Five for Fighting No.7 - SAGA, Ian Thomas Band, Styx, Juice Newton, ABBA

Lucky number seven. A bit of an odd assortment this time out. Mostly familiar faces, and some odd ducks I had no idea what to do with because I've written about the bands before, but the albums were still part of my landscape so I figured why not put them in anyway? So here they are for your reading enjoyment.

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Five For Fighting No. 7

• SAGA - Wildest Dreams (1987)
• Ian Thomas Band - Still Here (1978) 
• Styx - Kilroy Was Here (1983)
• Juice Newton - Quiet Lies (1982)
• ABBA - ABBA (1975)
  

SAGA - Wildest Dreams (1987) After Behaviour in 1985 the band's trajectory would take a turn. For some fans, particularly those who'd been on the bandwagon the longest, the next couple of albums would represent the nadir of the band, but to me this felt like the logical next steps the band seemed to be moving toward over the last couple of albums. Wildest Dreams when it came out was a drastic change regardless. Gone were keyboardist Jim Gilmour, and drummer Steve Negus, leaving the band a trio comprised of the brothers Crichton and Michael Sadler. Also gone was the familiar logo, I guess this was about relaunching the band. I first got this on CD, and played it constantly. Musically this was pop that sounded like SAGA. The guys crafted a collection of shiny tunes that were meant to break the band into the US market. "Only Time Will Tell" was a song I always really liked, and it was a modest hit here in Canada, but it really never did much south of the border. While the ever supportive German market was still there for the band, the album didn't perform as well as previous releases. It's actually a shame, as at it's core was still very much a SAGA album. It was a polished rock album, and while the songs were more commercial in nature there was still the fret work of Ian and while Jim Gilmour's keyboards were absent, I have to admit that Michael Sadler and Jim Crichton capably filled the gap. Curt Cress, who once played with Triumvirat would sit on the throne for the band's next two albums. I happen to really like this album, a lot. Still do. Their follow up album, The Beginner's Guide To Throwing Shapes I had to order from Germany many years ago as it wasn't released here. It was that album, not Wildest Dreams that was the band's "Hold my beer" release - but for all that, it too is  essential listening. There are no bad SAGA albums. Finding Wildest Dreams on vinyl was a fun score - I didn't need to get it. I wanted to get it. It's interesting to see this was on A&M in Canada and released by special arrangement with Bonaire Investments Limited. 

Ian Thomas Band - Still Here (1978) I've been listening to a lot of Ian Thomas lately. Not that I'm complaining. Still Here was an album I never did have back in the day, so this was a wonderful thing to sit and listening to this for the first time. Of course there are familiar songs here that feel like old friends, particularly "Coming Home" but it's the rest that have been so good to hear. First off, this was a wicked find for me as this was a factory sealed copy and that was cheaper than I expected. Still Here falls right in the middle of the Ian Thomas Band era, that would culminate with Glider. Hugh Syme played keyboards on the album, and Hugh is an interesting character. He's played on Rush albums, and is also the graphic designer who came up with the starman logo in 2112. You should look him up, it's pretty awesome. Back to Mr. Thomas. As partial as I am to his later work, I have to admit that having found a few of his earlier albums over the last little while that my appreciation for his earlier work has only deepened. It's strange really how much his work resonates with me. Given that in '78 the albums and artists that were rocking my world  (Styx, Prism, Ted Nugent) weren't even in the same musical lane, I still find it cool that Iam had enough rock credibility to bring his brand of thoughtful singer songwriter material into my heart. Yeah, I know that sounds completely sucky, but dang I can't help my emotional response to music. Heck, even the weirdly kitschy "Tinkerbell" feels right at home. I've said it before, and I like to repeat myself ... thank you Mr. Thomas. 

Styx - Kilroy Was Here (1983) When I was a kid Styx was the shit. They were on a creative tear, and their albums were going platinum one after another. It was a great time. Even with the stomach churning ballads Dennis was injecting into the band's records, he was also writing a lot of wicked rock songs. After Paradise Theatre the band would resurface with an ambitious concept album. It was apparently a little divisive internally, and it would mark the end of the classic era of Styx. It was Dennis' great "Hold my beer" album.  The results were a mixed bag of nuts. This was an album I always wanted to like more than I did. By '83 the bell was tolling for a lot of bands who were massive on the '70s and Styx was a band with two feet solidly planted in a bygone era and while Kilroy Was Here enjoyed some success, it was a perplexing album. The big single "Mr. Roboto" was one of those love to hate it songs that has actually aged much better than I would ever have suspected at the time. I remember asking my friend Robert, who grew up in Japan, what "Domo arigato" meant, not knowing at the time the translation was actually in the song ... Over the decades the album has actually gained a little more respect than it received upon it's release. I read an article in Rolling Stone that listed the top 50 concept albums in their esteemed opinion. Kilroy Was Here placed number 50 ... then again Kendrick Lamar's 'good kid, m.A.A.d city' was the number one of all time. A head of the Who, and The Beatles, Rush and Pink Floyd. Still everyone loves lists and at least they were on it. I already had this on CD, but dang for a buck I was willing to shell out for another copy on vinyl. It wasn't in the best shape, and one of the songs near the end of the second side was pretty rough, but still it was a fun listen and having all the liner notes and the gate fold was really nostalgic.

Juice Newton - Quiet Lies (1982) Not long after I found her greatest hits album the dollar bin spit out an immaculate copy of her 1982 release Quiet Lies. I already knew of several of the songs, but I was looking forward to hearing the rest of the album. I am still partial to "Love's Been Hard on Me" as I really love Andrew Gold's solo. However, I have to say I really enjoyed the album and boy howdy the musicianship on this album is all top shelf. I'm guessing this was due to producer Richard Landis. Otha Young who collaborated quite a bit with Juice Newton provided a fair bit of the guitar work on the album. A couple of guitar players really stood out who pulled off some really awesome solos: George Doering and Chuck Martin. Man, there are some great players out there. It's still a bit of a goofy mystery how at how accepted she was in the country genre when she was a great pop artist. I suppose it doesn't matter, not really. Good is good. This, this was good. I'm still a little surprised at how much I enjoyed this one. Of course now that she's on my radar I'll be on the lookout for some of her other releases. It's still a bit of a mystery as to why she wasn't a superstar. Timing is everything I guess. Still I imagine she opened a lot of doors for other artists, and those who know - know.

ABBA - ABBA (1975) I probably have more ABBA records now than I ever had growing up. Which really isn't that much of a stretch. I had zero ABBA records growing up ... however, I didn't live under a rock, and frankly there were a lot of songs I really liked. Part of the fun in finding the old albums in their entirety is getting to hear the filler and see if there are any hidden deep cuts. I'm always curious to hear what Bjorn chooses to keep for himself. I mean really you have two of the greatest female vocalists ever in your band, and you still want to sing. This time out it's "Man in the Middle" a song that was more fun than I expected. Of course for every awesome classic like "Mama Mia" or "SOS" there's going to be a catchy weird clunker like "Bang-A-Boomerang" that feels like it was translated from Swedish to English using a travel dictionary. ABBA was a very strange band, and it's too easy to think of them as killer and filler. Listening to this one for the first time it's exciting to hear the classic songs pop up, but the rest of the songs here weren't throwaways either. The hidden gems here are "Rock Me" and "So Long" that are pure glam right out of the Nicky Chinn & Mike Chapman playbook. Not to mention the boys allow themselves their instrumental prog interlude with "Intermezzo No. 1" that is way more fun than I expected. I don't know why I kept thinking about the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The sheer number of great songs here is kind of staggering.