Category Archives: Classic Songs to Be Discovered

Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Crazy Circles

“Crazy Circles” is from the “Desolation Angels” album from Bad Company. While Led Zeppelin morphed into a band with synths in 1979, Paul Rodgers channelled his own Zep spirits and recreated what Zep might have sounded like if they stayed within their roots.

Life is like
A merry go round
Painted horses
Riding up and down
Music takes you
And you’re gone again
Crazy circles never seem to end

Damn right.

Music takes you on so many emotive rides.

We went to the show to connect. Our memento was the ticket stub and maybe a t-shirt, which once upon a time you could only get on tour.

Now people go to the show, to say they were there and take a selfie with the stage and the crowd in the background and to film it (like they are going to watch it back later). And ticket prices had an inflation rate that we wish our wages had. On top of bands scalping their own tickets.

But we still paid the price, and we still went.

Life is like
A game of chance
Some find riches
And some romance
Some find happiness
And some find sorrow
Some find it today
And some maybe tomorrow

Life in a nutshell.

Each day is a game of chance. Well it’s meant to be.

But maybe, we are too comfortable and in a routine, that we have forgotten to take chances. And we are constantly in a fight between happiness and sadness. Even in a relationship, there are ups and downs. It’s never perfect, nothing ever is, because humans always disappoint each other because of our own made up expectations as to what people should say and do.

If you don’t believe me, think back to arguments you might have had and how many times would you have heard the words, “you should have done this” or “how come you didn’t do this/that”.

In other words, we are flexing our own views and personality onto someone else.

Life is like
A carousel
You aim for heaven
And you wind up in hell
To all the world
You’re living’ like a king
But you’re just a puppet
On a broken string

So true.

How many of us crash and burn trying to be someone we’re not. You only have one life, so enjoy it and live it the way you want and not to show off in front of others what you have, or to spiral into debt to own possessions, which all get thrown away once you die anyway.

I’ve always said that an artist is at their best once they have lived and experienced.

Paul Rodgers at this time was 30 years old and he wrote some of the best lyrics of his career, summing up his life and experiences over the last 15 years.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Toughest Street In Town

It’s written by Scott Gorham, Lynott and Gary Moore.

Outside the window the neon flashes
In the morning light
Down on the sidewalk there’s a woman with a problem
But she don’t know how to fight
She’s destitute and broken down
She softly whispers, is there no one around
And no one hears the sound
Her knees give way and hit the ground

This is the toughest street in town

Growing up in the 80’s, there was no internet. We lived apart and you knew the people in the street, in the town and maybe some other people in another town. Long distance phone calls were expensive and people sent letters to relatives.

A lot of us felt there was something bigger, more exciting out there, so we wanted out. And then we had peers who were more than happy to sell narcotics or work in the steel mill.

And the streets were tough.

Tough in the sense, that people would bash you just for the sake of bashing you as new immigrants adjusting to life in a new world, with different cultures. But everyone eventually got on, as everyone had jobs and everyone worked hard.

People from all the different religions and races appreciate hard work and commitment to betterment. And it became fun to walk down to the local pub, play pool, listen to AC/DC’s “Back In Black” album on the jukebox, have a few drinks and anything else that came with going out.

Then when the banks and the copper mill started closing, the drug dealers and hookers moved into the main street. Suddenly, you had a seedy side. And the drug dealers brought with them all the addicts from every nearby town, who would urinate and defecate in front of shop doors, pass out in parks, break into houses and just be general troublemakers. And suddenly we had homeless people in the street and suddenly we had homeless people dying.

It’s just another black spot
Where far too many people have died
It’s just another graveyard
And there’s not too many people left alive

Every town developed black spots, but the people of the place cared enough to re-birth it. If it was a steel town once upon a time, it became a coffee artsy town or a tech town or a green town and so forth.

And the toughest street in town became the nicest.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Rock N Roll Fantasy

I didn’t hear “Desolation Angels” until I purchased it (along with the self-titled debut and “Straight Shooter”)  from a record fair in the 2000’s.

The Paul Rodgers cut “Rock’N’Roll Fantasy” opens the album. Before dropping the needle on the album, I remember reading countless stories in magazines about how Bad Company had been written off by the late seventies.

They had success with their first three albums, released over three years (1974,1975 and 1976). Then “Burnin’ Sky” came out in 1977 and it was competing with the first three albums for sales. They saturated and cannibalised their own market. And the album was ignored (compared to the first three), because for people of the era, the first three albums were still new releases.

But, then in 1979, they came out firing with a modern sound and a catchy song.

I love the music and I love to see the crowd
Dancing in the aisles and singing out loud, yeah

Rock N Roll music became an escape from the daily grind of life. The people attended the shows and the acts lapped it up. And rock and roll grooved, like this song. Because rock artists ruled over manufactured pop music artists, the record labels had no other option but to allow the rock artist to be creative.

And before music television, there was radio and we lived at the record store. A trip there was everything. Going to the concert was an event to let your hair down and connect with the music, whereas these days, people go to say and show they have been.

It’s their biggest single, but it’s never on those classic rock compilations.

If you want to hear dangerous, check out that bad boy sleazy riff from 1.15 to about 1.33. it’s dripping in rock and roll intoxication with its staccato style of playing.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Get Out Of Here

This one is written by Phil Lynott and Ultravox vocalist, Midge Ure.

I used to be a dreamer
But I realise that it’s not my style at all
In fact it becomes clearer
That a dreamer doesn’t stand a chance at all

Get out of here
Get out of here

We all wanted to leave our towns behind and head for the bright lights in the city. These days, kids don’t want to leave home. They are comfortable and comfort is a problem. But the parents are happy to have them home, even if we complain about them being home.

Because no wants to be lonely and parents are known to break up once the kids move out because they realize they have nothing in common anymore.

And the family plays a big part in decisions.

My grandfather told my father that if he left to go to Australia, he was going to kill the whole family that remained. I know, pretty drastic and my dad said he was scared for his brothers and sisters and his mum. But he left anyway, because Dad said, if he didn’t leave, he would have lived someone else’s life and not his. To him, that felt like death.

So my Dad left, while peers of my Dad, in the same predicament, stayed. Because in European culture, once upon a time, the eldest was meant to take over the household, and my Dad was the eldest. By coming to Australia, he broke centuries of tradition.

And my Dad felt stifled in post war, Communist Europe. He did his military service, got his ticket to leave and he was taking it, even though it was risky and out of his comfort zone and so far away from the only home he has ever known.

And he never returned until 2008, almost 40 years from when he left.

But if you let others influence your decision, then those dreams you have, don’t stand a chance at all. You will never get out of living someone else’s life.

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A to Z of Making It, Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Do Anything You Want To

My first Lizzy album was “Thunder and Lightning” because it had Sykes on it, and it was purchased a few years after the 87 Whitesnake album blew up all over the world. So “Thunder and Lightning” got me into Lizzy, because of Skyes and suddenly I started picking up their older records on vinyl when I came across them.

A “Black Rose: A Rock Legend” was album number 9 for the Lizzy. I didn’t end up hearing this until well into the 90’s and the only reason why I picked it up at a record fair was because Gary Moore stayed in the band long enough to record something, before he walked out on em again, like how he did in 74 and 77.

The drum and bass intro is enough to get me going and when the harmony guitars kick in, I was sold. It’s written by Phil Lynott and man, can he write a good lyric.

There are people that will investigate you
They’ll insinuate, intimidate and complicate you

Do you ever feel like you don’t fit in and that everybody else is too busy betraying you so they can get ahead?

Or they are passing judgement on you, telling you to do this, change this, if you don’t do this you will lose your job or if you don’t pay on time, you will lose your place.

My dad said to me once that people will disappoint you especially family. And now that you know that, don’t get angry when they do and you can still be friends.

You can do anything you want to do
It’s not wrong what I’m saying, it’s true

It’s the same war cry as the “We’re Not Gonna Take It” war cry from the mid 80’s. We needed to hear this back then. Today, these kinds of messages has become a billion dollar book industry, like “The Talent Code”, “Growth Mindset”, “Grit”, “Outliers”, “Peak”, “Bounce” and on and on it goes.

All of these scholars are sending the same message, if you put enough dedicated time into practice which is at the outer limits of your ability, you will learn a skill and get better. Nobody is born with a gift. That gift or natural ability people talk about is crafted and mastered through years of dedicated practice. So as Lynott was saying all along, you can do anything you want to.

People that despise you
Will analyse then criticise you
They’ll scandalise and tell lies until they realise you
Are somebody they should’ve apologised to
Don’t let these people compromise you

I like to hang with people, talk about things we like and exchange ideas. And sometimes I listen to people who don’t have a clue about anything and they just won’t shut up. And then there are people who know everything and they just won’t shut up. And in amongst these groups are people who want to break you, spread lies about you, criticise you or shake you down.

And if you want to be famous, expect the haters. You cannot be liked by everyone. It’s impossible. If you don’t want the haters, then recalibrate your expectations.

Hey you
You’re not that puppet on a string
You can do everything
It’s true

But a lot of people don’t believe they can do everything because they get caught up in a vicious cycle of borrowing to live and becoming puppets on a string to the various corporations they own money to.

Culture and society also fosters a fixed mindset and after so many years of being conditioned to follow, it’s hard to believe that you have the tools and abilities to lead.

I am sure people have heard things like; “You can’t play <insert the sport here like football> because no one played <insert the sport here> in the family. We are doctors, we are educated and that’s what you will be”.

Or “Why <insert arts field here like music>, you need to study, to get a job which pays the bills.”

It takes a few generations to break these kinds of mindsets. It took the military until the 1990’s to stop the hazing rituals of new recruits because they just didn’t work in creating brilliant recruits.

Elvis is dead
The king of rock and roll is dead

It’s fitting that the song ends with these words as Elvis’s death was still fresh in 1979, because in the end Elvis did what he wanted.

He sang black man music when he was told not to sing it. He danced and moved in a provocative way when he was told not to. He went into making movies when he was told to stick with music. He stopped making movies and went back to music when he was told to stick with movies. He did a Vegas residency when he was told to go on tour around the country. The king of rock and roll did what he wanted to do. And so can you.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Influenced, Music, My Stories

The Record Vault – Bon Jovi In The Eighties on CD

I started this Bon Jovi Record Vault post a while back, starting off with Cassettes, then Vinyl and now CD (with the Vinyls added for extra color).

And I’ve basically got Jovi’s 80s output on CD and LP. The first photos are from the first two albums. The 2 CD box set was $9.99 and I got the CDs a lot later than the LP.

This post isn’t a review of the albums as I have covered them in other posts.

Next up is the 20 million plus selling third album. I really thought that this album would get the 4 CDs special anniversary treatment in 2016 with the Pizza Parlour demos getting an official release. But so far it hasn’t.

Maybe Jovi is waiting for the 40 year anniversary in 2026, to capitalize on his most successful album.

The 3 Disc Deluxe Anniversary Edition of “New Jersey” is fantastic, because you get the original double album with it, the “Sons of Beaches” Demos

To wrap it up, Bon Jovi finished the 80s as one of the biggest bands in rock with concert grosses and record sales hitting record highs. Only U2 rivaled their power as a group.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Saxon – The Eagle Has Landed

It’s very Sabbath like in the Intro, just plodding along and slowly percolating. It almost feels like Hetfield was listening and wrote “The Outlaw Torn” many years later based on this song. 

When the “Stormbringer” influenced riff from Deep Purple comes in, well, it’s time to bang that head, cause metal health has got me going crazy.

That clean tone melodic riff that appears at about 2.30 for the verse, if it was in the hands of Tool, would be jammed on until it’s a twelve minute song.

Travelled across the universe
And placed the lonely flag
Out there in isolation
At the final, the final frontier

The U.S had a lot riding on this Moon mission in their Cold War showdown against the U.S.S.R. The Wright Brothers made the first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft on December 17, 1903. 60 plus years later, engineering and innovation put man on the moon, and mathematics returned them home.

I remember in Superman 2, when General Zod and his accomplices arrived on the moon and heard the term “Houston”, believing that is the name of this new world that was going to be theirs for the taking. But the son of their greatest enemy was also on Earth (aka Houston). They don’t make movies like that anymore, with great script writing because the effects and the technology just wasn’t there to fill up space, so dialogue had to take the place of green screens.

The world’s in celebration
As we wait for your return
You took a giant leap for mankind
On another, on another world

The moon landing fascinated people.

After another half a dozen more trips, the moon trips got canned. People got bored and didn’t really care anymore. That great leap for mankind was like blah, many years later.

And conspiracy theories exist about the images shown to the world.

Are they filmed in a studio or are the images the real ones from the Moon?

Also, in order to bring the astronauts home, the engineers still weren’t sure. They were using mathematics on the fly, trying to calibrate how and when.

Take it easy, take it slow

And for the last 40 seconds, Saxon ramped it up.

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A to Z of Making It, Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

2112

It’s back in the charts.

Death is a business and the death of a member always gets new people listening because of curiosity and old fans reminiscing about the album which we all know, was a make or break album for the band.

If there is a lesson here, it’s to do things your way. Don’t give up your vision and your identity and stay true to yourself. This viewpoint led Rush to a 40 plus year career.

And they’ve sold more albums recently than new releases have in the last week.

As the article states;

From January 10th through January 16th, the band sold 24,600 albums in the U.S., an increase of more than 1,000 percent compared with the previous week. The “2112” LP led the way, moving 12,800 total album units last week.

As for streaming, it’s as expected with “Tom Sawyer”, “Limelight”, “The Spirit of Radio” and “YYZ” leading the way. Because what else would the Spotify algorithm recommend except the most listened to songs.

And the “2112” story about a musician in an oppressive regime gets all the attention, but “A Passage To Bangkok”, “Tears” and “Twilight Zone” are also worthy.

That guitar riffs from “A Passage To Bangkok” gets me to pick up the guitar. The intro riff is a great riff and the movable D shape chord progression in the Chorus.

“Tears” has that F major to A major chord progression with an unbelievable vocal melody.

“Twilight Zone” has that Am7 riff in the Chorus when Geddy is singing “Na Na Na, you have entered the twilight zone” section which always gets me to stop and pay attention. It’s the mood.

But the best part is Alex Lifeson’s emotive guitar solo from about the 17 minute mark in “2112”.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Never Gonna Die

Choirboys is an Australian band, formed in 1976 on the Northern Beaches. By 1983, they had a record deal with Albert Productions, after a demo found its way to George Young.

“Never Gonna Die” is the lead single from their self-titled debut. Most people would know em from their international hit “Run To Paradise” a few years later, but the debut album was also popular in Australia.

When the Fridays bring the weekends
The night will be our home again

Loverboy sang, “everybody’s working for the weekend” and that was the case once upon a time. Now, most of us work on weekends.

The smell of beer and coffee

It’s a pub rock song, and all of those places still smell on beer and perfume and coffee and whatever else ends up on the floor these days.

You say we can’t be angels
I say I knew that all along
I don’t need social standing
I’m gonna stay where I belong

Society didn’t know how to classify all these kids into rock music. Misfits, weed smokers, devil worshippers, anti social and immoral.

We didn’t want to be classed or compared or even ranked against others. Our social standing was within our own groups, our own tribes. All we wanted was to get together, listen to music, talk shit and have a few drinks. Sometimes a lot of drinks.

Which always leads to some dumb things like damaging our bodies jumping out of moving cars or damaging someone else’s property or just getting into fisticuffs for no reason whatsoever against someone we just met.

We can’t be angels all the time.

And it’s funny how the people in charge and the ones classifying others became the ones who proved to be immoral, like taking payments from organizations to pass favorable laws for that organization or using their power to get sexual favors or just by having affairs sometimes with people of the same sex even though they are married. Even the Priests who condemned rock music covered up their crimes against innocent kids.

And the police departments proved to be corrupt, working for criminals and taking bribes.

I don’t live for music, no
I say I live for rock ‘n’ roll
We won’t let them push us
We won’t let them touch us

Damn right, we live for rock and roll as not all of the music in the world pushes the same buttons.

I always saw the “them” as the institutions like the various arms of governments, the education system and religious institutions.

And it felt like we were untouchable and that all the laws the governments passed and all the crap that was happening didn’t concern us. But 30 plus years later, things are of concern.

Were Never gonna die

And fight until the end.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Saxon – Nightmare

A simple high hat drum groove and arpeggio riff sets up the groove. According to the gospel of Saxon, a broken heart is a nightmare. Nice play on words.

And a film clip was also created with vocalist, Biff Byford laying on a bed, having a nightmare and stuck within his four walls.

As night closes in, l lay in my bed

Our thoughts within four walls. Who would want to know them and we will never share them?

That my nightmare begins where reality ends

“Take the blue pill or the red pill”, Morpheus said to Neo.

Where were you, I was caught in a nightmare

Our tribal instincts to survive is to be part of a group, hence the reason why we seek out relationships. And when relationships turn bad, and friends pick sides, we are left alone, in a nightmare. Starting over is hard for a lot of people.

The guitar solo is brilliant, starting of subdued and picking up as the song picks back up. Actually, the guitar attack of Graham Oliver and Paul Quinn, isn’t as celebrated as the Thin Lizzy Gorham/Robertson duo or the Maiden Murray/Smith duo or the Def Leppard Collen/Clark duo or Clark/Willis duo but man, these dudes could solo and riff and harmonize their way as good as all of em.

In addition Steve Dawson on bass, holds the foundation along with Nigel Glockler on drums.

And how good is the double bass drum at the end?

Where were you in the night?

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