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Anteater · 07-25-2015, 04:58 PM

07. Eddie Money - Eddie Money (1977)

Former NYPD trainee Eddie Money started out like many young and aspiring rock stars did: he learned his chops, shifted careers then moved to California to seek his fortunes. Multiple night club showings and one big dollar contract with Columbia Records later, classic rock staples like 'Two Tickets To Paradise' and 'Baby Hold On' took the summer of '77 by storm and became part of the first "wave" of what would later be called AOR. This term in relation to Eddie Money refers to both the radio format he was slotted in AND the sound that would come to define his career (and the career of many others). But the real million dollar question is: was the Money man's self-titled any good beyond the singles?

To these ears, that answer is a resounding yes. While many of the other American AOR bands featured so far (and who have yet to be featured) had their roots in progressive rock or what often gets called "art" rock, Eddie was just a good 'ol rock n roller with a touch of Motown in his tunesmith kit. While that sandpapery voice isn't particularly suited to the brand of theatrical melodicism that defined the Queens and Styxes of the world, Money's soulful pipes burn with real flourish on the punchy 'Don't Worry' and the bluesy, thundering closer 'Gamblin' Man'. This was the sound of mainstream rock n' roll in the late 70's, and it wasn't a bad place to be.

The biggest piece of praise I can give Eddie's self-titled is that its consistent even beyond the obvious singles, and its influence upon AOR is a far easier thing to hear as opposed to, say, Starcastle. The fact that the legendary Bruce Botnick produced it probably didn't hurt either!

Eddie would later become far more "arena rock" oriented as the 80's zeitgeist arrived on the scene, but you can already hear the pieces of what makes AOR such a fun and accessible genre with albums like this one serving as the foundation that paved the way for all the top dollar stuff that was to come. I could certainly think of lesser starting places.