August 2013 – Classic Rock Review

But Seriously, Folks by Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh found his greatest solo success with But Seriously, Folks in 1978, although “solo” is used loosely here. The versatile rocker did have help from all four members of his (then) current band The Eagles as well as a prime member of his former backing group Barnstorm. In fact, some have called this “the album the Eagles should have made” because it was released at a time when the next Eagles album (eventually The Long Run) and Walsh’s leftover track “In the City” was eventually used on that band album. No matter how the credit gets dispersed, But Seriously Folks is an excellent and original album, methodically combining musical styles with top-of-the-line production techniques.

This was Walsh’s first studio album in four years after releasing three in consecutive years from 1972-1974. During that time, Walsh replaced Bernie Leadon as lead guitarist of the Eagles and recorded the blockbuster Hotel California with the band in 1976. When the band had trouble composing material for a timely follow-up, Walsh decided to do this solo album and enlisted producer Bill Szymczyk for the project.

Joining Walsh in this insightful and melodic collection is former Barnstorm drummer, keyboardist, and multi-instrumentalist Joe Vitale, who played a big part in forging the album’s song. Still, this is Walsh’s album through and through as elements from his James Gang, Barnstorm, and Eagles phases are fused with a contemporary sound to forge a truly unique collection of songs.

But Seriously, Folks by Joe Walsh
Released: May 16, 1978 (Asylum) Produced by: Bill Szymczyk and Joe Walsh
Side One	Side Two
Over and Over Second Hand Store Indian Summer At the Station	Tomorrow Inner Tube Theme from Boat Weirdos Life’s Been Good
Primary Musicians
Joe Walsh – Lead Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards Don Felder – Guitars, Vocals Jay Ferguson – Keyboards, Vocals Willie Weeks – Bass Joe Vitale – Drums, Percussion, Keyboards, Flute, Vocals

The opener “Over and Over” starts with measured, hat-heavy drums by Vitale accompanying Walsh’s deliberate, flanged, addictive guitar progression. When the song fully kicks in, it contains dramatic and effective riffs with melodic vocals pushed out through Walsh’s typical whine. Lyrically, Walsh takes an introspective outlook on rejuvenation, a pattern he would repeat throughout the album.

After the rock-oriented opener, the listener may be surprised by the two rather easy-listening tracks which follow. “Second Hand Store” has an Eagles-like country/waltz vibe with an acoustic backing and slide guitar by Eagle Don Felder on top, along with some piano and vocal harmonies. This all makes for a very melodic and moody song. Driven by high bass notes of Willie Weeks, “Indian Summer” is a mellow song which builds slowly and eventually, containing some orchestral instruments and the signature slide guitar of Walsh, in many ways making it the most James Gang-oriented song on the album.

Joe Walsh in1978

The first side completes with the fine “At the Station”, a true collaboration between Walsh and Vitale. This electric, upbeat and theatrical tune could easily be a theme for a film or television show. It is a mini-suite about mid-career indecision morphs from guitar riffs through an organ-led section with the drums smoking throughout to make it cohesive.

Side two begins with “Tomorrow”, almost a quintessential late seventies soft pop song laced with pleasantly strummed acoustic topped with sonically pleasing “squeezed” electric guitar and bouncy bass notes. Walsh gives way keyboardist Jay Ferguson who provides a fine organ lead which compliments the upbeat and optimistic lyrics. A couple of instrumentals fill the middle of the side. “Inner Tube” is a very short keyboard and piano piece which probably got its name from the “liquid” sounding synth that forms the backing for the piece and leads directly into “Theme from Boat Weirdos”. This semi-improvised rock jam is a collaboration among the cohesive backing band including producer Szymczyk. Although there are many fits and stops and the mood seems to constantly change from section to section, this piece still remains interesting and cohesive throughout with all kinds of instruments making cameos including several synths, clavichord, strings, synth bass and flute.

The finale, “Life’s Been Good” is a sarcastic ode to Walsh’s “rock star-party guy” persona and went on to become the highest charting song of his career. On this album, all roads lead to this song which is the ultimate culmination of everything on But Seriously, Folks. Put together with several semi-autonomous sections, with each section methodical yet interesting morphing from Walsh’s dominant layered guitars to a brilliant verse reggae to a mid section led by an ARP Odyssey synth. The very end of the song and album ends with a minute-long inside joke mimicking “a flock of wah wahs”. Before the release of this album, “Life’s Been Good” first appeared on the Grammy winning soundtrack to the film FM.

Walsh returned to the Eagles for their final studio album (for nearly three decades afterwards) and played a major role in recording 1979’s The Long Run. That band adopted “Life’s Been Good” during their final tour and, when Walsh ran a mock campaign for President in 1980, one of the planks of his platform was to make “Life’s Been Good” the new national anthem. After the Eagles broke up in 1980, Walsh continued his solo career with many more albums for decades to come.

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of the 35th anniversary of 1978 albums.

Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1
by Traveling Wilburys

1988 Album of the Year

Buy Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1

“Super Groups” were commonplace during the seventies and eighties, often causing much hype which was rarely surpassed by the music itself. But in the case of the Traveling Wilburys, by far the most “super” of any super group, the resulting music was downright brilliant. Their debut Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 displays an incredible array of three decades of pop and rock elements wrapped in concise tunes penned and performed by some of the biggest legends in the business. The group and album were not initially planned and came together through a serendipitous series of coincidences and the fantastic music they produced together easily makes Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 Classic Rock Review’s Album of the Year for 1988.

It all started in Los Angeles in Spring 1988 when George Harrison was looking to record B-side material for a vinyl 12-inch European single. Jeff Lynne, who co-produced Harrison’s most recent album Cloud Nine was also in Los Angeles at the time. Lynne was producing some music for Roy Orbison as well as the debut solo album, Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty. Lynne was able to enlist both artists to help out Harrison, who was in a huge hurry to record his material. The final piece of the Traveling Wilbury puzzle was Bob Dylan, who had built a home studio in nearby Malibu and agreed to let the makeshift group record the very next day. On that day, the legendary musicians wrote and recorded the song “Handle with Care” in about five hours. The experience was so positive that all five agreed to form a group and reconvened a month later to record the other nine tracks on what would become Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. Here the magic continued as the group wrote and recorded on acoustic guitars. With a limited amount of time before Dylan headed out on a scheduled tour, the five singers in the group often took turns at songs until Harrison (as group arbiter) selected the best “lead” voice for each part. The final phase was Harrison and Lynne returning to England for final overdubs and production. Here Harrison added some electric and lead guitars, Lynne added keyboards and bass, Jim Keltner was brought in on drums.

Although it is generally agreed that Harrison was the group’s leader, they did work hard to maintain a collective image and even set up fictional names for each member masquerading as the “Wilbury” brothers – Nelson (Harrison), Otis (Lynne), Lucky (Dylan), Lefty (Orbison), and Charlie T. Jr. (Petty) with Keltner given the humorous “outsider” name “Buster Sidebury”. All group members also got songwriting credits on the album, although the publishing credits were disbursed according to the actual songwriter. The Wilbury name originated from Harrison and Lynne previously working together as a pseudonym for slight recording errors (“we’ll bury ’em in the mix”).

Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 by Traveling Wilburys
Released: October 18, 1988 (Warner Brothers) Produced by: Jeff Lynne and George Harrison Recorded: Lucky Studios and Dave Stewart Studios, Los Angeles and FPSHOT, London, April–May 1988
Side One	Side Two
Handle with Care Dirty World Rattled Last Night Not Alone Anymore	Congratulations Heading for the Light Margarita Tweeter and the Monkey Man End of the Line
Band Musicians
George Harrison – Guitars, Vocals Bob Dylan – Guitars, Harmonica, Vocals Jeff Lynne – Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals Roy Orbison – Guitars, Vocals Tom Petty – Guitars, Vocals Jim Keltner – Drums

The ringing guitars of “Handle with Care”, the original Wilbury song, starts things off. Harrison, the primary composer, delivers deliberate vocalizing during the verses which gives way to Orbison’s smooth crooning during the choruses. Dylan and Petty deliver a chanting post-chorus and two instances of Harrison’s classic guitar along with a short Dylan harmonica lead make the song a true classic in just about every way. Within its brief three and a half minutes the song is dotted with decades of rock history, making this the perfect track to introduce the album. While not every song on the album wraps itself so well as “Handle with Care”, there is not a truly weak moment on the album.

On “Dirty World” Dylan’s rough lead vocals are complimented by smooth backing vocals and a bright acoustic arrangement. The song also contains some horns and an interesting arrangement all around. This song was a particularly enjoyable one for the band to record as each member took a turn singing in the “round” during the extended outro. Jeff Lynne’s “Rattled” is pure rockabilly led by Orbinson on vocals, almost like a lost early Elvis song. Lynne’s bass and Harrison’s lead guitar shine musically and the actual “rattle” in the song is drummer Keltner tapping the refrigerator grill with his drum sticks.

“Last Night” contains Caribbean elements with some percussion and horns and Petty singing during verse and Orbinson during the bridges. The whimsical, storytelling song has a great aura and feel throughout. Petty did the core composing with each group member contributing to the songwriting approach. The verses has an upbeat folk/Latin feel with the bridge being a bit more dramatic. The first side completes with “Not Alone Any More”, a vocal centerpiece for Orbison. His vocals smoothly lead a modern version of early sixties rock and Lynne’s keyboards add more decoration than any other song on the first side. If “Not Alone Anymore” is in the clouds, the second side opener “Congratulations” is right down at ground level. This tavern style ballad with Dylan on lead vocals sounds much like his late 70s / early 80s era material, with blues-like reverences to broken relationships, and includes a very short but great lead guitar by Harrison right at the end.

The up-tempo “Heading for the Light” is a quintessential Harrison/Lynne production, with the former Beatle composing and singing and the former ELO front man providing the lush production and orchestration. The song contains great picked guitar fills as well as a saxophone solo by Jim Horn. “Margarita” may be the oddest song on the album but is still a great sonic pleasure. It begins with a programmed eighties synth line then the long intro slowly works its way into a Latin acoustic section topped by horns, lead guitar, and rich vocal harmonies. It is not until a minute and a half in that Petty’s lead vocals come in for a single verse then the song works its ways through various short sections towards an encapsulated synth ending. This spontaneous composition with free-association lyrics showed with a group of this talent could do on the spot.

“Tweeter and the Monkey Man” is Bob Dylan channeling Bruce Springsteen and coming out with what may have been one of the best Springsteen songs ever (even though he had nothing to do with it). This extended song with the traditional Dylan style of oodles of verses and a theatrical chorus includes several references to Springsteen songs throughout and is in Springsteen’s home state of New Jersey. It may have been Dylan’s delayed response to the press repeatedly coining Bruce “the next Dylan”. No matter what the case, the result is an excellent tune with lyrics rich enough to base a book or movie.

The most perfect album closer to any album – ever, “End of the Line” contains a Johnny Cash-like train rhythm beneathe deeply philosophical lyrics, delivered in a light and upbeat fashion. Harrison, Lynne, Orbinson, and Harrison again provide the lead vocals during the chorus hooks while Petty does the intervening verses. The song revisits the classic music themes of survival and return with the universal message that, in the big picture, it all ends someday. The feeling of band unity is also strongest here with the folksy pop/rock chords and great harmonies. The music video for “End of the Line” was filmed after Roy Orbison’s death in December 1988, mere weeks after the album’s release, and paid tasteful respect with a shot of a guitar sitting in a rocking chair during the verse which Orbison sang.

Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 sold over two million copies within its first six months, a figure which made this album a higher seller than any of Bob Dylan’s albums to that date. The album was critically favored and won a Grammy award in 1990. The surviving members of the group reconvened for a second album, which fell far short of capturing the magic of this debut and a long-planned tour by the group never materialized, although members continued to collaborate on each other’s albums for years to come. The incredible magic that came together in 1988 is yet to repeated anywhere in the rock universe.

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1988 albums and our album of the year.

Now and Zen by Robert Plant

Buy Now and Zen

Robert Plant launched his post-Led Zeppelin solo career with two fine albums, Pictures at Eleven, in 1982 and, The Principle of Moments , in 1983. His career then got a little murky in the mid-1980s with the short-lived cover band The Honeydrippers and his bizarre third album Shaken and Stirred. His fourth album, 1988’s Now and Zen, was a career renaissance as the vocalist and songwriter once again found his groove in eighties pop. The album made the top 10 in both the U.S. and the U.K. and has been certified triple platinum. The album also featured Zeppelin band mate Jimmy Page who performed on a Plant solo album for the first time (a favor Plant would return later in the year on Page’s Outrider album).

Keyboardist Phil Johnstone co-produced and co-wrote most of the material with Plant. Johnstone was part of a whole new band that Plant employed for this album after pretty much using the same personnel on all of his first three albums. Plant discovered Johnstone and engineer Dave Barrett after hearing a demo tape by the pair.

The resulting sound is a stylistic fusion that seamlessly combines hard rock and guitar blues with the synth-driven pop of the eighties and the then-new computer synchronization techniques. Now and Zen is also a vocal masterpiece for Plant who strikes his “mature” voice better than on any other of his eighties material. Lyrically, Plant’s songs have substance, intelligence and taste, making this a solo career high point in that area as well.

Now and Zen by Robert Plant
Released: February 29, 1988 (Es Paranza) Produced by: Robert Plant, Phil Johnstone, and Tim Palmer Recorded: Autumn 1987
Side One	Side Two
Heaven Knows Dance On My Own Tall Cool One The Way I Feel	Helen of Troy Billy’s Revenge Ship of Fools Why White, Clean, and Neat
Primary Musicians
Robert Plant – Lead Vocals Phil Johnstone – Keyboards, Synths Doug Boyle – Guitars Phil Scragg – Bass Chris Blackwell – Drums, Percussion

“Heaven Knows” rolls in like a fast moving storm and immediately establishes the underlying groove of Now and Zen. The song is synth heavy, but not to the point of being ludicrous like on Shaken n’ Stirred, but does contain the first appearance by Page with a dramatic guitar solo. The song topped mainstream rock charts. “Dance On My Own” starts with slight background whistling and breaks into a call-and return verse between Plant and guitarist Doug Boyle which is almost like a cheerleading chant. Overall, this song draws from good elements of all three of Plant’s previous solo albums; interesting modern guitar riffs, unique “Zeppelin-light” lead vocals, and a pleasant female backing vocal chorus.

A sterile piano guides the sound collage-ridden “Tall Cool One”, which became the top pop hit off the album. The song was Plant and Page’s response to the Beastie Boys’ unauthorized sampling of Led Zeppelin material, by sampling their own music from Zeppelin tracks “Whole Lotta Love”, “The Ocean”, “Black Dog”, “Custard Pie”, and “When the Levee Breaks”. Aside from the group’s short reunion at Live Aid in 1985, this was the first time in Plant’s solo career that he openly embraced his former band. Otherwise, “Tall Cool One” is a rather typical pop song with some really corny moments when Johnstone does the bridge rap. “The Way I Feel” completes side one as the moodiest song on the side with great atmosphere by Boyle and Johnstone beneath Plant’s soaring vocals and a fretless bass by Phil Scragg.

Early on the second side of Now and Zen is really where Plant has his musical renaissance. “Helen of Troy” comes in like a near heavy-metal tune with layered guitars above a strong bass before breaking into more pop elements during the rest of the song. A funky, syncopated rhythm persists throughout the song under all those great guitars, the first of two most guitar-centric songs on the album. “Billy’s Revenge” follows with a do-wop intro and pure rock song afterwards. Aside from a couple of short but great synth organ sections by Johnstone, this song is otherwise dominated by Boyle’s guitar while Plant’s vocals reach their highest register on the album. The frantic song comes to a crashing end, leading into the third of three great songs.

Robert Plant 1988

“Ship of Fools” is one of Plant’s all time classics and a true testament to his best eighties style. It is the high water mark of the album in mood, vocals, lyrics and Boyle’s guitars are at their finest, probably an all-time career highlight for him. A slight synth percussion works best on the mood of this song and the subtle instrumental outro is done with great taste, leaving the listener yearning for more.

Unfortunately, the remainder of the album does not come close to the quality of these past three songs. “Why” was co-written by engineer Robert Crash, who programmed a cheesy synth riff that prevents the song from be taken seriously. The closer “White, Clean and Neat” brings the album’s quality up slightly as an original with almost beat-like poetry with good, measured guitar lines. But the corny bridge section with spoken lines that eerily echoes the worst of Shakin’ and Stirred, leaving the overall album just shy of great.

With the critical and commercial success of Now and Zen, Robert Plant was at a high point of his solo career. Also, he further embraced his Zeppelin past by performing songs from the band on his 1988 and subsequent tours, bring his live career a balance which it had lacked for years.

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1988 albums.

Copperhead Road by Steve Earle

Buy Copperhead Road

Steve Earle has always woven in and out of the outlaw country genre exploring different sectors of musical territory. Back in 1988, Earle took his first major turn into what would eventually be called “Americana” with the album Copperhead Road. This hybrid of country twang and solid rock elements propelled the Texas native into an area all his own for decades to come. This album followed Earle’s first two releases, Guitar Town, in 1986 and Exit 0 in 1987, both of which had sold well and earned enthusiastic reviews within the country music scene. But Earle and Nashville soon tired of each other and the artist set out to make an album “where heavy metal meets bluegrass”.

Prior to signing with MCA Records, Earle had paid his debts in the music industry in Nashville and various locations in Texas. Starting in 1975, he spent over a decade as a songwriter, session player, band bassist and front man for his group “The Dukes”. Earle had a previous contract with Epic Records but was dropped after releasing just one EP called Pink and Black in 1982.

Copperhead Road contains a definite eighties production sound by producer Tony Brown. It employs a big drum sound and arena-influenced guitars, at times sounding more like Aerosmith or Guns n’ Roses than the country/rock sound of the contemporary “New Traditionalists”. Still, the songs’ roots shine through all the gloss and firepower. Beyond the songwriting and vocals, Earle is fluent array of instruments, including six and twelve string acoustic guitars, mandolin, and harmonica.

Copperhead Road by Steve Earle
Released: October 17, 1988 (MCA) Produced by: Steve Earle and Tony Brown Recorded: Memphis, 1988
Side One	Side Two
Copperhead Road Snake Oil Back to the Wall The Devil’s Right Hand Johnny Come Lately	Even When I’m Blue You Belong to Me Waiting on You Once You Love Nothing but a Child
Primary Musicians
Steve Earle – Lead Vocals, Guitars, Mandolin, Harmonica Donny Roberts – Guitars John Jarvis – Piano Kelly Looney – Bass Ken Custer – Drums

The songs on side one of Copperhead Road reflect on Earle’s leftist politics. “Snake Oil” attacks then president Ronald Reagan, comparing him to a traveling con man. “Back to the Wall” is about poverty and homelessness and “The Devil’s Right Hand” is an anti-gun tune which tells the tale of a lonely gunslinger. “Johnny Comes Lately” has its roots in Earle’s anti-Vietnam activism as a young man. This tells the story of two generations of soldiers coming home from the war – one a veteran of World War II and his son, a veteran of the Vietnam War – and contrasts the differing receptions they received on returning home. This side one closer features the folk group The Pogues as Earle’s backing band.

Title track “Copperhead Road” was also the big hit single from the album. It starts with a bagpipe-sounding synth and then morphs into a mandolin-dominated opening verses before dramatically crashing into it’s loud “rock” sections later in the song. It tells the story of a Vietnam war veteran from a Tennessee moonshine clan who returns home to grow marijuana on his family’s land in order to make ends meet. The song has a anthemic feel throughout, making it one of Earle’s most memorable songs.

So is Earle primarily a musician or a political activist? Well, on side two of Copperhead Road, he pretty much abandons his preaching on social justice and rage against the establishment for more traditional, country-influenced “love” songs. “Even When I’m Blue” is a typical country theme, which deals with your typical love and life scenarios. “You Belong to Me” and “Once You Love” are honest and absorbing reflections of the heart of a dysfunctional romantic. The closer “Nothing But a Child” is a quasi-Christmas song which features guest Maria McKee on vocals and the group Telluride providing mandolin, dobro, and violins.

Following the release of Copperhead Road, Earle was compared to everyone from Bruce Springsteen to John Mellencamp to Randy Newman to Waylon Jennings. However, a combination of heroin abuse and troubles with the law halted his career in the 1990s and Earle never quite reached the level of those artists. However, by the end of the century Earle was back to form and released several more important albums through the 2000s.

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1988 albums.

Green by R.E.M.

Buy Green

Years before alternative was “cool” (in other words, when “alternative” was still alternative), R.E.M. was forging their own way through the super-slick eighties. Their sixth album, 1988’s Green, was the breakout album that followed the group’s quintet of critically acclaimed but commercially light pieces earlier in the decade. The result was a successful attempt to strike the right balance in both of those fields and branch out to an international audience. This was the group’s debut album for the big label Warner Brothers Records after cutting their teeth with the indie I.R.S. Records with their late 1987 release Document, which received major airplay but was not widely distributed overseas. In their frustration, the band entertained big label offers and signed with Warner for reportedly between $6 million and $12 million.

Working with producer Scott Litt (who would produce five albums in all with the band), R.E.M. began recording demos in their home town of Athens, Georgia before moving to major studios in Memphis, Ten. and Woodstock, NY for the proper recording. The record’s tracks ranged from upbeat to more somber and political material. Led my vocalist Michael Stipe, the band made a consorted effort to “not write any more R.E.M.-type songs”. The group began what would become a tradition of swapping instruments and the result was a very eclectic and sonically diverse output.

Green is defined by the tweaks the group made to their creative process, grown out of the restlessness of their then eight-year career of near constant touring. For R.E.M., this meant composing positive, or at least satirical and playful, material for the first time in a while. The band were also more open to strong rock influences such as the Byrds, the Doors, and Led Zeppelin, than they had been in the past.

Green by R.E.M.
Released: November 7, 1988 (Warner Brothers) Produced by: Scott Litt and R.E.M. Recorded: Ardent Studios, Memphis & Bearsville Studios, Woodstock, NY, May–Sep 1988
Side One	Side Two
Pop Song 89 Get Up You Are the Everything Stand World Leader Pretend The Wrong Child	Orange Crush Turn You Inside-Out Hairshirt I Remember California 11
Band Musicians
Michael Stipe – Lead Vocals Peter Buck – Guitars, Mandolin Mike Mills – Bass, Keyboards, Accordion, Vocals Bill Berry – Drums, Vocals

Green labeled its original LP sides, with side one being the “air” side. “Pop Song 89” is a twangy, three-chord, upbeat song with a memorable lead guitar riff by Peter Buck and harmonized, low key vocals by Stipe. This opener is a sarcastically titled, semi-parody of pop music which is deliberately simplistic. “Get Up” follows with a straight-forward rock arrangement but seems to be a little more forced than the opener, especially with the excess vocal parts. The lyrics were written about bassist Mike Mills and his habit to sleep late during their recording sessions.

“You Are the Everything” is the first song to use a completely alternate arrangement, with Buck playing mandolin, Mills on accordion, and drummer Bill Berry providing a simple bass. Set to the backdrop of chirping crickets, the song provides a Southern pastoral setting and straight-forward, love-song-like lyrics through a fine vocal melody by Stipe, making this the first really interesting song on the album. The group returned to this exact arrangement on the second side song “Hairshirt”, which adds even more melody and entertainment to the mix with top-notch mandolin and very laid back accordion and bass.

The ultimate R.E.M. pop song, “Stand” starts with carnival-like organ and moves towards some good guitar riff and great vocal hooks. With a kind of in-your-face singsong chorus sung by Stipe and Mills in close harmony and a signature wah-wah guitar solo by Buck, the song did well on radio, MTV, and the pop charts. “World Leader Pretend” is a much more serious piece led by a driving acoustic guitar, interesting drum accents and a subtle cello by guest Jane Scarpantoni. The song is notable as the first and only to have lyrics printed on the original album sleeve. The first side ends with “The Wrong Child”, an acoustic guitar and mandolin piece with several competing vocal parts which Make it almost interesting but a little too busy at times.

The second side is referred to by the band as the “metal” side, and starts with the military stomp of “Orange Crush”. Stipe sings through a megaphone that lends his vocals a corroded quality appropriate to the subject matter (the title refers to the chemical “agent orange”), which is counter-balanced by the very interesting tone and theme. Although not commercially released as a U.S. single, “Orange Crush” reached number one on both the Mainstream and Modern Rock Tracks.

The rest of the album consists of moderately interesting tunes. “Turn You Inside-Out” contains a slow, electric twang with a methodical and strong beat by percussionist Keith LeBlanc. “I Remember California” has a strong electric intro arrangement which gives way to just simple bass and busy, tom-filled drums by Berry during the verse, making it unique and interesting, although a bit too long. “11” (the eleventh, untitled track) close the album with Buck playing drums on an upbeat, new-wavish song with definite British influence.

Green has gone on to sell over four million copies worldwide and the band launched a visually developed tour to support it in 1989. Riding the worldwide success of this album, the band continued the momentum with the success of Out of Time in 1991 and Automatic for the People in 1992.

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1988 albums.

Compilations and Box Sets

Beatles official stereo collection

Ever since the beginning of the rock era, there have been compilations. As we mentioned in our very first special feature on The Album, long playing vinyl albums were simply a collection of songs, maximized for sales potential, and were rarely a cohesive or artistic statement. Once the “classic era” albums come into prominence in the mid to late sixties, “Greatest Hits” or “Best of” collections stepped in to supplement regular album releases as well as reach out to audience segments who only wished to “sample” a certain artist’s output.

Other such sales tools, such as rarities or B-side collections, targeted the most enthusiastic of existing fans but at time have gained significant popularity. In some cases, greatest hits collections were continued as an artist’s career went along. Bob Dylan had three sequential compilation. Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits, released in March 1967, contains some of the most famous songs from Dylan’s formative years. In 1971 the double LP Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits, Volume II contained some songs from the interim years along with more from the early years and nearly a side of previously unreleased material. More than two decades later, Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits, Volume III encompassed all his recordings released between the years 1973 and 1991. The Eagles released a couple of sequential “Greatest Hits” collections with their 1976 compilation Eagles Greatest Hits, Volume 1 going on to become the top selling album of the 20^th century.

Box Sets

Usually made up of three or more discs boxes, box sets came of age in the 1980s with the media migration from vinyl LPs to compact discs. Artists with long and successful careers would release anthologies which often included rare or previously unreleased tracks along with the typical collection of singles and radio hits. There have been rare cases where a box set contained all new and original material. Led Zeppelin’s initial 1990 Box Set became the first to become a best seller on the albums chart.

Around the turn of the century, some box sets became multimedia collections. These included DVD videos, mp3 discs, or other related items to enhance the collection

Compilations in 1988

With our current look at the rock year 1988, Classic Rock Review will also focus on the compilations and box sets released during that year, a rich year for these items.

Past Masters 1 by The Beatles Released on March 7, 1988 to coincide with the official CD debut of Beatles album catalogue, Past Masters is a two-volume compilation set. This collection consisted of many of the band’s non-album singles and B-sides, focusing on tracks not available on The Beatles’ original U.K. albums. These also included rarities such as the UK-only Long Tall Sally EP, two German language tracks, and a couple of songs recorded for charity compilation albums. An all-mono compilation titled Mono Masters was also produced for the most die-hard collectors.

20 Years of Jethro Tull was released on June 27, 1988 was issued as five themed LPs named; Radio Archives, Rare Tracks, Flawed Gems, Other Sides of Tull, and The Essential Tull. Eric Clapton's Crossroads It was also simultaneously released as a three CD set and a five-cassette set, with each coming with a 24-page booklet.

Released in April 1988, Eric Clapton’s Crossroads includes highlights from his work with vast musical groups. These include The Yardbirds, John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, Cream, Blind Faith, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, Derek & the Dominos, and his long solo career. The collection was released as setsof four CDs or six LPs and it includes several live and alternate studio recordings which were previously unreleased.

Two compilations were released on November 15, 1988. After shocking the world with their recent breakup, Journey released Greatest Hits, which ultimately became the band’s best-selling album by selling over 25 million copies and it spent over 760 weeks on the pop album charts, more than any other compilation album in history. Smashes, Thrashes & Hits was actually the third “hits” album released by Kiss. With most tracks coming from their heyday in the seventies, this album also included two new songs.

In subsequent years and decades, artists brought the box set concept to the extreme with full collections being released. But by the time mp3s and other digital formats became the dominant media, user-driven custom compilations were the order of the day.

Ric Albano

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son by Iron Maiden

Buy Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

One of Iron Maiden’s most popular albums, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son has the dual properties of being the last of their “classic” era and the first release to prominently feature a progressive metal arrangement and include keyboards. This concept album features lyrics that are based on supernatural mysticism and English folklore and the title and theme worked well as the group’s seventh overall album. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son reached the Top 20 in the U.S. and #1 on the U.K. Album Charts, their first to do so since 1982’s The Number of the Beast. The album also spawned four Top 10 singles on the U.K. charts.

Musically, the album is led by guitarist Adrian Smith and contains traditional prog-rock arrangements with stop/start transitions between riffs, tempos, and time signatures along with strong and memorable vocal hooks by lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson. They built on the guitar synths introduced on their previous album Somewhere in Time in 1986 towards full keyboard synthesizers.

Bassist Steve Harris came up with the album title and theme after he read Orson Scott Card’s Seventh Son and realized this was to be Iron Maiden’s seventh studio album. Dickinson revised his earlier role of providing most lyrics with much collaboration among the band members who “checked up on each other to see what everybody else was up to”.

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son by Iron Maiden
Released: April 11, 1988 (EMI) Produced by: Martin Birch Recorded: Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany, February-March 1988
Side One	Side Two
Moonchild Infinite Dreams Can I Play With Madness The Evil That Men Do	Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son The Prophecy The Clairvoyant Only The Good Die Young
Band Musicians
Bruce Dickinson – Lead Vocals, Guitars Adrian Smith – Guitars, Synths Dave Murray – Guitars Steve Harris – Bass Nicko McBrain – Drums, Percussion

The opener “Moonchild” comes in almost like a Jethro Tull acoustic song entry before quickly turning to something a bit heavier and more dynamic. The focus on the number seven is immediate in the lyrics and this is the first in the conceptual sequence of the album. “Infinite Dreams” is introduced by a chorus guitars and later contains funky bass by Harris and choppy guitars by Dave Murray during first verse but the song evolves through many sections of differing sonic intensity, getting progressively heavier towards the song’s climax and the following final verse.

“Can I Play with Madness” is the most mainstream track on the album and contains a completely different vibe than the more melodramatic efforts elsewhere. The song originated as a ballad but evolved into a more upbeat track which became the album’s first single, peaking at #3 on the U.K. charts. The extremely poppy chorus would become a sore spot for many long time fans. The strong and melodic “The Evil That Men Do” concludes the first side as a classic Iron Maiden track, complete with a great guitar lead by Smith. The song’s title was taken from Marc Anthony’s speech following Julius Caesar’s assassination.

The title song “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son” is a nearly ten minute extended piece which begins with a simple guitar/synth track but builds quickly. The interludes between the opening verses are excellent with Dickinson complementing the musical harmony. A long, prog rock middle instrumental has a consistent hi-hat by drummer Nicko McBrain guiding the way with some spoken lines at top of this section. It concludes by morphing into a full-fledge prog-influenced jam, not unlike “The Cinema Show” off Genesis’ Selling England by the Pound a decade and a half earlier.

After the tour-de-force title track, the album inevitably loses steam, although the final three tracks are all quality. “The Prophecy” begins with a softly picked guitar and long synth strings and a good, minute-long classical ending. “The Clairvoyant” begins with a raw bass by Harris, setting the pace for this enjoyable rocker, which was the catalyst for album’s concept as the first track written. “Only the Good Die Young” is an upbeat closer and, in a way, the most classic eighties metal song on the album (and therefore the least prog oriented). It contains another great harmonized guitar lead and ends with a reprise of the intro to “Moonchild” with the same “seven” theme revisited.

Following the release of Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, the band headlined the Monsters of Rock before a crowd of over 100,000. This would turn out to be the pinnacle of their success as Adrian Smith soon left the band and their fortunes and peak popularity began to deteriorate.

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1988 albums.