performed on the night in Nagoya. The first side of the album has "Running Free" rattling along at pace, and is followed by a great version of "Remember Tomorrow". The second side on my edition starts with "Wrathchild" which was also the concert opening song, and is followed by a furious version of "Killers" and a great rendition of "Innocent Exile", which followed each other in the original set list.
Everything sounds great here, despite the fact that Di'anno was apparently beginning to suffer the effects of his drug use. By the time this was released, he had already been replaced in the band by Bruce Dickinson, so this acts as his farewell, and it is a worthy one. There is little doubt that he could sing, he just couldn't do it live on a consistent basis.

The only disappointing thing about this is that it is only an EP. For anyone who likes to track down bootlegs, the one called The Big Heat: Sun Plaza Tokyo, 1981 is a beauty, recorded the night before these recordings took place, and it contains the entire concert. It is well worth finding a copy of. That being said, this is still an excellent EP that showcases a band on the rise.

Rating:  Never had no trouble, before this all began.  4.5/5.

772. Praying Mantis / Time Tells No Lies. 1981. 3/5

I cannot tell you how long I spent seeking a copy of this album over the years. When it comes to finding anything in Australia in regards to bands of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, it can be very difficult. When I finally came across this album, I snapped it up, and couldn't wait to hear the release of the band that had been so highly regarded in that time.
It becomes apparent quickly that this isn't a really out and out heavy metal album. While some of the songs exhibit a heavier tendency, the harmony vocals that are utilised in every song show a leaning towards the 1970's AOR scene than the emerging heavier sound that was pushed by other bands of the era.
The opening song "Cheated" tingles like a Thin Lizzy or Gary Moore tune, but with harmony vocals in the chorus to keep it any closer to that comparison. It comes across as an AOR radio friendly single, which I admit I still find a little strange to open up with. It is a bit like the direction of Di'Anno's album three years later, though a lot less disappointing. This is followed up by a cover of The Kinks' "All Day and All of the Night" which is enjoyable enough, and probably highlighted by the twin guitar solo's in the middle of the song. "Running For Tomorrow" continues this momentum, though both this and "Rich City Kids" seem to miss a trick in the performance.
"Lovers to the Grave" is for all intents and purposes a soft rock ballad, and not a terribly good one either, until the guitar solo breaks out and brings the end of the song to life. A remarkable transformation. "Panic in the Streets" is a faster and heavier song, dominated by faster drum work and guitar riffs, while Tino's vocals and excellent twin guitar breaks drive it along in a way that is much more fitting of the new heavy era. "Flirting With Suicide" kicks off with a great guitar riff, and should be a terrific heavy song - and for the most part it is - but it is damaged by the chorus harmony, where the vocals are completely the wrong pitch for the depth of the song. It just doesn't make any sense to the outlay of the song at all.

As may have become apparent by this time, the major weakness for me with this album comes in the vocals. All three of Tino Troy (four songs), Chris Troy (three songs) and Steve Carroll (two songs) share the lead vocal duties, while they also all share the harmonies in the chorus lines. So not only do you have three different styles of vocals taking the lead on the album, you have those melodies in practically every song, which really don't change in pitch or tune from song to song. Not only does this tend to lighten the mood of each track, but it also begins to grate on you, as they seem to be there just to show they can do it, rather than adding to the songs. Some of the songs here would benefit from the chorus staying with Tino's tougher vocal being performed on its own, making the track harder than it ends up being because the lightweight harmony vocals come through instead.
Take "Children of the Earth" as an example, the closing song on the album. The song again starts off with a cracking riff, and the initial vocals are good. But before you know it, it seems to transform into coming across as quite moaning, especially during the shared chorus vocals. For me, the song could better than ordinary, on a par with so many other bands around that era. Unfortunately, by the middle of the track it really feels no different (and possibly somewhat less interesting) than other bands and songs. However, when it breaks into the guitar solos to close out the album, the song transforms, and it becomes something a little bit special. This is where the true potential of the band comes to life, and shows what they really had to offer. Oh, but those vocals... they really do drag this back a notch or three...

Was I over excited about this release? Did I not take under consideration what I read about the style of album that this was? I don't know. It is possible. My opinion hasn't changed over the years however, that while this is a good album, it doesn't make it an awesome album. Perhaps in the long run, the difference will again come down to those that discovered this album at its release, and those that discovered it some years later. The latecomers may not have the same love as those who have grown up with it. I'm guessing I fit into this category with this album in particular.

Rating:  Man has evolved as a predator in disguise.  3/5

759. Holocaust / The Nightcomers. 1981. 3.5/5

From the moment I first put this on, there was little doubt that it came from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal era,  when young heavy metal bands were trying to force their way out of the pack to gain attention, back in the late 70's and early 80's. Holocaust's story is similar to most of that vintage. They fought to get a record deal, they were able to get some of their music published before the band split apart, only to be reformed by one member who continued on with the name.

Listening to the album today, there are the mixed reactions to many albums of this vintage. There are songs here that are almost groundbreaking, carrying the elements that could see them being the forebearers of leading the band to fame and fortune. There are also the songs that could possibly be described as average fodder, filling the gaps (or falling between the cracks perhaps) where the better songs leave off. The production appears surprisingly good for the era it was recorded, which helps to elevate the good songs to a decent level.
"Smokin' Valves" has a strange meshing of sounds, to me it's almost a crossover between the styles of Alice Cooper and Gary Moore. It is reasonable enough once you get used to it, but certainly strange to start with. Gary Lettice's vocals are not one of the big strengths of this album. They aren't terrible, but they do seem to stick to the one register and stay there for the length of the album. Very one dimensional, which can get a tad disillusioning after awhile. This is especially so during "Mavrock", where the monotonal moaning seems to stretch out each note of the song, elongating a process that doesn't improve a song that is already overblown by incessant guitar and drums being played almost in freeform exploration rather than uniform song writing. "Cryin' Shame" sounds like an AC/DC backbeat musically, without the attitude that the vocals require to make it a serviceable song.

The highlights of the album include "Death or Glory", a punchy metal song with good solo breaks and riffs, and "Heavy Metal Mania" which duplicates the feeling of a real breakthrough heavy metal song with great drum work and terrific guitaring styles throughout, with anthemic vocals and lyrics. These two songs are where Holocaust show the diversity they required to be a standout, it's just that after these two songs the rest of the album doesn't do enough to stand out from the pack. Interestingly enough, both of these songs were solely written by John Mortimer, who was to push onwards with Holocaust on his own following this album.
This album has obvious influences in later work from other bands. Listen to the end of "The Nightcomers" and tell me you don't hear Cliff Burton playing the end of  "(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth". Uncanny, or a tribute? That Metallica later covered another Holocaust song is probably answer enough. Gamma Ray has also covered two songs from this album. The band has continued to the present day with John Mortimer as the sole surviving member, which shows that the longevity was there as well. For me, this album shows the promise of the time, mixed with the issues of creating an album with more than just a few highlights. In the long run, perhaps this is more of a monument of the time and era than a shining light to act as a beacon for those that came after this release.

Rating:  I've got heavy metal music in my blood  3.5/5

Holocaust - Death or Glory - on YouTube

Holocaust - Heavy Metal Mania - on YouTube

754. Anvil / Hard 'n' Heavy. 1981. 2/5

Anvil's debut album is one which is typical of debut albums of the era. Put together with the best of the material the band had been playing at gigs over the past five years or more, this is a mixed release of songs that don't always congeal together. Because it is written over several years, there is not the same tightness over the course of the album that happens when the writing process occurs over a short period prior to recording. In this instance, the style of songs isn't as defined as it would be in future releases. It was originally released independently under the band's original name of Lips, but when they were signed up by their record company, they changed their name to Anvil, and it was re-released.

Much of the lyrical content is questionable, if only because it is quite inane, suggestive and downright forthright in its "have sex with me in fifty different ways" message. Really, bands that followed like Motley Crue and Ratt and Poison all at least tried to be amusing in covering their lyrics with clever insinuations, but most of the stuff here is just right in your face. The lyrics here aren't really even comical. Who knows... maybe they worked and they got what they were asking for? I don't know, but these songs are difficult to sing along to because you feel so stupid even saying the words.

Steve Kudrow handles the majority of the singing, though "I Want You Both (With Me)" and "Oh Jane" have the lead vocals performed by second guitarist Dave Allison. The guitaring by the two is fine, if a little uneven. At times it can feel as though they just choose to go off and do their own thing, and completely forget that there is a song going on that requires each to be playing the same chords. Robb Reiner's drumming however is exceptional, holding everything together no matter what is happening in the other departments.
Apart from the opening track "School Love", "Bedroom Game" and a quite reasonable cover version of the Rolling Stones' "Paint it, Black", the remainder of the songs here would barely class themselves in the metal category. It was following the release of this album, and before Metal on Metal arrived the following year, that Anvil found their mojo, and the style of music they began to produce became, for a short time, a benchmark in the metal scene. Very little of that can be found here on Hard 'n' Heavy, which though not completely devoid of harder rock tracks is completely barren of non-childish lyrical content.

Rating:  Feeling each other 'cause that's your style  2/5.

682. Venom / Welcome to Hell. 1981. 4/5

In the last few weeks it has come to my attention that I may have missed a trick back in my late teenage years, something that when it comes to my music tastes I don't think happened too often. However, there are probably reasons why Venom slipped beneath my radar. Unless you were often frequenting specialist record stores in Australia, you would never find these albums, because the mainstream record stores would not have a bar of keeping such stuff. Of course, it's all different these days, what with the internet and online music stores and the ability to easily buy albums from overseas, but in the 1980's for us a lot of it was guesswork or becoming friendly with an overseas student who brought new music in your life. So in recent times I have done a lot of chasing down of bands from the early 80's that I had little knowledge of, and venom was on that list. this was the first album I bought, being their debut.

Reviewing this more than thirty years after its release is not easy. Because it's style is so familiar and recognisable, mainly because it so obviously inspired so many bands that came after them, I felt comfortable with the album from the first time I played it. It is different from most of the other NWOBHM bands of the time, most of whom looked for melodic guitars and more progressive elements in their music. This is heavier, generally faster, with a real emphasis on deeper and darker vocals and guitars. The production is only average, and there is little precision in any of the instruments (the myth has been raised that the band thought they were recording a demo when in fact it was what became Welcome to Hell), so it sometimes comes off as clunky and just a wall of noise rather than superb song recording. But in some ways that is the charm of the album. It's not perfect, and given that it was apparently all recorded in three days compared to some bands today taking two years to get every single note perfect... well, that's what is so different about music these days. But why would you want this to be any different? If you aren't as precise as Dream Theater when it come to your instruments, then you sure don't need to have high fidelity sound, and overall this has similar production values as other albums of the era.

The raucousness of "Son of Satan", the chugging guitar, rumbling bass and solid drum timekeeping of the title track "Welcome to Hell", the Motorhead-like rock 'n metal of "Poison", the awe-inspiring "Witching Hour" - the album has great songs coming at you one after the other. Like I said, it is great now, having only heard this album and band for the first time in the last six months. i can only imagine what it must have been like to the average punter when it was first released.

Had I discovered this album back in my high school years, I am willing to suggest that it could well be rated a whole lot higher than I have rated it today. Everything about it hits the right nerves in me when I listen to it, and if I had been playing it over and over for 25 or 30 years it would most likely be in a list of my all time classics. Despite this, Welcome to Hell is still a classic, a standard bearer to the thrash and black metal bands to come who obviously drew so much inspiration from it, and while it may seem a little tame in comparison to some of those bands today, that doesn't detract from how good this album was in the day, and still is in the present.

672. Sweet Savage / Take No Prisoners - Killing Time [Single]. 1981. 4/5

This is the first single release from Northern Ireland's Sweet Savage, which to all intents and purposes should have been the springboard to further success. For whatever reason may have eventuated, that success was never forthcoming, which I find remarkable.
"Take No Prisoners" is a smart song, led by the vocals of bass guitarist Ray Haller, and driven by the twin guitars of teenager Vivian Campbell and Trevor Fleming. This is backed by the B side "Killing Time", which also showcases the best of the band, with a speedy pace rocketing along with both guitars and drums. Both songs here are good, solid songs from the NWOBHM era, and perhaps this was drowned out by all of those bands who were clambering over each other at the time to try and 'make it big'.

Sweet Savage was never able to make it unfortunately, although this single did manage to influence others. Campbell eventually left to join Dio and later on Whitesnake and Def Leppard. Meanwhile, a young band called Metallica had discovered this band, and played "Killing Time" in their early rehearsal days, and some years and millions of record sales later, they recorded a cover version of the song for the B side of their "The Unforgiven" single in 1991. Recognition just a few years too late perhaps.

671. Sweet Savage / Demo 81 [EP]. 1981. 4/5

It can be a tough gig trying to nail down a recording contract as a band. No doubt there is a lot of luck, and of being in the right place at the right time, when it comes to actually making it in the music business. With this being the case, it is still an amazing thought that Sweet Savage was unable to crack it during their formative years between 1979-1984. There were a couple of singles, and this multi-track titled simply Demo 81 in which to enjoy their craft. There is conjecture over whether or not this actually ever existed, and that perhaps it is just a name under which someone threw together these songs when they themselves collected them. Whatever the case, this is the collection I have discovered and have collated it as such.

"Killing Time" has become the band's most famous song, simply through it being covered by Metallica as a B-side to their "The Unforgiven" single. Sweet Savage's original version more than holds up. The great thing to me is that, though this is a terrific song, it does not overshadow the others on this album. "Eye of the Storm" has always been another big favourite of mine, driven along by the fast pace of the song and Vivian Campbell's excellent licks. The other three songs here follow a similar vein. In fact, "Sweet Surrender" follows the song structure of "Killing Time" extremely closely, with different words and a slightly changed riff progression fitting in to all the same crevices. It slightly amusing to check out the first time, though eventually you get used to it actually being a different song. "Into the Night" and "Queens Vengeance" are also upbeat songs, all with what is that signature Sweet Savage guitar sound that Campbell and Trevor Fleming have cropped together.

I like all of the songs here, and it again makes me wonder why the band was unable to take that one further step into 'music career'. Despite that, this is still as enjoyable today as it would have been when it was first written and recorded over thirty years ago, which speaks volumes for its freshness and writing background.

655. Samson / Shock Tactics. 1981. 2.5/5

Shock Tactics is the third album for Samson, and one where the band would have been desperate to build on the solid foundation it had made with its initial releases and tours, especially with the mood for heavy metal growing more favourable in the previous two years. To me, they missed a trick or two when it came to writing and recording this album.

Unlike Head On, the balance of the songs doesn't mesh or gell as well. There seems to have been a general stepping away from what could have been regarded as heavy metal at the time, with most songs moving back towards a bluesy rockier kind of release. Not quite Deep Purple without the organ, but there is a definite trend towards that kind of genre. You can almost hear Ian Gillan's vocals coming at you in songs like "Riding With the Angels" and "Bright Lights". In fact, both of those songs could have slotted onto Bruce Dickinson's Tattooed Millionaire album from eight years hence, and you wouldn't even blink an eyelid. This doesn't make them bad songs, but it does make them different from what they had released prior to Shock Tactics.
"Once Bitten" and "Blood Lust" are both melodramatically written and performed, moving along at a much slower pace than the better Samson material, and are both overly repetitive both lyrically and musically. Not too much of a challenge here, just repeat the riff and basic drumbeat and have a chorus repeated many times over the top.
"Nice Girl" AND "Grime Crime" come with the same "happy" drum beat and guitar riff that sometimes makes you think of 1960's happy hippy songs. In fact, try and sing the lyrics of one of the songs over the music from the other, and I'm pretty sure you'll find that they fit. Similarly styled, and probably don't work as well as others, with a real blues riff underneath "Grime Crime" in particular.
The closer "Communion" is often praised amongst Samson fans as a wonderful song that shows the great layers that this band was able to produce, and that it showcases the growth the band has made from simple metal/hard rock to produce such an genre-shifting song in both performance and writing. To me, it has always been just a plodding track, one that stretches out the end of the album interminably. Whilst I appreciate that Samson's guitar and Dickinson's vocals in particular are given another platform to show their wares on this track, in the long run it just bores me to tears.

Perhaps it tells the tale best here that my favourite track on Shock Tactics is "Riding With the Angels", which is written by Russ Ballad, and the only one that the band did not write. Yes, it is a different album, and yes, it is the last one that Bruce performed on before moving over to Iron Maiden. In many ways, it was perhaps the best thing to happen for all concerned.

604. The Michael Schenker Group / MSG. 1981. 3.5/5

After leaving the band UFO following a successful five album stint, and briefly flirting once again with his first band the Scorpions, Michael Schenker had gone on to form his own band called The Michael Schenker Group and released their debut album to some acclaim. Hot on the heels of that, as was the way bands generally did in the days when selling albums was still a profitable way of making money, the band looked to immediately record their sophomore effort. That first album had been recorded with session musicians apart from lead vocalist Gary Barden, but when the band had gone on tour they had brought in bass guitarist Chris Glen, legendary drummer Cozy Powell who had just finished his run in the band Rainbow, and Paul Raymond, Schenker’s former bandmate in UFO who duelled on both keyboards and rhythm guitar. It was this line up that then went into the studio to write and record the follow up to that first album, which became the slightly unimaginative “MSG”.

Perhaps the important part about this era of the band is that the writing style of the songs was directly aimed at radio airplay and commerciality. That is not to say that they didn’t want that, but they didn’t directly write the songs in a manner that would lend itself to that kind of arrangement. Schenker’s prominence with UFO brought with it a following in itself, and with Raymond also now involved it brought that audience with them to see what they could produce, and Cozy’s followers from several bands he had been involved with did the same. And though Gary Barden was very much an integral piece of the band, both by being the lead vocalist as well as being heavily involved in the writing of the songs, it was still the strength of his voice that sometimes caused concerns – or at least, it did from a listeners point of view.

The album itself starts off on the right foot. Although it the modern age and the way heavy metal music has developed over the years it may appear to be a plodder and somewhat dated, "Are You Ready To Rock" was always a great opening to the album on its release. Its catchy chorus and dedicated guitar riff drive the song along while allowing all of the individuals in the band to make their presence felt early on. This segues straight into the song that perhaps more than any other song post-UFO has become Schenker’s signature, the one that defined him and who he was. Though the lyrics are based around the antics of psychotic serial killer, there’s no doubt that the title of the song could be literally explained as being about Michael Schenker himself, suggesting that when he lets loose on his guitar it is his attack, and given that many of his contemporaries felt he was extremely difficult to work with because he was mad (which can be easily backed up by the number of artists he has had working with him over the years, and the very short amount of time each of them ins able to stay in the band), then the title of “Attack of the Mad Axeman” always felt like an appropriate title for him. It has always been one of my five favourite Michael Schenker songs, dominated by the solo that is pure Schenker in output. This flows straight into "On and On", another top shelf Schenker song with a great vocal feel as well as riff line, and is followed by “Let Sleeping Dogs Lie” where Barden’s vocals are at their best and Schenker’s guitar work is again absolutely superb.

The second side of the album is unable to live up to the overall excellence of the first side. “But I Want More” feels more like that is what they are doing with the song, in essence it feels like a short song being extended into an inconsequential jam on stage that should have finished about five minutes before it actually does. Schenker’s guitaring through the back half of the song is great but it doesn’t feel like it is going anywhere. Then comes the rock ballad, “Never Trust a Stranger”, written solely by Paul Raymond, and it feels more like a solo song than a band song. His keyboard dominates the first half of the song which just sighs along like ballads do while Barden’s vocals find the element that he seems to prefer, which is a little disconcerting seeing as he should be a hard rock singer rather than a rock ballad singer in this band. The song is saved from being a total disaster by Schenker’s solo break in the middle, but it seems like a strange choice to throw in here. Order is restored with the harder, rockier faster pace of “Looking for Love”, which not only showcases all of the band in a much better fashion it has Schenker dominating the middle to end of the song with a scorching solo that much better defines the joy of MSG than any half cut ballad does. Somewhat sadly, the album concludes with “Secondary Motion”, a song that is unsettled throughout between what it should be and what it turns out to be, as though the band is unsure exactly what style the song should be. Again, at least Schenker’s guitar is able to play us out but it just could have been a much better end than the way it was written. Or – am I just being over critical? There is always that possibility... but I’m not.

I’ve had a special place in my music heart for many years for Michael Schenker, so much so that I can look past some pretty average music to see the gems that sparkle amongst it. And if I was to give an honest appraisal of his work since 1980 – and probably even before that – it would be that he has a great knack of writing some bloody brilliant tracks, and then just as many that don’t quite hit the mark. And most of that is just through my own musical taste, because he does an amazing job of having the same situation crop up with almost every album he is involved in. There are the brilliant tracks, heavy and loaded with guitar riffage goodness, there are the average songs that may not be special but generally also have some great guitar moments, and then there are the slower ballady tracks that get mixed in which for me tend to shut down the overall enjoyment of the money. I am of the opinion that you could pick me out any two MSG albums form any era, and by throwing out the slower stuff I could make any of them better by combining the best tracks into one.
In many way, MSG has dated since its release, steeped as it is in its mid-to-late 70’s styled guitar and keyboards moments along with Barden’s pleasant but not overtly strong vocals. The top shelf tracks still do the business, while the others feel as though they are in the wrong place entirely. The shining light continues as ever to be Schenker’s guitaring, which to be honest is the reason we all come into these albums. And at least there was not the aim for commercialisation on this album as was the case a little further down the track, when even Schenker’s guitar was basically shelved in the name of finding a radio hit.

For me, this is still one of my favourite Michael Schenker Group albums. Perhaps it has its couple of flaws, and perhaps it is dated with age around the edges, but fans of the band will still enjoy it today BECAUSE of what it is, and not because of what it is seen to be by others.

491. Def Leppard / High and Dry. 1981. 5/5

The reason that I started out (almost three years ago) to catalogue, rate and review all of my albums was because I was sure that there had to be brilliant albums I had totally forgotten about as my collection grew so large, and I wanted to hear them again. That has proven to be the case. Until I put High and Dry on my iPod two weeks ago, I had forgotten just how exceptional this album is. It has rarely been off my playlist since.

THESE were the days when Def Leppard was a band, when they wrote songs that had attitude, great rolling lyrics and a bit of edge to their music. Back in the day when they could certainly be classed as hard rock, with great riffs and great vocal melodies with Joe Elliott at his finest.

There is not a weak moment on this album. Each song has great anthemic sections, where you just can't help but sing along like you are in an English pub 30 years ago. Side One (for those that remember it on vinyl) is just sensational, incorperating the three great rocking tunes to start, moving into the single "Bringin' on the Heartbreak", which was basically the song that got me into Def Leppard in the day, and the brilliant instrumental "Switch 625". Awesome stuff. Side Two may not quite be as brilliant, but it loses nothing in comparison.

Has this album grown in my estimation purely from the fact that I haven’t listened to it for the better part of fifteen years, and that the stuff Def Leppard have released in that timeframe I consider to be pure trash? It’s a fair point, and may have a great deal of truth attached to it. Believe me, having indulged in the album a great deal in the past fortnight, the two things I have wondered is ‘why have I not listened to this in so long’ and ‘why can’t they put out an album like this now?’
But it isn’t the whole truth. When I first listened to it again, I remembered how much I loved it, and remembered sitting in front of the stereo with the album cover in my hands (ahhh, the days of vinyl…).This is Def Leppard at their best, when they were still a hard rock band and hadn't begun to soften and sweeten themselves into the parody they are now. The fact that it is rare to see a song from this album on their current playlist sums their current position up for me.

Rating: A brilliant snapshot of a band in their ultimate element. 5/5

454. Queen / Greatest Hits. 1981. 5/5

The mother of all greatest hits packages. To me, this is the quintessential Greatest Hits Album, with every song a certified winner. Released at what many fans consider to be the end of Queen’s Golden Age (I beg to differ, but that’s another story), this album is filled with brilliance from start (“Bohemian Rhapsody”) to finish (“We Are The Champions”).

There will always be arguments that personal favourites didn’t make the cut. From A Night at the Opera alone you could have had tracks such as “Death on Two Legs”, “I’m In Love With My Car” and “39”. What you can’t argue with is the quality of the songs that did make the album, and it truly is representative of the best work that Queen has produced – or at least had up until that point of their career.

Apart from the radio, this was my first real compilation of their great songs, and it still get a flogging in our household. Whenever we are searching for some music to pacify every generation, this is still the best album to grab.

Rating: Perfect. 5/5

442. Stiff Little Fingers / Go For It. 1981. 2.5/5

What is it about punk and reggae that they almost seem to go hand in hand? It truly is something I’ve never really been able to work out.

You can hardly call this album a punk album, and maybe the band and their fans don’t want to be pigeon-holed that way anyway. I can admit to being openly surprised at the style of music contained on this album when I first got it. Surprised, and not just a little disappointed. However, I can almost pass that off as part of my close minded youth. I got the album on the strength of the title track, the instrumental “Go For It”, to which I had been introduced at a Year 10 camp almost 25 years ago. From there the natural progression was to buy the album.
Now, I am no fan of reggae, and that includes when punk or alternative bands infuse it into their own music. So the fact that songs like “The Only One” have it here, frankly, just bores me to death.
Then there is “Gate 49”, which is almost like an updated 1050’s do-wop song, and “Silver Lining” which has horns and piano through it. All of this was so unexpected. No doubt many fans love it. I found it a bit disconcerting.

When I think of all of the great songs that this band released, and I hear what they have done on this album, it seems a tad disappointing.

Rating: Not what I consider to be one of their strongest releases. 2.5/5