Trooper - Flying Colors

I meant to pull out my copy of Hot Shots, but as I had recently found a couple of Trooper albums I'd not heard (which outside of their greatest hits album was pretty much everything in their catalogue) I figured why not put on something that was new to me. 

It was either Money Talks, or Flying Colors, as there were a couple of songs I remembered from Flying Colors, so Flying Colors it was. Aren't you glad you get to get a little peek into my decision making process?

I've not heard the album so it's the deeper tracks here I'm curious about, particularly the Frank Ludwig compositions. Frank had the unenviable position of being a decent writer and a good singer in a band where Ra was a great singer, and the songwriting team of Ra McGuire and Brian Smith were the backbone of the band.

This I'm sure was a pretty sore spot, and it's not especially helpful or sporting for me to sit here and stir up the embers of what is now pretty ancient history. When Frank was good he was amazing, but I just couldn't get into most of his stuff. It's not like I didn't try, I had albums by Ironhorse, Union and Body Electric ... anyway this isn't a shit of Frank post.

Getting back to Flying Colors I remember listening to a radio show about the album when it came out and that was when I first heard "3 Dressed Up as a 9" which was playing on the awareness us teenagers had of Bo Derek running on the beach in a yellow one piece. The other memorable bit that stood out was the band was no longer being produced by Randy Bachman. Howard Steele was now sitting behind the board, and they more or less dedicated "Go Ahead and Sue Me" to their former producer and mentor.

Frank had three songs on the album, and frankly (I know, I know) they're really good. "Back to You" though really seems to be riffing on the old Mott the Hoople classic "All the Way to Memphis" they're like kissing cousins. It's the vibe more than anything as they're not all that similar but it keeps coming to mind. The other thing about Franks songs here is that they also feel very different than the rest of the album. While the credits aren't explicit, there are a number of guest musicians that seemed to flesh out a backing band within the band. Among the players were Steve Lukather, and Jeff Porcaro. Some of the guitar work on Frank's songs is very much Steve Lukather. It makes me wonder if Frank was down in LA recording his songs on his own.

The band also had a huge hit here with "Janine" and the Flying Colors would be one of Troopers most successful albums. It was also their fifth album in the span of five years, with all of their albums with the exception of their debut going platinum. The album was a little heavy on the mid-tempo songs, but it was the '70s and ballads sold records, but this was still a rock record. The only misstep was an odd cover of The Kinks "All Day and All of the Night" which to be fair does try to put a new spin on things while keeping true to the songs bones. Why not? After all Van Halen got a lot of mileage out of The Kink's "You Really Got Me" and it was possible it could have been a sleeper for the band - it wasn't but that's beside the point.

A year later in 1980 when the band dropped their follow up, also produced Howard Steele no one noticed. They were a '70s band and there they'd remain. They'd release Money Talks in '82 and then self-release their last album in 1989.

It's strange to think that Trooper packed an entire career into five short years. As a kid it seemed like they had been around forever, and their songs have been woven into the fabric of the Canadian classic rock tapestry.

There's a reason Hot Shots was one of the biggest selling albums of all time - it's all killer, no filler. Too bad MCA didn't wait a year so they could have added a couple of songs from Flying Colors then it would have been definitive.

I suppose as far as career capping releases go they went out on a high note. You could say they passed with with Flying Colors.

It's okay, I'll see myself out.