Hidden Treasures - 1978

Fine I say! Fine! You didn't like what I pulled out from 1977, so this week were focusing on the edgier hard rock side of the 1978 releases. And I'm glad I decided to go this way, not only does it reflect the year very well, there were more solid hard rock releases than anything else this year. So lets get to it...

But first, some Wiki-Facts brought to you by JonsMind-O-Pedia...

January 21 – As Saturday Night Fever becomes a cultural phenomenon, the soundtrack hits #1 on the Billboard Charts, where it will stay until July.
January 28 – By request, Ted Nugent autographs his name into a fan's arm with a bowie knife in Philadelphia.
February 10 – Van Halen debuts with self-titled album; Eddie Van Halen introduces a powerful new sound and technique to world, while David Lee Roth is ushered in as the front man.
April 22 - Steve Martin performs the original "King Tut" on Saturday Night Live; also that night, The Blues Brothers make their first appearance on the show.
May 13 – Barry Gibb becomes the only songwriter in history to have written 4 consecutive #1 singles on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart.
May 25 – In a performance used for The Kids Are Alright, The Who play their last show with Keith Moon.
June 20 – Grace Slick splits with Jefferson Starship the day after a disastrous concert in Hamburg, Germany, in which a heavily intoxicated Slick verbally abused the crowd and groped various fans and band mates.
June 29 – Peter Frampton is nearly killed in a car accident in The Bahamas, suffering multiple broken bones, a concussion, and muscle damage.
September 7 – The Who drummer Keith Moon dies in a central London flat after a prescription drug overdose at the age of 32.
October 12 – Nancy Spungen, the American girlfriend of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious, is found dead in a New York hotel room of a stab wound. Sid is arrested and charged with her murder.
October 29 – Michael Schenker plays his final show with UFO in Stanford, California before leaving the group to rejoin Scorpions.
November 25 – A now sober Alice Cooper releases the album From the Inside, which tells of his stay in rehab for alcoholism.
November 27 – Def Leppard's permanent drummer Rick Allen joins the band at the age of 15.
December 31 – Matthias Jabs joins Scorpions, replacing Uli Jon Roth.

PLAYLIST --> http://www.podsnack.com/CA69EFD9E8C/a1mfwpku

	UFO Obsession 1 - Cherry UFO's Obsession was to be their last studio record with star guitarist Michael Schenker. It did indeed contain lots of prime metal cuts. "Only You Can Rock Me" kicks off the album with a fun and carefree feel, while the funky "Pack It Up (And Go)" contains some John Bonham-like drumming courtesy of Andy Parker. The opening momentum is carried on through the slow Zeppelin groove of "Ain't No Baby." The album gets back on track with the melodic rock of "Cherry" and "You Don't Fool Me," the latter containing some tasty, fiery guitar solos. UFO hinted at their talents with releases such as Obsession and Lights Out, but it was their next release, the live Strangers in the Night, where it all came together for them.
	Whitesnake Trouble 2 - Nighthawk (Vampire Blues) In retrospect, concert fave "Lie Down (A Modern Day Love Song)" is a tad too simplistic and has not aged well at all, but the pairing of "Nighthawk (Vampire Blues)" and "The Time Is Right for Love" provides an amazingly succinct look back (the first is built upon a very Purple-esque stop-start riff) and ahead (the second introduces a cool melodic recipe which would characterize the band's later-day sound). The title track represents the album's high-water mark, its rollicking blues shuffle declaring it a worthy successor to Coverdale's original tour de force with Purple, "Mistreated."
	Ted Nugent Weekend Warriors 3 - Need You Bad It was the first Ted Nugent album not to feature Derek St. Holmes until Nugent in 1982. Instead, Charlie Huhn, the new guitarist for Nugent, performed on the album and several other albums until Holmes returned. The front sleeve-art was by British artist Jeff Cummins and was originally commissioned by Oui magazine, to accompany an interview with Nugent. Nugent liked what he saw and the artwork was recommissioned by CBS, with additional work being carried out for use as the album sleeve. Although the album was a success, it contains few songs that have become concert or radio standards.
	AC/DC Powerage 4 - Gone Shootin' Powerage was a first in the sense that it debuted bassist Cliff Williams, but it really is more of a final curtain to the band's early years. It would be the last produced by Vanda & Young, the legendary Australian production team who also helmed hits by the Easybeats, and it was the last before AC/DC became superstars. As such, it's perhaps the most overlooked of their '70s records.
	The Rolling Stones Some Girls 5 - Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) By 1978, both punk and disco had swept the group off the front pages, and Some Girls was their fiery response to the younger generation. Opening with the disco-blues thump of "Miss You," Some Girls is a tough, focused, and exciting record, full of more hooks and energy than any Stones record since Exile on Main St. Even though the Stones make disco their own, they never quite take punk on their own ground. Instead, their rockers sound harder and nastier than they have in years.

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Permalink Reply by Jon on September 10, 2014 at 11:48am

Wikipedia "fact":

UFO's Obsession was to be their last studio record with star guitarist Michael Schenker."

Jonsmindopedia FACT:

Wikipedia is stupid.

"Obsession", the album cover that prompted MS to ask, "Why am I the one without balls?" Great album, great song.

Hey, I liked the 1977 post.

Never heard that Whitesnake song before, I must say it's pretty good.

The Nugent album cover is cool. Wonder how many kids bought that album just because of the cover?

Must watch some Beavis & Butthead now.

That's why vinyl is so cool, you could flip the inner sleeve and have different wigs on the Stones. And hilarity ensued. I have a mini-replica CD of this so I can play with the inner sleeve as much as I want.

More rocky than I expected, but a damn fine pile o' SHT this here was.

4 albums/songs

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Permalink Reply by RJhog (Admin) on September 10, 2014 at 2:09pm

Cherry - What a killer track. This may sound crazy, but I'd love to have had an updated version as a bonus track on the last album. Don't know why, but I would totally dig hearing his matured voice singing this song. This is a great start to your playlist.

Nighthawk - Not familiar with this earlier version of Whitesnake. I'm pretty sure I'd like to change that. Cool album cover. Coverdale could really sing back then. Bass is stupendous. So are the guitars. I like this a lot.

Need You Bad - I'm somewhere in the middle on Nugent. I like a couple of his albums. This is definitely hard rock. Another cool dose of bass. This is a more than decent song.

Gone Shootin' - My early AC/DC is completely lacking. What a nice, laid back vibe to this song. Although I've always thought Back In Black was AC/DC's masterpiece, I still like Bon Scott better as a vocalist. Shame he's gone. This song tells me I need to go backwards with them as well.

Just My Imagination - It seems like my sister had this album, but somehow, if she did, it never transferred to me. I've always been curious about it, but never bought it. This song doesn't help it's case, as it's somewhat disappointing, especially with these other 4 outstanding tracks posted.

So, 4/5 is pretty good. Here's my ranking:

1. UFO

2. Snake

3. AC/DC

4. Nuge

5. Stones

Enjoyed it!

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Permalink Reply by Gordon Williams on September 12, 2014 at 10:16am

"Obsession" is one of the best UFO albums, and that is saying a lot. And Schenker's playing on it is some of the best of his career, and that is saying a lot. "Hot N Ready" from this album would have been my choice, but "Cherry" is a great tune, as well, and has that "atmospheric" vibe.

Never heard this Snake, and it it good.

"Weekend Warriors", to me, wrapped up Nugent's "run of excellence". Starting with the self-titled release, through "Free For All", "Cat Scratch Fever", "Double Live Gonzo", and "Weekend", was a great stretch of awesome rock n roll. And his great releases ended here for me, up until 1995's "Spirit Of The Wild". This cut here smokes!

I have this AC-DC somewhere, either on vinyl or cassette, but have not played it in many years. But I like this track, and it has that AC-DC vibe that is so enjoyable. Check out Bon Scott's humorous lyrics.

The Stones just don't do much for me, although I do like the chorus of this track. But nice post! My ranking is:

Ted, UFO, AC-DC, Snake, Stones