Foghat - Fool for the City

How could I pass this up? This was one of the original pressings BR 6959, but it's not like it made this any more valuable. It was still a dollar, but dang boy howdy a dollar well spent. I sure would have liked to have had the inset, but never having seen the original who knows if it actually had anything on the inside. The album cover was in decent shape, and the vinyl, especially on the first killer side cleaned up so well I was surprised. Mint, baby. The second side had a little rash, a pretty good nick on "Terraplane Blues" that lasts a few spins around but nothing to spoil things.

I wasn't even in my teens when this came out, and I can't remember when I first heard songs by the band. Over the years of course "Slow Ride" would take on a life of it's own when my kids started playing it on Guitar Hero - a game that frankly brought classic rock into the mainstream, even if only for a moment. The title track was also a great song. It's too bad the album is so short, I mean with only seven songs, the whole thing is just over half an hour long. I suppose cranking out an album a year will take a toll, so you go with what you got. I know it sounds like I'm whinging, it's just that I would have liked more. I feel like I'm holding up an empty bowl and pleading, "Please sir, I want some more."

Fool for the City, was the the band's fifth release, and the one where it all came together. I cannot lay claim to being a super fan, but over the years I have managed to accumulate a lot of their releases, and this is one I return to most often.

The band is great, and I love Rod "The Bottle" Price's guitar playing, in particular his slide work is an integral part of the band's sound. Lonesome Dave Peverett wrote or co-wrote five of the seven tracks and sang the songs and played rhythm guitar. Drummer Roger Earl is the guy on the cover fishing. You gotta love drummers. Nick Jameson in addition to playing bass guitar, keyboards, and some guitar was also the producer and engineer.

The one thing about getting back into vinyl versus my digital library or CDs is that I can get stuck with a favourite side. The first side is stellar, and is the one I will repeat over and over. I mean seriously, "Fool for the City", "My Babe" and the eight minutes of pure riff heaven on "Slow Ride" make for a spectacular first half. It's no wonder the second side doesn't have the same oomph but it was still solid boogie-woogie rock and roll. Except for the album's closer, Take It or Leave It" that seemed like a song from a different band. It's not bad, in fact it's a pretty decent song - it's just a more polished pop song that plays like a harder soft rock song you'd hear by ACE or The Doobie Brothers.

Regardless, this was a great find, and a lot of fun to listen to. This was Yeah, I did spend more time repeating side one but that's only because it's awesome. Don't worry, I've not abandoned the second side, I play it too, and it's growing on me.

6 Cylinder

As a kid we had one radio station, not counting CBC, and generally there was very little that was worth listening to, although there were times something would come on that would make you pay attention. It was 1979 and on a couple of occasions I heard "There Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" and it cracked me up, and I always wanted to get a copy for myself. A few years ago when my niece was dancing, they did a performance to this song, and now I can't separate my niece from a bunch of dancing chicks in chicken suits. Such is life. When I found this in the dollar bin I actually let out a little chirp, my goodness could it be? It was, and it was in great shape - including the inner sleeve. Score. I had no idea what to expect, for all I knew there was only one song worth listening to, and if that was the case it was still a dollar well spent. If I could buy an album by Showdown and enjoy it, odds are I'll find something to enjoy here to. Before I put this on I...

Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell

File under: TLDR Note to the reader. First sorry, second not really, but I am sorry I don't have the ability to edit. Oh happy Valentine's day. To celebrate let's take a gander at Meat Loaf's 1977 Bat Out of Hell. Over forty three million people disagree with me but for decades I thought this album was, and continues to be, one giant disappointment. I'll be the first to admit that despite decades of baggage the overwhelming power of nostalgia managed to erode even the hardest of convictions and I found that Bat Out of Hell was one of those albums I wanted to have in my collection, but I wasn't looking all that hard. It was an album I knew more about than I actually knew about. So at this moment in time I'm still holding firm on my long held opinion. But before I get into things, it's time for some meanderambling blurbage ... I remember seeing the cover when I was a kid and thinking it was the single greatest cover I had ever seen. What wonders were to b...

Garfield - Strange Streets

I'd seen this before in the bin, but kept flipping through the stacks. I'd see it a few more times, each time stopping to look at it a little more. There was something kind of cool about the cover where the stylized Celtic knot had the dotted yellow line - it was a strange street for sure. I pulled the record out of the jacket and I was struck by the centre image. There was the familiar Mercury label, the same one I'd seen a thousand times on BTOs Head On album. Well, I'd bought things based on odd associations before - like when I had to buy anything that Solid Rock Records released (this was generally a good thing) who knows maybe this was a hidden gem. There weren't any real scratches or rash, just a lot of dirt and dust - it seemed to clean up okay, but we'll see how it goes. The album opens with the title track, and this wasn't straight ahead pop, or rock. It was leaning to the progressive, but with a pop bent. Oddly enough the vocals reminded me of Mi...

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