Old Enough to Forget

When I started playing records again, "Out of Nowhere" was an album I had long hoped to find, and I got close a few years ago, but the shop that had it was asking a lot more than I was willing to spend to satisfy my curiosity. I'd been waiting for a long time, so what was the harm in waiting a little longer? Not to spoil the surprise, but guess who found a copy in a dollar bin? Me. It was back in 1979, and I was sitting in my bedroom listening to CBC radio's Ninety Minutes with a Bullet. It was more than a countdown show, it was a little window that looked out into the rock and roll world. "Baker Street" was still a big deal, and there was a giveaway contest to get Gerry's new record, and all you had to do was send in a postcard with the answer to the following question: "Who was Gerry Rafferty's musical partner in Stealers Wheel?" Apparently, since Gerry was hitting it big, it only made sense that this other person was going to release a ...

Good Lord, here we go. Hang on, Strap in, and put in your mouth guard. Ted Nugent - Weekend Warriors (1978) Gerry Rafferty - North & South (1988) Visage - Visage (EP) (1981) Greg Kihn Band - Kihnspiracy (1983) Johnny Winter - Captured Live! (1976) Ted Nugent - Weekend Warriors (1978)  This was long one of the albums I wanted, but never bought. This was vintage Ted, and the cover was absolutely captivating. This was Ted in a single frame. Sitting here listening, this is all new to me. The first pass through I didn't have any credits other than what was on the back cover. I still tend to lean on Double Live Gonzo! as Ted's high water mark, and while over the years I've filled in some of his earlier studio albums, I really never became a true-blue fan. I was a pretty solid casual, but still consider myself a fan of his music. Considering Weekend Warriors came hot on the heels of Double Live Gonzo! i n the fall of '78, I sort of expected more of the same. Which is wh...

Back in '82 Larry Norman was top lining a slew of British albums into the North American market with "Larry Norman Presents." At the time I had no idea these were merely repackaged releases. The Gap had come out a couple of years earlier, but in '82 this was the first time I'd seen or heard of Bryn Haworth, and it seemed intriguing. At the time, any association with secular artists was an odd badge of honour and here was Bryn Haworth with the Eric Clapton Band: Dave Markee, Chris Stainton, Henry Spinetti and Bruce Rowland. Well, that must mean something. I wasn't sure what to expect. I wasn't expecting what I got.  It was different, but man was it ever good.  At this point Toto IV was out, and that was constantly on my turntable, along with their earlier release Turn Back . Resurrection Band had dropped D.M.Z . and "Military Man" was one of my favourite songs. My goodness, Stu Hess was near the top of my favourite guitar players ... a list that...

Sleepwalking is one of my favourite albums ever. Released in 1982, Sleepwalking was a marked departure from his previous album, Snakes and Ladders , and the ones before that. So many people think of Gerry as a one-hit wonder because of "Baker Street" from 1978's City to City , and I suppose, depending on where you were, this was sort of true. But I remember a number of songs from his first few records getting radio play when I was a much younger man. I was on a train in 1982, travelling back from a youth conference or something, when my friend Gerry - who had (and may still have) great taste in music - had a cassette copy of Sleepwalking and insisted I listen to it because it was awesome. Being a fan already, I listened to the first few songs, and gone were the folk elements; instead, the songs were laden with synthesisers. But it wasn't like he was trying to be Trio or Gary Numan - this was still unmistakably Gerry Rafferty. It was indeed awesome. I think I said so...

1978 was probably one of the more formative years for me musically. At the time I didn't really think much about it, but looking back, holy cow and boy howdy, it was a banner year. It was the year "Baker Street" made the saxophone sexy, and the guitar solo in that song still makes me smile. It was also the year my cousin introduced me to Ted Nugent through his incendiary Double Live Gonzo and Prism's sophomore album, See Forever Eyes . The number of bands I waited patiently to hear on the radio or at a friend's house was just mind-boggling. I started making a list of the bands and songs I could hardly wait to hear, but it got so long that it just looked silly. It's a great list. I didn't have much in the way of vinyl, so it was up to friends and spotty AM radio to supply my favourite songs. One of the coolest songs from my youth was "Action." And no, it wasn't by The Sweet (although that's an awesome song, and I did actually own the 45 a...