The Adolescents : The Adolescents/Welcome to Reality E.P

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The Adolescents : The Adolescents/Welcome to Reality E.P

1981

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. I Hate Children  2. Who is Who  3. Wrecking Crew  4. L.A. Girl  5. Self Destruct  6. Kids of the Black Hole  7. No Way  8. Amoeba  9. Word Attack 10. Rip it Up  11. Democracy  12. No Friends  13. Creatures 14. Welcome to Reality  15. Losing Battle  16. Things Start Moving


1981:  Ronald Wilson Reagan, 40th president of the United States of America, takes his place in office...



Cue 80's hardcore...

If you're into breakneck, melodic, SoCal punk, this is pretty much the start of it. The fact that it was made by a bunch of high school kids blows my mind, yet isn't surprising at all. I'm blown away that kids wrote these wonderfully melodic ideas and played this excellently performed music, on the other hand lyrics like, "I can't live in a world this gay!" could only have been written by confused kids...or whoever writes Katy Perry songs. But I don't mean this as an insult, really (not for the the Adolescents anyway...I guess Katy Perry's songwriter's should be insulted...unless they're 16 year old kids too....) those same pissed-off, jumbled teenage emotions are probably what makes this album so spectacular in the first place...

They pull off the first hardcore epic in the "Kids form the Black Hole." If punk's your thing, you seriously cannot overlook this one! That guitar line is the shit! Tony also turns his limited vocals into a strength. It doesn't just sound like some guy singing lyrics to a song...This guy believes with all his impassioned heart that  society as we know it is collapsing all around him. And what's he singing about? Homeless kids! Check out Phil Colllins, when he sing about homeless people!  It's usually some smooth ballad. Not these guys...It's still shocking to them. They're pissed about it, and I love them for it!  I also love them for those great backing vocals on "Amoeba,"and their relentless 200 mph beats.  Fans of Bad Religion who haven't moved onto this yet are doing themselves a serious injustice!



This CD also contains the follow up e.p. "Welcome to Reality."  The year of its release seems to be a bit difficult to pinpoint. All I know is it came out shortly after the first record. The title track of the e.p is quite a few clicks slower than expected. I couldn't tell if they were aiming for metal or a slower, sloppier "Flipper" sound. Either way it's still pretty good. The other two tracks from the e.p are at a tempo comparable to the self titled album, but the hooks aren't quite there. Still  a lot of snotty fun...

So let's go back to 1981, eat some pudding pops...



...and crank up "Kids of the Black Hole!"

Adam and the Ants: Prince Charming

Adam and the Ants: Prince Charming

1981

Epic Records

Format I own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing:  1. Scorpio  2. Picasso Visita El Planeta De Los Simio  3. Prince Charming  4. Five Guns West  5. That Voodoo!  6. Stand and Deliver  7. Mile High Club  8. Ant Rap  9. Mowhok  10. S.E.X  11. The Lost Hawaiians

A bit of a comedown after "Kings of the Wild Frontier." This starts out pretty strong w/ most of side one featuring some of his coolest songs ever, and side two starts out with what is possibly the greatest track of Adam's career, "Stand and Deliver." But after that it's just a big, gaping void of wasted time...

 I guess "Antrap" finally grew on me. It only took about 20 years, but I finally enjoy it. If just you're a little worried about Adam Ant tackling rap you don't really have to worry. It's not exactly "2 Chainz" or anything. Hell, the only reason I was able to identify it as rap was because of the title. It's basically Adam doing what he normally does, the only difference being that the music is missing. The backing consists of drums, vocals, and a whistle...That's it... Pretty entertaining though, and along with the Clash's "Sandinista" LP, an example of the early British new-wave/rap connection.



(suave cover of the "Ant Rap" single)

In fact, Adam seems to be going out of his way to not repeat his previous triumphs...There's a lot of new things he tries here, with some success and with some failures.

The successes: "Scorpio" sounds like the gaudiest Bond theme ever, but once you get acclimated to it, you'll find it has a pretty cool chorus. "Picasso Visita El Planeta De Los Simio" is a ridiculously catchy piece of power pop. Next is "Prince Charming" which is runner-up with "Stand and Deliver" as the album's best track. Apparently, it's ripped off from some song I never heard called "War Canoe." I wouldn't know about all that, though...Here, I guess you can listen to them both and judge for yourself...

 All I know is this sparse track slowly builds with all manners of thumps, screams and flamenco strumming.  Man, it's hard to get this out of your head once it worms its way in there. "That Voodoo" really grew on me too, as it alternates between rocking and calmer almost muzak-like passages. This is the closest the album gets to the ominous pop songs on "Kings of the Wild Frontier" while being altogether something different. 

And that's about it for successes...

"Five Guns West" is a continuation of the wild west motif explored on the previous album.  While arguably more successful in capturing the Old West vibe, with it's gunshot sound effects and Sergio Leone theme, it isn't quite up to that album's standards. The difference being, on "Kings of the Wild Frontier" you got the Western motif and the great songs to go with it. Here you just get to hear an evocative spaghetti western track with no memorable melodies... And the band wastes a perfectly fine key change on the dumb "Mile High Club." "Mohowk"  seems pretty tame compared to prior Indian-themed tracks. And while "S.E.X" is playing all I can really think about is "I wonder what the initials in S.E.X. stands for?"

So all in all, a mixed bag.  But the high points are so high, that I say if you come across a copy of it, pick it up and play it at your next Friday Night Record Party.  Just cut side 2 a little short. and you'll be fine

I bought my vinyl copy while I was in college during the 90's, at a store in Alpena. Michigan that sold records, guns and porn.  I can't really remember the name of the place. I'm not 100% sure if the guns were for sale, but I remember going through the record bins one day and the owner opened a closet and pulled out some semi-automatic weapons and was showing them to another guy in the store...Ahhhh, Michigan...

Let's relive those memories while listening to "Prince Charming..."

AC/DC: For Those About to Rock, We Salute You

AC/DC: For Those About to Rock, We Salute You

1981

Atlantic Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)  2.  Put the Finger on You  3. Let's Get it Up  4. Inject the Venom  5. Snowballed  6. Evil Walks  7. C.O.D  8. Breaking the Rules  9.  Night of he Long Knives  10. Spellbound

I remember seeing this record around the house a lot when i was a kid. I was always drawn to the spare striking cover...

My God! That black alternate cover from Spain is possibly even cooler!

Anyway, how do you follow up one of the biggest selling records of all time?

Apparently, by not worrying about it too much and subsequently selling a fraction of what "Back in Black" sold...

But I don't care about sales...I care about rock....

And this record rocks! It has a bit of an odd vibe in that it alternates between slower, scarier songs and  extra poppy rockers. You can start to hear some of the production touches Mutt Lange would use later in his career.  "Let's Get it Up," is a dead ringer for his popular 80's Def Leppard work....

The title track kicks things off not with a bang but with more of a lurch... It somehow achieves  its desired anthemic quality while lumbering menacingly. It really encapsulates the singular tone of the record. And who can forgot those cannons going off! It's celebratory and it's evil...I like it!

The same goes for "Evil Walks." "Care of the Devil" and "Snowballed." Where did they dig up all these great ominous riffs?

On the other hand there's also also a handful of energetic rockers, like "Put the Finger on You," and "Inject the Venom," which keep things moving and stop the album from getting too bogged down.

 (I might get in my DeLorean this weekend and go back in time to 1981 to see this show! AC/DC? Blue Oyster Cult?!?!? SLADE?!?!!  I might have to take a piss  during Whitesnake though...)

Is there anything on here that approaches the heights of the best material on "Back in Black?" Not really. But it does show them tweaking the formula slightly. I actually play this one a lot more at my Friday night Record Parties due to the fact that the tracks aren't quite as overplayed as the "Back in Black" material is...

I say we party like it's 1981, cue up Side one, track 2... "Put the Finger on You!"

AC/DC: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

AC/DC: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (International Version)

1976 (orignal version) 1981 (U.S. Release)

Atlantic Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl
 
Track Listing: 1 Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap  2.  Love at First Feel  3. Big Balls  4. Rocker  5. Problem Child  6. There's Gonna Be Some Rockin'  7. Ain't No Fun (Waiting 'Round to Be a Millionaire)  8. Ride On  9.  Squealer


This is one of the oldest records I own. It's seriously been around since I was a kid. I thought it may have belonged to my brother, Troy, but he doesn't recall ever owning it, so I guess the identity of the original owner is a mystery forever lost to the mists of time. Oh, well. It's mine now.

I can recall looking at this cover and it held a lot of mystery to me. I don't think I quite grasped the significance of the black bars over the eyes until later in life, one thing I definitely grasped as a kid though was "Big Balls."

Yes...That's right, I said it...I grasped big balls as a kid...

Get your minds out of the gutters! This song is clearly just about the lavish parties that Mr. Scott likes to hold in his big...albeit...dirty...ballroom. Some people may say this song isn't suitable for children to hear, but I'm going to have to disagree. I would say that I most appreciated this song when I was about 8 years old.

Even though the production values seem like an improvement from "High Voltage," I actually don't find myself listening to this one as much.. That may be due to the fact they chopped the best song ("Jailbreak") from the U.S. version.and put it on a separate e.p ('74 Jailbreak.)

Oh, and I hope you like the song "Problem Child" cos you're going to be hearing it a lot in the AC/DC discography.  But since we're hearing it here for the first time, it's actually pretty incredible. Malcolm's crashing chords! Bon howling that chorus at the moon!  Hot shit! It makes you want to lean against the hood of your '76 Trans Am and hoist your beer high as you shout along....



Which brings us to the burning question...What's should we be drinking while we listen to AC/DC?



NO!!!




Nahhh....



hmmmm.... Getting closer...




YES!!!!

YES!! YES!!! Wild Turkey! The big fucker!

The title track benefits greatly from this improved production. The guitar tones on this album are incredible! That slashing rhythm guitar still manages to whoop my ass, even though I've heard it on the radio, 10 billion times...The record also contains "Ride On." Which  is actually an uncharacteristic slow blues number for the band but it's so effective in its road-worn weariness that I kind of wish they explored this side more often, as I really think it highlights Bon Scott's range...."Rocker" is possibly the band's fastest song, done in a whiplash arrangement that recalls a speedier than usual Chuck Berry style...

My vinyl copy has that Christmassy green and red label that Atlantic started using around 1968, that I instantly identify with Atlantic records...

Now that I look at it I kinda realize it's actually green and ORANGE...and white...and yellow...and pink...

Wait...that might be red in the upper left-hand corner of the "A" in Atlantic.

These early AC/DC albums are extremely consistent. Even tracks that I may consider lesser ("Ain't No Fun Waiting 'Round to be a Millionaire") are almost of the same caliber as their best material...They never truly  misstep  You don't need to worry about any ill-advised attempt at Disco or Reggaeton, or dubstep. Probably the biggest departure in their entire career consists of the bagpipes that appear on their first album, so it's easy to take their single-minded pursuit of ass-kicking for granted. Let's take a moment...grab something to drink...



(No...not that...)


 ...and salute AC/DC by checking out their big balls...

...you know what I mean...