The Modfather

"While you got your head in the clouds
And talking so loud,
Can’t you see past the stages.
It’s only when you finally arrive
That you recognise
You been going through changes."

Blink And You'll Miss It - Paul Weller

In 1989, Paul Weller was becoming quite jaded with the conventions of the music business. The cycle of put out a record, do publicity and tour, then write and record a new album, and on and on, had become an albatross around his neck. Having immersed himself in the new Rave scene, the final Style Council album, Modernism: A New Decade, heralded the new Acid-Jazz genre that was a favourite of the ecstasy-fuelled Ravers. His record company, Polydor, refused to release the record, saying it had no sales potential. To these ears, they were correct as it is a mish-mash of instrumentals and half-baked ideas that really go nowhere. (The album was finally released in 2001.) Weller had always been known as, first and foremost, a songwriter with a tremendous sense of melody and lyrical prowess. After the Style Council disbanded in 1989, he took a hiatus of sorts from music to concentrate on raising his family. My theory is that he was just burnt-out and had run out of the energy and time required to put his all into his craft.

He re-emerged in 1991 with the Into Tomorrow E.P., soon followed in 1992 by his first solo album, Paul Weller. While still leaning heavily on his love of soul music, it hinted at a new direction which would find its legs on his next release, 1993's Wild Wood. He still didn't have a permanent band, but he had brought with him drummer Steve White, from the Council days. Whitey had started with Weller when he was a mere babe of 17, having grown up next door to Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson) who taught him to play the drums. Wild Wood relied heavily on guitar music, both rockers and more folky numbers. The album was credited with kicking off the Brit-Pop movement in the '90s, and was cited by bands like Oasis and Blur as having given them true inspiration. Weller had now regained his status as a leader in the U.K. music scene and his spirited live shows at the time were hailed as must-sees. 1994 saw the release of Live Wood, a concert album culled from various shows on his '93 world tour. For his next record, 1995's Stanley Road, he delved back into his roots, not so much musically, but personally. The album was named after the street he grew up on in Woking and he wrote about his life and the changes he had gone through. Musically, the album still has some soul influence, but he was now getting further into a Traffic-like feel, with some songs featuring extended jams by his band, even going so far as to have Traffic singer-keyboardist Steve Winwood play on the record. This feel continued on 1997's Heavy Soul and his band became more of a constant unit, with White on drums and Steve Craddock and Damon Minchella, of Ocean Colour Scene, on guitar and bass respectively. It is a psychedelic and bluesy record, with the band stretching out its sound even more. Lyrically, Weller had reached another point of personal crisis and the album is quite introspective and lacks some of the optimism of his earlier works. His next album, 1999's Heliocentric, had a much different feel, offering up odes to his children and, lyrically, much lighter and happier fare. It is my least favourite album of his though, as I found it to be too light on dynamics and rather forgettable. His next project was an ambitious acoustic solo tour, from which sprang the live record Days Of Speed. The album was critically acclaimed and his fans also lapped it up, partly due to his playing old Jam faves like That's Entertainment and Town Called Malice for the first time since The Jam broke up in 1982. Illumination, from 2002, found Weller more relaxed and showing that he could age gracefully. The songs are not as jam-bandy as before, as he crafted a more soul-tinged record. His guitar is still prominent, but it serves as a great foil to the horn loops and other more groove-oriented touches on the album. 2004 saw him release an all covers album, Studio 150. He pays his respects to his heroes here, covering Neil Young, Burt Bacharach and Bob Dylan, as well as a great version of Rose Royce's Wishing On A Star. Having played and recorded covers since his days with The Jam, this was a natural progression. For As Is Now, which he put out in 2005, Weller returns to the more guitar-based sound of his earlier records. It is a lean and muscular record, but lacks any surprises. Not that it is a bad album, far from it, but it would be his last with the band he had been working with for the better part of the last decade. 2008's 22 Dreams saw him using no set backing band, with guest musicians including Graham Coxon of Blur and Noel Gallagher and Gem Archer of Oasis. The record is rather shambling and lacks any sort of cohesiveness, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. Weller is expanding his musical palette again, and rediscovering a sense of adventure that had been missing for the last few albums. This adventurous spirit has continued on his latest album, released in April 2010, called Wake Up The Nation. Most of the songs hover around the 2 minute range, but these tunes pack a lot into these short spaces and never sound too busy. It is easily his most psychedelic record, with buzzing guitars and imaginative arrangements, making it one of his strongest records ever in my books. I find it totally enjoyable and love to listen to it through and through again. Weller has shown once again why he ranks at or near the top of the music totem pole in my life.

Best Of Paul Weller

1. Blink And You'll Miss It
2. Here's A New Thing
3. Out Of The Sinking
4. Up In Suze's Room
5. Find The Torch / Burn The Plans
6. Friday Street
7. Broken Stones
8. Sunflower
9. Wild Wood
10. The Changingman
11. Woodcutter's Son
12. Fly On The Wall
13. Push It Along
14. Into Tomorrow
15. The Weaver
16. Aim High
17. Mermaids
18. Hung Up
19. Peacock Suit
20. Whirlpool's End
21. Kosmos

Listomania! - 1979

I started working at a copper tube factory called Wolverine Tube in October of '78. My Dad had worked there since 1967 and when it became apparent that I needed money to support my young family, he got me the job there. By '79, I was getting used to the grind of the place. It was 2 week periods of 3 rotating shifts, so with a baby at home, it meant many days of almost no sleep. You would just start getting into the swing of one shift and then have to switch over to the next rotation. I particularly hated the midnight to 8AM shift because I found that I would get a lousy sleep, not want to eat, and generally feel like crap for the whole 2 weeks. Life in that place was hard, loud and dirty, but I was young and full of energy and I didn't want to let my old man down and sully his good name by being a screw-up. I made some great friends there and had a regular gang that I would hang out with and go for beers after 4 to 12 shift and such. It was weird though, because it was my Dad's workplace and I thought it must be a serious place and all because Dad never really talked much about what it was like. That illusion was shattered early on when I came into work one day and saw a pair of legs sticking out of the garbage can by the main doors. There were a group of guys standing around it and laughing their asses off. I stopped and looked down into the garbage can and saw that it was my father that these jokers had stuffed in there head first! That's when I realized that, despite the horrid work we did and the soul-sapping existence it was, there was also fun to be had! Music was becoming my main solace from the place and I always had a song in my head or sang to myself while I was working on the furnace. Here are my favourites from that year:

Top 10 Of 1979

10. Slow Motion - Blondie

From the Eat To The Beat album, this slice of pop perfection harkens back to the Girl Group sound of the '60s. It was written by the keyboard player, Jimmy Destri, and it continues along the more mainstream path they started along on Parallel Lines. It is not a selling of souls though, but a glowing ode to the Shirelles of the world. They could have recorded Heart Of Glass 2.0, but they chose to honour their true roots with a song like this. Debbie Harry puts down one of her best vocals on this one and the band stays out of her way while grooving along in the background. It is just a to-die-for melody folks, simple as that. Sing it at the top of your lungs! "Slow motion, I can play with time. I can keep today but tomorrow's fine." Tomorrow never knows what it doesn't know too soon!

9. Gangsters - The Specials

In the U.K., punks looked to Jamaica for their influences more than the Led Zeps or others of their ilk. In doing so, they resurrected forms of music like Ska and Reggae and gave them new life. One such band was The Specials, led by the keyboardist Jerry Dammers, who started his own record label, the now legendary 2-Tone Records. They specialized in Ska sounds and they released this song as their and 2-Tone's first single. Driven on by Dammers' punchy organ and sung in his usual sardonic way by the great Terry Hall, this is such a great song to skank and rank along to that you must move your feet! This song is a re-working of the Jamaican star Prince Buster's 1964 Ska classic Al Capone. The Specials give that song a special nod by sampling Prince Buster at the start of the song and with the line "Don't call me Scarface." The Specials were soon joined in the Ska resurrection by bands like Madness, The English Beat and The Selecter. "Why must you record my phone calls? Are you planning a bootleg LP?" Umm.....no...

8. It's Different For Girls - Joe Jackson

I always thought when I heard this back in the day that any song that starts with the lyric "What the hell is wrong with you tonight?" had a lot to live up to. Well, 31 years later, it sure has! I liked a lot of Joe Jackson's music from '79 to '85 or so, before he meandered off into that Jumpin' Jive shtick and this is my fave tune of his. The vocal on this is brilliant, sung with great feeling and strength, but with tongue firmly planted in cheek. It twists the age-old boy-girl relationship thing around, with the girl saying that she doesn't want anything to do with love and implying that she just wants sex, then throwing out the line "Don't you know that it's different for girls?" I love the spare drumming with its shimmering ride cymbal work and the great bass fadeout at the end. "Mama always told me save yourself, take a little time and find the right girl." I should have listened closer to Mom.

7. Even The Losers - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

What a fantastic melody! From his commercial breakthrough album Damn The Torpedoes, Petty sings this in his best Roger McGuinn voice and really hits it hard. It reminds me of the brand new townhouse we moved into and I used to dress Debbie's 15 year old brother Robbie in my goalie equipment and go down in the basement and fire pucks at him as hard as I could while listening to that album. The sound is perfect, which is no surprise as it was produced by Jimmy Iovine who was on a real hot streak at the time. This song for every downtrodden poor hack who feels like he never gets a break is one of Petty's best and Martina's top track by him. As usual, the Heartbreakers are top-notch, especially Benmont Tench and his Hammond organ. "Well, it was nearly all summer we sat on your roof. Yeah, we smoked cigarettes and we stared at the moon." The moon wasn't bothering me that night, Dave.

6. Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd

I missed The Wall almost completely at the time. I was well past listening to bands like Floyd, dismissing them as uncool and old farty. The only song I knew was that wretched Another Brick In The Wall that the radio played 4 million times a day, so I ignored it altogether. I don't recall hearing this song until about 1985 or so, late at night on the radio. At first, it was the words I got into, but later, it was the brilliant guitar soloing by David Gilmour. This is a truly epic tune and while it is played at that typical Floydian tempo, Roger Waters really hits home with maybe the best lyrics he ever penned. This song has a gorgeous sadness to it, all alienation and disappointment, and it is one that I can relate very easily to. When I met Martina, she carried a quote book with her and she had written these words in it: "When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look but it was gone, I cannot put my finger on it now. The child is grown the dream is gone." We'll just let that one sink in....

5. Powderfinger - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

This one comes from the Rust Never Sleeps album, with 1 acoustic side and 1 electric side. I didn't care much for that record, but this song is among my faves by Mr. Young. Apparently, he wrote it for Lynyrd Skynyrd, but they never got to record it before the fatal plane crash that killed singer Ronnie Van Zandt, along with a couple of others. This song seems to be about a young guy left alone to defend his family's property during the U.S. Civil War. There are differing views on this, but that's what I think and it's my blog and I'll interpret if I want to. (Sing that last part in your best Lesley Gore voice.) Neil's voice is even more reed-thin than usual here, but that is what clinches my love of the song. He sounds young and frail and afraid, giving voice to the fear of the hero of the song. Martina hates his singing in general and really hates this song, but she would be absolutely wrong about that. I think it is simply beautiful and I truly enjoyed singing it around the campfire at the cottage accompanied by the genius guitar playing of Mr. Jason Ball. Thanks Jason! "Shelter me from the powder and the finger. Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger." Bang bang.

4. Dancing Barefoot - The Patti Smith Group

Produced by the genius Todd Rundgren, this is from the last Patti Smith Group album, Wave, probably her most pop-oriented record. She "retired" from the music business after this record to marry ex-MC5 guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith and raise babies for the next 9 years. This feminist ode to human attraction and all its mysteries is a brilliant stream of conciousness piece of poetry that is among the most powerful statements ever put on record. I never tire of hearing this song and still play it at least once a week, helped by the fact that it is one of Martina's favourite songs. The band plays a spare part here as Patti is the star of this show. The fantastic rant at the end is something lots of overrated lyricists could only dream of writing: "The plot of our life sweats in the dark like a face
The mystery of childbirth, of childhood itself
Grave visitations
What is it that calls to us?
Why must we pray screaming?
Why must not death be redefined?
We shut our eyes we stretch out our arms
And whirl on a pane of glass
An afixiation a fix on anything the line of life the limb of a tree
The hands of he and the promise that she is blessed among women."

Don't tell me what the poets are doin'!

3. Wasteland - The Jam

Oh, such a winsome, pensive song. I love this song a ton and I love the feelings it evokes in me when I hear it. It's a look back at childhood, at innocence, at simpler times, amid the hopelessness and decay of modern life in England at the time. The melody is quite childlike too, helped along by the playing of the most childish of instruments, the recorder. Paul Weller is all Cockney accent here and I love the way he sings this with a wistfulness that belies the abandonment of all hope inherent in the lyrics. There is nothing spectacular about the band's playing on this tune, but there need not be as it is left to Weller to paint the bleak picture for us all. "We'll smile, but only for seconds, for to be caught smiling's to acknowledge life, a brave but useless show of compassion, and that is forbidden in this drab and colourless world." Put the pills up on the top shelf!

2. Clampdown - The Clash

This is another Joe Strummer call-to-arms from the classic album London Calling. I could have chosen at least 5 songs from that giant of a record, but this is the one that still gets the old blood pumping. This was my Wolverine Tube song as I felt like such a sellout "working for the clampdown." I used to sing it out loud while I was sweating my ass off loading up the furnace with copper tube that was used, among other things, to build bombs for the army. It is a treatise on the failures of capitalism and the emptiness of working class life, complete with screaming guitars and vitriolic lyrics which still ring true to me today. As well, Mickey Gallagher from Ian Dury & The Blockheads plays a mean, swirling organ that hovers around the fringes of this anthem. "The men at the factory are all old and cunning. You don't owe nothing boy get runnin'. It's the best years of your life they want to steal." They were, I didn't, they did.

1. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding - Elvis Costello & The Attractions

What a great way to end an album! This is the last song on my favourite Elvis Costello record, Armed Forces. Again, on a record so chock full of brilliance, it is hard to choose just 1 song, but this is the one. It is a simple call for unity and love in our troubled world and it plays right into my idealistic sentimentality. It is also my son Gord's favourite EC tune, probably because I played this album all the time when he was a wee lad, and also because he shares his father's sappy sentimentality. Elvis' great emotional vocal is supplemented by The Attractions' great playing, especially the outstanding and underrated drumming of Pete Thomas. The song was written by the album's producer, Nick Lowe, who barely missed making this list with his own '79 song, Cruel To Be Kind. "So where are the strong? And who are the trusted?" Good question....

Listomania! - 1978

I remember my Dad pounding on my bedroom door. I awoke with a startle and heard him saying that Debbie had gone into labour and I needed to hustle over to her Dad's house to get a ride to the hospital. I jumped into some clothes that were lying on the floor, not knowing until later that I had put on 1 red sock and 1 blue sock. A lot of the day is fuzzy, but I recall Debbie's labour being quite long and then, all of a sudden, it was go time. I was given some doctor's greens to put on and it was then I discovered the odd-sock situation because the greens were too small and barely made it below my knees. Gordon (after Gordie Howe) Russell (after my Dad) finally made his appearance in the world on Friday Feb.24,1978, a month premature at 6 lbs. 9 oz and a little jaundiced, but otherwise quite healthy. My life had changed irrevocably and I was a very young, but very proud and determined Papa. Much of Gord's baby years are a blur to me now, probably because I was working so much overtime (my Dad had got me a job at his workplace, Wolverine Tube) and running on very little sleep. I do remember him being a generally happy little guy who didn't like to sleep much. He still doesn't sleep enough, but I don't have to rock him in the rocking chair anymore at least. He has turned into a caring, passionate and intelligent man and he is one of my best friends and I am still so very proud of him. Now, I am also a very proud Grandpa of his and Abra's son Kieran, so the cycle of life continues along. Musically, 1978 was an amazing year. I have left off so much great stuff, including Van Halen's first record, The Cars' great debut and many more. Here, then, is the list:

Top 10 Of 1978

10. Hong Kong Garden - Siouxsie & The Banshees

Siouxsie Sioux was a scene-maker in London in the early days of punk, showing up at all the early punk shows, especially the Sex Pistols gigs. This was the first record she and the Banshees released, as a stand-alone single and it is still a great listen today. From the first plinks of the xylophone, the mood is set. Siouxsie delivers a great vocal in what would become her signature style and the band is just so tight. John McKay plays a wicked, atonal guitar throughout, aggressively pushing the song along. Steve Severin plays a simple but effective high bass part too, lending the bottom end a poppy quality, but make no mistake, this is early punk rock in all its glory. This is one of the first records ever produced by Steve Lillywhite, who went on to great fame with the early U2 records. Siouxsie has said the song was an ode to her favourite Chinese takeout in London, to the stoicism the people that worked there showed in the face of blatant racism by Skinheads who frequented the place. "Chicken Chow Mein and Chop Suey, Hong Kong Garden takeaway." Ho-Lee Chow!

9. Don't Look Back - Boston

This is on the list just for the guitar sound alone. The vocals are nice, everything is quite nicely-produced, but Tom Scholz and his unmistakable guitar are what this song is all about. He apparently invented some equipment to make his guitar sound like that, putting to good use his degree from MIT. I remember waiting for this album to come out and making jokes about how long it took. Well, it was only 2 years since the debut record, but back then it seemed like ages. Hell, the 3rd album took them 8 years to release after this one - now that is a long wait! By then, I had moved on from them, so it mattered not to me. Damn, that is a gorgeous piece of guitar though! "I finally see the dawn arrivin'. I see beyond the road I'm drivin', far away and left behind." No road-rage here!

8. Nice 'n' Sleazy - The Stranglers

The drums lay down the beat....and then here it comes. That bass! Magnificent! J.J. Burnel lays down that monster riff and off we go! Hugh Cornwell growls out his menacing lyrics and the synth solo is crazy and all over the place, but it is that incessant bass line that pushes the song to such great heights. The Stranglers played a famous gig at London's Battersea Park that year and for that added touch in their show, they hired strippers to dance along with this song, and a few others, in their birthday suits, causing a huge uproar and resulting in them being labelled as politically incorrect Neanderthals, which they probably loved. This song reminds me of the summer of 1982, when Steve and I would take walks with his boom-box blasting this out at top volume on our way to play Donkey Kong at a local arcade. "Nice 'n' sleazy does it, does it every time." Too right baby!

7. Hanging On The Telephone - Blondie

The first song on the fantastic Parallel Lines, this is Blondie at their melodic punkiest, all speed and agility and New York City. I always think of this when I hear a dial tone as the lead-in of the song features one. The band comes crashing in, riding on the wave of Clem Burke's killer drumming. Heart Of Glass is still a great song today, but this little 2:22 ditty still gets my blood pumping. Debbie Harry was so gorgeous, and she could sing a bit too! Her little growl on the "Oh, I can't control myself" part is worth the price of the record alone. This was the start of a great run for the band and their commercial breakthrough, as evidenced by my little sister Shannon joining their fan club. "I'm in the phone booth, it's the one across the hall. If you don't answer, I'll just ring it off the wall." No Dagwood needed here!

6. Because The Night - The Patti Smith Group

Patti and her band were recording the album Easter in the next studio down from Bruce Springsteen, who was recording Darkness On The Edge Of Town. He was having trouble finishing a song, so the engineer of both records, Jimmy Iovine, asked Bruce if he could take the song to Patti to see if she thought it was any good. She of course thought it was and added to the words and the rest is history. It became her biggest single ever and it is still a classic today. I love her vocals in general, but on this one, she kills it, especially the rant she goes on that starts at about the 2:09 mark. Lenny Kaye adds a tasty guitar solo and the piano is quite gorgeous and haunting. "With love, we sleep. Without, the vicious circle turns and burns." Oh, to have the ability-the gift-to write like that!

5. I Need To Know - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Here's a guy who I have a ton of respect for. He never pandered to critics or sold his soul. He just made some great records his way and he is still doing it 35 years into his career. I'm not a huge Petty fan, but he can sure write a great song. This is my personal favourite of his, with its Who-ish, 2 chord guitar riff and punky energy. Benmont Tench pounds the piano, Mike Campbell plays his usual solid guitar, and the rest of the band just kicks ass on this tune. I love the urgency here, with Petty playing the paranoid lover, all tension and worry. Simply put, it is just a fab song, short but oh so sweet! "Who would've thought that you'd fall for his line? All of a sudden it's me on the outside." Hands up if you've been there before.

4. Down In The Tube Station At Midnight - The Jam

This is the sound of Paul Weller stretching his wings. From the brilliant 3rd album, All Mod Cons, it is the chilling story of a guy catching the train home to his wife and being harassed and beaten up by thugs who steal his money and keys and the victim is left wondering if they will go to his home and assault his wife too. It percolates along on Bruce Foxton's bass line, but it is Weller's great vocal that stars in this tune. It is a very effective narrative, contrasting the warmth and safety of home with the urban decay and danger of the outside world. On the back cover of the single, Weller had the record company put a picture of one of his heroes, Keith Moon of The Who, who had just passed away about 1 month earlier. "I first felt a fist and then a kick, I could now smell their breath. They smelt of pubs and Wormwood Scrubs and too many right-wing meetings." Steven Harper and the Keebler Elf perhaps?

3. Trapped Again - Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes

In '78, Steve and I were still listening to M105 out of Cleveland and this song would come on the radio and cause us to start grooving in his living room. The Jukes were a Jersey Shore band who never really achieved commercial success, but they were a very good, tight band. Miami Steve Van Zandt, who also played in Springsteen's E-Street Band, was the guitarist and producer for the Jukes, and also one of their main songwriters. He penned this with Johnny and Bruce and it is a killer slice of '60s-infused R'n'B. The bass is too cool and the horn section is funky as all get out. The drummer lays down some great sixteenth notes on the high-hat as well and you can't stop moving your feet even if you want to. "Can't let the hand of fate, let it drag me down. I can't get no angel of mercy, I came to stay, but I got swept away." The party starts here!

2. The Big Country - Talking Heads

From the delicious More Songs About Buildings And Food, this is my fave Heads tune. I love the slide guitar and the way it gives an almost country-rock feel to the song. I loved this song from the moment I first heard it. I had bought the album for their rendition of Al Green's Take Me To The River, but this track soon became the one that I played over and over. I started working in a factory around the time this was released, and this song was one I always had in my head during that time. I was young and even though I had a kid and lots of responsibilities, I still felt like an outsider and this anti-establishment anthem was one of my theme songs. This fed right into my obsession with all things New York City at the time. The lyrics are fantastic and David Byrne's quirky delivery is just the perfect way to get them across. How I love this song! "I wouldn't live there if you paid me. I wouldn't live like that, no siree. I wouldn't do the things the way those people do. I wouldn't live there if you paid me to." The start of my career in copper tubing!

1. The Promised Land - Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band

My hands-down favourite Springsteen song is this paean to the working-class guy that wants to escape and overcome the odds against him. Having started working in the same factory as my Dad, I saw what it had done to him, with the lack of respect he felt, like a rat trapped in a cage. I, being young and naive, thought it would never happen to me of course. It was the first time I realized that I was from a working- class family and it started to turn my thinking around in many ways. It didn't make me defeatist, just harder and more determined that they would never get my soul. It was a side of me that I never really showed to friends and loved ones at the time and it took about another 5 or so years before I did. I loved Darkness On The Edge Of Town much more than Born To Run and still do. This still hits me right in the gut every time I hear it, especially the "Mister I ain't a boy, no I'm a man" part. Bruce is the master of writing about the common feelings of the common man, and this, in my opinion, is his masterpiece. This is my fave verse:

"I've done my best to live the right way
I get up every morning and go to work each day
But your eyes go blind and your blood runs cold
Sometimes I feel so weak I just want to explode
Explode and tear this town apart
Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart
Find somebody itching for something to start."

Gets me every time.....

Listomania! - 1977

I never got the number of the bus that hit me in 1977. You see, being a good-time Charlie was #1 on my list of priorities that year, closely followed by acting like a completely irresponsible, teenage idiot. I had a steady girl and the relationship was hot and heavy, resulting in an estrangement from pretty much all of my friends. I skipped more classes than I attended, which led to my Mom being called to the school at the end of the year and being told I wasn't welcome back at that particular institution. She then told me I had to get a job and start paying rent and I did get work, at a pizza place full-time for $1.60/hour. I quit playing all sports, which up until then, had been my whole existence outside of music. A disgrace? Most certainly. An asshole? Without question. I was so used to being smart and well-behaved, so used to being the big cheese- now it had all come crashing down around me. I had zero skills to cope with any of this and everything had spiralled so out of control that I was completely powerless to stop the huge snowball that was aiming straight for me. About a week after I was shown the door at school, the snowball smashed my little world to pieces. Debbie, my girlfriend of 18 months, was pregnant. She was 18, I was 16, and we were scared shitless. When my parents were told, my Dad wanted to send me to England to run away from my responsibilities. My Grandfather wanted me to come up north and get a job on the railroad or the pipeline and abdicate my responsibilities. In a moment of sanity, despite my age and stupidity, I chose neither option and decided that I couldn't bring a child into this world and not know who he or she was, or how they were doing, or go off and leave Debbie to deal with something that life-altering by herself. I chose to see this through, thinking that I loved her enough that it could work regardless of our ages. This story does have a happy ending, but 1977 was my annus horribilis. Music was my refuge from the storm and, as you will see by the list, times were changing. Punk had appeared on the scene and, while I was still mostly on the Classic Rock train that year, my tastes were starting to shift.

Top 10 Of 1977

10. Holidays In The Sun - The Sex Pistols

Young, loud and snotty - that describes both this song and me at the time. I had seen a TV special on the Punk phenomenon which focused on the Pistols and, completely fascinated, went to my local record store and bought Never Mind The Bollocks. I took it over to Steve's and we put it on the turntable. We burst out laughing at the vocals, at the lousy sound, at the amateurish playing. See, we were suburban kids who had no idea of the petri dish which had spawned such anger and discontent and need to get out and do it yourself. We were used to bands like Queen and Zeppelin and their professional playing and big production. Hell, the singer even sang with a hardcore English accent! Well, 6 months later, I had changed my tune and it finally hit home. This was always my favourite Pistols song and it still is today. Steve Jones plays that wicked descending riff and Rotten sneers and preens and spits his way through the lyrics. Sid Vicious didn't play the bass on this song (Steve Jones did that as well), but he got into a punch up with Paul Weller of The Jam in a London pub because he was taunting Weller about how the Pistols had stolen the riff from Weller's In The City. The riffs are similar, but not identical, so no harm no foul as I see it. "I don't wanna holiday in the sun. I wanna go to the new Belsen. I wanna see some history, 'cause now I got a reasonable economy." Provocative little buggers eh?

9. No More Heroes - The Stranglers

Another one of those songs where I dare you to not tap a toe along with it. It has such an infectious rhythm, driven along by Jean-Jacques Burnel's throbbing bass line and Dave Greenfield's signature keyboards. Several historical figures are name-dropped here, including Lenny Bruce and Leon Trotsky. The Stranglers were lumped in with Punk, but they were older guys who had been around for several years and had a degree of proficiency on their instruments that the Punk bands couldn't match. To be sure, there are similarities to Punk, like the angry vocals of Hugh Cornwell and the fast, driving tempo. This great little ditty is the title track from their second album, also the second album they had released that year. They had a long career and changed their sound many times. "Whatever happened to Leon Trotsky? He got an ice pick that made his ears burn." Ouch!

8. Watching The Detectives - Elvis Costello & The Attractions

I have never been a fan of reggae, but certain songs I do like. This reggae-infused monster of a song would be one of them. I liked Elvis pretty much from the start and this single-only release was one of the first songs I ever heard by him. Produced by Nick Lowe, it has a tension and cynicism to it that still appeals to me. The bass trudges along on that now-familiar reggae beat and Costello's lyrics flesh out this tale of a lover who would rather watch TV than be with him. The bass and drums were actually played by 2 guys from Graham Parker's band The Rumour as it was recorded before The Attractions were formed. Steve Nieve of The Attractions later dubbed in the keyboard part. Elvis' vocal delivery is that of his early years, kind of a half-sneer, in keeping with the trend of the times. "They beat him up until the teardrops start, but he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart." Whatchoo talkin' 'bout Elvis?

7. Psycho Killer - Talking Heads

Pushed along by one of the most famous bass lines ever, played by Tina Weymouth, this song has become one of the most iconic in the Heads' canon. At the time, it sounded very strange to these ears, especially David Byrne's paranoid, high-pitched singing. When I think of New York City in that time period, these guys immediately come to mind and they along with Patti Smith were the main impetus for my 1980 trip there. I had to see what inspired these great artists to write such great songs and fantastic lyrics. This song is sung from the viewpoint of the serial killer and is still very chilling and full of kinetic energy, even the part sung in French. The guitar always sounded like what goes on in a crazy person's brain, all disjointed and shrieking. "You start a conversation you can't even finish it. You're talking a lot, but you're not saying anything. When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed. Say something once, why say it again?" Words to live by.....

6. The Modern World - The Jam

Here's another band that put out 2 albums in '77. This is the title cut from the second album and it's all righteous anger and vitriol. Singer/guitarist Paul Weller was just 19 when he wrote this in reaction to reviewers who claimed that he was just a Who revivalist. Like the aforementioned Stranglers, The Jam were lumped in with the Punks, but their tailored suits and Mod leanings were very unlike other Punk acts. They had the speed and anger and energy of their peers though and played on the same bill as many of them such as The Pistols and Clash. Weller's guitar is manic and Bruce Foxton on bass and Rick Buckler lay down the bottom with precision and chops. Weller's Cockney accent gives his angry vocals added oomph and verve. "Don't have to explain myself to you. I don't give two fucks about your review." Yes you do Paulie, you wrote a bloody song about it!

5. Fly At Night - Chilliwack

I've always had a soft spot for songs that start out with acoustic guitar and morph into rockers with electric guitars. This is a genuine Canadian classic that is known by a scant few outside our borders. It is an ode to life on tour, not exactly an original subject even back then, but it is such a wonderful song that the subject makes no difference to me. Sung in his trademark falsetto by Bill Henderson, one has no power to resist the gorgeous melody which usually prompts a singalong when this song is played. My buddy Coup often broke into this when we'd get together to jam, without complaint from any of us in attendance. A fave then, and now. "Ooh, we like the big wide spaces. Yeah, we like a sea of faces." This obviously wasn't written just after playing Call The Office then!

4. Aja - Steely Dan

This epic always fascinated me. I remember buying the album and playing it at the home of this girl I had a big crush on - Anne Marie Chesterman, where are you now? I knew absolutely nothing about Jazz, but this song is all Jazz. The chords, Wayne Shorter from Miles Davis' band and his brilliant saxophone, Larry Carlton on guitar - a veritable who's who of Jazz greats. Shorter's blazing sax solo is mind-blowing, but it is the drumming of Steve Gadd that makes this tune so amazing. Hands down, the best drum soloing ever put on record. The story goes that Gadd came in, was handed his part, read it over, sat down, and did it in one take. Now go listen to it and come back and read this again One take!!! Well tie me to the side of an ant hill and smear my ears with jam! "Chinese music always sets me free. Angular banjos sound good to me." Deedle-deedle-dee-dee, dee dee dee!

3. Sound And Vision - David Bowie

In order to clean up from all the coke in L.A., Bowie fled that scene in late '76 for Berlin. He set up shop there and recorded 2 albums, both of which were released in '77, Low and Heroes. He was quite in love with the German sound and he immersed himself in it and the culture. This song is one of his best dance tunes, having shaken many a leg to it myself. Bowie hired Brian Eno to play synths on this song and, along with producer Tony Visconti's wife, Mary Hopkin of Those Were The Days fame, provide backing vocals. It is barely 3 minutes long, but it packs a huge punch. The rhythm section is fantastic with the percolating bass guitar being the foundation of this great song. Bowie's vocal is quite laid-back and low-key, but the epitome of cool. "Pale blinds drawn all day, nothing to do, nothing to say. Blue, blue." Sunday morning coming down!

2. Complete Control - The Clash

Clear the furniture! Grab the kids and get them out of harm's way! 250 pounds of thrashing madman coming through! Man, do I love this song! The energy, the feel, Joe Strummer starring as the raving lunatic! The band is just giving their all, sounding so dangerous and young and angry. This single was not on the first album in the U.K., but it was put on the U.S. release. The Clash were much better players than the Pistols and they packed at least as good a lyrical punch. This song relates to their concerns over CBS having too much say in what the band did and wrote, kind of a naive notion, but a common one with musicians and artists. There was nothing worse to Punks than being a sell-out and The Clash took a lot of heat from their peers for signing with such a huge corporation. It was produced by Jamaican reggae legend Lee "Scratch" Perry and has achieved classic status, deservedly so. I love when Strummer sarcastically yells out"You're my guitar hero" when Mick Jones is playing his solo. What a song! "They said we'd be artistically free when we signed that bit of paper. They meant we'll make a lotsa mon-ee an' worry about it later." All hail the corporations!

1. Dum Dum Boys - Iggy Pop

It begins with the roll call of his former Stooges bandmates and the fate that had befallen them. It was seen as a put down by some critics, but I actually feel the opposite. It's kind of a twisted homage to his former buddies, backed up by the line "Where are you now my dum dum boys? Where are you now when I need your noise?" Produced in Berlin by David Bowie, it is Bowie's band that plays on this and gives it that sludgy, crawl-on-your-belly sound. Carlos Alomar plays a great druggy guitar and Iggy's voice sounds threatening and twisted and really fits the feel of this amazing tune. This is from Iggy's debut solo outing The Idiot, in my opinion an outstanding record. When Martina and I were in university, we pulled into the parking lot there one morning at 8AM with this just blasting from the car, much to the alarm of the 4 or 5 people waiting at the adjacent bus stop. They were most definitely alarmed by my singing it at the top of my lungs! "I was most impressed. No one else was impressed, not at all." I, too, was impressed Iggy!

PS - I will be at a cottage until Sunday Aug.22 so no more posts until then.

Listomania! - 1976

My Grandfather on my Dad's side was a guy named Lloyd Paul. He was born in 1895 and worked for CN for many years. When he retired in 1960 (the year I was born), he began trekking across Canada every summer and stopping at different relatives' places along the way. (My Mother called it "freeloading.") When at our house, he always slept in my room in the basement, which had an extra bed in it. I lived in fear that he would die in my room while I was in there, but he never did. I always enjoyed his visits, but I started enjoying them even more when I turned 13. He would leave his suitcase open on the bed and always sitting right there on the top were 3 or 4 Playboy magazines. Well, that was too much for raging hormones guy to resist! I would "read" these mags when he was upstairs with my parents or out with my Dad running errands. The reason I am mentioning this now is that 1976 was the American Bicentennial, so I vividly recall that issue of Playboy celebrating it. Their was a "bunny" on the cover done up in an American flag outfit and I have that glorious picture still inscribed in my brain. By the way, Grandpa Paul lived until the age of 101 in 1996, so he got his money's worth out of the old-age pension! In terms of music, it seemed better at the time than it does in hindsight. I had real trouble making this list, as I usually start out with about 30 or so songs from each year and cull them until I reach just 10, but for '76, I only started with 15 songs and even then I was stretching the limits.

Top 10 Of 1976

10. Detroit Rock City - Kiss

True confession: I was a massive Kiss fan in the mid 1970s! I saw them live 3 times, including in Detroit at the now-defunct Olympia in 1977 where they opened the show by descending from the ceiling on huge hydraulic platforms whilst banging out the opening chords to this song. They were very much a rite of passage for adolescent boys of a certain age and I was a young teen at the peak of their popularity. Their stuff really doesn't interest me at all any more, other than nostalgically, but this opening song from the album Destroyer was a shoo-in for this list purely because I loved it so much back then and I still pull it out for a listen from time to time. It has it all, Peter Criss' smashing and pounding drums, Gene Simmons' throbbing bass, Ace Frehley doing his usual raunchy solo and Paul Stanley's theatrical vocals. They were under a lot of pressure to do a follow-up to the multi-platinum selling Kiss Alive, so they hired hotshot producer Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, among others) to do the album. Well. his fingerprints are all over this song, including the beginning where a radio speaks of the death in a car accident of a Kiss fan, with the sounds of a car all through the song, culminating in a crash and the sound of squealing tires and broken glass. "You gotta lose your mind in Detroit Rock City." Not only my mind, but quite a few brain cells too!

9. Squonk - Genesis

I remember when Peter Gabriel left Genesis in '75. There was a huge kerfuffle about who would be the new vocalist and the band held auditions for 6 months before determining that their drummer, one Phil Collins, would take over lead vocals. This track, taken from my favourite album of theirs, The Trick Of The Tail, would prove that Collins could indeed handle the lead vocal just fine. He would then go on to rule the pop music world in the 80s, with several huge smash hits, none of which I ever liked. But, this song I still love. It is a droning, Led Zep-like rocker, about as heavy as Genesis ever got. Collins' drumming is fantastic, all rolling tom-toms and crunchy snares. I even love the one-note drone of the bass line and Steve Hackett's spare but vital guitar playing. I love to play along with the drums too, although it's more like hack along than play along. The lyrics are about some imaginary creature or some such nonsense, but I never liked Genesis for their lyrics. "All the while in perfect time his tears are falling on the ground, But if you don't stand up you don't stand a chance." ...And then there were four......

8. Get The Lead Out - Aerosmith

More chunky boogie-rock from Steven Tyler and the guys. Joe Perry just kicks it so hard in this tune with his big slabs of fuzzy, distorted guitar and Joey Kramer's yeoman work behind the drumkit is first-rate. Steve and I knew a guy named Vic Masseo who was a drummer, but an even better air drummer and his renditions of Aerosmith tunes were air-note perfect. This song has that Aerosmith cocky swagger and Tyler's signature straining to get to the high notes vocals, but it is a swingin', rockin' good time that they could not match in their later releases. I really like the "baby, baby,baby" vocal near the end that keeps switching speakers when you listen on headphones "Get out the lead, get out of bed, get the lead out." Alright, I'm coming already! Jeez!

7. Let's Stick Together - Bryan Ferry

This is just one of several covers that Bryan Ferry recorded in his solo forays outside of Roxy Music. Especially in the '70s, he favoured songs from the 1940s and 1950s, which is the decade that this rollicking little ditty was written by Wilbert Harrison, who had a #1 hit in 1959 with the song "Kansas City." This is one of those tunes that will dare you to sit still as you will find yourself tapping a foot or shaking a booty without much prompting. John Wetton, later of Asia, lays down a groovy bass line, augmented by Paul Thompson and his workmanlike shuffle on the drums. Chris Spedding gets to play some tasty licks on the guitar as well, and Chris Mercer plays a killer sax solo to polish things off. Once again, as in most projects Ferry is involved in, it is his suave and debonair delivery that puts the icing on the cake. "Well if you're stuck for a while consider our child. How can it be happy without its ma and pappy? Let's stick together, cmon cmon let's stick together. You know we made a vow not to leave one another never." Ahhh, wedded bliss!

6. Pissing In A River - The Patti Smith Group

Here come the punks! The high-poetess of punk, Patti Smith, ably aided and abetted by her guitarist sidekick, Lenny Kaye, wants to change the musical landscape. This song is not so much punk as it is a forerunner of the emo movement in the '90s with its emotive pleas and confessional, soul-baring lyrics. I used to read an obscure music magazine out of New York City called Rock Scene which covered the embryonic punk scene spewing forth out of clubs like CBGB's, Max's Kansas City and The Bottom Line. This is where I first read about Patti Smith, The Ramones, Talking Heads and Blondie. Patti's first album, Horses, was hailed as a breakthrough in music at the time, but it completely passed me by. I still don't like it all that much and I prefer her next 3 records a whole bunch more. This song is from her 2nd album called Radio Ethiopia. It was co-written with her bassist Ivan Kral, partly in the hope that it would provide a commercial breakthrough for the band, but it was only a cult hit with minimal radio airplay. It got much more attention in 1980 when it was put on the soundtrack to the movie Times Square. "Should I pursue a path so twisted ? Should I crawl defeated and gifted ?" Take note, Jim Morrison.

5. Love Of The Common Man - Todd Rundgren

Melody, melody, melody! As you may have surmised by now, Todd is a big fave of mine. His sense of melody is second to none, and this song bashes that melody right down the listener's throat. The album this is from, Faithful, was a very brave idea. On side 1 of the LP, he recreated almost note for note covers of some very epic songs like Brian Wilson's Good Vibrations. On side 2, he returned to his poppier roots and filled it with catchy tunes like this one. Some would say it is Todd-by-numbers, but I think he was taking the progressive elements he had learned working with Utopia and applying it to his solo work. This features a sublime double-tracked lead guitar run, reminding people that he was and always will be, first and foremost, a guitar player. His vocal is earnest and, as usual, very soulful. This is another singalong-fest for yours truly and one of my top songs by him. "Take a dive from your ivory tower and fall on everyone. We'll catch you, everyone." If it's me they're catching, there better be at least a football player or 2 in the crowd!

4. Something About You - Boston

If you were alive and into rock music in 1976, then you probably owned a copy of this album. It crossed all barriers - rockers liked it, boys liked it, girls liked it - I don't know too many people who didn't like it. The guitar sound and layered harmony seemed to do the trick. It was a new sound at the time, obviously augmented by a truckload of studio trickery such as overdub upon overdub. While More Than A Feeling was the big hit, and a great song, this one was always the one that did it for me. The slow beginning and then, bam! The band comes barging in with their signature guitars and Brad Delp's clear, forceful tenor guides us on the way. This is his best vocal on any song in my opinion and the guy was just a really gifted singer. Martina's brother Karel had quite an infatuation with these guys that lasts until this day and he need not explain why. It's all there in the music. "It isn't easy to show what I'm feeling inside, girl. It isn't easy, I know, when you believe in a man like me." Boston was definitely better than Chicago at that time!

3. Silver, Blue And Gold - Bad Company

This song is one that has one of the most gorgeous melodies these ears have ever had the pleasure to hear. Paul Rodgers, one of the best front men ever, that's right, ever, is a dual threat here with his usual stellar vocals and some beautiful piano playing, especially on the intro. This is taken from the Run With The Pack album and is probably my favourite song they ever did. It was never released as a single, leaving me to question what the powers that be at Swan Song records were thinking. This should have been a monster smash, but we'll never know, will we? The band lays it down in typical sturdy Bad Company fashion, but this is all about Paul Rodgers folks. This chorus will have you singing along, or you must be deaf. "Give me silver, blue and gold, the colour of the sky I'm told. My rainbow is overdue." No, this is not the Burl Ives song from the Rudolph Christmas thingy!

2. Don't Take Me Alive - Steely Dan

This song appears on the album The Royal Scam, which was a pretty rockin' album by Steely standards. There is a lot of guitar on this record and the above song is probably the most blatant example of this. Jazz great Larry Carlton is let loose on here, all sinew and growl. I don't know his solo work at all, but I find it hard to believe he ever played a more menacing lead part than this one. The guitar, when it isn't soloing, just hovers and lurks around this tune, waiting to pounce at any moment. Since Becker and Fagen were noted for being extremely picky about sounds, Carlton was likely exhausted at the end of this take, but it was well worth the effort. Session giant Rick Marotta provides some all-star drumming as well, crisply and deftly navigating the many nuances that were always ingrained in Steely Dan's writing. Oh yeah, Don Fagen's vocals are top drawer as per usual and the lyrics are pretty cool too. "Agents of the law, luckless pedestrian, I know you're out there with rage in your eyes and your megaphones." Come out with your hands up!

1. Station To Station - David Bowie

In my eyes and ears, this is Bowie's opus, his New World Symphony, his Romeo and Juliet. It clocks in at just over 10 minutes and it has tempo changes aplenty to boot. The playing by his band is impeccable, led by the killer rhythm section of bassist George Murray and drummer Dennis Davis, who lay down the opening half's backbeat like finely tuned machines. Speaking of machines, Bowie expanded his use of synths on this record, having been heavily influenced by the Krautrock sounds of Kraftwerk and Can. Bowie was playing another character here, the Thin White Duke, aptly named because he had become quite pale and bone-thin from his elephant-like cocaine habit. He has said he has zero recollection of the recording sessions for this record, once remarking, "I know it was recorded in L.A. because I've read it was." In the faster part of the song, it is E-Street Band pianist Roy Bittan who carries things with his rolling barroom piano, ably aided by new guitarist Earl Slick and his nimble, noisy soloing. I think this is the most creative piece of music he ever did, and maybe his best. "It's not the side effects of the cocaine. I'm thinking that it must be love." How would you know, Dave?

Listomania! - 1975

1975 is most memorable because I made the acquaintance of one Steve Ross. We met in Bill Bettger's Vocal Music class at Montcalm S.S. in September '75. We had each been at the school for Grades 9 and 10, but ran in different crowds. I knew of Steve because he was one of the big stars on the wrestling team and he knew of me because I played on the basketball team. We bonded very quickly and had a lot of common interests, with music being the primary one. If memory serves me correctly, our first music conversation revolved around our opinions on Kiss' Dressed To Kill album. We found out that we had the same birthday, November 22nd, but as I constantly remind him, he's exactly 1 year older than I am. I first heard many of the artists on these lists at his house. I was just starting to branch out musically, whereas Steve's Mom was up on the latest good music and encouraged him to pursue this hobby. I spent a lot of my teenage years at his parents' place, listening to great music, having a lot of laughs, getting shit from his Dad for drumming on their armchair, and eating tons of his Mom's famous pepperoni sandwiches. I'm proud to say that through all these years, we are still the best of friends today, despite many changes and good and bad times. I also met my ex-wife that year in the same class and the 3 of us hung out every day that first year: more about that happy subject to come! This list is a who's who of what is now known as Classic Rock, but at the time these were new and exciting sounds and we rocked out hard to them. Here then is the list:

Top 10 Of 1975

10. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd

As everybody reading this knows, this is the title cut from the album of the same name which was the highly anticipated follow-up to Dark Side Of The Moon. The sound of this record strays quite a distance from Dark Side. Most of the album, including this song, was about the mental breakdown of founding member Syd Barrett. The song is led by a beautifully played 12-string acoustic guitar by David Gilmour, who also handles the lead vocal. The lyrics were written by bassist Roger Waters and they deal with one of his favourite subjects, the feeling of alienation. It is a simple song and I always thought it was a great song to hear on nights when one was alone and stayed up way too late. "How I wish, how I wish you were here. We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year." By the way, which one's Pink?

9. One Summer Dream - Electric Light Orchestra

This is the last song on their great Face The Music album. Steve was a huge fan of these guys and I recall him playing the previous album, Eldorado, a ton, especially the weird parts. Jeff Lynne had a rather obvious Beatles fetish and he indulges it openly here. The vocal is a great approximation of how Lennon would have sounded singing it and the chord progression has a familiar ring to it. I find this song just gorgeous, if maybe a trifle sentimental, but those who know me won't be surprised by my sentimental streak. Their trademark orchestration is all over this as well and they did it better than anybody else. The female background vocal rises above the ending just beautifully. "Deep waters flow, out to the sea, they never needed you or me." You mean we aren't that important?

8. Cortez The Killer - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

I'm really not sure if Crazy Horse cut their records live off the floor, but they sure do sound that way. There is never any doubt who the leader is though, as the other members lay low in the background and let Neil take them on a journey. This song is no exception, as he plays a 3 minutes-plus guitar solo as the lead in before the vocals start. Neil claims that Franco banned this song in Spain, but that may just be urban legend. This song is about the idyllic life the Aztecs lead until Cortez showed up and ruined everything with his forced subjugation and murderous ways. This isn't entirely historically accurate as the Aztecs sacrificed their own children to the Gods, amongst other atrocities. I usually take it to represent the struggle of any oppressed people against their oppressors and it works better that way. "He came dancing across the water, Cortez, Cortez. What a killer." What a killer line!

7. Meeting Across The River - Bruce Springsteen

I remember the ads in Rolling Stone when the Born To Run album was released, put out by Bruce's manager Jon Landau, with the slogan"I have seen rock and roll's future and its name is Bruce Springsteen." I also remember working at Mother's Pizza and being invited by some of the "older" guys (they were all of 20 or so) to their apartment where they put this on the turntable and proclaimed it to be the greatest album ever. Yes, it was a ton of hype and I didn't really buy it at the time. I like Springsteen much more now than I did back then, although he is still more miss than hit with me. But, much like the Stones, when he hits it just right, he socks it out of the park. The title cut is a fantastic song, as are a couple of others on the record, but this ballad of a pair of losers trying to make it out of the rat race and onto Easy Street is a timeless story. The song plays like a film noir, with Randy Brecker's lovely, lonely trumpet and Roy Bittan's tickling of the ivories setting the proper mood. Bruce sings it with heaps of conviction, but without the overkill which he is sometimes prone to. Just a moving, sad song that any guy can relate to, knowing that the outcome isn't likely to be pretty for the 2 guys involved. "Well Cherry says she's gonna walk, 'cause she found out I took her radio and hocked it. But Eddie, man, she don't understand, that two grand's practically sitting here in my pocket." Beautiful losers....

6. Doctor Wu - Steely Dan

From the great Katy Lied album, this is such a great chorus that it is virtually impossible not to sing along. Again, this has Jeff Porcaro playing some fantastic jazzy drums and he is helped along by Donald Fagen and his signature piano playing. Legend has it that Fagen was a drug addict and sought treatment from a Dr. Wu who was a real doctor in New York City and he took that experience and wrote it into this song. The lyrics are right up there with anything he wrote too, but this tune belongs to Phil Woods and his brilliant alto sax. He runs it in and out all through the song and he must have been gobsmacked when he got the horn charts for this one. "Katy lies, you can see it in her eyes." Those damn womenfolk!

5. End Of The Line - Roxy Music

Well Steve, you were the final argument that made me choose Dream Home over Mother Of Pearl in the '73 list, but I must pick this song from the fantastic Siren album. I love the whole album and it was a difficult choice, but this is the song I enjoy listening to the most on that record. I adore the rhythm section here with their slow but groovy tempo which allows Bryan Ferry's great phrasing to ride along on top. The real kicker though is the violin playing by Eddie Jobson, the multi-instrumentalist who replaced Brian Eno after the 2nd album. The way he plays the solo makes it sound almost like a pedal steel guitar and it evokes the emotion Ferry is feeling about his lost love. You know that the suave Mr. Ferry won't be down for long though. "Had my share of winning, now my turn to lose." Only until the next supermodel went by!

4. Win - David Bowie

Another Bowie album, another iconic album cover. With this album, Young Americans, Bowie ditched the spaced-out glam rocker and took a complete left turn into Philly soulsville. He even appeared on the TV show Soul Train which until then was the provenance of black artists only. Win is a great, druggy slice of "plastic soul" as he called it. His cocaine habit was at its height as he was hanging out in L.A. with John Lennon and Harry Nilsson and hitting all the hot clubs on Sunset Strip. It is actually a very psychedelic song with its swirling strings and David Sanborn's wicked trilling saxophone. His new sideman Carlos Alomar's influence is all over this as well with his funky bass playing. The backing vocals featured a then unknown Luther Vandross, who rose to great fame soon after. "Someone like you should not be allowed to start any fires." Only you can prevent coke-induced forest fires!

3. Real Man - Todd Rundgren

Most of the album this is taken from, Initiation, is an exercise in synthesizer-driven progressive rock, but the melody of Real Man cannot be denied. It is the most "Todd-like" song on the record by far. And what a song! Full of hooks and soulful vocals, this was a big fave of mine and Steve's at the time. We especially loved it at the part when he drops way down low in his vocal register for the "way down inside me" part. For the first time, all the members of his band Utopia play on this record, forcing Todd to play nice and not hog all the instruments for himself. This ode to being a stand up guy still hits the spot for me! "Got my head in the sky and my mind knows what it wants but my body just drags me down." This is my mantra as I approach the big 5-0!

2. No More, No More - Aerosmith

From the opening hook of Joe Perry's great guitar playing, then the crunch of the band joining in, to Steven Tyler's awesome vocals, this is hands down my favourite tune by these guys from Boston. Aerosmith was a big deal back then, hailed as the successors to the Stones in the rock bad-boy department. They could rock and they had a fresh sound that was actually very danceable as well as appealing to the metal types. This baby just swings! This is the sound of a very good band hitting their peak. Toys In The Attic has a lot of famous songs on it, such as Sweet Emotion and Walk This Way, but nothing can touch this one. Their first 5 albums are quite good, nothing like the pap they put out in the '90s. Check them out if you like solid rhythmic rock and roll and see what I mean. " Baby I'm a dreamer, found my horse and carriage." Git along little dogie!

1. Kashmir - Led Zeppelin

What a brilliant piece of music. This is the sound of camels loping across the desert. John Bonham's drums on this beast are so committed to my memory, I bet I can play it in my sleep! He is my favourite drummer ever because of songs like this. Unbelievable! Then there's one of Percy Plant's best ever vocals, the usual yeoman work on bass and string arrangements by John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page bringing the whole Eastern influence thing into play with his monster riffs. An amazing band they were, even if Q107 overplays them to the point of ridiculousness. Martina, who rocks out heavily to this song, and I once took a little drive out in the country around Delaware, ON one night armed with this on a cassette and a joint or 3 and had a very memorable time soundtracked by this tune. "All I see turns to brown, as the sun burns the ground, And my eyes fill with sand, as I scan this wasted land." Keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel!

Listomania! - 1974

If one mentions 1974, I immediately think of 3 things. First, I think of Nixon resigning the U.S. Presidency over the Watergate mess. I actually watched a lot of the testimony before the House on TV - I was such a bore! Second, I think of the Ali - Foreman Rumble In The Jungle in Zaire. I was an Ali hater until that fight. I was so sure that the bigger, stronger, younger Foreman would punch Ali's lights out and shut his big mouth once and for all that I would have wagered pretty much anything on it. What a total shock! We didn't have the money to go and watch it on closed circuit TV, so my Dad and I were glued to the radio for round by round updates. When they said that Ali had won, I was the one who was speechless. Third, I think of the Philadelphia Flyers becoming the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup. Man, I despised them! I had grudging respect for Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent, the goalie, but they were a collection of thugs right out of Slap Shot who bullied and fought their way through the league and beat Boston in 6 games in the finals. Musically, things went much better for me as I continued on with my obsession and started spending all of my allowance on records. I also took my sister Jondah to see The Carpenters at the London Gardens because my Dad made me. I wanted to go see Alice Cooper, but he wouldn't let me because "they're letting snakes loose on stage and he wears makeup like a woman." Well, sad to say, but The Carpenters were my first concert.....let's get to the list!

Top 10 Of 1974

10. Another Park, Another Sunday - The Doobie Brothers

I was never a huge fan of the brothers Doobie, but I really liked a few of their tunes. This would still be my favourite by them. Led by Tom Johnston's distinctive vocals, this was still the original band, before Michael McDonald came in to replace Johnston and turn them into MOR crap. This song has such a beautiful melody and sentiment about it. Its got that summery feel about it, all laid-back West coast grooviness. Producer Ted Templeman fed the guitars through Leslie speakers to create that almost shimmery, waterfall sort of effect. The b-side of this single, Black Water, became a much bigger hit. While I do like Black Water, this is the one for me. I remember reading a music mag that was around at the time called Circus and seeing the ad for the album this song was from called What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits. "Another lonely park, another Sunday. Why is it life turns out that way? Just when you think you got a good thing, it seems to slip away." Doobie-doobie-doo.

9. #9 Dream - John Lennon

The melody of this tune ranks up there with anything Lennon ever wrote in my opinion - a gorgeous, lilting, dreamy melody. This is from his Walls & Bridges album, which he recorded while estranged from Yoko and on a huge cocaine binge in L.A. The whispered "John" part is actually May Pang, his girlfriend at the time, not Yoko as many believe still to this day. The usual session guys like Klaus Voormann on bass and Jim Keltner on drums show up on this record, so the playing is very solid. Apparently, the nonsense vocals in the chorus are indeed just made up words, not a Buddhist chant or any other kind of mystic b.s. "Dream, dream away, magic in the air, was magic in the air? I believe, yes I believe, more I cannot say, what more can I say?"Dude really had a thing for the number 9......so 9 it is!

8. The Golden Age Of Rock 'n' Roll - Mott The Hoople

What an exciting feeling I got the first time Steve played this rockin' raver for me! The spoken intro builds and then the band just rocks out all the way through! Great girly backing vocals, Ian Hunter belting it out, the baritone sax just growling at the bottom of the mix - what a song! It's the kind of song that makes you want to do a Tom Cruise in your undies when nobody's home. British politicians at the time were worried about the decibel levels at live concerts and wanted to pass a law stating that 96 decibels would be the maximum allowed by law, hence the "We're your 96 decibel freaks" line in the song. "Don`t wanna smash, want a smash sensation. Don`t wanna wreck, just recreation. Don`t wanna fight, but if you turn us down we`re gonna turn you around, gonna mess with the sound." Me ears 'r' bleedin'!

7. Rebel Rebel - David Bowie

This ode to androgyny marked a beginning of a new period and the end of an old one for Bowie. The new was that he had broken up his band, The Spiders From Mars, and people wondered how he would do without Mick Ronson's able assistance. Well, if this rip-snorter was any indication, he would be just fine. The smokin' guitar line is played by Bowie himself and has become one of the most iconic guitar riffs in music history. My friend Mark Peesker once phoned me and before he even said hello, he played this guitar part into the phone and I instantly knew who it was on the other end. The old was that it was basically the last Glam song that Bowie did. He went on to his soul phase for the next few records after this one, but not before freaking out this 13 year old with the Diamond Dogs album cover. I was at the record store buying something else (I forget exactly what) and I recall seeing the album opened up into the full gatefold on the counter at the front and I couldn't believe my eyes the whole time I waited in line. "Got your mother in a whirl, she's not sure if you're a boy or a girl." Gender bending 101!

6. Seagull - Bad Company

The first, self-titled Bad Company album was something of a major sensation at my high school. It seemed like everyone had a copy and they were all talking about how Zeppelin had signed them to their label, Swan Song. I would hear the 8-track tapes blaring out of car windows in the student parking lot every day. It was a great debut album and this folky ballad is my fave song on it. Urged on by former Mott The Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs' brilliant acoustic guitar, vocalist Paul Rodgers never sounded more soulful than on this song. He is one of the best singers of the rock era in this guy's books. He could rock out, or he could be smooth and full of feeling. I forgive him for joining up with Queen in the past couple of years as he obviously wanted to pad the pension kitty a bit more. As for the subject matter of the song, I actually hate seagulls, scavenging rats with wings that they are! "And you fly away today, and you fly away tomorrow, And you fly away, leave me to my sorrow." Hey seagull, go hang out in the McDonald's parking lot why doncha'?!!

5. Prairie Rose - Roxy Music

Bryan Ferry wrote this as an ode to Texas and then-girlfriend Jerry Hall who was from there. She later went on to grace the cover of the Siren album and become Mrs. Mick Jagger for a time. The phrasing of Ferry's outstanding vocal plays really well against Phil Manzanera and his slide guitar and it is mostly this duo that makes the song great. The bass played by the underrated John Gustafson sets the groove in place and the band just sounds like they are having the best time ever playing along. This is taken from the great Country Life album, you know, the one with the cover pic of the mostly naked girls with their hands over various body parts standing in front of some trees or pot plants or something. "Though I'm not sure I can explain your strange allure. Oh prairie rose, a crown of thorns, a scented flow-er." Nobody before or since sounded like Mr. Ferry!

4. Until You Come Back To Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do) - Aretha Franklin

Sung by the peerless Queen of Soul, this is a smooth, funky little ditty. Once you hear it, it sticks in the old craw all day long, but that is a good thing. Written in 1967 by Stevie Wonder, her version is the gold standard. Every note the band plays is perfect, thanks in part to Jerry Wexler's production and also to the fact that she used some of the greatest studio musicians around at the time like Bernard Purdie on drums and Chuck Rainey on bass, both of whom later made signature contributions to some Steely Dan records. But it is Aretha, with her soul and power, that owns this record. They can keep trotting out their Mariahs and Whitneys and the like, but Ms. Franklin will never be surpassed for sheer vocal talent.....or cheeseburger consumption. "Baby for you my dear, it's like living in a world of constant fear. Hear my plea, I've got to make you see that our love is dying." OK, go play the song and listen for this part and just lose yourself in it. Now....get going...go on....you know you want to.....

3. Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan

Hot damn, but I love this song. A snaky little blues shuffle laid down by drummer Jeff Porcaro (later of Toto) and the vocals harmonizing and sounding like a horn section are just a couple of the charms of this song. Walter Becker himself steps out from behind the bass and plays a sizzling guitar solo too. As usual, the production is top drawer, as it is on all Steely Dan records. I once had a guy in a stereo shop tell me that Steely Dan (named after a metal dildo in Burroughs' Naked Lunch) albums were what people brought with them to test out new systems before they decided to purchase one. This is musical craftsmanship at its finest with nary a peep out of place. From the album of the same name, this record was the last one that would be done as a band as Steely Dan henceforth was really just Becker and Donald Fagen with a bunch of top studio guys. "Well, I've seen 'em on the TV, the movie show. They say the times are changing but I just don't know. Those days are gone forever, over a long time ago." Amen, brother.

2. Don't You Ever Learn? - Todd Rundgren

This vies for consideration as my favourite Todd song ever. The intro is a gorgeous, almost classical, piano piece. The rest of the band then joins in with a lovely high-register bass line and some really great syncopated drums. From the record where Todd fell totally in love with synthesizers, the eponymously titled Todd, it is a suite-like song that changes tempos and rhythms constantly. I adore his vocal here though as he brings out his Philly roots and does a brilliant job of using his voice as part of the band's presentation, much like a jazz musician. This album has 2 other faves of mine, Heavy Metal Kids and The Last Ride, but this song is just a bit better and nearer to my heart, so it made the cut in the end."Don't you ever listen? Don't you ever learn? The world is on fire, your body doesn't burn." Todd was one of the first noodlers and twiddlers.

1. Back Of A Car - Big Star

This song from their great second album, Radio City, is one of my picks for best of all time, not just 1974. It would certainly be in my Top 10 of all time. It's got everything - ringing, chiming, clunky, bendy guitars, and maybe some of the best drumming these ears have ever heard. This is brilliant skin work by Jody Stephens, especially right after the "Sitting in the back of a car" parts. The rolls he does are incredible! Alex Chilton sounds so young and vital on the vocals too! The song sounds like it was right out of the British Invasion and I really dig the production job on it. Here is another song that gives you a day long earworm after you hear it, and I have been known to walk through the woods in the dog park singing this out loud, much to the chagrin of startled passers-by. " Sitting in the back of a car, music so loud you can't tell a thing." Pardon?