Scotch Sampler

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I liked Styx all the way through Mr. Roboto. I originally liked the concept album it came off of but that faded over time. Now I just like the song. I liked the Paradise Theatre concept album as well. I got into the story behind it.

As songs, the 70s Styx is better.

 

[scotchandcigar]

I liked Styx all the way through Mr. Roboto. I originally liked the concept album it came off of but that faded over time. Now I just like the song. I liked the Paradise Theatre concept album as well. I got into the story behind it.

As songs, the 70s Styx is better.

As I've said before, I can't fault an artist for going in a different direction. And I'll concede that the concept was seen as fun and adventurous by many, but it wasn't my thing. And, like Chicago, they sacrificed their identity for it.

Honestly, many of the band's detractors objected to them, long before Kilroy Was Here, or even Paradise Theatre. Grand Illusion is very "prog", and as it went up against the punk scene, it was viewed as uncool.

 

[scotchandcigar]

Now here's something we can all get behind - ZZ Top. Everybody loves those bearded, sexist, womanizing perverts, who keep rehashing the same 1950's 12-bar, 3 chord structure, right? Of course you do! This is NOT drama rock; we're not trying to grasp the mysteries of the universe. Every song is about... sex. Specifically, having sex. If you've ever listened to one of their songs, and said "wait a minute, is that a euphemism for sex?", the answer is always "yes!".

Their first success was in '73, with the release of Tres Hombres; where they took the classic 3 chord structure and got it down to 2 chords, and called it La Grange

ZZ Top - La Grange (live on Stern)



The next few years were lean, with only 1975's Tush (a reworking of La Grange) as a hit. But in '79, they released DeGuello, and got multiple songs on the radio, including I Thank You, and this

ZZ Top - Cheap Sunglasses



While not the biggest hit from the album, this next one is a favorite of mine, because we used to drive around with the song cranked. Everything about the song is cool; the lyrics, the groove, and how they play with the tempo. And it finishes cool, too.

ZZ Top - I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide



1981's El Loco gave us this groovy hit

ZZ Top - Tube Snake Boogie

 

[scotchandcigar]

And then in '83, they shifted into another gear with the diamond-selling Eliminator. It was the complete package: the look, the style, and the videos. Hits included Legs, and all these

ZZ Top – Gimme All Your Lovin’ (live)



ZZ Top – Got Me Under Pressure (live)



I had to use the official music video for this one

ZZ Top – Sharp Dressed Man



This was then followed, in '85, by the appropriately named Afterburner. It gave us the tail end of their hit making machine, with Velcro Fly, Stages, Rough Boy, and this cool tune

ZZ Top – Sleeping Bag

 

[sadchild]

Every song is about... sex. Specifically, having sex. If you've ever listened to one of their songs, and said "wait a minute, is that a euphemism for sex?", the answer is always "yes!".

TV Dinners? Could it be the one and only exception in their catalog of 100+ songs? Or is it in there and I just don't see it?

 

[HecticArt]

Now here's something we can all get behind - ZZ Top. Everybody loves those bearded, sexist, womanizing perverts, who keep rehashing the same 1950's 12-bar, 3 chord structure, right? Of course you do! This is NOT drama rock; we're not trying to grasp the mysteries of the universe. Every song is about... sex. Specifically, having sex. If you've ever listened to one of their songs, and said "wait a minute, is that a euphemism for sex?", the answer is always "yes!".

The foundation that rock was built on.

I saw them on the Recycler tour in 91. They put on a great show.

 

[scotchandcigar]

This one took me by surprise; I ended up with a lot more songs than I expected. Say what you want about Electric Light Orchestra - from the pretentious name, to the obvious Beatles rip-offs, and the fact that they're poo-pooed by "real musicians" as being classical music for dummies - they've cranked out the hits. The music stands on it's own, with an interesting blend of progressive rock, electronica, pop, and orchestral influences. And Jeff Lynne is a creative and talented artist, who can still put on a good show.

Their first hit came in 1974

ELO - Can’t Get It Out of My Head (live)



The following year, they had a big hit with Evil Woman, and then came these two

ELO - Strange Magic + Livin’ Thing (live)



And these hits followed soon after

ELO - Do Ya (live)



ELO - Telephone Line (live)

 

[scotchandcigar]

In '78, they released their strongest album yet, Out of the Blue, with Sweet Talkin' Woman, and these

ELO - Turn to Stone (live)



This is a fantastic live performance

ELO - Mr. Blue Sky (live)



Their last favorite (for me) came in '79, with this

ELO - Don’t Bring Me Down (live)



Then came 1980's I’m Alive, Xanadu, and All Over the World; 1981's Hold On Tight; 1983's Rock ‘n’ Roll Is King; and 1986's Calling America. It's a lot of great songs.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

The foundation that rock was built on.

I saw them on the Recycler tour in 91. They put on a great show.

I saw them in 2018. They were the middle act between .38 Special and Lynyrd Skynryd. Great show.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

ELO: I loved the Discovery album and The Time album. I can listen to both of those albums in their entirety. I love virtually all their single releases. I believe I ranked them #10 on my favourite artist list I shared a while ago.

 

[sadchild]

10-year-old me loved Xanadu, therefore loved ELO. But that faded quickly. I do like a few ELO songs, and few more are fine, but I don't get into most of their stuff. However, I love George Harrison's Could Nine which is practically an ELO record (you can really hear Jeff Lynne's handiwork in there). And I like the 3 singles from Traveling Wilburys' first album, which you can tell Jeff must've had a lot to do with.

 

[HecticArt]

his one took me by surprise; I ended up with a lot more songs than I expected. Say what you want about Electric Light Orchestra - from the pretentious name, to the obvious Beatles rip-offs, and the fact that they're poo-pooed by "real musicians" as being classical music for dummies - they've cranked out the hits. The music stands on it's own, with an interesting blend of progressive rock, electronica, pop, and orchestral influences. And Jeff Lynne is a creative and talented artist, who can still put on a good show.

I think those guys are great, and they do still put on a great show. I saw them in Detroit on the same day Aretha Franklin died in 2018.

 

[scotchandcigar]

10-year-old me loved Xanadu, therefore loved ELO. But that faded quickly. I do like a few ELO songs, and few more are fine, but I don't get into most of their stuff. However, I love George Harrison's Could Nine which is practically an ELO record (you can really hear Jeff Lynne's handiwork in there). And I like the 3 singles from Traveling Wilburys' first album, which you can tell Jeff must've had a lot to do with.

I saw on some documentary that Harrison and Lynne were close friends.

 

[Jon]

Harrison, Lynne and Petty were buds as I recall. Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever album had a lot of that influence (produced of course by Jeff Lynne). Also believe it was Lynne who produced Roy Orbison's last album before his death.

 

[sadchild]

I saw on some documentary that Harrison and Lynne were close friends.

“When We Was Fab” is a reminiscence on George Harrison’s time as a member of the Beatles. The song was conceived by Harrison and Lynne while vacationing in Australia, with Harrison and Lynne sitting at opposite ends of a piano in “some rich bloke’s house”, before they’d entered the studio to begin work on Cloud Nine. Its original working title was “Aussie Fab” and was the first song written for the album.

In 1989, Lynne told the BBC:

We wrote that in Australia when we went to go to see the Grand Prix … in Adelaide. And we wrote it on this piano, like one on each end of the piano. I was playing the high bit; George was playing the low bit. And we never sort of got ‘round to finishing it 'til about halfway through the sessions. And once we did, it was like this license to do sort of Beatle music, which was a fabulous thrill for me. That was great, really enjoyed that. All those silly bits that, y'know, I like to do, suddenly you can do 'em without anybody saying, 'Oh, you’re nicking off the Beatles.’ ‘Cause it supposed to be like the Beatles anyway. It was great. It was lovely.

 

[scotchandcigar]

Boz Scaggs was a staple of AC radio. In the early days, he played with the Steve Miller Band, and made several attempts at solo albums, but didn't hit the jackpot until 1976, when the 5x platinum Silk Degrees was released. In addition to What Can I Say and It's Over, the album gave us the following legendary songs (all these live performances have a great lineup of musicians)

This is probably one of the most low-key hit songs ever, but it's pleasant to listen to, and has a great groove

Boz Scaggs – Lowdown (live)



And this one is more of the hit at the party

Boz Scaggs – Lido Shuffle (live)



A few years later, in 1980, he returned with a bunch more radio hits. This one falls somewhere between Lowdown and Lido for liveliness

Boz Scaggs – Breakdown Dead Ahead (live)



While this is a little too "soft rock/jazz lite" for me, it's a popular tune, so I'm including it here

Boz Scaggs – JoJo (live)



And from the Urban Cowboy soundtrack, this is a mushy ballad that I actually enjoy listening to

Boz Scaggs – Look What You’ve Done to Me (live)

 

[sadchild]

Love those first two!

 

[HecticArt]

I always liked the Toledo Shuffle.

 

[scotchandcigar]

I always put Boz Scaggs and Al Stewart together in my mind. I guess the two are from the same era, and both make jazzy mellow rock. Al Stewart put out two successive platinum selling albums. First, in 1976, it was this one

Al Stewart - Year of the Cat (live)



Here's the other hit song from that album

Al Stewart - On the Border (live)



That was followed by this album, in '78

Al Stewart - Time Passages



And of course, the other hit song from that album

Al Stewart – Song on the Radio



There's a symmetry about it, if you know what I mean. His final charting hit song, Midnight Rocks, came in 1980; but it doesn't ring a bell for me.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Al Stewart only had a few pop hits but I love everything he put out.