Old Enough to Forget

I always had a soft spot for"Sentimental Lady" and "Ebony Eyes" the guy had a cocky weird swagger, and incorporated disco and strings but added a rock element through his guitar. I didn't really know a lot about him at the time. I knew he was in Fleetwood Mac, but I didn't know anything by them other than Rumours so it wasn't really anything that carried any recognition. Oddly enough it would be Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie who would produce his biggest hit "Sentimental Lady" and they would, along with Mick Fleetwood, play on the track as well. So at time at least it would appear that he left his old band on decent terms. French Kiss dropped November 1977 and did pretty well, and considering a month later Saturday Night Fever came out as disco enjoyed it's brief ascent to world dominance through Donna Summer, The Village People and Barry Gibb's tight pants nut-crushed falsetto. It was a terrible time if you had to live throu...

World Machine for most casual fans and Luddites is as deep into the Level 42 catalogue you need to go. The band's sixth album (yeah they were around a while honing their craft) was released in 1985 and most of us would have had a hard time trying to get rid of the ear worm "Something About You" when it started to gain traction on the radio and television - back when videos were a thing. There's was never any denying the musicianship of the band, and Mark King's bass playing was often sited as being extraordinary. The band would balance their pop, jazz and funk elements and create something pretty cool. Even a rock guy had to tip his hate and admit it was good stuff. Now, of course this was 1985 and while I did begrudgingly like the song, sort of in the same way I liked "The Captain of Her Heart" by Double, I wasn't about to go out and buy the album. I was after all a ROCK GUY. Of course over the years my appreciation for "Something About You...

Paul Janz released High Strung in 1985 and the single "Go to Pieces" got a lot of radio play, but didn't really break into the top 10. Which I still find perplexing as it was one of those ear worms that had all of the magic ingredients that made mid 80s pop so appealing. The song is awesome. Electricity, released in 1987, is the one album of his I didn't have, and I honestly can't remember why I didn't pick it up. If you lived outside Canada this was his debut, and I suppose it made sense to include "Go to Pieces" as I didn't know at the time High Strung wasn't released outside Canada. Paul has a distinctive voice, a deft hand with his arrangements and his song craft was impeccable, so it's a head scratcher as to why he didn't really catch on. I think a lot of people bet on him being a big deal too. One of those guys was Michael Godin. He was an executive with A&M who left his position to guide Paul's career. Electricity was m...

Here it is, Ted Nugent's 1978 aural assault Double Live Gonzo! First things first, this is about Ted the monster player. I really couldn't give a shit about his political bent, which has only become more exaggerated over the years, but the guy has his convictions and while I don't agree with many of his views, I'd still have an iced tea with the guy and talk guitars and music. Secondly see the first thing. This is coming from a guy who leans a little to the left of centre. That's about as political as I get. I'll just quote Forrest Gump, "And that’s all I’ve got to say about that." Recorded between 1976 and 1977 Double Live Gonzo! captures Ted and band (what a band!) at their zenith and the results aren't for those who can't handle sensory overload (if you were to go by the pictures in the gate fold you'd think that it was all Ted all the time). My first experiences with Ted's music was in my cousin's pickup truck with an 8 track ...

I have one album in my collection that is actually new, not old new, NEW new. This is it. It's an  album I got because I took part in a fundraising campaign to help Jeff realize his dream of putting out an album on vinyl. I also got it because I felt guilty for making fun of his desire to release an album that was recorded digitally and then put it out on plastic to have that "warmth" only vinyl can deliver. He took offence at this (and rightly so) and defended his desire, proceeding to outline how it was recorded, and mixed specifically to enhance the vinyl experience. Incidentally quite a number of my favourite albums decades ago were full digital recordings that sounded awesome on record - yeah, I'm specifically thinking of In Transit by SAGA- it was also one of the first CDs, so there. He may have a point, or it may just be an ear placebo. What REALLY enhanced the experience was having a big old album cover to hold on to, with a nice insert. I also have the CD...

A new to me release. Many years ago I picked up Romeo Unchained , and Notes from the Lost Civilization (not in that order) mainly because they were on WHAT?/A&M where Mark Heard's iDEoLA project was released. So I figured it was a guilty by association sort of thing. It was an indie label after all so that had to mean something. I remember liking Notes from the Lost Civilization , but honestly I was getting so much music back then that unless I really had something blow my hat off, I gave things a listen or two and then filed them. Here I am years later, and up pops a rather water damaged copy of Life in the Foodchain . It made me sad looking at it. The vinyl was in surprisingly good shape, but any liner notes and credits were long lost to the gods of misplaced socks. Still, this was an album I had always been curious about, so I brought it home where it the joined the queue of treasures waiting for a turn(table). I pop it on and the title track is cranked in the cave (everyo...

Toto, the band people love to shit on. For me, I've been a fan since first hearing "Hold the Line" and I make no apologies for loving these guys. Heck I remember when Hydra was released and I eagerly went to the record store to get it. The store used to copy reviews and place them with albums as a sales tool. I guess clipping out a scathing review and taping it to the record seemed like a good idea to someone. Anyways, I getting ahead of myself. I can't remember if this is the same "review" but it's pretty close in tone: Max Bell , New Musical Express , 17 March 1979 WILL THESE people never learn? In the time-honoured Hollywood tradition of foisting ambitious super-sessioners upon that large portion of the American public bereft of a brain, taste or the ability to decide for itself comes Toto, a six piece composed of former Boz Scaggs and Steely Dan (you know the rest) side men. Admittedly I'm not...