Classic Rock Bottom

Continuing to pull music from the ageing vault. This week it's my countrymen (and woman) HEADPINS CD titled Line Of Fire. 

     There is a vague recollection of how the CD ended up in my possession. I was a frequent visitor to a music store, whose manager was as beautiful as she was knowledgeable about the stuff on her shelves. To top that, her taste in music was similar to mine. She was surprised to see me leaving the premises empty handed and on my way to the door she stopped me to investigate. After confessing that nothing new grabbed my attention, she would kindly recommend to check out something old and at that, why not the HEADPINS remastered CD of their 'best" album. Not giving me a chance to pass, she immediately offered an excellent deal to go with it.

     Never heard of the band before, but just to be polite I bought it. Heck, who am I kidding, she could have sold me Michael Bolton's Soul Provider for $50 bucks if she wanted to, but she didn't. Aren't you glad? You could be reading now praises about the Soul Provider if it wasn't for her good taste and professionalism.

     Anyway, one look at the cover and I was sold on the looks alone. There is a chick on a motorbike surrounded by three Van Halen brothers (from another Mother). How can that possibly be bad? When I bought this CD the music was already 20 years old from it's original release date, plus add 15 more years of neglect from my side and it's finally ready to get the shrink wrap ripped.

HEADPINS - Line Of Fire 

CD 1982/2002

Melodic Hard Rock

Note: If the title is Red, click on it to hear/see the song, most likely on YT.

1. Mine, All Mine Perfect opener. Grabbed me on the go.

2. Feel My Body OK, as long as my wife has no objections. Nice one. No beating around the bushes. The sound is a strange marriage of New Wave and Hard Rock.

3. I Know What You Thinking Well, I'm glad you think it too, Baby. Throws in a Hammond solo to catalyze the guitar masturbation. What? What were you thinking?

4. Just One More Time All right, if I must. But this is going to be the very last time. Their biggest hit from the album.(MV bellow)

5. Don't Stand In The Line Of Fire Misspelled as Don't Stand In The Light on the CD. One would think they would get the title right once they already came across the phrase in the TITLE OF THE CD! Don't be alarmed. This is the way we Canadians roll. (But we do Rock, like everyone else) Is the longest track and it gives enough room for the guitar to shine.

6. Celebration This supposed to be a vocabulary show off, since what they are saying is PARTY! However, same as the word celebration doesn't evoke the feel of a real party, neither does the song reach it's intended potential.

7. Double Trouble Brings back the good old days... from before the 6th.Track.

8. I've Heard It All Before True, but I wouldn't mind to hear this type of Rock back on mainstream rotation, again.

     In retrospect, I'm glad I bought this CD. There is a quote, in the liners note, from the Canadian Musician (magazine) that sums the album up better than I ever could:

simply the best loud rock and roll album of the year... There are several reasons for the record's strength. Darby Mills' androgynous voice is the most obvious. It is an amazing instrument that borders on being a primal scream for most of the album, with the impact value of a Mack truck. There is no subtlety, just raw emotion and relentless delivery. Line Of Fire is by no means an artistic triumph, nor does it intend to be. It is a complete piece of craftsmanship that delivers the goods without pretension or trendiness.

Final verdict: UNWILTED

Finally getting around to listen to, (for the first time) some music I've been putting aside (for years). Including, things from the past I recently discovered, projects I previously had, but replaced with a newly remastered version, or those simple cases, were my last years order didn't arrive on time.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these articles come from the authors heart and personal taste which may not necessarily reflect the common sense or the popular sentiment of those who farm music through the path of least resistance i.e. from ears, straight to the brain.

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Big Fan here!!

My first hint of this band actually came from another band named Chilliwack, I'm sure you've heard of them too.  Brian "Too Loud" McCloud joined then for their Lights From The Valley album, but it wasn't that album that reeled me in, it was "Opus X" a stunner of an album, and his style stood out, and he worked so well with Bill Henderson that I was hugely disappointed when he left the band after that album. That version of the band also included Ab Bryant of Prism fame of which I am also a huge fan of...

Enter the Headpins and I instantly knew who that guitar belonged too!! I own this album and Turn It Loud, if you have both I'll let you tell me which one is better, I like them both!

Isnt it weird how our musical tastes always seem to mirror beautiful women?

Never heard the Turn It Loud, but since the manager lady said: Line Of Fire was their best album, I have no reason to doubt her words.

Does that answer your last question, as well? Although, I'm not sure that was a question at all.

Hey, I noticed you covered this album in your SHT posts. If I've seen that earlier, I would've picked something perhaps more obscure. I thought the Previous Album list on the main page (A-Numbers) covered everything, obviously I was wrong in my assumption. Is there a collective list of your albums, somewhere?

No worries about duplicate coverage, I'll always enjoy a new perspective. I haven't ever indexed my posts, and I'll sometimes duplicate a song if it fits the theme

I've heard the name, but I don't believe I've ever heard the band, unless Jon or Scott have featured them before and I just don't remember.  

I listened to Just One More Time in it's entirety and I liked it.  Nice energy.  The vocalist, the woman I'm guessing, can certainly belt it.  This may make some scratch their head, but she sounds like Geddy Lee to me.  I once really disliked his voice, but it has grown on me and has been totally accepted by me in the last few years.  

I noodled around with samples of tracks one and three without anything catching my attention, but Don't Stand In The Line of Fire is a fine, fine song.  How was this not a hit, at least in the rock world.  It could easily be a Triumph song with Geddy Lee on vocals.  

I will keep my eyes open and pick something from the band up now if I come across it pretty cheap.  And Yngve, I dig your story above.  I can't tell you how many relationships have started for me in the local record stores of the world. There's nothin' like a hot woman who knows her music!

they've been on SHT a few times...

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