Classic Rock Bottom


#34 is for the purists in the audience.  Not anything related to artists, types of songs, or any other theme..  Just a true representation of music that has been in my various players the past few weeks. 

 

Recently, someone commented they weren’t sure what a Hidden Treasure was.  Here’s a personal definition, feel free to add your own take on this as there is no wrong answer... 

Hidden Treasure:
1- A song not widely played by popular media outlets such as FM radio or Mtv.
2- A once popular song or artist that no longer receives the airplay they may deserve.
3- Any moment within the song that represents something of personal value to you.  Things such as...
     a. Guitar solos
     b. Bass lines and tempos
     c. Keyboard/Synth solo
     d. A special or meaningful lyric
     e. Production quality
     f. insert yours here>>

 

You get the picture, now let’s hear it....

 

TITLE: If Heaven Could Find Me
BAND: Ambrosia
ALBUM: Life Beyond L.A.
YEAR: 1978
This selection has been on my short list for some time.  It got extra consideration when we did the Guilty Pleasure discussion and Jon called me out on Ambrosia.  I would consider the album this track is from to not be the "Guilty Pleasure" version of Ambrosia, but it’s close.  The Hidden Treasure in this is two things, 1) Vocals, and 2) I love the guitar work starting around the 2:10 mark, lots of different styling going on that works well for me.

 

TITLE: Takin' It On Uptown
BAND: Chicago
ALBUM: XI
YEAR: 1977
One for Niels who said he was content with "Greatest Hits" Chicago.  We'll see if the hidden treasure of Terry Kath's guitar will help sway him just a bit.  He's worthy of mention in the discussion of greatest guitarists!  This one gets a little extra special love from those of us in Charlotte NC!  Everyone here knows that we don't call our city center "Downtown"; it is "Uptown" to us!

 

TITLE: Days On The Road
BAND: Little River Band
ALBUM: Diamantina Cocktail
YEAR: 1976
For RJ, something from the 1976 discussion.  I hold this song in high esteem, although I will concede it may take a few listens for you to appreciate.  It did for me, but that was in 1976 and its still a personal favorite.  The lyrics and guitar work are special and really stand out on an album full of hit material.

  

TITLE: Firehouse
BAND: The Day, The Week, and The Weather
ALBUM: Category 5
YEAR: 1999
1999 found Firehouse in the land of the obscure.  Too bad, they are capable of great stuff.  And although the song is slower tempo it's got great lyrics and I love the feel of it.

 

 

TITLE: Bitter Fingers
BAND: Elton John
ALBUM: Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
YEAR: 1975
For me this era of Elton John is the absolute best.  This track has a very cool feel to it, its time changes really work and the keyboard really keeps your interest all the way through.  But if you listen close enough the guitar work is pretty darn good too!

  

TITLE: Kinda Like Love
BAND: Molly Hatchet
ALBUM: No Guts, No Glory
YEAR: 1983
This one came up when I added the Molly Hatchet album cover to the Top 10 album covers discussion a couple weeks ago.  It sucks Danny Joe Brown is gone now!  I don't think the current version of Molly Hatchet can write as good without him.  This album needs a re-mastering job done to it though.

 

TITLE: Waiting For The Night
BAND: Loverboy
ALBUM: VI
YEAR: 1997
A resurrected discussion brought this one up.  Cool album.  I think that a band this talented didn’t need a production team and a staff of writers for them to make good music.  This album proves it!

 

 

TITLE: Relentless
BAND: Kansas
ALBUM: Audio-Visions
YEAR: 1980
The whole Audio-Visions album could be considered a hidden treasure, because of the sudden departure from their progressive sound in favor of shorter 3-4 minutes radio friendly tracks.  Though there are some progressive remnants on a couple tracks.

 

TITLE: The Crying Machine
BAND: Steve Vai
ALBUM: Fire Garden
YEAR: 1996
Inspired by a recent LAOTW, this is the instrumental version of Vai.  Love this track! It really has a cool yfunk feel to it and yet is very melodic and rocks a lot. I know, sounds like it’s all over the place, but listen, you'll see.  And even if you’re not a big instrumental fan, this one may appeal to you regardless.

 

TITLE: Whiskey, Women and Blues
BAND: Neal Schon
ALBUM: Piranha Blues
YEAR: 1999
Gotta end on an in-your-face blues track!  Neal kills this, his guitar is always special.  The singer is Richard Martin Ross, and the band is Ross Valory and Prarie Prince.  Impressive...

 

 

 

Fun list this week, at least it was for me!

 

HERES YOUR LINK...

http://www.podsnack.com/playlists/73af518f650c85f32797c8895a329253

 

 

 

Views: 29

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

This will be a fun listen. When I saw Schon, I was hoping it was something from Schon & Hammer! Had that album years ago, when it first came out now it's OOP and people are asking waaaaay to much.

Even though, there's not much "Trash", I enjoyed this week's SHT. I did'nt know any of these tracks, except for Elton John, and I DID like the Chicago-track, but the one, I enjoyed the most was Ambrosia. That was very good.

Also some good guitar-work on the Loverboy-track, but some lousy lyrics.

Kansas are not bad at all, but I think I may prefer the songs you had on your "Flasback"-list, last week.

Neal Schon was'nt bad either, and some of these days, I have to check out Kansas and Journey some more. 

Thank Niels!  I dont think I converted you to a full fledged Chicago fan, but if you liked that track, then Chicago X and XI are albums you'd really like.  Just sayin' in case you get an itch to try something new.

Nice playlist Scott.  This week's list really fits the category of "hidden treasures".  There's not a single song there that I had heard before, and although I'm not the most knowledgable music fan there is, I'd say I'm more than a casual music listener. 

 

Two songs that stood out to me were "Days On The Road" by Little River Band and "The Day, The Week And The Weather" by Firehouse (I think you have the title and band backwards, but I won't hold it against you).  I'm not surprised that I like the LRB tune, but I'm quite surprised at how much I like the Firehouse song.  I've just never cared for Firehouse, but that's a fantastic song. 

 

Great job!

Why am I messing up the TITLE and BAND thing lately.  hmm......

 

But I am pleased you like the Days on the Road track.  It so good.  Firehouse is an interesting band, they always get a repsonse, mostly people will say that they like one or two songs, but if you play their albums they will inevitably say they like a bunch of other songs too.

I have most everything here and like/liked them all except for one. And you can guess which one that is. The Ambrosia song is good, that's the only album I don't have. The list (except for one) was so good, I listened to it 2 1/2 times!  
The Firehouse track?
ding!
I enjoyed each of these songs. Thanks for the "hidden treasures." I have actually never listened to Ambrosia before. I'm going to check out more of their stuff now. For the record...I grew up in a small city during the MTV 80's Hard Rock Surge. We didn't know anything else existed besides "hair metal." Firehouse is one of the best from that era, they just enetered the scene a few seconds too late. The Loverboy VI is also an album that would have sold an amazing amount had it been put out earlier. (all in my opinion, of course)

Thanks Lance!  I also grew up in a small town, I suspect I am only a few years older than you, though I was the youngest in my family and got a huge dose of classic rock starting with the early 70's from my two older brothers.

 

I totally agree with you on Firehouse (though Jon will argue that) - Their third release, titled 3, is one of my all time favorites.

 

You may enjoy #35 which I just posted a coulpe days ago - its a look at some the 80's more obscure, but profound, metal ...

RSS

Question Of The Week

CRB Features (Click photo to visit)

Birthdays

There are no birthdays today

CRB Staff Members

 

In Memory Of

Norma Jean Fox
(11/30/1945-9/7/2010)

Photos

  • Add Photos
  • View All

Videos

  • Add Videos
  • View All

Badge

Loading…

© 2024   Created by RJhog (Admin).   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service