Payola$ - No Stranger to Danger

"Eyes of a Stranger" is a remarkable song. It put Payola$ on the musical map, and even after over four decades the song is still awesome. The band may have garnered some fans with it's debut and "China Boys" a song that got some sporadic play back in the day ... but I never really liked it all that much.

This was the album that was supposed to allow the guys in the band to quit their day jobs, except for Bob Rock who balanced his house duties at Little Mountain Sound and being in the band. A wise choice as history would show. The band was centred on the core of Bob Rock (guitars) and Paul Hyde (Vocals) along with Chris Taylor on drums, and Laurence Wilkins on bass. Lawrence would depart after this album.

The band's sound was born out of the British punk scene from the late '70s and their fuck you attitude was on full display with the band's name: Payola$. Yeah, that's a name that'll open doors to radio. I wonder how many conversations took place with A&M about trying to figure out a better band name. I guess it was a hill to die on, and dagnabbit the band would die before ever getting a chance to reach the summit. Despite all this the band made a game effort, and in Canada at least thanks to CANCON the band bubbled just under the surface and would have a number of radio hits but never quite get over the hump. After four albums, the band would try once more as Rock and Hyde and that would be it. I have no idea why A&M buried the band. None of their albums were ever released on CD and if you want to stream anything there's a compilation album but that's it. At least Under the Volcano from their Rock and Hyde era is available.

Anyway, it's weird that I still manage to find a way to regurgitate the same drivel over and over. I've written about four out of the five releases and I'm sure I've repeated myself. Oh well. For a band I was never really that passionate about it really bugs me at how badly the band's legacy has been treated. 

From what I've read the expectations for the two Mick Ronson produced albums was really high, and when the albums didn't break, it was Mick who seemed to be scapegoated. Which is unfair, but hey what do I know? I'm just sitting in my basement plunking away on my keyboard mostly making shit up.

No Stranger to Danger is one of those albums that takes a little effort to get into, effort that is rewarded. However for many of us, and I fall into this category we want the hits and if we aren't immediately rewarded we move on. I wonder if whoever owned the record before I found it felt the same way. The back cover was marked with a check mark beside two songs. With one of them being scratched out. I'll admit the reason I bought this was for "Eyes of a Stranger" and I was fine with that. I'd actually more or less dismissed the rest even before hearing them. Considering I have all of their albums except the debut (and no doubt one day I'll find that too) I know already there's much more going on under the hood so it's weird that my first reaction is ambivalence. 

I'm working against time and nostalgia to a degree when thinking about the band, but honestly when I take the time to listen I always find more than I expected and have to ask myself why I revert back to my default ambivalence after a while? Odd. 

With that, I'm going to battle against my own twisted sense of object permanence and go through this song by song, Yeah, I'm going to drag this out. If you're still here there's a participation ribbon waiting for you at the end of all this.

1. "Romance" decent, catchy ... I've already forgotten it. Weird. I can see why the check mark was crossed out.
2. "Eyes of a Stranger" a classic. Full stop. From the moment I first heard it to today this song never disappoints.
3. "Same Old Song" fun while it's playing, but in one ear and out the other. I have no desire to skip the song but it's not sticking after it's over.
4. "Rose" now the staccato guitar and ska shuffle isn't my cup of tea, but there are a lot of folks who eat this stuff up. I'm not one of them. It's a song I could skip, but I let it play through.
5. "Hastings Street" oh man. If you're from Vancouver the last four decades have only served to make sections of Hastings even more depressing. This is actually a really moving song, Payola$ could pack an emotional punch when the pieces came together. This isn't a ballad, it's a lament. Not an easy listen, and I'm not sure I'd say it's enjoyable, but it's beautiful in a way that's hard to describe. Probably the most ambitious song on side one.

1. "Youth" opens side two. It's an uptempo little number that got my feet tappin' and my head bobbin' but like some of the other songs it's a game effort that just falls short of being memorable.
2. "Lights to Change" is another one of those upbeat skinny tie ska infused songs that work for some and not others. I am the other here. It's not you, it's me.
3. "Mystery to Me" this opens with a twisted D chord riff that one could argue was taking the piss from Boston's "More Than a Feeling" but it's a stretch and I don't think anyone is arguing, so I'm probably just seeing shapes in the clouds. I really like this one. There's something oddly infectious and I love the layers of guitar and Paul Hyde's call and response as the vocals overlap on the chorus is awesome.
4. "Pennies into Gold" this is another slower song and is a really strong album cut. I wonder how much of the arrangement was guided by Mick Ronson. I really like this one.
5. "Screaming" charges out of the gate driven by Chris Taylor's frenetic drumming. Chris is awesome throughout the album. This is probably the only straight ahead rocker on the album, and was actually a little ahead of the curve as a year or two later a droning descending guitar riff would be everywhere on songs like "Cuts Like a Knife" to "She Sells Sanctuary" - okay that's only two and hardly qualifies as everywhere.
6. "Rockers" ah punkabilly. Bob lights it up with pull offs and twang that could be from a Ennio Morricone soundtrack. By '82 a lot of the early punk was in the rear view mirror and was morphing into new wave. "Rockers" is an unabashed homage to English punk rock. It's awesome and like a Ramones track isn't long enough to wear out it's welcome.

There you have it.

Now if you're keeping score, and I just went back and tallied it up, it doesn't seem like there's a lot to recommend No Stranger to Danger, and that's just not true. As an album this works ... ALL OF IT. The old adage "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" is really applicable here. Yeah, I'll be the first to admit that once I file this away I'll forget most of the songs on the album ... what I don't forget is the overall feeling I have tucked away that this is a classic album.

It may not make sense, but it does. Those who know, know. 

Now if only the folks at A&M would quit being so vindictive and let the band's catalogue see the light of day. They deserve to be remembered.

Oh if you made it to the bottom, thank you.