RATT/ Out Of The Cellar(1984)

 

Tbone was the first dude to score Out Of The Cellar on cassette tape as soon as the debut tune Round & Round hit the radio and video circuit back in the good ol year of 1984!

Tbone had just turned 16. Got his License and we hit the streets in Thunder Bay in his parents 1984 Lean Mean Green Ford Nasty Van Machine blasting Out Of The Cellar all around Tbay whether you wanted to hear it or not!

1984! What can you say about that year in music especially the Hard Rock side of things and with Sleazy Vince and Nikki and his bag of Trixx Sixx  record honcho’s were drooling all over themselves to find the next “One” after Motley Crue were making us all Shout At The Devil!

Ratt was definitely “One’ of them. In Ratt they had a sure-fire Guitar Slinger in the form of Warren DeMartini and a dude with a different kind of throat who thank god did not sing in falsetto and that would be Stephen Pearcy. Along with Bassist Juan Croucier(who also provided a ton of great back up vocals) Guitarist Robbin Crosby(RIP) and a wacka doddle Drummer Bobby Blotzer. Well Blotzer has only become a wacka doodle in the last few years as he has toured with a whole bunch of rotating musicians calling themselves Ratt but the other guys took him to court and now Pearcy and crew are the real Ratt!

Get it? Yup! Gotta love over the age of 55 Old Rock Dude Drama!

Allright back to 84…

Ratt walloped a punch of a sound and they had the tunes to back it up! Beau Hill perfectly captures the sound behind the recording console.

Wanted Man opens the album and Pearcy lays down the law as  the Gunslinger as this is Ratt 84 heading into your town/drinking the booze/getting the birds and splitting town and then becoming Wanted Men!

Great opening track along with some snazz and dash soloing from Warren and Ratt lay it down(ahem) and myself and Tbone are onboard! This is 1984 we are talking about correct?

Your In Trouble ramps right up out of the gate(er cellar) and it features some cool melodic guitaring at certain points but Pearcy keeps the party going. I read Pearcys Autobiography  last year and for Steve-o in the roaring 80’s  it was Party/Pussy/Paycheque! My roaring 80’s (1984  exactly )was School/Metal/Needing a Paycheque. Frigg I got shafted….

Well what can be said about Round And Round? The song that blew the lid off this album along with the crafty video featuring the late Milton Berle whose nephew I believe managed Ratt at the time. This song was so catchy…..”Out In The Streets” claims Steve and were off! Demartini lays down a slobber knocker of a solo and this song has all the trimmings of an 80’s Rock Delight! Snazzy verse’s/Catchy chorus/Bad Ass solo/ Cool Rock singing… Say what you want about Pearcy’s voice as for this band it suits hime fine and he was smart enough to not try to pull a Rob Halford.  

In Your Direction is a straight ahead rock track. Ratt knew there rock formula and that was not inventing the wheel but giving it a kick aroo L.A Sleazeball Style. Blotzer does his part by keeping his drums ploughing forward and not letting anyone slip.

Ratt goes down the Autobahn at 200 MPH on She Wants Money. The song that finishes up Side 1 doesn’t fool around. Quick shot of a Ratt dose right up your backside. This song is all about Hookers! Yup Hookers!

Case in point …want some Hooker Words….check this out..

I try to tell her I don’t have no cash
She looks at me and starts to laugh
I don’t wanna know, you’ve gotta go
I see her walkin’ on down the street
She sees another and she acts so sweet
You wanna try, your luck tonight

The chorus features some big time backing vocals from Juan while the guitars yet again dip into the melodic side but the Ratt bus is still rocking long past midnight and of course Steve-o has to ask her if she “Wants money? Quick change!” Hey I posted at the top of the page the audio track of this tune for the Greatest Hits Duo BMellis & Rockin Roberts as they like the seedier  side of Rock! Climb aboard Fella’s!

Another all time Ratt Classic is Lack Of Communication. Cool opening riff and this is simple yet catchy rock with Steve and Juan trading off the vocal lines right before the chorus. Cool Warren solo adds to the mix.

The original Back For More was on the Ratt EP from 83. This is a bit of a watered down version. Still good though and even the Crue knew it as Nikki and Tommy appeared as Cops( Insert a ton of fucking laughs here) in the video. See Ratt were smart. They seen Van Halen make fun goofy videos like Panama & Hot For Teacher and Ratt wanted that piece of the pie. It worked!

Now a really good tune and thats The Morning After. What a super-duper cool track and it’s like I always say it’s nice to find those end of the albums tunes that just aren’t “Filler” tracks! Morning After has that cool slope of Rock that has the classic chorus with Pearcy saying he is indeed  leaving the Morning After! I believe ya pal ..I believe ya pal!

I’m Insane keeps the album pushing forward as Pearcy tells the tale that he’s off his rocker and he fell out of a tree! Ha…not Shakespearean but he still gets the point across! I like the chorus as it sounds a little off kilter like its insane! Hahaha…

The last tune is Scene Of The Crime. Steve-o has been done wrong as his ‘Cold Blooded Bitch Goin Out On Me” Oh Oh..this is no Round and Round folks this is Serious Ratt playing out the album and hey if you think your tough and have fooled Stephen. You got another thing coming! Scene of The Crime is almost a different vibe than the previous 9 tracks but make no mistake it’s still Ratt N Roll!

I have championed Ratt’s cause throughout this Blog as I have reviewed most of their output! I will say that overall they had the more consistent material than  the Crue  but as the Crue had the image and big shows I fell for the trap that Sixx set! Hey good on Nikki for playing me like a fiddle for a lot of years!

Perhaps thats why Sixx and Lee were in the Ratt video you know checking out the competition!

Ha those sly Motley Bastards! Speaking of which…

Out go the lights
In goes my knife
Pull out his life
Consider that bastard dead

 

 

 

The Tape Remains The Same: (Circa 1984)

 

Mikey Ladano over at his Fantastic site covers a ton of stuff musically and he’s a great reviewer who at times dabbles in Movie Reviews but also  writes about his past which he has called Getting More Tale. 

Mikes one post titled #519: Mistakes I Made Fixing Broken Tapes totally brought back the time that my good pal of over 40 years Tbone bought the first 5 David Lee Roth fronted Van Halen releases  on cassette tape sealed for just under $20 back in 1984…

Lemme tell ya about…..

Too make a long story even longer ….January 1984 I lent Tbone my vinyl copy of VH’s 1984.  This was Tbones first Dabble with Halen and he liked what he heard! So much so he quickly purchased a copy  of 1984 for himself!

It wasn’t too much long after that T got the Halen Itch so one day over lunch at school he told me “I’m going to buy all the Halen albums TODAY!”

Whut? …

So after lunch we split from High School and off we headed to our local Shopping Mall which was and still is called Intercity. We parked and headed into Sears to cut over to the mall and head into A&A Records  so Tbone could drop some cash on Dave Halen!

But before and If Tbone’s good luck couldn’t get any better we came across two Bins stuffed with Cassette  Tapes  One Bin had basically a bunch of shit tapes marked for $2.99. The only one worth mentioning Ironically was an  Sammy Hagar Greatest Hits Tape called Cruisin And Boozin.  The next Bin was stuffed with a bunch of $9.99 cassette tapes (current rock at the time)like AC/DC /Def Leppard/Quiet Riot and bands of that ilk. The big score in the $9.99 Bin was that there was the first 5 Van Halen tapes sitting there waiting for Tbones hands to grab them up!

Tbone paused for a second took a look around and told me to watch for Sears staff sniffing around the area we were in.  Basically I was on “Watch” Duty. Alert T of any incoming Sears Staff  headed our way!

Next thing you know Tbone digs into the Cheapie Bin’s and pulls out a handful of Crap tapes all priced $2.99 and manage’s  to peel off  the stickers (quicker than a Monkey peeling a banana) and transfer them to the other bin where the Halen Tapes were all marked $9.99 and T than proceeded to place the $2.99 stickers over the $9.99 Stickers that were the VH cassette’s.

What a friggin Genius move before my eyes! TBone did this to all the Halen Tapes …

Let’s calculate this….(tax not included)

Full Price for 5 Van Halen Tapes at Sears back in 1984- $49.95

TBone’s Discount  Sticker Removal Times for 5 Van Halen Tapes in 1984-$14.95

Tbone even bought Hagars Tape for the actual price of $2.99..(Big Spender!)

Tbone spent $17.94! A savings of $34.96….for 6  sealed Cassette Tapes…..

Son of a Beeatch! I quickly did the Math on the Halen purchases and I DID pay at least $9.99 each for those Halen albums on Vinyl…..

In other words….

Deke’s 6 Van Halen albums on vinyl back in the early 80’s.  $9.99 Times 6=$59.94….

Tbone was like a Giddy Pig In Shit that Day and we blew off the afternoon classes and drove all over Tbay that afternoon and everyone heard Hang Em High blaring from Tbones car whether they wanted to hear it or  not!

 

 

Van Halen/1984

 

Just like yesterday it seems like I was listening to our local radio station 580 CKPR back in December of 1983 as they were playing the new Van Halen single “Jump” at 9pm as they called their show the Top 9 at 9!

I never payed attention to much to the radio station back in 83 and as a matter of fact I still don’t but I had succumbed to the powers of AM radio occasionally as they would get the singles from bands before they hit the record shops! This was how I first heard Love It Loud by Kiss (1982)ironically enough. So with my hand firmly placed on my cassette deck as soon as John Summers(local DJ at the time) announced “Here’s the new Van Halen single titled JUMP I pushed record!

Cast Of Characters-Michael Anthony (bass) Eddie Van Halen(guitar) Alex Van Halen(drums) and David Lee Roth(vocals)

Looking back at that moment I probably had a puzzled look on my face as when Jump starts and you hear Ed play that keyboard synth opening I was like “WHUT?? Where’s Ed’s guitar Man??” Think about it for a sec! I was used to hearing Ed rip a mean guitar  tone on the previous studio records. And The Cradle Will Rock the opening track from 1980s Woman And Childern First  does have keyboard on it but it’s like it was shoved through a Marshall Stack! Speaking of which Woman And Childern First  sounds like the Halen boys loaded up on salsa,beer and party treats and knocked out what I consider to be my all time favourite album ever in about a day!

Fair Warning came next in 1981 and this being the favourite of Tbones . Ed’s guitar here sounds pissed off and gnarly and he further cements himself as Guitar Hero!

Diver Down even with its half originals/half covers concept tunes like Hang Em High and The Full Bug prove that Ed wasn’t easing off the gas with his playing and even though the mighty synth reared its head on Dancing In The Streets that doesn’t count as it’s not a Halen Original!

So here’s Jump and I’m kinda worried! Has Halen decided to go down Journey Avenue and water down the guitar and add more syrup to the keyboards? I really hope not and by golly as Jump progresses Ed shows up nails the volume on his Frankenstein Strat and saves the day with a cranked up solo and saves a young 15-year-old (me) at the time from going bonkers!

1984 was easily a first day purchase when the full album was released in January of 84.

So after the prelude, leadoff single and album opener(Jump)…

It was right to second track PANAMA that I felt at ease as Ed and Al begin the proceedings with Guitar  and Drums and there’s Mr Reliable Michael Anthony showing up slamming a straight ahead bass line keeping things simple and not overstepping his boundaries with the brothers Van Halen. Dave on the other hand knows no boundaries and he spills out all kind of lyrical magic on this album! Sly Horn Dog lyrics not withstanding Dave in 1984 was the Top Guy Live and even on this album vocally speaking he’s pretty damn good.

TOP JIMMY is a Boogie Woogie powerhouse of a track! Ed starts off with some chill picking and its intercepted by Sabbath like bolts of Doom just for a few seconds or so and viola here’s Dave telling us all about Top Jimmy the King Of Cool and I love the clean guitar tone Ed uses until the solo where he steps up and nails out a heavy metal like solo and then goes back to his clean slick style. Anthony’s backing vocal meshed with Dave’s lead vocal work brilliantly together. Under 3 minutes long Top Jimmy is easily a piece of musical art!

Ending side 1 DROP DEAD LEGS for me is the sleeper track here! What a classic. Ed makes noodling on the guitar sound cool and Alex man I dig his drumming on this tune(love the sound of the cowbell at the beginning). It’s what keeps this song moving forward. Dave is very creative with the lyrics here. ‘Throw My Rope,Loop De Loop,White  Teeth, Betty Boop!”  Not a ton of lyrics written here but the less is more philosophy works excellent on this song. Ed’s guitar here sounds deadly! Check out the video posted…..Crank it!

Side 2 begins with HOT FOR TEACHER and more importantly Alex’s drums sounding like a torpedo being launched from the U.S.S Halen and Ed joins in a proves that without a doubt that he’s the King Of The 6 String. He dips and dives and makes of us wanna be a guitar hero! This is VH Boogie Woogie Power Rock 101. Anthony punches the bass steady kinda like Cliff Williams from AC/DC on speed and Dave is once again in all his glory love his “Aww The Clock Is Slow!” drawl. He’s Hot For Teacher and has it Bad …Soooo Bad! Ed’s solo is Highway Robbery Like! A classic indeed and Halen though can play around with a synth but when push comes to shove they can blast these kinda tunes right out of the park!

If you want Synth! You Got it! I’LL WAIT hands down for me is some of Dave’s best studio vocal work ever! I dug this track in 84 and like it even more in 2016! Dave sounds wounded here in his voice! Great track filled with Synth until Ed delivers the solo and Alex plays some real cool fills. I’ll Wait is a bona-fide classic and I Betcha some of you’s out there didn’t know that Michael McDonald from The Doobie Brothers got a co write credit here.( First time ever that some one other Dave/Ed/Alex and Mikey got a slice of the Halen pie!) Think I’ll Wait as a Doobie Brothers song on steroids!

Ed and Alex begin the proceedings and ramp the amps back to 10 and throttle down a real scorcher of a ditty called GIRL GONE BAD This song breezes riff cool and it just blasts into another orbit when solo time comes as Ed tosses more gauntlets toward us the listener as Mike and Al steady the rhythm boat! Ahoy! This is another down n dirty classic!

All good things must come to an end so Halen enters the HOUSE OF PAIN with its Black Sabbath like Doom wobble and once again Van and the Fella’s keep it heavy but in an old school kid of mid 70s Rock mode!

We knew when released that we were listening to a classic in the making and Halen delivered in spades. Look no further than my pal Tbone.Up till that point I taped him the Halen stuff as soon as I lent him my copy of 1984 on vinyl the next day he went out and bought all 6 Halen cassette releases at various musical outlets in Tbay! That my friends is what we would call Impact!

Just clocking in at over 33 minutes and that’s all it takes to drop down a  album that is still classic nowadays as it has that timeless  sound that only Halen could deliver.

Scorpions/Love At First Sting(1984)

Scorpions are one of those bands that you never hear anybody say they suck! Seriously you don’t. Sure you will get people who say I don’t like this Scorps album or that Scorps album but you never hear anyone yammer out loud I don’t like Ze Scorpions!

Myself, I love the Scorpions especially from LoveDrive(1979) to World Wide Live(1985) and the albums in between Animal Magnetism(1980) and  especially Blackout (1982)!

When the Scorpions released Savage Amusement (1988) the album didn’t resonate with me whatsoever except for the cover! Hahaha! But Crazy World (1990) I dug  as I did Alien Nation(1993) well kinda dug…..

After that I bought Live Bites(1995) which was decent as well but after that I stopped why I have no idea sometimes bands just do silly albums and I just move on which I did but lately I rediscovered these guys and I thought Wowzers I gotta review these guys as I did Blackout a while back….refresh your marbles here with my jargon….https://superdekes.wordpress.com/2015/04/20/sonic-waves-scorpionsblackout/

1984 and a ton of heavy hitters released big albums and The Scorps were one of them….

Things We Call The Zooooooo!

1984 and the Scorps return yet again with Dieter Dierks manning the producers chair. So if ain’t broke don’t fix anything and why would Matthais Jabs,Rudy Schenker,Herman Rarebell,Klaus Meine and Francis Bucholz wanna alter the plan?

Just two years earlier (1982)Scorpions hit North American pay dirt.. ie Gold with Blackout. So when the iron is striking hot! Keep striking it!

BAD BOYS RUNNING WILD- Jab’s and Schenker right off the hop flex their guitar muscle with a super-duper mega riff that Reeks utter coolness with sweeping power chords galore and Herman Ze German opens the festivities with a smash a Roo of the drums. Bad Boys is a Panzer First Division Stomper! What a power opener! Klaus has a unique voice that sounds like German! Ha! Dig the lyrics in this tune I mean you hear them once there etched in your memory forever! ” Out In The Streets! Dogs On The Run Cat’s In Heat!” Yeppers man Scorpions lay down some serious law with the chorus which is real catchy. Jabs and his guitar solo histrionics with the wang bar diddle doodle that makes Ya wanna airband. The production (courtesy of Dieter Dierks )which is crystal clear and Frigg this is only the first song!

ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE-Well what do we say about this tune? Jabs and Rudy set the bar and drink it dry with one of the most memorable opening riffs of the 80s! Course Klaus crawls and spills the beans about “My Cat Is Purring,It Scratches My Skin,What Is Wrong With Another Sin,The Bitch Is Hungry,She Needs To Tell,So Give Her Inches And Feed Her Well,”  Bahahaha! What can you say about the words? That’s the 80s all rolled up in a lyric speedball shot Into our veins as 17-year-old boys and we all bought into it! Of course the video with all the ugly Scorps Guys in a cage surrounded by woman wanting a piece of them totally sold this as well. Great stuff…. Say what you want but the song structure is real good. Neat verse catchy chorus and Jabs plays a whopper of a solo! He dips n doodles all over the fretboard and plays that wang bar like it’s a soggy spaghetti noodle. The Scorps delivered a sure-fire musical winner with this track!

I’M LEAVING YOU-Scorps could always write cranked up rockers like the first two tracks here but they also had real flair for writing some killer melodic hard rock nuggets! I’m Leaving You is one of them. Nice mid tempo push by Herman’s drums along with some neat guitar pickings and Klaus hits his stride during the chorus! (It will keep you humming along for hours) What a great tune  no one ever talks about this track. Well….you should!

COMING HOME-Klaus sings the tale of the touring dude who’s longing to come home! Haha yeah right?! You wanna go home to take out the trash whereas you can hang out in
some muck pit cage with chicks wanting a piece of the action? Anyhoo Coming Home ramps back up and it’s another Scorps rocker! Great buildup into Jabs solo and it also featuring a ton of riffing and Herman even smashes about some double bass drumming. Great Rock Track!

THE SAME THRILL-Jury’s out on this track. I don’t know its just a straight ahead rocker. Lot’s of riffing and rolling but the Scorps can do way better…..next….

BIG CITY NIGHTS-Once again The Scorps blitz out of the gates with a real good opening riff and we’re off! Rudy like he does on Scorps albums takes the reigns on the solos for a couple of tunes and this is one of them! This song is another well written track that has a real good hard rock slick chorus. The video for it as well shows a lot of woman(surprise,surprise) and I’m sure Sex Sells! For the record your Honor I had Love At First Sting before Big City Nights became a video single!

AS SOON AS THE GOOD TIMES ROLL-Dig the opening. As per protocol it’s the guitars that catch the ear. This track though features a neat rhythm of bass and drums and of course Klaus and the guitars kick it along. Not bad I suppose….

CROSSFIRE-Herman plays a military like drum roll through the song. The guitars are pretty slick here and proves that you don’t have to go 120 mph all the time! Crossfire along with the Military Marching Band  vibe delivers a different lyrically vibe than the second song on this record. Ha! Klaus sings and asks the question why do we have to be at war?

STILL LOVING YOU- Tbone dug the Scorps form a distance! He listened and piped up as like it was yesteryear(1984ish) and commented that it gets real repetitive with Klaus singing the line Still Loving You about 400 times! Ha! Not quite but the Scorps did this a bit like on Can’t Live Without You from Blackout! Still though the Scorps did the right thing dump the PowerBallad at the end of the album. Still Loving You have some nice riffing at the end by Rudy and he’s no slouch on the fretboard. Him and Jabs make a great guitar team! One side you have flash(Jabs) and in the other corner you have (Schneker) the thinker! Still Loving You, I have to take in small doses but still it’s decent not sap….

FINAL YAMMER-Scorps deliver another decent bit of Hard Rock! Not as classic as Blackout but still pretty solid in its own defence! The fact that they were on the typical album tour album tour cycle by than is impressive that they could still muster up Gems….You gotta hand it to them…

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band(Born In The USA Live)

Bruuuuuuuuuce! There are many Springsteen diehards out there! Aaron being the music fan that he is sent me a ton of Bruce and I thank Ya kind sir for that. One album that  does not need any introduction is the Born In The USA album.

1984 and Born In The USA sold mega units.(30 Million,Yep you read that right)  We all know the deal but here is the Born In The USA album played live in 2013 front to back so let’s check this one out kids! I love live albums the KMA love Bruce well I know for sure Aaron does so here it goes ….

Bruce was Born To Run…..and so was The KMA!

BORN IN THE USA- we all know this song right! Do i really need to discuss it? Naaa but maybe! 1984 what a great year for albums and music and one of them was this monster by Bruce and company and well his company is the E Street Band with Little Stevie,Clarence Clemons(RIP) Roy Bittan,Max Weinberg,Danny Federici(RIP),Nils Lofgren and Gary Tallent of course the live version of the band is different in 2015 than it was in 1984 obviously with a few people passing on but Bruce throws it down and when he sings he sometimes sounds like he straining his vocals and it was always Impressive with the length of shows this guy played nightly(3 hrs plus) that he was never shut down for any vocal trouble! So having rambled all that Bruce in 2013 sounds pretty much like Bruce 29 years earlier. That to me is the highest compliment I can pay to any lead singer in any format. Another Bruce as in Dickinson from Iron Maiden is another one,many others not so kind and I ain’t saying who!

COVER ME- Bruce crashes down after Born In The USA  has ended and does his trademark 1-2-3-4 count in and were into Cover Me! Some pretty cool riffing on guitar and man no one ever talks of his gutiar playing and Bruce can jolt down some pretty cool nifty thrifty leads as I mean he wrote the tunes so,why the hell not! Cover Me is a great Rock track especially the little breakdown in the middle section when Bruce sings ‘where the wild wind blows!’ Like the quick shift of the tempo and some real good soloing!

DARLINGTON COUNTY-a Stonesy riff starts off this track and I really love the cowbell. Just a feel good Honkey Tonkey style tune. C’mon load up the pickup and let’s head to Darlington County! Toss in a side order of some “Sha la la sha la la”while your at it!

WORKING ON THE HIGHWAY-Max plays some real cool drums and is joined by some quick strumming acoustic! The band joins in almost sounds like it would have fit in from the 50s this tune! Rock A Billy!

DOWNBOUND TRAIN-Yeah man this next to Brilliant Disguise is my fav Springsteen track! Bruce like many of his tracks is great at storytelling and in this case it’s some poor schmuck named Joe whose woman told him she had to go! I mean Joe lost his job down at the shipyards and has to work the carwash now  people, that fuckin sucks! Bruce delivers this tune with real passion and I gotta say his lyrics, the music it all fits! And when you here that whistle whine  …..come to think of it two years later that Jovi character also from New Jersey took the basis of this tune and cashed cowed a tune called Living On A Prayer! You think I’m on drugs? Listen to them back to back(just the lyrics the story,not the music) and just remember Bruce was on the Downbound Train in 1984. Jon,Richie,Tico,David and the great A.J Such stole Framptons Talk Box,borrowed Bruce’s idea kinda and JOVI bought there own Money Truck after Living On A Prayer blew up the charts! Watch the vid ……

I’M ON FIRE-ha ha this video to this tune was great! Bruce the mechanic and has the lady whose legs you only see in the video sez can Ya fixie my car by tomoorow am! Ha! Bruce fixes the car and cruises in it! On Fire has a chill vibe courtesy of Max on the drums! Throw down some “woo ahoo’s! ”

NO SURRENDER-Bruce keeps the show moving 1234… We’re off and No Surrender has some real cool Pickin at the beginning and the chorus tells us No Surrender! Ok ok ok…listen to this song lyrically and listen to Blood On Blood by Bon Jovi! Ha …..Jon Bon Springsteen was just  itching to be taken seriously as a song writer so ,well you be the judge! Like the middle Na Na Na’s when Bruce and Little Steven rock it vocally! Love the power chops ending of this and another 1234 Bruce intro to…

BOBBY JEAN-some nice sax opens this tune courtesy of Jake Clemons and this is a mid tempo track no frills but the song ends with once again some real cool sax! Max Weinberg drives this song with his drums so it’s doesn’t get sappy!

I’M GOIN DOWN-Bruce plays a real cool riff at the beginning! It’s just the  Boss!  Love this tune it’s another bar room Bruce rocker and once the song kicks in its simple yet so friggin catchy and sometimes that’s all it takes! Another real cool sax solo! Bruce his voice,his guitar and his band are still steaming full throttle! The band smashes it’s up at he end and right into….

GLORY DAYS-this is a great drinking  tune man! Bruce talks of bumping into buddy having a few drinks and talking about those days! Ahem Glory Days! Love the beat laid down by the E Streeters on this tune! The percusion is awesome on this track and its Bruce picking up his Tele strumming and jamming in the local water hole until the owner kills the power! Stevie and Bruce shout out a bunch of Allrights and Oh Yeahs! Crank the vid and crank back  a beer with it!

DANCING IN THE DARK-man this video went bonkers when it was released in 84! 2015 Bruce plays it perfect I mean how could he not? People love this tune and I like the driving bass in it. Garry throws down some simple straight ahead Bassing but it works! Jake and his sax Rock this tune along…This live version is a little extended of course it’s live…..even the synth line it still stands the test of time as it hasn’t drivin me bonkers like some 80s stuff does….

MY HOMETOWN-yeah man this is Bruce’s Hometown! This tune wraps up the whole USA album played from front to back,quiet  drums,everything’s relaxed even with crowd participation singing Your Hometown! Nice chill ending to a real good rock record!

IN CONCLUSION- love that Bruce played the whole album front to back! Bruce and the E Streeters rock this album up and pretty much stick to what they know. Bottom line it’s a great live Album!

The Cars/Heartbeat City

I had no idea my first review of The Cars would be a hit here at Arena Rock and in the comments fellow blogger J asked for me to jot down some thoughts on one of J’s favourite Cars record and that would be 1984s Heartbeat City. This notes for you J!

HeartBeat City was the Cars 5th studio album since 1978s debut! That’s a pretty good run of material and well I’m sure some suits had something to do with Cars product being pushed out!

The big change for this record came in the producers chair! Roy Thomas Baker was replaced by Robert John “Mutt” Lange and we all know Mutt Langes credits up to that point! (Pre 1984/3 AC/DC albums,2 Def Leppard Albums,Foriegners 4 Album) Pretty good rock run for Mutt I would say and here Mutt dabbles in some New Wavey Gravy Sonics called The Cars…

More impressive is the fact that the same 5 guys on the debut album from 78 are all still intact in 84! Kudos to Ric Ocasek,David Robinson,Elliot Easton,Greg Hawkes and Benjamin Orr(RIP).

So……..Lets Gooooooooooo…..

HELLO AGAIN- the first 15 seconds of this tune with the vocals are right out of the Def Leppard Mutt Lange Songbook! This song has a quirky uptempo beat with Synthy piano,drums and Eastons guitar driving the chrous and at the halfway mark of the tune we got all the 80s bell and whistles and if you listen to Hello Again on the headphones  you will be transported to a kinder gentler time we called 1984!

LOOKING FOR LOVE-Robinson’s drums set the pace for track 2 with Ocasek saying “c’mon lover make a switch!” Wowzers what’s going on here? Ha! The song shifts gears and picks up the pace only to shift back during the chorus! This had single written all over it but than agian when Mutt Lange puts his mitts on songs they are geared for the radio! (Except for Given The Dog A Bone by ACDC! Ha!) For The Cars though the sonics on Heartbbeat City are Mutt Fueled and well oiled to drive The Cars!*

MAGIC-dare I say it this is my fav Cars track ever!! Yep the snap happy Kiss Christine 16 like piano suckers me in Everytime! This is no exception! Orrs bass punctuates the end of each verse! Love the rhythm of Orr and Robinson! They are locked in tight! The chorus is splendid!(Magic!) Man,the backing vocals are so damn hooky and Eastons guitar Is allowed to be cranked up and he delivers! “Oh oh It’s Magic!” Easton rips out a great solo and the song ramps up to the end….Magic ,Yep call it a Arena Rock Classic! A song that you don’t want to end! Summer Time  as Ocasek says in the opening sentence doesn’t matter if it’s summer 84 or 2015! This tune is Gold! Now watch the cool throwback video of Magic!

DRIVE-‘whose gonna drive the drunk girls home after the highschool dance?” This song was huge in 1984-85. Big slowly ballad but the drums kinda push it forward and Orr has the perfect vocal for this song! The sonics on this tune are huge 8 million things going on I the background during Hawkes key solo!

STRANGER EYES-Cars let it rip (kinda)on this tune! Big Easton power chords Rock the song at the beginning but he disappears during the verses! 80s bells and whistles take over and Easton joins the fray and i dig also  Orrs bass line carrying the tune during the chorus!

YOU MIGHT THINK-whooooah! Who hasn’t heard this tune or seen the vid! Ha it’s awesome track! The chorus is catchy as heck with that ZZ Toppy 84 synth! This tune keeps the party going as Easton throws down a real cool laid back style solo!

ITS NOT THE NIGHT-a mixture of Easton and Hawkes mashing up the guitar and keys together. Orr sings this song and it’s a 80s technos wet dream complete with Synth,poppy hoppy bass,electronic drums and what nots of the day!

WHY CANT I HAVE YOU-a pretty heavy synth driven tune. That was there deal heavy on the synth sound that was big at the time but it’s in the songs! Ocasek could write tunes but he could write lyrically from a dark spot I mean it can’t always be happy,happy,joy,joy tunes all the time! Why Can’t I Have You is this dark place…tread carefully!

I REFUSE-The Cars pick up the pace with this track! Easton and the fellas tap into the ZZ Top synth and with the rumble of the keys this song is layered up in a 80s Sleeping Bag(ZZ anyone?) and spit out of the Cars blender!

HEARTBEAT CITY- Ha! How cool is that the title track is the last song on the album! Nobody ever does that! But the Cars did! Take me down to the Heartbeat City where the grass is green and the girls are geeky! Ok I’m being a smart ass but The Cars punch the gas a little and speed off into the distance on what would be there last mega huge selling album!

IN CONCLUSION-hard to believe like I mentioned earlier that this would be the Cars last big mega hit album and that it’s from 31 years ago! Of course thanks to Greatest Hits Compliations and Classic Rock Radio and other formats The Cars engine is still running today! ** This album I had not  heard entirely until a few years ago when I picked it up at a Pawnshop along with Panorama and Shake It Up! ( will review those ones as well as Candy O at some point!)

Ocasek had a real flair for writing a memorable hook! Also what must be noted is that even Ocasek wrote all the songs on Heartbeat City he relinquished lead vocal duties to Orr on numerous songs throughout the Cars repitore!

* -Sap Comment 1

**- Sap Comment 2

Pickin LeBrain’s….Deep Purple/Perfect Strangers

 

Allright! So if you remember from Monday’s post I mention the fact that Richie Blackmore and Roger Glover had shut down Rainbow and had reformed Deep Purple with Ian Gillian,Jon Lord(RIP) and Ian Paice.

Perfect Strangers the album was the masterpiece that resulted from this reactaviated group and I can honestly say today that this album is so wickedly good ….well let me tell Ya all about it!

1984 and the magazines like Metallion and Music Express here in Canada as well as Circus and Hit Parader south of the border(USA) were running adds on the soon to be released Perfect Strangers album.

Like any good 17 year old male at the time I bought into the hype! Boy am I ever glad I did! …

Smoke On The Water….Fire ……Bad!

KNOCKING AT YOUR BACK DOOR-Jon Lord begins the festivities with his Hammond B3 and you hear almost like violin sounds in the background and as it gets louder here comes Paice and his drums and Boom were off! Lord drives the Purple Bus on this track and its a great driving keyboard line! Glover nails down the bass and here’s Richie doing what Richie does best! Weaving in and out and mixing it up with Lords keys and Ian Gillian throws down some real awesomely good vocals and some wily Ol coyote sexual innuendo in the lines like “the log was in my pocket,when Lucy met the rocket” and “sweet Nancy was so fancy to get caught in her pantry!” Blackmore tosses down a solo that sounds like he’s inebriated but it works like a Gem!  The band wrap up the mid section of the song and solos and rock  it out one last time before Ian kicks Nancy and Lucy to the curb!  Knockin is 7 minutes and 9 seconds of a hard rockers delight! Cunning Linguist! Watch the live video! It’s the deal….a great version and Ian Paice has the coolest mutton chops In Rock(that’s for you HMO!)

UNDER THE GUN-Purple flies out of the gate with a bang as all 4 dudes are locked n loaded and here’s Ian singing it. Under The Gun is a great track! Lord it even sounds like he taps into some 80s synth in this tune but don’t worry keyaholics there’s still a ton of Hammond B3 to spread around! The middle part of this tune is real good as it breakdowns into some Purple Like Polka and Richie ramps up on all cylinders and shreds his strat at the end of this tune! Drums are rolling  and smashing along. Under The Gun just plain out rocks!

NOBODYS HOME-Paice nails down some cowbell and the Purple lads once again aren’t fooling around! This song starts off with a blistering pace and the music in this tune just plain flows with some neat little riffing between all the players. The chorus just rocks and Blackmore is in his element in Purple! Flinging out leads like no ones business and if you ? his  business! He’ll punch In the face!

MEANSTREAK-the band including Ian rock right out of the gate with this straight ahead rock track propelled by Glovers Bass and the real cool smooth chorus about a Black Mamba and something bitter sweet! Yeah man another bonafide Classic and like I just said Black Mamba!

PERFECT STRANGERS-Another super duper Lord opener with the bad ass B3! Perfect Strangers is one of Deep Peeps best tracks! Gillian I love it when he sings chill like this song! The verses,chorus everything is just simply awesome! I love before the solo Lord goes Yonkers on his keyboard and throws down some Zep Kashmir stomps before Richie yet again sandblasts his Strat into orbit! Perfect Strangers= Perfect Song! Crank the video!

GYPSYS KISS-Richie starts off this barn burner with some neat little little pickings and than whoosh everyone is jacked and it’s full throttle ahead and Purple 84 proves without a doubt that they can push the pedal to the metal when duty calls! Well,why don’t ya crank the video my friends that I posted and right after the keyboard/guitar fest sing those classic Gillian lines..”John Wayne,The Alamo,Crazy Horse Geronamo,I’ll Smoke A Piece With You” Atta boy Ian sharing the peace pipe!

WASTED SUNSETS-is the slower song on here and it’s a great track. I like to call this one Musical Sunsets as it’s not your 1984ish kind of slop stink Journey balladeer! No Sir and No Mam. Wasted Sunsets is just that a bit of ooomph coming from  Mutton Chops(Paice) and he drives this tune with his drums as Glover on bass keeps it Simple Simon while Ritchie, Jon and Ian contribute there parts nicely! Well put together tune that no one ever talks about when Purple is discussed….check it out! No there is not a video posted for this track its out there so go and do your Rock homework and check back with me later!

HUNGRY DAZE-this sounds like a Deep Purple Jig! Quick snappy keyboards with snappy snare blasts from Mutton Chops and Blackmore sizzling out quick little bolts of genius! That’s Hungry Daze! Even included is the middle part of the song where they go Daze like with Paice throwing down some quick little drums rolls and boom Gillian wails and the song is over!

IN CONCLUISON- in 1983 I owned one Deep Purple album(Greatest Hits ) 1984 rolls around  and its 2 owned with Perfect Strangers and I can tell Ya all here  that this album is lodged easily in my all time top 15 records! Perhaps even the back half of the top 10! Yep so when I wrote this review it was with the knowledge that this was gonna be a great one to review !

Unfotunately though the next Purple album did not deliver(House Of The Blue Light)  in my eyes but it did feature the real good song Bad Attitude! Man if the Purps had included Bad Attitude on Perfect Strangers?? Wowzers !

Now if your looking for a ton of Purple Reviews check out MIKEYS Blog ….there you can spend hours reading all his reviews on everything Deep Purple! So the next rainy day that comes your way check out Mikes Blog….tell him DeKEs sent Ya!

SONIC WAVES…..Triumph/Thunder 7

Hard to believe that in late 1984 this would be the last real good studio Triumph record …Ummm ever!

1981  Triumph puts out the 100% Deke full endorsed Allied Forces and you can check out that article here….https://superdekes.wordpress.com/2014/09/10/sonic-waves-triumphallied-forces/

1986 Triumph puts out what is in musically speaking terms a Titanic like Musical Disaster(Sorry Probie!) that you can chuckle here about…..https://superdekes.wordpress.com/2015/02/25/34s-filler-triumphsport-of-kings/

Triumph was a real good band and when they released Thunder 7 in 1984 it was a quick purchase. Thunder 7 had a cool cover and I loved the power trio format especially in Triumph were it’s basically riding on Rik Emmett and his guitaring many styles like rock,classical and more rock! Where Gil Moore drummer boy was the co lead vocalist with Emmett as well and Mike Levine who wore hockey jerseys,played the bass and managed them as well….

Triumph always would get compared to that other trio from Toronto(Rush) and i always thought who cares there different bands man the only comparison is there from Toronto and thank god Geddy Lee didn’t have Mike Levines stache!

Rocky Mountain Triumphs Way……

SPELLBOUND- Wowzers some diddling synth sounds and boom bass drums and Emmett on guitar get the show started and we’re off.Gil lays down the lead vocal and were rocking  with a great chorus and of course Rik lays down a great solo and I’m Speeeeeeeellbound! Triumph is rocking it down …..check out the live video posted a few years later from Probies(Ha) fav Triumph album Sport Of Kings Tour where Triumph had a fourth memeber added on second guitar(Rick Santers)

ROCK OUT ROLL ON-a slow plodder of a rocker! This Is Riks tune so there’s guitar and  a slow groovey tune! Cool Rik solo and Wowzers Triumph 1984 is fine and well! Of course 2 years later in 1986 …Umm I ain’t going there!

COOL DOWN-Emmett throws down the acoustic classical style Zep like trimmings and the song does ramp up and no wonder this sounds like Zep to me Eddie Kramer  dialed this album in as producer and he produced Zeppelin so there Ya be!

FOLLOW YOUR HEART-Big Triumph single! Gil handles the vocals and with Triumph they always wrote positive lyrics! These guys weren’t bummed out well they probably were after Sport Of Kings album torpedoed Into the dumpster commercially speaking! Seriously though Follow Your Heart kicks into gear with the chorus and its a great tune! Great solo and Triumph kicks good ass on this tune!

TIME GOES BY-Now this is tune is big Triumph Prog! Rik handles the vocals and man he nails down some riffing especially during the solo where his solo reminds me if Eddie Van Halen was in a head on car crash with Angus Young! What’s even more impressive is Levine actually lays down a solid bass line and doesn’t run out of gas! The solo ends and its back to Triumph Prog! I gotta tell Ya folks that after not hearing this song for years this is classic Triumph! Basically stuff the musical bong full of riffs,airy keyboards,snappy happy Gil Drumming,Mike Levine playing keep up and ladies and gents ..EXHALE! Check out the video posted!

MIDSUMMERS DAYDREAM-Rik showboats himself on acoustic guitar! The cat was by far the real deal in Triumph. Meaning he was very important by that  I mean his riffing in the power  trio format was essential as he kinda to my eyes and ears carried the other two dudes to great heights! Like say in the my old band that i was in with Tbone! (Current River) I rode Tbones contails basically I was the Mike Levine of the Current River Band! For starters I pushed Tbone to write tunes than we had to put out our music,do shows, and oh yeah play a half ass sloppy bass and the real clincher for me was in Mike Levine fashion was i even wore a New York Rangers jersey at one of our shows! For the record though I never ever have grown a stache! I’d probably still be single today!

TIME CANON-acappella of the word …TIME ,TIME,TIME….ged it?

KILLING TIME-is one of my fav tunes from Triumph! Why you ask? Simple says I. Gil and Rik share lead vocals on this track. Why these guys never did this more often in Triumph I will never know but man Killing Time is a Great track. Kinda Boston like in the verses and I love when the chorus kicks in. Rik jacks up some power chords and we’re off! Check out the video posted to get a dose of the Rock N Roll Machine circa 1984!

STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND-Rik man he’s the king of guitar chops! This is groovey Triumph! Rik nails down the lead vocal and were off an running!

LITTLE BOY BLUES-ends Thunder 7 as a musical as in Triumph is playing  the blues not singing just playing and once again Rik shows the cool kids on guitar how to do it!

IN CONCLUSION-Thunder 7 was produced by Eddie Kramer,he of Kiss fame! Word on the street was that Eddie and Rik butted heads over the guitaring of Emmett Or something to that effect!

For me though this is a real good Triumph album. Allied Forces I would still rate higher in the Triumph catalog but never the less this is a real solid deal! Kinda funny as Riks voice was tailor made for radio play(Lay it On The Line,Magic Power,World Of Fantasy) but it’s that crazy guy Gil on drums who gets the single meal deal with the two tracks Spellbound and Follow Your Heart are the ones that the vids are done for!

Interesting …..but still 1984 and in my hood the Rock N Roll Machine is alive and well!

SONIC WAVES….Rush/Grace Under Pressure

Ahhh back to good Ol 1984! You with me ?

1984 and i was stoked here comes Rush with Grace Under Pressure! Now for some this is a new Rush forging different sounds like more keyboards and keeping the songs shorter while alienating there hard core Fanbase from the 70s who still craved for the Xanadu’s and By Tor’s of yesteryear!

I boarded the Rush Tour bus back in 1981 with obviously Moving Pictures as we all bought it and than I got Exit Stage Left…hey you can read about it here….https://superdekes.wordpress.com/2014/12/22/request-of-vinyl-rushexit-stage-left/

1982 cruises around and Rush throws down which is probably  my fav Rush album Signals…read some of my fine Blah de Blah here….https://superdekes.wordpress.com/2014/09/27/sonic-waves-rushsignals/

 

1984 and there’s a ton of heavier hitters releasing music Van Halen with 1984(actually released on Dec 31 1983) Judas Priest with Defenders Of The Faith,Scorpions with Love At First Sting,Iron Maiden unleashing Powerslave,Ratt with Out Of The Cellar,and Autograph releasing Autograph!(giggle all Ya want about that last one there’s a review a comin!)

Rush I was fine with the musical shift and direction change since I just loved Signals but the magazines I read at the time (Circus ) especially didn’t like Grace Under Pressure I didn’t understand why especially as all these supposed writers got all this music free to review! I took the high road basically and said F.U to these ass clown writers and dug my heels in with Rush…..

Geddy,Neil and Alex sport some new threads(watch the live Distant Early Warning video!) and new sounds and out of the Rush Musical Supremacy Musical Blender comes…..

DeKEs UNDER PRESSURE……

DISTANT EARLY WARNING- a real solid opener Yep there’s a ton of keys especially during the chorus and such but man Rush is still a 3 piece and this is a rocker track in a Rush kinda way! Speaking of the chorus it’s catchy “the world weighs on my shoulder but what am I supposed to do,you sometimes drive me crazy but I worry about you!” Holy crap man Neil is writing some real cool lyrics that I can now understand I mean i still remember hearing Bastille Day for the first time and after about 3 minutes I was like……..? What? Huh? Mommy! Even though Rush was getting buried in a wall of keyboards in 1984  I always loved the fact that during Lifesons solos they would still strip down there sound to the basics (drums,bass and guitar) Hardcore Rush fanatics pre 1979…….RELAX!

AFTERIMAGE-this tune is one of my favs off of this record and just so you know what I’m talking about check out the video of Afterimage! This song is about losing someone close to you and I guess the guys in Rush did lose a friend during the recording of Grace Under Pressure. So for right now,gone is The Police inspired reggae tinge of New World Man in its place is the dark somber Afterimage. I love the music to this tune especially the prechorus and how they sync it right into the chorus without missing a beat! Rush as we all know don’t miss beats or skip beats!

RED SECTOR A-big time Keys fuel this tune and drive along with Neil’s percussion. I guess this song he wrote for Geddy as his family (parents)survived World War Two. This song is a different kind of Rush. These cats always had something to say but on this album 3 songs in and 3 real important messages about life!

THE ENEMY WITHIN-this song drives from the get go! It’s a snappy cracking tune musical as Lee and Lifeson lock musical horns with Peart on his drums and they plough forward down the not so Prog highway. Rush is rocking but its a different Rush rocker and that’s perhaps why I got onboard the Rush express in the early 80s and was ok with them changing it up with musical styles and changing directions! Come to think of it I have bought every new Rush album upon its release since Signals! So I guess I’m ok with 80s Rush!

THE BODY ELECTRIC-1-0-0-1 0-0-1 in Distress! Rush is sending out codes! This song starts side 2 love the drums and bass locking in and than the guitar joining in and this is a groovey kind of Rush jam out! The song is a great track! Rush are playing to a different kind of groove I mean do they have to prove anything go to anybody anymore? Nope Sez I ….and Sez You!

KID GLOVES-This is Rush a Rockin and it shows in Kids Gloves! Alex starts off with some picking which at the time sounds like Andy Summers from The  Police. Awesome track as Peart and Geddy drive the rhythm bus and Alex dices and splices are real cool clean solo. Kid Gloves no one ever talks about! Well we gotta change that here folks! I’m throwing down a live audio bootleg version of this tune….and hey Ya gotta chuckle when they call this bootleg Rush Bottle Of Booze! Ha..

RED LENSES-a real cool little rock Rush track!  I See Red starts Geddy and Rush is off to the races witht this track! This is Quirky Rush you could say  and fair enuff when theyngo into the prechorus Neil does his electronic percussion thingy and Geddy slapa da bass and this tune slapa da deke outside the head! A win win i guess you could say!

BETWEEN THE WHEELS-last song on the album and I love the big sound of keyboards (did I just type that) and Lifesons big power chords fuel this track! The song during the verses almost sounds off the rails  but its Rush they do what they do right and make it sound like    that’s how it’s supposed to sound!  The prechorus ramps up I mean we all know “how that Rabbit feels going under those speeding wheels bright images pass you by like a windshield towards a fly!” Sings Geddy and straight the chorus! Great Lifeson solo and just a great tune! Gem I call it!

IN CONCLUSION- Rush 1984 is a hell of a lot different than Rush 1974 but for me I dug Rush all kinds of Rush eventually i delved into the back catalogue and  i guess I could make a strong argument saying that Permant Waves also could be my fav Rush as well but I’m getting carried away here. Grace Under Pressure is a real good solid record. Sure it’s layered in keyboards! The sonics courtesy of Rush and Peter Henderson are fine! The songs are fine…but like I said it’s those cool moments of 80s Rush that I love when they strip all the layers away and go back to that 3 piece is the Rush I love!

SONIC WAVES…Dokken/Tooth And Nail

Dokken in September of 1984 release Tooth And Nail and this is my first purchase of there’s. There debut album Breaking The Chains was already out there and even though I seen the video of Breaking The Chains a few times on MuchMusic it just floated by me. Nothing personal Don Dokken it’s just I had to stretch my $$$$ and well,acts like Van Halen/Iron Maiden/Kiss/ACDC dictated what in my wallet was being spent! So I guess you could say that Dokken was a second tier band at my home as far as dollars went but still when I seen the cover of the claw coming out of the ocean to grab at the slick Dokken logo ahhhh hell I was in!

If you know anything about these guys is that the two main guys Don Dokken(singer) and George Lynch(guitar) Ummm dislike could be the word used here! They did not see eye to eye on a matter of things but they made it work until late 1988 when Don bolted!

Anyways you gotta hand it to Mick Brown(drums) and Jeff Pilson(bass) they hung around as well Til the end but I guess when the party’s raging year after year who the hell wants to leave right?

And to introduce my review of Tooth And Nail I will say DOKKEN RYHMES WITH ROCKIN…(yeah that was brutal,don’t blame me,in the 80s they used this in there adds!)

WITHOUT WARNING-a quick little musical opener (loud synth,loud guitar)featuring no vocals and sets the table for ….

TOOTH AND NAIL-Brown goes double bass drumming off the hop and Pilson and Lynch smash down the guitar and bass. Now heerrrreeeee’sssss Donnie taking the vocals and what a slick calculated move by starting off the album with a jack rabbit of a number and Lynch nails down all the 80s trappings of guitaring! Quick notes,hammer ons,whammy bar dive bombs! I’m fucking hooked yeah man Dokken is Rocking with Deke! Ha!

JUST GOT LUCKY- Brown kicks off the proceedings and Lynch does what Lynch does well and he keeps himself in check on this tune and this is catchy happy Dokken. The chorus is pretty good and yeah I guess you could say HOOK! Good on them they got some video spins out of this track as well!

HEARTLESS HEART-you know the drill ‘You got a Heartless Heart” that’s it kids! This song is 80s Dokken to the T! Brown and his drums drive this tune and it’s one of the few Dokken tunes that Lynch doesn’t have a rip of a solo he contains himself on this track or maybe he was busy dying his hair that day! I recall one day back in Highschool there was a copy of Circus Magazine kicking around and there was a pic of Lynch and man he had the fruitest hair colour going half yellow half black kinda looked like a banana that’s starting to turn colour! We howled called him Curious George and Banana Man..we were young and stoooopid! This song features the ritzy glitzy pre chorus vocals and gang vocals. Dokken tries to pull a Leppard vocally that way

DONT CLOSE YOUR EYES- big Lynch riffing and this song is one of the better tracks. Lynch plays guitar hero flexing and bending them strings and flinging lick after lick! Brown and Pilson keep the rhythms moving along and Don lays down a cool chill vocal! Cool song all around!

WHEN HEAVEN COMES DOWN-Dokken comes close with this track! As in this could have been track 11 on Kiss Lick It Up Album easily! This is big dumbo Kiss arena power building rock n roll! Lynch opens this and this tune kinda sludges forward like Kiss All Hells Breaking Loose. Dokken just plays it a little quicker just the pace of it really! It’s all here,big guitar,big backing vocals,loud drums but man when I listen to the opening riff is George playing his guitar in a tunnel? Man it sounds echoey! Ahh that’s right Tom Werman produced this!

INTO THE FIRE- bam bam bam…do ..do…do..bam bam bam. That’s me making the drum noises to the beginning of this track! This is a great rock track! One of there better known songs! I won’t say much more just watch the video posted as it features Banana George! Fire! Smoke! Helicopters and my favourite the chick who eats fire and slams a gong! Bravo !!

BULLETS TO SPARE- just a straight ahead Rockin with Dokken tune! Once again a song with big vocals! 1984 and everyone is slammim around looking for hits! I’m sure record company executives always had there eyes on the charts “Boys,we need hits!” Bullets To Spare though is not of them. It’s a solid rock track. Dokken are not rocket scientists but they did have a good knack for writing straight ahead rockers!

ALONE AGAIN-woooooowzers! Here’s the track that put these guys on the charts,in the magazines,on tour(opening for Kiss). Don and the boys go right to Power Ballad Formula Chapter 1 …insert acoustic guitar to drive the verse’s along with a bit of drums to push it a little and than FUCKIN BOOM …the chorus with  big time electric guitar power chords/ Don weeping in his voice about lost love/ cue into big guitar solo. Bam!! Mission Accomplished!

TURN ON THE ACTION-Lynch begins the surge on his guitar and Brown once again rocks the double bass on his drums and boom this is the end of the album blowout. Riff rock into the night!

IN CONCLUSION-Dokken sets the plate for Deke to buy another 4 Dokken albums after Tooth And Mail so I guess I bought in to the Dokkens business model which was hook em when there young! Actually I remember taping this album for my buddy Chico as he just turned 16 at the time and had his first car and like I explained in my review of ACDC’s Back In Black he wanted fast Rockin tunes! The song Tooth And Nail delivered …..