Unknown Soldier

Overview
Thin Lizzy just missed top spot here, with an album that could’ve taken it quite easily in another year. The band were at the height of their powers and were probably the finest hard rock band around with an ear for pop. The band had the amazing ability in putting out a sound that completely satisfied all aspects of the rock spectrum, from listeners of hard rock, soft rock and then onto popsters. They were also able to be as commercial sounding as they wanted to as well and without ever really isolating their hardcore fanbase, history tells us that this is no mean feat to achieve! Much of Bad Reputation was recorded with the trio of Phil Lynott, Scott Gorham and Brian Downey, largely because the other half of their moody and mean guitar team of Scot Brian Robertson was unable to play on more than three tracks, due to an injury that he had received in a brawl prior to the main recording of the album. As you can see, the band members not only played hard on stage but also off it as well! Unfortunately for him, this would be his last studio album with the band and an end to the fabled line-up. He later went on to form the hard rock band White Horses with Jimmy Bain who had previously featured on the Rainbow album Rising! (see review) before going onto an even bigger gig with Motorhead in the 1980s. In regards to the album cover, it always struck me just how ruthless bands could be, unless they did this sort of thing as an in-band joke and that was to often leave the band member that hadn’t played that much on the album, off the actual album cover despite being a member of the band! In Thin Lizzy’s case Brian Robertson doesn’t appear on the album cover, which kind of reminds me several years back when the head of Harry Shaw was left off the Hard Stuff debut Bulletproof album cover as well. The album was produced by Tony Visconti one of the biggest producers around, who had an enviable discography of having produced the likes of T.Rex (in their various forms) the Stawbs, Wings, Gentle Giant, Badfinger, Sparks and Argent amongst many others, but of course it was his tenure with David Bowie where he had truly made his reputation in the 1970s. But his work with Thin Lizzy, would’ve surely have been the heaviest thing he had worked on up to this date and his natural flair for getting the artist to express themselves, certainly paid dividends on Bad Reputation.

Phil Lynott- Bass/Vocals
Scott Gorham- Guitar
Brian Robertson- Guitar
Brian Downey- Drums

Production- Tony Visconti

Album
Soldier of Fortune- A melodic band classic that has an almost film soundtrack start to the song and it flows through its allocated 5 plus minutes with elegant ease. Bad Reputation- After the melodic flow of the opening track, it’s all hell bent for leather here on the title track, as the song is one thumping mother of a track, with guitars, bass and drums in powerful unison here and some damn heavy playing! (also the attached video is one of the best I’ve ever seen of any band from the decade in a live setting!) Opium Trail- We’ve had both melodic and heavy, so now it’s the turn of pure energy and this song is something special from beginning to end, and the song title suggests the subject fare of the song as well! Southbound- Locking onto the melody of the opening track on the album, this song is fairly standard and easy on the ear Thin Lizzy style, who always seemed to have a sprinkling of such tracks on their albums. To be honest though, the song does have a tendency to drag for a little too long towards the end. Dancing in the Moonlight (It’s Caught Me in Its Spotlight)- With its cheeky and catchy intro, this is one of the band’s most recognizable tunes and a timeless classic, that accounts another one of Phil Lynott’s great stories and is blessed with some great guitar playing in its latter section, and a song that has been covered by the Smashing Pumpkins over the years. Killer Without a Cause- A strong album track that combines the melodic side and hard rocking sides of the band in perfect harmony. Downtown Sundown- One of the few songs on the album solely written by Phil Lynott, which again veers on the album’s softer side, not a bad song at all, but the band have done this kind of thing better elsewhere. That Woman’s Gonna Break Your Heart- By now the band are just punching out catchy numbers and as always they make it seem so easy, it’s like they can write and play this stuff in their sleep. Dear Lord- A somewhat lordly goodbye to the album.

Verdict
When I listened to this album again to see where I would place it for the year, it quickly became apparent to me that I was listening to the band’s finest ever hour, as everything seemed to sound surely how the band had envisaged it to sound and I imagine that Tony Visconti had a lot to do with this as well. If Jailbreak is regarded as their most famous album then Bad Reputation is their very best quality wise, and the two sit side by side as towering band achievements. Any type of trepidation that could’ve been expected with Brian Robertson not performing on the majority of the album, can be quickly alleviated as Scott Gorham puts in the performance of a lifetime here and basically does the work of two men where it matters, it was known as doing ‘double duty’ at the time. Phil Lynott as I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions, was one of the great rock poets of his generation and here again he is in full flow on delights such as the album opener “Soldier of Fortune” the side one closer “Southbound” and probably the most recognizable of them all in the classic single “Dancing in the Moonlight (It’s Caught Me in Its Spotlight)”. Then there is the mesmerizing “Opium Trail” without doubt one of the band’s very best efforts ever! This is a song of both great vocal poetry and vitality which doesn’t let up for a second, and shows just how comfortable the band were with playing faster tracks, it’s basically a song I can listen to everyday. “Killer Without a Cause” certainly a play on Rebel Without a Cause, is a strong album track that marries the heavy and soft leanings of the band in perfect unison. But the heaviest song on the album is certainly the title track “Bad Reputation” which is a monster of song and shows what being heavy is all about and that alone is worth the entry fee. As an album Bad Reputation also kicks from pillar to post, as one of Thin Lizzy’s most cohesive efforts song for song and certainly their richest sounding as well……depending on your opinion of course. The songs are melodic gems played by a gritty no-nonsense band and when they decide to get heavy on songs like the title track “Bad Reputation” and the gritty and energetic “Opium Trail” few can touch em’. Few looked as good as Phil Lynott in black leather and the man was a legend along with his band, and few bands could encompass so many subtleties and yet please so many.

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Urban Hat€monger ?

Can't disagree with that, if someone asks me which Thin Lizzy album they should check out I always say Bad Reputation.

About Brian Robertson, the reason he's not featured on the cover or didn't write any songs on the album isn't just because of his hand, they did actually fire him shortly before they went into the studio because of his alcoholism being a problem. Eventually he convinced them that he had it under control and they let him rejoin towards the end of the albums completion as a session / touring musician rather than a full band member (Which explains the cover) basically telling him 'Screw up again and you're gone for good'. Which he did during the tour so they got rid of him for good.

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The Batlord

Dude, it's Judas Priest. They have the diversity of a skinhead rally. You might as well tell a cactus to branch out. "Last Rose of Summer" just sounds like the seventies version of that really lame power ballad that was somewhere on every hair band's album back in the eighties. It's just...awful. I don't even like "Diamonds and Rust". I know it's supposed to be one of their classics, but it's just a snoozefest as far as I'm concerned. Of course, most of the album is still fantastic, but when I have to skip more than one track on an album, I start deducting points.

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Unknown Soldier

I didn't know those details and they certainly fill in the gaps. I'm surprised it was never mentioned on some of the album reviews and stuff I looked at, as it's quite a key fact.

You have to remember, that you're retroactively applying what you know about Judas Priest decades later. Back then they were still not the world famous Judas Priest and metal monsters that they would become, they didn't even have a metal image. What they were doing in terms of diversity, was nothing out of the norm really for bands at that time. The decade uptil then had been dominated by prog rock bands and many a prog rock band had straddled the line between prog and heavy rock, and this equally worked in reverse for the heavy rock bands as well, so in retrospect what they were doing was nothing overly surprising back then.

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The Batlord

I know it's not surprising. Which is why it bugs me. A lot of that album just feels like generic seventies-ness to me.

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Unknown Soldier

First and foremost it was a metal album and the material was distinctly non-generic for the late 1970s, also there was still no generic metal sound around this time either. Of the other diverse material I wouldn't say that was generic sounding either. "Last Rose of Summer" is a distinctly oddball sounding ballad and sounds more like something that could've been sung in a theatre play.

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Metal Wars

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Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Unknown Soldier

Overview
Upon their breakthrough on the Phenomenon and Force It albums, UFO had an enviable line-up in Phil Mogg, Michael Schenker, Pete Way and Andy Parker all basically the stuff of rock legend. For their fifth album No Heavy Petting they had added a fifth band member in Argentinian keyboardist Danny Peyronal to flesh out their sound and initially this looked a great addition, especially on some of the cuts that can be found on the No Heavy Petting album, but on repeated listens the album came across as a somewhat pedestrian effort and lacked spark. This was shame really, as it had one hell of an album cover! Danny Peyronal was soon replaced by Paul “Kipper” Raymond on keyboards (ex-Chicken Shack and Savoy Brown) and he covered rhythm guitar as well and looked a far more suitable band member. In fact he forged a great working partnership with the band and especially with guitarist Michael Schenker. For Lights Out the band waved goodbye to mainstay producer Leo Lyons and recruited American producer Ron Nevison, who had worked as an engineer on the Who’s Quodrophenia album (you can’t get a better recommendation than that) but even more crucially he had worked on the Bad Company debut and the quality of that debut can certainly be echoed on Lights Out on varying occasions. Around this time, UFO were threatening to step into the popularity breach that would soon be vacated by fellow British bands Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, who despite their status, had both fast gone downhill with the quality of their output and the stage now seemed set for UFO to step in. Lights Out therefore should’ve been the album that launched the band into this level of superstardom, but it didn’t quite happen and even today it’s still one of the great rock mysteries. There are a number of reasons of course, but I think the most important might be the timing and the year that the band found themselves in. UFO were a band who musically were playing within the confines of a tried and tested musical style, the fact that they did it amazingly well was besides the point here. Had they been more multi-dimensional like Thin Lizzy or even gimmicky like AC/DC, I’m sure they would’ve attained a greater level of success. Like most things in life, it was all a question of timing, had Lights Out come out just a few years earlier, their superstardom would surely have been signed and sealed. Whereas in 1977 a more punk rock inspired approach could’ve done wonders for the band, therefore the band would have to be contented with being a well-known band rather than household name.

Phil Mogg- Vocals
Michael Schenker- Guitar
Pete Way- Bass
Paul Raymond- Keyboards/Rhythm
Andy Parker- Drums

Production- Ron Nevison

Album
Too Hot to Handle- A very hands on and instantly catchy album opener that has a rock anthem feel about it, along with Phil Moggs gritty vocals with Michael Schenker’s guitar that cements the whole song together nicely. Just Another Suicide- A melodic rock delight of almost 5 minutes here from the band and the song is penned by Phil Mogg, which just seamlessly leads on from the opening album track. Paul Raymond makes his presence and talent felt on this track nicely. Try Me- An orchestrated ballad that has some great deft touches and stunning guitar work by Michael Schenker, especially towards in latter part and is as good as any of the well-known ballads from the decade. Lights Out- The title track is fast and furious and the nearest the band probably ever got in appeasing the hordes of punks that swarmed the UK in 1977. The song is one of the band’s most recognizable as well and an absolute killer! It also ends the first side of the album as tightly as it began. Getting Ready’- Steady, melodic and with a heavy overtone and it kicks off the second side of the album. Alone Again Or- I’m a huge fan of Love and Forever Changes and its songs are timeless classics, and most of its covers have been accomplished as well. But I’ve always been dubious of this song on the Lights Out album, but over time I’ve warmed to it, but I do know that not everybody would agree with that conclusion. Electric Phase- This is a late album track that is one of the heaviest offerings on the album. Love to Love- With its subtle opening dynamics this is a powerful 8 plus minute track, which captures the band at their boldest and most focused. The song is a gem as is the album.

Verdict
Lights Out might be one of the most perfectly constructed hard rock albums of the decade. The group were able to combine a level of melody, heavy playing and music accomplishment that few bands were capable of reaching. Lights Out has them applying a Led Zeppelin type heaviness with a melodic slice that Bad Company would’ve been proud of (in fact by 1977 Bad Company were distinctly division two sounding in comparison and never came anywhere near this kind of quality) and the album as expected, had some of the most intense playing of the year. One of the great aspects of Lights Out were the vocals of Phil Mogg and his street level approach to them. Street level in that they didn’t rely on an arena rock delivery, an exaggerated rock approach or a limited vocal style. His vocals were gritty, tough sounding and concise, and were certainly in line with current music trends of the time. For this reason alone, he would be such an influential vocalist over the next several years, just think Paul D’Anno as a devotee here. Then there is the bass work of Pete Way, which powerfully underpins the whole album and again was one of the most influential bassists of his time. As for the music, the songs on Lights Out just go seamlessly from one to the other starting with “Too Hot to Handle” and then onto a song like “Just Another Suicide” a song that is archetypal of this flow and could go anywhere on the album. The ballad “Try Me” is a delight in every aspect and is further enhanced by its clever position on the album. Then there is the blustery title track “Lights Out” or as it should’ve been called ‘Lights Out in London’ which has Phil Mogg crying out about the state of the UK economy and the work of both Michael Schenker and Andy Parker really make the song. Of the other songs on the album “Alone Again Or” is a beautiful song, that despite not really belonging on the album, somehow finds its own niche. “Getting Ready’” keeps us in melody and “Electric Phase” has the power button switched firmly on. The album closer though “Love to Love” is the showpiece track of the album, with its clever opening musical variations, before then travelling into being a powerful slow-burning statement of a track and it always gives out that it has the ability to explode at will. The seamless flow of this album may well be its crowning glory, as the songs on Lights Out are often different. For example just take a look at the first four songs on the a-side of the album, all are quite different but still flow perfectly with each other without any kind of hitch, in fact these songs could’ve been played in any order without losing their overall effect. The flow on the second side of the album, has a less flowing impact about it, but who cares when the album finishes up with “Love to Love”.

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Unknown Soldier

Also Check This Out........
This is an extra album from the same year that I've chosen, that either just missed the final cut, I think could be of interest, or even from a different genre that could be of interest or influence on the hard rock/heavy metal genre.


Quartz were a Birmingham based band (so their metal credentials were fully intact from the word go) They had originally been known as Bandy Legs, but they soon changed their name to the more suitable metal sounding Quartz in 1977 and issued their debut album that same year. The band also had strong links to some of the biggest bands of the day such as Black Sabbath and Queen who they had toured with, as well supporting new breakthrough stars AC/DC at the time of their debut. But it was their links to Black Sabbath that were the strongest and most inspirational, and Tony Iommi who had long championed a number of lesser metal acts already, was soon on hand to produce the album. The Quartz debut has a steady uncompromising feel on its heavier tracks like the epic Sabbath inspired opener “Mainline Riders” the rocking “Street Fighting Lady” the dexterous “Devil’s Brew” both the thumping “Around and Around” and “Pleasure Seekers” all songs that were NWOBHM before the label was even coined. But the overall album feel is let down by its attempts to fuse the heavy aspects of their sound with more lighter musical elements, as can be heard on tracks like “Sugar Rain” which sounds like the band trying to blend metal with the lighter elements of Yes. The rambling “Hustler” which sounds like an attempt at Grand Funk Railroad, the pointless “Smokie” and ummm “Little Old Lady”. While these songs are far from bad and in some cases as on "Sugar Rain" the band display some real songwriting talent, they still don’t really belong on the same album as the more straight-up focused heavier material that also inhabits the album. The Quartz debut is a somewhat tarnished gem of an album and well worth several listens to fully divulge what's on offer here and will probably appeal to any Stray fans. The vocal display of Mike Taylor is an up-tempo one and guitarist/keyboardist Geoff Nicholls would go onto become a vital additional member of Black Sabbath just a few years later. The album was pulled before its release due to problems with the label and was held back till 1980 where it was re-issued as Deleted, when the NWOBHM had reared its head in the UK and a commercial opening was seen for the band. But much like the Diamond Head debut, it was issued in a plain bland album sleeve, which literally meant a commercial disaster around this time! Also in 1980 they would release their second album Stand Up and Fight and would go onto to support some of the leading lights of the NWOBHM such as Iron Maiden and Saxon, but surely had things gone differently back in 1977, these two bands could’ve been supporting them!

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The Batlord

I remember hearing "Mainline Riders" years ago, but never followed up on them. One of those songs that I'd come back to whenever I was in that old school metal mood. It just sounded different and cool.

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Unknown Soldier

Yer "Mainline Riders" is pretty epic sounding stuff.

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Metal Wars

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Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History