And I'm just itching to tell you about them

AC/DC - Dirty Deeds done Dirt Cheap - 1976

When writing about their previous album, I mentioned how listening to AC/DC feels a bit to me as listening to slightly different versions of the same song. This hasn't changed, although I actually enjoyed this album quite a bit, maybe it's just that of the three ones today, this one is the one I liked the best.
This was their second, or third, depending on what country you're looking it from. It was released in 1976 in Australia and Europe, but only in 1981, one year after Bon Scott's death, in the US.
When listening to this album, I kept thinking this is a bit like punk, but all the anger is redirected towards fun and cheekiness. I'm not too sure what the sheer effect is, on the one hand they constantly remind me of little kids who have just discovered that being rude can be fun, but it's an infectious kind of fun. On the other, it's a bit like listening to a charming psycho who is a bit too happy and nonchalant about misbehaving. It's a compelling combination, though.
Musically, while it's still the same song they always play, for the most part, there are some moments in which there's a bit of variety added to the mix.
I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit and, what comes as slightly more of a surprise, I think I might be able, in the future, to remember it distinctly. That's good enough for me.
  • The "punk" feeling doesn't just come from the general attitude of the band but because of the social commentary on songs like "Big Balls". Now, I'm not too sure anybody who says "And my balls are always bouncing" can be taken too seriously, but that's a different story.
  • I have to say that I think I like Brian Johnson more as a singer, and I think he has more of a range than Scott. But Bon had a certain "believability" to his singing. He really could sound sleazy, dirty and menacing. 
  • One other thing I liked about this one is that I noticed Angus Young more than in the previous one. There's really cool guitar moments in this album, especially in the title track, in "Squealer" and "Love at First Feel", among others. 
  • I can't seem to find the song I was going to choose, which is "Ride on", and it's definitely my favourite on the album. But I can't find anything but covers. So I'm posting the title track here, and there's a very good cover as bonus track.

Into the rock through walls of red dreams

Scorpions - Virgin Killer - 1976

This album is mostly famous for its very controversial cover artwork, in which there is a naked 10 year old girl with a shattered glass effect covering her genital area. The cover is actually quite disturbing, caused the album to be sold in a black outer cover in many countries, and in some other countries they had to release an alternative artwork. The controversy continues still today, and even Wikipedia got into trouble for posting it. 
Other than that, it's a good album, but definitely not one of my favourites. I like the heavier sound in some of the songs, like the title track. There's also a couple of nice enough ballads, but in general I like it less than their previous one. 
  • The title track is, supposedly, about time. Time would be the "virgin killer". It seems like there was also a bunch of controversy about that. They seemed to have that a lot.
  • There are two songs, "Hell Cat" and "Polar Nights" that are sung by Uli Roth. Seriously, he's a brilliant guitarist, but I have no idea who told him he could sing. 
  • The very beginning of "Polar Nights" reminds me an awful lot of the very beginning of "Little Wing". 
  • I'm putting the opening track, "Pictured Life" here. I think it's the strongest track in the album.

We can take a journey

Lone Star - Lone Star - 1976

I don't know anything about this band, except that they were from Wales. I haven't tried to find out much either. They sound pretty generic. Not really bad, but I don't have anything remarkable to say about them
All I can say is that this is a fairly short album, but it felt really long while listening to it.
There's a covers of The Beatles' "She said, she said", which has some interesting moments, but it also feels overlong.
Also, I don't like the sound at all, something to do with the production, I guess. It's weird, because it was produced by Roy Thomas Baker, the guy who worked with Queen. 
  • I'm posting "A Million Stars" here. It's from the BBC, and it actually sounds more interesting than the album version. 

Bonus track

  • As I said, I couldn't find the original version of "Ride On", so here's the next best thing. An amazing cover by Ugly Kid Joe, I like Whitfield Crane's voice here a lot (although I have to say that the original was even better). 

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