Anniversary Series - 1984!

I have to tell you that this is probably one of my favorite years.  So many good albums came out this year that it will be tough to condense it down into one article, but I've tried.  Metal is really growing, not only with the popularity with the pop stuff, but thrash also slowly building in the background.  Meanwhile, rock music was taking a bit of a backseat, but there were still some very good releases this year.

Things start off massive with Van Halen's 1984, dominating the charts with songs like "Panama," "Jump," and "I'll Wait."  It may have startled some fans with the synth riffs, but the songs won pretty much everyone over.  And right after that, Judas Priest shows up with Defenders of the Faith, a solid follow up to the massive Screaming For Vengeance.  Other big albums at the start of the year include Whitesnake's Slide It In, Saxon's Crusader, Europe's Wings of Tomorrow, and Scorpions' Love at First Sting, with the titanic hits "Rock You Like a Hurricane," and "Big City Nights."

This year would also feature a lot of debut albums, with some albums being better than others.  Bon Jovi's self-titled debut only shows hints of their future successes, Grave Digger's Heavy Metal Breakdown barely holds together, and even celebrated thrashers Anthrax started with the uneven Fistful of Metal.  However, the good debuts include Lee Aaron's Metal Queen, Savatage's The Dungeons Are Calling, Queensrÿche's The Warning, Autograph's Sign in Please, and Ratt's Out of the Cellar, blowing up radios with their big hit "Round and Round."  The rest of that album is quite good, too.

Metal continues to evolve as the year goes on.  We have some early efforts in doom metal with Trouble's Pslam 9, and Saint Vitus' debut, ensuring that Sabbath-y slow, ominous riffs wouldn't go out of style.  Cirith Ungol would have their own take on epicness with King of the Dead.  Yngwie J. Malmsteen, after trying to make it with Steeler and Alcatrazz, introduces the world to neo-classical metal with Rising Force.  Of course, the big winner is thrash metal, featuring two massive albums: Metal Church's self-titled debut, and Metallica's Ride the Lightning.  Both are excellent examples of blending melody with aggression, making them some of my favorites.

Metal would continue to dominate the year as it goes on.  Twisted Sister told us "We're Not Gonna Take It" on Stay Hungry, Dio would sing about the Last in Line, and Iron Maiden would cement their metal supremacy with Powerslave, going on a massive world tour.  Manowar would end up releasing two albums this year: Hail to England and Sign of the Hammer.  Towards the end of the year, Dokken put out Tooth and Nail, expanding their sound into their own brand of pop metal.

With all this metal going on, what about rock?  Well, like I said, it was in the background, occasionally popping out with some good songs.  .38 Special started the year with Tour de Force, Queen got experimental with The Works, Rush continued their synth-based sound on Grace Under Pressure, Steve Perry went solo with Street Talk, and Bill Squier showed Signs of Life.  The big story, however, was Deep Purple's Mark II reunion, recording Perfect Strangers, which is an interesting blend of 70s and 80s styles.  

As the year came to a close, there were more big albums.  The Alan Parsons Project would release two this year, Ammonia Avenue and Vulture Culture, which would be their last two efforts to follow the mainstream popularity of Eye in the Sky.  Then, at the very end, Foreigner would come back with Agent Provocateur and the big ballad "I Want to Know What Love Is." While rock may have been fading at the time, it certainly wasn't going out without a fight!

As you can see, this was a massive year.  Be sure to check out the playlist below for more awesome music, and if you think there's still something I may have missed, let me know in the comments below.  I know 1984 is a year I keep coming back to, and maybe when I come around on these Anniversary Articles again, I'll have even more to talk about!  Until then, rock on!  \m/

Anniversary Series - 1979!

Wow, this has been a rough month!  I wanted to get some articles out before now, but I guess life had other plans.  Still, I am determined to do these Anniversary Articles, as they provide a fun summary to write up.  As it turns out, 1979 is a pretty solid year.  Melodic rock was really starting to take off, and we have the early signs of NWOBHM movement.  Let's get into it!

The year starts off strong with a lot of big names.  Scorpions was "Loving You Sunday Morning," Journey gave us some "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'," Van Halen wanted to "Dance the Night Away," and Supertramp was having Breakfast in America.  That album was a big one for them, as the title track, "The Logical Song," "Goodbye Stranger," and "Take the Long Way Home" would be big hits for them.

Heavy metal gets some interesting releases this year, featuring the debut albums of both Accept and Saxon, as well as Motorhead's iconic double-bass kicking on Overkill.  Judas Priest released a classic live album with Unleashed in the East, Iron Maiden was working on their Soundhouse Tapes, and Motorhead would return later in the year with Bomber.  While I do think the next year would be where metal really takes off, this year was certainly a sign of things to come.

Meanwhile, the summer really heated up with a lot of massive hits.  The Electric Light Orchestra released "Don't Bring Me Down," Foreigner sang about "Head Games," Rainbow switched out Dio for Graham Bonnet to get Down to Earth, the Eagles went for The Long Run, and AC/DC drove down the Highway to Hell, which is easily the best album they did with Bon Scott.

As the year winded down, some of the high points included Styx's ballad "Babe," Molly Hatchet's "Flirtin' with Disaster," ZZ Top's "Cheap Sunglasses," and .38 Special's "Rockin' Into the Night."  However, the big album that would cap the year off is Pink Floyd's The Wall.  Powered by iconic hits like "Another Brick in the Wall Part Two," "Run Like Hell," and "Comfortably Numb," this psychological rock opera would put Pink Floyd back on top of the world, despite the band falling apart inside.  

That wraps up another year.  Check out the playlist below for more tracks, and let me know in the comments below if you think I've missed something.  I'll certainly do better next month for articles, as I've slowly been pulling some things together.  Until then, rock on!  \m/

Anniversary Series - 1978!

It's time for another article to celebrate an iconic year in rock history.  1978 is definitely a dynamic year.  While competing with the explosion of disco (which I actually don't mind, honestly), bands found all kinds of new ways to rock.  Between the growing arena rock scene, the fading prog rock scene, and metal at a pivotal turning point, the year provides all kinds of exciting music!

The year started off with Journey introducing the world to the voice of Steve Perry with Infinity.  Bolstered by the big hits "Lights" and "Wheel in the Sky," the band evolved from their jazz-fusion roots into the rock radio scene with confidence.  Hard rock would continue to dominate the first part of the year, with AC/DC putting out Powerage, Joe Walsh's eclectic "Life's Been Good," and Van Halen's debut "erupting" on the scene, providing the hits "Ain't Talking  'Bout Love" and their cover of "You Really Got Me," and essentially rewriting the electric guitar playbook for at least 10 years.

Moving into the spring, the rock parade continues with The Cars iconic debut album, Dire Straits releasing "Sultans of Swing," and Rainbow proclaiming Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, with "Kill the King" and "Gates of Babylon" continuing to show the strengths of the Dio and Blackmore combination.  However, the biggest album was Foreigner's Double Vision, which had three massive hits in "Hot Blooded," "Blue Morning, Blue Day," and "Double Vision," all of which are classic rock station staples to this day.

Progressive rock would go through quite the transition this year.  Genesis would morph their streamlined sound into something more poppy and accessible, finding success with "Follow You Follow Me."  Yes would also release a stripped down effort with Tormato, strange album art and all.  However, concept albums were not lacking.  The Alan Parsons Project would look to Egypt for ideas with their concept album Pyramid, and Jeff Wayne would unleash his version of The War of the Worlds.  In the midst of all this, Rush put out Hemispheres, being one of the few bands at the time willing to push deeper into their sound.

Heavy metal was also going through changes.  Despite the confident title, Black Sabbath's Never Say Die! sounded like a last, desperate gasp for the genre.  However, Judas Priest carried on unperturbed, as they released two albums within the calendar year.  Stained Glass provided the "Exciter," while Killing Machine inspired metalheads the world over to be "Hell Bent for Leather."  The power of these releases would help to inspire the rebirth that is the New Wave of British Heavy Metal to suddenly pick up in the subsequent years.

Wrapping things up, the rest of the year featured some great, anthemic rockers.  The Who showed their veteran strength by demanding "Who Are You," Toto debuted their self-titled album and asked us to "Hold the Line," Boston followed up their incredible first album with Don't Look Back, and Styx released Pieces of Eight, a solid follow-up to The Grand Illusion.  Featuring big hits like "Blue Collar Man," "Queen of Spades," and the iconic "Renegade," they rocked stadiums and jukeboxes across the country, and continue to do so on classic rock stations around the world along with Foreigner.

With a year of plenty great rock and metal to listen to, this ends up being one of the strongest years I've had to write about.  As always, check out the playlist below for more, and let me know if I've missed anything you think should be mentioned!  Until then, rock on! \m/

Anniversary Series - 1977!

The middle of the month means it's time for another Anniversary Article, and I have to tell you that this year is a killer one for great rock music.  So many big bands putting out great albums, as things shift in a more FM radio-friendly direction.  Still, progressive rock wasn't quite out yet, as a few bands were still putting out some epic material.

In fact, the year starts off with one of the biggest prog rock bands: Pink Floyd.  Inspired by Orwell's allegorical novella Animal Farm, their Animals album shows them at their darkest, as well as their proggiest, with three very long songs dominating the album.  At around that same time, the often overlooked Starcastle would release the first of two albums.  While not quite as strong as their debut, I've always liked their mix of Yes and Kansas sounds, making for some very underrated prog.  Jethro Tull also released Songs of the Wood, the first of three very folk music heavy albums, and Journey went Next, starting to shift away from jazz-fusion into the hard rock they'd be known for.  The band would hire Steve Perry later that year.

As the spring warms things up, we get a slew of great hard rock albums.  Foreigner had their debut album, with the big singles "Feels Like the First Time" and "Cold as Ice," Heart warned us of the "Barracuda," AC/DC released Let There Be Rock, and Judas Priest committed Sin After Sin, as they further refined their heavy metal sound.  The Steve Miller Band would bring more of their southern-fried rock with Book of Dreams, featuring "Jet Airliner," "Swingtown," and "Jungle Love."

Summer would give us some more prog, as Yes would bring back Rick Wakeman for Going for the One, featuring one of their most beautiful songs, "Awaken."  Rush would push themselves further into prog territory with A Farewell to Kings, known for the ballad "Closer to the Heart" and the exotic "Xanadu."  Alan Parsons would return with his Project to provide the Asimov-inspired I, Robot.  However, the big album of the summer was Styx's The Grand Illusion.   Half the album remains on classic rock playlists across the country, and it was the first album I ever reviewed for this blog.  With standout classics like "Come Sail Away," "Fooling Yourself," "Miss America," and the title track, it's easy to see why this one was such a massive release.

The rest of the year would finish quite strong.  As we get into the fall, The Electric Light Orchestra release the double album Out of the Blue, which had "Turn to Stone," "Sweet Talkin' Woman," and the nearly overplayed "Mr. Blue Sky."  Kansas would follow that with Point of Know Return, a very solid, proggy, hard rock album from start to finish.  Then thing get epic with Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell, which I just reviewed, and Queen's News of the World, giving us the perennial stadium anthem "We Will Rock You," which flows into the titanic "We Are the Champions."  Eddie Money would then close the year out with his debut album, promising us "Two Tickets to Paradise."

Seriously, this is one amazing year, and I know I didn't cover everything, as you can see in the playlist below.  However, if you think I've missed something, just let me know.  Until then, rock on! \m/

Anniversary Series - 1981!

Honestly, it can be difficult to adequately provide a recap for these anniversary articles, as sometimes there is just so much good stuff that comes out in a year.  Suffice it to say that 1981 is another stellar year with great music.  

Things kick off with April Wine's "Sign of the Gypsy Queen," a great rock song that's really grown on me, recently.  At the same time, we have Styx releasing Paradise Theater, featuring massive songs like "Rockin' the Paradise," "The Best of Times," and "Too Much Time On My Hands."  .38 Special would have their big hit "Hold On Loosely" come out this year, and Billy Squier had "The Stroke."

Heavy metal would also have some big releases this year.  Iron Maiden would pick up of their popular debut record with Killers, expanding on their noodly style of metal.  Judas Priest had at tougher time, following up British Steel with Point of Entry, often regarded as a weaker entry, but I still enjoy "Heading Out to the Highway" as solid Priest song.  Ozzy Accept would come into their own with Breaker, which I reviewed earlier this month.

Prog rock may not have been much of a force by this point, but there still some significant albums, though Rush's Moving Pictures certainly stands out, with big hits like "Tom Sawyer" and "Limelight," as well as the fan favorite "YYZ."  Genesis would continue their pop-transition with Abacab, and King Crimson would suddenly reform for Discipline, ensuring that at least someone was exploring the boundaries of rock music.  

As the year goes on, we get even more great rockers.  Blue Öyster Cult recorded Fire of Unknown Origin, with the big hit "Burnin' For You," Journey provided "Don't Stop Believin'" and the epic ballad "Open Arms" from Escape, The Rolling Stones asked to "Start Me Up," and Def Leppard's High 'n' Dry gave us "Let It Go" and "Bringin' On the Heartbreak."  However, the big record for the summer was Foreigner's 4.  With massive tracks like "Waiting For a Girl Like You," "Jukebox Hero," and "Urgent," they showed they were the rock band to beat that year.

Even at the end of the year, it doesn't stop. The Police released Ghosts in the Machine, Loverboy sang out "Working For the Weekend," J.Geils Band had "Freeze-Frame," and The Cars used combined '50s kitsch with new wave sensibilities to Shake It Up.  Metal titans Black Sabbath would follow up their comeback record of Heaven and Hell with the equally solid Mob Rules, Ozzy also had a sequel record in Diary of a Madman with "Over the Mountain," and Saxon provided the NWOBHM anthem with "Denim and Leather."  The year would conclude with AC/DC's follow up to Back in Black with For Those About to Rock We Salute You.  Perhaps not as strong overall as their first with Brian Johnson, but that title track still gives me chills.

So there it is: 1981 in a nutshell.  I know I skipped over a ton of good stuff, and I tried to include them in the Spotify playlist below, but be sure to let me know if I've missed anything.