The Toy Box: 70's Music Review

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Retro Spins: Eagles - Eagles

When what you know about a band is limited to their overplayed hit, Hotel California, and a limited knowledge of the inner squabbles that led to their breaking up, it's difficult to motivate yourself to really want to dive into said group. But, today, I'm pushing myself to finally listen two and review the Eagles debut album.

The Eagles began when musicians, Don Henley and Glenn Frey, were hired by singer Linda Ronstadt to perform as part of her band. The two began talks about forming their own group, and it was actually Ronstadt who would arrange for Bernie Leadon to perform for her, giving the opportunity for the two to approach him about forming a band with them. Ronstadt had also hired Randy Meisner for her group, and he would join the guys to form the original lineup of the Eagles. So in short, the Eagles exist because of Linda Ronstadt.

Their 1972 debut album also served as their breakthrough, with the quartet sharing writing and lead vocal responsibilities from track to track. The record received positive reviews for their harmonies, and county rock style sound, credited to producer Glyn Johns.for developing their signature sound.

For their second album, 1973's Desperado, Henley and Frey would begin collaborating more and more together, writing eight of the eleven tracks. The two would also establish themselves as the dominant leaders of the group. Something which would eventually cause problems with the remaining members.

Wanting to break away from the country style music of their past two albums, the Eagles went to work on what would become 1974's On The Border. The band was looking for a harder rock sound, and with this came the inclusion of new lead guitarist, Don Felder. The guitarist was a childhood friend of Frey, and was asked to record slide guitars for the song, Good Day In Hell. The band was so impressed with his work, that the day after he recorded these portions, he was asked to join as the fifth member.

1975's One Of These Nights was the international breakthrough that the group was looking for. With it also came their first Grammy Award, for the song, Lyin' Eyes. While from the outside the Eagles had it all, on the inside, tensions were rising, and coming to a head fast. Brenie Leadon would quit after pouring a beer on Glenn Frey's head, being replaced by Joe Walsh for their subsequent album, 1976's Hotel California.

With Leadon's exit, the band adopted the harder sound it was initially looking for in 1974, parting ways from any form of country style recordings. Hotel California would become their biggest selling album to date, and propelled the already famous group into orbit. This led to a massive tour, which despite its success, ultimately resulted in Randy Meisner leaving the group abruptly in 1977. He was replaced by Timothy Schmit, and the band would go on to release their, at the time, final album, 1977's The Long Run.

The Long Run was a difficult album for the Eagles, taking two years to record and release. Though it was initially intended to be a double album, the group couldn't write enough songs to justify a longer LP. Though it has garnered greater praise in retrospect, at the time, it was considered to be disappointing by many critics. Despite this, it went on to be a commercial success.

Though the Eagles were already on the verge of breaking up, they were contractually obligated to provide their label with another album. The end result was their 1980's Eagles Live. With their contract fulfilled, the group took a hiatus.

The members would go on to enjoy highly successful solo careers, with Don Henley and Glenn Frey rising above them as the stand out artists. Despite this, many people still had fond memories of the Eagles, and wanted to see them reunite. It was in a 1982 interview, when Frey was asked if there would ever be a reunion, that he responded, "When hell freezes over."

In 1994, the five members of The Long Run reunited, and hit the road for their Hell Freezes Over tour. However, because the band hand instituted a policy that once you left the group you couldn't come back, both Leadon and Meisner were not invited to join. Despite this, the tour was a major success, and would eventually lead to 2007's Long Road Out Of Eden. Though before this album would come to fruition, member Don Felder would be unceremoniously fired. Something he didn't take well, and fired back with a lawsuit on. The case was settled out of court.

Between all of this, the seven Eagles members would take the stage at 1998's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame to not only accept their induction, but also perform together for Take It Easy and Hotel California as a septet. It is the first and only time that happened.

Today I'm reuniting the original lineup for their 1972 debut, and diving in to what will be my first step on the journey of the Eagles. Though my goal is to ultimately goal is to listen to all of their studio albums, since I have all but their latest, I figured I may as well do it in order.

Take It Easy and Witchy Woman lead the charge on the record, and they set the tone and expectation for a solid album. It's too bad that from there everything kind of tanks. Truth be told, I kind of tuned it out.

I'm kind of feeling like I may be a snob when it comes to music. It's like I expect better from what I'm hearing from all the hype around certain bands / artists. Almost as if it's an unrealistic expectation that everything I hear is supposed to somehow blow me away.

My plan is to still go through the rest of their albums, but I have a feeling I'm going to be leaning towards to the "hits" from them as what ultimately gets added to my shuffle list. I suppose that's not a bad thing.

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Retro Spins: Suzi Quatro - Suzi Quatro

Spanning a career multiple decades long, Suzi Quatro doesn't appear to be showing any desire to stop even in her 70's! She hit my radar not too long ago with her song, "She's In Love With You, from her 1979 album, Suzi...And Other Four Letter Words. Though I never really spring boarded from there into anything else from her.

Suzi was born to play music, having literally gotten her start playing drums for her father's jazz band at the age of seven. In 1964, at the age of fourteen, her sister started a garage band after seeing a broadcast of The Beatles. Suzi joined the group, providing vocals and bass. However, the band was limited to gigs, playing mostly at Cabernet venues, where it was more about their looks than the music. Still, this made them somewhat popular with the Detroit music scene, and they eventually released two singles in 1966 as the Pleasure Seekers.

In 1971, the music industry was looking for the next Janis Joplin, who had passed away in October of 1970. Quatro was garnering this attention with Elketra's president telling her that if she signed with them that she could be just that - the next Jopin. Enter producer Mickie Most, founder of Rak Records. Most promised he would take her to England and make her the first Suzi Quatro. However, there was just one problem. He didn't know how he was going to do that. This resulted in Quatro staying in a hotel for a year, while Most worked with her.

Quatro embarked on a tour in 1972 with Thin Lizzy and Slade, and it was during this time that she released several singles. While her first song, Rolling Stone, went to number one, this was only in Portugal. Her second single, Can The Can, went number one in both Europe and Australia. 48 Crash, Daytona Demon, and Devil Gate Drive would follow with Can, 48, and Devil all selling over a million copies. Her self titled debut would follow, but fail to garner much attention in the USA. Despite this, she would release five more albums throughout the 70's, Quatro (1974), Your Mama Won't Like Me (1975), Aggro-Phobia (1977), If You Knew Suzi... (1978), and Suzi...And Other Four Letter Words (1979).

She continued to be successful throughout Australia, but by 1980, this too waned when she switched labels to Dreamland Records. With the exception of a brief appearance in 1986 alongside the London Cast for Annie Get Your Gun, Suzi only released two albums in the 80's before disappearing. 1980's Rock Hard, and 1982's Main Attraction. To the general public, it appeared she had tapped out. However, this was far from the truth.

Though she would switch labels consecutively with each album, barring her last two, Suzi returned in 1990 with her tenth studio album, Oh, Suzi Q. She would then disappear until the middle of the decade, once again reappearing with 1995's What Goes Around - Latest And Greatest, which was part new album, part re-recorded hits. This was followed up with in 1998 with Unreleased Emotions, and 1999's Free The Butterfly, the latter which was by no means an actual album. Rather, it was a self-help sound therapy record in correlation with Shirlie Roden.

After disappearing again, Quatro would work on the album which would be presented as her come back. 2006's Back To The Drive. It was mildly successful in Switzerland, but failed to chart anywhere else in the world. With her comeback somewhat stunted, she would once again step out of the spotlight, but return with 2011's In The Spotlight...Which she ultimately wasn't, because that album too failed.

In 2017 Suzi returned with Andy Scott (of Sweet) and Don Powell (of Slade) for the aptly titled, Quatro, Scott & Powell. The album was a mix of covers and original material, and while the ingredients were all there, the album just didn't get any attention. But, Suzi didn't seem to care. She released another album in 1999, No Control, and again in 2021, The Devil In Me.

Despite Suzi's mainstay popularity in Australia, and a stunted career from the 80's and on, I'm here today to go back to her original debut album from 1973. I want to hear who Suzi was, where she started, and see for myself that piece of an era that I can't help but feel has most likely been forgotten by the world.

Well, sadly this write up isn't going to be long. While Suzi has a powerful voice, and her band is suitable for the tunes they're playing, they just aren't any good. In fact, they're so forgettable that as I was typing all of the above, I actually tuned it out. I was surprised when typing this paragraph that the album was wrapping up with the final track. Nothing stood out.

It appear that perhaps the rest of the world may have been right with this one. It's just not good. Well, let me take that back. It's just not memorable. And that, in and of itself, is probably worse than being bad. See, I'll remember a lot of songs I absolutely hate for all the wrong reasons. Whereas, even now, I can't really remember anything from this album that I heard. I couldn't repeat one word to you from any of the songs.

I guess for me, I'll stick to the one tune I pulled from her 1979 album, which I own, but have never heard in its entirety. After this listening session, I see no reason to really do so. But, I suppose if there's one thing to be happy about. At least we got her appearance on Happy Days to perform, Do The Fonzie!

Yeah...That's probably not something to be proud of.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

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.

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.

Retro Spins: Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell

He was big. He was beefy. He was Meat Loafy. Nothing about the portly man screamed rock and roll sex symbol. But, there he was. With powerful voice as his ammo, Meat Loaf stormed the stages across America to become one of rock and roll's greatest rockers of the 70's.

His journey began in 1968, when he formed his first band, Meat Loaf Soul. During this era, he would open for the likes of Van Morrison, The Who, Grateful Dead, and The Stooges. However, it was when he joined the stage performance of Hair, that people started to take him a bit more notice. It was with this success that Motown invited him to record with Shaun "Stoney" Murphy. This led to his first album, Stoney and Meat Loaf, released in 1971.

The album was unsuccessful, despite a string of tours with the likes of Alice Cooper, Bob Seger, and Rare Earth, and Meat Loaf would return to the stage, eventually rejoining the cast of Hair on Broadway. It was during one of his auditions for More Than You Deserve that the singer would meet his soon to be longtime collaborator, Jim Steinman.

In 1974, Meat Loaf joined the L.A. Roxy cast of Rocky Horror Picture Show, where he played the role of Eddie and Dr. Everett Scott. The success of the musical led to the filming of the now cult classic film, where he reprises his role of Eddie.

Since 1972, Steinman and Meat Loaf had been working on what would become Bat Out Of Hell. However, his theater life often kept him busy, and it wasn't until the tail end of 1974 that he would commit and concentrate fully on the music. Despite this, fate would intervene once again. This time calling him back to the stage as the understudy of John Belushi for the show, Lampoon. It was here that Meat Loaf would meet Ellen Foley. She would later join the two on Bat Out Of Hell to sing the female vocals for Paradise By The Dashboard and Bat Out Of Hell, the song.

Though they tried repeatedly to get a record deal, both Steinman and Meat Loaf were met with rejection after rejection. It wasn't until Cleveland International Records took a chance on the duo that the album was finally released, and from there obliterated the world from orbit. Bat Out Of Hell has sold an estimated forty-three million copies, and remains the most successful album in Meat Loaf's catalog.

With success flowing, Steinman went to work on the follow up album, Bad For Good. Unfortunately, it wouldn't end up coming to fruition. A combination of exhaustion, hard drug abuse, and continued touring resulted in Meat Loaf loosing his voice. With no singer, but continuous pressure from the label, Steinman opted to record the album himself. It failed as a solo album.

It wouldn't be until 1981 that Meat Loaf would release a follow up album, Dead Ringer. Unfortunately, due to the time that had surpassed, people seemed to have forgotten about the singer, and while it was met with mild success, it paled in comparison to his debut. Noteworthy is the title track, Dead Ringer For Love, which features Cher.

Meat Loaf and Steinman would start feuding amongst each other, leading to lawsuits both parties would file against the other. This led to the singer, who was still contractually obligated to provide an album, looking for new writers. This mishmash of sources would lead to his third studio release, Midnight At The Lost And Found.

With his obligation to Cleveland International complete, Meat Loaf left for England with a new recording agreement with Arista. With two tracks previously written by Steinman in hand, these formed his fourth album, Bad Attitude. However, sales continued to diminish for the singer. His fifth album, 1986's Blind Before I Stop, only contributed to lower sales, which Meat Loaf blames the production for.

Though he continued to tour, Meat Loaf seemingly fell off the radar of the rock scene. But, as we all know, the world loves a comeback story, and that was what would happen in 1993. Steinman and Meat Loaf had come back together late in 1990, and began working on what would become Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell. It was labeled a joke by many in the music industry, but not to MCA. They released the record on September 14, 1993, and watched it's lead single, I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) soar to number one in twenty-eight countries.

While his subsequent albums were met with mild success, time once again played a factor, and each one saw less and less sales. Meat Loaf has released six additional albums between 1995 and 2016, but sadly seems to have been forgotten again. He announced in 2020 that he was going to head back to the recording booth to lay down a new album, and Braver Than We Are was actually released just last week, on September 21st. Sadly, Jim Steinman passed away in April of 2021 from kidney failure.

Well, today we remember Jim Steinman by going back to that classic album that put both he and Meat Loaf of the map. 1977's Bat Out Of Hell!

Right off the bat (out of hell) the album smashes you in the face with powerful rock. Hard hitting drums, shredding guitars, and an equally powerful piano and bass. It's title track is here to deliver, and it's not wasting any time. It lays the groundwork for Steinman to craft lengthy songs that manage to never get boring. This is without a doubt helped by Meat Loafs dynamic vocals.

Things mellow down quickly from there, but not in a bad way. You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth and Heaven Can Wait show his ability to gracefully sing ballads, before getting a little more aggressive and funky with All Revved Up With Nowhere To Go.

Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad delivers another soothing ballad before jumping into the albums iconic piece, Paradise By The Dashboard. It's another example of Steinman's ability to weave together a story through innuendos and hints of humor. The album wraps up with the soothing melody, For Crying Out Loud. It's a perfect end to the record.

Hearing this album makes me think of how amazing it would be if Meat Loaf were to re-record all of the tracks from Bad For Good. Just to hear it how it was intended would be so awesome. Am I a fan of Meat Loaf? Well, let's just say that after hearing this, I'm on the right path to becoming one.

Retro Spins: The Runaways - The Runaways

Though they never became a major success in the United States, the all girl led, The Runaways, shouldn't be forgotten. With the likes of Cherie Currie, Sandy West, Jackie Fox, Lita Ford and Joan Jett, they were anything but talent-less.

The initial iteration of the lineup was a trio, featuring Joan Jett on lead guitar, drummer, Sandy West, and Micki Steel, better known for her work with the other all girl group, the Bangles. Steel served double duties on bass / lead vocals, but was soon fired. Though there are several stories out there as to why she was let go, her own account was that she refused sexual propositions from their manager, and for calling their single, Cherry Bomb, "Stupid".

Peggy Foster would join as the new bassist, and Joan Jett shifted to rhythm guitar when Lita Ford was brought in as lead guitarist. Foster left after just one month, but no official reason appears to have been given as to why.

Both Cherie Currie and Jackie Fox would join the group in 1975, completing the classic lineup. Currie was just fifteen years old, and their anthem, Cherry Bomb, was written specifically for her audition with the band.

A life of rock and roll excess followed as the band released their first and second albums, respectively the self titled, The Runaways (1976), and Queens Of Noise (1977). This lead to world tours, fame, fortune, and fights. Said fights were said to be provoked by their manager and record label, and were conducted as "divide and conquer" tactics to keep the members in line, and under control. This ultimately came to a head in 1977, with Currie and Foster quitting the band.

The Runaways continued on with their third album, also released in 1977, Waiting For The Night. Joan Jett would step in to fill the roll of vocalist, in addition to her lead guitar work. Vicki Blue would join as bassist. This new lineup would remain in place through their fourth and final album, 1978's, And Now...The Runaways.

Though there were talks of a reunion a few years ago, much like the drama within the band in the 70's, this reared its head again, tainting the possibility of this happening. Lita Ford blames Joan Jett and her manager, and Cherrie Currie blames both Ford and Jett for not being able to see eye to eye. But, considering The Eagles and Guns 'N Roses managed to pull off successful reunion tours, I wouldn't count The Runaways out. Money talks, and changes minds quickly.

Until then, let's jump in our wayback machines, and head to 1976 for the debut album that started it all. The Runaways self titled album, The Runaways, featuring the classic lineup of The Runaways, singing songs written by The Runaways.

Sorry, I had a moment of wanting to be annoying. Did it work?

As I hit the play button, I was greeted by the only song I know from the quintet, Cherry Bomb. It's a classic rock anthem, and one that many people know and love. But is it amazing? No, not really. It's just okay. I think what makes it better is how iconic it is, not that it's by any means a masterpiece.

Unfortunately, I can sum up the rest of this really quickly. The rest of the album is just there. Nothing stands out. It's hard rock, for sure, but it's just not....good. In fact, now that I think about it, I kind of have to agree with Micki Steele. Even Cherry Bomb is kind of stupid.

It's a st-st-st-st-st-st-st-st-stupid song!

Thank you good night!

Retro Spins: Pat Benatar - In The Heat Of The Night

Pat Benatar exploded on the scene in 1979, competing with the predominantly male dominated hard rock scene, clawing her way to the forefront to become one of music's leading ladies of the 1980's. With an explosive list of hits, multiple platinum albums, and several Grammy Awards, she is anything but just your average singer.

Inspired one even after taking in a Liza Minnelli concert, she decided to pursue a career in music. Quitting her bank job, she shifted her focus to the night club, The Roaring Twenties, where she worked as a singing waitress. It was here where she met Phil Coxon, and together they formed Coxon's Army.

Benatar had married her high school sweetheart, Dennis Benatar in 1973, and when he returned from the army in 1975, the couple moved to New York so that she could continue her pursuit of music. During this period, she would perform regularly at Catch A Rising Star. Between 1977 and 1978 she would continue to perform at various venues, even recording commercials for Pepsi-Cola. However, it would be her headline at New York City's Tramps club in 1978 that would prove to be the opportunity she needed. The show was heard by representatives of several record labels, but it would ultimately be Terry Ellis of Chrysalis Records who would sign her. Though she would divorce her husband shortly after, she would keep his last name.

Her debut album, In The Heat Of The Night (1979) would serve as her breakthrough album, reaching number three in Canada, and paving the way for future albums, which seemingly only got bigger and better. Throughout her career, she was able to achieve a unique sound, combining both hard rock and pop.

Pat and her guitarist, Neil Giraldo would soon start dating, and by 1982 were married. To date, they remain together, and continue to tour together. A true love story that is so rare these days.

Over her four decade career, Pat Benatar has released twelve studio albums (1979 - 2003), and over twenty compilations of various formats (cassette, CD, VHS, etc.). Though I think it's fair to say her main popularity were her albums released between 1979 and 1991. Yes, sadly, she became another victim of the grunge era, losing popularity in the early 90's as the new sounds of music quickly dominated airways. Despite this, she continues to remain active, touring frequently.

Today, I'm going back to 1979 to revisit that first album which paved the way to her rock-stardom, In The Heat Of The Night.

The album punches you in the face with one of her biggest hits of all time, Heartbreaker, and from there transitions into a subpar rendering of John Mellencamp's I Need A Lover. From there, while it delivers decent tracks, nothing really stands out as amazing by any means.

It wasn't until the tail end of it all, songs seven and eight, X-Rated and Don't Let It Show, that I got interested again. Even then, these are far from "hits". Overall, it was a bit disappointing that for how popular Pat Benatar is that this album was just...Well, adequate. I expected more.

This by no means taints my opinion on her as a singer. She has a ton of hits, and I like a lot of them, if not all of them. I was just hoping to find more to add to my shuffle list than what was already there, which I suppose I did with the two aforementioned tracks.

Retro Spins: M - New York, London, Paris, Munich

Back when we were living overseas, my sister used to introduce my brother and I to all kinds of music. One such artist was M, with his only hit, 1979's Pop Muzik. As it was typical for those days, she played it for us on her series of records from Springbok Hit Parade. Volume 45 to be exact.

This was back in the days when we had no clue that those singing on the albums usually weren't the original artists. However, the tune was good enough that it got and held our young attentions.

M fell off my radar for the longest time, but when I did think back to his one hit wonder, I often considered it a song from the 80's. Ultimately, I would learn that this was incorrect on my part.

Now before I go any further, I should establish here that M is not the name of any one particular artist, but rather the group created by singer Robin Scott, who created the pseudonym as a "project" in 1978. However, prior to this, he had a humble beginning as a college student, who showed a talent for writing and performing topical songs. This led to the release of a solo album, Woman From The Warm Glass in 1969.

Though this didn't garner much attention, it did lead to Scott performing folk songs at various clubs throughout the early 70's, sharing the billing with the likes of an up and coming David Bowie. As his popularity grew, he was given the opportunity to create the multimedia project, The Voice, for the BBC, and from there set off to travel Europe and North America.

Upon returning to England, he began work on a series of demos with other artists, found himself the winner of a Star national talent show. The latter led to an offer of a recording contract, which he ultimately turned down because it did not include his backing band.

Between 1973 and 1978, he continued to work with other up and coming artists, and co-founded the record label, Do It Records, which he released the Roogalator's debut album, Play It By Ear through. However, the label's most noteworthy talent would be Adam And The Ants, who they released the first recordings for in 1979.

Scott would eventually relocate to France around 1979, and it was here that he created M, utilizing session musicians for the group. It was with them that he created and recorded the number one hit, Pop Muzik for the 1979 debut album, New York, London, Paris, Munich. Though it would become their only US chart topper, there were several other songs which charted in the UK. Despite this, M's follow up albums, The Official Secrets Act (1980), Famous Last Words (1981), and Jive Shikisha (1984 recorded, but released in 1998) would all be failures.

Today, I'm going back to my childhood, to relive those times where we sat in a circle around my sister's record player to finally listen to the full debut album of M. The aforementioned 1979, New York, London, Paris, Munich.

Sadly, I can sum this one up relatively quickly. It was difficult to get through. Normally, when I create these posts for my Retro Spins reviews, I type as I listen. I couldn't do this with this particular album. The reason being was that the tracks were very distracting. Almost to the point of annoying. What made this disappointing for me was that the songs themselves weren't actually bad. But, something about them left me unable to focus, and even now, I'm not sure what that was.

With exception of Pop Muzik, which still stands the test of time as a great tune, nothing else was all that memorable. I can't really say much more than that.

Retro Spins: Lipps, Inc. - Mouth To Mouth

Alright! Get your platforms on, and let's go dancing!

Lipps, Inc. may not be a very note worthy group for their long term contribution to the world of music. In fact, many people probably won't even recognize the group's name, let alone the lead singer, Cynthia Johnson.

For those that do happen to recognize them, many will confuse their only top ten hit as an 80's song. This would be because while the album was released in November of 1979, the track, Funkytown, didn't hit the charts until March of 1980. By May of that same year, it shot all the way up to the number one spot, and in fact became a number one hit in a whopping twenty-eight countries! In The USA alone, it spent five consecutive weeks in the number one spot.

Not bad for a group that started out as one individual, Steven Greenberg, who was a wedding DJ of all things. Cynthia Johnson joined the group, creating a duo, after auditioning to sing Greenberg's first single, Rock It. Several other members would soon come together to create what would be the debut album, Mouth To Mouth. However, of the other seven members who contributed, several would exit and be replaced for subsequent albums.

Despite having such a successful debut album, Lipps, Inc. failed to garner much attention with their follow up albums, Pucker Up (1980), Designer Music (1981), and 4 (1983). With decreasing interest, and less and less contributions in the group starting long before their final album, Johnson officially quit the group in 1983. Though she's gone on to be a successful business owner, as these things tend to happen, Johnson has returned to the stage to perform various one-off renditions of Funkytown. However, in doing so, it doesn't appear to have been with founding member, Steven Greenberg.

Well, today let's jump in our wayback machines and head to 1979 for a listen to Lipps, Inc.'s debut, Mouth To Mouth. A time in which both Johnson and Greenberg were present driving forces of the group, their music, and their most popular song, Funkytown.

Sometimes short and sweet are the best, and that's the case with this album. Mouth To Mouth only has four tracks on it, and while the average song is eight minutes, it packs quality in the overall lack of quantity. Of the tracks, Funkytown, All Night Dancing, Rock It, and Power, I liked all by the latter.

What stood out the most was the heavy groove and funk, which left me tapping my toes and bobbing my head to each tune. I dug it a lot, and was really surprised at how good it was. In hindsight, it made it all the more odd that only their 1979 debut was popular, and that their future attempts failed so poorly. Clearly the group has the ability to deliver strong songs. My only thought would be that perhaps with the changing times from disco to new wave, that Lipps, Inc. simply didn't change with the times, making them obsolete. But that's just speculation on my part. I honestly don't know.

For what it's worth, this album is solid, and definitely worth checking out. Especially if you're a fan of disco.

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: Journey - Journey

Journey had a bit of a rough start when the band first came on the scene. Lead singer Greg Rollie, lead guitarist Neal Schon, rhythm guitarist George Tickner, bassist Ross Valory and drummer Prairie Prince recorded all the tracks that would eventually become their 1975 self titled debut album. However, by the time it was released, Aynsley Dunbar replaced Prince as the drummer. Despite this change, their debut was met with lackluster enthusiasm.

Their follow up album, 1976's Look Into The Future, would see the departure of rhythm guitars Tickner, who was not replaced by anyone. This album too failed to garner much attention. This same mild reception occurred with their 1977 album, Next.

With sales not improving on their albums, CBS Records requested the band change their musical style, and bring in a front man. It was while on tour in '77 that the group was introduced to Steve Perry, who made his live debut with the band that same year upon being hired by the band. From there, the band's earlier jamming sounds of the 70's turned into garbage, and nobody cared.

HA! Take that, Journey fans!

Seriously though. As we all know, under the lead of Steve Perry, Journey went on to become one of the hottest rock bands of the 70's and 80's, churning out hit after hit. Band members would continue to depart and be replaced, including Perry himself after their 1986 album, Raised On Radio, but he returned briefly in 1996 for the album Trial By Fire. The period in which Perry fronted the group remain the band's highest selling albums to date.

With not much love in my heart for Journey, I reluctantly fired up their debut album. I was immediately greeted by an edgy guitar hook, which was quickly taken over by a manic drum beat. I was kicked to the back of my seat with a, "Whoa! Who is this?" This was straight up classic rock.

As I listened on, I thought to myself, "What were the record execs thinking?" This was awesome! Everyone brought their "A" game, exploding with instrumental talent. It felt more like a jam session, but one that had been honed and crafted to perfection. Hearing this made me want to dive straight in to the other two albums pre-Perry (which I suppose we can just call the PP years - Is that childish?).

Hearing this album makes me understand what the guitarist for the band meant when they were talking about all the ballads, and he said something to the tune of, "What exactly is my part in this song?" Journey knows how to play their instruments, and they do this well. This is something that gets buried in the sappiness that is their PP :) years. Seriously though. It's like listening to a completely different band.

More Journey like this, please.

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Retro Spins: The Police - Outlandos d'Amour

People often forget that The Police didn't get their start in the 80's. In fact, their hit, Message In A Bottle, often played on 80's stations, was released in 1979.

The Police formed in 1977, consisting of lead singer and bassist, Gordon Matthew Thomas Summer, AKA Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland. They released their first album, Outlandos d'Amour, translated from French to love outlandos, but loosely translated for the album as Outlaws of Love. The album reached number six on the charts, and with the aid of their hits, Roxanne and Can't Stand Losing You, contributed greatly to their following four albums reaching number one.

Hit after hit was churned out by the band, and by 1983 they were at the height of their popularity with their 8X platinum (in the USA alone) album, Synchronicity. I imagine many that year asked where The Police could possibly go from there. Shockingly, they disbanded.

Upon completing their tour for the album in 1984, the group took a hiatus. This was mainly a result of lead singer, Sting, wanting to focus on a solo career, releasing his first album, The Dream Of The Blue Turtles. As he toured throughout 1985 and parts of 1986. Though the band intended on recording a new album, it was apparent to the remaining two members that their lead singer really didn't have any interest in the project. Coupled with drummer, Copeland, breaking his collar bone the night before they were scheduled to return to the studio, the band called it quits.

It's a bit selfish if you think about it. How many bands survive when the lead singer leaves? Sure, it happens, but not often. For Sting to be so self centered that he preferred to focus on a solo career only serves to show how greedy he is as a human being.

However, him being a douche bad didn't stop me from buying all of the band's studio albums, so today, I'm jumping into Outlandos d'Amour to give it a spin.

It's interesting hearing the album, because it sounds like grunge, before grunge was a thing. Wikipedia classifies the album as punk, and I can totally hear that in it, which is odd, because I never thought of The Police as a punk band. They really don't look the part.

Outlandos is a decent album, but it by no means blew me away. The two hits from it are fantastic even to this day, but beyond that, I didn't hear anything else that stood out. It does intrigue me to keep moving through their library of records, but it doesn't necessarily make me a fan.

Retro Spins: Rush - Rush

Before the classic lineup of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart, there was another iteration of Rush.

Front man and bassist Jeff Jones, lead guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer John Rutsey were the initial incarnation of the band in the summer of 1968. However, by fall of that same year, Geddy Lee would replace Jones, and this line up of Lee, Lifeson and Rutsey would record and release the debut self titled album in 1974.

Though Rutsey was credited with the overall success of Rush creating its first album, being the man who often pushed Lee and Lifeson to practice and stay focused, he would end up leaving the band shortly after their first album. This was a decision based on concerns with his health, due to his diabetes, a difference in musical direction, and an overall dislike of touring. His absence was filled by drummer Neil Peart, and with that, the classic lineup of Rush which would go on for forty years was in place.

Peart would not only provide a unique percussion sound to the band, but also be credited as the main writer of lyrics. His lover for science fiction would often result in rock opera style albums, which would remain a recurring theme through the 70's, intertwining many of their records with a continuous story.

It's long been disputed as to whether or not Rush was better in the 70's versus the 80's. To this, I can only say that I suppose it varies based on your own personal tastes. If nothing else, Rush certainly continued to evolve in their music, starting with a hard rock style, which eventually moved into prog rock for the majority of the 70's, before transitioning to synth led tracks, and even a little commercial mainstream. The band never really seemed to stay still long enough to really label them as any one particular style. I think this is what not only led them to such a successful career, but also one that helped keep them relevant in an ever changing industry over the decades.

With that said, I can also understand that Rush is one of those groups that people tend to love or hate. I've heard it many times from people when I ask them, "Do you like Rush?" They either say, "I love them," or "I can't stand them." The usual answer for why people don't like them typically goes like this, "The music sounds great, but I hate the singer's voice." I totally get that. Geddy Lee's vocals can be cringe worth to people not expecting such a shrill noise. It's an acquired taste.

For me, my journey with the band began in the early 90's, when I heard a song on the radio, but had no clue what it was. Being young and naive, I thought that going down to my local Waxie Maxie, telling the clerk I had heard a song recently from them, and briefly trying to explain what it was would lead me to getting the album. Not so much. The clerk handed me the 1980 released Permanent Waves, and said, "It's probably on here. This is the album most people ask for." For the record, that song was Nobody's Hero from the 1993 released Counterparts. However, this wasn't a bad thing. Getting my hands on Permanent Waves introduced me to The Spirit Of Radio, Freewill, Jacob's Ladder, and Natural Science, which in turn led me to wanting to here more from the group. As my collection of Rush albums grew, I eventually stumbled across Counterparts, and got the song I was initially after.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, today's Retro Spin takes us back the bands 1974 self titled debut, where we hear the origins featuring the (somewhat) original lineup. Sadly, my overall impression of the album can be summed up much quicker than the above.

Things spring into high gear with Finding My Way, a classic staple of the groups many greatest hits albums. However, from there, the remaining tracks kind of fall into obscurity as noise. That is until things wrap up with Working Man, another iconic song often found on their various hits albums.

Overall, it's okay as an album, but it certainly doesn't scream forty year veteran band, which I suppose isn't uncommon. It's just unfortunate, considering who the are. Most of the times when someone gains an appreciation for a group, they can go back to their earlier works and view it through stain glassed eyes, finding more joy out of it than your casual listener. With Rush, I don't get that. The album's decent, but it's not rave worthy.

Most of the songs just don't make the cut. For me, I'd rather just pull the two off of it I like, add them to my shuffle, and move on. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it is admittedly a little disappointing.

Do I still like Rush? Absolutely. I think they're a great bad. They never necessarily went mainstream, but at the same, they have a distinct sound to them, that when you hear it, you can immediately say, "That's a Rush song." I think that's one of the things I like most about them. They're familiar, which in and of itself is a good thing.

Retro Spins: Heart - Dreamboat Annie

Heart exploded big time in the 80's with their 1985 self titled album, which featured powerful hits such as; Never, What About Love and These Dreams. For me, the female led group came out of nowhere, but quickly became one of my favorites, thanks in part to continuous rotation on MTV.

However, little did my young mind know that Heart were no strangers to the world of rock 'n roll. Singer Ann and Nancy Wilson had been fronting the band for over a decade, lavishing as queens of rock with hits such as; Crazy On You, Magic Man, Barracuda, Straight On, and several more.

The group released their debut album, Dreamboat Annie, in 1975 in Canada under the label, Mushroom Records. Despite this limited release, the album would reach number twenty on the charts, going double platinum before it was released in the United States in 1976.

With major success under their belts from the starting gate, Heart began negotiations with their label to received a larger slice of the royalties, insisting that as a platinum band they should be compensated more. However, Mushroom insisted the group was a one hit wonder, and held firm. This lead to producer Mike Flicker leaving the label, which was the loophole Heart felt was in their benefit to also exit as well, as their contract specifically stated Flicker would produce their albums. Heart signed with Portrait.

Mushroom on the other hand felt the band was contractually obligated to provide them with two additional albums. When they band refused, the label took it upon themselves to release Magazine in 1977. As legal proceedings ensued, a settlement court ruled in Heart's favor to stop distribution on the album. However, with this, Heart was to provide the label with the promised second album per their contract. The group opted to return to the studio and complete Magazine, which was re-released in 1978.

Sadly, Vice President of Mushroom Records, Shelly Siegel died suddenly in January 1979 of a brain aneurysm. Without her, the label inevitably wen bankrupt, and closed down in 1980. This lead to Capitol Records purchasing the rights to Heart's first two albums, which they re-released in the early 80's.

Wow, that's a lot of good drama surrounding the band, but what about this purported double platinum album, Dreamboat Annie? Is it as juicy as the spectacle that was Heart versus Mushroom Records? Well, I suppose that depends on your personality. Do you like gossip or music better?

Dreamboat Annie jumps right into the highlights of the album with Magic Man, which sets the bar pretty high. For whatever reason, this is followed up by a very short rendering of Dreamboat Annie, the song. Just as you're getting into it, it ends, making you wonder why it was even included. Fortunately, you are quickly whisked off with Crazy On You, distracting you from the odd edited track.

There's a couple throw away songs after this, and finally you come to the full version of Dreamboat Annie, but then you're once again taken on a journey of throw away forgettable songs for the remainder of the album. This all wraps up with yet another rendition of Dreamboat Annie, this time a reprise version. Come on, Heart. The song is okay, but it's not that good that you needed to add it three times to the album.

Overall, their debut album is decent. I can understand how it would go double platinum, being led by Magic Man, Crazy On You, and Dreamboat Annie. These are good songs. However, for as good as those three tracks are, the remaining seven are equally as forgettable. Hearing this album doesn't make me necessarily want to listen to any other studio albums from Heart. Rather, it makes me more so inclined to grab a greatest hits and cut to the chase.

Retro Spins: Johnny Cougar - Chestnut Street Incident

Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, John Cougar Mellencamp or John Mellencamp. Whatever you call him, the man had a rocky start in the music industry with his debut album selling only twelve thousand copies upon its initial release. It was so bad that not only did his record label drop him, but they refused to release his already completed second album, The Kid Inside (which would ultimately end up being released as his sixth studio album).

Leading up to his debut, Mellencamp signed with then David Bowie manager, Tony DeFries. However, DeFries was adamant that nobody would buy a record for a man named John Mellencamp, and without the singer's knowledge, changed his name to Johnny Cougar. Mellencamp would not find out about this until he saw the final product of his debut album. The irony ending up being that people apparently wouldn't buy an album for someone named Johnny Cougar either.

Despite this setback, Mellencamp was able to secure a new record deal, and released his second album, which was actually recorded third, A Biography. This would be the last album credited to Johnny Cougar, which was shortened to John Cougar for his self titled album in 1979. This would lead to Mellencamp's first top forty hit. Though he would go on to release Nothin' Matters And What If It Did in 1980, the singer's breakthrough wouldn't come until hit 1982 album American Fool.

Today, I'm going back to 1976 to check out that debut record featuring Johnny Cougar singing about the Chestnut Street Incident. As I fired it up, I was greeted by a younger sounding musician, who despite this being his first record sounded powerful and passionate about what he was singing. While the majority of what played on were covers, it was when the title track of the album kicked in that I found myself saying, "Yes. This is John Mellencamp."

Chestnut Street, the song, feels very much like what drew fans to his music in the 80's. A well crafted story, from a personal perspective of Mellencamp. This is not only a great song, but the turning point in the album where I felt like it had any meaning to the singer. However, this got buried quickly under a pile of generic tracks written by Mellencamp, and more covers. This wasn't helped by a revisited rendition of Chestnut Street, aptly titled, Chestnut Street Revisited. It only stood to prove what I felt that this particular track was the best that was to be had on this album.

I won't go so far as to call the who experience, "bad". Truthfully, his cover versions of songs such as Oh, Pretty Woman, Jailhouse Rock, and Twentieth Century Fox aren't terrible. It's difficult to record a cover that is worth listening to over the original, and Mellencamp pulls this off. They're not superior versions, but they're okay.

Truth be told, I was a little surprised to read that his label dropped him after this album was released, because it actually got me interested in hearing more from him from this era. I therefore can't help but wonder if perhaps the failure of this album wasn't more so the result of a lack of good marketing, because the album itself is good.

Retro Spins: Gary Numan - The Pleasure Principle

By the time Gary Numan went solo in 1979, he had already released two albums with his band, Tubeway Army, which featured Numan on Vocals, Paul Gardiner on bass and Jess Llydard on drums. Though Gardiner would stay with Numan's solo iteration, Llydard would be replaced by Cedric Sharpley. Additionally, Chris Payne would join to fill the role of keyboardist.

Numan is of course known for his most popular song to date, Cars, a new wave synthpop treat. Because the time of it reaching the charts, number eighty-nine in February of 1980, Cars is often times mistakenly categorized as an 80's song, despite being released on Numan's 1979 solo debut, The Pleasure Principal. Cars would eventually crack the top ten, but not go any further than number nine.

Unlike many Retro Spins artists that I review, Numan is one of the few who remains active to this day, with his latest album, Intruder, slated for a 2021 release. Though personally, I've not heard anything from him, with exception of the above noted song.

And, it's because of said song that I'm here today listening to the album it's from, which just so happens to be Numan's first solo debut...which I think I said already.

Here's the thing. If you love synthpop, you will probably really like (or love) this album. It's new wave before new wave was really a thing. While I heard some tracks that intrigued me, nothing really stuck for me, with exception of the song I bought the album for, which again, was cars.

Numan has somewhat of a whiny voice, and it can actually grate on your nerves if you dwell on it too much. His music is by no means any form of masterpiece, heck, even cars is a pretty generic song, but it's catchy. I think this is what perhaps he thrives at as an artist. Simple songs that have catchy hooks.

I went ahead and read a listing of Numan's, "greatest hits", to see if there were songs I perhaps knew of, but had forgotten. I didn't recognize any of them. Suffice to say, I'm content with the song I bought this album for, and don't see myself branching off any further in his music.

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Retro Spins: Queen - Queen

I by no means had to listen to Queen's debut album to write this post, but you best believe I did. To me, there was simply no better band out there. Considered the royalty of music by those who love them, or the most pretentious band of all time by those that don't, it seems there's two categories - You either love 'em or hate 'em, or so I am lead to believe.

One of the most disappointing things for me, as it pertains to Queen, was that I didn't get tuned into them until the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1991. At this point, lead singer Freddie, had already succumbed to his battle with HIV and AIDS, and while the world of rock 'n roll mourned a legend, my young mind was being blown away by the amount of songs I knew, but never bothered to put any effort into figuring out who sang the songs.

Yes, the bands I was big into during that era were all there, Metallica, Guns 'N Roses and Def Leppard, but among them, front and center, was the band that the show was ultimately for. I was hooked. To this day I still remember my first CD of Queen was Sheer Heart Attack, and my last, to complete my collection of their albums was, Hot Space.

Queen became a daily listen for me, quickly replacing the heavy metal sounds that were filling my speakers prior to that. I was hooked, and I wanted more and more from the band. Every time I saw a new live album or greatest hits released, I took notice, but in terms of the hits, didn't necessarily rush out to buy. To this day I pine for Queen to release more live material from the golden years, and give up chasing their current cover band iteration with Adam what his face. The proof is in the pudding that nobody wants this, with their 2020 live album with Lambert only going silver (AKA selling only 100,000 albums).

But I digress - Very angrily.

I wish I could tell you where I was, and how it felt to hear the debut self titled Queen album for the first time, but I can't. At this point in my life, I had a steady flow of their albums coming in, and not at all in the order they were released. To me, it was just another album to get my hands on. With that said, I can only imagine how amazing it would have been to pull the 1973 vinyl from it's sleeve back when it first came out and hear that amazing guitar lick of Keep Yourself Alive for the first time.

Admittedly, it's difficult for me to honestly critique any Queen album because I'm so invested in them. Even the worst of their stuff is good, and sometimes grow on me more when I listen to them. Despite this bias opinion, I will without a doubt claim that Queen, the 1973 album is pure perfection from front to back. This is not an album I skip around when playing it. I want to hear every track, in the order it was intended, and get lost in a blissful thirty-nine minute trance of the sounds.

If your only exposure to Queen has been their current iteration sans John Deacon and Freddie Mercury, first and foremost, shame on you. Second, do yourself a favor and go listen to the originals. Start with their self titled debut album, and work your way chronologically through their final posthumous, Made In Heaven. You won't be disappointed.

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