Old Enough to Forget

Well that didn't take long. I had mentioned didn't have the last Toronto album* when I was writing about the band's previous album Get It On Credit ,  (posted September 17, 2025) and sure enough when I was rummaging through the discount bins at Krazy Bobs there it was ... along with a baker's dozen other albums that came with me. I know there was one more album under the Toronto banner,  Assault & Flattery that was attributed Holly Woods & Toronto. Aside from Holly Woods, keyboardist Scott Kreyer was the only other member as Sheron Alton and Brian Allen were no longer in the band, so for me Girl's Night Out is the last album by the classic line up that dropped an album a year from 1980 to 1983. A blip on the radar but they left an indelible mark on Canadian rock. I know I've taken some pot shots at the band in the past and have been lukewarm to their albums as a whole. They always had a great single, and while I'd enjoy the albums they just never see...

This was the third of the three recent albums I recently found by The Babys. I've got my eyes out for the debut, but there's always something about a bands sophomore record that can be cool. For some bands their debut is a one and done. All the songs they'd spent years crafting were likely polished and presented and the real test is whether or not the band could have lightning strike twice.  I already know the answer but I'm curious to hear this one. It's been a while since I've done a song by song first impression so I'm just going to drop (carefully place) the needle and jot down my thoughts in real time ... more or less. Here we go ...  "Wrong or Right" is a sort of clunky slow burn with strings. John Waite is in fine form. A decent enough lead in track. The song really starts strong, and I'm thinking, "This is cool" and then the band goes into the duh duh duh duh duh duh duh section and sort of works but just feels out of sync wit...

On the Edge would be the last album by The Babys and their second to be released in 1980. John Waite would go on to a hit and miss solo career, and Jonathan Cain would join Journey. This was the album I liked best when I was a kid. I hadn't heard Union Jacks, so to me this was as good as the band got. The album opens with "Turn and Walk Away" that must have been a bigger hit in Canada as I'm sure I heard it on the radio. However, in the US it stalled outside the top 40. Too bad it didn't click, it's a hell of a song. This was the band's fifth record, and the band seemed to finally know what it wanted to be. The songs were cohesive and they were good. Sure, they were rooted in '70s rock, but the band seemed to be looking to the future.  The album was produced by Keith Olsen who was pretty busy during the '70s and '80s. There aren't many albums with his name on the jacket that I haven't enjoyed.  I wish I knew what the deal is with band...

I recently picked up a few albums (three) by The Babys - I'm still looking for their debut, but honestly I'm not looking too hard. I have   fond memories of the band and even though I can't remember much other than a couple of songs I still like them enough to want to hear their old stuff. Go figure. Head First was released at the end of '78 and they'd enjoy some chart success in April of '79 when "Every Time I Think of You" came close to cracking the top 10. It would be the band's most successful single ... but not their best song.. It's funny listening now, as I probably enjoy it more now than I did in the early '80s when I bought this one along with On the Edge . I know that "Every Time I Think of You" was the big hit, and it's a decent enough song, but for me it was the title track that floated my boat. It was a gritty, crunchy rock song with a great riff courtesy of Mr. Wally Stocker and his tasty guitar work. Not every s...

Author's warning.*  After selling 5,000,000 copies of his break through album American Fool  in the US. John was back in '83 with Uh-Huh and proceeded to go triple platinum. However, here is Canada he was moved half a million copies of each album. He was pretty big deal here ... and he'd be a big deal for a while. I was never really a big John Cougar Mellencamp fan, I'm still not, but I like him enough to buy his albums when I find them. Oh make no mistake he was decent and in small doses pretty awesome. There was something about a whole album of John's tunes that just felt overly long. I'd almost go so far as to describe a lot of it as unvarnished pretentious rock and roll. A better name for the album would be Nuh Uh. John was earnest in his pursuit of grandeur. To be fair for all the clunkers he'd then come out with an absolute barn burner. I didn't know it at the time, but John was carving his own niche. Americana wasn't really a thing I was awar...

Toronto was always one of those bands who seemed to have a decent song on the radio whenever they put out a new album. Get It On Credit was the band's third album in as many years and the big song this time was "Your Daddy Don't Know" which is a great tune even if it sounds like the song was the result of putting "Jessie's Girl" in a blender. A tad unkind, and not entirely true, but where's there's smoke there's something burning. Doesn't matter, it's the best song on the album and one that still puts a grin on my face. This is also the album where the band had mostly worked out "What About Love" but decided it wasn't good enough ...it would end up being good enough to when it kick started Heart's career a couple years later. The album is a decent collection of mid tempo rock songs, and singer Holly Woods is ably supported by guitarists Sheron Alton and Brian Allen. I've always liked the band, and I've picked...

I never liked Lionel Richie, and honestly never really gave two shits about the Commodores. I didn't want to count how many times she was a lady. When Lionel fancied himself the third wheel to the Prince / Michael Jackson milking stool I had to suffer through Can't Slow Down  when I was at my girlfriends house. She also loved the Cats Soundtrack too ... ah the blush of a first love. I will say though that I did love Louie Shelton's guitar solo on "Hello" you gotta give credit where credit is due. It was a weird thing when I found myself strangely enamoured with "Nightshift." I found the album cheap back in the day and I think I played it once before filing it away. I did pull the title track off for a few mix tapes but I never really gave the album a chance. I listened once and passed judgment and that was that. During my recent trip to Krazy Bob's to flip through his discount bins I found several copies of Nightshift , and each time I saw a copy I ...