Styx in action back in the 70's... hated them then, but quite like 'em now
To begin with, Iet's go with Sister Moonshine by Supertramp. Their Crisis? What Crisis? album (released 1975) was among the first batch of records I ever owned as a teenager. I picked that up as a blind buy, no clue about any of the songs on it. But that's the way we did it back in the day - pre-internet. I did have a friend who played me a bit of Supertramp's hit album Even in the Quietest Moments. That made just enough of an impression on me to check out more by this unique and talented band. I couldn't find Quietest Moments in the record store, but the oddball cover of Crisis caught my eye. What the hell, eh?
Sister Moonshine is track two on the album... and I must say that it's difficult to discuss the song without first saying a little something about track one, Easy Does It. I've said this before here in the Time Machine, but these feel to me like companion songs, and that Easy Does It actually works as an intro to Sister Moonshine. Easy is a soft, slow-shuffle pop tune - a very short one, too, at barely over two minutes - that sets the stage for Moonshine. They really go hand-in-hand the same way that Van Halen's Eruption seems incomplete without its album follow-up You Really Got Me. You know?
So once Easy Does It gently fades out, the uptempo acoustic guitar rhythm of Sister Moonshine fades in and gradually swells in volume. Roger Hodgson's bright yet slightly pained vocals soar over the building band dynamic. Drums, bass and electric guitar kick in and drive this bouncy song, which does some neat tempo tricks here and there.
The song's guitar solo heads into orbit, lush keyboards following its lead, then things kick back into a folksy flute solo, which I can totally dig in this context (not a big fan of flute in rock, normally). The track has a whole lot going on toward its conclusion... lots of fun backing vocals, additional percussion and stringed accents. When I listen to Sister Moonshine, I get a pang of bittersweet nostalgia. I can see myself as a teen, sitting in my basement bedroom back in my parents' house in the late 70's-early 80's, headphones on, basking in what would become my favourite Supertramp song.
For an about face, how about Lady Evil by Black Sabbath? Yep, this is my favourite track on the Heaven and Hell album from 1980. I bought this shortly after it hit the record stores, and I loved that thing from start to finish on my first listen. And it became a regular on my turntable until the day I replaced it with the cassette tape version of the album. Then on CD... then on remastered CD... and more recently, back on vinyl. The circle of life.
As excellent as every song is on Heaven and Hell, it was and still is Lady Evil that kicks my butt the hardest every time. That thundering bass and drums intro, then Iommi's gritty guitar riff, joined by tasty lead licks. And new Sabbath frontman Ronnie James Dio absolutely dominates with his powerful vocals, recounting tales of a dark and unnatural place where a mysterious and feared female lives in seclusion. Nope, Ozzy could never have pulled off this tune.
Van Halen nearing their career peak
Tony Iommi's lead solo squabbles about with a wah/flange sound, long notes segueing into furiously fast picking... it sounds like an incantation, almost word-like, casting a spell. It doesn't really need saying, but how can anyone ignore the driving melodic bassline of Geezer Butler here? His fretwork is the foundation of the song, pounding ominously like a demonic heartbeat just below Iommi's expressive noodling.
There's something about songs about witchy women that intrigues me, not that I'm into the occult or black magic or anything. It's just such a cool subject for a rock song... the mystique and danger were meant for such musical treatment. Storytelling doesn't get much better than this. Lady Evil is definitely high on my list of favourite songs.
Next up is Lorelei by... well, let's call them "art pop-rock" band Styx. I must confess that I didn't much care for Styx back in the day, or for many years after, even. I slightly liked the odd song I heard on the radio, around the school halls, and at parties. Based on what little I knew of them, I was convinced they were just too mainstream-y for me, while I was immersed in the headier music of Rush and Iron Maiden-type artists.
I'm sure I heard Lorelei at some point back in the 70's and early 80's, but I have no memory of it. It wasn't until the early 2000's when I first test-listened and then bought a CD of Styx's greatest hits. And I really liked it. If I had given them half a chance way back when, I think I would have enjoyed a fair number of their songs. At that time, though, it was stuff like Mr. Roboto that turned me off. Anyway, something about Lorelei (and several other similar pop-rockers) clicked with me decades later.
The guitars are just heavy enough to balance out the synth and high vocal harmonies. It's a melodic song above all else, with a hard edge that works well with the pop sensibility therein. Tommy Shaw tears it up on main axe, and I guess that makes up for the wall of vocals that guide the tune to its end. That one issue I have is most apparent on the original recording; on the remastered and I suppose re-mixed 2000's version, it's more appealing. Anyway, Lorelei is catchy beyond belief, having earwormed its way into my brain on more than one occasion.
And finally, a song that I frequently call to mind just to wipe a nasty earworm out of my head... Mean Street by Van Halen. If I must have a tune stuck in my craw, then let it be Mean Street. This a dark, nasty track, is a bit uncharacteristic for the normally party-hearty, good-time fun guys of Van Halen.
I was already full-tilt into the Van Halen discography by the time the album Fair Warning hit the streets in 1981. I loved and played their music constantly, Eddie's guitar prowess blowing me away repeatedly. Fair Warning was no exception, though this was where Ed began to dabble with weird and maybe baffling sythesizer sounds. The bulk of the album is raw and ferocious, though.
Lead-off track Mean Street sets the stage for the rest of the record, and boy, what a doozy. Eddie's latest guitar techniques are on showcase right from this song's opening notes. I'm no expert on the instrument, but are those tapped notes and harmonics at Mach 5? Ed's tone was finally established and named here... his "brown sound". Diamond David Lee Roth belts out, snarls, and hollers some of the Halen's darkest lyrics ever. Brother Alex lays down a furious set of rhythms on the skins, locking in tight with bassist Mike Anthony's funky grooves. Mike also contributes to the great harmonies, his vocals actually being the most versatile in the band.
Is it just me or does that guitar solo hit way earlier than ever before in a VH song - barely two minutes in? It's a short and punchy - and fast and fiery - set of tasty licks and melodic lines. As wild as Eddie can get, he's also a master of melodic writing and playing. Love that quieter spoken-word section that then surges into Ed's second stinging solo, which acts as an outro to the tune. Whew, almost exhausting, but it's crazy fun in a sort of sick (the bad kind) way. Excellent song off an excellent album by an excellent band line-up (with Roth, not Hagar). Nuff said.
Cheerio, rock fans.
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