The Royal Scam by Steely Dan

The Royal Scam by Steely Dan

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The Royal Scam by Steely DanWe’ve all heard of the genre called “outlaw country”. But with Steely Dan‘s 1976 fifth studio album, The Royal Scam, the group put forth a collection of songs that may be labeled “outlaw fusion jazz”. With allusions to characters both fictional and contemporary, many lyrical themes focus on darker subjects such as crime, homelessness, drug dealing, divorce, the loss of innocence, and other general bad faith “scams”. Musically, this album features more prominent guitar work than most Steely Dan releases, led by band co-member Walter Becker and session guitarist Larry Carlton, who delivers some of his finest performances on this record.

Steely Dan began as a tradition rock group but following their early success, Becker and lead vocalist/keyboardist Donald Fagen wanted to tour less and concentrate on composing and recording. Following their tour in support of Pretzel Logic in 1974, Steely Dan ceased live performances all together. Eventually the other members departed, with group founder and guitarist Denny Dias staying on in more of session role for later albums while Becker and Fagen recruited a diverse group of other session players starting with the 1975 release Katy Lied including Carlton and backing vocalist Michael McDonald.

With the sessions for The Royal Scam, the group brought in funk/R&B drummer Bernard Purdie for most tracks as Becker and Fagen strived for amore rhythmic sound. The album was produced by Gary Katz and it’s cover features artwork originally for and unreleased 1975 album by Van Morrison.

 

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The Royal Scam by Steely Dan
Released: May 31, 1976 (ABC)
Produced by: Gary Katz
Recorded: ABC Studios, Los Angeles; A&R Studios, New York; November 1975–March 1976
Studio
Side One Side Two
Kid Charlemagne
The Caves of Altamira
Don’t Take Me Alive
Sign In Stranger
The Fez
Green Earrings
Haitian Divorce
Everything You Did
The Royal Scam
Primary Musicians
Donald Fagen – Lead Vocals, Keyboards
Walter Becker – Guitars, Bass, String Arrangements
Larry Carlton – Lead Guitars
Denny Dias – Guitars
Bernard Purdie – Drums

 

The album begins with its best overall tune and, really one of the most musically rewarding songs by Steely Dan, “Kid Charlemagne”. This track is built on a catchy clavichord which works perfectly in the cracks between the vocal phrases and rhythm provided by Purdie and session bassist Chuck Rainey, But the most rewarding moments here are are dual leads by Carlton, blending elements of rock, funk and jazz with not a single note less than excellent. “The Caves of Altamira” follows as a jazz/pop with more fine rhythms and featuring a rich horn section, climaxing with the tenor sax of John Klemmer. The lyrics refer to cave paintings in Spain created by Neanderthals, proving early man’s call to be creative and expressive.

Carlton’s heavily distorted and snarling guitar works into a full intro lead for “Don’t Take Me Alive”, another track that explores the criminal edge lyrically. However, this track has an overall feel of 1980’s AOR rock, which really shows Steely Dan’s forward-looking approach to compositions. “Sign In Stranger” changes pace as a piano-dominated piece led by Paul Griffin who provides most of the musical movement and a great lead section. Griffin also co-wrote “The Fez” along with Becker and Fagen, a track that starts with slow and moody piano but soon falls into a perfect 70s funk rhythm with some disco-era, over-the-top synth strings on top.

Steely Dan group In studio

The record’s second side picks up pretty much where the first ended, with the funk-laden “Green Earrings”, with Purdie providing great drumming throughout and lyrics about a jewel thief who feels no remorse. Next Becker and session man Dean Parks provide the signature talk-box effect on “Haitian Divorce” before Carlton returns for the slow and sloshy rocker, “Everything You Did”. The album’s closing, extended title tune is dark and monotone, with its repeated pattern of multiple verses by Fagen cut by short instrumental flourishes and a lyric about the plight of an immigrant in New York City.

While The Royal Scam reached the Top 20 on the album charts and went gold in sales, it is often panned as a critical and commercial disappointment, especially in comparison to Steely Dan’s follow-up masterpiece record Aja in 1977. However, Fagen and Becker have cited this 1976 album as the point where Steely Dan really distilled themselves into their “perfect form”.

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1976 Images

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1976 albums.

Tapestry by Carole King

Tapestry by Carole King

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Tapestry by Carole KingAfter spending most of the 1960s writing hits for other artists, Carole King started a solo career at the dawn of the 1970s. Her 1971 second studio album, Tapestry, became her breakout work as a phenomenal commercial and critical success. This multiple Grammy Award winning album features a dozen tunes written on piano,  mostly new, but also a few classics from King’s hit-making days in the sixties. And those hit-making days continued as two singles from the album topped the pop charts.

King was born Carol Klein and she was musically inclined from a young age. She attended high school with Paul Simon and he helped record her first promotional single in 1958 called “The Right Girl”. Another high school classmate Neil Sedaka, who King had dated, had a hit in 1959 called “Oh! Carol”. When in college, King met Gerry Goffin, who became her songwriting partner, husband and father to her daughters. In 1960, King and Goffin wrote the Shirelles’ hit “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”, which became the first Billboard Hot 100 number 1 hit by an all female black group. Further hits followed through the 1960s for various and diverse artists ranging from Little Eva to Bobby Vee to the Drifters to the Monkees. In 1968, Goffin and King were divorced and Carole relocated to Laurel Canyon, CA and formed a music trio called The City with Danny Kortchmar on guitar and future husband Charles Larkey on bass. The City produced and released a single album in 1968, Now That Everything’s Been Said.

While in Laurel Canyon, King befriended fellow musicians James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Toni Stern, who encouraged her to launch a solo career. In 1970 King released her debut solo album, Writer, to minor commercial success. In January 1971, King recorded Tapestry concurrently with Taylor’s album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon with both records using many of the same musicians. Tapestry was produced by Lou Adler (King’s longtime publisher and founder of Ode Records) Lou Adler, who wanted the album to sound like the simple demos she recorded through the years with her piano and vocals in the forefront.

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Tapestry by Carole King
Released: February 10, 1971 (A&M)
Produced by: Lou Adler
Recorded: A&M Recording Studios, Hollywood, January 1971
Side One Side Two
I Feel the Earth Move
So Far Away
It’s Too Late
Home Again
Beautiful
Way Over Yonder
You’ve Got a Friend
Where You Lead
Will You Love Me Tomorrow?
Smackwater Jack
Tapestry
A Natural Woman
Primary Musicians
Carole King – Lead Vocals, Piano, Keyboards
Danny Kortchmar – Guitars, Vocals
Curtis Amy – Saxophones, Flute, Strings
Charles Larkey – Bass
Russ Kunkel – Drums, Percussion

Built on choppy piano octaves and jazzy overtones, the opener “I Feel the Earth Move” introduces the hook right away and it is repeated often as King shines with melodic vocals and lead piano throughout. The song was released as a double A-sided single along with “It’s Too Late”. Together, this single became one of the biggest mainstream pop hits of 1971. “It’s Too Late” features lyrics by Stern and is driven by Larkey’s bass and the subtle rhythms of Joel O’Brien. The lyrics describe the end of a loving relationship with a musical arrangement that blends pop/jazz with the soft folk of the L.A. music scene.

“So Far Away” is a simple and beautiful piano ballad with limited arrangement done expertly with just enough moody counterbalance added to King’s piano and vocals. A very slight flute by Curtis Amy closes out the song. The short “Home Again” seems like a natural companion song to “So Far Away” with slightly more vigorous vocals. “Beautiful” abruptly follows as a show-tuny tune, not quite as cohesive as the prior excellent compositions, but entertaining nonetheless. “Way Over Yonder” is built on a slow, 3/4 bluesy waltz and features gospel-tinged backing vocals by Merry Clayton.

Carole King

The second side features several songs made popular by other artists, starting with “You’ve Got a Friend”, which was recorded by Taylor during the same duo-album sessions and became a number one hit for him, while winning Grammy Awards for both King and Taylor in 1972. Carole’s version features both Taylor and Mitchell on backing vocals. King’s new version of her first songwriting hit, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?”, features a slower and more methodical delivery, while her version of “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” does an outstanding job stretching her own vocal range without going over the top or trying to replicate the hit version by Aretha Franklin. The balance of the album includes “Where You Lead”, featuring a second lyrical contribution by Stern with an upbeat pop/rock arrangement, the upbeat folk/rock of “Smackwater Jack” which features a fine electronic piano by Ralph Schuckett, and the haunting but beautiful “Tapestry”. This folk-based title track is almost religious in nature with a bare-bones musical arrangement and lyrical metaphors on the nature of life, death and resurrection.
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Tapestry is one of the 100 best-selling albums of all time, with over 14 million sales worldwide, achieving Diamond status in mid 1990s. After it’s initial release, it remained on the Billboard charts for 313 weeks, the second most weeks to chart behind the 724 weeks of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon. Barely 30 years old, Carole King would continue to have success for decades to come, but this album was her career masterpiece.

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1971 Images

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1971 albums.

 

Ritchie Blakmore's Rainbow

Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow

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Ritchie Blakmore's RainbowOriginating as a side project for Ritchie Blackmore while he was still the guitarist for Deep Purple, Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow turned out to be the debut studio album for Rainbow, the new group that would be Blackmore’s sole focus for nearly a decade to come. This album, which found critical acclaim and notoriety for its fantasy based lyrics combined with it’s more direct heavy rock sound, was composed and delivered by Blackmore along with members of the American band Elf.

Blackmore co-founded Deep Purple in 1968 and saw that group through stylistic and personnel changes before they reached the top of the rock world with the 1972 classic album Machine Head. However, tensions in the group led to the departure of lead vocalist Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover the following year and the pair were replaced by David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes respectively. This new lineup of Deep Purple released a pair of 1974 albums, Burn and Stormbringer, which saw a stylistic shift towards seventies style funk rock, a style of which Blackmore was not all too fond.

In late 1974, Blackmore entered a studio in Florida with members of Elf, a group fronted by Ronnie James Dio which had opened for Deep Purple on a previous tour and of whom Blackmore had been very impressed. The intent was to record and release a solo single, but Blackmore found the experience so satisfying that he decided to extend the sessions to a full album. The group traveled to Musicland Studios in Munich, West Germany with producer Martin Birch to record Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow. With this further positive recording experience, Blackmore decided to leave Deep Purple and become a full time member of Rainbow.


Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow by Rainbow
Released: August 4, 1975 (Polydor)
Produced by: Ritchie Blackmore, Martin Birch, & Ronnie James Dio
Recorded: Musicland Studios, Munich, February – March 1975
Side One Side Two
Man on the Silver Mountain
Self Portrait
Black Sheep of the Family
Catch the Rainbow
Snake Charmer
Temple of the King
If You Don’t Like Rock n’ Roll
Sixteenth Century Greensleeves
Still I’m Sad
Primary Musicians
Ronnie James Dio – Lead Vocals
Ritchie Blackmore – Guitars
Micky Lee Soule – Piano, Keyboards
Craig Gruber – Bass
Gary Driscoll – Drums

Right from the start, “Man on the Silver Mountain”, seems at least a half decade ahead of its time as it delivers a style common in the 1980s, with Dio’s dynamic vocals over simple rock riffing and rhythms. This became the debut single by Rainbow and remains one of their best known radio tracks. “Self Portrait” features a complex time signature due to the execution by drummer Gary Driscoll and bassist Craig Gruber and this track is highlighted by Blackmore’s fantastic, bluesy lead.

“Black Sheep of the Family” is a cover of a song by the band Quatermass and it adds a fine upbeat, almost conventional pop break on the first side. This song was the intended single that Blackmore originally recorded in ’74. “Catch the Rainbow” is an extended bluesy ballad to end the original first side, highlighted by surprising co-lead vocals / medley by Shoshana and Blackmore’s long guitar-lead outro. To start Side 2, “Snake Charmer” is built with some interesting guitar riffs and layers.

Rainbow in 1975

“Temple of the King” is a real highlight of the second side, as a track with a medieval tenor and tone with a calm, moderate delivery. This song features more great bass playing by Gruber along with harmonized vocals to accompany Blackmore’s crisp, moody guitar lead and later dissolve into a classical style acoustic in outtro. “If You Don’t Like Rock n’ Roll” is a good time, pure rocker with choppy piano by Micky Lee Soule, who also adds a later piano lead. “Sixteenth Century Greensleeves”is a hard rocker with more medieval lyrics (albeit no real musical interpretation of the traditional English folk song from 1580). Here, Soule plays a clavinet to add to the rock effect as Dio expertly delivers the lyric. The album ends rather oddly with an instrumental cover of the Yardbirds’ “Still I’m Sad” from their 1965 album Having a Rave Up. This instrumental features a hyper blues riff with tremendous percussion by Driscoll throughout.

Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow was a fairly successful commercial album, reaching the Top 30 in the USA and nearly hitting the Top 10 in the UK. Ronnie James Dio has cited this release as his favorite Rainbow album. Beyond Dio however, Blackmore was unhappy with the rest of the former Elf line-up and he soon released everybody except for Dio for the 1976 follow-up release, Rainbow Rising, and subsequent international tours.

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1975 Images

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1975 albums.

Goo by Sonic Youth

Goo by Sonic Youth

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Goo by Sonic YouthSonic Youth‘s 1990 album Goo was a critical success and reached the highest album charting position of the group’s career. Their sixth overall release, this was the first after signing their initial major-label recording deal with Geffen Records, which included complete creative control by the band. Goo resulted in an expansion of the group’s 1980s sound of combining punk with experimental alt-rock, but with more deliberate references to pop culture and contemporary topics.

Sonic Youth was formed in New York City 1981 by guitarist Thurston Moore and bassist Kim Gordon (who were later married), and they derived their name from MC5’s Fred “Sonic” Smith and reggae artist Big Youth. Within a year, guitarist Lee Ranaldo was part of the group. They went through several drummers through their early years and initial recordings before Steve Shelley joined Sonic Youth in 1985. The group’s 1988 double album Daydream Nation was a huge critical success, included songs that received significant airplay and has since been chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. With this, the band began looking for a major label deal, eventually landing with Geffen.

A group of about eight demos were recorded by the group in late 1989 before they secured a full recording budget to enter Sorcerer Sound in early 1990 with producer Nick Sansano. The team employed experimental and abstract techniques to achieve unique sound collages and other sonic qualities for this album.


Goo by Sonic Youth
Released: June 26, 1990 (DGC)
Produced by: Nick Sansano, Ron Saint Germain, & Sonic Youth
Recorded: Sorcerer Sound Recording & Greene St. Recording Studios, New York City, March–April 1990
Track Listing Primary Musicians
Dirty Boots
Tunic (Karen’s Song)
Mary Christ
Kool Thing
Mote
Disappearer
My Friend Goo
Mildred Pierce
Cinderella”s Big Score
Scooter & Jinx
Titanium Expose
Thurston Moore – Guitars, Vocals
Lee Ranaldo – Guitars, Vocals
Kim Gordon – Bass, Vocals
Steve Shelley – Drums, Percussion
 
Goo by Sonic Youth

 

The album opener “Dirty Boots” meanders in with two distinct riffs and the eventual full rhythm arrangement before first verse. The music is intense and biting but Moore’s vocals seem half-hearted until the song reaches a “sonic crescendo” with inventive feedback before breaking down and methodically working its way through the instrumental outro. “Tunic (Song for Karen)” was composed by Gordon as a loose tribute to Karen Carpenter. She delivers the lyrics in a mainly spoken word manner under rapid ethereal riffing, offering a very haunting look into inner destructive thoughts. “Mary-Christ” doesn’t quite work nearly as well as the opening two tracks as a proto-punk, badly improvised screed.

The album’s most famous track, “Kool Thing”, features interesting, upbeat rock intro with great drumming by Shelley throughout. The mid section breaks down into a bass-backed spoken word bridge featuring Gordon and and guest Chuck D. The song’s title was inspired by an interview that Gordon conducted with LL Cool J and the lyrics make reference to several of the rapper’s works. “Mote” is the sole composition by Ranaldo on Goo as well as his only lead vocals. The seven and a half minute track moves from an overloaded feedback intro to basic rock chording to a pure psychedelic and atmospheric trip which persists without form. “Disappearer” follows, featuring a thick upper range and steady rhythm under Moore’s melodic vocals and multiple key jumps through the progression into several sonic tunnels.

Sonic Youth in 1990

The album does lose momentum over its second half where the group seems to be treading over much of the same ground from earlier on this album. Starting with the quasi-title low-light, “My Friend Goo”, and into “Mildred Pierce”, which starts with a basic upbeat rhythm before devolving into a feedback overloaded, unintelligible screed. “Cinderella’s Big Score” is slightly catchy, but lacks much substance or definition, while “Scooter & Jinx” is a noise collage of more filler. The closer “Titanium Exposé” is a bit interesting with a nearly two minute intro before the melodic verse proper comes in, followed by a slightly interesting bridge jam before a more upbeat, drum-driven jam leads to one last feedback collage to end the album.

Commercially, Goo fared a bit better in the UK than their native US and the album’s controversial content helped bring a further buzz beyond that which the group normally received. Through the 1990s and into the new millennium, Sonic Youth’s influence continued.

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1990 images

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1990 albums.

Kamakiriad by Donald Fagen

Kamakiriad by Donald Fagen

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This album review is provided by Mike Fishman, who has written about Van Morrison for the Mystic Avenue blog and writes about film for IndependentFilmNow.com.

Kamakiriad by Donald FagenKamakiriad (1993) was Donald Fagen‘s second solo album, part of a trilogy book-ended by The Nightfly (1982) and Morph The Cat (2006) and was nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year. The eight-song cycle of Kamakiriad relates the futuristic adventures of the narrator’s journey in his high-tech car, the Kamakiri (Japanese for praying mantis). Kamakiriad was produced by Fagen’s musical partner, Walter Becker, who also provides impressive bass and guitar throughout. The album marked the first collaboration between Fagen and Becker since 1980’s Gaucho, which at the time was the most recent album by Steely Dan. Fagen handled the horn arrangements, working with latter-day Steely Dan stalwarts Cornelius Bumpus, Roger Rosenberg and Jim Pugh. The songs follow the Steely Dan template of cool swing horns and tasty solos (though more lyric-heavy than typical Steely Dan) and the blending of the sardonic and sincere that defined such classics as “Charlie Freak” and “Deacon Blues.”

The album kicks off in jaunty style with “Trans-Island Skyway,” Fagen singing in his high range, occasionally reminiscent of late-period Ray Charles. Horns swing in for background support while Christopher Parker‘s drums drive the proceedings. The song hits an infectious groove as Fagen and the back-up singers repeat the line, “Come on, daddy, get in let’s go.”

“Countermoon” follows in a darker mood with horns and bass prominent and some powerful drumming again from Parker. Spare guitar floats throughout and a bleating tenor sax solo (attributed to Illinois Elohainu, actually Fagen himself playing a saxophone sample on keyboards) leads the song to its conclusion. The somewhat static melody is enlivened by Fagen biting off lines such as “Gotham shudders/There’s a chill in the air,” while growing tender on the lines “At every pay phone there’s somebody cryin’/All the streets are slick with tears/There’s a heartquake on the way.” Amy Helm humorously chimes in with the line, “You’re not my Jackie, my Jackie was the best.”


Kamakiriad by Donald Fagen
Released: May 25, 1993 (Reprise)
Produced by: Walter Becker
Recorded: 1990-1993
Track Listing Primary Musicians
Trans-Island Skyway
Countermoon
Springtime
Snowbound
Tomorrow’s Girls
Florida Room
On the Dunes
Teahouse on the Tracks
Donald Fagen – Lead Vocals, Keyboards
Walter Becker – Guitars, Bass
Randy Brecker – Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Cornelius Bumpus – Saxophone
Leroy Clouden – Drums, Percussion

Kamakiriad by Donald Fagen

 
Becker’s funky bass drives the third song, “Springtime,” which features strong backing horns and a smattering of evocative keyboards. Fagen’s sweet and sour sensibility, not to mention his fondness for pulpy sci-fi, is apparent in the opening lines about a “spicy new attraction” where “you can scan yourself for traces of old heartache.” Fagen notably name-checks Coltrane.

The album hits the first of two high points with “Snowbound,” a gorgeous jazzy outing with shimmering Hammond B3 Organ from Paul Griffin and tantalizing guitar. Percussion adds flavor as Fagen basks in his particular version of nice and easy that may remind some listeners of “Maxine” from The Nightfly. The song features an extended coda, ending with a crash of cymbals that feels ironic. A line about a critic opining “The work seduces us with light” may be a reference to Anthony Hecht’s poem “More Light! More Light!” Fagen studied poetry with Hecht at Bard College in the 1960’s and references the poem on “Slinky Thing” from Sunken Condos (2012), his fourth solo release.

“Tomorrow’s Girls” is the albums most overtly science fiction song, warning of girls from outer space, “a virus wearing pumps and pearls” hunting lonely guys. Strong drumming from Leroy Clouden propels the tune with spare horns swelling in and out. Becker’s insistent guitar makes the song feel as if it could fit on his own solo album, the superb Circus Money (2008). A gentle break in the song’s latter half finds Fagen crooning about “warm night breezes start rolling in off the sea.”

Donald Fagen

The album hits its second high point with the bouncy “Florida Room,” showcasing tight swinging horns, an extended tenor sax solo from Cornelius Bumpus and warm keyboards. The album’s most breezy tune, it features a memorable, pleasingly-earworm chorus.

Clocking in at eight minutes, the longest song on the album, “On The Dunes,” continues the smooth jazz mood but with a hint of the blues and a downbeat theme of loneliness. Percussion adds texture and Parker tosses in a few drum rolls as Becker provides some funky bass lines. Cornelius Bumpus’s tenor sax sounds like it’s blowing across a peaceful beach at sunset and melds with Fagen’s heartfelt vocalizing to recall “Deacon Blues.” An extended ending allows for a full three minutes of gentle jamming and might have made for the perfect album closer.

Instead the album closes with the danceable if not completely exhilarating “Teahouse On The Tracks,” with our protagonist back in his Kamakiri and heading “for the light.” A lengthy trombone solo from Birch Johnson, some funky keyboards, good time party background vocals and a line from Fagen about “the groovessential facts” help enliven the song. The concept album thus ends neatly, with our protagonist back on the road heading for further adventures.

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1993 Images

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1993 albums.

Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel

Bridge Over Troubled Water
by Simon & Garfunkel

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Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and GarfunkelSimon & Garfunkel saved their best for last with the early 1970 release of Bridge over Troubled Water, the fifth studio album by the New York based folk duo. The record shows the artists branching out to new musical avenues with smooth production featuring warm sonic elements to showcase the exquisite compositions of chief songwriter Paul Simon. Despite the breakup of Simon & Garfunkel later in 1970, the album’s success reverberated for several years as it received multiple Grammy awards and even briefly became the best selling record of all time as it topped album charts worldwide.

The duo’s highly successful third album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme was issued in October 1966 and followed by a series of non-album singles including “A Hazy Shade of Winter” and “At the Zoo”, both of which made the Top 20 on the pop charts. However, Simon developed a bout of writer’s block which delayed any follow-up album in 1967. Then Hollywood came knocking as director Mike Nichols, a big fan of Simon & Garfunkel’s previous records, sought the duo to record some songs for the soundtrack to his new film, The Graduate, in 1968 with the single “Mrs. Robinson” becoming the first rock n’ roll song to win the Record of the Year Grammy. Simon & Garfunkel’s fourth studio album, Bookends was also released in 1968 and reached the top of the album charts. Both Simon and Art Gurfunkel were invited to audition for acting roles in Nichols’ next film, Catch 22, but only Garfunkel got the role. This caused a bit of a rift between the two musicians, especially as filming took up much of 1969 with much taking place in Mexico.

Production of Bridge Over Troubled Water took place in New York and Los Angeles studios with the help of producer Roy Halee, who Garfunkel once referred to as the third member of the group. This album also partly abandoned their traditional style by incorporating further elements of rock, R&B, gospel, and world music as well as using more singular lead voices by each singer, rather than the traditional blended harmonies.


Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel
Released: January 26, 1970 (Columbia)
Produced by: Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel & Roy Halee
Recorded: Columbia Studios, New York City & CBS Columbia Square, Los Angeles
Side One Side Two
Bridge over Troubled Water
El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could)
Cecilia
Keep the Customer Satisfied
So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright
The Boxer
Baby Driver
The Only Living Boy in New York
Why Don’t You Write Me
Bye Bye Love
Song for the Asking
Primary Musicians
Paul Simon – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion
Art Garfunkel – Vocals, Percussion
Fred Carter Jr. – Guitars
Larry Knechtel – Piano, Keyboards
Joe Osborn – Bass
Hal Blaine – Drums, Percussion

Like most previous material by Simon & Garfunkel, the songs here were initiated by Simon and next he would work on the harmonies with Garfunkel. However, with the title track “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, Simon basically gave the song as his acoustic composition was transformed with Garfunkel on solo vocals and Larry Knechtelon piano dominating most of the recording. The payoff does come with the exquisitely harmonized third verse followed by the orchestra crescendo to close out this opening title track, which topped the Pop charts and won a Grammy for Song of the Year in 1971. “El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could)” follows as a traditional Peruvian instrumental, centuries old onto which Simon added lyrics on top< This interesting track starts with a distant flamenco guitar with the verse proper containing a European waltz beat and a flute mimicking the lead vocals throughout, an arrangement that carries an air of psychedelia.

The inventiveness continues with “Cecilia”, a low-fi dance song driven by the harmonized vocals over a totally unique percussion arrangement that was recorded at home and placed on a loop. “Keep the Customer Satisfied” is an upbeat, acoustic-driven pop song with rich harmonies and a later horn section to complete to fine effect. “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright” hearkens back to their early sixties folk style, but with just a touch of mellotron to give it a “modern” edge along. “The Boxer” is another gem of production, from the perfectly Travis-style finger-picked acoustic guitars by Simon and Fred Carter Jr to the contra bass and tuba by Bob Moore to the wild percussion effects recorded on location at a cathedral at Columbia University by the legendary Hal Blaine.

Simon and Garfunkel

While not quite as interesting, the latter part of the album does include some unique moments. “Baby Driver” is a bluesy acoustic folk track in a style later mastered by Jim Croce, while “Why Don’t You Write Me” is upbeat acoustic folk with Joe Osborn laying down some excellent bass. Osborn also shines on “The Only Living Boy in New York”, a song written by Simon about Garfunkel flying off to Mexico to film Catch 22 and featuring a chorus of backing vocals recorded live in an echo chamber in Los Angeles. The Everly Brothers’ “Bye Bye Love” is an odd live inclusion here with some treated hand clapping by the audience, recorded at multiple gigs, before the closing “Song for the Asking”, a pure Paul Simon style folk with an edge to become a very short soliloquy to complete the duo’s final studio album.

Bridge Over Troubled Water topped the charts in ten countries around the world and was on the best-selling album list for the years 1970, 1971 and 1972. With this massive success, both musicians decided to pursue independent projects and ultimately solo careers as Simon & Garfunkel dissolved into musical history.

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Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1970 albums.

Dizzy Up the Girl by Goo Goo Dolls

Dizzy Up the Girl by Goo Goo Dolls

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Dizzy Up the Girl by Goo Goo DollsIt took six albums and over a decade for Goo Goo Dolls to be propelled into international success and 1998’s Dizzy Up the Girl was that ultimate catalyst. This album features more upbeat and pop-oriented compositions than the group had recorded on their five previous albums and no doubt this helped the record to achieve its stellar commercial success. It has sold more than four million copies and reached the Top 20 on album charts in several countries.

This Buffalo, New York based group was formed in the mid 1980s by guitarist/vocalist Johnny Rzeznik and bassist/vocalist Robby Takac. Their name was inspired by an ad for a toy. Once they signed with Mercury Records they used that name for their 1987 self-titled debut album. They had a loyal but mostly local fan base around the Buffalo music scene as they released several more albums through the early 1990s. Their 1995 album, A Boy Named Goo, was the first to receive national attention due to the success of the single “Name”, ultimately fueling that album towards double-platinum success. Shortly before that album’s release, drummer Mike Malinin became a permanent member of the trio.

The production of Dizzy Up the Girl followed a legal battle over earned royalties and through this time Goo Goo Dolls underwent a fundamental change in sound from strictly alternative rock to a more pop and mainstream music. The album was produced by Rob Cavallo and recorded during 1997 and 1998.


Dizzy Up the Girl by Goo Goo Dolls
Released: September 22, 1998 (Warner Bros.)
Produced by: Rob Cavallo & Goo Goo Dolls
Recorded: 1997–1998
Track Listing Primary Musicians
Dizzy
Slide
Broadway
January Friend
Black Balloon
Bullet Proof
Amigone
All Eyes on Me
Full Forever
Acoustic #3
Iris
Extra Pale
Hate This Place
Johnny Rzeznik – Guitars, Vocals
Robby Takac – Bass, Vocals
Mike Malinin – Drums

Dizzy Up the Girl by Goo Goo Dolls

 

The opening track “Dizzy” has a T-Rex-like vocal delivery by Rzeznik with more modern, nineties rock instrumentation and, although a short track, time is given for a nice instrumental break. “Slide” is an upbeat love song built on some finely picked guitar riffing and later echoed chording. The song reached the Top 10 on the US pop charts in early 1999 and topped the charts in Canada. “Broadway” follows as a local anthem for Buffalo topped by upbeat music and melodic pop vocals.

The first of four songs written by Takac where he takes lead vocals, “January Friend” has an upbeat, new wave rock vibe like the other three tracks later in the album. “Black Balloon” is a unique track with layered electric and acoustic guitars before eventually breaking into stronger rhythmic arrangement while maintaining a dreamy atmosphere throughout. The song is also one of many to feature string arrangements by David Campbell. “Bullet Proof” is a slightly dark, romantic and dramatic track with soaring vocals and much atmosphere, while Takac’s “Amigone” features a strong and present drum beat by Malinin. Following the Takac new wave track “Full Forever”, “Acoustic #3” lives up to its title as purely acoustic track by Rzeznik with some slight string arrangements which may be a bit superfluous in the otherwise simple elegance of the short track.

Goo Goo Dolls

“Iris” is the ultimate culmination of the album’s vibe with its acoustic with waltz-like beat and odd but appealing arrangement. The song was originally composed for the soundtrack of the film City of Angels and as the lead single from Dizzy Up the Girl, the song topped the pop charts in several countries. The album concludes with a couple of upbeat electric rockers, Takac’s slightly punk “Extra Pale”, and the full-fledged rocker “Hate This Place”, which completes the journey of this fine album.

With five successful singles released, Dizzy Up the Girl was far more successful than any previous or subsequent Goo Goo Dolls album. Following its release, the group took their time following up, with the seventh album Gutterflower arriving in 2002.

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1998 Page

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1998 albums.

An Innocent Man by Billy Joel

An Innocent Man by Billy Joel

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An Innocent Man by Billy JoelBilly Joel took a musical detour by forging an album of interpretive styles on An Innocent Man, his ninth studio album. Here, Joel pays homage to various musical styles which were popular during his formative years in the late 1950s and early 1960s, while finely showcasing his own music diversity and vocal skills. Despite being unique in his catalog, this album continued Joel’s streak of Grammy-nominated albums and top commercial success, with An Innocent Man spaning six Top 40 hits.

The heavy material and rich production of Joel’s 1982 release, The Nylon Curtain was an overall exhausting experience for this artist. Further, Joel was recently divorced and found himself single for the first time following his rise to international fame. Joel said he felt like a teenager again and thus reverted back to the various popular music styles of those years. In early 1983, he quickly wrote several compositions, each in a distinct style and/or as a tribute to a distinct artist.

Although this album was stylistically different than anything Joel had done before, for his backing group he maintained the same personnel he had performed with since the mid 1970s and once again brought in producer Phil Ramone, who had produced Joel’s five previous albums.

 


An Innocent Man by Billy Joel
Released: August 8, 1983 (Columbia)
Produced by: Phil Ramone
Recorded: Chelsea Sound and A&R Recording, New York, Spring 1983
Side One Side Two
Easy Money
An Innocent Man
The Longest Time
This Night
Tell Her About It
Uptown Girl
Careless Talk
Christie Lee
Leave a Tender Moment Alone
Keeping the Faith
Primary Musicians
Billy Joel – Lead Vocals, Piano, Keyboards
Russell Javors – Guitars
Mark Rivera – Saxophone, Percussion, Vocals
Doug Stegmeyer – Bass
Liberty DeVitto – Drums

 

An Innocent Man is bookmarked by two of its more upbeat tracks, starting with “Easy Money”, a homage to Wilson Pickett and/or James Brown. Musically this song features guest Leon Pendarvis on Hammond B3 organ and a generous amount of soulful brass, and although not released as single, this album opener was immediately featured as the theme of a major motion picture of the same name, starring Rodney Dangerfield. The title song, “An Innocent Man”, is an absolute masterpiece. In fact, this soulful and dynamic ballad may well be Joel’s best overall song of the entire decade of the 1980s. It is a masterpiece of production and arrangement as it migrates from a simple bass and percussion arrangement into a majestic ensemble as the song climaxes. Vocally, Joel hits the absolute top of his range during the choruses and admits that he was not able to hit those notes again.

Another vocal milestone, “The Longest Time” is a doo-wop track with a plethora of harmonized vocals all done by Joel himself. Aside from the vocals, the song uses a very sparse musical arrangement made of just plucked bass, brushed snare, and finger snaps. “This Night” continues the 1950s doo-wop homage with an inventive adaption of Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Pathetique” sonata during the chorus, making Beethoven the only artist to receive a co-writing credit with Joel on this album. Motown-influence “Tell Her About It” completes the original first side as brass takes lead over Joel’s piano rhythms and the thumping bass of Doug Stegmeyer. The lead single from the album, this hit #1 on the American pop charts.

Billy Joel Band 1983

The consistent drum beat of Liberty DeVitto drives the Four Seasons-esque “Uptown Girl”. Here, Joel introduces yet another “voice”, straining his upper range throughout while staying melodic and catchy. This Top 10 song and its video also served as an allegory for Joel’s new relationship with model Christie Brinkley, who appeared in the video and would ultimately become Joel’s wife in 1985. “Careless Talk” features more great melodies and counter harmonies, choppy rhythms, and a bit of an unexpected diversion through the bridge, while the first wave rocker “Christie Lee” is highlighted by a couple of short sax solos by Mark Rivera. The pleasant and moderate ballad “Leave a Tender Moment Alone” lyrically explores awkward banter while featuring more exquisite melodies by Joel ethereal harmonica by Toots Thielemans. The album concludes with “Keeping the Faith” which, while lyrically anchored in the early sixties, is really modern sounding eighties pop song led by the sleek guitar riff of Russell Javors as well as a contemporary brass arrangement.

After the tremendous success of An Innocent Man, Joel worked with Columbia records to release the double-length compilation Greatest Hits Vol. 1 and 2, which ultimately became one of the best-selling albums to that date in American music history and marked the absolute apex of Joel’s long and successful career.

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1983 Images

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1983 albums.

 

More Songs About Buildings and Food by Talking Heads

More Songs About Buildings and Food by Talking Heads

Buy More Songs About Buildings and Food

More Songs About Buildings and Food by Talking HeadsThe second album by Talking Heads, 1978’s More Songs About Buildings and Food got its sarcastic title by addressing the cliche of the “sophomore jinx” where songs not used on the debut are combined with inferior and underdeveloped new compositions. However, that “jinx” was obliterated here as the quirky new wave quartet found decent commercial success and widespread critical acclaim for their fine combination of standard motifs and inventive techniques, perfect for that era of popular music.

Composer, guitarist and vocalist David Byrne, bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz were all alumni of the Rhode Island School of Design and formed their first band in 1973 before migrating to New York City in 1975. Getting their name from a TV Guide article, Talking Heads were signed to Sire Records in November 1976 and added keyboardist/guitarist Jerry Harrison early in 1977. The group’s debut album, Talking Heads 77 found decent success in part due to the single “Psycho Killer”, which hit the airwaves around the same time as New York City was embroiled in the “summer of Sam”.

More Songs About Buildings and Food was the first of a trilogy collaboration between the group and producer Brian Eno, who took their raw sound and emphasized on more danceable rhythms to fuse a unique vibe for Byrne’s art/rock compositions. On this album the group also started their long tradition of recording in the Bahamas at Compass Studios.


More Songs About Buildings and Food by Talking Heads
Released: July 14, 1978 (Sire)
Produced by: Brian Eno & Talking Heads
Recorded: Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas, March–April 1978
Side One Side Two
Thank You for Sending Me an Angel
With Our Love
The Good Thing
Warning Sign
The Girls Want to Be with the Girls
Found a Job
Artists Only
I’m Not in Love
Stay Hungry
Take Me to the River
The Big Country
Group Musicians
David Byrne – Lead Vocals, Guitars, Percussion
Jerry Harrison – Piano, Keyboards, Guitars, Vocals
Tina Weymouth – Bass, Vocals
Chris Frantz – Drums, Percussion

 

A rapid shuffle above a pointed hard rock riff defines the sound of “Thank You for Sending Me an Angel”, with extra percussion between the verses. This opening track acts as sort of a bridge between the debut album’s tension and the bigger rhythmic sound of this album. “With Our Love” follows with a rather spazzy funk feel in the verses, while “The Good Thing” is the most accessible song thus far with an upbeat yet smooth, rounded sound led by Weymouth’s bass and odd but catchy harmonized refrains. Co-written by Frantz, “Warning Sign” features a drum beat with exaggerated reverb joined by catchy bass and guitar riff in long intro before the song proper develops into choppy new wave track.

“The Girls Want to Be with the Girls” may be the first track where the group seems to try too hard to force a quirkly style and it ends up feeling disjointed, while the side one closer “Found a Job” features pure funk verses and new wave rock choruses. Side two begins with “Artists Only”, a song which explores several pleasant styles in rapid fashion, while “I’m Not in Love” moves back to funk but with driving, rapid rhythms as it makes its way through many odd sections before completing with an entertaining quasi-guitar lead jam. “Stay Hungry” is a shorter funk/jam featuring much synth influence by Eno.

Talking Heads

By far, the album’s commercial anchor is its only cover song, a distinct version of Al Green’s “Take Me to the River” featuring a sound that defines an eighties hit while still in the late 1970s. The deliberative rhythm method and fine production technique brought the group a worldwide Top 40 crossover hit. The album ends with the pleasant sonics of “The Big Country” with a fine mixture of acoustic and electric and a slide/country vibe topped by a steady drum beat.

More Songs About Buildings and Food peaked in the Top 30 of the Pop Albums charts and eventually reached gold record status. Eno and the Talking Heads continued this successful formula with 1979’s Fear of Music and the hit album Remain in Light in 1980.

~

1978 Images

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1978 albums.

 

Holy Diver by Dio

Holy Diver by Dio

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Holy Diver by Dio Holy Diver is the 1983 debut studio album by Dio, led by veteran rock vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Drawing on the influences of multiple contemporaries in pop and rock music, this platinum selling album has been historically viewed as a hallmark moment in the evolution of heavy metal, a genre which proliferated through the decade of the 1980s. Dio’s lyrics center on the topics o good and evil and draw from subjects from classic heroic adventure elements to some of the dark realities of contemporary life.

Ronnie Jame Dio became the second lead vocalist for Black Sabbath in late 1979, as that group’s original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne embarked on his own solo career. With Dio, the group found a commercial rebound as both 1980’s Heaven and Hell and 1981’s Mob Rules became Top 40, Gold selling albums. However, during the mixing of 1982’s live album, disagreements ensued which resulted in both Dio and drummer Vinny Appice leaving the band. Both wanted to form a new band, so Dio recruited his former Rainbow band mate, bassist Jimmy Bain and (following the Ozzy Osbourne model) recruited a young, then unknown guitarist named Vivian Campbell to complete the rock quartet.

By the time Campbell joined, most of the material which would appear on Holy Diver had already been composed. Dio had long been courted by Warner Bros. records to work on a solo project, so production and recording arrangements swiftly fell into place.

 


Holy Diver by Dio
Released: May 25, 1983 (Warner Bros.)
Produced by: Ronnie James Dio
Recorded: Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA, 1983
Side One Side Two
Stand Up and Shout
Holy Diver
Gypsy
Caught in the Middle
Don’t Talk to Strangers
Straight Through the Heart
Invisible
Rainbow In the Dark
Shame on the Night
Group Musicians
Ronnie James Dio – Lead Vocals, Synthesizers
Vivian Campbell – Guitars
Jimmy Bain – Bass, Keyboards
Vinny Apice – Drums

 

Holy Diver kicks off with the straight up, hard rocking “Stand Up and Shout”, a song of rebellion containing all the prime elements which would come define 80s metal – straight-forward message, flamboyant vocals, crunchy riffing under whining leads and plenty of animated drum fills. The title song is introduced by a long atmospheric intro before the marching riff-driven music enters. A unique anthem of the day which has grown to be one of Dio’s most popular tracks, “Holy Diver” features the first of many excellent, deliberative guitar leads by Campbell. “Gypsy” is delivered in blistering fashion, while “Caught in the Middle” is a more melodic rocker and it displays the group at its tightest with fine delivery and great production. “Don’t Talk to Strangers” features a quiet, melodramatic acoustic intro with Dio’s vocals hitting an especially high register before the band launches into full gear for this side one closer.

Ronnie James Dio in 1983

The original side two is the real heart of the album, where Dio the group really gels at their best. “Straight Through the Heart” was co-written by Bain and features some great musical rudiments with strategic stops and fills by Appice and a cool, melodic bridge. The most unique moment on album is the intro to “Invisible” with a heavily flanged guitar and dry vocals soon contrasted by the heavy jam and majestic vocals of the song proper. Later on, Campbell’s lead patiently works its way in before he unleashes some fine fingerboard effects, while Dio’s lyrical profiency is on full display;

“she was a photograph just ripped in half, a smile inside a frown…”

The most accessible rock song on the album is “Rainbow in the Dark”, which features a prominent keyboard riff by Dio and a catchy hook and theme which seems to reference Dio’s late seventies rock band. A radio favorite and charting rock track, “Rainbow in the Dark” is anchored by a doomy yet uplifting guitar riff which blends especially well with the later guitar lead. “Shame on the Night” seems to have borrowed the opening howl from Deep Purple’s classic “Hush” (perhaps another veiled shot at ex-band mate Ritchie Blackmore?). This closing track has a slow and sloshy delivery which gives Dio’s vocal full frontal expression and the differing sections in bridge and extended coda also give this a definitive prog rock feel.

Building on the commercial and critical success of Holy Diver, the group delivered a similarly effective follow up with 1984’s The Last in Line and continued on as a successful group through most of the eighties decade.

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1983 Images

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1983 albums.