Overview
According to one source I saw, Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s third album Not Fragile was a play on the Yes album Fragile released a few years earlier, basically meaning that this album was not fragile in any way. Not Fragile was the third album by the mid-western band Bachman-Turner Overdrive, but they weren’t American mid-western but Canadian mid-western (is there any difference!) By the time of their third album, they had already made their commercial breakthrough on their previous two albums, the eponymous debut Bachman-Turner Overdrive with its fusion of Southern rock Lynyrd Skynyrd and American hard rock a la Grand Funk Railroad and Mountain. This album had been a decent debut despite lacking in a few areas. But it was their second album the imaginatively titled Bachman-Turner Overdrive II which despite being an inferior album to the debut, that actually gave them their first top 10 album success in the US album charts. This album would serve as a launchpad for their third album Not Fragile, which would turn out to be the biggest and best album of their career. Bachman-Turner Overdrive essentially put out a no-nonsense brand of hard rock, blended with a then contemporary American sound and moulded into a really crunchy rock sound with a healthy amount of rock anthems, as far as the singles charts were concerned. Throughout the 1970s they sold an amazing seven million albums, whilst representing the first of what would be known as ‘faceless’ North American bands of the 1970s. These were basically bands that put their music well before their image and band members were often hidden behind long hair and beards, just think Kansas and you have it in a nutshell! The band as the name might suggest, were made up by the three Bachman brothers Randy, Robbie and Tim (Tim had left though by the third album) and the quartet was made up of Fred Turner or just known as C.F Turner. The Bachman brothers and C.F Turner seemed to have an equal share when it came to writing the band’s material and both Randy and C.F shared the band’s vocals. The band were so faceless that their best known song “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” which is often regarded as one of the great rock anthems of the 1970s, as being one of those songs where the vast majority of listeners having no idea which band sang the song! The band were something of a religious brood and therefore never embraced the true rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle which may have alienated them at the time from the majority of listeners into heavy music.

C.F Turner- Bass/Vocals
Blair Thornton- Guitar
Robbie Bachman- Drums
Production- Randy Bachman

Album
Not Fragile- With a bass heavy intro and C.F Turner on vocals, this is a song that lays down the tone for much of the album and there’s no doubting the band’s credentials here. Rock Is My Life and This Is My Song- The volume comes down for this song and it’s almost Dylanesque start gradually gives way to some free rockin’ tunes. Roll on Down the Highway- With an almost classic sounding intro we hit heavy material again courtesay of C.F Turner and elements of this song if listened to carefully feature on Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet- The band’s most famous song and a classic tune from the era in general. A song most people have heard of but probably don’t know who the artist is. Free Wheelin’- A very competent and accomplished instrumental, that was dedicated to the memory of Duane Allman and an instrumental that I never get bored with. Sledgehammer- A heavy and bombastic intro which is then broken up by quieter and then stronger moments. The song maintains this pace constantly throughout. Blue Moanin- Basically a good ole boy song with some nice guitar touches but not my cup of tea really. Second Hand- A heavy sounding workout that stands as one of the strongest tracks on the album. Givin’ it All Away- Not the best song to close to album, but it’s obvious that this song was going to be one of the later tracks on the album, it has that feel about it.

Verdict
There’s no doubting the scope of this album as soon as you hear the boisterous opener the title track “Not Fragile”. This is a bass heavy hard-rock romp that still sounds tight and relevant today, but it should be noted that not all the heavy songs have aged well. For the most part “Roll on Down the Highway” is a great heavy number that has a somewhat cheesy sounding glam rock section, that is strangely embedded into the song. But if the listener can ignore this, there is some great guitar on this song and great heavy playing in general, and then there is “Second Hand” one of the best songs on the whole album. The band then contrast the heaviness of songs like “Not Fragile” with the much more melodic and quieter tracks like “Rock Is My Life and This Is my Song”. The band also show just how good they are at mixing melody and tunefulness into the same song with hard biting rock, and this mixture doesn’t get any better than the album’s most famous song “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” which mixes in Van Morrison type pop sensibilities with Free era “It’s Alright Now” giving us one of the essential rock anthems of the decade. “Sledgehammer” also mixes in these attributes to great effect as well, and give balance to the album. Downsides to the album, include the odd touch of what I call ‘good ole boy’ country style influences, which make themselves evident now and again on the band’s discography and on this album they are highlighted on “Blue Moanin” and sections of “Givin’ It All Away”. Bands like Bachman-Turner Overdrive were often not seen as being cool to like, but Not Fragile displays some really authentic sounding crunchy guitar and a bass heavy plodding sound to back it all up. This faceless band prove that they don’t need the sexuality of Led Zeppelin or the theatrics of Kiss to pull in the fans and were one of the first arena rock bands around. Overall Not Fragile is one of the heaviest albums of the year which might surprise some readers, as the band were not often remembered as being ‘heavy beasts’ by the rock world, but more of an arena rock band from their era.

The power button is turned right up, we have heavy bliss!

Overview
After the release of the Razamanaz album from the previous year, Nazareth were now very much part of the second tier on the UK popularity echelon. Meaning that they were an extremely popular band on the same level as the likes of Uriah Heep, Humble Pie and UFO etc but not quite attaining the heights of the big three Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple as worldwide giants. Roger Glover had given the band want they needed with his production skills, something he could now even dedicate more time to since leaving Deep Pupple. Nazareth would quickly and intelligently build on the success of the Razamanaz album by releasing two more albums throughout 1974. These albums were Lound ‘n’ Proud (some sources suggest it was released at the end of 1973 but for convenience purposes I’ve put it in as 1974) and Rampant. Now Loud ‘n’ Proud does exactly what it says on the tin and along with their biggest ever album 1975’s Hair of the Dog, it probably stands as the band’s best ever achievement and I’d say it was actually their best. Rampant on the other hand the second part of this double–header review, was a patchier album and certainly the lesser of the two albums in this review. The band were also known for sticking touches of variety into their sound and this could involve touches of blues and country, glam rock and some of their material even showed a southern rock slant, a then burgeoning movement in the US at the time. But most surprisingly it was their use of covers which often raised eyebrows and these were often hit and miss in their execution and ranged to folky icons such as Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Woody Guthrie. Both Loud ‘n’Proud and Rampant were graced with two great albums covers and the band really had a knack of getting some interesting album artwork full of bright colours and interesting images. The band never went down the avenue of either overblown progressive rock covers, neither the more serious and minimalistic covers from some of the biggest bands of the day, or the lewd and provocative covers that the genre would embrace as time went by. In fact Loud ‘n’ Proud is one of my favourite album covers from the decade and the album’s not half bad either!

Dan McCafferty- Vocals
Manny Charlton- Guitar
Pete Agnew- Bass
Darrell Sweet- Drums

Production- Roger Glover

Album
Go Down Fighting- An energetic opening song with some great riffing and sets the tone for the rest of the album. Not Faking It- A pounding number that actually sounds like something that a NWOBHM band could’ve put out and a very tight track. Turn on Your Receiver- A more mid-tempo tune here, with a country flavour and overall a very competent track with a real light edge about it. Teenage Nervous Breakdown- A pounding cover of the Little Feat song and the band really do stamp their authority on this cover track, this is a stunner of a cover song! Free Wheeler- A tight sounding rocky track and again this sounds like an album track with some nice guitar and percussion touches. On further listens though, this song becomes more than just another album track and it becomes clear that this is the song of an accomplished band. This Flight Tonight- A rocked up version of a Joni Mitchell song, nothing special but does the job and probably the weakest of the three covers on the album. Child in the Sun- The nearest thing to a ballad on the album and the chorus always reminds me a bit of a Neil Young track! The Ballad of Hollis Brown- Like most Bob Dylan songs, imo they always sound so much better when sung by somebody else and this cover version is no different in that respect. This cover version is so good that even today I'd say that this cover song is the finest ever recording that Nazareth ever put out!

Verdict
Released just six months after Razamanaz, Loud ‘n’ Proud sees the band continuing with the heavy theme that was very much evident on Razamanaz and Roger Glover was on production duties once again. The difference between the two albums, is that Loud ‘n’ Proud is basically just a consolidation album to build on the success of Razamanaz and therefore the tracks tend to be more predictable than Razamanaz before it! Despite that predictability Loud ‘n’ Proud is an even more solid album than its predecessor. Firstly there is the noticeable difference early on between the two albums, in that Loud ‘n’ Proud has a greater use of distortion overall, to create a louder sounding album in general. Secondly, the choice of covers on Loud ‘n’ Proud are a better choice of covers overall in general for the band and the pounding covers of the Lowell George (Little Feat) penned "Teenage Nervous Breakdown" along with the Bob Dylan cover "The Ballad of Hollis Brown" might be the best two cover songs the band ever put out! Finally Some of the tracks on Loud ‘n’ Proud, sound like really early metal classics and have stood the test of time, and none sound any better on this album than “Not Faking It” which sounds like an authentic NWOBHM track, almost several years before that movement would take shape! In many ways on “Not Faking It” Nazareth are touching on future Judas Priest territory here and I’m guessing Judas Priest would’ve been listening to Nazareth around this time anyway. Then there is the accomplished “Free Wheeler” which shows just how comfortable the band were, with rocking out for five and a half minutes! Also the band were at ease on the heavy ballad sound of "Child in the Sun" then there is the album closer, the cover of the Bob Dylan song "The Ballad of Hollis Brown" which may rank as the album's defining heavy metal moment! Overall Loud ‘n’ Proud is Razamanaz's heavier brother and an accomplished album in every way. This album is a fan favourite and a lot of this admiration comes from the fact of how heavy it is. Finally anybody listening to these Nazareth albums, will surely be able to hear the influence that they had on the future Guns N’ Roses and just how honest the band sounded on these as well.

More heaviness but this time with a southern slant!

Album
Silver Dollar Forger, Pts.1 & 2- A fast and uptempo album opener about an outlaw on the run from the cops. The song has a superb riff throughout and one of the best cuts on the album. Just when the song seems to maintain that vibe throughout the rest of the song, we move into the second part of the song and the song gains an even deeper resonance. Glad When You’re Gone- A vibrant and humorous song with wah-wah guitar and again has that country feel to proceedings. Loved and Lost-The feel of the album really comes down here and this is the nearest thing we get to a ballad on the album and Dan McCafferty gives a solid vocal performance here, without ever giving way too much to his whisky rasp. Shanghai’d in Shanghai- A pile-driving rocker that AC/DC would go onto to master in future years. The song was a hit single in the UK at the time. Jet Lag- Crunchy and heavy and with a mid-tempo speed and again we see Manny Charlton’s tight guitar playing used to great effect. Light My Way- A plodding 4 minute song whose rhythm would be used the following year for the far better known song “Love Hurts” the song also uses subdued elements of the Mountain classic “Nantucket Sleighride” several years earlier, but “Light My Way” falls well below the quality of these two songs. Sunshine- With an acoustic intro the song gradually beefs up with the strong vocals of Dan McCafferty. Shape of Things/Space Safari- The longest track on the album and without doubt the best track on the album with the band putting out one of their best ever cohesive efforts ever.

Verdict
Rampant would be Nazareth’s most southern tinged album to date, this was a style that they had always hinted at on previous releases and now these Scottish rockers were taking the hard edged southern rock direction, from the authentic likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Black Oak Arkansas. Rampant also ranks as one of the heaviest releases in the whole Nazareth discography and it’s an album that often divides Nazareth fans, it should be noted that most of the southern rock feel is more noticeable on the a-side of the album. When I say heavy though, it does have quite a few softer moments but the overall feel of the album is that of a solid rocker overall. The album content can also be seen as being southern rock tinged as well. The album opener the driving “Silver Dollar Forger, Pts.1 & 2” is about an outlaw racing home with the cops on his tail and is an example of these southern influences. As is the second track “Glad When You’re Gone” with its light-hearted approach throughout and the same could be said about one of the better known tracks on the album “Shanghai’d in Shanghai” which gives a fair amount of references to southern rock subject fare in general, the song even features briefly the main riff from the Rolling Stone’s “Satisfaction”. The album’s real highlights include the slow burning “Loved and Lost” where the band move into territory that had been the favourite stomping gound of bands like Free and Trapeze. The album closer though, the musically diverse “Shape of Things/Space Safari” is actually the stand-out track not just from the album, but one of the best from the band’s discography as a whole! Overall the Rampant album is a set of solid rocking songs that form a pivotal part of the Nazareth discography from this period, but the album is certainly not special in any way and certainly lags behind the other albums quality wise, that the band released between the 1973 to 1975 period. Interestingly the album was recorded at Montreux, the site of the famous Deep Purple Machine Head recording a few years earlier, I’m guessing this was a decision by producer Roger Glover in respect of this.

Overview
Aerosmith aka ‘The Bad Boys from Boston’ were formed around the 1970-1971 period from a combination of two local Boston bands and one of these bands included Steven Tyler as a drummer! The pivotal line-up was formed around this time and included Steven Tyler-Vocals, Joe Perry-Guitar, Brad Whitford-Rhythm, Tom Hamilton-Bass and Joey Kramer-Drums and this line-up would go onto become one of the biggest bands of their generation. They would be a name that was synonymous to everything that was essential to the hard rock genre. Aerosmith’s sound was essentially basic and built around a blues meets hard rock melange (as so many bands had already done) Their sound was promoted as a heavier version of the Rolling Stones aimed at American kids, but it quickly became apparent that the band offered a lot more than this. Steven Tyler was born with a mouth designed for singing and it quickly became apparent that as soon as he sung, we had before us one of the greatest vocalists in the history of rock! Guitarists like Joe Perry, Brad Whitford and Tom Hamilton would be influential on all manner of future artists as well. The band quickly embraced the ‘sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll’ lifestyle, but most importantly they were able to put out a sound that was instantly recognizable due to Steven Tyler’s voice and Joe Perry’s riffs, and it became apparent that the band were capable of writing songs with a real swagger! In fact the only other band that had that swagger were Led Zeppelin, but the difference here was that Aerosmith were distinctly American in both sound and feel! Their debut album had been a raw and fresh effort, and came out around the same sort of time as the New York Dolls and Kiss debuts, and as an album was certainly comparable in style to those two debuts, despite not being as strong as either of those two albums. The Aerosmith debut which is featured on my “Albums that missed the cut……..” section for 1973 still featured some of the band’s timeless essentials such as “Mama Kin” the raw and punchy “Make It” and the timeless ballad “Dream On” the album was a raw effort that showed potential rather than formulated ideas. Within the space of a year, the band were able to brush up in terms of songwriting, whilst keeping their essential raw and punchy edge that would be vital to the band. Their second album Get Your Wings, would see this future American legend forge their most important partnership and that would be with producer Jack Douglas, even though he is shared on the credits with Ray Colcord and even Alice Cooper’s buddy Bob Ezrin gets mentioned as well! The legend may have started on the debut, but the substance for that legend would really start on Get Your Wings.

Steven Tyler-Vocals
Joe Perry-Guitar
Brad Whitford-Rhythm
Tom Hamilton-Bass
Joey Kramer- Drums

Production- Jack Douglas

Album
Same Old Song- This would become a typical Aerosmith type track, with its Joe Perry riff and Joey Kramer’s great rhythmic drumming, followed up by Steve Tyler’s dominant vocal style. The Brecker brothers feature on both sax and trumpet on the song as well. Lord of the Thighs- One of the most amazing intros ever into a song with Joey Kramer again on drums to lead in, as the song just seems to pass over a freeway at speed and then hits us with Steven Tyler’s singing, which is full of exaggerated attitude and then the song beats itself away. Amazingly this song was a last minute addition……as they were struggling to find more material. Spaced- A great album track that has that instant feel and features a great hazy sounding melody throughout, before the song starts to mix itself up again. The song also features co-producer Ray Colcord on keyboards. Woman of the World- An old song used for this album and probably the weakest song on the whole album. S.O.S (Too Bad)- The b-side kicks off with an upbeat almost punky sounding track, that has a pulsating riff that carries the song through and then features some great guitar work as the song goes on, a really quality track. Train Kept A-Rollin- A great choice of cover of the Tiny Bradshaw R&B track, that sounds like it easily could’ve been written by the band themselves and it’s one of the most solid tracks on the album, it features a live performance section as well. Seasons of Wither- With its sorrowful breezy intro, this is often regarded as one of the great Aerosmith songs from their early period and it’s another solo Steven Tyler composition as well. Pandora’s Box- The album closer is a raw rock ‘n’ roll track written by Tyler and Kramer and is probably best known as the name given to the band’s excellent box set released many years later.

Verdict
From the word go, we are served up with the “Same Old Song” and the bluesy swagger of the band never gets any more evident than on a song like this, and that swagger is served up equally well much later on in the album, with one of the best covers the band ever put out in “Train Kept A-Rollin” and these two songs really give the album its backbone. But it’s songs like “Lord of the Thighs” that really set this album alight and when the intro to this song is played loud, it always makes my temperature rise, as the song just seems to breeze in with consummate ease and then we’re treated to the some of the raunchiest singing that Steven Tyler ever did, and with so much attitude to go with it. The same could be said for the intro to “Seasons of Wither” with its eerie and mournful feel and it’s the nearest the band get to a ballad on the album, again the song has another great riff. But what is so great about the song though, is that whilst being mournful the song can also be seen as being quite heart-warming in an strange kind of way! So just how good is Get Your Wings as an album? The lion’s share of the material on the album is penned by Steven Tyler, the rest of the band gradually got a bit more writing time on the future albums that the band put out, but I think it’s fair to say that Steven Tyler may well have had control over the type of material that the band were putting out overall. Get Your Wings is a big fan favourite, but it quite often gets ignored largely due to the two mammoth albums that followed it Toys in the Attic and Rocks, and quality wise it doesn’t compete with either of those two albums! But what it does achieve, is to bridge the gap between the raw debut and the focused hard rock delights of Toys in the Attic and Rocks. I’m not going to say that if Get Your Wings hadn’t been recorded, then the band would never have made either Toys in the Attic and Rocks, but Get Your Wings really did set the stall out for those two releases. In just a few years, Aerosmith would record the material that would laud them the future title of ‘America’s Greatest Ever Rock and Roll Band’ and it’s obvious that the roots of that label were planted on the debut and then they started to sprout on Get Your Wings, in fact get your wings is an appropriate name for the album in every aspect.

Overview
UFO would become a pillar of the ‘heavy scene’ throughout the 1970s and recorded some of the genre’s most essential albums, but their beginnings were somewhat removed from the melodic hard rocking band that they would become well known for. They formed as far back as 1969 under the guise of Hocus Pocus but soon re-named themselves UFO after the London club they regularly performed at. Their first couple of albums featured the vital line-up of Phil Mogg on vocals, Pete Way on bass and Andy Parker on drums and for these first two albums they featured Mick Bolton on guitar. The first two UFO albums UFO a real homemade sounding effort with a 1960s sound and Flying often referred to as UFO II, were basically an amalgamation of hard rock Blue Cheer style, heavy blues, R&B, psychedelia and an obvious space rock influence, which became even more dominant on their second album Flying and is actually a very interesting listen. Whilst these recordings are of interest to any UFO fan, the band were never going to set the stage alight despite being quite popular on the European mainland around this period and with a vocalist of the calibre of Phil Mogg his talents were surely being wasted here. The band around the 1972 period decided that a change of direction was in order and guitarist Mick Bolton left for Mott the Hoople and his position was briefly filled by Larry Willis of the Pink Fairies and then by Bernie Marsden who would later go on to feature with Whitesnake. By 1973 they then decided on young German guitar maestro Michael Schenker to fill the role and he was recruited from the Scorpions. In fact the Scorpions were in much the same dilemma as UFO around this period, because like UFO they were struggling to find their true sound and would actually have to wait longer than UFO to find it (but that’s a story for another day) The band now decided to head into a more focused and heavier edged direction with Schenker on board, they had a new record label in Chrysalis and in maintaining producer Leo Lyons from the band Tens Years After, the band were all set to record their essential third album Phenomenon!

Phil Mogg- Vocals
Michael Schenker- Guitar
Pete Way- Bass
Andy Parker- Drums

Production- Leo Lyons

Album
Oh My- A thumping rocking intro which certainly sees the band in a new frame of mind. The song has a constant throbbing sound and is propelled by Schenker’s guitar. The only negative on the song is that it could’ve been longer as the song is there to be exploited. Crystal Light- This is a melodic rock number that is fuelled up by an acoustic guitar and is an accomplished effort. Doctor Doctor- One of the most famous intros which resonates 1970s rock in every way, the song then moves into its blistering galloping section with Phil Mogg singing “Doctor, Doctor please, Oh the mess I'm in!” and the song doesn’t let up for a minute and this really is a true hard rock anthem! Space Child- A gentle effort as the band chill out between the two songs either side of it. The song sounds like a possible farewell to their failed early sound. Rock Bottom- Electrifying guitar, amazing in every way, what more can I say about this song……. just listening to it for Michael Schenker’s guitar is enough, possibly one of the very best hard rock classics of the decade! Too Young to Know- An upbeat rocker that is a good album track that grows on you with each listen. Time on My Hands- One of the quieter more melodic efforts on the album, that possibly is one of those songs that goes on for longer than it needs to. Built for Comfort- A Willie Dixon cover song which unsurprisingly is the most blues orientated track on the whole album. It’s a very good cover but most definitely chosen as a filler effort. Lipstick Traces- A refreshing instrumental that surprisingly fits in nicely on the album. Queen of the Deep- A low key start and then we kick into some heavier terrain and a great pulsating riff. This song is a heavy number effort in every way and it's a song very much in the direction that the band would stay for the rest of the decade.

Verdict
Phenomenon was an album that I quickly fell in love with and in many ways that overshadowed some of the album’s weaknesses for me, which were essentially some lower energy level songs that sat between the album’s true stunners “Doctor Doctor” and “Rock Bottom”. The band on this album were truly forging the perfect marriage of incorporating melodic rock into their newish hard rock sound. It’s also fairly obvious that the band were divorcing themselves from their older sound, whilst trying to work out how much free rein they should allow the electricfying Michael Schenker on guitar! For all that though, the album does contain a fair amount of quieter material, but this material is accomplished and that’s what counts! With “Doctor Doctor and “Rock Bottom” the band ushered in two of the great hard rock tracks of all time. “Doctor Doctor” is just pure genius at its very best, whilst “Rock Bottom” even today leaves me drooling for its sheer power, energy and Michael Schenker’s friggin guitar soloing! These two songs were simply built to last and they sound just as great today as they did back then. Then there is “Oh My” a great rocker which just shows how the band had streamlined their sound from their earlier material and also the album closer “Queen of the Deep” which is a superb five minute plus track with again some truly great guitar featured throughout. On this album Michael Schenker was treated as a newbie and kept on a leash for this album, now this surely begs the question, had he been given a free roam here how much better could this album have been? Because let’s face it, when his guitar exploded the band played their best stuff. If a criticism can be aimed at the album, then it could be the few times that the band are reluctant to totally part with their earlier slower sound and this can be heard on “Crystal Light” which seems too bogged down in acoustics and does have a tendency to plod along. Then there is “Space Child” a kind of poignant reminder of the sound they gave up to move into a new harder edged direction and the idea of putting both “Too Young to Know” and “Time on My Hands” back to back is probably not that smart a move either. The band had an amazing grasp of what melodic hard rock was all about without losing their heavy edge and even today they could still give a lesson or two to a multitude of bands out there on how to achieve this perfect balance.

An unembellished set of rock songs built to last!

Overview
Bad Company were one of the first really true supergroups that dominated the hard rock genre. I say true, because when I think of supergroups I tend to think of bands that were big commercially, rather just than being members of other known bands. The genre had already contained supergroups such as Cactus etc, but none of these came close to achieving the level of commercial success that Bad Company would achieve during the rest of the decade! Bad Company were led by Paul Rodgers, whose lengthy stint with his previous band Free, had always seen him flirt with huge commercial success, but due to a serious of misfortunes (see previous Free album reviews) the band had never achieved the true heights that Paul Rodger’s melodic hard rock so desperately sought. Paul Rodgers brought Free drummer Simon Kirke with him and these two were joined by the highly respected and equally brilliant Mick Ralphs from Mott the Hoople whose praises I’ve often sung on here and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell. Bad Company were formed in 1973 and direction-wise they were the baby of Paul Rodgers, who had continued with the basis of the sound that had been laid down across the Free discography, Bad Company of course and keeping with the times would be far less bluesy than his previous band Free in every aspect. But Paul Rodgers I guess in terms of leading the band, had learnt to compromise after his previous clashes with Andy Fraser in the Free set-up, which in the end turned out to be detrimental to the stability of the band. This time around though, the input of guitarist Mick Ralphs became just as important as that as Paul Rodgers, so much so that he was involved in about fifty percent of the writing credits on the album. As both commercial fame and success were the band’s primary aim, the band basically got all their groundwork spot on, not just with the band personnel but also in hiring Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant, who had an uncanny way of promoting bands stateside and that was where the big bucks were! It was largely thanks to Peter Grant and the bands stripped down sound that they became a huge draw stateside throughout the decade.

Paul Rodgers- Vocals
Mick Ralphs- Guitar
Boz Burrell- Bass
Simon Kirke- Drums

Production- Bad Company

Album
Can’t Get Enough- With its mid-tempo beat, tuneful sound and simple guitar lick, the opening track is the perfect example of the melodic Bad Company sound and was solely written by Mick Ralphs. Rock Steady- A return to heavier territory here with a heavy percussion beat, before the songs builds up to a heavier main section, one of the best songs on the album without any doubt. Ready for Love- One of the most beautiful and accomplished slower songs ever written in the 1970s! The song had originally been penned by Mick Ralphs whilst he was with Mott the Hoople (it was previously reviewed) but now its vocals are delivered by Paul Rodgers along with some actual changes to the song. Don’t Let Me Down- A slow burning track with a soulful almost gospel type sound, which really relies on Paul Rodger’s voice and he also his guest piano spot as well. Bad Company- The title track starts off with a subtle piano intro, before moving into some heavier rocking fare, before then moving down a gear and then kicks off again…… the song is one of the pillar of the album! The Way I Choose- The slowest song on the album and despite being a nice track, really lets us know that the emphasis of this album is most definitely on the slower more melodic material. Movin’ On- Penned by Mick Ralphs and a very upbeat track throughout. Seagull- Mostly acoustic and the song has a great flowing feel to finish what is a very polished and accomplished album. The album also had some additional omitted tracks and these include "Superstar Woman" a standard rocker and the best of the three, along with two b-sides "Little Miss Fortune" and "Easy on My Soul" which had previously been recorded with Free.

Verdict
The Bad Company debut was one of the big commercial success stories of the year and thus it achieved the aim of Paul Rodgers and company. Now what’s so special about the Bad Company debut, is that we have four artists that were already highly respected individuals who were masters of their trade and were fully capable of going toe to toe with anybody out there! But what we got was a perfectly stripped down brand of melodic hard rock, that was propelled by Mick Ralph’s guitar and driven by the ever soulful voice of Paul Rodgers, whose voice it should be said dominates every song. The album also had an enviable rhythm section of Boz Burrell and Simon Kirke, in fact Simon Kirke might be my pick of the musicians on here. Most of the compositions are perfect examples of the previously mentioned stripped down melodic hard rock, which has no complexities and certainly no thrills! The songs were built around basic licks and uptempo beats and they don’t get any more basic than on a song like “Can’t Get Enough” but the album’s stellar highlights include a number of timeless classics such as “Rock Steady” “Bad Company” and the glorious “Ready For Love”. This song is such a classic, that it always begs the question on which version was better, the original Mick Ralphs version from Mott the Hoople or the better known Bad Company version with Paul Rodgers singing? This album is so solid that there is no real filler and certainly no weak tracks to speak off! The Bad Company debut, may well have also been one of the biggest influences for the future AOR movement, the album doesn’t always get the credit it deserves in that respect, but this album was in many aspects an album that had so many softer rock elements, which would be a dominant feature in the AOR sound. At just 34 minutes running time, the Bad Company debut may well be one of the finest examples of hard rock meets soft rock from its era. The band tried duplicating this formula throughout the rest of the decade, but they could never quite match the shining light of this debut set.

Album Pick of the Year

Overview
For the second year running the trailblazing Welsh trio known as Budgie, would have to be contented with another second spot in a row! In for the Kill would sit shoulder to shoulder with their previous album Never Turn Your Back on a Friend as the two essential Budgie releases! Album for album there isn’t too much difference in the focus and the direction of the band, as on their previous album Never Turn Your Back on a Friend, the band’s sound had completely gelled into place and the recording of In for the Kill just simply confirms that fact. The band though, had gone through a major loss in long-time drummer Raymond Phillips who decided to leave the band and his place would now be taken on the drum stool by the largely forgotten Peter Boot, who it has to be said does an amiable job on the album. Two of the songs on the album, would go onto become favoured cover songs by future metal giants in Van Halen and Metallica “In for the Kill” the title track and “Crash Course in Brain Surgery” would be the two songs that were covered. These are certainly two great indicators of just how influential Budgie were within metal circles and its development in the mid-1970s, and also shows why the band were constantly namechecked. After the departure of drummer Raymond Phillips, both Burke Shelley and Tony Bourge would dominate the songwriting and in turn would give us the band’s tightest songwriting so far. If anybody doubts just how influential Budgie actually were at this time, just listening to Tony Bourge’s loud pulsating guitar and Burke Shelley’s big thumping bass should alleviate any doubts concerning this. Also up until this album, Budgie had also blessed us with some great imaginative song titles and with the exception of the previously recorded 1971 song “Crash Course in Brain Surgery” the rest of the cuts on the album take on a more straightforward approach concerning song names, with the aim of possibly giving the band a more serious image. One again this classic album is decorated with another great Roger Dean designed album cover.

Burke Shelley- Bass/Vocals
Tony Bourge- Guitar
Peter Boot- Drums

Production- Budgie

Album In for the Kill- With its bluesy start and heavy bass, this is very much an archetypal Budgie song and with a running time of over 6 minutes, the song goes through a couple of tempo changes, and is a real workout by the band on how to jam with real intensity! The song was regularly covered by Van Halen back in their early days. Crash Course in Brain Surgery- The quality of the previous song continues through to one of the best known songs from the album. This song was originally released back in 1971 as a single and would later be covered by Metallica on their Garage Days Revisited EP in 1987. Wondering What Everybody Knows- A delightful song which brings down the tone of the album and sounds like a Beatles meets Jethro Tull type song and hell…..even the song title sounds like a typical Beatles song! Zoom Club- With its slow moving but crunchy start, the band serve up another real driving number and at times the song sounds like Aerosmith’s “Lord of the Thighs”. I’ve no idea if this is just pure coincidence, or one of these bands copied the other! But at a glorious 10 minutes, it’s the longest song on the album. Hammer and Tongs- A slow heavy bluesy pounding number and yet again this stands as one of the best tracks on the album. The song goes through some impressive musical changes, that are both subtle and haunting at the same time. Running from My Soul- Probably the least impressive track on the album, as it’s basically a formula type sounding blues number, but it’s still a decent song in its own way. Living on Your Own- The lengthy album closer that has a running time of around 9 minutes and at times it can’t quite decide whether it wants to be an instrumental or just a normal vocal directed song!

Verdict
So just how good is In for the Kill? Firstly Tony Bourge’s guitar always sounded like it could provoke some kind of gutsy reaction, rather than just following a standard play and then repeat pattern played by so many others. Secondly Burke Shelley helped to re-define the bassist/vocalist in the heavy spectrum and with his wimpy sounding vocals, he may have certainly prompted Geddy Lee that he could do it as well! As for the album, Just listening to the title track alone, shows the confidence and ambition of the band, as they match the previous album Never Turn Your Back on a Friend song for song. For a pulsating six minutes on this track, the band serves up one of their trademark crunching bass heavy renditions and in many ways nobody quite did this type of song better than Budgie around this time. The second track “Crash Course in Brain Surgery” is one of the really dynamic highlights of the album, with its pacey hard driving feel! The band as was customary for them around this time, then give us one of their softer interlude type numbers and in “Wondering What Everybody Knows” with its Beatlesque feel, this may well have been one of the best softer tracks that the band ever did. The A-side of the album is finished by “Zoom Club” which again is just so good with its driving power chord and draws similarities with the Aerosmith track “Lord of the Thighs” which was released the same year. Then there is the heavy bluesy grinding of a song like “Hammer and Tongs” and band on this track, show us that the blues are very much alive and well on the hard rock scene circa 1974. If the album does lose the odd point or two, it might come on its lengthy album closer “Living on Your Own” which despite having some highlights especially in its execution, might not really be the closing track that this rich album truly deserves, as at times it feels too much like a light-hearted instrumental track when Burke Shelly decides not to sing. Overall In for the Kill, has Budgie showing us that their mastery of blending blues rock into the hard rock meets heavy metal genre was second to none around this time! If I had to pick a winner between the previous Never Turn Your Back on a Friend and In for the Kill, I’d go for the latter even though the previous album normally pegs top spot from most hardcore Budgie fans. In for the Kill is without a doubt one of the best albums served up by the heavy genre for the 1970s and shouldn’t be missed out under any circumstances, because lets face it this is one mother of a heavy album!

I've been away from this thread for a couple months now and now just trying to catch up. I am using Google Chrome and as I clicked on page five it keeps warning me that there is possible malware on the page...

Does anyone else get that warning? I am thinking of using my regular internet explorer, but I wanted to bring this to someone's attention here. I suppose a PM might have been better, but I wanted to warn all about this.

It could be to do with one of the links I guess.

Overview
Blue Oyster Cult’s third album Secret Treaties would be the ultimate culmination of their early work and the album would go onto to top various musical polls as one of the best albums of its type. That in itself is a rather dubious point, because not many bands sounded like BOC at all, as not many bands set themselves out to be the ‘Thinking Man’s Metal Band’ either. So three albums in, this NY area based band and their core biker band sound, which had long been infused with a heavy psychedelic rock style, borrowed over from the late 1960s and then neatly blended in with some R&B, had succeeded where so many of their fellow other American counterparts such as Sir Lord Baltimore, Dust and Bang had failed! So what made the Blue Oyster Cult different from those bands? Firstly they had been able to shed their ‘American Black Sabbath’ label and had taken their sound to far greater depths and diversity than Black Sabbath could’ve dreamed or even dared go! Secondly they were a group of artists that were masters of their trade and felt totally at ease in what they were doing, whether that was complex jamming, hard rock overtones or brittle sounding pop flourishes. Thirdly they had created a unique murky sound and when you heard the band, you knew exactly who they were! Secret Treaties was without doubt, the album that the band had always sought to achieve and not just fall into like say Deep Purple with Machine Head. Just going back a few years, gave an indication of where the band wanted to be a few years down the line. The debut had a been a very subjective affair, but Tyranny and Mutation had the band knocking right on the door of where they wanted to be! Tyranny and Mutation had been the creative leap by the band and in many ways had Tyranny and Mutation not been recorded, it could be safe to say that we would never have got Secret Treaties a year later. The album cover was designed by Ron Lesser, with a German ME262 on the front cover and this was something of a change as far as the band were concerned image wise as well, and the plane would be an inspiration for one of the songs. More significantly though since I started these reviews, Secret Treaties would be the first ever album to attain the number one position by a non-British band (all five previous number ones had been British bands) and demonstrated a strong catch-up by the American bands within this genre.

Eric Bloom- Guitar/Vocals
Donald ‘Buck Dharma’ Roeser- Guitar
Allen Lainier- Rhythm/Keyboards
Joe Bouchard- Bass
Albert Bouchard- Drums

Production- Sandy Pearlman and Murray Krugman

Album
Career of Evil- The opening of the song on the album, sounds like we’re entering the album in ‘media res’ as the track basically sounds like a mid-album effort and not an opening track. The song was jointly written by Albert Bouchard and Patti Smith (her only credit on the album) the song vibrates a strong R&B beat with a dash of glam rock. Subhuman- With its subtle low key start of echoing melody, the song then enters more concrete terrain, but the strength of the song remains in its subtle melody which resonates throughout the track. Dominance and Submission- With its clock ticking intro that is quickly followed up by its angsty start and Eric Bloom sounds quite different here (has more range than he’s given credit for) in fact the song resonates a nervous sharp beat and singing style, that a future Devo would adopt, the song is boosted up by some jokey speaking sections and fills out its 5 plus minutes amiably. ME262- A BOC work of art with its pacey leading and rhythm section in perfect unison and borrows in feel from the previous “Dominance and Submission” and the later guitar section is pure mastery from the band. Cagey Cretins- With its great title and drumming intro, and overall upbeat feel, the band continue on from the previous two efforts. Harvester of Eyes- We go into a slightly more serious and mid-tempo terrain here, and all is highlighted by razor sharp guitar riffs and yet again all is underscored by Allen Lainier on keys, before ending in a grouchy and then musical box affair. Flaming Telepaths- One of the showpiece tracks on the album, highlighted by the band’s profound lyrics and the song’s almost hypnotic piano, along with crossing guitar lines which at times throb with a real intensity and all this contrasts with an amazing rhythm section, a classic cut without a doubt. Astronomy- A far cry from the album opener, with its melancholic feel and slow opening, before taking on a more up-tempo middle section and shows just how visionary this band were right to the end of the album, but nothing can quite prepare the listener for the spiralling outro section, which hits the listener like a soft brick and then its final windy section! On the 2001 re-issue of the album, there are a number of bonus songs such as “Boorman the Chauffeur” a light-hearted cut focusing on the once disappeared Nazi Boorman and is somewhat inspired by the Who’s “Boris the Spider”. “Mommy” A crunching bass song and based around humour. “Mes Dames Serat” Easily the best of the bonus tracks and dominated by both guitar and drums and finally there is a cover of the song made famous by Steppenwolf “Born to be Wild”.

Verdict
Secret Treaties marks the end of the band’s black and white period and the brilliance of the album lies in its musical textures, along with Sandy Pearlman’s multi-layering thus giving us another muddy ambiguous mix, but this time with greater clarity. The twin guitar attack by Bloom and Dharma contrasts so majestically at times with Bouchard’s bass, along with some outstanding work by Lainier’s again on both rhythm and keyboards, yet again it is he that gels the whole band's sound together! This combination basically serves up a musical lesson on how a cohesive band of five highly talented individuals can function as a collective whole and without any wastage. The songs on Secret Treaties just seem to run seamlessly and songs like “Career of Evil” “Subhuman” ”Harvester of Eyes” “Flaming Telepaths” and the closing “Astronomy” example this to perfection, in fact there’s not a dud in sight! The album also shows us, just how effortlessly the band have added new ideas and musical add-ons to their traditional sound, the process had already started on Tyranny and Mutation and then completed right here! Most of the songs on Secret Treaties seem to have an up-tempo beat, whether that is from the guitars or the drums and this factor drives right through the whole album, and ultimately provides both its essence and soul. It does this by presenting us with a landscape of constantly shifting sounds, as the album moves in and out of both darkness and shadows in an almost seamless way. BOC are a band that desperately need multiple listens and so whether this brilliance sinks into the listener’s subconscious on the first or tenth listen, it’s sure to get its message across in the end! In fact the only detraction for me on this classic album, is that Buck Dharma doesn’t sing on any of the album’s songs as he had done on their first two albums, as this time Eric Bloom sings lead on every song, with the exception of “Cagey Cretins” which is co-sung with the Bouchard brothers. Despite that slight and a very small one at that, before us stands one of the very best albums of the decade, from a band that were able to go to musical dimensions that few could follow and they managed to do that without ever treading down the progressive rock avenue!

^^^

Is it just me, or are some of those sorta homoerotic?

Now you mention it, you do have a point!

Nice take on the BOC Soldier. I was forced to lisen to that (as well as others) every morning before school since my brother would play BOC every day. It took a while for me to actually get into it, and when I did I had found a new respect for my bro.

Glad to see that you've agreed with my assessment about BOC, a hard band for non-believers to get into (**** I sound like the illustrious Batlord here!)

Seriously, Aerosmith looks like they're all about to gangbang Steven Tyler.

Also Check This Out........
This is an extra album from the same year that I've chosen, that either just missed the final cut, I think could be of interest, or even from a different genre that could be of interest or influence on the hard rock/heavy metal genre.


The Granicus debut is long forgotten gem of an album, from a Cleveland quintet (that’s Cleveland Ohio btw and not Cleveland in the UK) and it turned out to be one of the most energetic hard rock releases of 1973, and also got missed off my 1973 list……which is why it’s featuring here! The album comes across as a revved up Led Zeppelin and with a strong really edgy overall nervous sound. Just listening to the album opener “You’re in America” pledges the band’s credentials firmly on the listener! The band with all their nervous energy, truly give us a heavy workout that embraces their core psychedelic and even progressive tendencies, which are all wrapped up in the hard rock genre and they do this by going straight for the jugular most of the time! The band despite being off the leash, still manage to stay in middle of the road territory as it were and never get weird on us like the Flower Travellin’ Band for example! The album is not all about energy either and the band do the softer side of things equally well, as can be heard on the delightful instrumental “Twilight” and the opening section of “Prayer” before it enters expected Granicus territory, and this lighter melodic tone can be noticed on a few of the songs. Now for me to rate an album so highly the playing needs to be good as well and “Nightmare” from that perspective is probably the best. There are a number of albums in this journal so far and especially those of American bands, that had slipped through the net of success back in the early 1970s and this was certainly one of those albums and not to be missed. Just after one studio album, this outfit decided to call it quits and according to a couple of websites, the band had put together material for a second release, which of course never happened. The band got back together in 2010 but after 37 years I’m guessing nobody remembers them!

 

Albums that missed the cut.........
Other good albums worth checking out that were also released in 1974, but weren't quite good enough to make the top 10 and are listed below in no set order, so the best of the rest:

Thin Lizzy
Nightlife 1974
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bpZnFM99vw...e+-+Folder.jpg
The album where the band became four and the first that constituted the classic line-up. This is an accomplished album, that focuses of the softer side of the band and despite not reaching the heights of some of their classic period albums, should still be listened to!

Montrose
Paper Money 1974
http://doclehman.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/mom5.jpg
Often regarded as a disappointing follow-up to the hard rocking debut set, but in reality it’s far from a weak album and has some of the band’s best and most original material ever. Song for song though, it does sit behind the first and third albums overall.

Grand Funk
Shinin’ On 1974
http://fs31.www.ex.ua/show/57650465/57650465.jpg?200
After their impressive comeback album the year before, the band retained the services of Todd Rundgren and produced another set of vibrant songs. The album had the songs of We’re An American Band, but they weren’t as well executed as on that album. The band also released the unconvincing All the Girls in the World Beware!!! in 1974 as well.

Rush
Rush 1974
http://destination-rock.com/rockint/images/rush.jpg
The Rush debut was essentially a hard rock effort and a far cry in many ways from the progressive rock sound that they would become iconic with. A steady debut but ultimately let down by its mish-mash bluesy riffs without ever finding their true melody.

Elf
LA.59 1974
http://thumbs3.ebaystatic.com/d/l225...T3f1oYNE_w.jpg
The best all round album that the band put out and the heavy boogie blues sound is carried across on the strength of Dio’s powerful voice. It was around this time, that the Roger Glover connection to Ritchie Blackmore would later blossom for vocalist Dio.

Scorpions
Fly to the Rainbow 1974
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...he_Rainbow.jpg
The band are still trying to find their way here, but on this album they at least showed the sound that that they would become synonymous for as time went on. There is some interesting material on this album, such a shame about the terrible album cover though!

..... and too good to be left off!
Trapeze
Hot Wire 1974
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With Glenn Hughes having decamped to Deep Purple, Mel Galley took over on vocals and gave us a solid workout with the classic Trapeze sound and a number of these songs are good enough to make it on any previous album by the band.

It should be said that I’ve never been much of a Queen fan at all, but credit where its due, as the band were truly capable of portraying a sound that at the same time ensconced elements of hard rock, heavy metal, progressive rock and theatrical rock all in a viable commercial sound. The band presented their musical array as a densely layered sound, with operatic overtones and was able to appeal to glamsters, rockers and popsters. The band was always stable with Roger Taylor, John Deacon and Brian May with his coin picking guitar style providing the backbone of the band. But of course it was vocalist Freddie Mercury, who was the undoubted frontman and shining light of the band. The consummate frontman and with a voice to die for, which was full of distinctive power, that was able to saunter from heavy edged rockers to casual humour with equal aplomb. Queen were certainly able to compose great songs that kept within the style of the band, but these songs were often few and far between compared to some of their main rivals back in the 1970s and the band may well have been one of the best advocates around, for knowing how to bulk out their albums with quality filler based around the voice of Freddie Mercury! Their debut album the eponymous Queen, an album that is often cited as being a great album by some critics, is in reality no more than an album based around a collection of ideas, rather than being an album of any real substance and quality. The band though came into their own with their second album Queen II which was an album I never used to like that much, but have recently come to think of it as an album that really showcases the band’s sound perfectly and is a major step up from the debut album. Their major breakthrough came on Sheer Heart Attack and was the band’s boldest and heaviest statement, before the band switched over to their more overblown rock epics of the mid-1970s. Taking the band for what they were, rather than dissecting them quality wise, is probably the best way to look at Queen, because they offered the heavy genre of the 1970s, a very viable commercial outlet whilst showcasing their excesses.

The Album
After the trashy clatter of the debut album, it was more of the same for the Dolls again the following year, but this time the esteemed Todd Rundgren had been substituted by Shadow Morton on production duties. Again the band gave us another round of rock ‘n’ roll vibes rooted in the 1950s, but this time around the guitars had a cleaner feel and a greater use of studio effects has been employed on the album overall, just listen to the opening track “Babylon” here in regards to this. The difference in the albums, is rather similar in some ways to the first two albums that the Jimi Hendrix Experience put out in Are You Experienced? and Axis:Bold as Love, but of course the difference between the Doll’s albums, is nowhere near as extreme as the difference between those albums! Overall Too Much Too Soon has a far cleaner feel than its predecessor, but without ever removing the manic demeanour that made the debut set so essential. Again the tendency is for the songs to focus around rock ‘n’ roll clatter, but a heavier proto-punk numbers such as “It’s Too Late” with its bluesy feel almost steps into the Stooge’s territory at times. Then there is a blazing cover of the Sonny Boy Williamson’s Don’t Start Me Talkin’ and the album closes with the gutsy sounding “Human Being”. The album might not be as essential as the debut, but it still packs a real punch.

The band folded the following year whilst on tour and before the band could reform three of its original members had passed away, and for many a year the Dolls always held the pedestal as one of those cult bands that were always cool to know about. It was the advent of punk in the late 1970s and the glam metal genre in the 1980s, that actually cemented the influence of the Dolls into the annals of rockdom. Never again would a band be quite so trashy and sleazy as the Dolls, even though Motley Crue came damned close to them at times!

David Johansen- Vocals
Johnny Thunders- Guitar
Sylvian Sylvian- Rhythm
Arthur Kane- Bass
Jerry Nolan- Drums

Production- Shadow Morton

Bitchin' write up on Hawkwind, but the pic to their self-titled album isn't showing.

It's showing on mine but have put a different pic up now. Sometimes I find pics don't show but when you go out and then back on the page they show!

The mid 1970s were always something of a lean time as far as I’m concerned in the history of rockdom. Firstly the vibrant carry over from the late 1960s had long disappeared. Secondly progressive rock was on the slide and it would never recover itself as a main force again and glam rock had burst its bubble. Thirdly, the heavy genres of hard rock and heavy metal were both firmly established and finally middle of the road rock acts were dominating the charts both sides of the Atlantic. The quality of music though was certainly still there, but the creativity certainly wasn’t, it would be a few more years yet until creative boundaries were challenged again as they had at the start of the decade. But what the mid-1970s did give us depending on your point of view, were great production values with the aim of giving the listener a crisper overall listening experience, hence the birth of the highly polished AOR which would be especially dominant stateside. Like always though, the heavy genre threw up a whole host of quality albums that again had me deciding on what to leave out. Big boys such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple are again in the list, but this time for a last hurrah as these bands had truly reached their initial creative lifelines! The year also didn’t throw up much in the way of new acts making impressive albums either and it was more of a case, of other established bands putting out some of their best albums both quality wise and commercially. So the albums in the main top 10 list are very much the cream of what came out in 1975 and it’s one of those years were my own list probably marries itself completely, with other listings that I’ve seen on the internet for 1975.

Wow. That is one terrible cover.

There were some great albums in 1975, but they were mainly British: Sad Wings of Destiny by Judus Priest, Fish Rising by Steve Hillage, Recycled by Nektar, Drive On by Mott, Nightingales and Bombers by Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Kick Off Your Muddy Boots by the Graeme Edge Band and Budgie's Bandolier.

Go eat your cake.

I've got the Judas Priest album down as 1976, stuff like Steve Hillage and Nektar are too prog for this journal. I never thought of Mott's Drive On as a good album, maybe I'll listen to it again and Bandolier is definitely in my top 10.

I stand corrected, Sad Wings was March 1976, and, apologies, I keep forgetting the distinction between heavy and progressive rock.

Sad Wings was March 1976 (which I guess you meant to say)
Sad Wings of Destiny - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Corrected. I really should concentrate more!

Overview
Come Taste the Band is very much a cherished album in the Deep Purple discography, but that cherishment mostly comes from Purple fans themselves rather than from critics (who actually slated the album) or general music fans (who dismissed it as a weak effort) Come Taste the Band though, is the final album in a trio of albums that marked the Deep Purple MK.III line-up, that for all its fame and commercial appeal only managed to last a couple of years, and normally sits behind the MK.II line-up in preference of choice when it comes to Deep Purple line-ups. Anybody not familiar with Deep Purple and reading this, should note that Deep Purple never had any real stability in band personnel to the level of either Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath their main two rivals in world dominance! So for this reason alone, Deep Purple were the most diverse band of the three and presented the music world with three very different faces of rock. The original MK.I line-up had been a rather self-indulgent progressive rock band gradually shifting to heavy territory. The MK.II line-up was heaviness personified and the MK.III line-up interestingly sacrificed heaviness for a greater use of soul and funk! Of the three albums from this third line-up, Burn had seen the start of this musical transformation and kept the Purple fanbase happy with Ritchie’s stunning riffs, but it was Stormbringer that had been the risky album…….but the band got away with it! Come Taste the Band though, sounds very much like the third album of the three and in many ways it’s the hardest to classify, thus making it the most unique of the three! The uniqueness largely comes from the fact that Ritchie Blackmore had departed from the band, which easily could’ve meant the end of the road for the band as a whole, but thanks to the motivation of both David Coverdale and Jon Lord the band went on. They auditioned to replace the already legendary Ritchie Blackmore and finally hired American guitar maestro Tommy Bolin ex-Zephyr and the James Gang in a well-documented affair and he would actually become the most influential musician on the album in both performance and song writing! Come Taste the Band is the final offering from one of the most pivotal bands in the history of hard rock and metal and they wouldn’t record as a band again until the 1980s.

David Coverdale- Vocals
Glenn Hughes- Bass/Vocals
Tommy Bolin- Guitar
Jon Lord- Keyboards
Ian Paice- Drums

Production- Martin Birch

Album
Comin’ Home- With an energetic intro the opening track sounds exactly like an album opener and has the band pulling together and some good playing by Jon Lord on show and unsurprisingly Tommy Bolin’s lets it all hang out midway through the song. Lady Luck- A sweaty melodic cut best suited to the voice of David Coverdale and a typical sounding album track. Gettin’ Tighter- One of the best tracks on the album and highlighted by Glenn Hughes on vocals, as the song is a great example of easy listening rock, before moving into a totally unexpected funky soul section to throw the listener…. and then back into familiar rock territory. Dealer- Has an energetic feel like the opening track on the album, but just set at an overall slower pace in general. Following on from the sweaty melodic feel of “Lady Luck” this song is in similar vein, but I’m still not sure about the Tommy Bolin sung section on this song though! I Need Love-An archetypal track that David Coverdale would blueprint in the future with Whitesnake. Drifter- One of the genuinely heavy songs on the album and starts off the b-side of the album, and the track is interspersed with some pick-me-up sections and the promise of extended instrumental sections. Love Child- One of the best songs on the album and one of the times where the unexpected musical variation within the song works well. This Time Around/Owed to ‘G- A slow Glenn Hughes number and a strong piece of work and actually sounds like a future soft rock cut that Toto could’ve put out, before moving into some crunchier territory. You Keep On Moving- A strong album closer, based around songcraft and mood, to that of crunchy hard rock.

Verdict
Come Taste the Band is a good album but a patchy album overall and was probably too diverse for the band’s own good, largely due to its random musical variations within some of the songs, which at times do work and other times they don’t. The real saviour of the album though, must surely be the guitar work of Tommy Bolin, who not only came into the band to replace the legendary Ritchie Blackmore, but also proved to be equally as good as Ritchie Blackmore with his guitar work! But that’s where the comparisons really end, as Tommy Bolin who had worked with the James Gang previously and did an outstanding feature spot on the Moxy debut (on my 1976 list) now gave the funky soul influenced sound of Deep Purple a very different injection and feel to that of Ritchie Blackmore! In fact by all accounts and purposes, anybody unfamiliar with Deep Purple and listening to this album, would swear it was the work of an American band and that’s largely down to Tommy Bolin’s influence on the album! David Coverdale as expected does the lion’s share of the singing, as both Glenn Hughes and Jon Lord for large chunks of the album, seemingly take a back seat in proceedings…… it’s almost like both know the band’s tenure is almost up! But Come Taste the Band does have a lot of very good material such as the unexpected “Gettin’ Tighter” which has some great guitar flourishes by Tommy Bolin and the heavy plodding of “Love Child” is another very good song, in fact it’s the b-side where this album is really at and the final two songs “This Time Around/Owed to ‘G” and “You Keep on Moving” further this point. So how does Come Taste the Band rank in this trio of albums? It probably ranks as the best of the three albums in scope, despite lacking the hard rock crunch and spark of Burn, whose more basic rocking sound based around riffs, will probably appeal to most listeners, but it certainly has a far better execution that the somewhat subdued Stormbringer album. In many ways Come Taste the Band is a most unexpected final album from the band in the 1970s and came about largely due to the shining light of Tommy Bolin! The shining light of the band sparked out just after this album, as did that of the highly gifted Tommy Bolin who overdosed on heroin the following year.


Dio- Vocals
Ritchie Blackmore- Guitar
Mickey Lee Soule- Keyboards
Craig Gruber- Bass-
Gary Driscoll- Drums

Production- Rainbow

Album
Man on the Silver Mountain- Slow, ponderous and deliberate, and in many ways the perfect template to the envisioned sound that Ritchie Blackmore wanted to achieve with his new project. Self Portrait- Another slow track that really sounds like a throwback to Deep Purple, but it’s a song that gives over to repeated listens with a lot to offer and a strong track overall. Black Sheep of the Family- A cover of the Quatermass song and basically smacks of filler! Catch the Rainbow- One of the visionary songs of the album and at six minutes has the trappings of an epic and maintains its constant pace throughout. Snake Charmer- An average rocker that is kind of saved by a nice bridge section that appears a couple of times throughout the song. The Temple of the King- A well-paced track that’s highlighted by the vocals of Dio and superbly accompanied by the rest of the band, might be the best track on the album! You Don’t Like Rock ‘n’ Roll- Another one of those radio-friendly rockers that really doesn’t offer that much. Sixteenth Century Greensleeves- A harder rocking track that really does justice to the album overall. Still I’m Sad-An instrumental that’s a cover of the Yardbirds song (their version had vocals though)
and the album could've done with a stronger closer.

Verdict
Most double headers here are by the same band, but I’ve qualified the Rainbow debut thanks to the Ritchie Blackmore link. The Rainbow debut is far from a great album, but it does have and offers the groundwork for the following year’s classic Rising album! Rainbow came about after Ritchie Blackmore had walked out on Deep Purple and teamed up with a certain Ronnie James Dio, already a diminutive journeyman vocalist with an awesome set of lungs, who despite having shown his worth with the bluesy Elf, desperately needed more quality material to demonstrate his stunning vocal talent. He decamped with the rest of the Elf outfit after the recording of their third album Trying to Burn the Sun to team up with Ritchie Blackmore. Rainbow would effectively be the band that ushered in the long forgotten term ‘Dragon Rock’ which as the name suggests, was music steeped in fantasy sword & sorcery settings and medieval themes, and Rainbow themselves would go onto perfect this sound on their following album. But great examples of this sound and the style and imagery that it evoked, can be heard on the albums stalwart songs such as “Man on the Silver Mountain” “Catch the Rainbow” and “The Temple of the King” songs that have a deliberate overblown feel, but keep well within the confines of the genre. Quite often both Ritchie Blackmore and Dio gain a lot of credit for creating this kind of sound, but I’d say the whole concept kind of just fell into place, as Ritchie Blackmore had already laid some of the groundwork for the Rainbow sound on the Stormbringer album the previous year with Deep Purple (albeit stripping out all the funky and soul elements from that album though) But just listening to the title track “Stormbringer” and “The Gypsy” from that album both superbly sung by David Coverdale, could’ve equally have been sung by Dio and featured on the Rainbow debut. What actually lets the Rainbow debut down though, is its over reliance on filler and songs that don’t really connect with the future sound of the band and this can be heard on a number of tracks like the cover of “Black Sheep of the Family” the out of place “Snake Charmer” the poor “You Don’t Like Rock ‘n’ Roll” and the instrumental “Still I’m Sad” not bad but not really necessary. In general the Rainbow debut actually sounds like Ritchie Blackmore attempting to roll the clock back a couple of years, to just before Burn was recorded…….. it was almost like him trying to dismiss the MK.III version of Deep Purple and here he has composed with Dio a reflective sounding type of heavy rock, which would fully give way to the more grandiose designs of ‘Dragon Rock’ on the next album.

Why no "Overview" of Rainbow? And I only just bought and listened to the album less than a month ago, but you seem to give all the fun, straight up rock songs short shrift. If "If You Don't Like Rock'n'Roll" doesn't get your blood pumping then you might in fact be dead.

At the time, the first Rainbow album came as a breath of fresh air, with Deep Purple becoming a bit stale. Also, Elf, in my view, were not great. Burn and Come Taste the Band are good albums (Stormbringer is weak with a couple of standout tracks), but the band were moving further away from being Deep Purple. Black Sheep of the Family always sounded like a Deep Purple song and Quatermass were signed to Purple Records, so it was understandable when Blackmore recorded his own version.

You are right in that Blackmore was attempting to turn back the clock, as he did not like the Glenn Hughes funk element. I think Blackmore's Rainbow is a consistently strong album which took me back to the days of Machine Head. Man on the Silver Mountain became Blackmore's new Smoke on the Water for a while.

There were several revitalised bands/musicians in the mid-seventies, besides Blackmore's Rainbow. The other was Mott, born out of a stagnating Mott the Hoople. Luther Grosvenor was a pioneering guitarist, but not right for Mott the Hoople and he went on to Steve Ellis's promising, but short-lived, Widowmaker. Ronnie Dio, of course, reappeared in Sabbath, on the surprisingly good Heaven and Hell.

Keep playing the album US (at number 11 on your amp), and you may change your mind.

The band changed in style because Blackmore, having replaced the Elf guitarist with himself in order to make them Rainbow, sacked the remainder with the exception of Dio. Blackmore was prone to cutting off his nose to spite his face and should not have sacked Mickey Lee Soule on keyboards.

If you look, there is never an 'Overview' section of albums that appear in the second part of the 'Double Header' section. It's because the second album is by the same band normally and has already been covered in the first overview of the band. The Rainbow entry was an exception to this, but I still worked it like it was by the same band (Ritchie Blackmore link) and also to stop me writing an extra one! As Rainbow are on the list the following year, they'll get their own overview then.

Many years ago I used to think of this album as great, but over the last few years I've seen how flawed and patchy it really is. You're listening to this album and it's quite new to you. Every album I've reviewed so far, I've always tried to assess it in the context of its time and what was happening at that time, and also the motivations (if any) of the band at the time. Ritchie Blackmore always struck me as a deliberate artist who knew what he wanted and I don't think fun and humour was that high on his list. The Rainbow debut has some very obvious filler and some rushed sounding songs to bulk up the quality tracks on the album. There was a lot of fun sounding stuff around that time from bands like Kiss and NYD and they did humour far better than Rainbow could. The song you mentioned actually sounds like an average radio track from the time.

Anyway grasshopper keep up the observations!

I'll grant you Rainbow did sound very fresh and that certainly shows on about half the album.

That is just an observation reached by me, I've not read it anywhere and throughout my reviews I always try to look for some kind of reasoning behind what bands and artists do, whether I'm correct or not is another matter.

Guess what I listened to Mott's Drive On and I now agree it's a good album! I'm surprised you said Heaven and Hell was just good! Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules along with the Dio debut, are some of the greatest metal albums of their era and well beyond just good:band:

Ritchie Blackmore has spent most of his career doing that, but in this case I think he was justified in getting rid of the Elf members minus Dio from the band. Elf were essentially a blues rock band and Rainbow were offering something very different.

Overview
By the time of their third album the hard rocking Montrose had not made the commercial breakthrough that was expected. Their debut album which would become a much revered set in the future didn’t break them into the big time (on my 1973 review list) and their more diverse and interesting second set Paper Money failed to ignite the charts as well. So it was probably no surprise then, that the ambitious Sammy Hagar packed his bags and decided to up sticks and embark on a solo career. The band also said adios to producer Ted Templeman, whose commercial style production really should’ve been just what the doctor had ordered, considering his track record with bands up to that point! Sammy Hagar was soon replaced by the excellent and unheard of Bob James, a Ohioan native who had already been knocking around the LA music scene in a Montrose based cover band of all things! The band also decided and keeping with current musical trends, to become a quintet by hiring unknown keyboardist Roy Alcivar, who would go onto become part of Gamma later on in the decade. The band after putting their third album together, then decided to set up shop at the Record Plant LA to record what would be known as Warner Bros. Presents… Montrose! In many ways this was truly a group effort, as it’s one of those albums that was composed by the band as a whole and the band members share credits on nearly all of the original tracks on the album. The interesting album cover also featured ‘a big movie’ production type feel, probably in an effort to garner more commercial success for the band. But as with the previous two albums Warner Bros. Presents… Montrose! would again fail to sell any significant amounts of copies, and more than likely nowhere near what Warner Brothers were looking for. The first three Montrose albums are actually quite distinct in a number of ways and all three have their highs and lows, but the a-side of this album might rank song for song as their strongest effort.

Bob James- Vocals
Ronnie Montrose- Guitar
Bill Church- Bass
Roy Alcivar- Keyboards
Danny Carmassi- Drums

Production- Ronnie Montrose


Album
Matriarch- Bob James’ rocky voice starts off the song and we instantly go into a Deep Purplesque style opening rocker. This is a song that’s full of energy and the keyboards of Roy Alcivar are used to great effect here. All I Need- An acoustic softer number that probably had the band eyeing a single here. The song is then beefed up by a heavier chorus and main section, before going back into softer territory again. Twenty Flight Rock- A great cover of the Eddie Cochran song written by Ned Fairchild. Whaler- Essentially a progressive rock track by the band, which features a guest-spot by Novi Novog on the viola, this is my favourite track on the whole album. Dancin’ Feet- A straight up rocker and later performed by Van Halen as a cover song. Oh Lucky Man- A keyboard driven cover of the Alan Price song, that featured on the British film of the same name. One and a Half- A 1 minute plus acoustic instrumental courtesy of Ronnie Montrose. Clown Woman- A sluggish bluesy rocker that smacks of being a weaker tracker, but does have some nice bluesy slide-guitar by Ronnie Montrose. Black Train- Without a doubt the best track by miles on the b-side of the album, this is a pacey effort which features some of Ronnie Montrose’s best guitar work on the whole album.

Verdict
Warner Bros. Presents… Montrose! is quite simply an album that has a chilled out feel at times and there are times when it works really well and times when it doesn’t work at all. The best tracks on the album include “Matriarch” “All I Need” and “Whaler” which are on the first side of the album, and then of course there is the album closer “Black Train” which is a really stellar track overall. This is an album that is highlighted by the quality of the artists on show, rather than the quality of the material available. Fifty percent of Warner Bros. Presents… Montrose! ranks as the band’s best work, whilst the other fifty percent is screaming out to be improved upon! As expected the artistic quality is led by Ronnie Montrose on guitar, but he is equally matched at times by the excellent newbie Roy Alcivar on keyboards and both Bill Church and Danny Carmassi don’t miss a beat on bass and drums. But it’s Bob James’ vocals that are a revelation at times and despite being far less known than Sammy Hagar, he’s a vocalist of wider scope than Sammy Hagar and was a great vocal talent that deserved far more than just disappearing into the cruel obscurity of rockdom. In many ways he reminds me of Harry Shaw of Hard Stuff, who after leaving the band, was hardly ever heard of again! Bob James’ vocals on the first three songs of the album which are “Matriarch” “All I Need” and “Twenty Flight Rock” all basically display his prowess as a vocalist. In these three songs he gives us hard rocking power, soft and melodic composure, and some real rock ‘n’ roll energy, but his best is saved for the a-side closer the excellent “Whaler”. Now this is an album where the stronger material certainly sits on the first side of the album and therefore Warner Bros. Presents… Montrose! takes a definite nose-dip quality wise on its b-side, which is a shame really, because had the b-side of the album been up to the same quality as the a-side, Warner Bros. Presents… Montrose! would’ve been much higher up on the 1975 year listings. After this album the band for their fourth effort, would hire producer Jack Douglas of then Aerosmith fame for the album, but by then it was business as usual for the band with poor sales and that album also proved to be the band’s weakest effort, and it was clear the band would never achieve what they’d set out to originally do. It would take later take the Montrose connection to Van Halen (especially through Sammy Hagar) to revive the memory of Montrose. The album Warner Bros. Presents…. Montrose! effectively pulls the curtain down on a band, that should’ve achieved far more success than they ever attained.

Overview
After returning from their year-long sabbatical, the godfathers of metal Black Sabbath would record their sixth album Sabotage and it would be the first Black Sabbath album that was indicative of the cracks starting to appear in the Osbourne/Iommi relationship within the band! Before this Black Sabbath like most bands had had their internal issues most notably with Bill Ward, but they always gelled when it mattered. The band had also never been afraid to experiment and these experiments had usually worked well, as long as the band had never wandered too far away from the sound they had dominated and mastered over the last several years. Vol.4 had been their most diverse and freshest sounding release to date, and that album had been a Sabbath masterpiece….. something that Sabotage would desperately struggle to match! Sabotage in many ways was a continuation of the previous Sabbath Bloody Sabbath album, in that the band decided to build off the trademark blackness of that album and its proggy designs, along with harking back to the commercial appeal of Vol.4 at times as well. The band this time around, went in for a far greater integration of synthesizers overall, rather than the external featuring sound of synthesizers that had appeared on the previous Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. The band would also continue with their prolonged technical approaches to the recording of the album, something which had become a mainstay of the band now, making the current Sabbath production practices a world away from their early days! Sabotage as an album is also regarded as containing some of Ozzy’s most ambitious vocal performances to date and that is certainly an achievement, as a lot of the material on the album is not that easy to go with from a vocalist’s perspective. In fact I think this comment which I’ve seen on a number of album reviews at the time of the album’s release, may well have gone to Ozzy’s head, as he upped and left after this album for a brief period. The album cover also denotes a band bathing in the luxury of being one of the biggest bands on the planet with the band members looking plush in front of a gold trimmed mirror.

Ozzy Osbourne- Vocals
Tony Iommi- Guitar
Geezer Butler- Bass
Bill Ward- Drums
(Synthesizer contributions from most of the band members)

Production- Black Sabbath

Album
Hole in the Sky- The big album opener is a plodding brooding heavy number that follows the standard verse-chorus workout, often regarded as one of the strongest songs on the album. Don’t Start (Too Late)- The typical soft instrumental ditty that we are now accustomed to but this time synths are pushed into the mix. Symptom of the Universe- With its lethal Tony Iommi riff, this is Black Sabbath with a cherry on top….. so need I say more? The only possible negative might be the chilled out sounding outro which grates to Ozzy’s voice and does seem a bit overly long. Meglomania- The most ambitious track on the whole album and the band wade into proggy territory here big time, the song often splits opinion and I think the band miss here more than they hit. Thrill of it All- Starts off the b-side of the album and is one of the energetic heavy workouts on the album and sounds like a standard Sabbath track, but this time with the use of synthesizers. Supertzar- An epic instrumental and certainly a departure from the standard acoustic or soft instrumental the band normally give the listener, whilst serving as a lead out track to the bludgeoning heavy follow-up. Supertzar is a self contained song and the most creative instrumental the band ever did. Am I Going Insane (Radio)- The band at their most accessible and often seen as the most poppy the band ever got and rivals “Changes” as a big hit and the song features some manic laughter at the end. The Writ- The second longest song on the album and a solid workout by the band and some great band lyrics as well, and of the extended songs on the album this one works the best.

Verdict
Sabotage is regarded as the final album in the classic Black Sabbath run of six albums and very few bands in the history of music regardless of genre, can boast such a feat. But I’d put Sabotage a couple of pegs down quality wise from at least four of the other albums in this classic run. Sabotage probably sits on a ledge with the debut quality wise, but then again this is an unfair comparison as both albums are literally worlds apart and comparing them makes about as much sense as comparing say an early Beatles album to that of a latter Beatles album.....the early Sabbath sound was heavy and dark, whilst the songs on Sabotage are production virtuosos. Also what makes Sabotage different from a lot of Sabbath’s other work, is the fact that the band avoid the standard verse-chorus format on a lot of the songs and by eschewing this, they offer us a different kettle of fish altogether, and give us album with heavy synthesizer overload, an area that the band would explore further to rather disappointing results! The album is largely known for the two great salvos of “Hole in the Sky” and “Symptom of the Universe” and the latter song is without doubt one of the best songs in the whole Sabbath canon. It’s fast, menacing and that riff hits the jugular everytime! In fact this riff is so good, that it might be solely responsible for the future “New Wave of British Heavy Metal” movement as I reckon half of those bands that heard “Symptom of the Universe” must’ve picked up their guitars straight after hearing this song and vowing to form a metal band! Another stellar track is surely the epic sounding “Supertzar” which serves as an example where the band’s experimentation definitely ticked all the right boxes. But where Sabotage lets itself down, is in the fact that there are a couple of ambitious songs, that just hang in the balance on just how good they really are and “Meglomania” is a song that fits into this category perfectly. The song is both murky and sullen, and extremely ambitious at nine plus minutes. It touches into proggy and extensive musical territory, an area where Black Sabbath have tended to struggle at times but “Meglomania” does have a great mood, but its overall execution leaves a lot to be desired! The same can be said for the “Thrill of it All” which takes the standard Black Sabbath sound and enhances it through the use of synthesizers, and the end result doesn’t overly give us an immediate thrill! "The Writ” on the other hand is one of those borderline songs, that comes away with a thumbs up. Overall the band played it safe (they took far more risks on their following albums) and “Am I Going Insane (Radio)” is an example of this safety just in case they needed a radio hit to bale themselves out.

I first heard Sabotage as an American import and there was some delay before it was released in the UK, which seemed strange at the time but is even more ridiculous now. Ozzy Osbourne, in an interview with Tommy Vance, said the NEMs label ripped them off, so although they sold lots of copies, they made nothing.

I agree that Symptom of the Universe is one one of their best tracks and has a fantasic riff. It's that quiet intro and then they launch into stripping the paint from your walls. 'Lethal' and 'jugular' are good words for this track. Although the recording seemed a bit bass-y or grunge-y at the time, this album is up there with Judus Priest's Sad Wings and Budgie's Bandolier for sheer heaviness.

Overview
By the time of Fighting Thin Lizzy were already veterans of four studio albums, but it would be on Fighting their fifth studio album, that they would finally find their true musical niche and finally give us their trademark sound. This sound had been noticed on earlier releases, but it finally all slotted into place on Fighting. Originally the Dublin based rock outfit had composed of Phil Lynott on bass and vocals, Eric Bell on guitar and Robert Downey on drums. This three piece band in the vein of their heroes the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream had recorded two early albums, the debut Thin Lizzy and its sophomore Shades of a Blue Orphanage, these were two rock albums with a folky slant, that at best were scraping poor to average and not taking the band anywhere special! By the time of their third album Vagabonds of the Western World, the band had seen a marked improvement in their output and the album contained some early Lizzy essentials in “Mama Nature Said” “The Rocker” “Little Girl in Bloom” and the hit single, and one of their most famous tracks “Whiskey in a Jar” and Just when the band looked to be on their big breakthrough, uncharismatic guitarist Eric Bell bailed out leaving Phil Lynott the undisputed leader of the band. The remaining two band members Lynott and Downey, then engaged dual guitarists in American Scott Gorham and Scot Brian Robertson, this move would prove to be a masterstroke and gave the band the option of the dual guitar attack which would become synonymous with band, as it had already done with the Allman Brothers Band and Wishbone Ash to name just two. The dual guitar attack would of course go on to become a cornerstone of the future heavy metal movement as seen by bands such as Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, demonstrating just how influential Thin Lizzy would be. This concept of the dual power attack though, made their fourth release Nightlife something of a surprise considering how subdued it was, but despite that Nightlife remained their best album to date (that album and the previous are on my albums that missed the cut section…….. for 1973 and 1974) If Nightlife felt subdued, then 1975’s Fighting would address this slight in almost every aspect!

Phil Lynott- Bass/Vocals
Scott Gorham- Guitar
Brian Robertson- Guitar
Brian Downey- Drums

Production- Phil Lynott

Album
Rosalie- The album starts off to a punchy and energetic cover of the Bob Seger penned song and the band quickly make it their own. For Those That Love to Live- Great drumming intro by Brian Downey before Phil Lynott slips in with his concise and soulful vocals, and the song contains some great interplay overall. Suicide- An older song recorded when Eric Bell was in the band and a rolling rocker punctuated with great guitar work that dominates throughout. Wild One- One of the best known tracks from the album and another one of the signature Phil Lynott tracks, that can found across the band’s classic period. Fighting My Way Back- One of the lighter songs on the album and has the band very much playing within the confines of their own sound. King’s Vengeance- A mid-paced heavier song, that shows the band mixing it up between acoustic guitar and some powerful heavy rocking at times. Spirits Slips Away- A somewhat brooding start before flowing into a melodic main section, before slipping back into its gentle brooding feel again. Silver Dollar- With a boogie feel this song was penned by Brian Robertson. Freedom Song- With now with what seems like a trademark Thin Lizzy sound that has been around for years, this is a very strong latter album track. Ballad of a Hard Man- As the name suggests, the album closes with a crunchy guitar based rocker, which would be carried over to Jailbreak the following year.

Verdict
From the word go “Rosalie” the album opener, has an energetic rocking feel that is characteristic of the album as a whole and this hard edged power is pushed even higher on songs like “Suicide” and “Ballad of a Hard Man” which are prime examples of this harder feel. These songs though, are in contrast to the Phil Lynott penned “For Those About to Live” “Wild One” and “Freedom” which are typical soulful sounding Phil Lynott material, and these are songs that sound like a harder rocking Bruce Springsteen or Van Morrison at times, but with riffs that are distinctly Thin Lizzy. Then there are songs like the mournful sounding “Spirits Slips Away” another Phil Lynott delight and the latter album track “Freedom Song”, which almost sounds like a combination of some of the more soulful melodic earlier material on the album. Then there is “Fighting My Way Back” which is a song that is in contrast to a lot of the material on the album, as it has the band playing in a more controlled manner and serves as a great example of the band’s commercial aspirations….. at least to please the record label! The album really shines with its expected twin guitar attack between Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson and these two are practically over everything on the album anyway! But the undisputed star of the album has to be main man Phil Lynott, who I’ve purposefully held back on praising so far, but here is a frontman that was possibly one of the most unique of his generation. Here was an artist that had an uncanny grasping of being able to blend diverse musical styles into one melting pot and come out with a unique concoction and to that he added his poetic lyrics and ‘an outlaw with a broken heart voice’ he was really one of a kind! Now despite the praise that I’ve heaped on the album, the songs it should be said as a whole, do fall short of the album being labelled as a classic! The songs are there in essence, but a bit more songcraft could’ve taken the whole thing up a notch or two and for this reason alone, it’s the individual components of the band working in unison, that carry the whole thing through. Fighting is an excellent album that saw a three-way marriage between the harmonizing guitar work of both Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson to that of drummer Brian Downey, with Phil Lynott’s cool rocking demeanour as the icing on the cake. Fighting is pivotal in the band’s discography, as without it……..the following year’s Jailbreak wouldn’t have been possible!

Both of those albums are on this and next year's list.

Overview
1975 may not have been quite as strong as some other years, but it certainly had a slew of albums that had some stunning guitar work and Hair of the Dog is one of the very best around. Hair of the Dog was the band’s sixth studio release and would be regarded as their best album by critics, along with being their biggest seller! The band reached their zenith in the 1975 and 1976 period on both sides of the pond and they turned out to be one of the biggest sellers stateside that year as well. Their popularity had come about through heavy touring and producing a heavy riff-laden sound, that was propelled by the guitar of Manny Charlton and accompanied by the rocking whiskey soaked wail of Dan McCafferty who was also crucial to the band’s sound. At the height of the band’s popularity in 1975, Dan McCafferty also released his debut solo album the same year and given his love of cover songs, it was no surprise then that he did an album’s worth of covered material (can’t comment on that album as I’ve never heard it) The band also decided to depart with the services of Roger Glover who had been pivotal as a producer on their previous three albums and now guitarist Manny Charlton who had been involved with the production on those three albums, now sat in the production chair himself! The US version of the album differed from that of the UK/worldwide release, in that it featured a cover of the Everly Brothers hit single “Love Hurts” (I never thought they’d be mentioned in this journal) in place of the Randy Newman cover “Guilty” which was for the UK and the rest of the world. Whilst “Love Hurts” is a smoochy choice, it was destined to be one of the band’s biggest hits and featured as the third song on the album for the US market, ironic really as I think the Randy Newman cover “Guilty” to be a much stronger track overall! The album name comes from the English colloquial expression ‘hair of the dog’ which means consuming more alcohol to lessen the effects of an existing hangover….. an album name quite appropriate for this band! The band have also made a departure from some of their earlier album covers and now gone for a more fantasy style cover imagery.

Dan McCafferty- Vocals
Manny Charlton- Guitar
Pete Agnew- Bass
Darrell Sweet- Drums

Production- Manny Charlton

Album
Hair of the Dog- With its cowbell driven drumbeat and throbbing guitar of Manny Charlton, the title track is the perfect opening song for the album and sets the tone for much of what follows. Miss Misery- Doomy track about a bad romance, which features Dan McCafferty’s whisky soaked wail at its very best and the song is a great example of a very strong second album track. Guilty- A cover of the Randy Newman song and the band actually work this song very well. Changin’ Times- Dominated by Manny Charlton’s circular sounding riffs that push the song ever onward. The song then moves up another tempo for its final section with its long instrumental outro, it’s one of the best songs on the album. a) Beggars Day b) Rose in the Heather- The first part of the song is a stomping rocker of real gusto, before it transforms into its second part which is a gentler synthesizer based part of the song. Whiskey Drinkin’ Woman- The bluesy southern rock song of the album and again even in a light-hearted mood, the band execute this song well. Please Don’t Judas Me- The closing highlight of the album, is a brooding piece that shares a great mixture of heavy metal riffs and a synthesizer based leads and both combine to killer effect, the song always seems to breeze through its 9 plus minutes and a vital track in the band’s discography. “Love Hurts” track three on the US edition instead of “Guilty” is basically just a smoochy sounding cover, largely designed to give the band a hit single. There are a number of bonus editions of this album and the following two tracks “Down” and “Railroad Boy” usually feature on these.

Verdict
As expected Nazareth carry the heaviness of Loud ‘n’ Proud and Rampant right across to this album, and evidence of that can be heard on the throbbing album opener and title track “Hair of the Dog” an essential track in every way. Then we move onto the slowed down brilliant second track “Miss Misery” which actually sounds like a slowish-paced Black Sabbath track at times and has Manny Charlton doing his guitar chores as well as Tony Iommi could on this type of song. Then there is “Changin’ Times” which is a song that even Led Zeppelin would’ve been proud to call their own, as there are real similarities here with the Led Zeppelin sound on this song, largely due to its circular sounding riff and if Manny Charlton matched Tony Iommi on the earlier track, he more than matches Jimmy Page here! Overall the album is so solid, that experimental tracks such as “Beggars Day/Rose in the Heather” work a real treat and add some diversity to the proceedings, the band of course have always flirted with experimental features on their previous releases and here these experimental flirtations are at a minimum, largely due to the tightness of the rest of the album overall. In fact there isn’t even a weak track on this whole album and even lesser tracks such as “Whisky Drinkin’ Woman” with its pulsating beat still sounds great! Finally there is “Please Don’t Judas Me” without doubt the showpiece track of the album and a track the band had spent much of their career building towards and a vital song to the hard rock genre of its time! Now whilst I’d put this album alongside Loud ‘n’ Proud as the band’s finest hour, this release might just nick Loud ‘n’ Proud at the finishing post, basically for the simple reason that it doesn’t have one weak track and it’s certainly the band’s most accomplished release that still manages to stay within the hard rocking sound of the band. Hair of the Dog serves as one of the perfect definitions of the hard rock genre in the 1970s!

My memory of Hair of the Dog is that the title track was released as a single, but was withdrawn after BBC Radio refused to play the song. It was replaced by a hastily recorded cover of Tomorrow's My White Bicycle. Tomorrow was Keith West and Steve Howe's early band, but Nazareth's version is better and almost as good as Hair of the Dog. I do recall the band playing the song as part of a barnstorming (I think) Sight and Sound in Concert on BBC 2 TV. They were a band that seemed to get better and No Mean City is excellent too. I lost interest around Malice in Wonderland, when they seemed to be aiming for commercial success in America. The Manny Charlton band seemed pretty good, but I did not like their albums.

it certainly is interesting how Lizzy's sound changed over the course of their first few albums. I recently reviewed "Shades" and was struck by how bluesy and at times boring it was. "Fighting" is a great album, but if it's the punch in the face and "Jailbreak" is the kick in the teeth, "Nightlife" is a gay little slap on the wrist or push in the back. I hated "Nightlife", such a boring album and very little I could take from it. Even the original version of "Still in love with you" blows: thank goodness they pumped it up live.

Great writeups, US: as I said in the update last week I'm trying to not just skim through the journals but read everything so as to have more to say in the weekly update, and reading yours just shows me what I've been missing.

I must say though, I'm waiting with bated breath for 1976!
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