The TAC Classic Rock Radio Listening Party

[KevShmev]

An oldies tune and a 90's song...I thought this was the classic rock thread?

What's tomorrow, songs by Lady GaGa and Elvis Presley?

[bl5150]

I only reason I even know who Blind Melon are is that some article I once read was describing the awful state of the music industry with the line "..........and signing bands like Blind Melon." 

[TAC]

[TAC]

I only reason I even know who Blind Melon are is that some article I once read was describing the awful state of the music industry with the line "..........and signing bands like Blind Melon." 

Brent, That Blind Melon album absolutely blows big ones. I like the song though. A one hit wonder for sure. And Shannon Hoon...puleeze.

[Cool Chris]

Oh god, No Rain is just awful. I cannot even put in to words what a horrible song that is.

House of the Rising Sun is a classic in the sense that it will never feel old or dated. Many years ago I bought an Animals "greatest hits" cd based on this song alone, and while I liked 2 or 3 other songs, I never dug their sound, or Burton's vocals. But on this one track damn do they work. It's like this was the one song he was born to sing.

[jingle.boy]

Led Zeppelin-Whole Lotta Love

A week late here... I saw this on my phone last week, and knew I had to come back to it when I had a moment to post my thoughts.  Most know that I'm a big-ass Zepp fan (had the Four Symbols inked on my left shoulder when I was 18).  Zeppelin changed what music means to me, and since we're telling stories, I'm gonna re-post this for those that don't know:

1)  It was '86, and my older brother had just bought a new stereo with a CD player (those were brand new at the time).  He pops in Black Dog, and I'm like wtf with the little wah wah wah wah opening.  Then Bobby Plant chimes in and I'm like  .  Changed my musical tastes forever.  Up to that point, I was a wussy little teenager listening to Madonna, Wham, and all that poppy crap.  Zeppelin is still, and always will be, my favorite band.  Have the four symbols on my left shoulder which makes it so forever.

So, as it relates to Whole Lotta Love... my parents split up in late '85, 2 months after they'd put me in a high-school that wasn't the one that my elementary school fed in to.  To say I was a lost soul would be an understatement.  Music eventually became a rock for me, and after getting exposed to Zeppelin, I was insatiable in my discovery.  Cue Columbia House Record Club!  Naturally, 14-year olds don't know how much of a scam it was.  Sometime in early '88, I finally got around to Zeppelin II, at the urging of my "friends" ... I'd starting associating with the stoner crowd, but I wasn't really 'in' the group ... I was instructed not to listen to the album unless baked out of my mind.  I followed those instructions, and hearing that opening riff for the first time was as monumental a music-listening moment as hearing Plant's voice for the first time.  Easily top-5 (maybe top-3) riff ever for me.  Sure, the musical section drags on, but for me, this is an epic song, without being epic in length.

Fuck I hate LZ.

I'm now questioning not only our friendship, but humanity in general.  What the fuck is wrong with you ?  You and Paul... NO SOUP FOR YOU!  <typed this before I saw Paul’s response… but knew it was coming>

That reminds me I haven't been on a Zep kick in I don't know how long. Should probably do something about that.

Ditto

Bon Jovi-You Give Love A Bad Name

Ironically, from the same post about Zeppelin (it was the "top 5 albums that changed your life")

4)  Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet.  Hard to say which 'glam' album really got me first (could've been Look What the Cat Dragged In), but from from the time between `86 and `97, Classic Rock and Glam Rock were the only styles of music that appealed to me.  There were a few smatterings of metal (Maiden, Queensryche, Ozzy), but not much.  I had a Columbia Record club subscription (who remembers those?) and filled my CD collection with Glam discs with everything from Aldo Nova to Winger)

YGLABN is mid-tier on that album, which is 5* top to bottom.

For what it's worth, Slippery When Wet was #27 on my Top50; Zepplin II was #16.

I'll come back tomorrow to get caught up on Foreigner.. but have a beauty story on No Rain.

[TAC]

Love it, Chad!

On my phone, but great post.

[Indiscipline]

House of the Rising Sun - Uncalculable influence on everything rock. If your favourite song from your favourite band is a Lamborghini Miura, HOFTRS is, well, the invention of the wheel. I'm not sure there have been more than 19 people in history as capable as Burdon to scream his soul out with such beauty and raw power.

No Rain - The precursor to the Agenda Corollary: terrible tune completely redeemed by the campiest possible videoclip.

[ytserush]

The Animals-House Of the Rising Sun

"There is a house in New Orleans, they call the Rising Sun"
Man that still gives me chills when I hear Eric Burdon sing that line. When I was a kid, this was an old song! But holy shit, it is still amazing. The Animals have some great tunes, and there was an underrated latent heaviness about them.

I like this song, but I like that David Johansen Animals Medley from the '80s  better, probably because it was the first time I'd heard it.  Always wanted to get a copy of that over the years but never have.

Never managed to get that Animals "Best of" collection either.

[Lowdz]

Glad I didn’t disappoint Chad 😀

[Stadler]

Zep is kind of a weird band for me.   I loved Page, because I could play a lot of his stuff, and I remember getting, let's say, "action" from a girl simply for playing Stairway... on a shitty acoustic at a college party.   But I never really appreciated them, or took their music to heart, until I got into some of the live stuff, and it really didn't finally click until I saw Page and Plant live in '95.  I've said it before here (and I don't expect anyone to really get it, but I was there), but "The Song Remains The Same" was the single greatest live moment I've ever experienced, and both my friend and I looked at each other when the song was done and said "what the fuck was that?".  It's almost like we blacked out or went into a trance or something.  It was amazing.  Then they did it again, later in the set, during "Calling To You", when they were interpolating other songs and Plant did a little thing with "Break On Through" by the Doors then burst into "For What It's Worth" by the Buffalo Springfield, and I realized just how good he is. 

"Tight but loose". 

[TAC]

Those Page & Plant shows were tremendous. Saw them in the Spring of '95 and then again in the fall. They may have been the last concert at the old Boston Garden and the first at the FleetCenter.

I was blown away by their performance. It was really awe inspiring.

[TAC]

So it was TWOsday again today. I was in my van for a brief time, but long enough to stop and listen to these:

Journey-Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'

Been a long time since I've heard this. It has quite a gag worthy title, but this is a great song.

I love the chorus:
"You're tearin' me apart
Oh every, everyday"

It really makes the song. Steve Perry is so strong here.

Journey-Wheel In The Sky

Although I'm no Journey expert, and I'm not familiar with their deep cuts, but Wheel In The Sky is probably my favorite song of theirs.
I was honestly being a fogey listening and thinking "This is when music was great". But it was... Not that it's not now. But there was an innocence about that time.

And again Steve Perry is ridiculous. Been years since I sat though this song, but Perry's vocals sounded different than I remember. They sounded like they were raised up over the music. They were almost too clean, compared to the sound of the rest of the track. Maybe it was some sort of remix/remaster. I don't remember the vocals feeling so separated.
Oh, and then the damn DJ cuts in just as that awesome ending starts. I love how this song ends, so heavy...for Journey.

[pg1067]

Blind Melon-No Rain

. . .


The Animals-House Of the Rising Sun

. . .

I never liked House of the Rising Sun, but it's not terrible.  No Rain, on the other hand...  I remember catching this video on MTV in 1992.  I thought it sucked hard and my opinion hasn't changed.  The video was dumb too.  The guy's voice was so damn whiny.  Not sure I ever heard anything else by this band, and I think I'm happy about that.

Journey-Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'

. . .

Journey-Wheel In The Sky

. . .

All of that early Perry-era Journey was so good!

My intro to Journey was  was the "Separate Ways" video on MTV in 1983 (and probably also the arcade game or the Atari game).  Classic bad 80s video, but a damn good song.  Journey was just massive back then -- especially after "Faithfully" was released as a single and video.  I sort of forgot about Journey until Raised on Radio came out, but that was a terrible album.  A couple years later, I started dating a girl who was a huge Journey fan, so I started taking a dive into the back catalog.  I never made it to the pre-Steve Perry albums, but those first five Perry-era albums are just so good.  "Wheel in the Sky" is one of my favorites.  "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'" less so, but it's still a good pop-rock song.  Every once in a while, I'll still dive back in and be reminded how good this band was.

Tim, check out some of the side 2 tracks on Escape and Frontiers.  Other than "Open Arms," they're not as well known as the "hits," but songs like "Mother, Father," "Edge of the Blade" and "Rubicon" are really good.

[TAC]

Tim, check out some of the side 2 tracks on Escape and Frontiers.  Other than "Open Arms," they're not as well known as the "hits," but songs like "Mother, Father," "Edge of the Blade" and "Rubicon" are really good.

The Journey albums I have are:
Departure
Infinity
Captured
Escape
Trial BY Fire


I definitely don't have Frontiers.

I never listen to those CDs though. I do have them loaded on my ipod. I just never stop on them when browsing for something to listen to.

[King Postwhore]

Thanks to my cousin,  he got me into Journey.  These 2 songs are stellar.

[KevShmev]

Maybe it is just a St. Louis thing, but classic rock radio always played Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' and City of the Angels back-to-back, just like LZ's Heartbreaker and Living Loving Maid, so I cannot talk about one without the other.

[TAC]

LZ's Heartbreaker and Living Loving Maid,

These were played back to back here as well.

[Stadler]

It was "Feelin' That Way" and "Anytime" that were always played together in my neck of the woods.

I have nothing to add to the great things being said about Steve Perry.  It's not a full-on regret, but I didn't really appreciate Journey until much later; I would have liked to have seen the great Steve Perry in full flight live, and I didn't.

[TAC]

It was "Feelin' That Way" and "Anytime" that were always played together in my neck of the woods.

Yeah, same here.

I have nothing to add to the great things being said about Steve Perry.  It's not a full-on regret, but I didn't really appreciate Journey until much later; I would have liked to have seen the great Steve Perry in full flight live, and I didn't.

I remember they were one of the first MTV Saturday Night Concerts.

[ytserush]

Tim, check out some of the side 2 tracks on Escape and Frontiers.  Other than "Open Arms," they're not as well known as the "hits," but songs like "Mother, Father," "Edge of the Blade" and "Rubicon" are really good.

The Journey albums I have are:
Departure
Infinity
Captured
Escape
Trial BY Fire


I definitely don't have Frontiers.

I never listen to those CDs though. I do have them loaded on my ipod. I just never stop on them when browsing for something to listen to.

I pop the chute after the Frontiers record.  Don't need anything after that.

[KevShmev]

It was "Feelin' That Way" and "Anytime" that were always played together in my neck of the woods.

Yep, those were as well here.

[Cool Chris]

Definitely threw me for a bit of a loop the first time I heard Feeling That Way not followed by Anytime.

Not a huge Journey fan, though do remember listening to a friends copy of their Time^3 box set for a small stretch in high school. 

Don't care much for Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'. Wheel in the Sky was a favorite though.

[Snow Dog]

I wish I could have been older when these classic rock bands were big. Being born in ‘80, by the time I came of age to my own musical tastes, most of the “classic rock” groups that I’ve come to enjoy had already had their heyday, Journey among them.

Wheel in the Sky was probably the first Journey song I remember hearing and taking note of, and a friend bringing over their greatest hits CD when I was in high school piqued my interest further. It was also around the time Trial By Fire came out. Message of Love is pretty solid, and One More remains one of my favorite Journey songs. But the rest is kind of forgettable and has nothing on Escape and Frontiers, my favorite of their albums.

[Stadler]

I wish I could have been older when these classic rock bands were big. Being born in ‘80, by the time I came of age to my own musical tastes, most of the “classic rock” groups that I’ve come to enjoy had already had their heyday, Journey among them.

Wheel in the Sky was probably the first Journey song I remember hearing and taking note of, and a friend bringing over their greatest hits CD when I was in high school piqued my interest further. It was also around the time Trial By Fire came out. Message of Love is pretty solid, and One More remains one of my favorite Journey songs. But the rest is kind of forgettable and has nothing on Escape and Frontiers, my favorite of their albums.

I think it depends on why you want that.   To see them live on top of their game? Sure.   In my experience, the best live shows are just BEFORE the big breakthrough, which means that you have to have a little luck to see bands at their peak.  I've been blessed to see a couple bands at what are now considered to be the "apex" of their rise to stardom.  Saw Def Leppard on their last tour as an opening band.    Amazing.  Saw U2 on the first leg of the Joshua Tree tour when it was still arenas.  AMAZING (the spotlight thing, before it became a trope, was really cool).  Saw Maiden on the Number Of The Beast tour as an opener.  45 minutes of pure liquid metal.  It was like looking straight at the sun.  Maiden is probably my favorite live band now (Slash is close too) but it's not at all the same band that was fresh to America in '82.   Contrast that with Guns'n'Roses, who I saw on the UYI tour where they were past the initial explosion, but haven't quite imploded yet, and while it was electric (it was the most "dangerous" show I've ever seen) you could see the bloat and excess and the resulting cracks around the edges.   Same with Motley Crue (Dr. Feelgood). 

[TAC]

I wish I could have been older when these classic rock bands were big. Being born in ‘80, by the time I came of age to my own musical tastes, most of the “classic rock” groups that I’ve come to enjoy had already had their heyday, Journey among them.

I think it depends on why you want that.   To see them live on top of their game? Sure.   

I think it's more than just seeing them live though. I think it's the whole "newness" "in real time" that is the most exciting part of it.

I think anyone that is a real music fan likely has that, "I wish I was born 10 years earlier" lament. I know I do.

[Stadler]

No, I most certainly do.   Maybe it's me; I just know there are a ton of bands that I could have been "there for" in the beginning and if I'm being honest, I just missed it. Journey is one.   I liked some of their stuff, but I wouldn't have been caught dead with a Journey CD. They were my girlfriend's band.   Same with Metallica, Queen, the Dead, Crimson...

[TAC]

Metallica was your girlfriend's band?

[King Postwhore]

Metallica was your girlfriend's band?

Of course.  Only pussies listened to Metallica.

[TAC]

Metallica was your girlfriend's band?

Of course.  Only pussies listened to Metallica Rush.

 

[King Postwhore]

 

[Stadler]

Metallica was your girlfriend's band?

Haha, no.  Journey.   

[Snow Dog]

I wish I could have been older when these classic rock bands were big. Being born in ‘80, by the time I came of age to my own musical tastes, most of the “classic rock” groups that I’ve come to enjoy had already had their heyday, Journey among them.

I think it depends on why you want that.   To see them live on top of their game? Sure.   

I think it's more than just seeing them live though. I think it's the whole "newness" "in real time" that is the most exciting part of it.

I think anyone that is a real music fan likely has that, "I wish I was born 10 years earlier" lament. I know I do.

The bolded is more the sentiment that I was meaning, though seeing those classic rock acts live as well in their prime for a reasonable price would have been amazing.  But to have "been there" when they started up and followed them through their career is indeed and would have been the exciting part. 

[Stadler]

Oh, by the way, I went back to listen to "The Essential Journey" to check out what TAC was saying about the vocal mix (I agree 100%) and I happened to hear "Somethin' To Hide".

I suggest you all go and hear it too.  It's worth it.  (It's originally off "Infinity" if anyone cares). 

[Lowdz]

I’m a casual Journey fan. Their greatest hits is “great” but theres a load of crap in there too.
My favourite Journey album is Arrival with Steve Augeri. Perry’s voice was too sweet for me.

Schon is a great guitarist though.

I like those two songs you played.

I can’t stand House of the Rising Sun - even more than Robert Plant 😱