Old Enough to Forget

If there was an artist I actively despised as a kid it was Leo Sayer. "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" was just plain stupid, and that horrific Frankie Valli falsetto was too much. I always thought he looked liked a diminutive version of Robin William's as Mork flying through the air. Which just shows how time blurs things, as Mork and Mindy wouldn't debut for another two years or so after this album came out ... but I remember the cover, and the blurring of time certainly hasn't helped.  I always thought of Leo Sayer as being huge in the disco era, and that songs like the aforementioned dancing song and the ballad "When I Need You" were later than this ... apparently I was wrong. Funny that. I have memories of Leo Sayer on those late night music shows, and I guess it just all sort of ran together. Anyway, back to my active dislike of all things Leo Sayer. It really wasn't based on anything other than he wasn't rock, and I didn't like how he s...

I'm still digging myself out from the pile of records in the basement. Not that I mind, but my goodness there's a lot of stuff to go through, and frankly I don't want to short myself on anything so I'm still trying to spend time with them before putting them away. Oh, some will stay put for a long time I suspect, but there are always hidden gems and treasures among the old things that are new to me, A mixed bag this time of the familiar and not so much. The Who - Face Dances (1981) Rick Springfield - Hard to Hold (1984) Gino Vannelli - Brother to Brother (1978) Red Rider - Breaking Curfew (1984) Doucette - Coming Up Roses (1981) The Who - Face Dances (1981) This would be the band's first album after the death of drummer Keith Moon. Sitting on the throne behind the kit was Kenny Jones, who had been a member of The Small Faces. The album was produced by Bill Szymczyk and yielded the classic, "You Better You Bet" that helped pull the album to platinum s...

This was actually the album that turned me into a Roger Daltry fan. In '85 when this came out Roger was 41 and out to prove that he could still rock with the kids. While the album may not have been a huge commercial success, it certainly seemed like a big deal in my house.  My buddy Otto had the cassette copy of the album that contained the bonus track "Love Me Like You Do" which was an incredible song, and it was too bad it didn't make the cut for the album. There was a time, thankfully a short time, that record labels were trying to push cassette sales and a number of artists from Phil Collins to Flock of Seagulls included bonus tracks on their tape releases, and later this translated to CDs where extended versions and bonus tracks weren't restricted to 22 and a 1/2 minutes a side. Roger's voice was his instrument, and boy howdy he let it loose. Speaking of voices, I remember being really excited to see Mark Williamson's name listed as the backing singer...

It's not often a classic pops up in the dollar bin. The last surprise that was this big was Tattoo You by the Stones, and that album was in amazing shape including the insert. Part of me wasn't to concerned so long as the big songs were playable. Besides I have the 2003 deluxe edition and that is almost two and a half hours of stuff - much of it I've maybe heard once while it played in the background. Yeah, sad. Anyway here was the 1980 MCA re-issue (at first this confused me as I thought this was an old record - I mean it is old, but older than the date suggested), and someone must have been having a bad day and dragged the needle across the first side. I could feel it with my finger nail so I figured best case was a repeating pop for a few songs. Thankfully "Baba O'Riley" was fairly clean, and frankly on the first side that's all that mattered to me. The songs still sound pretty fresh and while still being very much of their time. When I think of some o...

At the risk of seeming like a Luddite I was never a big fan of The Who. Sure there are a lot of songs I like ... I mean a lot, but for whatever reason I just never think of them when I think of my favourite bands. I'd seen Roger's solo albums in the racks as a kid, and he had some cool covers, and I did have a couple of his solo efforts on CD. I really liked Under a Raging Moon , and to a lesser extent Rocks in the Head.   The other day in between a couple of old Leo Sayer albums, and a badly beat up Rick Wakeman record (that looks really cool, but unplayable) there staring at me with his piercing blue eyes was a rather young (still under 30) Roger Daltry looking sultry with his wondrous curly mane haloed from behind. "Buy me." he said, "I'm only a dollar, buy me." So I put down my loonie and went to walk out, but was told I was short the tax. Dang and we don't pennies anymore either so I ended up looking for more stuff to justify using my card. Anyw...