35.
Thin Lizzy - "Jailbreak"
Tracklist:
Side one:
01 - Jailbreak
02 - Angel from the Coast
03 - Running Back
04 - Romeo and the Lonely Girl
05 - Warriors
Side two:
01 - The Boys Are Back in Town
02 - Fight or Fall
03 - Cowboy Song
04 - Emerald
Thin Lizzy were the brainchild of Dublin, Irland drummer Brian Downey and guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott and formed in 1969. They are best known for three songs, "Whiskey In The Jar" (later covered - "whiskey in the jarooooo", by Metallica) "Jailbreak" and "The Boys Are Back In Town" of which the former two tracks appear on this album. To this day, "The Boys Are Back In Town" is a mainstay of FM Classic Rock radio and contains one of the most famous and iconic harmony guitar solos ever written in rock and roll history. Key tracks from this album have already been mentioned, but "Running Back" "Warriors" and "Cowboy Song" are also worth a listen. (here's my band
Free Dirt - a rock covers band - doing "
The Boys Are Back in Town" at a sound check for a gig in 1992 - I am the guitar player on the right side of the screen)
34.
Foreigner - "Double Vision"
Tracklist:
01 - Hot Blooded
02 - Blue Morning, Blue Day
03 - You're All I Am
04 - Back Where You Belong
05 - Love Has Taken It's Toll
06 - Double Vision
07 - Tramontane
08 - I Have Waited So Long
09 - Lonely Children
10 - Spellbinder
In 1978, on the heels of their extremely successful self-titled debut album, British/Americal rock band
Foreigner released their second album, "Double Vision." The 10-track, 38:02 album ended up producing several huge FM Rock Radio hits, including "Hot Blooded" "Blue Morning, Blue Day" and the title track "Double Vision." This album also contains the only instrmental ever released on a studio album by
Foreigner, "Tramontane" - other notable tracks are "Love Has Taken its Toll" and "Spellbinder" - this is, in my opinion,
Foreigner's best album. They're still together today although with only one original member, Mick Jones. Interesting side note about them - not too many people know that former
King Crimson multi-instrumentalist
Ian McDonald was also a founding member of
Foreigner. 33.
Def Leppard - "High -n- Dry"
Tracklist:
Side one:
01 - Let It Go
02 - Another Hit and Run
03 - High 'n' Dry (Saturday Night)
04 - Bringin' On the Heartbreak
05 - Switch 625
Side two:
01 - You Got Me Runnin
02 - Lady Strange
03 - On Through the Night
04 - Mirror, Mirror (Look into My Eyes)
05 - No No No
Originally released in July 1981, "High -n- Dry" is, in my opinion,
Def Leppard's masterpiece. Demonstrating an incredible knack for riffs, hooks and melodies, and flexing some serious songwriting chops for a group of very young musicians, this album is packed with gems. Side one is nothing short of brilliant, from the opening riff of "Let It Go" to the closing moments of the powerful instrumental "Switch 625" this album delivers non stop pounding, relentless hard rock that is full of memorable lyrics and killer melodies that will stick with you long after you've put it down. The 4 part vocal harmonies in the arena anthems like "Bringin' On The Hearbreak" also gave us a glimpse into the band's more mainstream/popular future. I'll be the first to admit that they kind of lost me after "Pyromania" but huge respect to the band for sticking with drummer Rick Allen after an unfortunate car accident claimed his left arm on December 31, 1984. And of course, huge props to Rick himself for hanging in there and finding a way to play drums with only one arm.