Back in '85 Robert Plant was staging a killer second act, and it must have felt like a kick in the nuts to Jimmy Page, the genius producer, player and arranger from all those classic Led Zeppelin albums, that he was relegated to the remainder bin. Death Wish II hardly counts as a career jump start. Surely there as a way to become a force to be reckoned with, or at least be relevant.
First he needed to pull together a band. Paul Rodgers, a singer who was practically the blueprint for how to be a rock vocalist apparently needed a job. Chris Slade a drummer who had played with everyone from Tom Jones to Manfred Mann signed on. Rounding out the band was new kid Tony Franklin on bass who was literally just a kid when the other guys were out slogging it out.
There was some really awesome music coming out in '85 and then there
were some odd ducks. The Firm was one of those weird anomalies that looked like a duck, quacked like a duck and two of the members used to be on Swan Song records ... maybe the little ugly duckling would become something beautiful.
I remember hearing "Radioactive" on the radio a few times, and the disc jockey gushed about the band. Obviously a dyed in the wool fan of Jimmy Page he seemed to think this was the second coming. For me, all I heard was a clunky, albeit catchy song that was trying really hard to sound like an '80s rock song. It seemed so desperate to be a hit that it became one through sheer force of will. Heck, there was obviously some appetite for this as the album would go gold in the US.
When I saw the album in the bin, I didn't hesitate. The record itself was decent, but it was hard to tell if it would clean up ... for the most part it did, but it wasn't ideal. The jacket was really nice, and heck the liner was intact. All goodness.
It's a given that Page and Rogers were going to hold up their end of things. Maybe not a given, back in '82 Jimmy wasn't in top form, and it seemed like he was all out of mojo. You'd be hard pressed to tell though. There are some wicked riffs on the album, you just need to listen. What popped out of the grooves was Tony Franklin's bass work. His fretless work was impeccable and so tasty. My goodness for a 23 year old he was holding down the fort. Chris Slade is well, Chris Slade and those unfortunate '80s drum sounds that were so cool for five minutes have aged about as well as stirrup pants. Thankfully those instances are few but when they occur they can be jarring and not always in a good way.
Most of the songs were written by Page and Rodgers, and a couple, including "Radioactive" were attributed to Rodgers. Then there was a cover of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" that I'm sure the band wished was used in Top Gun ... except it wasn't. Although for what's it's worth, it's a pretty cool version with those splatty '80s toms and Jimmy does a pretty passable Jeff Beck impression on the solo. Who knows maybe Maverick would have gotten into Charlie's pants regardless of which version was used.
I wish the album had opened with the hit. For a couple of reasons: First, by being the last song on the first side it had the least amount of vinyl to support the song ... it's also the shortest so there was that as an offset. However, "Closer" the album's opener was only a few seconds longer. The second reason, the album really would have benefited from a solid opening hook. Instead the album plods along providing a couple of decent moments before having to turn the album over.
Now it is the second side that really opens up. After the previously mentioned cover of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" there's a renewed sense of vigour to the songs, and Jimmy seems to really be having a good time being an '80s guitar player. The album closes out with a really strong one two punch. "Satisfaction Guaranteed" is yet another mid temp slow burn, but there's something about the groove and feel that puts this over the top. The song doesn't have the spark to be a single, but it is one of the best songs on the album. Closing the album out is "Midnight Moonlight" it's over nine minutes, so you know the guys are going for something big. Apparently this was a left over song from the Zeppelin days, and it was never finished. There are acoustic guitar sections, along with some really great bass work by Tony Franklin. Some of the effects applied to Paul's voice were unfortunate but they seemed to be used sparingly ... too bad they were used at all. The song takes it time slowly building as the band finally comes in as the backing singers add their voices to the throng. For me the song worked. I was probably in the right mood. I can also see this as a plodding self indulgent mess that take too long to get to the point and there's not enough tension keep things taut for almost ten minutes.
P.S. So I added it to a playlist, and the wife and I are in the car and I figure I'll play The Firm. After all, I'm still sort of in the mood and I've been enjoying the album and I know in relatively short order I'll end up shelving it and who knows when it'll see light of day. "Radioactive" comes on and the song gets to the sort of cacophonous muddle of notes that is Jimmy Page's solo and my wife looks at me and simply asks, "What. Is. This?"
Man and you think I'm harsh at times. If she wrote this stuff it'd be a lot shorter.
Oh Matt, if you ever read this, don't roll your eyes and stroke your beard in that wise way you have that implies I'm totally full of shit and that there's a reason no one ever says anything nice about this album. I stand by this one. Yeah you can dismiss it, but you're sleeping on an album with a few really solid songs, and if nothing else to hear the finished "Midnight Moonlight" was a treat.
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