Classic Rock Bottom

As I kinda sorta promised, there is indeed a Part II of the long intro playlist. This one has a bit of a variation on the theme, and thats that all these songs have intro's that are named, not necessarily different songs, but intros that may or may not be a little more epic or lengthy. So much so that they require a unique identifier. I've left off the easy ones to help the conversation move along, but take a listen, these may be a bit more interesting than you think...


Enjoy!


PLAYLIST --> http://www.podsnack.com/sgabbert/avtklc11

Giuffria
Giuffria
1984

1 - The Awakening / Out Of The Blue

Keyboard maestro Gregg Giuffria originally planned to retain the Angel title for his second high-profile cinematic rock show, but the scalding ivories soaring throughout this record prove he's fully in charge, making the Giuffria moniker an apt band name. The long, blond angel always kicks off his projects with some cool keys, and the pulsing prelude to "Do Me Right" overpowers the rest of the song; like much of the album, this track devolves into a standard hair cut with symphonic trappings. Some abrupt occultism flies out of the flip's finale (spookiest cock rock craziness since the rise of Hagar's animal on Three Lock Box). Know now that both Giuffria platters are built around David Glen Eisley's voice, and enjoyment depends on how one takes to his heavy heaving. Plus, typical of this time period, some stuff sears, while some stuff sucks. But wistful weeper "Call to the Heart" rightfully remains Giuffria's crowning achievement and lone chart glory. Poor Giuffria remains a terrain-tethered star who never got off the ground.

Red Rider
Neruda
1983

2 - Light In The Tunnel / Power (Strength In Numbers)

The CD issue of Canadian band Red Rider's second release adds three bonus tracks, including their breakthrough U.S. radio hit, "Lunatic Fringe." The moody, paranoid track, with it's insistent guitar riff, has become a staple at AOR stations and is the best thing on Neruda, but there are also other cuts that help this meat-and-potatoes quintet led by Tom Cochrane rise above many similar acts. The muscular "Power (Strength in Numbers)" explores mob mentality, and is marred only by the presence of early-'80s keyboards, while "Human Race" features a rapid heartbeat melody and a simple, empty guitar line that adds to the lonely yet resilient tone of Cochrane's lyrics. Neruda, while no major musical statement, is still an enjoyable, melodic album, chock full of Red Rider's blend of AOR crunch and new wave texture.

Heart
Little Queen
1977

3 - Sylvan Song / Dream of the Archer

After acquiring a substantial following with Dreamboat Annie, Heart solidified its niche in the hard rock and arena rock worlds with the equally impressive Little Queen. Once again, loud-and-proud, Led Zeppelin-influenced hard rock was the thing that brought Heart the most attention. But while "Barracuda" and "Kick It Out" are the type of sweaty rockers one thought of first when Heart's name was mentioned, hard rock by no means dominates this album. In fact, much of Little Queen consists of such folk-influenced, acoustic-oriented fare as "Treat Me Well" and "Cry to Me." Anyone doubting just how much Heart's ballads have changed over the years need only play "Dream of the Archer" next to a high-volume power ballad like "Wait for an Answer" from 1987's Bad Animals.

Boston
Third Stage
1986

4 - The Launch / Cool The Engines

After rushing their second album Don't Look Back, Boston took eight years to complete the album Third Stage. The long delay is even more surprising considering that their sound didn't change at all; even though only songwriter/guitarist Tom Scholz and vocalist Brad Delp remained from the original lineup, they were the ones responsible for Boston's sound. As such, it is difficult to avoid comparisons with their landmark debut. Third Stage has some strong moments, especially the number one hit "Amanda" where the band blends acoustic and electric guitars to complement the layered vocals. However, the songs are not as strong as those on their debut, and the album is marred by the presence of instrumental fillers and an attempt to cling to a theme of "journey through life's third stage." Thus, rather than focusing on universal topics such as the exuberance and uncertainties associated with youth, the mature lyrics are lost on most of their young rock audience. Given the time between albums and the changes in the pop landscape, it was a little disappointing to find Boston stuck in the same sound. The album still sounds great when it works on all cylinders ("We're Ready," "Cool the Engines"), but the album is not filled with enough satisfying moments. This may be nostalgic pop rock of the '80s, but casual listeners should start with their debut.

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Replies to This Discussion

GIUFFRIA - I recall this dude's name from the 80's. I don't know, if I've heard anything by him? didn't he write songs with Paul Stanley for KISS? A long intro, yes. A good intro? No. The song itself sound terrible. Would I had liked it in 1984? Probably. Okay, it's not that bad. A lot of the 80's-music was better in the first half of that decade. If we could turn back time, I would had liked this I'm sure. Not so much now.

RED RIDER- Should I know this band, because I don't. No surprise, that it (at least in the beginning) sounds like RUSH, since they are canadian as well. Another example of not bad "first half of the 80's"-music imo. Even AOR was heavier then. But as the first song, it sounds too simple to my ears in 2016. Back then, I would had liked the sound and production.

HEART - Funny you should menton "Bad Animals", because as I've said before, it's the only Heart-album I ever bought. And I liked it back in 1987. I've tried to listen to some Heart-albums, but they won't be more to me, than a radio-band. It's fine listening to, if it's played somewhere, but I never would put it on by myself. The intro is clearly very inspired by Led Zeppelin, and therefore it's the best intro thus far. Ann Wilson (if it's her and not Nancy?) off course has a wonderfull voice, but I tend to be bored listening to the same female-singer album after album. This song is rather good, though, even in 2016. Best one so far. I loooove the mandolin. Is there a lot of mandolin on this particular album? I'm not sure, if I've heard it before.

BOSTON - I cleraly remember when this album was released. I didn't buy it until 1990, when it was VERY cheap, I mean 10-12 times cheapier than a new album. I liked only a few of the songs, and didn' pay it much attention. I can't remember this intro, so I probably haven't heard it since 1990. The song I kind of remember, ut I don't think i've heard it more than a couple of times. It's okay, especially the wall of guitars as usual, but even I can hear it's not as good as their debut. Even I, who's definitely not a fan.

I like Giuffrias debut, still do, its their follow up that stunk!  Its practically all ballads and supposedly there was a Giuffria III recorded but it is still unreleased.  Id be interested in that last one still...

And yes, you should know Red Rider...  Google 'Lunatic Fringe' and get a reminder...

Giuffria. Bought this when it came out and even though I have not heard these songs (yes, there are two here) in over 30 years they brought back memories.

Memories like "Why did I buy this? I guess the album is KINDA metal-looking, but boy oh boy did I ever get that wrong."

Is he hoping that everyone will love him and his band with that opening song? Guess if you beg, sometimes it just.....don't....work.

Lastly, it should state "while a vast majority of this stuff sucks".

Ok. That's over and done with.

Weird. I just bought this Red Rider album along with "As Far As Siam" a few weeks ago because I found them for cheap. Have no idea why I went on a mini RR kick, I did have AFAS on cassette many years ago and didn't like it (except for that one song, of course), but something drove me to pick 'em up.

Anyway, that intro is interesting because it's contains a part of "Human Race" so wouldn't it have made sense to have it be the intro to that song?  I haven't listened to the full album yet, maybe there's snippets of each song in the intro.

Did you know that the cover of that Heart album started the Renaissance Fair fad? Yeah, there's no comparison to their 70's ballads and 80's ballads. None. Awesome album, though.

Thankfully you did not play Foreplay/Long Time. Foreplay kicks ass and Long Time just deflates the whole thing. That song bugs me. What would have been cool is the four part Walk On. One long song broke down into four parts. THAT HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE!!!!!!!!!

Here's this:

E5150/The Mob Rules by Black Sabbath. The Mob Rules is an awesome song as it it, but that intro just makes it.......BETTER.

Ah-HA!

One of the bonus tracks on Neruda is Light In The Tunnel/Human Race. Isn't that strange?

If you listen to the outro of Power you heard a reprise of Light In The Tunnel which lead into Human Race (which has been featured in SHT before) so it makes sense that this intro which is also an outro would intro another track. Right?

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.........right?

Glad we agree

Giuffria - I remember their big hit, Call To The Heart.  I always thought that it sounded like Steve Perry and Journey.  There isn't a lot to this intro.  It's only partially musical, but I will say it sounds like it's setting a tone for something.  The parent tune has a serious 80's sounding production, and it was my kind of song back in the mid to late 80's.  It's okay now, but I definitely don't feel that it's a must have.  Still a very decent tune to check out.

Red Rider - The only RR song I've ever heard is Lunatic Fringe.  I have never cared for that song.  It gets played a lot, and the station gets changed every time.  This intro is a bit more musical than the previous one, and it's a nice, laid back musical piece.  The song's production and sound also sounds 80's, but early 80's, which has held up much better than mid to late 80's for me.  This isn't bad at all.

Heart - I do not own this album.  This intro really, really sounds like Led Zeppelin's The Battle of Evermore.  The main song has an epic but somewhat haunting feel.  Definitely makes me think of watching a movie from the medieval time period.  Nice track.  Will have to watch for this on vinyl or cheap on CD.

Boston - Again, a very epic intro.  Definitely the best one here for me.  The memory I have for this album is that it seemed like it took twenty years to be released since the previous album.  I remember liking the album as a whole, though not as much as the debut.  I do believe this album was a Billboard No. 1 album and it spent 4 weeks up there.  I wonder if it might appear on another thread here?

Good choices.  My first thoughts for this theme are Majestic/Too Late by Journey, In The Beginning/Shout At The Devil by Motley Crue and Fanfare/Just A Boy by Kiss.

Found out I have Little Queen on vinyl.  Not a very good copy, but it was only a dollar.

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