Retro Spins: Thin Lizzy - Thin Lizzy

 

For as much as I despise live shows, that is exactly how I was introduced to Thin Lizzy. With their album, Live And Dangerous. I didn't expect it to pack the punch that it did, but wow, was I floored. I immediately tracked down their album, Jailbreak, and from there expanded into more. 

Phil Lynott and Brian Downey met while in school in Dublin, and were already performing in the group, Orphanage when they were approached by Eric Wrixon and Eric Bell to form a band in 1969. Unfortunately, for Wrixon, who was a minor, his parents would not sign any recording contracts on his behalf. He was therefore dropped from the band.

The remaining trio began to attract immediate attention in the Irish press, and announced in February of 1970 they would be called, Thin Lizzy. By the end of this year they would sign with Decca to record and release their first album.

Despite airplay support by local DJ's, the album failed to chart. This was followed up by the groups unsuccessful EP, New Day. Despite this, Decca agreed to finance and release their second studio album, 1972's Shades Of A Blue Orphanage. Once again, the album failed to chart.

Continued failure followed with their third album, 1973's Vagabonds Of The Western World, which again, despite DJ support, failed to chart. Due to increasing ill-health and disillusion with the music industry, Eric Bell left the band shortly thereafter.

Lynott would expand the group to add two guitars, leading to Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson joining the lineup for their 1974 album, Nightlife. This "classic" lineup would remain in place for the next four studio albums, Fighting (1975), Jailbreak (1976), Johnny The Fox (also 1976), and Bad Reputation (1977).

Depending on who you ask, you're get a different response as to why Brian Robertson left the group after Bad Reputation. The commonly agreed to tale is that he was unable to deal with the success brought with the album, Jailbreak, and as such, became a heavy drinker. After an accident, which resulted in a broken hand, and his inability to tour, Lynott replaced him with Gary Moore. Moore would make his debut with the band during a tour with rock legends, Queen, and even record for 1979's Black Rose: A Rock Legend. However, he ultimately declined to be part of the group permanently.

Snowy White would join Lynott, Gorham and Downey for their next albums, Chinatown (1980), and Renegade, the latter which also saw the inclusion of keyboardist, Darren Wharton. However, White would leave after growing frustrated with Lynott's professional schedule, which saw him chasing fame more than music. This wasn't helped by Lynott also pursuing a solo career, which left band members wondering if they were recording for him personally, or a Thin Lizzy album.

John Sykes would join to fulfill guitar duties for Thin Lizzy's last studio album, 1983's Thunder And Lightning.  Though he continued to write, and record music, sadly, Phil Lynott would die in 1985, ending the legacy of the band. Though it was discovered he had an addiction with heroin, which ultimately contributed to his health issues. It was also discovered that he had sepsis, which some state the singer used heroine to cope with the pain of the disease. He passed away from pneumonia and heart failure due to septicemia at the age of thirty-six.

Today we go back to 1971 to dive into the classic self titled debut that failed for Thin Lizzy back in the day, but ultimately became the foundation of which the empire was built. So let's go!

As I fired it up and heard the spoken monologue, I thought to myself, "Self, is this going to be a silly concept album which hasn't aged well because it's just silly?" The response I got was from Lynott's following vocals. A resounding, "No!" I don't know what it is about his voice, but he turns any song into gold. It's just enjoyable, even if the song isn't ultimately memorable.

Were there hits to be found here? No, not by a long shot. However, even the band knew that they only had one success, and that was, The Boys Are Back In Town. Lynott even mocks this himself during a liver performance where he says, "Here is a medley of our hit...This is The Boys Are Back In Town." The point being, I wasn't expecting to hear anything that blew me away. Rather, I just wanted to witness for myself where it all started.

In that aspect, this album is very much so worth listening to. It wasn't good. It wasn't bad. It was just a point in history I wanted to hear, and in that regard, it served its purpose.

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Retro Spins: Electric Light Orchestra - The Electric Light Orchestra

 

 Electric Light Orchestra was formed in 1970 by Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood and Bev Bevans, together they created a fusion of orchestration and rock and roll which would become the backbone of their unique sound and style for decades. Though the trio worked together as the group, The Move, by 1971 they had changed names to Electric Light Orchestra, or ELO for short.

Their self title debut was released in December of 1971 in the UK, but would not be released in the USA until early 1972. Additionally, for the US release, the album was given the name, No Answer. The album featured Wood, Lynne, Vevans, Bill Hunt and Steve Woolam, the latter would leave by their 1972 live debut at the Greyhound Pub, and further musicians, Andy Craig, Mike Edwards, Hugh McDowell and Richard Tandy were added. However, this lineup would dissolve soon thereafter.

First Craig departed, and then Wood, during the recordings for the band's second album. Taking Hunt and McDowell with him, Wood left the band to form Wizzard. Both members sited their manager, Don Arden, as the problem. Stating he failed in his role. Which is odd, because Arden would manage Wizzard.

Jeff Lynne would emerge as the new leader of ELO, and with Bevans, would create a new lineup featuring Richard Tandy, Mike de Albuquerque, Mike Edwards, Wilf Gibson, and Colin Walker to record their second album, ELO 2. Released in 1973, the album once again failed to cause any major impact.

Lynne and Bevans would release their third album, On The Third Day, also in 1973. However, another lineup change would occur for this recording. Though Wilf Gibson would play on a few tracks for the album, he was replaced by Mik Kaminski. Colin Walker would go on to join the Royal Opera House, and be replaced by Ted Blight. Members, Tandy, de Albuquerque, and Edwards would remain in place in their respective roles.

1974's Eldorado would become the groups first concept album, and also lead to their first platinum record in the UK, and gold in the USA. In addition to the members who recorded On The Third Day, High McDowell would be added to the lineup, but Mike de Albuquerque, and Mike Edwards would leave the band during the recording session. De Albuquerque cited "domestic reasons" for his departure, while it appears Edwards left to join the movement, sannyasin of Osho.

The album had a bit of a unique aftermath, with filmmaker Kenneth Anger re-releasing his 1954 film Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome in 1978, using Eldorado as the soundtrack. In 2010, Classic Rock Magazine would label it one of the fifty albums that shaped progressive rock, and Rolling Stone would rank it as one of the greatest prog rock albums of all time in 2015 (coming in at number forty-three).

Face The Music, released in 1975, was my personal introduction to the band. Though this wouldn't come until the New Millennium. With the departure of both Mike's, as noted above, Kelly Groucutt, and Melvyn Gale would join Lynne, Bevans, Tandy, Kaminski and McDowell for the recording. While it's among my favorites from ELO, it only went gold in both the UK and USA. This lineup would remain in place, becoming the "classic lineup" for subsequent) albums, A New World Record (1976), and Out Of The Blue (1977).

By 1979, a major change took place within the group when their string trio was removed from the band. While 1979's Discovery would become their first number one album in the UK, it brought with it a very condensed sound, with Lynne on vocals and guitars, Bevans on percussion, Tandy on keyboards and piano, and Groucutt on bass.

Since A New World Record, the band was consistently selling platinum albums, and this trend would continue with Discovery, and their biggest hit to come, 1980's soundtrack for the movie Xanadu, starring Olivia Newton-John. Though the first side of the album is credited to John Farrar, who penned the hits Magic and Suddenly, all of side two is credited to Jeff Lynne, and personally speaking is the better half of the album. Despite the movie itself having mixed reviews, the soundtrack has been so well received that Newton-John still incorporates songs from it in her live shows, and greatest hits albums.

Lynne, Bevans, Tandy and Groucutt would press forward with 1981's Time, and 1983's Secret Message. However, with each forthcoming release, sales would dip lower and lower. Groucutt would leave the band during the recording session for their 1983 album, citing unhappiness with his royalty payments, and the group would release their final album for over a decade as a trio, Balance Of Power in 1986.

Bev Bevans would form ELO 2, and release three albums under the new name between 1991 and 1999. However, by this point, most of the world had moved on from their scene, and sales were not noteworthy. The group disbanded in 2000, when Bevans sold his rights to the name ELO to co-founder Lynn

Though Lynne contributed to other projects throughout his entire career, such as the songs for the soundtrack, Electric Dreams, he wouldn't release his first solo work until 1990's Armchair Theatre, and its follow up, 2012's Long Wave. Though it seemed without the ELO banner, few took notice of these efforts.

With a bevy of guest musicians, Jeff Lynne would front a new Electric Light Orchestra album in 2001 entitled, Zoom. Despite the likes of Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Marc Mann, and even former member Richard Tandy, the album was ultimately skipped in mainstream music. Sales were so poor that a planned North America tour was cancelled.

Lynne would try again with 2015's Alone In The Universe and 2019's From Out Of Nowhere, this time as Jeff Lynne's ELO. Sales were much better this time around, with the 2015 album going platinum in the UK, and the second going silver. Though he has not announced any formal retirement, currently, there is no word on whether or not ELO will continue on into the future.

Though I've heard my fair share of Electric Light Orchestra songs over the years, I've never really sat down and listend to any album front to back, with exception of Face The Music. So today, I'm going back to their first release to start from the beginning.

 As I listened to the debut album of ELO, several words left my mouth throughout it. Those included, "This is awful," I really hate this," "What is this garbage," and "Is this over yet?" Songs that ran three minutes felt like they were droning on for eternity, making the longer six minute ones all the worse. If this were my first exposure to Jeff Lynne and his group, I would have never bothered to come back again. 

It wasn't until song five that something reminiscent of an ELO album started to form with the track 1st Movement, and the following thereafter, Mr. Radio. While these songs at least brought me out of my funk of hearing the album, it was just too little too late. Even then, it was far from what I would label as their best.

Bottom line, I didn't like this album. As I said above, if this were the first album I heard from them, it definitely would have been the last. It stunk. Though I plan to hear more from them, I think I'm going to go ahead and jump to Eldorado, and work my way forward through their 1986 album. That may be a better launching point. At least, I hope it is.

If I had to pull songs from this album that were "good", 1st Movement and Mr. Radio were definitely the stand outs, but not to the point that it made their debut worth listening to. I know that ELO can make good music. I've heard it. So it's not like I'm counting them out. They have a lot of songs I like. It's just a shame that their debut didn't feature any of them.

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Retro Spins: Billy Joel - Cold Spring Harbor

 

My history with Billy Joel starts around 1983, or as I like to call them, The Christie Brinkley Years. Though Uptown Girl was a frequent video on MTV, the impact for me personally was pretty limited. His follow up album, The Bridge was nowhere near my radar. This is interesting in retrospect, as it features, Modern Woman, one of the tunes from the Ruthless People soundtrack.

Billy Joel would swing back around to me in 1989 with his album Storm Front for two reasons. The first, the song, We Didn't Start The Fire. The second, because my brother got his hands on the cassette, and wouldn't stop playing it. Joel seemed to disappear from that point on, but reappeared in 1993 with his powerhouse hit, River Of Dreams. He would disappear again thereafter, and return briefly in 2001 for his last studio album to date.

Despite this lack of studio albums, he's remained fairly active in the touring scene, which I suppose isn't a bad way to do it. When you've passed your prime, in terms of selling albums, there's no shame in making money that people still want to hear you sing from your catalog.

But so far, this post has only encompassed his pop success and eventual bowing out of the studio life. Where did it all start?

According to his own words, Billy Joel wanted to be a song writer, not a rock star. When he conceived the material for his first album, Cold Spring Harbor, he envisioned the music being for other artists. This changed when he received the advice that if he wanted people to hear his music he needed to cut an album, and then go on tour to promote it.

Though his debut album would be mildly successful in Japan and the U.K., his performance of Captain Jack live on a radio show would be what garnered the attention of Columbia Records. Shifting labels, which of course lead to the usual slew of legal battles with his prior label, Joel would release, Piano Man in 1973. The album serves as his public breakthrough album, drawing in many fans.

Joel would follow this album up with 1974's Streetlife Serenade, and 1976's Turnstiles. However, it wouldn't be until 1977's The Stranger that he would finally achieve a critical and commercial breakthrough.

Despite this success, and an additional album, 1978's 52nd Street, the artist was still missing one major piece of success. Enter 1980's Glass Houses. Though it featured several singles, the stand out track, It's Still Rock And Roll To Me, would soar up the charts, becoming his first number one song. This album was followed up with 1982's The Nylon Curtain.

Welcome back to 1983's An Innocent Man. With massive radio and MTV friendly hits filling it from front to back, it would be, Tell Her About It, that would become Joel's second number one hit. This album then comes full circle back to where it started. My history with Billy Joel starts around 1983...

However, before I dig into today's Retro Spins, I'll close the loop on his number one hits. As you may recall reading, I said he's had three. That final one was the lead track from Storm Front, We Didn't Start The Fire.

With all of that summed up, here we are with today's Retro Spins. A look and listen to Billy Joel's 1971 debut, Cold Spring Harbor.

First and foremost, it's fair for me to state up front that while I like some of his music, I am by no means a Billy Joel fan. His iconic hits, such as, Piano Man, Allentown, You May Be Right, and all the others that encompass his greatest hits albums, are decent songs, but not necessarily something I make an effort to listen to. For the most part, it's before my time, and not within the sweet spot era I typically hand around in, music wise.

It became apparently quickly that his debut wasn't going to be up my alley with the opening track being a vocal and piano piece. It rang true with the "boring" sense I get from a lot of his music, and it stayed this way for the entire play through. By the end of it, I couldn't even tell you what any of the ten tracks on the album were. Nothing stood out to me.

I will give the album credit for being mellow and calming, but it's also not very entertaining. It was just background noise.

The irony to all of this, is that if I were to look at my Billy Joel music collection, which I will, the reality of despite me not being a big fan, I actually have ten of his thirteen studio albums. The only one's I'm missing are this debut album, Streetlife Serenade and Fantasies & Delusions. The completest in me says I should buy them to, "finish the set", but the reality side of me screams, "stop buying crap I don't want!" Maybe if I find them in a dollar bin, but I'm certainly not going to actively track them down.

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Retro Spins: Middle Of The Road - Middle Of The Road

 

Before ABBA took the world by storm, Middle Of The Road was the face of Europop. Lead by singer, Sally Carr, the group was well known for its harmonies, and best selling singles, Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep, Sacramento, Tweedle Dee Tweedle Dum and Soley Soley. They were so popular, that by 1972, just a year after debuting, they had already sold over five million albums.

Unfortunately, for this Scottish pop group, their popularity stayed more so confined to Europe and Latin America. My exposure came originally from Top Of The Pops albums where singer, Tina Charles, covered their song, Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep. In fact, it wouldn't be until decades later that I would actually discover the origins of the song, let alone the group behind it. But I'm glad I did.

Today, I'm spinning their 1971 self titled debut album, and let me tell you, it's an unexpected treat. The harmonies noted above aren't an exaggeration by any means. Sally Carr's vocals, while stand out as the lead singer, don't overshadow the fantastic backing vocals of drummer Ken Andrew, guitarist Ian McCredie and bassist Eric McCredie.

Though I came to the album for Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep, I walked away with far superior songs, Yellow River, Happier Than I, Places and To Remind Me. They even do a solid cover of Ain't No Mountain High Enough and Superstar. In fact, I dare say their cover of Ain't No Mountain is a far superior version than that of the Jackson 5's cover.

Hearing this album really amped me up to hear more from the group, and I actually jumped right into their second album, Acceleration. However, that's a post for another time. For now, I'm really digging the sounds of Middle Of The Road, and I highly recommend you check them out. Especially if you're a fan of ABBA. I think if you are that you'll definitely find stuff you like.

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