The Shoes (1975) Kristine - LOST 70s GEMS

The Shoes's Un Dans Versailles was a Self-produced recording form 1975 and while nto considered a major label debut, its great starting point for the band, while there is a lot more filler here than say on the band's later LP Black Vinyl, there are a couple crackin tunes! One is Do I Get So Shy, a relaxing folk rock paean to a lover with fantastic lyrics set to a Seasons in the Sun acoustic stuttered strum. The vocals are nicely subdued with a teenage malaise fitting the minor key chords while the tight as a wingnut drumming keeps the song rocking and a rolling along. The chunky hard rock figure that enters at the song's end is also great; this group definitely had the diverse chops and knack for different textures and melodies as the better known late 70s power pop group, The Cars.


The real gem amongst this lo-fi set of tunes is Kristine it's really amazing. A song full of gentle, soothing harmonies before the fast paced chorus full of 60's vocal influences like The Beach Boys and excellent drumming if this song sounds outdated by 1975, maybe if it was ten years earlier it would fare better. The funky hi-hat beats of the song combined with the ever so whiny vocals are such an incredible package.

Brinsley Schwarz (1970) Ballad of a Has Been Beauty Queen- LOST 70s GEMS

From Brinsley's interestingly CSN inspired debut album, moored somewhere between a British and American sound, between the 60s and the 70s, between country rock and hard rock. First off Hymn to Me has it's CSN harmony laden vocal lines and swinging slide guitars, Shining Brightly bears a rocking harmony vocal hits you right away. The band does overdo the harmonies on the 7 minute track, Lady Constant which is an accurate name as the vocals do outstay their welcome. Finally What Do You Suggest and Mayfly feature inspired late 60s hippy blue rock, full of gospel, feel good rock and life lesson lyricism.

However, Ballad of a Has Been Beauty Queen is our gem for today and is a ten minute starting rocker, beginning with a Native American beat and ear splitting, blues guitar before devolving into a quiet, slow ballad. It eventually returns to its most galvanising organ and guitar based coda book ending the track in lopsided fashion

Brinsley Schwarz (1970) Funk Angel - LOST 70s GEMS

 From the talented Pub Rock band named after it's guitarist comes the country inflected 1970 album Despite it All, its full of humble country and rock n roll playing,bolstered by future New Wave star Nick Lowe's fronting of the group with his pop prowess. Pub Rock is a really hard genre to define, it bares a lot of old school retro feel to it, like the rock n roll nostalgia of Glam Rock and the early 60's Motown revivalism of Northern Soul, but also points to the industrial, soulful, roots rock and Americana of artists like Tom Petty and Springsteen whilst still remaining somehow very English.

After all an American country band called Eggs over Easy defined the genre with their small scale tour of pubs, the rock is very homely and avoiding being to grand or to loud. It's rustic charm and reliance on older more rudimentary musical styles was in sharp resistance to their own earlier psych folk styles not to mention the big 70s rock sounds of Prog and Hard rock filling stadiums worldwide. This second album featured some particularly inspired playing and crafted compositions like Country Girl and humdinger of a country rock tune, Starship. Elsewhere on Despite it All, there are upbeat roots rockers like Ebury Down, while Old Jarrow is a fiery hard rocker with country seeped in like most tracks; the band excelled at American country and had diverse set of talents.But best of all is Funk Angel with it's interesting mix of chiming Allman brothers guitars, a solid chorus and constant saxophone to hook you in whilst retaining some of Nick Lowe's best melodies.

The Kinks (1971) Mountain Woman - LOST 70s GEMS

The album Muswell Hillbillies, was one of the finest albums by the Kinks with it's humble country roots flavouring, similar to Elton John and Stealers Wheel's rough hewn, rolling country rock n' rollers. The title track is a good representative of how the album could've worked with its thick bluegrass electric guitar rolls, organ backing, listless East End accented country shuffle full of strained, rag tag harmonies not as strong as the Band but still good. Holloway Jail is almost the bets track with it's down home folk finger-picking melody mixing with more monolithic rock backing, while Complicated Life features beautiful, gentle mix of coursing organ and aching pedal steel before entering a bright electric,T Rex styled bop similar to other album track Skin and Bone; this was when T Rexstacy was in full force and Kinks made a clear attempt to get into some of the Glam Rock quirks and solid 50s thump.

But Mountain Woman is most impressive of all on this album, with it's slight Calypso organ beat, while the usual T Rex, jagged, rock n roll guitars spike the arrangement and the Davies brothers harmonise for the chorus. The central melody rolls so effortlessly with particular attention to the Purdie-esque drum performance by Mick Avory, it was definitely better than the Lola and the Powermen concept misfire with far better musicianship and writing .

The Shoes (1977) Boys Don't Lie - LOST 70s GEMS

Black Vinyl Shoes was the sound album from the Shoes, a rare classic in the power pop genre, such a diverse record; jammed packed with beautiful mix of pop, rock, shiny guitars and heaps of semi- noise rock/psych electrics.

 Boys Don't Lie's fuzzed out pop attack is filled with shades of 2000s pop punk sounds, like Blink 182 particularly in its trembling bass segment, meanwhile the compressed, chunky signature guitar tone the late 70s would soon dominate rock from the 80s onward to the present day.
An album full of fuzzed out noise rock melded with power pop, though this means the vocals are so overpowered its a strenuous listen burying strong melodies. Black Vinyl is a strong LO-FI statement with enough textures and raw edge to make this a really underrated piece of work.
Highlights include the melodic, clean clanking guitars of Writing a Postcard, the claps and haunting reverb of Fatal and the sitar-esque guitar of Capital Gain; full of demented modulations and a real easygoing beat. The winding pedal steel of Fire for A While trippily driving the melody while in the background is a flanged acoustic or steel guitar strumming clankily.

The lyrical sliding feedbacks and overdriven guitars, as found on Tragedy, blend well with the centrally mixed, matter of fact vocals. The pop vocals are so restrained that their delivery flows seamlessly through the attention grabbing grooves. Along with the Scruffs and maybe Television this is some of the most exuberant and creative music of 1977 when punk was dying out opening a colourful future ahead for the music industry.

Tom Johnston (1979) Small Time Talk - LOST 70s GEMS

 Tom Johnston was part of a legacy of unsung yet highly successful American frontmen, he followed in the tradition of other high tenor lead singers with their own unique rhythm guitar style and tremendous harmony arrangement and occasional stunning lead guitar skills to boot; other examples being Roger McGuinn with his clear pop voice and jangly 12 string rolling guitar style of play or Glenn Frey with his sleepy, gossamer vocals and swift yet clean country acoustic strum. Tom's reedy, scratchy choice and attacking, hammer-on funk guitar defined the Doobies style as much as the McGuinn to the Byrds and Frey to the Eagles.

 The album is packed full of strong funk playing; three examples of note are the solo in album opener, Down Along the River where Tom executes a heavily filtered funk solo full of Funkadelic,Roy Ayers flavoured quacking duck wah wah; deep and jowly in it's tone and so, so funky. That track features ringing out Fender Rhodes, glistening soul harmonies and the kind of country lyrics reserved for his former band. The other examples are the intricate and so clear cut clavinet bouncing along in Savannah Nights and the supersonic, incredibly fat toned BB King soloing of Show Me.

 My choice gem however third on the track listings, Small Time Talk; a rocking soul number with subtle backing vocals and a nifty melody that mixes Tom's strengths of country, funk and soul. The solo acoustic guitar sets the beat with a grooving ascending stutter; the best thing he has ever played. It's undeniable groove and yet keeping a rootsy grit to it's a fine accomplishment while he sings with such a clean and positive soulfulness alongside the Memphis horns its the best song from it's album.

Brinsley Schwarz (1972) Why, Why, Why, Why, Why - LOST 70s GEMS

Brinsley Schwarz's 1972 release, Nervous on the Road, was more a bump on the road for the pub rockers, with it's regression back to generic, lifeless blues and jazz jams and bland rock n roll. There's very little original playing and the band failed to display the flair, passion and diverse songwriting of their other albums. Full of lifeless genre exercises a lot of the album fades into mild background music and displays some of the weaknesses of Pub Rock its lack of true ingenuity and sonic dynamism that other forms of rock were readily imbued with. There is a Stones quality to the silly jams and slurred vocals of I Like it Like That, Surrender to the Rythmm and Nervous on the Road (But Can’t Stay at Home) but overall a weak album. It does pick up with two of the last songs with the endearing romance of Brand New You, Brand New Me, while the song Why, Why, Why, Why, Why with it's snappy hook and driving mix of persistent acoustic guitar and short piano and country guitar fills; though it's the titular whining chorus harmonies that are the most memorable songwriting of the whole album not to mention the lead vocal is mixed a lot sharper and more prominent than rest of the album's leads.

Eagles (1972) Chug All Night - LOST 70s GEMS

On the second anniversary of Glenn Frey's passing I will look at two gems, one being a big hit the other an album cut.

I chose this album cut, often derided by die hard fans and even by Glenn himself, because it ultimately speaks volumes about Glenn's talent when you listen to the terse rocker, its a rare moment where Glenn's singing AND lead guitar took central focus; this song being unique along with Most of Us are Sad as being his only sole writing credits with the Eagles.

 When away from his usual collaborators Don Henley, Jack Tempchin and JD Souther you see both his strengths and weaknesses; his songs are melodic and flow quite naturally but the lyrics lack sophistication and depth. Just look at the awkwardly worded titles, though within the tunes themselves are some lines bearing tremendous subtlety and insight such as "I've been shadows of myself, how was I to know" in 1972's Most of Us are Sad. 

 Or in today's gem, Chug All Night, which opens with the classic opening line, "You scare me a bit, but that's alright"; which keeps to one of the themes of the band's 1972 debut album; the theme of supernaturally evil women also visited in Henley's Navajo flavoured Witchy Woman. Notice how Chug All Night's falsetto bridge features Frey and bassist Randy Meisner harmonising in a Native American styled melody itself, similar to modal sounds of Witchy Woman, as they sing "No devil ever cast a voodoo, So long and dark and real". Glenn was real talented at linking songs to a creative vision for a specific album and the band overall output; he branded the group with his own mix of syrupy smooth, down home harmonies as well and a Detroit chug they brought to even their most acoustic hits.

While the title itself did put me off I came to appreciate its song's sonic quality over it's lack of substance, Chug all Night is in the vein of the cacophonous, brawling Detroit rock n roll of Out of Control off the Desperado album, and undoubtedly the main hook is Glenn's killer lead guitar tone.

We open with a punchy, stinging guitar line that erupts like a cluster lightning storm tearing through the sky. It bursts with electrifying menace  in a flurry of blues notes; Glenn's guitar sounding almost like Jimmy Page's. The malevolent rhythm chords that run through in the background almost rage as they hang over the song, revving up at the end of each phrase like a beat up oldsmobile. Also listen to Glenn's orgasmic solo full of his signature meaty pull offs and lyrical slids that he would use in Already Gone, Too Many Hands etc.
 While Bernie Leadon is in there too like he is in Out of Control, adding a buoyant, cleaner tone as a twangy counterpoint and adding a few honkytonk licks in there to keep the country vibe present too. Frey mentioned he struggled to return the favour and play country guitar during Bernie's songs; the Eagles were ultimately a rock band not a country band.

 For me Glenn's best vocal moment is also in this song; when he sings the line "Till I'm blind and black and bluuuuee" with a high note on the word blue. Then he delivers the follow up line, "No one else will dooo", in a low, greaser voice almost in a animated sprechgesang register. 

 Meanwhile the song is packed with fantastic lyric couplets like "I'm wired for sound, Are you wired for light?", Glenn was amazing at this in particular. His skill at writing colourful little phrases epitomised his brand of breezy but flippant country rock songwriting, that gained substance and scope from Don Heney's overarching themes of discontent. Who can forget his single greatest lyric contribution of the 'flatbed Ford' line to Take It Easy, the best line in that masterpiece of a composition that only Glenn could pull off and deliver with 100% sincerity. Another great example is the couplet that opens Lyin Eyes about how 'City girls just seem to find out early, How to open doors with just a smile' and also pay attention to After the Thrill is Gone; a whole song built around these ingenious quips.

I no longer know how I could have had such a disdain for this song that I rarely got past the first chorus of 'I do believe we can Chug all night, I do believe we can Hug all night'. This was just one cut on their very first album and they were looking ahead to loftier ambitions and higher plains; after all these Eagles weren't meant to be grounded. Besides, I ask you; how can you hate a song which contains the line "If I'm alive in the morning, I'll be alive in a dream"; Glenn Frey the king of the couplet!

Eagles (1976) New Kid in Town - LOST 70s GEMS

On the second anniversary of Glenn Frey's passing I will look at two gems, one being a big hit the other an album cut.

The Eagles had two number ones sung by Don Henley before Glenn Frey got his own with this opener to their massively successful Hotel California album. This is highly ironic as he defined the band sound and dominated the greatest hits album not to mention dominating lead vocals the band's prior albums.
 The Mexican flavoured track seemingly plays out like a classic telenovela as a young lover soon sees his ex with someone new. Glenn's weepy falsetto emerges reminds me of the higher voiced Mariachi singers while Randy Meisner plays a guitarrón mexicano, a staple instrument of a traditional Mariachi band.While critics emphasise the songs' allusions to the Eagles themselves as the 'new kids in town' to me this is a very shallow assessment as it's the lyrics fresh and accurate examination of the mystique of a new lover and the feeling of 'same old, same old' when that fire starts to die out and soon you're replaced. This song captures the heartbreak so exquisitely with it's lush organ and acoustic mix layered with the band's serene harmonies that tug at the heartstrings

 The positioning of this single suggests the band was trying to stay attached to their highly lucrative early country rock sound whilst striving for a more soulful arena rock drive. Glenn was still ironically associated with the country sounds, despite singing like he was from Texas he was in fact a rock n roller from the Motor city than a southern outlaw. While I find Lyin Eyes more engaging, a number two hit with Frey commanding the lead, its an endless tale of a gold digger though I prefer New Kid's intricate vocal arrangement of this track particularly in the song's climax is superb, it's a shame its not the central focus and the guitars and instruments tend to soften the track too much which is why it took me a while to gt this song. it wasn't til I read a review about the lyrics's the band's strong point, which ache with regret "I Don't Want to Hear It", "There's so many things you should've told her." etc.

Glenn's arrangement sense is the best, from the beautifully worded 'Tears on your Shoulder' bridge where he harmonises with Henley to the climatic revelation 'He's holding her, and you're still around' with backing 'aahs' swirling around him. The rousing yet resigned declaration of 'There's a New Kid in Town!' seals the fatalism of the song, the same way the narrator in Lyin Eyes can't do anything about the situation. The Eagles were hopeless, melancholic observers and Glenn's sullen delivery was the always the best example of this.

Foreigner (1978) Tramontane - LOST 70s GEMS

Foreigner's under utilised musicians Ian McDonald and Al Greenwood were both more attracted to the grand sweep of Prog rock and probably would've fitted in better in Styx or Kansas, but they did produce this fine instrumental on the group's second album.

Their potential on offer was never seized instead the band was dominated by the traditional singer guitarist roles of Lou Gramm and Mick Jones. The only instrumental in Foreigner's discography, Tramontane is an effective insight into their creative potential with a creepy dark synth tone to it that forms the foundation for Mick Jones's guitar playing over the top of it; he also has a credit.

The doom laden 'Haunted House' themed synth that enters the song at is iconic in my opinion; it's creepy descending motif reminding me of some gothic choir just missing some ghoulish sound effects, like rustling wind, witches cackling or a creaking cemetery gate. this is also funky, jazz inflected and displayed a rare eclecticism in the band's traditional arena rock setlist that were built around Jones's meaty guitar hooks and even meatier vocals by Gramm.

Black Sabbath (1978) Over to You - LOST 70s GEMS

Why oh why is Sabbath's 1978' Never Say Die a record so widely panned by critics and hard core fans alike?

That's the question. The whole set is a gem in of itself it's more turbocharged hard rock than their classic sludge metal but ithe is imbued and animated with dynamics like airy jazz passages that neatly contrast the hard rocking parts and rocks harder than the soft rock balladry of their prior release Technical Ecstacy. Each track is full of nuance and fresh musical ideas without any excessive indulgence just go and read my prior post on the album's best track Air Dance here;

http://lost70sgems.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/black-sabbath-1978-air-dance.html

While the album has many incredible moments such as the badass saxophones of Breakout reminding me of Van Der Graaf Generators ' song Killer, or the triumphant coda to It's a Hard Road which reminds me of The Thrill of It All, not to mention the distorted orchestral sound of Johhny Blade's organ intro followed by some frenetic speed triplets from Ward; the band was performing at their peak creativity. This is ironic seeing as Ozzy had been fired from the band and reinstated and Ward was struggling with alcoholism while Immoi was generally burned out from the commercial pressures.

So I chose the album cut Over to You, it's musically not as adventurous but carries the exuberance of a lot of this album as Van Halen and upbeat pop and glam metal would soon come to dominate the years ahead; Sabbath were growing. The propulsive beat and Ozzys' in form vocals capture the lightning energy and plethora of ideas on show in this melodic cut. In many ways the spiralling romp of these jams hint towards Ozzys future solo work more than the Dio era of the band.
 Over to You starts with a strutting power riff against a majestic organ line behind it, it's a masterful mix as Ward breaks it down into Ozzy's weary pleaing vocals. This is more funkier than their usual pace particularly when it leads to a jazzy chorus full of trickling piano runs. Full of airy echo, this gentle jazzy chorus backdrops's Ozzy delicate romantic melody before delivering us back to the Imomi and the band's central riff. Unbelievably the lounge lizard piano combines well with the grooving hard rock thanks to the wonderful mix and the rhythm section's elasticity. as the band transitions effortlessly from driving beat pounding away to relaxed shuffle with ease.

So I'm the last man who can understand the pure hatred for this music, also I love the album cover too!

Pure Prairie League (1972) You're Between Me - LOST 70s GEMS

A incredibly addictive melody this should be regarded as a potential hit with it's catchy hook, singer Craig Fuller's

sleepy but crisp tenor nailing the repeated lyric in this winsome country pop tune full of sugary bubblegum 'la las', gospel 'oohs' and very spiritual pedal steel lines. The bucolic acoustic guitars alongside some occasional countering electric riffing also add dimension to what could've been too generic a song , but Fuller's pleas of 'You're Between Me' are heartfelt and sound so good.

Fleetwood Mac (1973) The Derelict - LOST 70s GEMS

A contribution from blues singer Dave Walker for his only Fleetwood Mac appearance on the Penguin album, it is a smooth bluegrass flavoured tune where his barrelling blues style works in a far more subtle approach as he waxes lyrical about how he is ordered to get out by 'a man in a trenchcoat'. Its a deceptive tune and his vocals on the oft covered track 'I'm a Roadrunner' are pretty engaging too, but alas he was outnumbered by the band's weighty talent pool; the dual styles of Bob Welch's patented dreamy ballads and Christine McVie's equally serene pop rockers.

Hall and Oates (1977) Bad Habits and Infections - LOST 70s GEMS

From the unusually hard rocking 1977 album Beauty on a Backstreet, here on this song there are shades of hard driving, downbeat rock similar to Sabbath with it's circular chorus melodies but with a brightness and quirky bridge that sounds like something Wings wrote. The pounding beat and pop, phased guitar are excellent while the reoccurring bridge features jumpy piano and falsetto 10 CC/Sweet/Queen theatrical delivery. This album was stocked full of heavy crunching guitars and was one of the least soulful of their 70's output, one issue is it does drag on for way too long but does feature a trippy outro full of vocals from Hall wildly screaming 'I am the Doctor'.

Pure Prairie League (1972) Take It Before You Go - LOST 70s GEMS

This upbeat cheerful country rocker form the underappreciated Pure Prairie League carries enough rustic melodicisms to transfer to the Bluegrass community as well as Top 40 stations. Though as usual it was the folk rock side of the country rock bands that appealed to mass audiences, Aimee, the band's big hit was far more based on folksy acoustic playing and pop sensibilities over any trace of country or bluegrass. This is true country rock over the more breezy pop rock with acoustic guitars by Eagles and Poco.