Album Reviews – Classic Rock Review

Diamonds In the Coal
by The Badlees

November 20, 2022

by Classic Rock Review with 3 Comments Album Reviews

At a time when many in the rock world were in the process of re-imaging from the slick 80’s hair band to the grungy 90s alternative, a young Pennsylvania band called The Badlees was forging their own path with a sound called “roots rock” with their first full length album, Diamonds In the Coal. The band, which had been steadily gaining popularity since the release of their initial EP It Ain’t For You in late 1990, had solidified their lineup with the addition of Paul Smith in 1991. With Smith’s addition, the Badlees had the core quintet in place that would drive them through their most productive years. The result is a well-crafted, entertaining, and thoughtful album with fine and exquisite details and quality of the songs that became the watershed of creative music on this band’s debut.

The album was co-produced by guitarist Bret Alexander and contains all original compositions which were mainly written by Alexander with about half being co-penned by band associate Mike Naydock. The songs are augmented by a structure of electric and acoustic guitars, solid rhythms, judicious use of ethic instruments, layered vocals, and thoughtful lyrics.

There are few things easier than to live badly and die well…”

This quote by Oscar Wilde was placed inner sleeve of Diamonds In the Coal, in an obvious play on the band’s name. Further, each song on the lyrics page contained its own special quote from philosophers and artists ranging from Aristotle to Andy Warhol, some of the extra attention to detail the band put into the atmosphere of the album. Topping it off were the authentic pictures that were used for the cover of early 20th century coal miners that drummer Ron Simasek found at a local Historical Society.

Diamonds In the Coal by The Badlees
Released: January 14, 1992 (Rite-Off) Produced by: Bret Alexander & the Badlees Recorded: Waterfront Recording, Hoboken, NJ / Susquehanna Sound, Northumberland, PA, 1991
Track Listing	Band Musicians
Like a Rembrandt Back Where We Came From Just One Moment The Real Thing Heaven On Earth Interlude / Badlee Rap The Next Big Thing Dirty Neon Times Spending My Inheritance Sister Shirley Mystery Girl Road to Paradise Diamonds In the Coal	Pete Palladino – Lead Vocals Bret Alexander – Guitars, Mandolin, Harmonica, Vocals Jeff Feltenberger – Guitars, Vocals Paul Smith – Bass, Vocals Ron Simasek– Drums & Percussion

Diamonds In the Coal by The Badlees

Released: January 14, 1992 (Rite-Off)
Produced by: Bret Alexander & the Badlees
Recorded: Waterfront Recording, Hoboken, NJ / Susquehanna Sound, Northumberland, PA, 1991

Track Listing

Band Musicians

Like a Rembrandt
Back Where We Came From
Just One Moment
The Real Thing
Heaven On Earth
Interlude / Badlee Rap
The Next Big Thing
Dirty Neon Times
Spending My Inheritance
Sister Shirley
Mystery Girl
Road to Paradise
Diamonds In the Coal

Pete Palladino – Lead Vocals
Bret Alexander – Guitars, Mandolin, Harmonica, Vocals
Jeff Feltenberger – Guitars, Vocals
Paul Smith – Bass, Vocals
Ron Simasek– Drums & Percussion

Thematically, Diamonds In the Coal is nearly sliced in half by the light intermission of “Interlude/Badlee Rap”, with the rap itself performed by Loose Bruce above some slight guitar and harmonica. Songs previous to this on the album are mainly pop-oriented, with basic structure and strong hooks. This all starts with the opener “Like a Rembrandt”, of which Alexander sets the scene as “a bunch of young kids partying out by an old coal breaker and realizing full well that this may be the greatest summer of their lives”.

“Back Where We Came From” (commonly referred to as “The Na Na Song”) follows with a strong delivery by lead vocalist Pete Palladino. This acoustic-driven tune with electric overtones, was the first single from the album and the first to receive significant airplay. It also shows that the Badlees had perfected a song template that the much more heralded Hootie and the Blowfish would replicate years later. Despite the Bon Jovi-ish hook at the onset, “Heaven On Earth” is still a song with good instrumentation lead by a solid, strummed acoustic while the lighter sound of “The Real Thing” contains serene and solid guitar riffs by Alexander with just a touch of the instrument which would become more predominant in the band, the mandolin. “Just One Moment” is another pop-oriented track with a bouncy and choppy riff, good vocals, and strong back beat by Simasek.

The Badlees

The second “half” of the album contains songs that explore deeper subject matter and richer musical structure. Guitarist Jeff Feltenberger provides good vocal interplay with Palladino during “The Next Big Thing”, while upbeat power-pop anthem “Dirty Neon Times” provides more fantastic vocal harmonies by Feltenberger in a pleasant, acoustic driven song.

Alexander’s “Spending My Inheritance” is a well composed, sort of “people’s anthem” tune with some harmonica intertwined with fiddle by guest performer David Rose. “Sister Shirley” is perhaps the most unique song on the album. It includes a picturesque lyrical narrative by Naydock and some sweet, jazzy guitar by Alexander – a rewarding listen, which shows the band’s musical and compositional range. Feltenberger wrote “Road to Paradise”, in an odd time, with steady acoustic strumming against slightly spastic drums all topped by intricate, three-part vocal patterns.

The closing title song is the true masterpiece of Diamonds In the Coal. Here, the listener is brought into the dark, forgotten patch towns of Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Region. The imagery in this song’s lyric is so vivid that you can almost feel the coal dust flying, while the music sets the perfect scene with a methodic, marching rhythm below and some authentic, ethnic instrumentation up above. This song showed the true promise of the band in 1992 and would be the primer for their breakthrough album River Songs three years later.

Diamonds In the Coal 30th anniversary edition

In recent years, Bret Alexander looked back with great fondness on the creation of this debut album, saying he had a tremendous amount of fun and creative fulfillment writing the songs and producing Diamonds In the Coal. Although he does lament that he doesn’t feel that the overall “sound” of the album has held up sonically through the years. There is a definite early-nineties, polished-up quality with the drum sound snare-centric, the rhythms contain little variation, and the well-compressed vocals always seeming to hang at eye-level. So in 2022, Smith remixed the record and re-released a special 30^th anniversary edition of Diamonds In the Coal which gives a new generation a fresh perspective on this record.

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1992 albums.

Street Survivors by Lynyrd Skynyrd

October 16, 2022

by Classic Rock Review with No Comment Album Reviews

Buy Street Survivors

The fifth and final studio album during the brief classic era of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Street Survivors was released just three days before the crash of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s touring plane which killed six, including three group members. One of those who tragically lost his life was the newest member of the band, guitarist Steve Gaines, who wrote or co-wrote a majority of the material on this record along with providing much boogie rhythm and lead guitar along with some vocals. Despite the horrific conditions surrounding its release, Street Survivors forever cemented the group’s legacy status as one of finest Southern rock bands as it reached the Top 5 on the U.S. album charts.

Emerging out of Jacksonville, Florida, Lynyrd Skynyrd found immediate success with their 1973 debut album, Pronounced ‘Leh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd and their follow-up, Second Helping in 1974. The group’s drummer, Bob Burns, left the band in 1975 and was replaced by former US Marine Artimus Pyle prior to he band’s third album, Nuthin’ Fancy. Recorded in under 3 weeks, the album was less focused than the previous two despite becoming the group’s third consecutive platinum-seller. In 1976, guitarist Ed King became the second group member to depart in as many years and that year’s album Gimme Back My Bullets fared even worse that it’s predecessors commercially.

The recording of Street Survivors was no easy task as two distinct recording spans were needed for its completion. The group originally recorded a version of the record at Miami’s Criteria Studios with producer Tom Dowd but were dissatisfied with this version’s “fire and punch”. So Lynyrd Skynard reconvened at Atlanta’s Studio One for much rerecording, remixing, and rearranging to come up with the final version.

Street Survivors by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Released: October 17, 1977 (MCA) Produced by: Tom Dowd; Jimmy Johnson & Tim Smith Recorded: Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, Muscle Shoals, AL, 1971; Criteria Studios, Miami; Studio One, Doraville, Georgia & Studio In The Country, Bogalusa, LA, February–August 1977
Side One	Side Two
What’s Your Name That Smell One More Time I Know a Little	You Got That Right I Never Dreamed Honky Tonk Night Time Man Ain’t No Good Night
Group Musicians
Ronnie Van Zant – Lead Vocals Steve Gaines – Guitars, Vocals Gary Rossington – Guitars Allen Collins – Guitars Billy Powell – Piano, Keyboards Leon Wilkeson – Bass, Vocals Artimus Pyle – Drums

Street Survivors starts with an instant, catchy Skynard classic “What’s Your Name”, co-written by guitarist Gary Rossington and lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant. With a traditional, crisp Southern rock feel and a simple, direct message as an ode to rock groupies “What’s Your Name” peaked in the Top 20 in the U.S. and the Top 10 in Canada. This is followed by “That Smell”, the best overall song on the album as a true epic jam merged with a topical, anti-drug theme. This song is led by the crisp guitar riffing and multi-level leads by Allen Collins along with good melodic vocals by Van Zant and the backing of “The Honkettes” featuring JoJo Billingsley Leslie Hawkins and Cassie Gaines.

A truly unique track on the album is “One More Time”, added late when several other candidates were judged insufficient. The track was originally recorded during Skynyrd’s 1971 Muscle Shoals session (material later released on the 1978 album Skynyrd’s First and…Last). Musically, “One More Time” has a Grateful Dead-like arrangement with complex layers, a well-crafted 6/8 swing throughout and it features departed group members King, bassist Rickey Medlocke and drummer Greg Walker.

Lynyrd Skynrd in 1977

Much of the rest of the album is dominated by Steve Gaines, starting with the blues rock shuffle “I Know a Little”. While simple in structure, the song is also a real showcase for the talent in this band beyond Gaines, most especially the piano of Billy Powell and the bass of Leon Wilkeson. “You Got That Right” starts the record’s second side as an upbeat jam with a great slide guitar lead by Gaines, while “I Never Dreamed” features an acoustic country-rock rhythm with subtle but unique percussion. The Merle Haggard cover “Honky Tonk Night Time Man” features guest Barry Lee Harwood on dobro leading to the closer “Ain’t No Good Life” is a slow blues showcase for Gaines where he also provides lead vocals.

Just three days after the release of Street Survivors, Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines were killed along with the group’s assistant road manager and the plane’s pilot and co-pilot, while all the other band members were injured but survived. Ultimately, Lynyrd Skynyrd would go on hiatus for a decade before reuniting in 1987 with Johnny Van Zant (Ronnie’s younger brother) on lead vocals along with Rossington, Powell, Wilkeson, Pyle and King.

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1977 albums.

Human Touch & Lucky Town
by Bruce Springsteen

March 31, 2022

by Classic Rock Review with No Comment Album Reviews

Buy Human Touch
Buy Lucky Town

The 1980s were incredibly successful for Bruce Springsteen, both commercially and critically. However, with the break-up of the E Street band in late 1989 and Springsteen’s relocation from New Jersey to Los Angeles, the next decade proved to be a more uneven decade for the boss musically. Human Touch and Lucky Town, the first two albums he released during the 1990s were released simultaneously on March 31, 1992. It had been nearly half a decade since Springsteen’s last studio album release in 1987. While these two works will be forever linked, they each had a distinct origin, approach, style and running length. These differences were ultimately reflected in their differing sales and critical responses.

After the pop/rock 1984 blockbuster Born In the USA, Springsteen released the more contemplative Tunnel of Love in 1987. The following year saw Springsteen headlining a concert in East Germany with 300,000 attendees as well as the worldwide Human Rights Now! tour for Amnesty International. Not long after the break up of the E Street Band, keyboardist Roy Bittan presented Springsteen with three instrumentals to which he later added lyrics. With this, Bittan was the sole E Street Band member involved in the production of either of the 1992 albums.

Human Touch was recorded through 1990 with Bittan, bassist Randy Jackson and drummer Jeff Porcaro joining Springsteen. Porcaro, a legendary session drummer and member of the group Toto, was asked by Springsteen to join him for the subsequent tours, but he declined due to scheduling conflicts (Porcaro would tragically die in 1992 of a heart attack). Human Touch was originally set for a early-to-mid 1991 release but Springsteen was not quite satisfied with the material at the time. He returned to the studio in September 1991 to record an extra “song or two” for the album. However, these sessions yielded ten new tracks, recorded in a more stripped-down fashion with Springsteen playing most of the instruments. Ultimately, he made the decision to package this newer material as a totally separate album, Lucky Town.

Human Touch and Lucky Town by Bruce Springsteen
Released: March 31, 1992 (Columbia) Produced by: Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin, Roy Bittan & Bruce Springsteen Recorded: A&M Studios, Los Angeles and Thrill Hill, Colts Neck, NJ, September 1989 – January 1992
Human Touch	Lucky Town
Human Touch Soul Driver 57 Channels (and Nothin’ On) Cross My Heart Gloria’s Eyes With Every Wish Roll of the Dice Real World All or Nothin’ at All Man’s Job I Wish I Were Blind The Long Goodbye Real Man Pony Boy	Better Days Lucky Town Local Hero If I Should Fall Behind Leap of Faith The Big Muddy Living Proof Book of Dreams Souls of the Departed My Beautiful Reward
Primary Musicians
Bruce Springsteen – Lead Vocals, Guitars, Harmonica, Bass (Lucky Town) Roy Bittan – Keyboards Randy Jackson – Bass (Human Touch) Jeff Porcaro – Drums (Human Touch) Gary Mallaber – Drums (Lucky Town)

Human Touch begins with it’s title track, an extended, six and a half minute journey into pleasant enough adult contemporary pop. Lyrically, the track explores a reflection on a failed romance, making it compatible with the previous Tunnel of Love album, and the song reached the Top 20 in the US and fared even better in Europe. “Soul Driver” features synth and guitar trade offs along with excellent vocals, both lead and backing, throughout. “57 Channels (And Nothin’ On)” is an interesting track, driven by Springsteen’s bass line and chanting vocals, which really hone in on the hook. This amped-up, rockabilly screed on the (then) state of mass media is dripping with irony.

Next, the sparse, slow rocker “Cross My Heart” uses lyrics from a 1958 tune by Sonny Boy Williamson, followed by the upbeat rocker “Gloria’s Eyes”, with Springsteen’s blues-based lead guitar intermittent between the vocals. “With Every Wish” sees a switch to in Americana mode with slight flourishes of fretless bass by guest Douglas Lunn and trumpet by Mark Isham. The next pair were co-written by Bittan, with “Roll of the Dice” featuring a classic E Street vibe and “Real World” showcasing a great array of sonic effects, more great harmonies, and Springsteen’s finest guitar lead on the album.

"Human Touch" by Bruce Springsteen “All or Nothin’ at All” is rockabilly, retro fitted to a modern-day hook and offers nothing really groundbreaking. This may also apply to the tracks “Man’s Job” and “The Long Goodbye”. As Human Touch nears its conclusion, “I Wish I Were Blind” is the best track late on the record as a ballad with great melody and mood and a thumping bass by Jackson which finely contrasts the overall melancholy feel. “Real Man” features a soulful sound due to creative synths, leading to the closer “Pony Boy”, a traditional track scaled down as a simple folk duet between wife Patti Scialfa and Springsteen.

Moving on to Lucky Town, it commences with a perfect opener, “Better Days”, with lead vocals intensity amped up to ’11’ over a moderate rock beat with excellent backing vocals. The title track, “Lucky Town” is alt country with a dark folk feel initially and, in contrast to the opener, is mostly a solo recording by Springsteen, being joined only by drummer Gary Mallaber. This is an arrangement that will be predominant through much of the remainder of the album.

Lucky Town by Bruce Springsteen “Local Hero” starts with slight harmonica lead before settling into another upbeat storytelling tune, while “If I Should Fall Behind” is the best overall track thus far, as a folksy acoustic love song with just the right amount of accompaniment throughout. After the thumping “Leap of Faith”, we reach the heart of the Lucky Town record with “The Big Muddy” and it’s interesting, Delta-blues sound above an electric arpeggio, along with distinct acoustic slides and echo-laden vocals which guide the song along. “Living Proof” starts with a disco-like kick drum but the vibe is soon altered by jangly guitar in this moving song Springsteen wrote about becoming a father after he and Patti welcomed their first child in 1990.

“Book of Dreams” is a ballad with introspective lyrics, delivered with soft vocals and an even softer musical arrangement with synths and bass. “Souls of the Departed” has a sharp, jagged electric guitar sound with a slight harmonica which becomes more prominent as the tune advances, with lyrics offering commentary on the first Gulf War. Wrapping things up, “My Beautiful Reward” is an acoustic ballad with a good, folksy vibe.

Bruce Springsteen 1992

Both Human Touch and Lucky Town fared well commercially, each reaching the Top 5 on the album charts and each respectively reaching platinum in sales. However, Springsteen’s first albums without the E Street Band have come to be known as the “bastard children” of his pristine discography and, since reuniting with his old band at the end of the century, he has rarely revisited any of this material during live shows.

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1992 albums.

Younger Than Yesterday
by The Byrds

March 12, 2022

by Classic Rock Review with No Comment Album Reviews

Buy Younger Than Yesterday

The fourth album by The Byrds, 1967’s Younger Than Yesterday saw a continued evolution of the quartet’s sound towards a mature fusion of jazz and psychedelia and jazz into their root folk/rock sound. This album has grown to be considered among the group’s strongest by critics, in spite of the fact that it initially had mixed reviews and it only achieved moderate chart success upon it’s release.

The Byrds reached international prominence in 1965 with several hit singles and a pair of #1 albums. However, their 1966 third album, Fifth Dimension, was less commercially successful than their first two following the departure of Gene Clark, who had previously been the group’s chief songwriter. The group also found themselves seeking a new a record producer as they prepared for the recording of this fourth album. Bassist Chris Hillman and guitarist David Crosby took a more active role in songwriting for this record with the pair having a hand in writing or co-writing 10 of the 11 originals on the album.

Following an intensive period of rehearsal, the entirety of Younger Than Yesterday was completed in 11 days with producer Gary Usher in late 1966. While the original working title for this LP was Sanctuary, they later exchanged this for a title inspired by the lyrics of the Bob Dylan cover, “My Back Pages”, the only cover song on this album.

Younger Than Yesterday by The Byrds
Released: February 6, 1967 (Columbia) Produced by: Gary Usher Recorded: Columbia Studio, Hollywood, November–December, 1966
Side One	Side Two
So You Want to Be a Rock n’ Roll Star Have You Seen Her Face C.T.A.-102 Renaissance Fair Time Between Everybody’s Been Burned	Thoughts and Words Mind Gardens My Back Pages The Girl with No Name Why
Group Members
Jim McGuinn – guitars, vocals David Crosby – guitars, vocals Chris Hillman – bass, vocals Michael Clarke – drums

The album’s opening song and lead single, “So You Want to Be a Rock n’ Roll Star”, was co-written by Hillman and Jim McGuinn and it became a Top 40 hit for the group. Meant as an ironic but good-natured comment on the recent success of the manufactured rock band The Monkees, the song was innovative with the inclusion of trumpet by Hugh Masekela as well as some crowd noise effects. “Have You Seen Her Face” follows as a contemporary love song released as another single from the album, while “C.T.A.-102” takes a turn as it explores the existence of extraterrestrial life.

Co-written by Crosby and McGuinn, “Renaissance Fair” is a short folk song with medieval ambiance and it features saxophone by guest Jay Migliori. Hillman’s country / pop influenced “Time Between” is followed by Crosby’s jazz-influenced “Everybody’s Been Burned”, a song he wrote in 1962, a few years before the formation of the Byrds. “Thoughts and Words” kicks of the original Side Two as an LSD-influenced, metaphysical meditation on human relationships with plenty of effects. “Mind Gardens” was a contentious track which was written by Crosby but disliked by the other band members because if its lack of traditional compositional form. Crosby’s ambitions for artistic control within the band would ultimately lead to his dismissal from the group later in 1967.

The Byrds in 1966

The group’s version of “My Back Pages” harkens back to their smash hit Mr. Tambourine Man a few years earlier as a pared-down and electrified version of a Dylan folk song. It would ultimately be the last single by the Byrds to reach the Top 40. Following the county-flavored “The Girl with No Name”, the album concludes with “Why”, an Indian-flavored, re-recorded version of a song first released as the B-side of the band’s “Eight Miles High” single in March 1966.

While Younger Than Yesterday charted in the Top 40 in both the US and the UK, it would be the last to feature all original members of The Byrds as both Crosby and drummer Michael Clarke would soon depart the group and various lineup ships would occur in subsequent years.

Part of Classic Rock review’s Celebration of 1967 albums.

Earthling by David Bowie

March 4, 2022

by Jeremiah Cook with No Comment Album Reviews

Buy Earthling

In my opinion, David Bowie went into a creative slump after his mega 1983 hit Let’s Dance. The albums after Let’s Dance weren’t bad, per say, they just didn’t achieve the same musical heights as the ones leading up to that. Throughout the 1970s, Bowie was consistently ahead of musical trends, but after Let’s Dance, he started chasing those trends. This was especially apparent with his 1997 album Earthlings.

The 1990s were the decade when Stomp and raves rose to prominence. Stomp ushered in a fascination with industrial music, while raves brought electronica to public consciousness. Bowie tapped into these two music trends when creating Earthlings. As a result, the album functions well as a time capsule for that type of music. Unfortunately, this is also what limits the album. If you’re not nostalgic for the late 90s or in the mood to take some drugs and dance, Earthling quickly gets repetitive.

Earthling by David Bowie
Released: February 3, 1997 (Arista) Produced by: David Bowie, Reeves Gabrels & Mark Plati Recorded: Mountain Studio, Montreux & Looking Glass, New York, April–October 1996
Track Listing	Primary Musicians
Little Wonder Looking for Satellites Battle for Britain (The Letter) Seven Years in Tibet Dead Man Walking Telling Lies The Last Thing You Should Do I’m Afraid of Americans Law (Earthlings on Fire)	David Bowie – Lead Vocals, Guitars, Saxophone Reeves Gabrels – Guitars, Synths Gail Ann Dorsey – Bass, Vocals Zack Alford – Drums, Percussion

Earthling by David Bowie

Released: February 3, 1997 (Arista)
Produced by: David Bowie, Reeves Gabrels & Mark Plati
Recorded: Mountain Studio, Montreux & Looking Glass, New York, April–October 1996

Track Listing

Primary Musicians

Little Wonder
Looking for Satellites
Battle for Britain (The Letter)
Seven Years in Tibet
Dead Man Walking
Telling Lies
The Last Thing You Should Do
I’m Afraid of Americans
Law (Earthlings on Fire)

David Bowie – Lead Vocals, Guitars, Saxophone
Reeves Gabrels – Guitars, Synths
Gail Ann Dorsey – Bass, Vocals
Zack Alford – Drums, Percussion

Before I get into the songs, I wanted to discuss the cover. Bowie is standing in a Union Jack themed coat, turned away from the viewer, staring out at England. It’s a cool piece of pop art. The album starts with “Little Wonder,” which lets the listener know right away that this album will be focused on electronica and industrial sounds. The song starts well before getting repetitive and going on a bit too long. In “Looking for Satellites,” Bowie’s lyrical nonsense acts as a musical instrument, which is fun. There’s little to note about “Battle for Britain (The Letter),” it’s essentially club music. After this is “Seven Years in Tibet,” which is one of the best songs on the album. Bowie gets away from electronica and industrial and opts for a more traditional tune, while his lyrics evoke emotion instead of being used like a sampling device. This song also previews the musical direction Bowie would take on his follow-up album.

David Bowie 1997

There isn’t a great deal to say about the next several songs. They all sound similar and work off repetition. “Dead Man Walking” has a fun piano outro. “Telling Lies” features an intro that sounds virtually identical to three of the previous tunes on the album. “The Last Thing You Should Do” changes into a fun rock jam near the end but primarily includes the same faults as the previous songs.

“I’m Afraid of Americans” was the big hit single off this album, and it is fine, but not great. The last song on the album “Law (Earthlings on Fire)” manages to change up the electronica patterns used throughout the album and as a result, sounds more enjoyable than a lot of the songs in the same vein, despite still heavily using repetition and sampling.

Out of 25 David Bowie albums, I’d recommend at least 19 before mentioning Earthling. It’s not that Bowie’s 1997 effort is a particularly bad album, but it just doesn’t rate highly in the Starman’s stellar discography. None of the songs are particularly memorable. Thankfully, starting with his 1999 album Hours, Bowie would embark on a string of excellent albums leading right up to his untimely passing in 2016.

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1997 albums.

Surrealistic Pillow
by Jefferson Airplane

February 1, 2022

by Classic Rock Review with No Comment Album Reviews

Buy Surrealistic Pillow

Jefferson Airplane reached an early peak with their second LP Surrealistic Pillow. The album was the first album to feature vocalist Grace Slick, who made an immediate impact by bringing with her a couple of songs from her former group, The Great Society. Combined with these indelible tunes is a fine mix of folk, rock and psychedelic experimentation which made this record a quintessential work of the 1960s counterculture.

After the Beatles-led British Invasion of 1964, folk singer Marty Balin decided to open a club in San Francisco and start a folk-rock band in residency. The first to sign on was guitarist Paul Kantner and a multitude of shifting lineups followed. When blues guitarist Jorma Kaukonen joined he came up with the group name based on his own nickname “Blind Thomas Jefferson Airplane”, which in turn was influenced by one of Kaukonen’s blues influences, Blind Lemon Jefferson. The group performed its first public show in August, 1965 and within months they were fielding offers from recording companies, signing with RCA Victor in November 1965, The group’s debut, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off was released in September 1966 with a mix of covers and folk originals, but it did not make many waves outside of the San Francisco Bay area.

In late 1966, the group’s lineup shifted once again as Spencer Dryden replaced original drummer Skip Spence and Slick replaced vocalist Signe Anderson at the invitation of bassist Jack Casady. This new lineup entered the studio late in the year to record to record Surrealistic Pillow.

Surrealist Pillow by Jefferson Airplane
Released: February 1, 1967 (RCA Victor) Produced by: Rick Jarrard Recorded: RCA Victor’s Music Center, Hollywood, October-November, 1966
Side One	Side Two
She Has Funny Cars Somebody to Love My Best Friend Today Comin’ Back to Me	3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds D.C.B.A.–25 How Do You Feel Embryonic Journey White Rabbit Plastic Fantastic Lover
Group Members
Marty Balin – guitars, vocals Grace Slick – piano, keyboards, recorder, vocals Jorma Kaukonen – lead guitars, vocals Paul Kantner – guitars, vocals Jack Casady – bass, guitars Spencer Dryden – drums, percussion

Dryden’s drum pattern borrowed from Bo Diddly introduces the opener “She Has Funny Cars”, with later sections featuring a duet between Balin and Slick. Grace’s brother-in-law Darby Slick composed the pop hit “Somebody to Love”, while both were members of The Great Society in 1965. This song became Jefferson Airplane’s first and biggest charting single as it reached the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. “My Best Friend” is sing-songy and laid back with rich vocal harmonies and subtle lead guitar throughout, while “Today” features beautiful, layered guitars and great vocals by Balin.

The mellow mood continues on the extended “Comin’ Back to Me”, a laid back folk ballad sans rhythm section, In contrast, “3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds” is Balin’s driving rocker which features some great lead guitar by Kaukonen and nice bass interplay by Cassady. Kantner’s “D.C.B.A.–25” is a pleasant folk rocker with intricate rhythms and dual vocals, followed by the uplifting love tune “How Do You Feel” and Kaukonen’s Celtic-flavored acoustic piece, “Embryonic Journey”.

The album’s highlight is Slick’s “White Rabbit”, a single direction vector of a song which builds from a simple thumping rhythm and builds into a a strong crescendo as a definitive icon of the late 60s sound. The lyrics draw from the Lewis Carroll Alice in Wonderland series and the single and became another Top 10 hit from the album. Balin’s “Plastic Fantastic Lover” closes the record with an almost Velvet Underground feel to it, an edgy vibe which ends a bit abruptly.

Surrealistic Pillow peaked at number three on the Billboard album chart and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. Soon after it’s release, Jefferson Airplane performed at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, further solidifying their legacy as a central act in the Summer of Love.

Part of Classic Rock review’s Celebration of 1967 albums.

Jackson Browne

January 1, 2022

by Classic Rock Review with No Comment Album Reviews

Buy Jackson Browne

Sometimes referred to as “Saturate Before Using”, Jackson Browne‘s 1972 self-titled debut showcases his early style of composing and performing reflective ballads. This album achieved a healthy measure of commercial success and received critical acclaim which has expanded through the decades as its original compositions communicate a romantic sensibility and employ a subtle arrangement and production style. Further, while only 23 at the time of it’s release, Browne was already a quasi-veteran in the Southern California music scene, which gave him the opportunity to enlist A-list musicians and singers to back him up on this debut.

Jackson Browne was born in Germany to American parents but spent most of his childhood in California. He began performing folk songs in his teens and joined the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band shortly after graduating high school (while Browne was only in the band for a short time, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band would later recorded a number of his compositions). After leaving the Dirt Band in 1967, Browne moved to New York City and became a writer for the publishing company Nina Music, where he had various connections with people in the folk scene. Browne contributed to Nico’s debut album Chelsea Girl and some of his songs were recorded by Tom Rush, Gregg Allman, Joan Baez, Linda Ronstadt and the Byrds before he ever recorded his own versions. After moving back to LA, Browne signed with his manager David Geffen’s new Asylum Records in 1971.

Browne’s first album featured several guest performers, including the vocal harmonies of David Crosby and Graham Nash and the guitars of Jesse Ed Davis and Albert Lee. The sessions were spearheaded by producer/engineer Richard Sanford Orshoff and recorded at Crystal Sound Recorders in Hollywood.

Jackson Browne by Jackson Browne
Released: January 1, 1972 (Asylum) Produced by: Richard Sanford Orshoff Recorded: Crystal Sound Recorders, Hollywood, 1971
Side One	Side Two
Jamaica Say You Will A Child in These Hills Song for Adam Doctor, My Eyes From Silver Lake	Something Fine Under the Falling Sky Looking Into You Rock Me on the Water My Opening Farewell
Primary Musicians
Jackson Browne – Lead Vocals, Piano, Guitar Jim Gordon – Organ Leland Sklar – Bass Russ Kunkel – Drums, Percussion

The record begins with “Jamaica Say You Will”, a melodic piano tune with the fine accompaniment of bass and drums by Leland Sklar and Russ Kunkel respectively. This song was inspired by a gardener who worked across the street from the Pacific Ocean and it had been previously released by The Byrds on their 1971 album Byrdmaniax. “A Child in These Hills” follows as an acoustic folk tune with great electric interplay by Albert Lee throughout, along with fine harmonica textures by Jimmie Fadden, especially during the train-like unique outro. The somber “Song for Adam” is pure acoustic folk with a very slight arrangement, written in memory of Browne’s friend Adam Saylor, who died in 1968 either by accident or suicide.

The upbeat pop/rocker “Doctor, My Eyes” features a thumping piano, a fine melody and layered textures of sounds which made it a Top 10 hit for Browne. The song’s lyric is a statement of a man who had stoically endured life’s hardships with a slightly optimistic view moving forward and its unique arrangement features electric guitar by Davis and congas by Kunkel. Both “From Silver Lake” and “Something Fine” are sparsely arranged folk ballads, followed by the interesting “Under the Falling Sky”, a rhythmically intense song with a lyric which paints an image of deep human connection.

Jackson Browne concludes with three fine compositions, starting with the ballad “Looking into You”, which features guests David Jackson on piano and Flying Burrito Brother Sneaky Pete Kleinow on pedal steel guitar. “Rock Me on the Water” is a gospel-like composition with a solo piano break by Craig Doerge before the tune grows more uplifting as it reaches its climax. The album concludes with the slightly melancholy and beautifully constructed “My Opening Farewell”, featuring intricate interplay between Browne’s acoustic guitar, Sklar’s bass and Doerge’s piano.

Jackson Browne

Browne set high standards with this eponymous debut but found the success hard to replicate on his subsequent albums For Everyman (1973) and Late for the Sky (1974), before he once again found commercial success starting with 1976’s The Pretender and continuing through the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1972 albums.

Face to Face by The Kinks

October 28, 2021

by Classic Rock Review with No Comment Album Reviews

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After quickly rising to pop acclaim, Ray Davies and The Kinks morphed towards concept albums in the late 1960s. Face to Face, the group’s fourth studio album released in October 1966, featured a fine collections of short pop-oriented songs that were loosely affiliated thematically with observations of society. Musically, the 14 tracks explored many new and diverse styles ranging from traditional English music hall to the emerging psychedelic sound.

The group toured the world in early 1965 but, after their shows in the United States, the American Federation of Musicians would refuse permits for the group to appear in concerts for the next four years due to their rowdy behavior on stage. 1965 saw the group record and release two albums, Kinda Kinks and The Kink Kontroversy, which each saw the group branch out stylistically, with the latter album including session musician Nicky Hopkins on keyboards.

The lead single from Face to Face, “Sunny Afternoon”, became a blockbuster hit in the summer of 1966. The most indelible and popular song on the album, it is built on descending riffs over calmly strummed acoustic guitar and a nice changeup to seventh chords in the choruses which excellently portray the easiness illuminated in the lyrics. Although not included on the album, he single’s B-side “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” was a unique and intense song with an unambiguous message that builds in intensity on the delivery of that title message when guitarist Dave Davies takes over lead vocals. With great momentum from both sides of this single, the group headed to the studio with producer Shel Talmy to make the ret of the album.

Face to Face by The Kinks
Released: October 23, 1966 (Pye) Produced by: Shel Talmy Recorded: Pye Studios, London, October 1965–June, 1966
Side One	Side Two
Party Line Rosy Won’t You Please Come Home Dandy Too Much on My Mind Session Man Rainy Day in June A House in the Country	Holiday in Waikiki Most Exclusive Residence for Sale Fancy Little Miss Queen of Darkness You’re Lookin’ Fine Sunny Afternoon I’ll Remember
Primary Musicians
Ray Davies – Lead Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards Dave Davies – Guitars, Vocals Nicky Hopkins – Piano, Keyboards Pete Quaife – Bass, Vocals Mick Avory – Drums, Percussion

The opening track “Party Line”, co-written by both Davies brothers, is straight forward pop/folk/rocker with consistent drumming by Mick Avory throughout, while the following “Rosy Won’t You Please Come Home” leans more towards psychedelic rock, with Hopkins’ ever-present harpsichord and its overall melancholy feel. This second song was directed towards Rosy Davies, the sister of Ray and Dave Davies who had moved to Australia in 1964, an event which would later be the subject of the 1969 concept album, Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire).

The upbeat folk track “Dandy” became a hit throughout Europe and it would later be covered by several subsequent acts like Herman’s Hermits and The Rockin’ Vickers. On “Too Much on My Mind” there is good interplay between the bass guitar of Pete Quaife and the acoustic with harpsichord coming in and adding much color, ll making it the best song on the album thus far. Slightly lesser quality but still entertaining are the three songs that round off side one, “Session Man”, “Rainy Day in June” and “A House in the Country”.

The Kinks, 1966

The album’s second side begins with the Hawaiian-flavored “Holiday in Waikiki” followed by the folksy “Most Exclusive Residence for Sale”. Perhaps the most interesting stretch of the album begins with the acoustic “Fancy” followed by the jazzy “Little Miss Queen of Darkness”, which features John Dalton on bass as it was recorded during a short period in July 1966 when Quaife temporarily quit The Kinks. “You’re Lookin’ Fine” is a riff driven rocker, played in an understated manner which doesn’t quite realize its full potential, as demonstrated by Syndicate Of Sound’s 1969 cover of the song. The original album concluded with the fine pop/rocker “I’ll Remember”, featuring great guitar tones and an animated boogie piano beneath a deliberative, George Harrison-like melody. The song was the earliest track on the album, having originally been recorded during sessions for The Kink Kontroversy in 1965.

Less than a month after the release of Face to Face, the group released the non-album single “Dead End Street” / “Big Black Smoke”, which further enhanced the group’s sound. The Kinks’ music in 1966 commenced a five-year period that Ray Davies would later refer to as their “golden age”.

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1966 albums.

The Monkees

October 13, 2021

by Classic Rock Review with No Comment Album Reviews

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In October 1966, The Monkees released their self-titled debut record, which would become the first of four consecutive number one albums in the US. The album debuted one month after The Monkees television series first aired. While the group was visually portrayed as a traditional four-piece rock band on TV, on this debut record the four members provided nothing but vocals on all but two of the twelve album tracks and no tracks featured all four members of the Monkees.

The initial concept for the Monkees dates back to 1962 and and an unsuccessful attempt to sell the series by filmmaker Bob Rafelson. Two years later Rafelson and Bert Schneider formed Raybert Productions and that year’s success of the Beatles’ debut film A Hard Day’s Night inspired the team to revive the idea for The Monkees. In April 1965, Raybert sold the show to Screen Gems Television with the original idea of casting the New York folk rock group, The Lovin’ Spoonful. After that initial plan fell through Davy Jones, a then-current actor at Screen Gems, was cast as the first member of a new fabricated group, with a call for the remainder of the band/cast members put out in September 1965. Out of more than 400 applicants, Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork were signed on to The Monkees. All three had previously worked as musicians at differing levels and, once The Monkees was picked up as a series, development of the musical side of the project accelerated.

Producers Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart were enlisted as chief songwriters for the project and Columbia and Screen Gems entered into a joint venture called Colgems Records as a label and distributor of Monkees records. While the newly formed group did practice playing as a group, Boyce and Hart decided to use top session players for the recording of two albums that were the soundtrack of the TV show’s first season. Music for the debut album was recorded over several sessions in Los Angeles during the summer of 1966.

The Monkees by The Monkees
Released: October 10, 1966 (Colgems) Produced by: Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, Jack Keller & Michael Nesmith Recorded: Los Angeles, June-July 1966
Side One	Side Two
(Theme From) The Monkees Saturday’s Child I Wanna Be Free Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day Papa Gene’s Blues Take a Giant Step	Last Train to Clarksville This Just Doesn’t Seem to Be My Day Let’s Dance On I’ll Be True to You Sweet Young Thing Gonna Buy Me a Dog
Group Members
Micky Dolenz Davy Jones Mike Nesmith Peter Tork

Beginning with the signature television opening “(Theme From) The Monkees”, the debut record features Dolenz on lead vocals for most tracks, including the rather hard rock turn on the Davis Gates-penned “Saturday’s Child”. “I Wanna Be Free” is the first of a trio to features Jones on lead vocals with Nesmith taking lead on the pair of tracks he composed, “Papa Gene’s Blues” and “Sweet Young Thing”. While Tork does not sing lead on any tracks, he is the only Monkee to play an instrument anywhere on the album, providing guitar on the two aforementioned Nesmith tracks.

“Last Train to Clarksville” was the album’s biggest hit as it topped the US pop charts and was subsequently featured in seven episodes of the TV series. This jangly folk/rock tune was musically inspired by the Beatles’ recent hit “Paperback Writer”, with lyrics of a man phoning the woman he loves and urging her to meet him at a train station before he must leave, possibly on his way to war.

The Monkees

The Monkees was a worldwide success, topping the charts in several countries, including the US where it remained at number one for a quarter of a year. The album only lost it’s top spot when the group’s follow-up album More of the Monkees, recorded it late 1966 and released in January 1967, took over the number one spot, Combined, the Monkees held the number one album spot in the US for over 30 consecutive weeks.

As swiftly as this success was obtained, the group’s television and recording popularity did not last all that long. After just two successful seasons, the Monkees’ television series was canceled in 1968 as the group members wanted to take a more personal stake in their music and film output. Head, their one and only feature film, was a commercial disaster as it directly challenged the Monkees’ curious stardom but this only served to disconcert their strongest fan base.

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1966 albums.

Abacab by Genesis

September 15, 2021

by Classic Rock Review with No Comment Album Reviews

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Genesis continued their incremental migration from prog to pop rock with their eleventh studio album, Abacab, released in 1981. The compositions here make heavy use of sequencers and studio techniques, combined with pristine melodies to forge a fresh, radio-friendly sound for this 1980s trio version of the group. The result aimed Genesis in a distinct direction, where pop fans discovered the over-decade old band for the first time as a contemporary, radio-friendly group for the decade of 1980s.

Genesis retracted from an original quintet down to a trio following the departure of guitarist Steve Hackett. Starting with the 1978 album And Then There Was Three, Mike Rutherford assumed both guitar and bass duties. 1980’s Duke became the group’s first chart-topping album in their native UK as the album spawned three radio-friendly singles. Later that year, Phil Collins recorded his debut solo album, Face Value, which became a worldwide smash following its release in early 1981.

The group purchased a farmhouse in Surrey, England which they converted into their private rehearsal and recording facility as recording for Abacab began in March 1981. The group dedicated 12 to 14 hours a day for about three months through the Spring of 1981 with engineer Hugh Padgham. Production duties were solely credited to the band for the first time with this album.

Abacab by Genesis
Released: September 18, 1981 (Charisma) Produced by: Genesis Recorded: The Farm, Chiddingfold, Surrey, England, March-June, 1981
Side One	Side Two
Abacab No Reply at All Me and Sarah Jane Keep It Dark	Dodo / Lurker Who Dunnit? Man On the Corner Like It or Not Another Record”
Group Musicians
Phil Collins – Lead Vocals, Drums, Percussion Mike Rutherford – Guitars, Bass Tony Banks – Piano, Keyboards

The opening title track is an example of where Genesis works best as a trio. The song is built on call-and-response phrases between Rutherford’s sharp guitar riff and Tony Banks‘ smooth organ, set as a backing for Collins’ contrasting, strained rock vocals. The song, which got its name from the lettered sections of its original arrangement, is structured like a traditional pop song but with an extended instrumental section at the coda led mostly by Banks’ synth motifs and later a more traditional guitar lead by Rutherford. “No Reply at All” is, perhaps, the most entertaining song on the album as it features a catchy melody over Rutherford’s great bass, all accented by the poignant and dominant horn section borrowed from the group Earth, Wind and Fire. The track’s complex bridge brings the whole vibe home for this Top Ten hit.

Most of the nine tracks on Abacab were composed collaboratively by all three group members but each did get one solo composition. “Me and Sarah Jane” was composed by Banks and it definitely hearkens back to Genesis’ Peter Gabriel era in both structure and melody. The layers of Tony’s piano, organ and synths are complemented by steady but effective rhythms though this complex, guitar free mini-suite. “Keep It Dark” features odd syncopation in the vein of Devo along with mostly melodic vocals to go against the mechanical music, while “Dodo”/”Lurker” has a majestic intro to its multi-part and multi-feel suite.

Genesis 1981

After the new wave textured, repetitive phrases of “Who Dunnit?” comes the Collins composition “Man On the Corner”. Electronic percussion starts before vocals and keyboards replicate the main melody with lyrics that address society’s reluctance to find a resolution to the homeless problem. “Like It or Not” is Rutherford’s solo composition with a majestic intro to a dynamic track which moves from a pleasant sounding ballad to a more matter-of-fact tough love screed. After a short and serene intro, the song proper of the closer “Another Record” kicks in with animated drum fills under steady riffs and rhythms.

The gold selling Abacab was the second consecutive UK #1 album for Genesis and their first of several to reach the US Top Ten in the US through the eighties. Three songs recorded for but left off this album were released on Genesis’s EP, 3×3, released in May 1982, with material from the Abacab world tour added to these three tracks for the double album Three Sides Live later in 1982.

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1981 albums.