Five for Fighting No. 10 - Nick Gilder, Joan Armatrading, Ian Thomas, Linda Ronstadt, The Vapors

Looks like I almost got stuck in the '70s this month. Not a bad thing. Considering how much I go on about the '80s and all that, blah blah blah - I have collected a lot of stuff from the decade of my childhood. Which shouldn't really be a surprise considering most of what's available on vinyl is heavily concentrated in the '60s and '70s. When CDs came out I quickly jumped ship ... hence the lack of records from my favoured decade. Still, man there was some great stuff coming out of my childhood, and a lot of new to me stuff that has truly stood the test of time.

Let's take a look at this months ...

Five For Fighting No. 10

• Nick Gilder - Frequency (1979)
• Joan Armatrading - Armatrading (1976)
• Ian Thomas - Calabash (1976)
• Linda Ronstadt - Prisoner in Disguise (1975)
• The Vapors - Magnetic (1981)

Nick Gilder - Frequency (1979) Nick followed up City Nights and "Hot Child in the City" with Frequency and the single that should have been huge "(You Really) Rock Me" one of my favourite songs of all time. Yes, of ALL TIME. Goodness me it's a keeper. I think I heard it one the radio ... once. That was it. Nick's band was pretty consistent at this point and was anchored by his longtime collaborator and guitar fret wizard James McCulloch. 1979 was a cool year, and it seemed like artists everywhere we making references to the impeding arrival of the '80s. Heck, Nick would even write a song called "Into the 80's" that was pretty decent. The cool thing about "(You Really) Rock Me" was Nick showcasing an actual rock voice that was powerful and still blended his high squeaky and sometimes irritating glam voice. Although here the glam influences have evolved and adopted more of a new wave sound while still showcasing James' pretty stellar guitar work. I first got this in the early '80s, and it was really just for the one song. I didn't really think much of the rest and more or less forgot about it - except for that one killer tune. When I found this again, I was pretty keen to revisit this and see what else was to be found in the deeper cuts. What I found was a decent album, with no real duds but also not a lot really going for it other than that one, exceptional track. Still you could do worse than to give this a spin. If you're ever curious about what that dog whistle voiced guy who sang "Roxy Roller" and "Hot Child in the City" could do, this is actually a pretty decent listen and a fun time capsule back to the late '70s where the future was just around the corner.

Joan Armatrading - Armatrading (1976) Timing is as they everything. In a perfect world this would have been where I started. Except I didn't - I got on the bandwagon with her 1977 follow up Show Me Some Emotion. I really liked that album - far more than I expected to - and by all accounts it was a shadow of what she had accomplished on Armatrading - even Glyn Johns is quoted as saying it was the best album he'd ever been associated with. So I was really curious as to what I was missing. So I went out and bought the record. First thing I did was scan the credits, and Dave Markee's bass playing is anchoring the songs, and the drumming was by Dave Mattacks and Kenny Jones. Guitar maestro Jerry Donahue  plays most of the electric guitar on the album. Good gravy his solo on "Tall in the Saddle" is like an emotional gut punch. I was pleasantly surprised to see Bryn Haworth's name on a couple of songs which made me happy. He plays mandolin on one track, and slide on another. Joan herself is a monster on the acoustic, and her playing and singing throughout is nothing short of astonishing. I've listened to the album a couple of times, and it is a wonderful album - and it really is timeless. It's also a masterclass in sonic wonderfulness. I don't know if it's head and shoulders above Show Me Some Emotion. They're like bookends, and the continuation of a good story. I'm now on the lookout for her 1978 release To the Limit her last studio album to be produced by Glyn Johns. It's good to have goals. Joan Armatrading was one of those artists who had a huge following but remained mostly unknown to the great unwashed. Of which I was one for a long time. Those who knew, knew - and those who didn't had no idea what they were missing.

Ian Thomas - Calabash (1976) Well here we go, another Ian Thomas album. Yeah, it was a surprise to me too, but hey you play the cards you're dealt. Although since I'm dealing the cards you could call for a misdeal, but I'd probably just deal this one from the bottom anyway so you may as well just sit back and play the hand. Finding and spending time with Ian Thomas' early work has been a lot of fun. No really, I'm not kidding. There's so much about his early work that just shouldn't work that it's always a treat to hear him pull a rabbit out of his hat. It's not an unpleasant sound. When this came out I don't think I knew any of the songs, although in later years my good friend Lori loved "Goodnight Mrs. Calabash" so by extension I loved it to. Besides by then it was the mid '80s so I was deep into Riders on Dark Horses, and Add Water ... his 1980 compilation The Best of Ian Thomas was played now and then, but I was partial to his newer stuff. As I pick up more and more of his back catalogue I'm getting to hear more and more his stuff, and frankly the more I hear the more I like. Calabash is a bit of an oddball record. It starts off with a solid rocker "Liars" and then later Ian sings about being captured by Amazon women, but then in truly heroic fashion gets to score with the ladies. I do like it when Ian cuts loose with his big rock voice, like he does on "Mary-Jane" but he can really pull off a ballad. Two of the best songs on the album are the softer "Right Before Your Eyes" with a corny keyboard and double tracked chorus that by gum works. Not many guys can name drop Rudolph Valentino and Greta Garbo and then take up a verse just singing do do do's and make the whole thing sound magical. It's an amazing song. The album closes with "Goodnight Mrs. Calabash" that expands on the old movies and celebrities of a bygone age Ian touched on at a couple songs earlier, and then it's over. Thank you Mr. Thomas, you never disappoint. Goodnight, and see you in the morning.

Linda Ronstadt - Prisoner in Disguise (1975) This should probably have a longer entry but I'm feeling a bit lazy today. This one just happened to be in my new to me pile so it was up next. Following on the heels of Heart Like a Wheel, and the stellar "You're No Good" Prisoner in Disguise was another Peter Asher produced album. Once again Andrew Gold was everywhere adding his touches on guitar and keyboards. Also on board was Kenny Edwards on bass who often sang back ground vocals with Andrew Gold. Linda didn't write her own stuff, but she'd make it her own. This time out songwriters like Neil Young, James Taylor, J.D. Souther, George Lowell, and Jimmy Cliff were being installed into the Ronstadt song canon. The first side closes out with the title track written by J.D. Souther, and it is stunning in it's simplicity and delivery. Linda still liked to go deep and pay respect to the past, this time she covered the old Martha and the Vandellas classic, "Heat Wave" and it's a lot more than you'd expect, especially since Andrew Gold played everything except the Kenny Edwards bass parts. Talented guy that Mr. Gold. I knew that Linda had recorded a version of Dolly Parton's "I Will Aways Love You" but I'd never heard it. Yeah, it's synonymous with Whitney Houston now, but when this came out it was only a couple of years removed from Dolly's version. She ends the album with another duet with J.D. Souther, and it's another beautiful song. I was pretty happy with this one, and the vinyl was decent (just one pop, which sucked but was at the end of the record) and I had a gatefold copy that showed all of the handwritten lyrics - that was a cool touch.

The Vapors - Magnetic (1981) Less than a year after releasing New Clear Days the band was looking to build on the momentum from their debut and big hit. Magnets was still full of power pop nuggets and catchy melodies, but under the hood the songs were biting, and at times seething in their anger. The first track on the album sets the tone with "Jimmie Jones" about Jim Jones - remarkably the band avoided any kool-aid references. Although it was fun to hear the band name drop Asteroids ... yeah kids, once upon a time it was the greatest arcade in the world. If you were looking for syrupy pop songs this wasn't going to do down that well, but it is worth spending some time listening to see what was going on. The band was very much instep with a lot of the disillusioned punk bands, and their music drew on that angst and energy, but the music was more aligned with the new wave and I guess post punk (but I'm not really good with genre splitting) to a degree. Regardless, I generally just lump this into the early '80s new wave power pop pile and that's good enough. The album is quite good, although there's nothing as catchy as "Turning Japanese" although "Silver Machines" is really growing on me. There aren't any songs that suck, they're all very serviceable (not a shot, everything is consistently good). I will pull out the album's title track "Magnets" as being absolutely mesmerizing, although I don't think it was particularly radio friendly, but my goodness it's a haunting song. The album failed to chart in most markets, although it managed to chart in Canada actually peaking at #39 performing slightly better than it's predecessor. Who knows what happened. As is so often the case, the band blamed the label for a lack of support, and no doubt the label expected this to perform better. This would be the last album by the band for almost forty years. It's too bad you can't get a sense of how brilliant the cover art by Martin Handford is from the picture I've taken. It's a story unto itself, and pretty much explains the title of the album. It truly is amazing. Oh you won't find Waldo (Wally if you're outside of North America) but you will the lone gunman if you look for him.