Many Thanks!

Now that my podcast is finally off the ground with 5 episodes, I’m going to stop hounding you with it on my personal Facebook page. But if you like the reminders, by all means give the Wheelers Dog Facebook page a like!

Five freebies are in there as the preview. This sixth episode will ONLY be available on the Patreon website so, if you like what you’ve been hearing you need to jump on that joker.

I have a few supporters right now on Patreon and it’s GREATLY appreciated. I want to get a subscription for Adobe Audition. That’s the production tool that I’ve been using for over 20 years. I know it inside and out.

I’m using Audacity now. It’s free. It does the job, but it just isn’t as user friendly. I spend a lot of time trying to figure it out more than actually getting the job done. But hey… Baby steps.

I want to thank everyone that has given the podcast a listen. I want to thank Jeff Kay from The WV Surf Report podcast for giving me a plug on his latest episode. I want to thank Bob Richardson for the great opening that he composed, performed, and produced. And I want to thank Tim Beeman for his incredible help and patience with me.

A lot of the Patreon episodes will feature stories and events about the MIL. I don’t want to put too many out there where she could find it on YouTube. I don’t want to wake up to find her creeping into our bedroom with a large kitchen knife. She’s a great lady and the house would fall apart without her. She just has her moments that baffle, delight, and sometimes infuriates the rest of us in the Big House. Hell, she had quite a baffling anger just last night. But the wife and I realized that she’s the one with the issue and we weren’t going to be baited into her Bud Light Seltzer fueled anger. We slept soundly as the MIL most likely tossed and turned with asinine conspiracy theories spinning in her head.

Again, I just want to thank all of you. I honestly didn’t realize how much I have missed doing this sort of thing. I hope that you all got some laughs and continue getting some laughs from Wheeler’s Dog.

If you want to show support for my endeavors… JUST CLICK ON THIS BIG OL’ LINK.

Thank You

I open up this blog post with a THANK YOU to everyone that has liked my Wheeler’s Dog Facebook page and those that have taken the time to listen to my first podcast on YouTube.

Eugeology: Eugene's List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems Part 29 - Robin Trower 'Bridge of Sighs'

‘Bridge of Sighs’ is a forgotten classic by Robin Trower. Sure, the album went gold and topped out at number 7 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart. It was Trower’s breakthrough album.

There are many similarities to Jimi Hendrix when it comes to Trower’s style. And that is more than okay. In my opinion, Trower bridged the gap from Hendrix to Van Halen when it came to the gods of guitar. It wasn’t like Hendrix was releasing any new material.

“Day of the Eagle” opens up the album with its straight-ahead in your face blistering riffs. James Dewar’s slightly raspy vocals give the song a little depth of blues, and yet it manages to make you jam out like you were listening to a Motorhead tune. The song isn’t played on classic rock stations across the country shows exactly that give one an example of what’s wrong with classic radio.

The title track gives you a trippy little respite where each note is measured and maintained for maximum effectiveness. Just make sure to put in the earbuds or slip on the headphones for the song. And thankfully, you can hear “Bridge of Sighs” occasionally on classic rock stations across the country. And it segues nicely into the next song “In This Place”.

“In This Place” is another song that really features Dewar’s beautiful voice. There are plenty of things dancing around your head as well when it comes to “headphone music”. The leads that dance off each other in the instrumental break are simply beautiful as well.

Enough of the dreamy, melodic stuff… “The Fool and Me” picks up the pace once again. This song sounds as if King’s X has some influence from Robin Trower. If they haven’t, they should really cover the song at some point. The lack of overdubs during the instrumental break really shows that Trower doesn’t need a rhythm guitarist. He managed to keep the rhythm while hitting you with every blistering note from his Stratocaster.

Another damn shame… “Too Rolling Stoned” isn’t played on classic rock radio either. This tune is a rocker. I’ve played it on jukeboxes at various places and watched people bobbing their heads and going over the thing to find out who the artist is. The lazy little blues riffing on the back half of the song is perfect and keeps the rocker from becoming stale. You’ll find yourself bobbing your head as Trower lays down some serious melodic lead guitar.

“About to Begin” slows things down again on side two… Sorry, I reverted back to my old vinyl copy of the album. The interplay of all the guitars on this track really shows Trower’s desire to make a damn good song instead of a showcase for his lead ability. The man respects melody and it definitely shows in this song.

“Lady Love” is a song that fills the cowbell prescription. The song is a “lite” blister rocker. Even though it moves along at a good pace, the studio version lacks that punch in the face. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great tune in my opinion… But the live versions that I’ve heard really give the tune a little more “oomph”.

“Little Bit of Sympathy” closes out the album (unless you’re listening to the various re-releases over the years) with a bluesy face-melter. Again, there’s a lack of guitar overdubs that shows you how Trower’s melodic playing doesn’t need a rhythm guitarist.

Check out Tim's take on the album RIGHT HERE.

I managed to see Trower back in the late 90s at the old Ziggy’s (now a parking lot) near Deacon Blvd. in Winston-Salem. I went with my buddy Chip who was an even bigger fan than I was. We even stood out in the rain to meet him and get an autograph.

He put out a live album after that tour and Chip came to me with the insert. “Is that us at Ziggy’s?” he asked.

I wasn’t sure, but it sure as hell looked like the old Ziggy’s from stage right and that sure as hell looked like us in the front row having a grand ol’ time. And sadly, I haven’t been able to find that CD since I dragged my feet on ordering it back then.

Bottom line is this… If you’re a fan of classic rock or hard rock or even blues rock, ‘Bridge of Sighs’ should be somewhere in your collection whether it’s a hard copy or you’re streaming it.

Eugeology: Eugene's List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems Part 28 - Trouble 'Trouble' (1990)

Next up is yet another album produced by Rick Rubin. And if you missed my opinion from the earlier albums that he produced, I totally dig the raw and nearly unpolished sound that Rubin brings to studio releases.

I always knew about Trouble just by seeing them in the “metal” section at the old Record Bar store that used to be in Greensboro’s Friendly Center. I just couldn’t take a risk on purchasing one of their albums without knowing a thing about them. And from the cheap look of those early album covers, it tainted my early opinion of them.

I first heard them on WROV in Roanoke, VA as I was driving HWY 219 between Pickaway and Union, WV. They played “The Misery Shows (Act 2)”. I can show you the very spot where that song made an impression on my 23-year-old mind. I had no idea who the artist was. I kept thinking backsell the song, backsell the song, tell me the artist. And they did!

Normally, I wasn’t one for listening to radio. But WROV was different. They kicked ass until they were purchased by Clear Channel and homogenized until their uniqueness was cast aside like a banana peel.

I purchased the album as soon as I got back to my job at Peaches Music & Video. It had been out for a few months, but I dismissed them for reasons stated above. But when I got that joker in my hands, I consumed and savored it for over a week.

You could call Trouble “doom metal” or “stoner rock”. I just refer to them as hard rock.

The production is rather sparse in the sense that the music doesn’t completely fill a blank canvas. The guitars are loud and crunchy. The drums are really forward in the mix, as they should be. And they have that “flabby” Bonham sound on the toms. The vocals can be smooth as Morrison and flipped to Brian Johnson with flick of a switch.

In my humble opinion, there’s not a bad cut on the album. Rubin really helped them bring their “A game” for this release. “Black Shapes Of Doom” is a nice driving ditty and other standouts are “At The End Of My Daze”, “A Sinner’s Fame”, and “The Misery Shows (Act 2)”.

And like Tim pointed out in his review RIGHT HERE, there are spiritual and religious references made here and there. I seem to recall a tour where Trouble hit the road with their label mates at the time Danzig. The all access laminate passes were inverted crosses. The members of Trouble changed their passes to reflect the cross in the upright position. Reportedly, this infuriated Glenn Danzig so much that he had them kicked off his band’s headlining tour. I didn’t find anything about it during a short Google search, so I don’t know how true that story is.

If you dig on some Black Sabbath, then you should have this album in your collection or at the very least on one of your Spotify playlists.

Eugeology: Eugene's List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems Part 27 - Zodiac Mindwarp & The Love Reaction 'Tattooed Beat Messiah'

First of all, we shouldn’t take this album seriously when it comes to the lyrical content. The band was meant as a parody of misogynistic, sexist hard rock.

Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction’s ‘Tattooed Beat Messiah’ came to me through Jeff Kay from The West Virginia Surf Report. We worked at a massive record store in Greensboro known as Peaches Music & Video.

Jeff came back from a weekend trip to visit friends and family in wild and wonderful West Virginia. I remember him working the night shift upon his return and he slid the cassette tape across the work station that I was standing at. He told me that I would love it.

I popped that thing into the cassette player of my 1987 Ford Escort EXP and IMMEDIATELY fell in love with it when I went to lunch. The guitars, the vocals, and the over-the-top lyrics that bordered on sexist and absurd.

You wanna ride, baby
This is a special car
Two accelerators, no brakes
You wanna know about love?
Lemme teach, yeah
Come to church, I'm the preacher
Jump in the motor
Let the kisses cascade
I'm the love commando, this is a raid
If love is an art, baby I'm surreal
With you by my side
Can't keep my hands on the wheel
Unbuckle that strap jump in the back
Let's steam up the windows of my Cadillac -“Backseat Education”

Isn’t it obvious they were joking??

But the music was no joke on this album. This album kicks more ass than one hundred rodeos. And talk about hooks? Every song has more hooks than a slaughterhouse. Great choruses to sing along with if you’re willing to keep that tongue firmly planted in your cheek.

My favorite lyrics come from the beginning of “Driving On Holy Gasoline”…

Consecrated By The Reverand James Brown
I Just Drove Out Of Crazy Town
You Talk About Life
Here's An Injection
A Steel Cage Jockey
With A Star Born Connection
Drop Your Halo Baby
I Got A Mission
I Got The Keys To Your Ignition

I think it’s pure genius!

The majority of the songs are of the “biker metal/hair metal” variety with choruses that you can sing along with. “Untamed Stare” is two and half minutes of hard driving hard rock that doesn’t let up. “Kids Stuff” is the only throwaway track for me. It’s a power ballad and thankfully they saved it until the end. Otherwise, the placement would have felt completely out of place.

They’re cover of “Born To Be Wild” COMPLETELY kicks ass! I like it better than The Cult’s version on another album (‘Electric’) that made this list.

Since this album isn’t readily available on streaming sites I recommend these songs from YouTube for your listening enjoyment…

“Prime Mover” (The 12” “dance mix” is great. I’ve only seen it on vinyl. And yes, I own a copy.)

“Skull Spark Joker”

“Backseat Education”

“Tattooed Beat Messiah”

“Driving On Holy Gasoline”

Sadly, they never quite captured that same kind of lightning in their bottle again. They made only one great album, in my opinion. I’ve tried and tried to get into their stuff after the release of their debut, but it just lacked that certain something.
Check out what Tim had to say about it RIGHT HERE.

Eugeology: Eugene's List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems Part 26 - Thin Lizzy 'Black Rose: A Rock Legend'

I experienced a minor setback the other morning when I went to listen to the next album on my personal list of the top 50 underappreciated hard rock albums. But here on Thanksgiving, I have the opportunity to crank up my Tailgater and blare out Thin Lizzy’s ‘Black Rose: A Rock Legend’.

There are SO MANY Thin Lizzy albums that I could have went with. I agonized over it for at least a month. I was listening and re-listening. Although it was working my brain, I enjoyed the hell out of it.

The albums that challenged for top 50 coverage:

‘Jailbreak’ (obviously)
‘Johnny The Fox’
‘Bad Reputation’
‘Chinatown’
‘Live And Dangerous’

So if you’re slightly curious, add those to your listening as well as ‘Black Rose’.

Here in America, Thin Lizzy just doesn’t get the accolades they deserve. They’re melodic while they can rock your face off. There is storytelling in just about every song that will create pictures in your mind.

“Do Anything You Want To Do” is a nice little ditty about self-empowerment that builds instead of preaching. And it seems as if KISS borrowed the opening riffs for the song “I”. Ironically, “I” is another song about self-empowerment. The dual leads of Gary Moore and Scott Gorham has that signature Lizzy sound with Phil Lynott on bass and Brian Downey providing solid drumming.

“Toughest Street in Town” has melodic hooks and a blistering solo from Gary Moore. Moore is one of those guitarists that American’s never really saw as a god. This song should be played loudly from a Camaro with the windows down while traveling just barely over the speed limit.

Flange is my favorite effect and Lynott’s bass is loaded with it in the song “S & M”. It’s a funky little number that tells a 50 shades kinda story.

“Waiting For An Alibi” should be playing on every classic rock radio station across the country. It’s a crime that it isn’t because it falls into the Camaro, windows-down category. The hooks, the dual guitars, the story, and catchy chorus has all the classic rock trappings for airplay. And yet the song continues to be ignored.

“Sarah” is a beautiful song that Lynott wrote about his daughter. As sappy as it seems, it works for a Thin Lizzy song. The added harmonica gives another layer to the Lizzy onion. And the guitar solos from Moore and Gorham do not lay back. There’s technique and flash, but it remains tasteful in order to fit the song.

“Got To Give It Up” is a song about alcohol and drug abuse. And without being too preachy, you will find yourself singing along with the chorus. There’s another blistering lead from Moore in this song.

Another song loaded with flange opens the tune “Get Out Of Here”. It’s a breakup song that sounds as happy as a kid at Chucky Cheese. And you could possibly find yourself singing along with the chorus no matter how happy your current relationship is.

The song “With Love” has the Thin Lizzy sound, but it’s just a little different. I can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s like Lynott turned his own song style upside down. It’s another breakup song like the previous track. At times, I feel that it’s “over produced” and then that feeling goes away. It’s an odd little tune that just gets better every time I listen to it.

“Roisin Dubh (Black Rose): A Rock Legend” closes out the album. The song is based on an old Irish story. This song is the most Irish thing on the album besides Lynott. It makes me want to drink, punch, and get punched before we all gather for a hug filled sing-a-long of “Danny Boy”.

And there you have it. Thin Lizzy was an Irish folk band that played their stories with loud and distorted guitars. I did see them once before they changed their name to Blackstar Riders. But I never got to see Lynott perform. They just never made it around to my neck of the woods. And if they did, I was too young to know them. I didn’t really discover Thin Lizzy until the early 80s. I remember reading about them in magazines like ‘Guitar For The Practicing Musician’. Everyone raved about them. That’s how I got on that Thin Lizzy train. I even had a poster of Lynott on my bedroom wall.

It was a sad beginning to 1986 for me when I found out that Lynott died shortly after New Years.

If you’re an Iron Maiden fan, you can hear the influence in their tunes.

Read Tim's take on this album RIGHT HERE.

I will try to catch up as soon as I can. Stay tuned.

Eugeology: Eugene's List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems Part 25 - King's X 'Gretchen Goes To Nebraska'

Yeah, I got really behind on this project. A project that I started! I'm slack at times. I just haven't been in the mood to write lately. But lets get back on this train!

I remember the day that a girlfriend played ‘Gretchen Goes to Nebraska’ for me. It was a hot day in June and we were headed for lunch at the Taco Time that used to be on High Point Road (now Gate City Blvd) in Greensboro. She drove a small red Toyota Tercel with no air conditioning.

She had a promotional cassette that was given out to radio stations a few weeks ahead of the release.

We were already familiar and in love with ‘Out of the Silent Planet’ from King’s X. So as soon as she saw that new release, she snagged it.

For me, it was MILES ahead of ‘Out of the Silent Planet’. The songs still rocked hard, but they had more of a pop music sensibility to them.

“Over My Head” is still one of my favorite songs of all time. And for some reason, it reminds me of something from Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’. I’m not sure why, but it does. The song just reminds me of Mother Abigail.

I got to see them in a club in Hickory called Cadillacs and they blew me away. They were one of the tightest rock bands that I had ever seen live. When they all reached a “quick stop” in a song, there was silence for a split second, and BOOM! They were back into the song. It was like a punch to the gut.

Doug Pinnick possesses one of the greatest voices in hard rock and how he does what he does on the bass guitar while singing has always blown my mind. Ty Tabor delivers guitar god antics without all the trappings of Stratocaster royalty. He does the job, but if you listen carefully to the craftsmanship, you’ll find out that he SHOULD reside in the guitar gods Rolodex. And Jerry Gaskill provides the drums and timing needed for these three great musicians that doesn’t get enough respect.

And between them, they really bring home big harmonies.

I love the production on this album. You could slice cheese with the sharpness of the production. And for me, there’s not a single track that I would throw away.

‘Gretchen Goes to Nebraska’ should be enjoyed with headphones or ear buds.

“Out of the Silent Planet” opens the album with a light touch of harmonies with really heavy guitars just buried underneath. The vocals are as smooth as a ride in a new Cadillac.

“Over My Head” hits you like a bullet out of the blue. I have always loved the sound of the bass guitar in this one and Pinnick’s voice is golden on this track.

“Summerland” is another lush track layered with melodic guitars and harmonies. But wait for it… The gut punch will arrive as Pinnick drives home the vocals.

“Every Body Knows A Little Bit of Something” starts off with a small salute to soul with the opening vocals. The guitars kick in and then it backs off with the lead vocals on my favorite effect, flange. And yes, it’s very “headphonic”. I love that stuff. Pinnick’s slap bass is understated and exactly what the song needs during verses. Tabor’s biting strat keeps the song anchored with molten hard rock lead.

“The Difference (In the Garden of St. Anne’s On-The-Hill)” is another lush song laced with those Cadillac ride vocals, acoustic guitars, and tasteful percussive treats from Gaskill. The song is a perfect “palate cleanser” for this album. It reminds the less than average fan of just how good these cats are.

“I’ll Never Be The Same” is another hard rocker with Pinnick’s soulful vocals laced with a hint of gravel. The song has so many riffs perfect for any air guitarist in your life. The lack of overdubs really makes this song great in my opinion, especially during the lead solo.

“The Mission” starts off with a slight melodic misrepresentation before giving you a light kick in the rump. The song is an interesting look at religion and I have used the “assembly of a social gathering” many a times regarding my views about organized religion.

“Fall On Me” has always immediately reminded me of a Robin Trower song. It just has that vibe. And it’s another song that has “the open canvas” when it comes to overdubbing. They show that you don’t need to cover up all the blankness to make a damn fine song. And remember that thing that I wrote about the sudden stop in a song that filled Cadillac’s with silence?

Well, it comes at about the 3:45 mark in the song.

“Pleiades” features the vocals of Ty Tabor. In my opinion, his vocals are a little thin but they but quite calming and subdued. If it weren’t for the guitars on this song, it would be close to a throw away. It’s my least favorite tune on the album.

Thankfully “Don’t Believe it” comes back in to wake you up. Again there are hints of Mother India in this track filled with air guitar worthy riffs.

“Send A Message” has a nice little bouncy beat to it as it melts your face. And like most of the other tracks on this album, break out your air guitars.

“The Burning Down” closes out the record with Tabor handling the vocals. It sounds like The Beatles with a wall of Marshall amps behind them. It’s melodic with the loud guitars complimenting the lush vocals. At times the song meanders along, but that’s not a bad thing. The song makes for a fine closer on this album.

Check out Tim's take on this album at his blog. I would direct you to Jon's take, but he's more behind than I am. And I've been unemployed for 2 months!

Eugeology: Eugene's List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems Part 24 - Motley Crue 'Too Fast For Love'

I was never a huge fan of Motley Crue. But ‘Too Fast For Love’ is by far their best album in my humble opinion.

The Crue got too wrapped up in following trends for my tastes. They went from nasty hard rock maggots living off depravity (‘Too Fast For Love’) to made-up tarts that lived off depravity (‘Theatre of Pain’) within 3 albums. They got too big for their “raisin’” with me. Once ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ was released, I had long since checked out.

But even though I didn’t care for many of their albums after ‘Too Fast For Love’, I still went to see them live. Motley Crue were a great band to see live. They put on a helluva show. I’ve managed to see them on tours for Shout, Theatre, Girls, and the final tour. And when it comes to power drummers, I would consider Tommy Lee one of the greatest that has ever lived. And he would push himself to extremes when it came to live performances when it was time for his drum solos.

I have never went to the bathroom or scooted off for a beer during one of Lee’s drum solos. I knew that I was going to see and hear something special each time.

‘Too Fast For Love’ came out ahead of the L.A. bands onslaught in the early 80’s. There was leather, punk attitudes, overt sexuality, and satanic imagery that fueled my desire to check them out. I thought it was all rather tongue-in-cheek, but the satanic imagery was the only thing played up by Motley Crue.

First of all, ‘Too Fast…’ is a great power pop album fueled by Nikki Sixx’s love of the rock band Sweet. So don’t be fooled by all the leather, spikey studs, and handcuffs. ‘Too Fast…’ is an album filled with sing-along songs and pretty little pop songs played REAL LOUD with B.C. Rich guitars and Marshall amplifiers.

The album opens up with concert staple ‘Live Wire’ that has shades of punk buried behind the riffs. And it has cow bell!

But then the album opens up a bit and allows Sixx to pay homage to Sweet with his hunger to move away from Frank Feranna, Jr. (Nikki Sixx’s real name) and the psychological baggage that goes along with him. I believe that’s why “Frankie” died a few different ways in the song “On with the Show”. Sixx was putting Frankie to rest and letting Nikki live out the rest of his life.

The album cover is definitely a tribute to ‘Sticky Fingers’ by The Rolling Stones, but don’t let it fool you. The album is all Motley Crue. The only cheese on this release is the poppy goodness disguised as hard rockin’ tunes.

For me, this is a fine as Motley Crue got musically. They got bigger and were allocated bigger budgets on the albums that followed. But it didn’t sound like Motley Crue to me. When I first heard their cover of Brownsville Station’s “Smokin’ in the Boys Room”, I nearly had a dry-heave. And even though I covered “Home Sweet Home” in a band, I hated that song. HATED IT.

‘Too Fast…’ is the ONLY Motley Crue album that you need. It has everything they ever were or were going to be. It’s the ugly and crusty scab that covers the debauchery inside.

I suggest that you pick that scab and put ‘Too Fast For Love’ into your collection. Play it loud often. Sing along with the songs. Get lost in the TRUE Motley Crue that we only saw for one beautiful album.

Eugeology: Eugene's List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems Part 23 - Blue Oyster Cult 'Tyranny and Mutation'

“The Red and the Black” is a fitting opening for ‘Tyranny and Mutation’, the second album from Blue Oyster Cult. It’s noisy rock and roll with a hard rock gut punch that possesses a bit of boogie-ness that makes you want more of this terrific album.

Although I’m not a huge fan that owns everything BOC put out, I have a deep appreciation for everything they’ve done. For one thing, they’re not “cock rockers” that sing about their many conquests in and out of the sack. BOC wrote songs that are stories. Some are serious. Some can be quite humorous. And some can be downright head scratchers that have you picking through the lyrics to find out what they hell they’re singing about.

Even then you won’t get the answers that you seek. That’s one of the many beauties of the Blue Oyster Cult.

Originally, I wanted to put ‘Cultosaurus Erectus’ on this list but I felt that this second album definitely provided a map to where the band was going to go in the future. It was a mutation. There are smatterings of pop sensibilities that pop up later on ‘Fire of an Unknown Origin’ and the huge ‘Agents of Fortune’. And there are plenty of songs that pack a wallop for those craving face melting hard rock.

To me, this album sounds like an educated Grand Funk Railroad. There are plenty of amps pumping out the hard rock, but the lyrics make you listen deeper into the music. “Hot Rails to Hell” is a perfect example.

The song titles don’t really stick with you, but the tunes surely will.

Were BOC an American progressive rock band?

You can’t exactly pin that category on them based upon the music, but lyrically there’s an argument.

‘Tyranny and Mutation’ is a riff-tastic album and if you claim that hard rock is your favorite music of choice, you need it in your collection. Hell, I would recommend everything up to ‘Club Ninja’ and even the live albums.

For me, Blue Oyster Cult will always be that “weird” kid in your class that loved horror movies and Edgar Allan Poe. You didn’t want to spend a lot of time to get to know him, but you found him intriguing and he made you pause to appreciate the darker side of things.

In my opinion, there’s not a bad song on this album. And again, it was a toss up with ‘Cultosaurus Erectus’. So give that album a shot too.

Here's Tim Beeman's take on it. We're still waiting on "Jet Setting" Jon Lowder to get back on board.

Eugeology: Eugene's List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems Part 22 - Kix 'Kix'

First of all, Kix is not a “hair band”. Lets be very clear… Kix had good fashion sense, but they never pumped their hair to over-inflated heights. Kix relied on their riffs and snarky lyrics. They were a more polished and better version of AC/DC with Bon Scott. They knew how to write songs with more hooks than a bait shop. Sure, Donnie Purnell was the chief songwriter in the band, but hey… it takes a lot of cooks to prep such a delicious Kix entrée.

The main thing that I love about Kix is dual guitar attack of Brian Forsythe and Ronnie Younkins. Both of them are more than adequate lead guitarists, but when it comes to rhythm guitar I can only think of a handful of other combos that allow the song to dictate what is played over the egos of the guitarists. The interplay between the two guitarists is a beautiful thing to behold in your ear canals. Forsythe and Younkins lay back and let the music do the talking. They are fantastic to watch in a live setting. You see them trade off licks while the drummer and bassist hold things down as Steve Whiteman lets go like blonde Peter Wolf.

I’ve been fortunate enough to see them in small clubs and on stage in the Greensboro Coliseum before a sellout crowd. And every… single… time… Kix brought it! Not only are Kix in my top 5 all time favorite bands, but their ‘Midnight Dynamite’ tour stop at the old Baity’s Music Garden in Winston-Salem ranks right up there with the Queensryche, White Zombie, Gwen Stefani, and KISS shows that I’ve seen.

And they’re still great! They even have recent live and studio albums out.

This first Kix album is a mixture of hard rock, power pop, new wave, and punk rolled up into one tight little power plant. And when you listen to it, you can imagine Whiteman prancing around the stage like Mick Jagger on crank while the rest of the band stands back pumping out rock and roll so electric that they could power a small town.

Another cool thing about Kix… Whiteman and Purnell are West by-God Virginians that became “city goats” in Baltimore. Kix are to Baltimore what KISS is to New York City. What Nirvana are to Seattle. What Motley Crue are to Los Angeles.

Another interesting thing about Kix is Donnie Purnell, the chief songwriter through most of their run. After working to get the band to world supremacy, the aforementioned Nirvana put a knife in the heart of hard rock and roll with their ‘Nevermind’ album, and Kix were quickly forgotten.

All the bands associated with even a hint of hairspray were wiped off the landscape. That included Kix just as they broke the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with the song “Don’t Close Your Eyes”.

The song is one of my least favorites, but they were finally being noticed. And then they were gone. No one wanted ‘Hot Wire’ as Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, and Soundgarden were purging the hard rock music scene of the likes of Warrant, Ratt, and Poison.

And I believe that crushed Purnell. He gave one underrated and under-produced album on CMC International a shot and just simply checked out. From the rumors that I heard, Purnell went back to construction jobs in West Virginia. And when Kix reformed, he wanted nothing to do with it.

Was he soured after working so hard to get the band to the heights of the charts only to be slapped in the face by the fickle American music fans?

I think so. The guy put a LOT of work and effort into the band only to finally receive the love and then they were kicked to the curb like one of Gene Simmons’ many sexual conquests.

Although I wanted to put ‘Midnight Dynamite’ on this list, I felt that they’re first album should be represented. There’s not a bad track on the album. From the opening of “Atomic Bombs” to the closing to-this-day concert staple “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” you get the exact profile of the band. There are songs to rock you, songs to satisfy that sweet pop music tooth, and songs that are works of songwriting beauty.

I recommend the whole album. They’re all a major part that was the soundtrack of my youth. I love them all. I’ve even used one of their songs to defuse a tense situation when my wife sharply voiced to the youngest, “Don’t tell me no!”… I yelled back to them, “Tell me yeah, yeah, yeah!”

And to be quite honest, Kix doesn’t have an album that I wouldn’t recommend. They put out a lot of quality and they’re still doing it.

Eugeology: Eugene's List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems Part 21 - Y&T 'Black Tiger'

Y&T are one of the most under-appreciated bands of all time and it doesn’t surprise me that Tim doesn’t care for them. He’s a bit nit-picky when it comes to rock n’ roll. He likes it clean and processed with very little of the spirit from the moment during conception. That’s just the way he is. I accept it and yet it makes me shake my head every time.

I had trouble deciding on the which Y&T album to chose for this list. ‘In Rock We Trust’ is a good one. I love the live ‘Open Fire’ release. And ‘Mean Streak’ is a great album. The band lost me when they were seeing some commercial success with the song “Summertime Girls” which was tacked on to the ‘Open Fire’ album. They double-dipped and put it on ‘Down for the Count’ that was released later that same year.

‘Down for the Count’ was not well received by me. And then they moved over to Geffen Records for the atrocious ‘Contagious’ album. I don’t know the full story, but at the time when that album was released there were rumors that Y&T parted ways with drummer Leonard Haze because of his lack of rock star looks needed for MTV. True or not, that put a bad taste in my mouth and I moved away from Y&T.

I have never seen Y&T live before, but I did see a concert that was aired on MTV. Dave Meniketti is not only an amazing, under-rated lead guitarist, but he’s also a great front man. Granted, as Tim pointed out, he doesn’t possess the greatest of voices. But he emotes with his heart and you feel like the guy is singing his guts out.

Meniketti plays mostly Les Pauls and utilizes the toggle switch during his lead solos when the song calls for it. For some reason, it flips me out. No pun intended.

“From the Moon” pulls you right up to “Open Fire” which is one of those cheerleading songs where they tell you that they’re going to rock and how they’re going to rock you. Normally, I steer clear of those but there’s just something about that song. It cannot be denied.

“Don’t Wanna Lose” and “Hell and High Water” backs down on the punchy hard rock. But “Forever” slides in and before you know it, you’re face has been rocked off.

The title track opens up side 2. I only say that because I grew up with the vinyl album that I still have. For years you could only get it on CD as an expensive Japanese import. As much as I dug the album, I just couldn’t justify a repurchase of the album at such a higher rate. I held out and now I can stream it on Spotify all I want and just about everywhere I go. But I digress… The title track is a rocker.

Then “Barroom Boogie” comes up with a bit of humor. It’s a fun little ditty and I’m surprised that Beeman didn’t even write about it.

“My Way or the Highway” and “Winds of Change” close out the album.

Y&T were one of those bands from the San Francisco Bay area that never made it big. The former members ran into all kinds of issues and bad situations that life can hand out. And there’s a funny story involving Rock the robot from the ‘In Rock We Trust’ album.

Rock was made by A&M Records for $17,000. When they fired Joey Alves he took the robot that used to grace the stages around the world. He gave it to a friend who died and his wife took Rock. It’s been spray painted and worn for costume parties and taking first prize.

So it’s still out there, but the Meniketti still hasn’t seen it.

I suggest giving this album a spin along with ‘Mean Streak’ and ‘Open Fire’. Hopefully, you too will find an appreciation for them.

Here is Tim's take on the album. I do hope Jon hasn't abandoned the project, but hey... The guy has been jet-setting all over the place lately. So maybe he's listening and making notes. And I'm trying to get caught up with Beeman who is the only one keeping to the schedule.

Eugeology: Eugene's List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems Part 20 - Joe Satriani 'Surfing with the Alien'

I purposely followed up with this particular album. It was another guitar instrumental album (Yngwie’s is mostly instrumental, so knock it off ya nitpickers) from the 1980s.

I was aware of Joe Satriani because I had his ‘Not of this Earth’ before the leaps ahead ‘Surfing with the Alien’ album. Since I heard that quite a few of the guitarists that I liked were actually taught by Satriani, I wanted to hear him for myself.

When ‘Surfing’ came out I was floored. And that wasn’t the reaction that I had with the previous release. So you can definitely say that Satriani didn’t suffer from the “sophomore slump”. And sadly, no other releases quite reached the heights for me personally.

I got to see Satriani touring for ‘Surfing’ in Raleigh at the Rialto Theatre WITH Stu Hamm on bass. Hamm is an AMAZING bass player. I’ve also seen Satriani at a G3 show a few years ago with Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen. That was an amazing show as well.

But I digress…

‘Surfing with the Alien’ has the subtlety and finesse that ‘Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force’ lacks. Satriani isn’t flash. He strives to give the melody meaning and feeling whereas Malmsteen seems more concerned with how many notes he can get into a measure. But when the gear needs to be kicked into flash, Satriani has more than capable fingers.

This is a great album for guitarists and it’s a good album for non-musicians looking for something to mingle into the background that may perk up an ear or two. I’ve personally seen the album spark good conversation about guitarists.

I’m still keeping up with Satch now that he’s a member of Chickenfoot.

‘Surfing with the Alien’ is a must have for ANYONE. Yes. Anyone. Short and sweet. You must have.

Eugeology: Eugene's List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems Part 19 - Yngwie J. Malmsteen's 'Rising Force'

What can be said about Yngwie Malmsteen’s ‘Rising Force’ album?

For one thing, it influenced a schload of imitators. But it wasn’t just the style of playing, it was also the idea of putting out instrumental hard rock albums.

Yeah, I know… Jeff Scott Soto is singing on this joker… But it’s true. There were a lot of guitarists that followed his, pardon the pun, lead. Alex Masi, Steve Vai, Tony MacAlpine, and Joe Satriani.

Randy Rhoads initially stuck the classical music key in the ignition of hard rock in the early 1980s, but Yngwie provided the engine. And that engine roared loudly with me.

There are moments of beautiful melodies. There are moments of incredible, over-the-top flashing fingers on the fretboard with some tremolo bending of the notes. And there are times where the riffs just rock your face off.

Granted, lyrically, the message gets lost in the translation to English. They sound simple and undeserving of the music bubbling underneath.

But the album flat out shreds. And if you’ve ever seen Mr. Malmsteen, then you know just how good he is.

Unfortunately, his ego got the best of him along with going against what he was best at… instrumentals. The more songs he had with singers, the less I paid attention to him.

Back to his ego… I saw him open up for AC/DC at the Greensboro Coliseum in November of 1985. During his guitar solo, he picked out a part of the Eddie Van Halen song “Eruption” and incorporated it within his solo. He was doing with one hand that Eddie does with two. The ears of the crowd perked up and cheered loudly hearing part of “Eruption”. And that’s when Yngwie mimicked yawning with pats on the mouth with his free right hand. The crowd turned on him with loud boos.

So you see… Yngwie Malmsteen was his worst enemy. But he left us with one great album and ‘Rising Force’ is it.

‘Marching Out’ has it’s moments, but Malmsteen never caught the lightning in the bottle again.

“Far Beyond The Sun” and “Black Star” are still concert staples.

I saw him last on a G3 Tour with Satriani and Vai. It was incredible. Magic was made when all three guitarists jammed together at the end of the show.

I just remember a lot of guitarists mimicking his style AND tossing the guitar over the shoulder and around the back. Malmsteen is a guitar maestro and this is the ONE album you need in your collection if you are an admirer of guitar heroes.

Eugeology: Eugene's List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems Part 18 - Foghat 'Foghat Live'

Let’s face it… If you were alive in the late 1970s and you had a taste for hard rock, you knew about ‘Foghat Live’. If not, then you were probably hiding in an Iranian spider hole or your time was swallowed up with Donny & Marie fan club business.

‘Foghat Live’ was the first album that I ever owned by Foghat. I had heard “Slow Ride” and “Fool for the City”, but I had never cared enough to purchase any of their albums. My funds were limited to KISS records at the time.

I can’t remember, but I came into possession of ‘Foghat Live’ on cassette. I think it was given to me when I purchased a second hand boom box in the early 1980s. Anyways… I thought it was a great album and it really opened my eyes to Foghat. I thought they kicked ass! And from that point on, I started acquiring Foghat albums. I even have a Foghat belt buckle packed away somewhere.

I’m not sure how overdubbed this album is, but I don’t care. It sounds like pure ass kickin’ to me. The album reeks with energy and the loud distorted guitars that I crave.

There’s only six songs on that bad boy. The two hits, a classic cover (2 actually, but everyone knows the Willie Dixon tune), and three tunes that you may not know.

Tim did notice the little “slow down” in “Slow Ride”. That has been there for as long as I have been listening to the album. It has become an accepted occurrence that doesn’t manage to drive me crazy. It’s just an anomaly that has become something that I ignore like Grandparents day. Ya know?

My personal favorite from the album is their cover of Willie Dixon’s “I Just Want To Make Love To You”. The studio version from Foghat is good, but this live version really kicks it into overdrive.

I love the slide guitars and at times the vocalist sounds like he’s about to crap his pants. Although I’ve never seen Foghat, I’ve always felt that they MUST have been a great live act that had to be seen for full appreciation.

Since I have replaced my beloved Zune with Spotify, it’s still easy to hear new albums. And Foghat released on just last year called ‘Under the Influence’. It’s a very good album!

Yeah, I was surprised too!

But ‘Foghat Live’ is one of those albums that should absolutely be in your collection. It should be taken out at least once a year and played loud.

I’ve owned it on cassette, vinyl, and I recently purchased the CD from Walmart when I stumbled across it in the $5 dump bin.

And in my opinion, it was $5 well spent!

Eugeology: Eugene's List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems Part 17 - King Kobra 'Ready to Strike'

Carmin Appice has always been there and you may not have noticed him. Ya know, unless you’re a drummer. He was in Vanilla Fudge, he spent time with Rod Stewart, Cactus, Ozzy Osbourne, Ted Nugent, Blue Murder, and King Kobra.

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him perform with Ozzy, Ted, and Blue Murder. I’ve seen him play in arenas. I’ve seen him with Blue Murder at the old Baity’s Music Garden in Winston-Salem with John Sykes (a geeky hard rocker’s wet dream).

He’s a power drummer plain and simple. Since I know nothing about drums, I’m going by what I hear and what I appreciate. The guy is a solid drummer with a big fat sound able to perk the ears of hard ass authorities in the next county.

I have no doubt that he’s doing things that make drummers take note. He wouldn’t be so revered by the legions of drummers out there if he weren’t all that good.

King Kobra’s ‘Ready To Strike’ was handed to me in the form of a cassette tape by Jeff Baker. All he said was, “Check this out.”

I did and I was floored. The vocalist breathed life into ever lyric. The drums and bass work of Johnny Rod provide a loud pulse for the “Frankenstein” of a band assembled by Appice.

‘Ready to Strike’ follows the same blueprint of Starz’s ‘Attention Shoppers’. It’s a power pop album with screaming guitars. Lyrically, the album pulsates with hard rock attitudes and yet features a lot of pop lyric sensibilities. And there’s even two songs written by a previously featured band, Kick Axe. Those are “Hunger” and “Piece of the Rock”.

‘Ready to Strike’ was produced by Spencer Proffer and Carmen Appice. Proffer provided Billy Thorpe with his fifteen minutes of fame with “Children of the Sun” that was found on AOR airwaves during the late 1970s and late 1980s. Proffer had the “Midas touch” with Quiet Riot, but failed with King Kobra and Kick Axe.

And in my opinion, that’s a damn shame… Quiet Riot just caught onto something without actually having merit. Let’s face it… They were basically a Slade tribute band. But I always found Proffer’s production skills quite excellent.

I hold the first King Kobra’s album right up with the ‘Vices’ from Kick Axe.

‘Ready to Strike’ is an ass-kicking hard-rocking power pop album that certainly timestamps 1985. But it also shows you the good underbelly side of the “hair metal” scene that was dominating the landscape of hard rock. King Kobra were one of the really good bands that gave the genre a good name back then, but unfortunately went unnoticed.

Stand outs on the album are… “Ready to Strike”, “Hunger”, “Shadow Rider”, “Breakin’ Out”, “Tough Guys”, “Second Thoughts”, and my favorite moody little number called “Dancing with Desire”.

If you’re a fan of the 1980s genre of hard rock, I hope that you give this album a spin.

Check out what Tim and Jon had to write about the same album.

Eugeology: Eugene's List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems Part 16 - Alice Cooper 'Special Forces'

I knew that I would face a little bewilderment over Alice Cooper’s ‘Special Forces’. And I’m not sure why it’s one of my favorites from him.

The drums are out front in the mix providing the engine for this musical bus driven by the boozed and blitzed Alice. The guitars take a quieter seat near the rear wheels. The keyboards are riding in seat right behind the driver. And there’s no denying that the bus is on the New Wave Highway.

Unlike most of his rock n’ roll counterparts in the late 1970s, Alice didn’t follow the disco path. “New Wave” was making some ripples and something caught his ear. It was the perfect outlet for another “version” of Alice. He could tell his brand of twisted stories with a splash of “punk”.

‘Flush the Fashion’ is a classic, but it was slightly edged out by ‘Special Forces’ with its lighthearted and comedic word play. “Skeletons in the Closet” contains great lines like “I see bones, I see bones, Icy bones…” that can easily be brought to life by the showman that Alice is. “Prettiest Cop on the Block”, “Don’t Talk Old to Me”, “You Want it, You Got it”, “You Look Good in Rags”, “You’re a Movie”, and “Vicious Rumors” are all capable of providing Alice some great roles to play on the stage.

As odd as ‘Special Forces’ is as an album, it shows a certain disregard for rules. If KISS can make some kick ass disco, then by-golly, Alice Cooper can make a kick ass new wave album. The guitars are there rumbling underneath and rocking. The synthesizers are rocking just as hard. The lyrics to almost every song provide a chuckle or two.

And there’s a great cover of Love’s “Seven & Seven Is” along with an update of “Generation Landslide”.

‘Special Forces’ has many things to show you. And it may take more than one listen for total life change to occur.

Great lyrics include these…

“I’ve done some things I really can’t describe… I’ve made some mouths open pretty wide”

“God told me that I would have rivaled… Alexander the Great at his best”

“You want Chateau Greon for breakfast every day… Okay… You want some Spanish lover to lay in bed all day… Ole’”

“I like to flex my arms in the neon light”

and

“Forget about Vogue, or them hundred dollar jeans you make a two dollar t-shirt obscene”

Bob Dylan has called Alice Cooper “an overlooked songwriter”. And he was right!

‘Special Forces’ is fun. And it’s a great hard rock/new wave album. Lyrically, it’s a work of art for any English teacher.

I believe that Tim and Jon will revisit the album one day to find that it’s really not a strange choice. And I highly recommend watching this concert on YouTube.

And even though Alice Cooper doesn’t remember this particular phase of his career, I adore all four of those albums… ‘Flush the Fashion’, ‘Special Forces’, ‘Zipper Catches Skin’, and ‘Dada’. The songs all tell memorable stories AND there’s even a Christmas song in the mix called “No Man’s Land”.

Here is Tim's take and here is Jon's Take for comparison.

Eugeology: Eugene's List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems Part 15 - Starz 'Attention Shoppers'

Starz is probably the greatest “unheard of” hard rock band that sprang from America during the 1970s. They still plug into bars around the country to play in front of die hard fans that still haven’t given up on them. And if they came to a town near me, I’d be one of first people to purchase 4 tickets.

I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing them, but I do know one person that saw them open for ZZ Top in Louisville, KY. I was bitterly jealous, but not because he got to see them… But because they recorded the show that he attended as part of a live radio station broadcast. There’s an exact (barring any overdubs) record of his concert experience.

But I got over it and recently found that the deluxe release of Steve Earle’s ‘Copperhead Road’ has tracks recorded at a show that I attended in Raleigh, NC. And Blackberry Smoke released a live album recorded at a show at Ziggy’s in Winston-Salem that my wife and I attended.

Back to Starz…

I love all four of the Starz releases on Capitol Records. But the third release ‘Attention Shoppers’ finds the band pouring gasoline onto their power pop songwriting abilities. And in my opinion, it’s their best release.

There are songs that can rattle your innards that will cause you to have a blissful regular start to your next day. Songs like “X-Ray Spex”, “Good Ale We Seek”, and “Waitin’ on You”.

There’s the lumbering, lyrical story about “Johnny All Alone” that provides a great film noir stoyboard for your brain. The length of the song provides Richie Ranno plenty of room to compliment the lyrics with swaggering lead guitar that brushes in melody instead of flash.

And the rest “Don’t Think”, “Hold on to the Night”, “She”, “(Anyway That You Want It) I’ll Be There”, and “Third Times the Charm” are just great power pop songs that deserve proper recognition. I believe those songs should have littered the rock radio landscape during all of 1978. “Third Times the Charm” is tune that could have walked all the way to number one on the Hot 100.

No matter how you slice it, it’s the perfect recipe for popular song craft.

Play "Third Times the Charm" the next time you’re at a place with a digital jukebox and watch members of the venue react to it. They may take it as a love song. Some may exhibit signs of sexual arousal when they are around their partner. There may be unavoidable cuddling.

Starz paved the way and influenced the next generation of hard rock bands that gained overwhelming success during the 1980s. They created the Warrants, the Bon Jovis, and the Ratts.

Unfortunately, the third album from Starz wasn’t the charm. They faded from the rock scene after the way too Boston-ish ‘Coliseum Rock’ album.

‘Coliseum Rock’ is a very misunderstood album and better suited for a different kind of list.

Try ‘Attention Shoppers’. Allow yourself to crank it up and imagine that you’re a teenager leisurely driving over to a friend’s house in their bitchin’ Camaro. The windows are rolled down and it’s a comfortable day during the summer of 1978. That's the spirit of 'Attention Shoppers'.

Check out Jon Lowder's review HERE

Check out Tim Beeman's review HERE

Eugeology: Eugene's List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems Part 13 - Masters of Reality 'Masters of Reality (Blue Garden)'

There have now been two hard rock albums with Beau Hill at the helm and now its time to drop a second from Rick Rubin.

And this album was forced upon me.

I remember arriving at my girlfriend Melanie’s apartment and before I could drop a single complaint about my day, she grabbed me and dragged me into the living room while saying “You’ve got to hear this shit!”

Well… To be honest she had the stereo cranked up louder than most law enforcement officers would allow within the city limits. And what I heard along the way had my undivided attention. I could hear what got her excited because the sounds of this album filled the air with electricity.

Melanie immediately stopped the CD and restarted it at the beginning.

“Theme for the Scientist of the Invisible” introduces us to the Masters of Reality who take their name from a Black Sabbath album (a favorite of most Sabbath fans). And that introduction is the pebble that rolls down the hillside causing you to look up towards the top. But there’s no escape. There's a boulder coming and it's going to crush you.

“Domino” kicks your eardrums in the teeth. It’s the perfect song to follow the opening instrumental track.

“Gettin’ High” is one of my favorites on the album. There’s moments of boogie beauty complimented by the shear hard rock of overdriven guitars.

“The Candy Song” is a sweetie and the record label sent out edible panties wrapped around the CD single. I kept the package for years until the undies ripened and became one with the CD single.

Other stand out tracks include “Magical Spell” (I dig the innuendo in the lyrics), “Sleep Walkin’”, “Lookin’ To Get Rite”, and “Kill The King”.

The last track reminded me immediately of how KISS ended “Black Diamond” to close out their debut album.

Overall, the first Masters of Reality album is a stoner rock classic. It’s a thing of beauty. But something happened along the course of a year…

The album was released in 1990 and then it just went away for a short period of time.

I was working at a record store and I would always recommend the album to my like-minded friends. But after reorders, it just wasn’t showing up anymore.

Then it was released on the Delicious Vinyl imprint best known for putting out the Tone Loc albums. But the artwork was changed and horrible. The songs were reordered with an additional track. It just kind of lost the original vibe. I suppose the bonus cut was bone thrown to those of us that didn’t like the change.

When Melanie and I split up… This album was a point of contention in our redistribution of the compact discs that we acquired as a couple. Ultimately and rightfully so, she got the original with the cover pictured above. We both had a great appreciation for the cover artwork and despite having a bonus track on the Delicious Vinyl release; I just couldn’t talk her out of the original version. She had dibs on it since she got her stoner rock loving hands on it first. But I tried my best used car salesman approach to make it mine.

Sadly, this album isn’t streaming on Spotify so whatever happened during that year of changing artwork and tunes it still hasn’t been cleared up. At least, that’s my guess… Some legal crap is keeping that MOR goodness away from us.

The second release ‘Sunrise on the Sufferbus’ really disappointed me and MOR just fell off my radar. I even missed the released deluxe re-release of that first album complete with live cuts.

But should you find yourself any copy of this album I suggest one simple rule for a first listen… Play it LOUD!

Eugeology: Eugene's List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems Part 12 - Twisted Sister 'Love Is For Suckers'

Yeah, I'm late. I'm not proud of it. I've just been like a bulletin board at work... Everyone has been coming up to me and pinning something onto my "to-do" list. And when I think I'm reaching a "caught up day", something wildly unexpected happens.

Today is a fine example of that, but dammit... I'm posting this after finally getting around to writing it up over the weekend.

I was pleasantly surprised with Jon and Tim's take on the album. So here goes...

From the opening track of Twisted Sister’s ‘Love Is For Suckers’ you come to the realization that they had arrived to an understanding of their short lived success. Dee Snider, since this was actually supposed to be a solo album, knew the costumed days were over. In a sense, Twisted Sister were the sleeping giant that needed a good shake for a wake up.

They had become the caricature that they portrayed in the videos. The band lost touch with reality and thought they could just rely on what they had built.

Sure, they broke away from the gimmick with the video for “The Price” but they went full on Icarus. Twisted Sister seemed to ignore all the warning signs and they put out a horrendous follow up to ‘Stay Hungry’ with ‘Come Out and Play’.

The album was heavily promoted by the record label, but Twisted Sister kept with the same style of videos without realizing that they had become tiresome. With the atrocious cover of “Leader of the Pack” and “Be Chrool To Your Scuel”, they went for mass appeal. Any shot at retaining the Twisted Sister that I loved was gone. Sure, the album scored gold with over 500,000 in sales but it was a piece of crap.

‘Love Is For Suckers’ shows the band with growth and maturity. The songs sound a little more polished and shined up for crossover acceptance without pissing off the main denim clad fan base. The album has its fair share of sweaty fist shaking anthems (“Tonight”, I Want This Night (To Last Forever)”, and “Yeah Right!”) but it shows a band that had grown musically and lyrically. They had finally grown into the sister with just the right amount of twist. They could even rock your face off with the ballad “You Are All That I Need”. They could summon up some old style rock and roll with the underrated gem that is “One Bad Habit”. The song has the snarky quality that makes it sound like an Alice Cooper cover.

Eddie Ojeda and Jay Jay French show much more skill on the guitars for this album. The production from Beau Hill really shows them in the greatest light of their careers on ‘Love Is For Suckers’. The drums of Joey “Seven” Franco (replacing AJ Pero) have that huge Led Zeppelin sound that kept the band firmly planted in hard rock territory while exploring facets of possibilities that Twisted Sister could have offered fans.

Yes. ‘Love Is For Suckers’ is a gem. At least it is in my heart.

I was handed a promotional copy that was sent to the record store and instructed to put it in “the stack” for in-store play. Even though I owned every album and a few imports by Twisted Sister at that time, I wasn’t looking forward to hearing anything new from them. They really burned me with an all-white clad Dee Snider (he should always be seen as the “black hat” as well as the rest of the band, after all they are “twisted”) that was presented during the ‘Come Out and Play’ album and videos.

I didn’t bother to play the album in the store. I had no burning desire to see what kind of new crap they were putting out, but someone else’s curiosity got the best of them. I cannot be sure, but I believe that it was Blake Faucette who finally put the LP into a night’s rotation.

After hearing the opening song, I knew that I wanted to hear more. And I purchased myself a copy of the compact disc on the next employee purchase day.

For me, there’s not a bad song on the album. Snider isn’t using the thesaurus for lyrics. He just keeps it natural. He doesn’t force it. The band, even though they were absolutely hating each other at the time, sounded better than they ever did on record. Every song had that hit potential.

Hell, my friends even covered “One Bad Habit” with their band.

Give it a shot. Put it in your canon and let your inner SMF out.

Eugeology: Eugene's List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems Part 11 - Montrose 'Montrose'

No real story as to how I was turned on to Montrose. I just remember digging what I heard from Sammy Hagar with his ‘Standing Hampton’ release and I just backtracked from there.

I remember how the guitar gods of the early 80s were talking about Ronnie Montrose and all I knew was the first Gamma album that I tried with a fraction of a penny when I joined a record club like RCA/BMG or Columbia House.

I knew “Bad Motor Scooter” was a kick ass tune, but when I heard “Rock Candy” playing before some early 80s rock show at the Greensboro Coliseum I knew that I needed the first Montrose album.

The production on this album still holds up well. The stereo mix makes it quite atmospheric at times. And I love the solo that’s recorded backwards on “Space Station #5”. I dig the boogie bit on “I Don’t Want It” and the decent take on the classic song “Good Rockin’ Tonight”.

“One Thing on My Mind” is the only track that I would throw away. It sounds a bit lifeless and paint-by-the-numbers, but the mix on the lead solo that always gives me second thoughts. Thankfully, “Make It Last” closes out the album on a strong note. The song has that classic Hagar riff style and Ronnie Montrose, the highly underrated guitarist that he was, delivers some mighty fine slide guitar.

Personally, I thought Tim would trash this one. But he managed to surprise me a bit.

And just the other day while giving this album another listen I posted this on Facebook… “You know who doesn’t get enough respect? Sammy Hagar”

And he really doesn’t!

The guy is a great guitarist and an even better vocalist. And like Tim mentioned in his review, I will admit that I like Van Hagar just a tad better than the David Lee Roth stuff. For me, they’re like too different bands. The Roth years remind me of an unruly teenager that’s rude and vulgar while the Hagar years bring not only a better vocalist but, another guitarist and a songwriter that gave the band a more “grown up” feel.

The first Montrose album and ‘Paper Money’ are a couple of albums that every hard rocker should have in their collection.

And let’s not forget the greatness of Ronnie Montrose either. The day that I heard that he killed himself, I made a point of giving the first Montrose and Gamma albums a listen again.

If you haven’t discovered those gems, give them a listen on Spotify.