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.