Author: ifmyalbumscouldtalk

Sometimes, when an artist leaves the spotlight of rock & roll fame, you begin to forget just how good that person was to begin with. And, when that artist takes nearly a quarter of a century to create new music, many have forgotten about his talent altogether. Oh sure, some of his songs are still gathering massive amounts of radio airplay, especially when one of his songs becomes something of a national anthem, you just stop listening to the song. Yes, the millennials kept that song alive after seeing hearing at the end of the Sopranos series finale or watched as the Glee “kids” performed it several times during the course of that show. That song was released shortly after I graduated from HIGH SCHOOL in 1981, it’s popularity really has never waned with the public, although it did only peak at number nine. “Don’t Stop Believin'” has kept Journey afloat for nearly 40 years, as they now have a near-soundalike as their lead singer, but that song has kept original lead singer financially secured with royalties that he was able to walk away from everything in order to find himself. Of course, I am talking about THE voice of Journey, Steve Perry.

Back in 1976, Journey was playing very competent jazz-fusion rock but sales were eluding the band. Enter singer Steve Perry. From the moment the Sam Cooke fan entered the fray, Journey’s fortunes soared with Perry’s incomparable voice. Their first album together was 1977’s Infinity, which garnered strong sales, and subsequently a strong concert following. More albums followed: Evolution (1979), Departure (1980) and the double-live set Captured (1981). And, along with them came the supporting tours, their audience grew. By 1981, they were quietly beginning to eclipse Styx as my generation’s favorite band.

Yet, it was the next two albums that sent Journey’s popularity into places that few artists EVER experience. First, 1981, the band scored a number one album with Escape, and it’s pre-Thriller run of big hits such as the aforementioned anthem “Don’t Stop Believin'”, as well as “Stone in Love” and the Prom ballad of 1982 “Open Arms.” The explosion in popularity was followed in 1983 with the cheesy video-driven Frontier album, which spawned memorable hits like “Faithfully”, “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” and “Send Her My Love.” The band toured stadiums, released a coveted pinball machine with their image emblazoned on it, and constant radio play. Then came a small and well-deserved break.

In 1984, Steve Perry released his first solo album, Street Talk, which turned the heat up on the singer. Hits songs were plentiful, especially his fantastic “Oh Sherrie” with its fantastic video parody of the overblown nature of videos at the time. One thing that Perry’s voice has that his replacement in Journey lacks is that touch of soulful emoting that only came from growing up listening to old soul masters, especially his hero Sam Cooke. But, the cracks in the band were forming. Guitarist Neil Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain, two-thirds of the writing team in the band, wanted to keep pushing on, while Perry wanted to rest. A compromise was reached, and the band released what I consider to be their most soulful album ever, Raised on Radio, in 1986. The band toured and had a strong year, but not like just three short years before.

Then came the break. Schon and Cain started a Journey-wannabe group with former Babys lead singer John Waite, and even scored a couple of hits in 1989. But, Perry withdrew. Finally, in 1994, Perry released a tired and weary album of new material to tepid response. That album was For the Love of Strange Medicine. Unfortunately, that music was not the soup of the day, so it died a relatively quick death during the era of grunge and alternative rock. Finally, it seemed as though Perry was done.

Except, 1998, Journey came knocking again. This time Perry jumped in only for an album, not for a tour. The band recorded their weakest Perry-sang album ever, even though the album sold well. Of course, the band wanted to tour, but Perry couldn’t, as he needed hip replacement surgery. Delays kept piling up until the band and Perry went through a divorce. And Steve Perry, arguably the greatest singer voice of my generation, went quiet. Journey carried on, and Perry went into seclusion.

Eventually, Perry was pulled out by his new girlfriend, Kellie Nash. Unfortunately, when the couple met, Nash was suffering from cancer. And, although they spent a short time together, it was a promise that Perry made to Nash as she was dying that he would record new music. Unfortunately, Kellie passed in late 2012, and that’s when Perry began writing again. Then, for the next six years, Perry was in and out of studios, writing songs slowly, until he was happy with his new album, his first in 24 years. The title is Traces. The music is strong, but it is the voice that carries the day. Although he claims to have not sung in a long, long time, his voice sounds just like it did in the Seventies, though he no longer has to soar against the guitar wailing of Schon’s brilliant playing. On Perry’s new album, you can truly appreciate that soulfulness in his voice that you may have forgotten about since the phony lead singer of Journey lacks it. And, it is during those subdued moments in the music when you actually hear the depth of Perry’s voice touching your heart.

Thank goodness that Steve Perry has released this new album, Traces. Now, everyone can bask in the glory of his magnificent voice within the confines of some of his most brilliant songs he has ever given us. I guess none of us should have ever stopped believing.

We are now in the homestretch of 2018. We just completed a ten-week chunk of time during which many good albums were released. I have been struggling to listen to all of this new music from the likes of Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, Paul Weller and a bunch of non-Paul rockers, such as Elvis Costello. Posthumous releases from Chris Cornell, Prince and Tom Petty have delighted me to no end. Pretty good Christmas albums have been released by Eric Clapton and The Monkees (the best one of the year!). After several months of listening to them, Kai Danzberg’s and Lisa Mychols’ latest albums are still getting heavy play on my stereo [FYI: These two have just released their new duet single on bandcamp.com, and it’s awesome!]. And, Chic has even released a comeback album! Yet, one album has been getting more run lately than the others is by rock’s second-foremost renaissance man (behind Todd Rundgren) is the latest by rocker/author/journalist Ken Sharp called Beauty in the Backseat.

After spending several years writing a brilliant four-volume set on power pop music known as Play On! Power Pop Heroes (Hey Ken! If you ever read this, I can’t wait for Volume 5!!!), Sharp released a great new album in 2016 called New Mourning. The album was definitely one of my favorites that year, but 2018 has been something of a watershed year for the man, at least musically speaking. This tour-de-force began in December 2017, when, shortly after David Cassidy’s untimely death, Sharp released a fantastic single called “I Wanna Be David Cassidy,” a fantastic slice of ’70s AM radio rock that be honored the man in the title and lyrically expressed what us kids were thinking of Cassidy when we lived to watch David on The Partridge Family. I was a seven-year-old boy who totally understood what being David Cassidy might have meant to the girls.

Then, earlier this year, Ken followed that single with another called “She Hates the Beatles,” after his producer dared him to write a song with that title. Now, no man of our age would consider a woman to play a major role in our lives who hates the Beatles, yet, once again, Sharp hit another round-tripper with this single. Then, in a short space of time, when his favorite band, Todd Rundgren’s Utopia, announced a reunion tour for the spring, Sharp used his excitement to create a near-perfect tribute to the band with his THIRD single of the year called appropriately enough “Utopia.”

All of this happened in rapid machine gun fashion, when Ken quickly announced that he was releasing a new album called Beauty in the Backseat. Of course, the man actually saved the best for last! This album is stuffed full of songs with melodies, which reminds me of how much I love the sound of Todd Rundgren’s music played by the AM radio station in my dad’s Buick. That’s what this album reminds me of. Those summer days when my parents would take my brother and me to the country club swimming pool and hearing Badfinger and the Raspberries hit songs on that car radio. Those were care-free days, full of fun and great pop music that rocked. And, Mr. Sharp, this new album is of the 21st century yet takes me back to my youth as if I were living to new that new song by Bread on my little AM radio in my bedroom.

Yet, nostalgia is NOT this album’s strength, not by a long shot! No, this is the type of album that millennials NEED to hear, digest and allow to become an influence on their music to remind them that the best beats are actually played by musicians and not manufactured on your phone. Additionally, Sharp has given the world a lesson on writing timeless melodies, the kind which borrow into our brains and remain there for hours after listening to that song. Unfortunately, Sharp has left off this album two of his three fantastic singles, only giving us the David Cassidy song. Yet, there is no letdown of the quality of songs that Sharp has created. From the Raspberries-like opener “Rock Show” to the his brilliant “Pull the Strings,” which sounds like a long-forgotten hit on a Time-Life ’70s AM Gold compilation. Throughout the whole album, Sharp tells us this is HIS music, take it or leave it, and he is comfortable in his own skin. Even his homage to the late great David Bowie is fresh and heartfelt (“The Day That David Bowie Died”).

I think with all things have been said, this album is ultimately a tribute to Eric Carmen, as it sounds like the follow-up to Carmen’s 1976 debut album. Still, this is more than a simple tribute album, since there are additional nods to Jeff Lynne and ELO and even Magical Mystery Tour-era Beatles. But, for the duration of an album, Ken Sharp has channeled Eric Carmen to give us a fantastic power pop album for the ages.

See folks? Power pop is alive and well! Three of my favorite albums this years are all from this genre. And, during these stressful days of Trump, don’t we deserve some music that will give us a break from that crap?

Yesterday, I came out as a Maroon 5 fan at the ripe old age of 55. And, my new found love of the band has NOTHING to due with Adam Levine’s major role on that silly TV singing show on NBC, The Voice. As I have said earlier, I find those shows to be especially contrived with fake drama and writing that appeals to the lowest common denominator which has little to do with musical talent and only audience manipulation. Let’s face that if Jennifer Hudson, an Oscar-winning actress with the most powerful voice this side of Whitney and Mariah, cannot win American Idol, then something is innately wrong with these programs. Throw in the fact that few of these contestants actually have hit songs, then there may be a problem with the shows. Plus, I know for a fact that two-big voiced singers from this area went to an American Idol cattle…er…casting call, only to be sent home because they were NOT sitting in the correct area of the stadium. It’s as though the producers reject fifteen-sixteenths of the potential contestants BEFORE the auditions ever begin.

But, this blog entry is NOT about those stupid shows. No! For I have come to sing the praises of Maroon 5, the latest artist to mine the lucrative field that straddles the pop, rock and R&B worlds so effortlessly that I have place them alongside Fitz & the Tantrums as my heirs to the Daryl Hall & John Oates popmeister throne. What is unique about Maroon 5 is that they have taken the Chic guitar sound and combined it with some rock sounds and hip hop flourishes to concoct a unique and valid pop sound for the 21st century. And, as I said yesterday, where Rob Thomas dropped the ball during the previous decade by making solo albums and walking away, however briefly, from Matchbox 20, left the pop/rock vein wide open for someone to grab the mantle. Briefly, I thought Fitz might take it, but they decided to slow down the fast train of stardom, just as Maroon 5 began to hit their creative stride, especially since Levine apparently learned the Thomas lesson by sticking with his band no matter how many people are telling him to go solo.

Honestly, I thought Maroon 5 was done after their second album, which has aged better than I thought it would since I felt it was a major disappointment upon its release. Then came Levine’s artistic renaissance via The Voice, as he began to learn the advice that he was actually giving his contestants, allowing him to grow as a singer, performer and, most importantly, a songwriter, even though the band has turned toward “song doctors” to help them make hit songs. I really don’t have a problem with this relationship. At least the label is NOT telling the band that their songs are crap, and they need to record other songwriters’ songs, as has happened to a great number of artists, such as Cheap Trick, Heart and Chicago, to list a few.

So, today, I bring you my Top 20 Maroon 5 Songs, which I believe to represent the sound of a band at the top of their collective skills. And, just because many of them have been hits does NOT neglect this band’s talent! Not everyone has to be angst-ridden and noisy when making art. Some musical geniuses actually have hit songs, right Blondie? Well, let’s stop pimping this countdown and just get to it!

1. “This Summer’s Gonna Hurt like a Motherf***er” (V, 2014)
2. “Moves like Jagger (Feat. Christina Aguilera)” (Hands All Over, 2010)
3. “What Lovers Do (Feat. SZA)” (Red Pills Blues, 2017)
4. “Sunday Morning” (Songs About Jane, 2004)
5. “Girls like You (Feat. Cardi B)” (Red Pills Blues, 2017)
6. “Don’t Wanna Know (Feat. Kendrick Lamar)” (Red Pills Blues, 2017)
7. “Payphone (Feat. Wiz Khalifa)” (Overexposed, 2012)
8. “Sugar” (V, 2014)
9. “She Will Be Loved” (Songs About Jane, 2004)
10. “Makes Me Wonder” (It Won’t Be Soon Before Now, 2007)
11. “If I Never See Your Face” (It Won’t Be Soon Before Now, 2007)
12. “Harder to Breathe” (Songs About Jane, 2004)
13. “One More Night” (Overexposed, 2012)
14. “Misery” (Hands All Over, 2010)
15. “Maps” (V, 2014)
16. “Daylight” (Overexposed, 2012)
17. “Animals” (V, 2014)
18. “Wake Up Call” (It Won’t Be Soon Before Now, 2007)
19. “Wait” (Red Pills Blues, 2017)
20. “Love Somebody” (Overexposed, 2012)

Sure, most of the band’s best songs have been major hits, but when a band has had as many Top 10 songs in their career as Maroon 5 has, then it should be no surprise that their best songs were released for radio play and individual sales.

Don’t take my word for it! Listen to the band’s music and I think you will become a believer. Maroon 5 is a first-rate pop/rock band!

I have decided to make an announcement here that I have NEVER told anyone before, except for my wife. Back in the early part of this century, both of my boys were still living at home, as Number One was still in high school while Number Two was in middle school. It was during this time that I was able to stay attuned to the musical likes and dislikes of the millennial generation. Through Number One, I not only got hooked on the neo-garage rockers such as The Strokes and White Stripes or heard the stylings of Jay-5 and his future wife Beyoncè, but I also learned about Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, The Vines, Eminem, Wilco and others even while he was in college.

Yet, there was one band whose debut album that he brought into the house when he was a senior in high school, telling me he had an album that had updated that Eighties’ danceable rock sound for the 21st century. Initially, I was curious by very skeptical. So, I gave the album a cursory listen and then gave it back to him without really evaluating the band’s music. Of course, at the time, I was in the midst of turning my school’s track program around from perennial conference doormats into a regional power, so I was busy and very impatient with new music at the time.

Of course, I was wrong about this band…VERY WRONG. I totally missed the updated version of Hall & Oates of this band’s sound. We all know how much I love it when artists are able to cross-mix genres into their sound. Sure, the band’s lead singer’s presence in a popular singing contest TV show has sent the band into the stratosphere of record sales, but that has turned into more of a positive than a negative. Sure, Maroon 5 is a pop band, but they are a pop band for the ages, not unlike Hall & Oates or ABBA. Let’s face it right here and now! I am a fan of Maroon 5.

So, how in this day and age of the bromance between Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine and country artist, and Mr. Gwen Steffani-wannabe, Black Shelton on The Voice might make one cynical about Levine’s band. But, I could care less. Why? I hate all those stupid singing shows with their faux suspense and drama. Seriously, after Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson, who else has come from one of those shows and become a sustained and accomplished artist? No one that I care to remember. However, I would argue that Levine’s position on The Voice has pushed his creativity further than it might have if he was not on that show. I honestly think that his presence around all those talented artists have rubbed off on him and made Levine a better singer and songwriter.

So, I am a Maroon 5 fan, and I believe that one day, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will have to admit them in the house of the rock immortals. Sure, when Maroon 5 first arrived on the scene, the big pop/rock group with a heavily exposed lead singer was Matchbox 20, whose leader, Rob Thomas, was seemingly everywhere, even writing one of the most popular songs of all-time, “Smooth” by Santana, that huge expectations were placed on Thomas. But, that weight crushed him, his band and his career, unfortunately. But, in Levine’s case, he has become a celebrity on The Voice, all the while submersing himself within Maroon 5’s anonymity. It’s as if he learned Thomas’ lesson and stayed within his band when every media vulture is telling him to fly on his own. It’s as if he understands that he needs his mates from Maroon 5 in order to achieve his dreams as a pop/rock/soul singer in a great band than just another guy with a great voice competing on the latest TV singing show.

So, here’s to my favorite pop/rock/soul band of the new millennium, Maroon 5, as I rank their six studio albums.

6. Overexposed (2012). Yes, this album was a big hit with several big hit songs, but the songs were just a little too weepy for me. Relax guys! Have fun! No one wants there pop/rock/soul stars to be mopey. Fortunately, they didn’t go full-blown Morrissey after this album.

5. V (2014). Even though this album has my favorite M5 song (“This Summer’s Gonna Hurt like a Motherf****r”), the rest of it is just a little TOO poppy. It was as if the band were simply attempting to rediscover the formula of Hands All Over as opposed to the fun found within that album. At least they didn’t create another version of Overexposed, struck out trying to hit a home run.

4. Red Pill Blues (2017). THIS is how Maroon 5 should sound from now on! If the album had more potential hits, it could have been their Bad or Supernatural. They WILL get there. I hope it’s their next one.

3. Songs About Jane (2003). What a great and fresh debut album this album was back in 2003. This was a great album from start to finish. And I love the minor hit song “Sunday Morning.”

2. It Won’t Be Soon Before Long (2007). I cannot believe the band took so much time between their first and second albums (four years), but at least they recognized the need for quality songs. And M5 has them in spades on this album.

1. Hands All Over (2010). As far as Maroon 5 albums are concerned, you cannot go wrong with this one. It has several potential hit songs, even though their duet with former Voice co-star Christina Aguilera, “Moves like Jagger,” stands heads and shoulders above the others. If you are comparing M5 with Daryl Hall & John Oates, Hands All Over is M5’s Voices, a major leap forward.

While it is still relatively early in the band’s career, Maroon 5 is a danceable pop/rock/soul band for the ages. And, I really believe we have not even scratched the surface of what they can do within the studio. I would love to be around them as they create their next album. I have a feeling that this one will be the ONE everyone thinks Maroon 5 can record. Here’s to Maroon 5, the best pop/rock band of the 21st century!

I had the privilege of seeing Queen twice in concert back in the Eighties, specifically on the band’s triumphant 1980 North American Tour behind the album The Game and then again on their trouble-plagued Hot Space North American Tour in 1982. Both concerts were outstanding though for different reasons. In one case, the mood was celebratory, while the other had the band’s backs pinned to the wall, and they were taking no prisoners that night. And, to fully get your mind around the Queen experience, you HAD to see them live.

While live albums by artists can be transcendent for those artists (Kiss, Peter Frampton and Cheap Trick all released career altering albums, making it difficult for the artists to duplicate their live success in the studio, for whatever reasons), while others who were known to be fantastic live performers have often released lackluster live albums, much as Queen did, especially during their actual run of popularity. Overall, the band has released eight live albums, with four of then posthumous releases and one recorded when guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor temporarily joined forces with rock powerhouse singer Paul Rogers, formerly of Bad Company and Free. I will NEVER count any of the albums released by the Queen + Paul Rodgers lineup that released a live and a studio album. So, this ranking will be about those live recordings with the late great Freddie Mercury holding the microphone.

So, let’s get this thing rolling.

1. Queen Rock Montreal (2007) – This was the album the band should have released as soon as the band knew Hot Space was becoming their first commercial flop. If the band had released this document from their 1980 North American tour, when Queen might have actually become the biggest band in the world after spending the better part of a decade acting like they were. Maybe, this live album could have righted the ship, so to speak. Instead, the USA quickly turned their backs on Freddie and the boys just because their new music made people want to dance instead of ROCK.

2. Live at Wembley ’86 (1990). I do not know whether the band knew this concert was going to be their last or not. Yet, they came out and just slayed the audience just a year after their show-stealing performance at Live Aid. However, as this double-CD set proves, Queen were masterful musicians and Freddie was the greatest frontman of all-time.

3. A Night at the Odeon: Hammersmith 1975 (2015). This album documents Queen’s rise to the upper echelon of rock-dom as they toured behind their classic A Night at the Opera. I will never understand why this double-album set was never released during the band’s heyday. Then again, they never really needed a recording break until 1979, so what do I know? This album proves the band were finally reaching the audience they always deserved.

4. Live at the Rainbow ’74 (2014). During 1974, the band released two great albums: Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack. For the UK tours in support of these albums, they ended both tours with the band playing sold-out shows at London’s old famous Rainbow This album has both shows, displaying Queen’s growth throughout their most important year. By the end of the last show on the Sheer Heart Attack Tour, once can hear a confident band buoyed by their artistic growth through these two albums and back tours.

5. On Fire: Live at the Bowl (2004). Once again, the band’s label dipped into their archives to find a live record. However, they stuck to a very good show from the band’s latter days, so nothing on this album is particularly revelatory. Basically, it is a solid live set, but since it is taken from the same tour as three other albums, I get a little bored with yet another tour document from the Kind of Magic tour.

6. Live Killers (1979). This was Queen’s first live album, released in the summer of 1979, to cash in during a little down time for the band. Set-wise, nearly all of it contains their pre-The Game hits, except for “Somebody to Love.” Unfortunately, the album does not capture Queen’s majesty in concert. I am not sure why, but this album is just plain lackluster.

7. Live Magic (1986). The band released this live album after A Kind of Magic flopped in the US in an attempt to rally their US fan base. Unfortunately, this live album was flatter than a pancake. As a matter of fact, I was just listening to this CD as I tried to type this blog and literally, have been fighting sleep the whole time! Man, is this one boring album.

So, folks, there you have it. My own ranking of Queen’s seven live albums, ranked from best to worst. Let me know what your order is in the space below. Until next time, stay frosty everyone!

PS – Just got word that legendary comic book creator Stan Lee has passed away at the aged of 95. He made cameo appearances in most, if not all of the Marvel Universe movies. He actually created Spider Man, the Fantastic Four, and my personal favorite from my youth, the X-Men. RIP Stan Lee!

Growing up, after my parents’ divorce, Mom, my brother and I would go to Goodwill and a couple of junk-slash-antique stores to waste time. Mom collected dolls, an activity that she shared with her mother, my grandma. As a matter of fact, Grandma, who desperately wanted to be a physician in her youth but was told that was no profession for a lady by her mother, was a licensed doll doctor. That meant she had doll parts laying around her home so she could repair a special doll that came into her doll hospital. She actually had a nice thriving business going back in the early-Seventies. So, on those days when the three of us needed to get out of our home’s prison wall, we’d venture into these stores, looking for treasures, mainly advertising dolls. Mom loved those old advertisements dressed up as playthings. Once, I actually got the big find at one of these places when I discovered “Bud Man,” a “superhero” of sorts who was advertising Budweiser Beer. The price set us back a whole 25-cents, while Mom’s price guide stated the doll was worth over $100. So, I have always had an eye for a decent deal.

Initially, my collections were sports cards (baseball and basketball, mostly, or, and I am NOT kidding, empty beer cans. Eventually, I slowly evolved into a music collector. I traded my beer cans to my buddy for his sports cards. That was as big a deal as Bud Man. I also had a brief flirtation with comic books during my middle school years. But, soon, I settled on my music collection. And, I was quite content with it, that is until my boys had moved out of our house, when I got my music room. It was then that I began a very modest collection of rock memorabilia. First, I copped a few old rock posters the boys left behind, in addition to a couple of more posters I ordered along with some frames to display pictures disc albums.

Yet, little did I know that my mom, whose health was quickly declining, planned to offer me any rock artist dolls that she had. Well, I pounced on her four Beatles stuffed dolls that she had purchased back in the Eighties. Additionally, she gave me back a set of Funko Pop Kiss figures that were in mint condition. Back in 2012, I had stumbled upon these celebrity figures called Funko Pop. By their looks, I knew Mom would love them, especially Kiss, though, at the time, I could have gotten her five Michael Jackson figures, two Elvis Presleys or all three members of Run-DMC. I went with Kiss, because of my membership in the Kiss Army back during those very same middle school years. Well, years later when she gave them back to me for my music room, I kind of got bit with another collection.

I totally dig the Funko Pop world of collectables, but I am mainly interested in the rock music line, though they are now moving into the world of Saturday Night Live characters, which is another world of obsession. Now, I have, in addition to the four members of Kiss, Elton John, Alice Cooper, Joey Ramones and the members of Guns N’ Roses, to list a few. Oh, there are now so many different rock artists represented in this overall collection that there will be little way to possibly afford to be a completist.

However, I did discover toward the end of July that Funko Pop was releasing three different figures of my favorite – Prince! We are talking about Purple Rain-era, Raspberry Beret video and 3rdEyeGirl versions. Well, so far, only the Raspberry Beret version has arrived, and I am still awaiting the others. And, then I saw the big tweet this month from Funko Pop that they would be releasing one figure for Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor, in addition to THREE different versions of Freddie Mercury from Queen in early 2019! Well, of course, I jumped on those in pre-order form as well.

Needless to say, this collection will probably be modest. But I sure enjoy these representations of some of my musical heroes. So, here are the 15 rock stars that I hope to Funko Pop immortalize in the very near future. These suggestions are listed randomly.

1. Angus Young of AC/DC. Who wouldn’t love that school uniform clad Pop?

2. Mick Jagger & Keith Richards (The Glimmer Twins) of The Rolling Stones. These two are no-brainers in the rock world.

3. ZZ Top. The two dudes with their beards immortalized, along with their drummer whose last name IS Beard that does not sport the facial hair, that would be so awesome!

4. Madonna. She’s perfect, plus she has so many different phases to be represented, that she could be her own series. From Boy Toy to Coned Bra to her Mother Earth phases, Madonna would keep collectors searching for all of her phases.

5. David Bowie. Same explanation as Madonna.

6. Boy George. Everyone’s favorite cross-dressing icon from the Eighties is just asking to be immortalized.

7. The Monkees. The Pre-Fab Four is super popular across the generations. They are perfect for the company that loves to look backward for inspiration.

8. Bob Dylan/Tom Petty/Bruce Springsteen. Scruffy rockers as cute figures – you bet!

9. Whitney Houston/Diana Ross/Tina Turner/Britney Spears/Christina Aguilera/Aretha Franklin/Adele/Beyonce. Better known as the Diva line. Yes, please!

10. Joan Jett/The Bangles/The Go-Go’s. Funko Pop needs more female rockers represented.

11. Weezer. Rock’s favorite nerds are perfect to become Pops.

12. Def Leppard/Poison. After Guns N’ Roses and Motley Crue, these bands would be perfect.

13. R.E.M./Red Hot Chili Peppers/U2/Talking Heads/The B-52’s – These bands were so visual that they would make Pops.

14. George Clinton, Bootsy Collins and a couple other crazy members of the P-Funk Thang. Who wouldn’t want Diaper Man? This would be difficult to keep to a small collection.

15. Eddie Vedder/Chris Cornell/Layne Staley/Billy Corgan/Trent Reznor. Nineties alternative nation gods gone Pop.

Oh, I could go on and on with suggestions, such as Beastie Boys, N.W.A, Billy Joel, Eminem, Led Zeppelin, Duran Duran, Cheap Trick and Steven Tyler & Joe Perry (The Toxic Twins) of Aerosmith are a few more stars to be immortalized as Pops.

Hope you enjoyed this little detour through this off-shoot collection of mine.

I saw it, and it was great! No, more like terrific! Over the weekend, my whole family, plus my nephew and his lady friend, all went to see the Freddie Mercury/Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and, as usual, walked away in full-blown Queen obsession  like I have not experienced since high school, or maybe the release of and tour behind their 1982 album, Hot Space. Growing up a Queen fan in the conservative Mid West gets you many anti-gay insults thrown at you no matter how many beautiful girls you were dating at the time. It’s ironic to see the same bullies from high school stepping our as either Queen fans or being gay. I truly do not care, but they really didn’t have to project their issues onto me back then. Oh well! Let’s get back to the movie.

The movie is great, not the cheesy affair I was afraid of it becoming. No, the whole thing was well-written for the most part and the actors were outstanding. Rami Malek really was Freddie Mercury, perhaps rock’s most original AND iconic figure. Malek embodied Mercury with the correct touches of tenderness, intensity, compassion, explosiveness, all traits of the Mercury psyche. Somehow, Malek actually brought Freddie back to us for the duration of the film, and I thank you for that opportunity to relive all those contradictions that made the man such a unique talent. I honestly would not be surprised if Malek gets an Oscar nomination for his performance. As a matter of fact, wouldn’t it be so cool to have Oscars going to an actor portraying a rock star (Malek as Mercury) and a rock star portraying an up-and-coming rock star (Lady Gaga). Their performances are worthy of such high praise.

As I have stated before, I was privileged to have seen Queen twice in concert. The first time was their triumphant 1980 The Game Tour, during which the band was celebrating their first American number one album (The Game) and their first two number one songs: “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Another One Bites the Dust.” Then, I saw them on their ill-fated Hot Space Tour, that America said goodbye to the band forever. For some reason, no “self-respecting” American could back an openly gay rock star such as Mercury, even though it was SO obvious in the Seventies that he was gay. But, the Midwest did the same thing to Elton John back during the Reagan era as well. At least now, Queen and more specifically Freddie Mercury have been recognized for their genius. Too bad Freddie never lived to experience his redemption as Elton has.

Today, my friends, I bring to you my personal ranking of all 15 studio albums by Queen, from 15 all the way to number one. So, let’s get this party started.

15. Made in Heaven (1995). It must have been cathartic for the band to have finally put together some music for some vocals that Freddie left behind. This album was released posthumously. My Rating: 6/10.

14. The Miracle (1989). Overall, this album was the most disappointing to me. For the first time ever, Queen seemed as though they did not care. My Rating: 6.5/10.

13. Flash Gordon (1980). This soundtrack has grown on me over the years. And, I should remember that it is a campy band making soundtrack music for a campy movie. And, when you put it in that context, this album is pretty good. My Rating: 6.5/10.

12. A Kind of Magic (1986). Back in 1986, this album pissed me off. Back then, I felt Queen was following the trends and not setting them. Boy, was I wrong. When you give the album a chance outside of the context of my mid-Eighties preference for alternative music, Magic is a pretty good album. My Rating: 7/10.

11. Queen II (1974). This is the sound of a young band trying to find their true voice. You can hear what they will become, but they are not yet the Queen we all came to love at this point. My Rating: 7/10.

10. Innuendo (1991). The last album Queen made while Freddie was still with us was a triumphant comeback of sorts, no matter how briefly that comeback lasted. The album is pompous, majestic and self-assured, just as all great Queen albums are. My Rating: 7.5/10.

9. Queen (1973). The band’s debut makes Queen seem as though they were going to battle Led Zeppelin for hard rock supremacy. I guess no one was listening closely to songs like “Great King Rat” and “My Fairy King,” which were early clues to the camp that lay within the band. My Rating: 7.5/10.

8. The Works (1984). The Works was the album that proved Queen’s rock might in the Eighties, like everyone needed reminding. Of course, Americans proved their bigotry when they forced MTV to ban the band’s video for “I Want to Break Free” for the members dressing up in drag, using typical English humor (go back and watch episodes of Monty Python’s Flying Circus and you’ll see drag in nearly every episode!). This album should have shot the band back into the stratosphere here in the States, but this was the Reagan era, which we are still suffering from today. My Rating: 8/10.

7. News of the World (1977). This album records Queen at their most raw, as if the band were telling all the trendy punks to stick it. The album is known for the ubiquitous “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.” The band even gives a nod to Zeppelin with their take on “Whole Lotta Love” called “Get Down, Make Love.” My Rating: 8/10.

6. Sheer Heart Attack (1974). This was the album during which the Queen we all came to love began flexing its muscles. Contains “Killer Queen” and “Now I’m Here.” My Rating: 8.5/10.

5. Hot Space (1982). I’m telling you right now: This album was THE album that Queen proved they were going to be the band of the Eighties, every bit as innovative as they were in the Seventies. Although their are many dance rhythms used on songs, this is NOT a disco album. This is the album Duran Duran or INXS always wished they could have made. My Rating: 9/10.

4. A Day at the Races (1976). For the longest time, this has remained my favorite Queen album, warts and all. I got it during a difficult time during my life and it got me through it. It’s not really their best, but it does contain “Somebody to Love,” and wouldn’t every band wish they could say that about one of their albums? My Rating: 9/10.

3. The Game (1980). Before this album was ever released, I KNEW it was going to be great. Then, it dropped during the Summer of 1980, and never left my turntable for very low throughout my senior year of high school. If you listen to this album, then Flash Gordon, Hot Space makes perfect sense within that context. My Rating: 9.5/10.

2. Jazz (1978). Talk about an album that keeps getting better with time, Rolling Stone once calls this album a “fascist” album. What the hell did that mean? Boomers hated Queen while us young Boomers/old Gen X-ers loved Queen. And, Jazz is full of Queen classics: “Bicycle Race,” “Fat Bottomed Girls,” “Don’t Stop Me Now” and “Mustapha.” My Rating: 10/10.

1. A Night at the Opera (1975). What a perfect album that came out at the perfect time. This album shows Queen at its most definitive, as they are being innovative and fearless. Their vocals are impeccable and complex, while their growth as musicians was nearly immeasurable. This is what The Beatles had hoped Sgt. Pepper had sounded like. My Rating: 10/10.

That’s it! Queen’s career laid out before you, sans all the live albums. Long live one of the greatest bands of all time!

In the world of rock music and its fandom, people can generally look to an artist or band as their moment when lightning struck them in which that artist becomes the most important thing in that person’s life. With Baby Boomers, most can remember where they were when they saw The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. For that generation, it was an atomic bomb moment for many of them, with millions going out the next day to buy musical instruments or Beatles records.

In the early Eighties, young Gen X-ers can remember the moment when Michael Jackson moonwalked his way into the public’s consciousness on the ABC-TV show Motown 25. Then, in the Nineties, Nirvana burst through on MTV with their video for “Smells like Teen Spirit.” But, for those of us who came of age in the mid- to late-Seventies, we have a mixed bag. For some people, it was the sounds of disco, through the artistry of Chic or Donna Summer, while others fell for the hard rock thing through Kiss or classic rock with Journey, Foreigner, Boston, Styx, et. al. Some of us were struck by the Ramones, Sex Pistols or The Clash on a punk level, or The Police, Talking Heads or Devo for new wave.

Then, there was me. I loved hard rock, dance musics, new wave, punk and all the rest. Yet, no one artist really stuck out to me, until I heard a song on the radio in 1974. The song? “Killer Queen” by the English band Queen. At that moment, I heard within a three-to-four minute song everything that I enjoyed about music. I loved the cheekiness of the band, men who were so comfortable in their own skin that they could play around with sexual identity definitions, as well as making music with a huge sense of humor. Immediately, I got exactly what Queen was all about, so I became the biggest Queen fan during the years leading up to the appearance of Prince. While many of my friends were put-off by the band’s Freddie Mercury’s apparent sexual orientation, I found his stage presence absolutely amusing. When I was young, my mother was working on her master’s degree in art and would often take me to her college classes. Of course, I met many effeminate men, but it never was an issue to me as they treated me with great respect. Therefore, Queen never was as off-putting to me as they were to many of my friends.

Today, a movie is being released about Freddie Mercury and the rest of the band Queen, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bassist John Deacon. We live in much different times within society, so Queen’s shtick may seem tame today, but back in the Seventies, they were Elton John on steroids. Hopefully, the man playing Freddie will be able to pull off one of the most difficult rock legends. I have high hopes of a great movie, but they are tempered by the fact that movies about modern rock artists or athletes are usually hokey. My main example of the silly is the Mark Wahlberg/Jennifer Aniston vehicle Rock Star. And, Freddie, my friends, continues to reign as bigger than life.

So, in honor of one of my first favorite artists of all-time, I would like to present a list of what I consider to be Queen’s 10 Most Innovative Songs. I hope this gets you ready for the movie this weekend!

1. “Bohemian Rhapsody” (A Night at the Opera, 1975). Was there any doubt? Take a ballad opening, segue into an opera middle and end with heavy metal, and you think it would be a mess. Wrong! It’s heavenly!
2. “Somebody to Love” (A Day at the Races, 1976). How do the boys follow up “Rhapsody”? How about some black gospel music? That’s exactly what “Somebody to Love” was all about. Need I see anymore? Nope!
3. “Killer Queen” (Sheer Heart Attack, 1974). Before this song, Queen seemed to be on the verge of becoming a glam-version of Led Zeppelin, at least, until “Killer Queen” was released. How, Queen had their own sound that made them rise above the rest.
4. “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions” (News of the World, 1977). Sporting events were NEVER the same again. A team wins a championship, and “Champions” will be blared through the speakers. Then “Rock You” is constantly used to fire up a crowd at various crucial moments during a game. Although these songs were signs of their immense egos, they are now used for sports teams’ successes.
5. “Another One Bites the Dust” (The Game, 1980). In 1978, The Rolling Stones went disco with their brilliant “Miss You.” Fast-forward to 1980, and Queen goes funk with “Another One Bites the Dust”. The critics blast them, while the public buys millions of copies of the single. And, the rest is history.
6. “Under Pressure (with David Bowie)” (Hot Space, 1982). Can you believe that this song NEVER made the American Top 20? I’m not kidding! That fact continues to blow my mind. You have two of the greatest artists of all-time coming together to create a very important single, and it can’t break the Top 20 here, while we made Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical” number one for nine weeks at the same time. And, then Vanilla Ice stole the melody and went to number one with his crappy “Ice, Ice Baby.” Go figure!
7. “Radio Ga Ga” (The Works, 1984). The band had the backs up against the wall after the commercial disaster of Hot Space, when they released a song that actually bridged the gap between the Seventies and Eighties, musically speaking. This is a fantastic single that introduced Queen to the MTV generation.
8. “Bicycle Race” (Jazz, 1978). Not so much a song as a musical and lyrical collage. No one had ever attempted this forerunner to the whole post-punk movement. And, today’s indie kids should go back, listen to this song and learn from it.
9. “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” (The Game, 1980). This was released during the heady days of new wave, during a time when artists were looking forward and backwards for inspiration at the same time. This rockabilly cut appeared two-to-three years before the Stray Cats and other rockabilly wannabes made a brief appearance in the early-Eighties. Plus, no one could imitate Elvis Presley as Freddie could.
10. “Now I’m Here” (Sheer Heart Attack, 1974). Okay, on record, this is a very good hard rock song. But, when it was played live, this song took on a whole new life, from the illusion of Freddie standing on both sides of the stage at the beginning of the song to the way the band wails throughout. In concert, the theatricality of the song became very apparent.

From 1973 through Freddie Mercury’s death, Queen was one of the most popular bands in the world. Through the intervening years, Queen’s management has done a fantastic job of keeping the band in the public’s consciousness. Queen is my Beatles, for the impact they made on my life. In my humble opinion, these ten songs represent Queen’s most important songs that led them in becoming one of the world’s most cherished bands. Viva la Freddie Mercury! And, viva la Queen!

We have finally made! It Friday, the end of the working weekend, standing on the verge of getting it on with the possibilities of weekend Halloween parties ahead of many of the younger readers, while us old farts are simply trying to hang on another day.  Perhaps, more importantly, this blog entry happens to be the penultimate entry on my latest series, My Top 100 Artists of All-Time. So, let’s just get this party started!

10. Elvis Costello – When many older people say the name “Elvis,” they mean Presley. But, when I say “Elvis,” I mean Costello. I have always dug his beginnings as the angry young man who grew up loving R&B but performed it with the punk energy of the day. From the moment I first heard “Watching the Detectives” on a new local radio station, I was hooked. Their may never be a more perfect song that explains a teenage male’s jealousy of a girl he has strong feelings for who dates everyone but him than “Alison.” And, no one has ever correlated a new relationship with actual chapters in a book when he recorded “Everyday I Write the Book.” Elvis Costello is my generation’s Bob Dylan, that’s the only way I can put it. Favorite Albums: My Aim Is True, This Year’s Model, Armed Forces, Spike. Favorite Songs: “Alison,” “Everyday I Write the Book,” “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding,” “Angels Want to Wear My Red Shoes,” “Veronica”.

9. Elton John – I have loved Elton ever since I heard “Daniel” for the first time. As a matter of fact, I still own that single, along with “Crocodile Rock.” And, my first 8-Track tape was Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, with Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy and Greatest Hits all not too far behind. Elton John was the Beatles of my life, a rock star who transcended his music. I will NEVER forget his performance as the Pinball Wizard in the movie Tommy; his performance in the movie while on stilts and wearing the largest shoes of all-time is such an iconic moment of the Seventies. His first Greatest Hits album should be placed in a time capsule for other planets and future civilizations to learn about great music from Earth in the 20th century. Favorite Albums: Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Honky Château, Madman Across the Water, Tumbleweed Connection. Favorite Songs: “Daniel,” “Rocket Man,” “Empty Garden (Hey Johnny),” “This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore,” “Someone Saved My Life Tonight,” “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me (with George Michael),” “Bennie and the Jets,” “Tiny Dancer,” “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues”.

8. Paul Weller – When I say Paul Weller, I am talking about his WHOLE career, The Jam, The Style Council and solo. The man created a nearly perfect blend of Motown and punk with The Jam, Seventies soul and disco and pop with The Style Council, and a mix of R&B and everything else under the rock sun as a solo artist. So, it’s his R&B Mod heart that I love. It’s a damn shame that the rest of America never caught on with Weller’s genius because it’s the blend of musics that us Americans usually go for. Favorite Albums: The Gift and Sound Affects by The Jam; My Ever Changing Moods and Internationalists by The Style Council and Wake Up the Nation, Heavy Soul, Stanley Road and Sonic Kicks by Paul Weller. Favorite Songs: “Going Underground” by The Jam; “Long Hot Summer,” “My Ever Changing Moods,” “You’re the Best Thing,” “A Solid Bond in Your Heart,” “Shout to the Top” and “Walls Come Tumbling Down”.

7. Daryl Hall & John Oates – The most successful duo of all time, Hall & Oates combined all of their influences from Philly soul, Motown, rock and folk into a rock ‘n’ soul pop confection that was sweet tasting and nutritional for the soul. And when these guys were hot in the early Eighties, NO ONE could touch their songwriting. Much like Elton John, Hall & Oates are masters of the pop melody. Few artists worked as hard as this duo did to become successful and they actually worked hard for everything they earned. Their music is the soundtrack to a generation of adults. What bigger honor is there for a musician? Favorite Albums: Abandoned Luncheonette, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Along the Red Ledge, X-Static, Voices, H2O, Private Eyes and Big Bam Boom. Favorite Songs: “She’s Gone,” “Sara Smile,” “Rich Girl,” “It’s a Laugh,” “Wait for Me,” “Kiss on My List,” “You Make My Dreams,” “Private Eyes,” “Did It in a Minute,” “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do),” “Maneater” and “Out of Touch”.

6. Bruce Springsteen – I will always remember where I was when I first heard “Born to Run.” My family was setting up our Christmas tree in 1975 for what would become the last one we had together before my parents’ divorce. We were listening to Casey Kasem’s Top 40 countdown show on the home console stereo when this otherworldly sounding song blasted through the speakers and into my heart. In that nearly four minute song, it possessed all the emotions and insecurities of a teenage boy on the cusp of manhood and sung with a real desperation that no one does any more. And, from then on I was a fan of The Boss. And, I continue to follow him, no matter how hot or cold the weather is the day his new album arrives in the stores, I will get there! I have lived with Springsteen during his first foray into folk music with Nebraska. And, I celebrated during 1984 and 1985 as The Boss became everything I ever hoped he would. Favorite Albums: Born to Run, Born in the USA, The Rising and Wrecking Ball. Favorite Songs: “Rosalita,” “Born to Run,” “Jungleland,” “Thunder Road,” “Prove It All Night,” “Hungry Heart,” “Bobby Jean,” “Dancing in the Dark” and “Glory Days”.

5. R.E.M. – R.E.M. signaled the change from new wave pop music to alternative music rock music. And, they became the transcendent band of college rock to meet up with success. For a short period of time, they even flirted with the greatest band in the world title. R.E.M. ended their career in 2011 with their artistic integrity fully intact. They were the first band whose members were actually close to my age that I love. Favorite Albums: Lifes Rich Pagaent, Murmur and Automatic for the People. Favorite Songs: “Believe,” “Superman,” “Radio Free Europe,” “So. Central Rain,” “Fall on Me,” “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine),” “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite” and “Everybody Hurts”.

4. Queen – I love bands and artists with a sense of humor, and camp is a great thing to include in one’s persona. So, when I discovered Queen through “Killer Queen,” I knew I found a band with the rocking sound of Led Zeppelin and the campiness of an episode of the Sixties Batman TV show. Plus, I loved how this band used to get under the skin of the Baby Boomer music critics in my favorite rock magazines. They could play anything, and they usually tried to. I am so excited about their biopic finally coming to the big screen in a couple of weeks! Favorite Albums: A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races, Jazz, The Game, Hot Space and The Works. Favorite Songs: “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Somebody to Love,” “Don’t Stop Me Now,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “Under Pressure (with David Bowie),” “Body Language” and “Radio Gaga”.

3. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – Lyrically, Tom Petty must have understood my inner self better than I did. I was hooked with I heard “Breakdown” on the FM Soundtrack album. But, it was the one-two punch of albums Damn the Torpedoes and Hard Promises that made the Tom Petty fanatic that I am today. I owe so much to Petty, because it seemed his music was always there every time something big happened in my life from 1979 through to today. I miss that we will never get any more new music from him. Favorite Albums: Damn the Torpedoes, Hard Promises, Wildflowers, Echo and Highway Companion. Favorite Songs: “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” “Breakdown,” “The Waiting,” “Insider,” “You Got Lucky,” “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” “Saving Grace” and “You Don’t Know How It Feels”.

2. Cheap Trick – Sometime around Halloween 1977 I bought my first Cheap Trick album, In Color, based solely on an album review in Creem magazine, something I had never done before, but it wouldn’t be the last time. I loved the yin and yang of this band, from the pop jutting up against the hard rock of their music to the two nerds working with the two pretty boys. Whatever they did on their first five albums ALWAYS worked for me. Then, they hit something of a dry spell that never got straighten out until the mid-Nineties when the got back to their indie roots. And since then, they have been on a longer creative roll than ever before. Favorite Albums: Cheap Trick (1977), In Color, Heaven Tonight, At Budokan, Dream Police, Cheap Trick (1997), Rockford, The Latest, Bang Zoom Crazy…Hello and We’re All Alright. Favorite Songs: “I Want You to Want Me (live),” “Surrender,” “Dream Police,” “Voices,” “She’s Tight,” “I Can’t Take It”.

1. Prince – No one, and I mean NO ONE, has been able to pull off the whole rock/soul/funk/punk/etc. combination that Prince created and expanded during his career. I cannot begin to describe how great of a musical genius he was. He will tower over rock music for eternity. Favorite Albums: 1999, Purple Rain, Around the World in a Day, Parade, Sign ‘o’ the Times, The Black Album, The Gold Experience, 3121, HitnRun Phase One and HitnRun Phase Two. Favorite Songs: “Little Red Corvette,” “Let’s Pretend We’re Married,” “When Doves Cry,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Kiss,” “Raspberry Beret,” “Sign ‘o’ the Times,” “U Got the Look (with Sheena Easton),” “Alphabet St.,” “Cream,” “Get Off,” “7,” “Endorphinemachine,” “Baltimore” and “FallInLove2Nite (with Zooey Deschanel)”.

That’s it! My Top 100 Artists of All-Time. I hope you enjoyed the countdown. These people actually dominate my music collection, with my Top 10 having the biggest presence. Have a great weekend everyone! And, keep on rocking in the free world! Peace!

…Or did it??? I really think rock has enriched my life.

The Top 20! Finally, we are getting somewhere. So, let’s just get this thing going.

20. Pearl Jam – Back in the Nineties, you almost felt like you had to decide to back either Nirvana or Pearl Jam. Sorry, everyone, I love both bands. I just with Kurt were still with us because I would have love to heard how he would have gotten Nirvana to grow into adulthood. Most fans felt Nirvana was an example of “real” grunge. I disagree. Pearl Jam had a legitimate grunge pedigree when they first burst on the scene. Now, Pearl Jam are the elder statesmen that they were truly meant to be all along. To get the whole band history watch Cameron Crowe’s outstanding documentary PJ20, which happens to be one of the best “rockumentaries” ever. Favorite Album: Ten. Favorite Song: “Yellow Ledbetter”.

19. The Clash – When I bought The Clash’s third album, London Calling, the hype sticker on the album stated, “By the only band that matters!” And, on that album, along with their output from 1980 through 1983, The Clash truly were the only band that mattered. If only Joe Strummer had not been brainwashed by the band’s stupid manager to fire his songwriting foil Mick Jones, maybe they would have assumed the mantle of being the world’s truly greatest band, which U2 ended up ascending to. Yet, they remain one of my all-time favorite bands, and London Calling just maybe my favorite album ever. Favorite Album: “London Calling” Favorite Song: “This Is Radio Clash”.

18. Big Star – I honestly did not join the Big Star bandwagon until I heard their debut album in college, nearly a decade after it was recorded. It seemed as if that album, #1 Record, had been placed in a time capsule after it was recorded in 1972 and opened in 1984, the perfect time for this music to actually become a hit. Unfortunately, only a few record lovers were around for that time capsule’s opening. Next to the Velvet Underground, Big Star may be rock’s greatest cult band; a band that sold a handful of records, yet every one of those record buyers started bands that had the Big Star sound of power pop. Favorite Album: #1 Record. Favorite Song: “Thirteen”.

17. The Police – From the moment I heard the opening salvo of “Roxanne” in the Spring of 1979, I was a Police fan. And that fandom grew and grew with each album they released in the late-Seventies and early-Eighties. By the time the band released their fourth album, Ghost in the Machine, I thought they were the greatest band in the world. Unfortunately, the three members of The Police were strong-willed and talented, so musical differences could escalate into fisticuffs and fights. So, when the band came off the Synchronicity Tour in 1984, you just knew their creative juices were spent. Unfortunately, the three waited until after Sting’s successful debut album, Dream of the Blue Turtle, to announce they had broken up. And, I am still sad. I prefer my Sting songs played by Andy Summer and Stewart Copeland more that Sting with all the session musicians in the world. The Police could have even bigger if they could have remained together. And, maybe, just maybe, we would have NEVER heard that stupid Sting album he did last year with Shaggy! Favorite Album: Ghosts in the Machine. Favorite Song: “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”.

16. Chicago – This band may actually be the most individually talented band in my countdown. These guys are so much more than their hit ballads. Go ahead and give a their first five albums a listen (but skip #4, as it is a boring live album, nothing like they really are in concert. I will NEVER understand why the critics hated Chicago so much. Yes, they were nearly all music majors in college. Yet, their music retains a loose, rock element within the strict, jazz-influenced arrangements. It’s no wonder why Chicago remains such a strong following to this very day. Favorite Album: Chicago II. Favorite Song: “Dialogue Parts I & II”.

15. Todd Rundgren/Utopia – Todd Rundgren may be rock’s great Renaissance man, as he was on the cutting edge of record production and engineering, songwriting, performing both solo and with Utopia and video production. You cannot fully evaluate Rundgren’s career without throwing Utopia into the discussion. If you think David Bowie and Madonna are musical chameleons, I suggest you go through Rundgren’s solo AND Utopia’s catalogs. Between the two, this man has made fantastic records in power pop, blue-eyed Philly soul, pop, album oriented rock, prog rock, new wave and even a tongue-in-cheek disco excursion. I guess the best way to sum up Rundgren’s career is by mentioning that he produced Meat Loaf’s bombastic, teenage rock opera classic Bat Out of Hell. If he can lovingly deliver that classic to the public then the man can do anything he wants. Favorite Album: Hermit of Mink Hollow. Favorite Song: “Can We Still Be Friends?”.

14. Blondie – THE pop band as the Seventies became the Eighties. Although America did not discover the band until their third album, Parallel Lines, with their mega-hit “Heart of Glass,” their first two album were making a noise with the punk underground and critics alike. Blondie’s run of hits ended in 1982, when their album The Hunter stiffed while the band imploded due to musical tensions, drug use and a rare mysterious ailment suffered by the band’s leader Chris Stein, former boyfriend of lead singer and visual center of the band Debbie Harry. Today, the band still tours and records, but their big commercial days are in the rearview mirror. Favorite Album: Eat to the Beat. Favorite Song: “Rapture”.

13. U2 – For the better part of last 25 to 30 years, U2 have carried the banner as the world’s greatest band. They are definitely the world’s most politically passionate band, putting their money where their collective mouths are (Bono). They are a Gen X-ers dream, an alternative band that has not forgotten its roots, that did not compromise their standards in order to become the biggest band in the world. U2 are active in many worldwide political groups, including their very own ONE Foundation. They have accepted the responsibility of being the voice for a generation by taking on the leadership role that other rockers have shunned. Favorite Album: Achtung Baby. Favorite Song: “Beautiful Day”.

12. Talking Heads – I was hooked on this band’s take on minimalist funk on their first two albums upon seeing them perform on Saturday Night Live in 1978. Then, Talking Heads took on African rhythms into their basic sound, winding up with an unbeatable amalgamation of punk, funk, bubblegum, pop, rock, African rhythms and dadaist lyrics to create a dance sound on 1983’s Speaking in Tongues. Yet, another example of a band that broke up way too soon. Favorite Album: Remain in Light. Favorite Song: “Burning Down the House”.

11. David Bowie – The great David Bowie checks in at #11 on my countdown. Since his untimely death in 2016, everyone has become very familiar with his catalog. What David Bowie did was leave behind one diverse sounding set of albums. From his Glam Rock Ziggy Stardust days to his Thin White Duke soul man mid-Seventies to his cocaine-ravage Berlin days through his Thin Tan Duke pop/rock maestro, through his noise rock Tin Machine days up to his face-off with death on Black Star (released a day before his passing), David Bowie took on a rich musical trip that few musicians have had the balls to do. Every phase of his illustrious career has value to the overall music story Bowie left behind. Rock will never be the same because of his contributions. Favorite Album: Scary Monsters. Favorite Song: “Young Americans”.

So, who do you think will be in my Top 10. If you have been reading this blog or have known me that should be easy to discern. Tomorrow, all answers will be revealed! Peace!