Rocks In The Attic #58: Spinal Tap - ‘Break Like The Wind’ (1992)

Shit sandwich.

Hit: The Majesty Of Rock

Hidden Gem: All The Way Home

Rocks In The Attic #51: Lenny Kravitz - ‘Mama Said’ (1991)

Record company executives must have been creaming in their pants when Lenny Kravitz came along. Here was somebody who looked and sounded like a cloning experiment between Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Wonder had gone exceedingly well, and an artist that could successfully cross racial boundaries, appealing to white and black audiences alike.

One of my greatest regrets at Glastonbury - and I have quite a few - is walking past Lenny Kravitz playing on the Pyramid Stage on the Sunday afternoon of my first time at the festival, and not really noticing. I had forgotten how much I loved his earlier stuff, because by that time he was very much in the pop buyer’s market with his cover of American Woman. I probably didn’t stop and listen as I had Sunday fatigue at Glastonbury - when you get tired of seeing so bands play that your eyes and ears stop registering. I wouldn’t mind if he was the sort of artist who tours - but he isn’t, and that might have been my only chance to see him. Fuck!

This album is his last record below the radar before its follow-up Are You Gonna Go My Way catapulted him into the mainstream. It has a very nice appearance by Slash on Always On The Run, the standout track on the album aside from the radio-friendly It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over.

Hit: It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over

Hidden Gem: Stop Draggin’ Around

Rocks In The Attic #50: Aerosmith - ‘Rocks’ (1976)

Seeing as this is the 50^th entry in this particular blog, I thought I’d cover an album I really, really love - and one that lends its name to (half of) the blog’s title. Looking back, I regret not doing something similar for the silver posting at #25, which was taken by Lionel Richie’s Can’t Slow Down. Oh dear - perhaps subconsciously I like Lionel Richie solo albums more than I give myself credit for.

Rocks is Aerosmith’s fourth studio album and the creative peak of their classic 70s period. This is the album that was heard by a young Slash and turned him onto rock music, essentially giving birth to Guns ‘N Roses. Of this album, and its predecessor Toys In The Attic, I probably prefer the earlier album as it has a little more light on it. That’s not to say Rocks is a dark album - it’s just darker than Toys... and is very no-nonsense.

Credit also has to be given to the producer, Jack Douglas - now practically a sixth member of the band. The production specifically on the opening track Back In The Saddle is fantastic, building up to a release with sound effects perfectly complimenting the lyrics to conjure up a dusty saloon in the old west.

It’s all the rage these days for bands to play their classic albums in their entirety. I guess this maybe started with Pink Floyd playing Dark Side Of The Moon in its entirety on their Pulse tour. I read somewhere that back in 2009, Aerosmith played Rocks from start to finish as the centrepiece of their live show - after giving Toys... the same treatment went down well with the fans. Now normally I’d love to see the band play either of these albums in full, but I’m not really sure I want the 21^st century version of Aerosmith spoiling my love of these two great albums.

I used to love Blondie, but seeing them live at Glastonbury in 1999 really turned me off them, and it took me a very long time to start appreciating them again. I have an almost religious love for the Toys... and Rocks albums and I wouldn’t want that to be destroyed. Sometimes nostalgia should be left in its box.

Hit: Last Child

Hidden Gem: Combination