The latest in the ‘visual biography’ series from Canadian rock writer Martin Popoff just happens to be on the mighty Uriah Heep. A project I had a slight hand in. And having said that – has made it hard for me to write much about it It is a very nice coffee-table book, chalk full of photos from throughout the band’s history, with photos mainly coming from fellow Heep fans who were fortunate to have seen the band over the decades, with different line-ups. So credit must go to those who contributed their photos, and time in scanning as well.
The visual history also comes with a timeline of Heep’s history, noting many birthdays, important dates, related releases, etc…
It is a fine addition to an avid Heep fan’s collection. It is heavy (weight), but will make for a cool conversation piece.
For the record, someone commented ‘enough with the Heep books‘ – well, I for one am in favor of seeing more, and preferably more from those (players & participants) who were there. Uriah Heep was/is a major band in the golden era of heavy rock, an era that will disappear sooner than later. So, if you’ve got something to say, photos you’re stashing, recordings you’re holding on to, unprinted interviews to share — Now is the time!
*For more info and to order please check out the link below. +Martin also has copies of his Thin Lizzy book in the same series.
It was just over a week ago that the shocking news that British singer John Lawton had passed away on June 29 came out. July 11th would’ve been John’s 75th birthday. Though best known for his time with Lucifer’s Friend and Uriah Heep, John had a very lengthy career full of great recordings — not only the 2 major bands he was known for, but plenty of one-off projects, solo albums, singles, guest appearances. One thing that is undeniable is that regardless of who John was performing with – it was his vocals that stood out. A buddy of mine used to say – “he could sing the phone book and make it sound great!”.
I’ve picked 15 tracks from throughout John’s career to celebrate his life and recordings. And this is just a scratch on how much great stuff the man was a part of. *Please leave a few favorite tracks in the comments.
Ride The Sky – Lucifer’s Friend
The best known song from Lucifer’s Friend, and probably the most well known vocal from John. He and the band sounding like they could fit in alongside the biggest names in early hard-rock / metal in 1970. Covered by a few bands, most notably Avantasia. One of a few LF songs that John would later include in his live repertoire for years. Lucifer’s Friend [II] would also re-record the song in 1994 for Sumo Grip.
Burning Ships – Lucifer’s Friend
From Lucifer’s Friend’s 2nd album – Where The Groupies Killed The Blues. An acoustic ballad that builds up. One of John’s trademark numbers, and many o’ Lucifer’s Friend fans’ favorite song. More recently Jason Kane & The Jive did an excellent cover of this. *I’ve included the 2015 live version here, as I’d previously included the original studio take in my post on John’s passing. I think the band still did an incredible job on this 43+ years later!
Mama Loo – The Les Humphries Singers
Many people may not realize that John’s main gig prior to Uriah Heep was recording and touring with The Les Humphries Singers, a pop band featuring a number of great singers, who played many top hits [covers], as well as songs written by Les Humphries. This was written by Les, and was the group’s biggest hit, with John singing lead.
High Flying Lady (Goodbye) – Lucifer’s Friend
From Lucifer’s Friend’s most ambitious album, and the one John cited as his favorite – Banquet. It was one album he’d have liked to have performed live in full. This is the a great upbeat rocker, full of brass, great production, and amazing vocal from John.
Little Chalk Blue – Roger Glover’s Butterfly Ball
John sang on this track written and recorded for Roger Glover’s 1974 theatrical album The Butterfly Ball And Grasshopper’s Feast. A sweet orchestrated ballad. It was issued as a single and part of an EP, but not on the 1974 LP. John would perform it at the 1975 live staging of The Butterfly Ball, where he also sang the song “Love Is All”.
Wiseman – Uriah Heep
Written by Ken Hensley, “Wiseman” was a minor hit in Europe. It’s a classic Heep ballad, and John once cited it as the first song he sang with the band. He would keep it in his live repertoire years later, and re-recorded it with Steve Dunning for their 2002 album Steppin’ It Up. The song also earned Heep a spot on UK TV show Top Of The Pops.
Free N Easy – Uriah Heep
John wrote a few songs on the last few Heep albums, and a couple of them were the heaviest things the band did during this period. “Free N Easy” [co-credited to Mick Box] was a huge fan favorite, from Innocent Victim [altho’ “Free Me” was the massive hit in some countries during this era]. The band would bring this one back in more recent years, and it would feature on the band’s Live In Europe ’79 album, as well as John’s reunion album with Ken Hensley – The Return.
Hey Driver – Lucifer’s Friend
After leaving Heep, following the recording of a 4th [as yet released] album, John recorded a solo album [co-written with Peter Hesslein, and using Lucifer’s Friend as the backing band], followed by an awesome reunion album with LF – Mean Machine. A return to straight ahead hard-rock, influenced by the New Of British Heavy Metal at the time. One of my top 3 LF albums with so many great hard rockers to chose from.
Heart Of The Night – Zar
In the early ’80s John sang on an album by German hard-rock band Rebel, featuring Tommy Clauss on guitar. Another opportunity arose for John to step in and recording with Clauss again at the end of the decade with the band Zar. Released in 1990, Live Your Live Forever was a fairly commercial sounding heavy metal album, full of killer tunes. John proving he could still rock as hard as he did on the first Lucifer’s Friend album.
Don’t Stop Believing – Gunhill
Gunhill was the band John formed in the mid ’90s. They were primarily a working band, doing plenty of covers, some originals, and a few from John’s past. They did release a CD in 1997 titled Nightheat, which included this as the opener. Written by John, I really liked this one, and a the band’s few other originals here.
Tonight – John Lawton [solo] / Uriah Heep
John was extremely busy in the early 2000s, with Gunhill coming to an end, and a few other projects, a new band, and this solo album from 2000 titled Still Payin’ My Dues To The Blues. A great set of lighter blues and blues based tracks. This is an outstanding ballad that John originally wrote and recorded as part of the 4th [unreleased] album with Uriah Heep. John also re-did this one with Steve Dunning in 2002 Should be interesting to hear Heep’s version.
Written On The Wall – John Lawton Band
The short lived John Lawton Band followed Gunhill, and the band toured and would release this line album, as well as a live DVD . Sting In The Tale was a solid set of blues based rockers. This is the stand-out track for me, a nice heavy rock song.
Steal The Night – OTR
OTR [On The Rocks] was a short-lived project John did latter day Focus guitarist Jan Dumee, as well as a few Brazllian musicians in 2008. A very different album that showed again how much John could sound great in any type of music.
Fairytale – Intelligent Music Project [Diana Express]
Intelligent Music Project is a recording band that is the brains of Bulgarian producer / songwriter Milen Vrabevski . John sang on the first 2 albums in this act. The first one billed as John Lawton & Diana Express and titled Power Of Mind.was a concept album, Diana Express being the Bulgarian band playing here as well. Again, a very different album, more adult contemporary, hard-rock, orchestrations… The ballad “Fairytale” was the first song released from the album, and the standout track John did with these albums.
Passengers – Lucifer’s Friend
From the last Lucifer’s Friend album Black Moon in 2019. A fantastic album, showing John and the band could still come up with good, memorable songs. The band had re-grouped in 2015 for a compilation album [with 4 new tracks], a live album, and a studio album Too Late To Hate in 2016.
On July 5th, the sad news that English rock / blues singer John Cooper Lawton had passed away on Jun 29 was posted on the Lucifer’s Friend Official Facebook page. Lawton was known to rock fans for the albums he recorded with the German band in the early ’70s, and then for the 3 studio albums he recorded and toured with Uriah Heep in the latter half of the decade. There was very little details on John’s passing, but really it shouldn’t matter at this point – the world has lost an amazing talent, and more so to the fans who had any contact with him – a genuine great guy, and a true professional.
It is with deep regret that we share the devastating and tragic news of the sudden and totally unexpected passing of John Lawton on 29. June 2021.Contrary to reports, there was no illness involved, which makes his passing incomprehensible. He went peacefully with his wife at his side. John will be greatly missed. A private funeral service to celebrate John’s life will be held following his wishes, with only family and close friends attending. We would appreciate that the family’s privacy is respected during this difficult time.
Jeff Scott Soto – “I’m so very sad to learn my friend John Lawton known most for his tenure with Uriah Heep, a KILLER singer and wonderful human being, has passed.”
John was born in Halifax, England July 11, 1946. He began singing at the age of 15, citing such early influences as Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, and Chuck Berry. In the later ’60s he made trips to Germany while playing in such bands as West One and Stonewall, and it’s there that he would meet up with the members of a new band to be called Lucifer’s Friend. He also took part in a studio project – Asterix, and recorded the first Lucifer’s Friend album soon after. The band was a studio band who’d release very different and experimental albums each year. Between that John joined The Les Humphries Singers as his main gig – recording and touring. He was also introduced to the Deep Purple family through his appearance at Roger Glover’s Butterfly Ball performance in 1975. It was a highlight of John’s career – “Actually standing on the same stage as David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Jon Lord, all these people was great! And meeting Vincent Price of the horror films was great. Those are good memories, and something I won’t forget!”
Axel Rudi Pell – “R.I.P. John Lawton! One of the nicest people in all music business and a great singer! We had the pleasure of getting him on stage for my 25 year anniversary show in July 2014 and rocking 2 songs together. You left us way too soon dear John! My deepest condolences to his wife Iris and his family.”
In 1976 he was called upon to replace David Byron in Uriah Heep, and went on to record 4 albums with the band, and one live album. Although Heep’s direction changed during this era, John proved an excellent singer in an era where the band’s popularity in North America declined. He remembered his first US tour fondly – “This was my first time in America, and I was touring with Uriah Heep, and we were the opening band to Kiss… Kiss were a good band – they were the biggest thing around at that time, and we still got to play to a lot of people.” In other countries though the band had some major success during this period, particularly with the hit “Free Me”, from 1977’s Innocent Victim. While the band’s direction in songs & production changed, many would agree that it was John’s powerful vocals during the late ’70s that held many songs together and provided much of the highlights. John also wrote and co-wrote on a few Heep classics during this era – “Free ‘N Easy”, “I’m Alive”, and “Woman Of The Night”.
Mike Starrs – “Another great singer has left the stage. John Lawton, You were the inspiration For many great singers and John you will be SO SADLY missed. Have a great trip my old friend. Und sehn wir uns.”
Following recording for an as yet released 4th album, and European tour, John left Heep, and went on to record a solo album, followed by a return to Lucifer’s Friend with an album in 1981. Throughout the ’80s & ’90s he kept busy on numerous recordings, and even made a brief return to Heep in ’95, filling in for Bernie Shaw for a South African tour and a few dates in Europe. During the ’90s and in to the 2000s John Lawton really warmed to the Heep fans through his band Gunhill, and appearances at Heep’s year end Magician’s Birthday Party shows in London. There was also a reunion show and tour with Ken Hensley, solo albums, another Lucifer’s Friend album …. Throughout John showed he was just a good, down to earth, and friendly guy to any fans that met him or had contact with. He attended fan conventions, remembered those he came in contact with, and despite being such a great singer with an amazing career, he seemed like more than an old friend to many.
Mick Box – “The passing of John Lawton on the 29th of June came as a complete shock and has left me numb. John was a big part of the Heep family, and on stage when he was covering for Bernie, who was having hospital treatment at the time, he said over the microphone “you can check out, but you never leave Heep.” That was our John and he was one of the good guys. On a personal note we had some fantastic times in Heep, and some fantastic times too outside of Heep. On filming the movie ‘Love dot net’ and playing shows with him in Bulgaria we never stopped laughing, and I will always remember those joyous times. I enjoyed the songs we wrote together, and he had an amazing voice that was both powerful, soulful and with a bluesy edge. Rock music has lost one of the great rock voices of all time and his legacy will live on forever. Our condolences go to his wife Iris, their immediate family, and his German band ‘Lucifer’s Friend.’ John, may you rest in peace my friend.”
In later years he had reunited with Lucifer’s Friend, and recorded a few studio albums, released a live album, and played a number of concerts (something the band didn’t do much prior to 1976). The band’s last album was 2019’s excellent Black Moon. At the time of my last interview with him, he had mentioned that there’d be another album, and last heard from him was that he was awaiting a studio to open (after Covid) so he could record the vocals for it. John was also very keen on seeing the 4th album he recorded with Uriah Heep get a formal release. Often referred to as ‘Five Miles’ he thought it was important this should see the light of day. I am sad that John, who was keen on it’s release (as were Lee and Trevor) won’t be here to see it, as I understand it is very good.
Jack Williams – “John was one of those rock stars who was extremely grounded & from what I saw never forgot where he came from, thus this great rock singer who had cut his bones in another huge rock band “Lucifer’s Friend” always treated me like I was always part of the “Heep” family, I will never forget the years I spent in the UK writing with Ken Hensley & watching John Lawton sing the hell out of my songs!!!RIP John Lawton.”
I was most fortunate to interview John on a good few occasions. He was always positive, and never spoke negatively about anyone. Speaking in 1997 John said – “I’ve done everything I set out to do when I was 15….I think I’ve been lucky, I’ve done everything I wanted to do musically. So, I just let life come at me these days, and it can throw at me whatever it wants, and if it’s to do with music, then I’ll do it.” And to think how much more he did after that! RIP John. Thanks for so much great music.
AFTER THE SUCCESS OF “A STING IN THE TALE (DELUXE EDITION)”, TEN YEARS AFTER IS NOW RELEASING “NATURALLY LIVE” (DELUXE EDITION) THROUGH DEKO ENTERTAINMENT. THIS RELEASE COMES WITH 2 BONUS TRACKS INCLUDING “I SAY YEAH”.
Ten Years After are best known for their Platinum selling album “A Space in Time” which featured the Top 40 hit “I’d Love to Change the World“, and their prodigious performance appearance at the Woodstock Festival in upstate New York, August 1969. Their rendition of “I’m Going Home” was featured in both the subsequent film and soundtrack album and catapulted them to star status.
Original members Ric Lee and Chick Churchill have continued this legacy and are now rounded out by Guitarist/Vocalist Marcus Bonfanti and Bass Icon Colin Hodgkinson. “Naturally Live” was recorded at HsD, Erfurt, Germany on 24th March 2018 and contains live recordings such as: ”Land Of The Vandals”, “Silverspoon Lady” & “Last Night Of The Bottle” taken from their phenomenally successful studio album A Sting In The Tale. These tracks are combined with old favorites such as “I’d Love To Change The World”, “Hear Me Calling”, “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl” and, of course, the Woodstock killer track “I’m Going Home”. Also included is the band’s semi-acoustic section of their current live show which features three tracks from the very early days in 1967: “Portable People”, “Don’t Want You Woman” & “Losing The Dogs”.
This Deluxe Edition due out August 13th also contains “I Say Yeah” which was previously only available on the vinyl edition and the previously unreleased rendition of “32-20 Blues” performed by bassist Colin Hodgkinson. Founding member Ric Lee states, “In the early days at London’s Marquee Club we did an acoustic performance where Alvin Lee played an acoustic guitar, Leo Lyons played an upright string bass, Chick played the Marquee’s acoustic piano and I went from the drum set to the front of the stage to join the guys with just a snare drum on a stand and a pair of brushes. The slot went down really well and several years later when we were playing larger venues, I suggested we played the acoustic spot again to add some variety to what we were doing. Alvin didn’t think it would work and so it didn’t happen. Much later, after Alvin had more or less retired and we had Joe Gooch on vocals and guitar I again suggested we do the acoustic set but this time Leo didn’t think it was right.
When Marcus and Colin joined us and we were discussing new material for the set, they were both very enthusiastic about doing the three acoustic songs included on the Naturally Live (Deluxe Edition) album and it proved to be a good decision, as that part of the set goes down fantastically well with our audiences. “I Say Yeah” always sounded like an unfinished song to me so we worked out a new arrangement and it’s become somewhat anthemic and involves audience participation.
What can I say about Colin’s performance of John Lee Hooker’s 32-20 Blues? It’s a superb showcase of his amazing bass playing and vocalizing. Colin is an extremely talented and experienced musician. The people he’s played with throughout his long career reads like a who’s who of the music business. From my point of view it’s an honor and a pleasure to have him in the Ten Years After rhythm section and, to cap it all, he’s a great guy too!”.
“On this record you can hear a band that lives on its legacy but also wants to look ahead….New frontman Bonfanti further enhances the band’s rock image. Never before had Ten Years After a singer with such a rough and growling voice. With his equally rough guitar playing, Bonfanti is the rock star among the old veterans.” BLUES MAGAZINE
There are limited edition bundles (while supplies last), which can be ordered via: https://bit.ly/30fsewb
Product Includes:
– One (1) TEN YEARS AFTER – “Naturally Live (Deluxe Edition)” CD – One (1) TEN YEARS AFTER Tee – One (1) TEN YEARS AFTER Tote Bag – One (1) TEN YEARS AFTER Autographed Photo
“Naturally Live” (Deluxe Edition) Tracklist:
Land of the Vandals One Of These Days Hear Me Calling I’d Love To Change The World Silverspoon Lady Last Night Of The Bottle Portable People Don’t Want You Woman Losing The dogs 50,000 Miles Beneath My Brain Good Morning Little Schoolgirl I’m Going Home Ric Lee Introducing TYA I Say Yeah (bonus track) 32-20 Blues (bonus track)
As pointed out in a previous article, long before Steve Harris formed Iron Maiden in England, there were other bands who had used the name, most notably a band from Bolton, in northern England, who existed from 1970 to ’76. The trio featured Ian Boulton-Smith [guitar], Derek George Austin [bass, backing vocals] and Paul T.J. O’Neill [drums, lead vocals, keyboards…]. Noel Pemberton Billing would later replace Boulton-Smith, who would return later as well. Although the band would go through a few other changes those were the 4 members who would be captured on cassette live and on tape in the band’s lone studio recording of 4 tracks. Ian Bouton-Smith [aka Beak] passed away June 23rd, 1976 of testicular cancer, and thus this Iron Maiden came to an end. Ironically, Steve Harris’ band was just getting off the ground, and I believe I read that it was Beak who informed Harris that another band was already using the name! Fast forward 30 years, and Paul T.J. O’Neill wanted to honor Beak’s passing and decides to compile a CD of the band’s recording – 4 taken from their only studio venture and a number of live tracks salvaged from a fans’ cassettes at the time. Proceeds of this 12 track CD are also donated to Macmillan Cancer Relief and Cancer Research UK in the guitarist’s name.
Maiden Flight was released in 2005 under the name The Bolton Iron Maiden, as Paul O’Neill had reached out to the world famous band’s manager Rod Smallwood, who not only suggested adding the Bolton to the name [for clarification and legalities], but also threw his support behind the release by having it mentioned on the band’s website and in their news. The Iron Maiden Bolton were a good band back in the day, and judging from the 4 proper studio tracks alone, it’s a shame they never got signed and had some of these songs put out in the day. Citing the likes of Zeppelin, Cream, and Free as influences back then, it is pretty spot on as far where to put this band — a solid blues-based hard rock band. The first of the studio 4 is “Cracked Path”, a song about addiction, and it is a definite Zeppelin early type of rocker, would’ve made a neat single! “Crawl Crawl Night-time” is a longer rocker, lyrically penned about O’Neill’s insomnia. You may recognize the riff, as it is pretty much “Hocus Pocus” by Focus; the Dutch band had recorded their hit classic not too long before this, and the similarity caused the band a bit of stress [an interesting story at their website]. But aside from the Hocus Pocus riff, this is really a stand out track here, love the lead guitar and fills. “Cell Debris” is a tale of man who’s wife has passed and he stands at her grave, reflects on his past and awaits his own end. A pretty interesting and chilling tune, musically reminds me of Cream in places. “Red Sky” is the last of the studio tracks, and it’s a rocker about a time traveler. An interesting theme [time travel], as many of the band’s songs would be based around sci-fi topics, and the time traveler would idea would be the basis for the 2020 album Puppet Master : the Rise and Rise of Slick Dandy. The rest of the originals are well worth hearing, though the sound is not great, and Paul O’Neill would overdub the vocals.
There is plenty of good original songs here performed live and one can only imagine that the likes of “A New Place Of My Own” and “The Naughtiest Girl Is Alive And Well” – which features a lengthy guitar solo [and a nod to Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust”] that this Iron Maiden could’ve delivered a pretty decent album in the early ’70s, perhaps one of those odd rarities we’d all be paying stupid prices for!? Last of the live tracks is the band’s signature song “Maiden Flight”, another based on time travel, and this containing a good bit of jamming, clocking in at over 12 minutes. *Gotta say also, great detail put in to the CD packaging, filled with stories and notes about the songs and times, and a few pics!
A 2nd CD of live tracks was issued in 2007 titled Boulton Flies Again : The Covers [the spelling of Boulton after the band’s guitarist Ian Boulton Smith]. It consists of 11 songs featured in the band’s set, and were [again] saved from a fan’s cassette recordings at the time. The sound is not great, but again – very good for an audience recording of the time, and you can get a good listen and feel for how the band was then. It’s an interesting blast back to the early 70s pub scene, with a band that was still trying to make it, playing plenty of others’ material. Funny thing is Bolton Iron Maiden didn’t play a predictable batch of hits, but some pretty cool gems from other bands who weren’t too far in to their careers, notably they played “Black Cloud” by Trapeze, Spirit’s “Fresh Garbage”, Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen”, Free’s “All Right Now”, The Groundhogs’ “Cherry Red”, and the early Mott The Hoople classic “Thunderbuck Ram”, in which Beak does a fine job covering brilliant Mick Ralph’s guitar work . Heck, I am glad to hear this CD being a fan of ’70s rock [and born too late to be there then], so I am finding a few gems I want to hear more of.
In 2018 Paul O’Neill decided to resurrect the Bolton Iron Maiden name again with a concept album about – time travel, as it was the basis for the band’s “Maiden Flight”. The album and story included within the CD titled Puppet Master: The Rise And Rise Of Slick Dandy tell the tale of a 50 year old musician named Norman Normal who’s wishes are answered when the Time Traveler takes him back 30 years, introducing him to an agent, who then introduces him to the ‘Sven Gali to the stars’ who has Norman change his name, becomes a huge star, but in time falls in love, loses the girl, and wants another chance to go back and not lose her. It is quite a unique and detailed stories, with a number of characters and great ending. But it is the story one will enjoy along with the music and the booklet [detailing the characters and tales]. As such, this album is quite varied in musical styles, and theatrical. There are 17 tracks, though some of them are short pieces relevant to telling the story. So you get some excellent rockin’ tracks [closer to the old Iron Maiden sound], and you get more theatrical pieces / ballads, as well as a bit of spoken word where required. Among favorite cuts are the upbeat rocker “Menamong Men”, “Rock n Roll Star” and “Gone Are The Days”. There’s also the excellent “Slick Dandy” [the main character], it’s a pop rock song that builds up heavier – it reminds me of The Fixx’s “One Thing Leads To Another”, and it features Don Airey [this guy is everywhere] on Moog synthesizer, There’s a few fine ballads in “Time Traveler” [the opener], “Old Sad Clown”, and “Who Pulls The Strings” – which has a very David Gilmour feel to it musically, and in Paul’s vocal.
The Rise And Rise Of Slick Dandy is a very detailed album, and once you sit down to ‘get’ the story, it is quite unique, and the music suits it so well. As mentioned there are some excellent individual pieces, but it’s more worth hearing the whole thing. O’Neill unfortunately could use a few former bandmates due to travel issues, but all are mentioned in some way in the detailed liner notes. He does use guitarists Rob Harris and Martin Low, as well as bass players Garry Cutress and Brian Ralph, his daughters on backing vox, and guests Nick Hill [trumpet] and Brian Sage [sax]. All mixed at the legendary Abbey Road Studios!
*Aside from this latest project Paul O’Neill also released a solo album in 2009 titled Totally Swept Away, which features 10 tracks – which are all stories based on Sea adventures / legends, with titles like “Pirates”, “The Mayflower – Hearts Of Oak”, “The Loss Of The Birkenhead”, and “The Captain Is Mad”. Musically more adult contemporary, progressive, pop, well produced… if I dare say this reminds me a bit of Phil Lanzon’s [Uriah Heep] solo albums and even Jethro Tull on occasion. Love the cover art!
*And just to be clear this Iron Maiden [from Bolton] existed before Steve Harris’ band, but there was no connection, though it would be interesting to hear the world famous metal band covering “Cracked Path” or “Maiden Flight”. Nor is this band to be confused with the Iron Maiden from Basildon, UK, who existed from the mid ’60s til mid 1970 and released a single that year. They too released a CD of recordings several years later titled Maiden Voyage.
*all images borrowed from CD cover and the band’s website. + CD promo poster courtesy of PO!
Well, this is the year where things kinda took a turn, IMO. Not a huge list to choose from, and for the most part these are where bands got way more ‘commercial’ or pop oriented, more keyboards (or introduced keyboards)… Not the best from many. Considering I pretty much hated the ’90s, and there was less releases going forward; these lists may get tougher.
Rush – Power Windows
I thought “Big Money” was great as the lead off single here, and it’s still the stand out song for me on this. “Territories”, “Manhattan Project”, good songs, even if it was further into the use of keyboards, etc… but give Rush credit for always moving forward and doing something new – that is why they lasted. Released in October. I saw this tour at Maple Leaf Gardens.
Coney Hatch – Friction
The 3rd in the ’80s trilogy by the Hatch, and the 2nd with Max Norman. A very good album, though the focus on 1 lead singer lost a bit of the magic in the band. But, great tracks – “She’s Gone”, “This Ain’t Love”, and good singles “Girl From Last Night’s Dream” and “Fantasy”.
Headpins – Head Over Heels
The 3rd and final album from the Vancouver band fronted by the amazing Darby Mills, and lead by Brian “Too Loud” McLeod. This one seemed to come and go with less impact than the previous 2. Less of the heavy, a bit more ’80s pop driven, but plenty of good songs – “Stayin’ All Night”, “Never Come Down From The Danger Zone”, “Be With You”…
Helix – Long Way To Heaven
The 3rd Helix album during their heyday, released in November. My favorite one, with “Deep Cuts The Knife”, “The Kids Are All Shakin'”, “Without You”. I remember seeing these guys walking through a local mall back then – wearing their tour jackets! I got Brian Vollmer’s autograph on the back on gift card bag [I was Christmas shopping].
Loverboy – Lovin’ Every Minute Of It
The band’s 4th, released in August This one featured 2 top 10 Billboard hits, the title track [penned by Mutt Lange, who thankfully did not produce this album], and a ballad “This Could Be The Night” [with a co-writing credit to Jonathan Cain, uhg]. A bit heavier overall, another lame cover. I did like this album.
FM – Con-Test
The ‘reunion’ album w/ Nash The Slash returning. A definite more ’80s keyboard pop direction featuring a few hits like “All Of The Dreams”, “Just Like You”, and “Why Don’t You Take It”, as well as favorite “Distant Early Warning” [Ben Mink on guitar].
Kick Axe – Welcome To The Club
This Regina, Saskatchewan band’s 2nd album, and 2nd with Spencer Proffer producing. Some deliberate attempts at breaking the big time with a guest-list filled cover of The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends”, but it’s the band’s own songs that I liked far better, like the ballad “Never Let Go”, “Comin’ After You” [single], the title track, and “Hellraisers”.
Saga – Behaviour
Released in August, the last to feature the ‘classic’ line up [for a few years]. Included the hits “What Do I Know”, “Listen To Your Your Heart”, as well as favorites “Here I Am” and the title track.
Orphan – Salute
The 2nd and final album from this Winnipeg band, released in the summer. Featured the hit “Lyin’ To Me”, as well as favorites “Open Up The Skies” and “Woman In Love”.
Aldo Nova –Twitch
Released in October. Not much hard-rockin’ here, with [again] way more keyboards and pop produced tunes. But, heck there are a number of very good songs, like the hits “Rumours Of You” and “Tonight (Lift Me Up)”, and rocker “Heartless”.
Other releases: Lee Aaron Call Of The Wild , Blind Vengeance Blind Vengeance , Hanover Fist Hungry Eyes , April Wine Walking Through Fire , Convict Go Ahead…Make My Day Touchdown Tricks Of A Trade
FOGHAT CELEBRATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY WITH JULY 16TH RELEASE OF LATEST LIVE ALBUM, ‘’8 DAYS ON THE ROAD” VIA FOGHAT RECORDS, DISTRIBUTED BY SELECT-O-HITS Multi-Platinum rockers FOGHAT celebrate 50 years of Rock n’ Roll with 8 DAYS ON THE ROAD, a 14-track live performance that will be released as a double CD/DVD package on July 16, 2021 on their own Foghat Records label, distributed by Select-O-Hits (which is part of the Sun Records family and is owned by Sam Philips’ son and nephew). It will also be available on 180 Gram Vinyl later this summer. Recorded on November 17, 2019 at Daryl’s House Club in Pawling, NY, the collection features the band’s biggest and most legendary hits, including “Slow Ride,” “I Just Want To Make Love To You,” “Fool For The City,” and so many others.Pre-orders are available on digital outlets including Spotify , and iTunes includes an instant download of “Road Fever” with purchase. A video for “Road Fever” can be seen on the band’s official YouTube page today. The collection will also be available on 180 gram vinyl in the coming months. The band has already started to work on a new Blues/Rock studio album to be released in 2022.Track listing: 1. Drivin’ Wheel 2. Road Fever 3. Stone Blue 4. Fool For The City 5. It Hurts Me Too 6. Take Me To The River 7. Home In My Hand 8. 8 Days on the Road 9. Chateau Lafitte ’59 Boogie 10. I Just Want To Make Love To You 11. Chevrolet 12. Maybellene 13. Play That Funky Music 14. Slow Ride
If you weren’t familiar with this British band from the ’70s, you are missing out, and perhaps one of the greatest live albums of the era, released with the shows – 7 full shows to be precise. 7 shows from the band’s spring 1977 UK tour! While Live In The Air Age was initially released as an 10 track LP/EP and would become the band’s biggest seller, this box set includes all the shows recorded to draw from for that album – in their full glory. Lead by founder Bill Nelson, who handled all guitar and vocals, as well as being the band’s songwriter. Live In The Air Age set list of 15 tracks each night was pulled from the band’s 4 studio albums to that point. Be Bop Deluxe mixed various styles, with the glue being Nelson’s often blues influenced soaring guitar leads with bits of jazz influence, and his stunning and lengthy solos. He had such a unique tone. Musically the band were ahead of their time, likely influencing many hard rock and new wave acts of the late ’70s & ’80s with their progressive style of rock, smooth vocals, keyboards, and harmonies, delivered so well played each night. There are no ‘off’ sounding nights. And though the set-list rarely changed [save for the odd night without the encore], each night is a fantastic listen for the improvisations, Bill Nelson’s speech intros, and simply the playing of the band’s best material such as their biggest hit “Ships In The Nights”, and favorites such as “Sister Seagull” [classic riff], “Life In The Air Age” [the opener each night], and the rockin’ “Mill Street Junction”. The latter half of the shows would feature lengthier improvised jams and solos on such tracks as the instrumental “Shine”, as well as “Terminal Street” [killer heavy guitar solo here] and encore “Blazing Apostles” [which usually runs for 20 minutes] . Nelson’s amazing guitar sound was complimented not only by the rhythm section of Charles Tumahai [bass, backing vocals] and Simon Chase [drums] , but also by the varied spacey keyboards of Andy Clark [see “Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape”]. The box also comes with a colored booklet full of photos, images, and an essay from Bill Nelson, detailing the era, his recollections of that UK tour, adding a few stories, as well as his eventual reasons for putting the band to rest after 1978’s Drastic Plastic. There’s also further notes from journalist Mark Powell. *There is also a condensed 3 disc version featuring the restored original album, as well as the full show from one of the evenings at Hammersmith Odeon.
LIVE IN THE AIR AGE Box details:
• A DELUXE 16 DISC LIMITED EDITION BOXED SET OF THE CLASSIC 1977 LIVE ALBUM BY BE BOP DELUXE • THE ORIGINAL ALBUM IS NEWLY REMASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES RESTORING THE CORRECT ALBUM RUNNING ORDER • WITH AN ADDITIONAL 14 CDs FEATURING EVERY CONCERT RECORDED ON THE BE BOP DELUXE UK TOUR OF FEBRUARY & MARCH 1977 ALL NEWLY REMIXED FROM THE ORIGINAL MULTI-TRACK TAPES BY STEPHEN W. TAYLER • INCLUDES A BBC RADIO ONE JOHN PEEL SESSION FROM JANUARY 1977 • ALSO INCLUDES A DVD (NTSC / REGION FREE) OF THE STAR RIDER IN CONCERT TV FILM FIRST SCREENED IN 1977, RELEASED HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME • INCLUDES A LAVISHLY ILLUSTRATED BOOK WITH MANY PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN PHOTOGRAPHS & NEW ESSAY BY BILL NELSON • ALSO INCLUDES POSTCARDS AND A REPLICA POSTER
Esoteric Recordings is proud to announce a new re-mastered super-deluxe expanded boxed set limited edition release (comprising 15 CDs and a DVD) of LIVE! IN THE AIR AGE by BE BOP DELUXE. This legendary live album was released in July 1977 and would prove to be the band’s most successful album, peaking at number 10 in the UK charts. The album was issued at a time of growing commercial success for the band and followed on the heels of two highly acclaimed studio albums in thirteen months, Sunburst Finish and Modern Music, both of which reached the top twenty of the UK album charts. Live! In the Air Age would be the band’s only live record and was recorded on a series of dates in the UK in February and March 1977 on the Rolling Stones mobile unit with John Leckie, who had engineered co-produced the band’s previous two albums, supervising the location recordings.
The band’s UK tour began in late January and was an audio-visual extravaganza that featured the use of projection screens and excerpts from the 1927 German silent film Metropolis, director Fritz Lang’s striking science fiction masterpiece. Continuing into February, the first concert to be recorded was at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester on the 12th of that month. The following two nights saw concerts at the Grand Theatre in Leeds which were both captured on tape and saw Bill Nelson perform to an enthusiastic home audience. However, at this juncture fate would intervene to cause a postponement to the remainder of the tour. Travelling to a concert in Bristol on 15th February 1977, Bill Nelson and John Leckie were involved in a car accident which resulted in them being hospitalized at Huddersfield Infirmary. Thankfully, all involved recovered quickly from their injuries, but as a result of the accident, the remaining concerts were postponed until the end of March. The tour began again with two concerts at Hammersmith Odeon in London on March 25th and 26th 1977 which revealed the band to be on top form, feeding off the tremendous warmth of the audience. Further shows in Bristol and Bournemouth on the 27th and 28th March respectively also contained many fine moments. Bill Nelson and John Leckie selected the best performances for mixing at Abbey Road and Advision studios in London and LIVE! IN THE AIR AGE was released in July 1977.
Research of all of the Be Bop Deluxe master tapes revealed that multi track tapes of all the shows recorded on the UK tour of 1977 had survived. After digitizing and listening through to all of the Rolling Stones mobile unit 24-track tapes it was decided to include each concert in its entirety in this expanded boxed set. The concerts were mixed over a period of several months by Stephen W. Tayler and are presented here for the very first time. They reveal the improvisational side of Be Bop Deluxe, particularly on pieces such as Shine and Blazing Apostles which made each concert unique.
This set features the original album, newly remastered from the original master tapes, and restores the correct running order of the original LP release and has three bonus tracks drawn from a BBC Radio One JOHN PEEL SHOW session from January 1977. This box also adds an NTSC / Region Free DVD of STAR RIDER IN CONCERT – BE BOP DELUXE, which was first screened on television in 1977 and appears exclusively in this boxed set for the first time. Finally, this limited-edition boxed set includes an illustrated 68-page book with many previously unseen photographs and an essay of recollections by Bill Nelson. Additionally, the set includes postcards and a replica poster. This special deluxe limited-edition boxed set of LIVE! IN THE AIR AGE is a fitting tribute to a fine live band and the creative vision of Bill Nelson.
Golden Earring is from Holland, and as far as most in North America know of them, they were a 2-hit wonder. They had huge hits with “Radar Love” (1973) and “Twilight Zone” (1982), but Golden Earring is the longest running band that until recently – regularly released albums and toured. The band formed as The Tornados in 1961, changed their name to The Golden Earrings and released their first album was in 1965. And although they’d have hits and success in their homeland, it wouldn’t be til the early ’70s that the band had distribution and an impact in North America with a string of classic albums – Moontan, Switch, To The Hilt, and Mad Love when they’d signed to MCA Records. Many years ago I had [still have] been given a few compilation cassettes of the band from my [late] uncle Jim. I never gave them much play, but in recent years I started filling in the gaps in my Golden Earring collection, and more so started digging the band’s 1977 Live album [2LP]. which – if you don’t have it – I think is one of the greatest Live albums of all time.
At this point the band included founding members George Kooymans [guitar, vocals] and Rinus Gerritsen [bass, keyboards, harmonica, guitar], as well as Barry Hay [lead vocals, guitar, flute], sax – since ’67] and Cesar Zuiderwijk [drums, since 1970] , as well and Eelxo Geiling [guitar]. Aside from Geiling, the other 4 members would remain permanent members until the end. The only personnel changes in the ’70s would be the extra guitar player or keyboard player that the band added for various albums. But, yeah – at the time of the Live album, Golden Earring was a 5 -piece, guitar heavy band; not heavy like ‘metal’, just lots of that cool ’70s guitar sound, with some slide guitar, lengthy solos, etc… The band was far from a ‘pop’ band here, stretching out the 10 tracks here with extended jams and solos, You get a 12 minute take of “Radar Love”, a 12 & a half minute play of the classic “Vanilla Queen”, and a 6 and a half minute version of “To The Hilt”.
Most of the tracks are taken from the band’s latest albums, though material from the classic Switch album is absent. There’s also a 10 minute rendition of “Eight Miles High”, which was actually shortened from the near 19 minute version that the band recorded for their 1969 album of the same name. Side One is probably my favorite here kicking off with “Candy’s Going Bad”, followed by “She Flies On Strange Wings” [from 1971’s Seven Tears] , and a near 10 minute rock out on “Mad Love’s Comin'” – the title track to their latest album at the time, and one that makes me wonder if Iron Maiden was listening to this[?].
If you have nothing of or very little of Golden Earring, Live is the best place to start, just an amazing recording of a classic band at their peak. Recently reissued on white vinyl. Would be nice if there was more to these recordings [see the new Be Bop Deluxe Live In The Air Age box set]. There would be a 2nd Live released in 1981, which only got released in the Netherlands and Germany; it features a completely different set of tracks, played to regular lengths [no 10 minute + jams]. And if you are picking up Golden Earring albums, do yourself a favor and get the original European version of Moontan! it features the classic artwork in a gatefold, as well as the proper 6 tracks, where as the North American version cheaps out on the cover art, and shortens the album to 5 songs. But, as I said – start here with Live. Guitarist George Kooymans was diagnosed with ALS earlier this year, putting an end to the band’s amazing 60 years on the rock stage. But, if you’re a fan of those ’70s guitar / jam bands Live is a ‘must have’. The band’s catalogue is long, but well worth looking in to beyond the hits.
*Live has been recently been reissued on white vinyl vi Music On Vinyl.
Canadian singer Bernie Shaw recently turned 65. Bernie relocated to the UK in the late ’70s and went on to record with such bands as Grand Prix, Praying Mantis, and Stratus, before joining Uriah Heep at the end of 1986. He’s sang on the band’s 9 studio albums since 1989, as well as numerous live albums. Keyboard player [and major writer in Heep’s albums for the past 32 years] is Phil Lanzon, who joined Heep not too long prior to Bernie, so the pair have given the band great stability as well as a number of excellent albums over the past 3 decades. This is just my own list, but feel free to drop any of your own favorites in the comments!
Between Two Worlds
From 1998’s Sonic Origami. Spooky intro build-up to the band kicking in. Just a great intro and epic rocker. Lyrical subject about being able to cross over and share the stage again with former members no longer in this world. I love this album, tho’ I wish there was a few more in this style on it.
Against The Odds
When I first heard 1995’s Sea Of Light, I couldn’t believe how much better it was than it’s predecessor and just loved the songs and production. This [again] being a killer opener, one of the best & heaviest guitar rockers the band ever did.
What Kind Of God
From 2008’s Wake The Sleeper. A crushingly heavy album; I really preferred side 2, which is what this track opens. Inspired by the book [and story within] of Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. Very to different to anything on WTS, love the drum march throughout, the Hammond organ, the bass and the bass solo near the end, not to mention Bernie’s vocals….
Logical Progression
At the time Sea Of Light was still new my favorites on it changed many times, but this one jumped out right away, and was always a favorite. Very smooth, love the Hammond organ throughout this and the chorus…
Take Away My Soul
From 2018’s Living The Dream. This album didn’t let up for the first 5 tracks, and this song I liked more so for Mick’s guitar solos. Cool that the song begins with the chorus, a neat twist. If anything, in my opinion this should’ve been the first track on the album [though “Grazed By Heaven” was an excellent choice as first video-single]. Reminds me “Between Two Worlds” and “Against The Odds” in it’s energy.
One Minute
This one, from 2014’s Outsider stood out on this album, and got a good bit of attention for the band [w/ Alice Cooper featuring it on his radio show]. The piano / vocal intro is such nice piece on it’s own [wish there was more of this here], it’s a beautiful intro before the band kicks in to a pop-rock track that is very catchy, with such a memorable chorus.
Blood Red Roses
The first studio album with [then new] singer Bernie Shaw from 1989 was Raging Silence. It’s like the band tried to recapture the impact of Abominog with this album, and all the covers. But it’s the band’s own songs that I prefer here, particularly this one, which was written by departed vocalist / songwriter Peter Goalby! A great pop-rocker for the time, and still sounds great. I occasionally wonder if only PG had stuck around for this one…. hmm…
Trail Of Diamonds
I really like 2011’s Into The Wild, lots of excellent songs [tho’ I wasn’t crazy about the single]. This one being one of those epic blends of everything Heep – light and heavy, a few changes, great vocals from Bernie…
Love In Silence
Perhaps the track most loved by the Heep faithful from Sea Of Light [?]. An epic ballad! Phil Lanzon did an amazing job on this song with the piano, the Hammond break, the strings, and the various changes throughout the track. A great feel good Heep classic.
I Hear Voices
Sonic Origami had a lot of lighter stuff, but I really enjoyed that album. This one being a great pop-rocker, with a memorable chorus and vocal effects. I really liked this one as the following track to “Between Two Worlds”, such a great pair kicking off the album, back to back.
I’m Ready
Great straight ahead upbeat rocker and [I believe] show opener at the time. This should’ve been the album opener [IMO] .
Knocking At My Door
Cool guitar / organ intro, to a favorite rock track from Living The Dream. Bernie does a great job delivering the words dealing with paranoia. And excellent mid song break and solo from Mick.
Copyright © 2021 Chipster PR & Consulting, Inc., All rights reserved.
:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-370149-1300921861.jpeg.jpg)
:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-370149-1436796500-6403.jpeg.jpg)
Outsider Rock 