Tag: rock

HSAS – Through The Fire

On By bigbadburchIn Album of the Week2 Comments

Time to dust off this old supergroup one-off and see what we have 40 years later.

HSAS – Through The Fire

Released March 1984 via Geffen Records

HSAS was the long-sough collaboration between Sammy Hagar and Neal Schon. The two had time after Journey released Frontiers and Sammy had been touring behind Three Lock Box during 1983. There were a minimum of rehearsals and the album was recorded during live shows in San Francisco in late ’83. The crowd noise was turned down for the recordings and some overdubs were needed on guitar, but otherwise the album is what was recorded on stage. For this project, Schon is handling the guitars and Hagar is confined to vocal duties.

Supergroups are often more about the members and that is certainly the case here, as the entire story of this album is in the lone paragraph above. So let’s have a look at each member of this short-lived group.

Sammy Hagar had finally established himself as a viable force in the early ’80’s after grinding away during the prior decade as a solo artist after his short tenure with Montrose. Hagar had gone platinum with Standing Hampton and then gold with Three Lock Box. In ’84 he was just a few months away from more huge solo success with VOA, and in a year’s time his world would look radically different.

Neal Schon had come up with the Santana band in 1971. After Santana, Schon and bandmate Gregg Rolie would form the band that went on to become Journey. They of course enjoyed massive success in the early ’80’s. Schon is still with Journey to this day and has a list of side projects and guest appearances that would take a book to keep track of.

Kenny Aaronson came up in New York during the 1970’s, starting as a teen with the short-lived band Dust. He’d then go on to play a long stint with Rick Derringer as well as a brief jaunt with a just-formed Hall and Oates. He was with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts in 1984 and has gone on to scores of other appearances over the years, including a stint with Bob Dylan.

Michael Shrieve began pounding the drums in earnest as a founding member of Santana, thus linking him to Schon. After leaving that group, Shrieve recorded a wide variety of solo and session projects. He had just been doing Mick Jagger’s ’84 solo album when HSAS came up.

So this is the group of clearly accomplished musicians who would convene to record this effort. There are 9 tracks at a very reasonable 36:39 runtime. Everything was written by Hagar and Schon save for the obvious cover song. Both also produced the album. A few re-issues exist but nothing with any bonus stuff that I know of. If you were to want a copy of this record, $5 and a few minutes in the record store would do the trick, it is not hard to come by.

Top Of The Rock

The opener is a very simple hard rock track that sounds exactly like something you’d expect Sammy Hagar to record in the 1980’s. It would slot in just fine on any of his solo records. There isn’t anything really special or dynamic about this song but it is a quality effort. Grade: B

Missing You

This one is another pretty straightforward track, in some sense it is almost woefully basic. But it does execute well for a song from this time period. It does sound and feel like Neal Schon has his imprint on this song and there are a few guitar flourishes here and there for a bit of excitement. Grade: B-

Animation

This one wastes a few minutes with some weird, echo-ridden intro that does nothing but then it finally gets into a very nice, heavy and groovy song. It’s honestly a bit tough to grade since it’s half really good and half kinda shit. I guess that’s one way of being average. Grade: C

Valley Of The Kings

This one is a very nice, plodding yet pounding song that does feel like it’s going somewhere. It doesn’t necessarily get there but the song is a nice premise and it hits well with its pacing and tone. Grade: B

Giza

This is nothing really more than a small outro from the prior song. It’s fine from that perspective but on its own as a track on the album it’s a total waste of time. I don’t have an issue with musicians doing odd crap like that, but given that this project had several other songs they recorded that didn’t make the album, there was clearly room for something else here. This is a royal waste of time, thankfully it only wastes about a minute and a half. Grade: D

Whiter Shade Of Pale

This is a cover of the beloved Procol Harum classic. The original is such a stunner due to its organ, psychedelic vibes and mournful tone. This rendition is a standard ’80’s guitar rock exercise that turns the song into a rock ballad. It’s not badly performed but it also strips the essence out of the song. And playing an all-time classic like this kind of exposes that the rest of the album was written in a hurry and isn’t fully fleshed out. Grade: C

Hot And Dirty

Here the band really get down and rock out. The song is again pretty basic but this is also really slamming. Schon really gets going with the guitar and this is one you can really raise your fist and yell to. Easily the highlight of the record. It’s also the least-streamed song on Spotfiy, people are missing out here. Grade: A-

He Will Understand

This song starts out as a ballad about being alone, then it starts rocking out in maybe a bit of a rock opera fashion at one point. There are the makings of a decent song here, but this is pretty disjointed and clumsy. It could have been much more than what it became. Grade: D+

My Home Town

The album ends with a banging hard rocker. It’s all about the pounding drums and bass and Schon’s flying guitar here. The crowd noise was not able to be removed here, it’s clear they are in a concert setting. A really nice way to send this album off. Grade: B+

Through The Fire did wind up with the fate of being a side project album. The collective fanbases of Sammy Hagar and Journey did not fall all over themselves to purchase the record. The album did not chart at all. The album’s only single was Whiter Shade Of Pale and it barely charted, hitting 94 on the Hot 100. The album was quickly forgotten as Sammy Hagar went into his VOA era and later into Van Halen, while Neal Schon pressed on with Journey. Hagar and Schon would reconvene decades later with the Planet Us project, though they only did two songs that were released later on a Sammy solo record.

The verdict on Through The Fire is honestly a hair more complicated that it seems on the surface. One aspect that does stand out is the production – they did a great job capturing new songs from live shows. It’s very easy to hear each instrument here and everything sounds great. It does have that live album feel to it but it was captured wonderfully. It is something that needs to be pointed out when discussing the record.

Overall though, this one doesn’t offer a whole lot. There are a handful of quality songs and there are a few missteps. It does stand out that this project had promise and could have benefited from more time in the oven. If they’d taken more time to flesh out some songs and offer up a few more dynamics, we’d be talking about a much different album.

Album Grade: C-

In the end we’re left with a footnote in the careers of Hagar and Schon, as well as Aaronson and Shrieve. That’s often what happens with these side project sort of releases – a bit of hype when it comes together, then the album quickly hits the cut-out bin as the band members go on to their day jobs. It’s a cheap and easy piece to get if you’re a Sammy or Neal completionist. (If you’re a Kenny Aaronson completionist, you need help and a large bank roll) But this album is not essential for any sort of listening beyond that, even in the backdrop of 1984 this one got left in the wake of all the massive music that came around that year.

Picking Five Songs From 1976

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year4 Comments

After a few weeks layoff due to super busy stuff, I’m getting back to this thing again. I’m also working well ahead on these now so the series won’t be interrupted again. It’s not like it takes any massive amount of time to put these posts together.

We’re now to 1976, which is the last time you’ll see me say I wasn’t around for the year. This is also where things start getting tough – this was probably the most difficult five songs I had to pick of all I’ve been through so far. Yes, the 1980’s get insanely crowded but it’s so absurd by that point that it’s actually easier to just grab five songs. This year I had to bump things left and right, and really go over the five I wanted. But I did eventually get a list together so let’s have at it.

The Runaways – Cherry Bomb

Up first is this fantastic cut from the revolutionary all-woman group. It was the start of the illustrious careers of Joan Jett and Lita Ford, but even beyond that it was a massive dose of grit and attitude. And it was seriously heavy – heavier music was about to really take off and The Runaways were definitely a part of that.

Judas Priest – The Ripper

Speaking of heavy, it’s time to welcome Judas Priest to these lists. If you’re thinking this is just the first of many appearances, you’d be right. Heavy metal was kind of in a down period as Black Sabbath were fading during this time, but Priest served as the bridge between Sabbath and the metal golden era of the ’80’s. Here they cut into the gruesome tale of Jack The Ripper, perhaps the most notorious criminal in history. The guitar work that truly set heavy metal apart is center stage here, and while Rob Halford is fairly restrained through most of the song, he lets loose at the end.

Boston – Foreplay/Long Time

Up next is a cut from the world famous Boston debut. This has one of the best instrumental sections around in the Foreplay intro. Then the song breaks into Long Time, a fantastic rocker about having to move on. The lyrics are philosophically heavy, but it’s just as easy to totally rock out to the music too. And in defiance of the “shorter is better” pop song format, this nearly 8 minute long cut still gets airplay 48 years on.

Kiss – God Of Thunder

Kiss had a banner year in 1976, releasing two of their best albums and truly becoming a force in the live market. But for all of their triumphs that year, it’s this plodding heavy metal track that Paul Stanley brought to the table that does it for me. Bob Ezrin slowed the song down and gave it to Gene Simmons to sing, and this is easily one of Gene’s biggest moments on record. Even the most die-hard of extreme metalheads get down to this song.

AC/DC – Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Wrapping up with another list debut, AC/DC crack this one with one of their early signature songs. This snarling, tough tale of a killer for hire is both rocking and pretty funny. It’s easily one of the band’s most recognizable songs today, though it took years for it to get from Australia to the US. But the gritty rock and sing-along chorus are just too good to be passed up.

That does it for 1976. The next few weeks will close out the ’70’s as music really started changing dramatically, then the ’80’s come around and make these lists damn near impossible to do. ‘Till then.

The Saga of the Oasis Tickets

On By bigbadburchIn live music6 Comments

Last week was a huge moment in music – Oasis announced a series of North American concerts to be held in August and September of 2025. Their previously announced UK and Ireland shows sold out in a matter of minutes with a ton of issues surrounding demand and pricing. But Oasis were also far bigger in their native England than they were in the US, so how would the handful of North American shows fare?

Before tickets officially went on sale on Friday, October 4th, the band announced second shows for all North American dates, except one – the Chicago show at Soldier Field would remain a lone date. Lucky me, as I would be trying to secure tickets for that very show.

I did get a pre-sale code that would let me buy tickets on Thursday, a day before the general sale. I figured I’d take a shot at seeing them, I never had despite having lived in Europe through the late ’90’s and having every opportunity to see them whenever I wanted.

There are a few other things I’ve never done – I’ve never been to a stadium concert and I’ve never bought a ticket for a high-demand event. I think the 20,000 capacity amphitheater style gig is the biggest type I’ve been to, and none of those shows were sell-outs. I’ve been to several sold-out or near sold-out shows, but all of those were smaller, club-level shows at 1,000 or less capacity. I’ve never had a problem getting tickets to something even if it was a hot ticket.

But this Oasis reunion is a HOT ticket. Again, it melted down Ticketmaster in England due to demand. Many people over there were left out, which also served to increase North American demand as many from England would be trying their luck with shows across the pond.

I’ve bought tickets at box offices and record stores back in the days of paper tickets, I’ve obviously boguht online a lot in the past many years, and I’ve showed up to many shows and simply paid at the door without an advanced ticket. One thing I’ve never done is use an online queue system like what Ticketmaster had set up for these shows.

I got home on Thursday from work about fifteen minutes before the pre-sale began. I logged into my Ticketmaster account and, in what proved to be a grave mistake, I waited until the sale launched to join in. Had I jumped in right when I got home, there might have been a different outcome to this story.

When I got into the queue, there were 16,800 people ahead of me. I was a bit miffed that I was so far back, but then I hopped on reddit to see what people were saying and I found out I messed up by not joining as soon as I could.

this was after I’d been in the queue for a few minutes

I don’t know the exact number of tickets available – Soldier Field concerts seem to run around 54,000 or so. The number of people in the queue, who could each buy 4 tickets, far exceeded the capacity. Take into account that not all tickets were sold during the pre-sale and pickings were truly slim.

Anyway, I waited 40 minutes to get in and when I did, it was a bloodbath. There were a few scattered seats, but I couldn’t get one quick enough. The GA floor only had VIP available, and it quickly came down to only having VIP seats as well, at a $600 minimum. I simply closed my browser tab and went about my day.

I did not bother trying for the general sale the next day. I believe Chicago sold out in 19 minutes, and all of the other gigs (with two shows on all the others) sold in similar fashion. I saw that quite a few people got in on the Mexico City gigs after missing on both the UK and other North America shows. I guess up next is Australia, who are getting a whole two shows.

No, I won’t be seeing Oasis next year, barring some kind of oddball luck on the resale market. I’m not inclined to pay much attention to that, honestly. I’m not really upset about it, I knew it would be kind of a lottery to get tickets and I just didn’t hit. Besides, I’ve heard from plenty of people that stadium shows kind of suck anyway, it’s more about just being there than it is taking in the show. I’ll make do with the inevitable live album and documentary when all of that comes around.

Y&T – In Rock We Trust

On By bigbadburchIn Album of the Week10 Comments

It’s time today to look at one of the pioneering acts of the 1980’s sound, and also one of the more overlooked acts of the 1980’s sound.

Y&T – In Rock We Trust

Released July 1984 via A&M Records

By 1984, Y&T were on to their sixth album. They had formed in the ’70’s and got their ball rolling in earnest just before the ’80’s hit. The band were making some buzz for themselves alongside the emerging Sunset Strip scene. Y&T were both opening for a who’s who of rock and metal acts like Kiss, AC/DC and Iron Maiden, while also serving as the headliner for fresh new acts like Mötley Crüe.

The band’s lineup was Dave Meniketti on guitar and vocals, Joey Alves on guitar, Phil Kennemore on bass and Leonard Haze on drums. Y&T also brought in outside help for this record – Geoffrey Leib, who is more popularly known as Jeff Paris, was in as a co-writer. The album was produced by Tom Allom, most known for his long tenure with Judas Priest.

Pretty standard issue album today – 10 tracks at 43:20. There is at least one version of a re-issue out there with a bonus track but I’ll be handling the original copy today. Also – this isn’t on streaming services that I know of, at least not on Spotify or Amazon. I have it on record but I had to use an unofficial YouTube source to review it, stopping and starting a record all the time to collect a thought isn’t a lot of fun. That’s probably why old school music critics were often full of shit.

Rock & Roll’s Gonna Save The World

We open with a nice, big track that brings nice riffs and a huge chorus that handles just what the song’s title says. Fitting that this came out just as a newer version of rock was taking over the airwaves, a version that Y&T were quite responsible for. Grade: A+

Life, Life, Life

This one is pretty melodic and bright rock-wise, though it’s a really dark topic on hand. This is a lament against what was the modern war machine, which in the 1980’s was a machine-filled monster. We were in the final years of the Soviet Union and Cold War then, though we didn’t totally know it was about to end. But we kept rocking and railing against it, and eventually it all fell apart. Grade: A

Masters And Slaves

Another bit of a social and political commentary here, wrapped up again in a prototypical 1980’s hard rock shell. This one’s about how a few have the power and everyone else is left out, something that didn’t get much better 40 years on. Grade: B+

I’ll Keep On Believin’ (Do You Know)

It’s on to a bit of a ballad now, though like many other 1984 ballads, this one packs quite the punch. It’s kind of funny to track the progression of ’80’s power ballads from ’84 to, say, ’89, when they were loaded with saccharine and sap. But these guys in ’84 were doing them right, having at the melody and softer edge while still rocking out. This song wasn’t a “hit” for Y&T per se but did get them a bit of traction in airplay. Grade: A-

Break Out Tonight!

This is a strong and powerful rock track that is just the perfect example of the ’80’s rock scene. The quiet build into the loud chorus works just great and we’re left with another fantastic song. Grade: A

Lipstick And Leather

Another uptempo rocker here, as a badass woman takes over the thoughts of the narrator. Nothing out of place here, it’s another straight and simple rock song that keeps the head banging. Grade: B+

Don’t Stop Runnin’

Nothing deviates from the formula here. It’s another solid rock song that’s both powerful and melodic. Y&T did a great job of blending the heavier edge of things with the more bright sounds that would please people not necessarily into all-out heavy metal. This is also one you can really hear the ’80’s creeping into the song, not that the rest of the album doesn’t totally scream 1984. Grade: B+

(Your Love Is) Driving Me Crazy

Not to be confused with the Sammy Hagar song of the same name (note taken for a future post), Y&T are again hard and heavy in this “on the prowl” song. This one does step over the edge a bit and retain a heavy metal feel throughout. Grade: A-

She’s A Liar

This one brings the heavy and plenty of boogie, with the band belting this one out at a breakneck pace. Very nicely done song, again combining the heavy with the melodic. This one got picked up for use in a Dr. Pepper commercial, too, so a bit more cash for the band. Grade: A-

This Time

The album ends with another ballad, and this one is a more stereotypical ’80’s ballad. The song is fine for what it is, though it honestly never won me over. I’ve heard far worse, but Y&T has also done far better. Grade: C

In Rock We Trust would not be a massive, multi-platinum release for Y&T, but just the same it did become the band’s biggest record. It charted at number 46 on the Billboard 200 and has sold around 450,000 copies. The band would be on a huge series of tours through this time, including Rush, Dio, Ratt, Dokken and Night Ranger, among others. Y&T saw their profile go from the regional Los Angeles scene to a national and international hard rock act. And while the band never “got their due” in a way, they have remained a staple of rock and metal for the 40 years since, even with Dave Meniketti being the lone surviving member from this album.

Grading this album is pretty easy – it’s a bunch of high quality hard rock. It’s done “in the vein” of the 1980’s scene at the time, but that’s primarily because Y&T were a band who helped shape that scene. This was the case of a band meeting their time more than anything, even if they didn’t benefit as much as others did from the new strain of rock going around.

Album Grade: A-

1984 contained a handful of the most essential albums in 1980’s rock – Out Of The Cellar, Tooth And Nail, W.A.S.P. And Slide It In just to name a few, much less 1984 itself. But just under the surface of the new movement in rock was Y&T, now six album veterans who offered up their own slab of high quality rock and metal. This album and band aren’t just “another good, somewhat out of the way” thing that also happened in the ’80’s, these guys were just as essential to the sound of that era as the other bands and albums mentioned in this post.

Picking Five Songs From 1975

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year2 Comments

My job has been absolutely kicking my ass this past week or so. Between it and me desperately trying to find a new job, I haven’t had as much time to work on the site. But I can bang out these five songs from 1975 real quick.

Nothing much to note here, I was still two years away from being born so I have no great memories of ’75. Let’s check out the music.

Heart – Crazy On You

I’m altering the timeline again with this one. This song was released on album in 1975 – in Canada. It wasn’t released as a single or in the US until ’76, but here it is on my list for this year anyway because guess what – 1976 is when things get super crowded on these lists.

Anyway – great blast of a song here. Heart were at times part folk, part psychedelic and part heavy metal – this tune fits the first two more. Very groovy guitar and keyboard passages here and Ann Wilson gives a super smooth performance throughout. Plus a great mix of acoustic and electric guitars here, not something you get all the time, at least to this great of effect.

As we go through these, you’re going to find out that Heart is one of my favorite bands, in all their phases. We’re just getting started here.

Led Zeppelin – Kashmir

So Robert Plant drove through the desert in Morocco and was inspired to write this song about a disputed region between India and Pakistan. Regardless of the geographic blasphemy, it helped Zep record one of their most epic movements. This song is totally majestic and awe-inspiring. Not much else for me to say about it.

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here

While this song is full of subtle twists, especially the full album version (which should be posted below), this one is actually pretty straightforward for a Pink Floyd track. It is a somber affair looking back on lost dreams, set against minimal acoustic passages. The song is popularly regarded as being about troubled former bandmate Syd Barrett, though Roger Waters has discounted that idea before. Regardless, it’s a masterpiece of a song.

Aerosmith – Sweet Emotion

We’ll just ignore all of the things this song could possibly be about and focus instead on how kick ass of a tune it is. Aerosmith added a few psychedelic elements to their hard rock groove and came out big winners for it. An electric jam all the way through.

What I posted is the 1991 remix video, which brought Aerosmith up straight up against grunge, and Aerosmith won that unlikely battle.

Waylon Jennings – Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?

Every genre of music has its formulas for success and acts that were herded into the spotlight, used for a hit, then discarded for the next. But no music scene had its formula down quite like Nashville and country. While that machine keeps plugging away today, it was a group of artists in the ’70’s, spearheaded by Waylon and the creative freedom afforded to him contractually, that sparked a whole new movement in country. The outlaws were riding, and they would reshape country through the decade.

Here Waylon pokes fun at the establishment and highlights how far they’ve drifted from the spiritual father of their genre, Hank Williams. It’s not a comedy tune but some of the lyrics are low key pretty funny, like the one about the five piece band looking at his backside. But the song does carry its weight and then some, directly targeting the tired old formula of Nashville and offering a refreshing change.

That’s all for 1975. Next week will be ’76 so I’ll have to pick some really patriotic stuff to celebrate the bicentennial of my great nation. I’ll get right on that.

Picking Five Songs From 1974

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year7 Comments

I press on with my look at songs from a particular year, this time we’ve hit 50 years ago exactly as it’s time to look at 1974. And this year offered up something a bit different – I’ve previously been able to easily reference Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin albums for songs I absolutely love, but both bands did not offer up any recorded material in ’74. Not to be deterred, it was honestly pretty easy to locate five songs I like a lot from the year.

We do see a few debuts from acts now legendary, and in the next several years things really get different with all the debuts. And also these lists get really hard to compile, to this point I haven’t had to “bump” a song from a list due to finding another I like better, but that is coming very soon. And we’re just a few years removed from where I was actually around.

But that’s all for later – for today, let’s enjoy a few choice cuts from 1974.

Kiss – Strutter

Here we have the first track from the first album from the group that would take over the world with their stage shows and theatrics. But out of the gate we get a fairly simple yet quite ass kicking rock track. Even up against the music of the time, there was something a bit different in what Kiss had on offer. And just listen to Paul Stanley’s voice from 50 years back, damn that dude could carry a tune.

Rush – Working Man

The debut surge continues with Canada’s greatest export. Rush were still not in their final form here as Neil Peart had not yet joined the band, but this first album did feature this choice cut that helped the band get their break when it got played on FM radio. This isn’t the crazy, prog-driven music of Rush to come, but it’s a nice and loud ode to the existence of the rank and file worker, which I can totally identify with in my late 40’s with shit prospects of upward mobility. But hey, great song.

UFO – Doctor Doctor

This next one came to me from less conventional means, as to this day I’m woefully uneducated on the music of UFO. But this early contribution from new and then young guitarist Michael Schenker slowly became a fan favorite after years of live performances. It starts with an epic intro but the song itself is a pretty lean and mean rock track.

What led me to this song was its use as intro music – since 2000, Iron Maiden have played this song over the PA just before taking stage. Maiden also did cover the song during the Blaze Bayley years just prior. But that’s how I came to know this song and I should get off my ass and get into more UFO.

Dolly Parton – Jolene

This time there’s no debut as Dolly had already been around. I’m also playing with the timeline a bit since this song was released in ’73 as a single, but the album of the same name was released in early ’74 so I’m running with that. It’s like the Marvel Cinematic Universe in here, I just play with time to suit my needs at any given moment.

Jolene is one of country music’s all time songs, as Dolly laments that the title character seems to be making moves on Dolly’s man. Nothing is entirely clear – Dolly thinks Jolene is on the prowl, but it’s never said if that’s really the case. But Dolly’s insistence that Jolene keep away is one of country’s crown jewels.

Queen – Stone Cold Crazy

If you had “Queen would invent thrash metal” on your 1974 bingo card, well I guess you cashed in. This short hyperblast of frantic rock featured everything that would come along in the early ’80’s – ripping guitars, pounding drums and rapid fire vocals. I didn’t hear it at the time of course, but even going back to music from before I was around, this one really sticks out as something out of the ordinary. I bet it was crazy to hear when it was released.

That does it for 1974. I guess that means there are either 49 or 50 more of these to do, I don’t know because I don’t have enough fingers to count it all. See you next week.

Whitesnake – Slide It In

On By bigbadburchIn Album of the Week8 Comments

It’s time this week for a key album from 1984, and one with a whopper of a story to accompany it.

Whitesnake – Slide It In

Released January 1984 AND April 1984

So in 1983, Whitesnake set out to record this new album in Germany. The band was David Coverdale on vocals, guitarists Mel Galley and Mick Moody, bassist Colin Hodgkinson, drummer Cozy Powell and keyboard wizard Jon Lord. Eddie Kramer was in for production, for a moment anyway. The band were not satisfied with his work so he was replaced with Martin Birch, who’d helmed the Whitesnake catalog prior to this. It marked Birch’s last album production not related to Iron Maiden. The album was recorded and released in January 1984 after some delays.

Sounds fairly simple, right? It was until it wasn’t. The first issue was that of the album’s production. The music press was not happy with the album’s flat sound. Whitesnake were contracted in the US with Geffen Records, who also weren’t happy with the production. Geffen commissioned Keith Olsen to remix the album.

But even that wasn’t so simple – David Coverdale was also eyeballing a personnel change. On the advice of label exec John Kalonder, Coverdale began looking for a “guitar hero” type of lead player to further enhance the band’s image. Michael Schenker was approached but was either uninterested or uninteresting, depending on who you ask. Adrian Vandenberg was more interested but he declined, choosing to operate with his own successful outfit instead. Vandenberg would find his way in a few years later.

This led Coverdale to John Sykes, late of Tygers Of Pan Tang and currently with Thin Lizzy. Sykes was agreeable to the Whitesnake gig but also very reluctant to leave Phil Lynott hanging. Sykes made an ask for an absurd amount of money, which Whitesnake surprisingly agreed to. Lynott gave his blessing for Sykes to move on and Coverdale now had his guitar hero. This would shift Whitesnake away from their long-held blues-based sound and into the hair metal era, which was gaining a ton of steam in 1984.

Mick Moody was still on the Whitesnake roster, so Coverdale acted like a complete asshole to Moody, who took the hint and quit the band. Bassist Colin Hodgkinson was also fired, and former pal Neil Murray was brought back in. Sykes and Murray would re-record parts for the US remix of Slide It In.

And today I will be going over the US version of the album, as it’s what I’m familiar with. There are countless versions and re-issues of this available. For simplicity’s sake I’m going to use the old US tracklisting, which won’t match up with most versions found today on streaming. Either way, it’s 10 songs at a bit over 40 minutes.

Slide It In

The title track keeps things very, very simple – driving riff with double entendre lyrics. Honestly the song is so horribly basic that it’s like wearing a beige suit to a middle management conference. But the song also works splendidly, it’s a textbook example of a rocking track from this era. Not a bad way to mark your territory on the Sunset Strip scene. Grade: A+

Slow An’ Easy

Up next is the song Whitesnake would offer as the US single and the song that would help them finally break into the coveted American market. This one has it all – build-up and mood-shifting, with a bit extra behind the guitars and Powell’s drumming to really push it all over. It still has marks of the blues as it was co-written by Moody, but the song functions amazingly well in the ’80’s rock pantheon. It’s exactly the kind of song you’d want to write to get attention. Grade: S

Love Ain’t No Stranger

Whitesnake joined the ballad fray here, but this ballad is on steroids and totally rocks out. It had the rock for the rockers and the more melodic hook and twinge of melancholy for the ballad seekers. The song performed modestly as singles in both the UK and US, but over time it has become a staple of the Whitesnake set. Grade: A+

All Or Nothing

One of many tracks on here that showcase the “old” blues sound coupled with the updated ’80’s rock approach. This one slams right in and makes itself at home, with the organ adding some spice in the mid-section. Grade: A

Gambler

Here we have the sad tale of someone who is stuck “outside” of love, apparently struck by chance to remain loveless. Overall the song is well done, I do think maybe the two versions of the album clash here a little bit between the guitars and keyboards. But it’s a minor gripe. Grade: B+

Guilty Of Love

Now this song sounds totally like an ’80’s track. It keeps a quick pace but keeps a bright enough tone not to be a headbanging track. And yes, Coverdale is totally guilty of love, as we would all find out as the ’80’s wore on. Grade: A-

Hungry For Love

No, we’re not dealing with a concept or prog album by any means here, our themes today are very meat and potatoes for the ’80’s. This one is more of an old school boogie with a bit of sleaze on it. I do wonder if the song might have stood out more without the keyboards, I’d have just let the guitars carry this one. But no matter, still a nice song. Grade: B+

Give Me More Time

This song showcases Whitesnake’s transition perhaps better than any other. It still has some old-school underpinnings but it’s also a total ’80’s rocker too, a very good mark of what Whitesnake was turning into. It’s catchy and rocking and hits all the right notes. Grade: A+

Spit It Out

As we round the bend to the album’s close we get another total rocker absolutely fit for the time. It’s another pretty basic track but it gets the job done and then some. Grade: A-

Standing In The Shadow

The album wraps up with another well done song that highlights Whitesnake’s new approach. It’s a simple and effective mid-paced rocker that keeps the album’s quality high through the whole run. Grade: A

Slide It In would help Whitesnake break the American market – somewhat slowly. The album got to 40 on the Billboard 200 and would eventually earn gold certification in 1986. The original UK version went to 9 there are charted decently across Europe. The band toured behind the record, with members slowly dropping off – Jon Lord would reconvene with Deep Purple, Cozy Powell left over money disputes and Mel Galley was out due to injury.

This left Coverdale along with Murray and Sykes to work on the next record. The album was put together, but Coverdale was under massive financial pressure and was also not getting along with his bandmates, yet again. Murray left voluntarily (I guess) while Sykes was fired in acrimonious circumstances.

The story was far from done though, as Whitesnake’s self-title album would massively dominate airwaves and sales charts. This also floated up Slide It In, which went platinum in 1987, double platinum later and a total of six million copies sold worldwide. This album was the closest musically to the self-titled behemoth so its further success was no surprise.

All of the truckloads of drama aside, Slide It In was a wonderful rock album that stood up fine on its own merits. It has no filler and it combined the contrasting sounds of the early and modern Whitesnake eras very well.

Album Grade: A

I’m sure multiple books could be written about all of the events up to, including and after Slide It In. It’s one of rock’s crazier stories that in the end saw David Coverdale’s gambles pay off. But the album itself is a perfect testament to the rock scene of 1984 and an essential piece for any rock fan’s catalog.

For more on the grading scale, head here.

Questions, comments or concerns? Use the comment form below or head to my contact page.

Picking Five Songs From 1973

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year4 Comments

Time marches on and it’s now 1973 on my songs and years thing. I honestly don’t have much to say about the year – I was not around for it and nothing really jumped out at me when I was looking through stuff. I had no problem picking five songs, it does get to be a problem a few years down the line as a lot more acts started up and things get really crowded. But for today, no problem.

Black Sabbath – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Sabbath had issues recording their fifth album but when it came down to it they were able to belt stuff out, including this masterpiece of a title track. The song is somewhat bright and melodic (but still plenty heavy) for most of the way, then descends into one of the heaviest pieces of music ever recorded in the song’s final moments. This is truly the stuff of legend.

Pink Floyd – Time

One of the cuts from Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon album that took over the world and never let go. Time is a remarkable song with both atmospheric elements and also some flat out rocking all contained within. Time is the thing that rules over all our lives and also may very well not really exist outside our perceptions, but I don’t have time for all of that today. A marvelous song.

Joe Walsh – Rocky Mountain Way
Splendid stuff here as Joe was struck by songwriting inspiration while mowing his lawn in Colorado. It was the boost Walsh needed to get over his depression from leaving The James Gang and get his solo career kickstarted. Find a dive bar, get a cheap beer and enjoy this slice of rock n roll greatness.

Alice Cooper – Elected

Here lies one of the last vestiges of the Alice Cooper band, as after ’73 Coop would rebrand as a solo artist. Alice has actually run for President in most elections since this song, though obviously he hasn’t broke the threshold and been elected. But he put out this fun staple of his live set.

Montrose – Rock Candy

Montrose wound up billed as “the US’s answer to Led Zeppelin” when their debut album dropped in ’73. And this song was one huge reason why – it’s sleazy, groovy and balls out rocking. Montrose never got their commercial due, but this song was massively influential to legions of rockers who would come along later. This early version of Montrose was short-lived but they cranked out some badass music.

That does it for 1973. Nothing much else to go over, have a good weekend and we’ll get back to the grind next week.

Chat Pile – Masc

On By bigbadburchIn Song Of The WeekLeave a comment

This week let’s have a look at a preview track from an upcoming album. Chat Pile generated a fair bit of buzz on the back of 2022’s God’s Country full-length. Their new effort is titled Cool World and will be available on October 11 via The Flenser Records. If anyone is interested in getting their hands on a vinyl copy of the new album, it would be very wise to pre-order. The label has already sold out of all the first pressings and are into a second run, something that also happened to God’s Country.

I have talked about Chat Pile a time or two in the past but I figure it’s worth it to give a refresher on them. The band hails from Oklahoma and drew inspiration from the sometimes bleak surroundings to craft a crazy version of noise rock, sometimes venturing into various kinds of very noisy metal. It’s not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure.

Masc is the second song we’ve had as a preview from the new album. And Masc is a bit of a departure for Chat Pile in that it is two things – melodic and conventional. The words are sung rather than screamed and the more mellow tone is kept throughout, no sudden breaking into a shouting frenzy here. And the music is more reminiscent of some ’90’s alternative metal than anything else – a bit quirky, sure, but it’s honestly a fairly straightforward song with the usual verse-chorus structure. Chat Pile offered up the expected with the first single I Am Dog Now, here on Masc they showcase another side.

And this new take is very welcome. It doesn’t diverge greatly from the band’s sound, the underpinning is still there in the rhythm and instruments. But this is a very cool change of pace. Music under the “noise” genre is often considered to be just what the descriptor says, but here the band flex out a bit and showcase the ability to explore other waters.

Also of note is the video. It was directed by short film creator Stephen Mondics and it is very, very visually striking. Now, I can’t tell exactly what the hell is going on in there, but I can say that I like looking at it very much.

Masc is a great track from Chat Pile, and it will be interesting to hear the new album next month. This will be one of the more hotly anticipated records of the indie/underground scene this year.

Picking Five Songs From 1972

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year2 Comments

Moving on with the songs by year thing, it’s time for 1972. This one was pretty easy, I have a few of these left before things get really crowded. We’re also now five years away from when I was actually around.

Deep Purple – Smoke On The Water

One of rock’s most immortal songs with the craziest of stories behind it. Perhaps the most iconic riff in history too. I know this song is over 50 years old so I don’t take it for granted that everyone “knows” it, but I do think just about everyone knows this song.

Alice Cooper – School’s Out

This might be The Coop’s prime anthem, kinda hard to say. But this song is an absolute blast. It’s great every year when school lets out for the summer, it’s great in movies about school, and it’s still great as an adult because school being out means less traffic and headaches than normal.

Neil Young – Heart Of Gold

Neil was 26 when he wrote this sad, sad song about searching for love and growing old while striking out. He’s now a few months from his 79th birthday and has about that many studio albums to his credit. But this song still resonates as one of his signature tracks. His unique vocal timber and acoustic guitar made some damn fine music.

David Bowie – Suffragette City

I talked about this song earlier this year. A nice, crazy and noisy affair with attitude and a great false ending. On heralded album full of classics, this one still jumps out to me. Bowie influenced rock of all stripes with this song and album.

Humble Pie – 30 Days In The Hole

This is a fun song about using every type of drug known to man and getting put away for it. Humble Pie were a supergroup before anyone really knew what that was, though Peter Frampton was gone by the time this song came out. This is one of those songs that wasn’t a hit at the time but it got picked up by FM radio and became an enduring classic in the years since.

That does it for this post. The ’70’s keep pushing on next week.

As for next week – the Album of the Week post will be held back until Tuesday. It lines up in order to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the album on the exact day. Not sure what album came out on September 3, 1984 that I’d be interested in…