All of these I owned on glorious cassette, of course!
Aerosmith's 'Done With Mirrors' was their shoulda-been comeback album (MUCH better than 'Permanent Vacation').
Y&T's 'In Rock We Trust' was so much fun in '84, but '85's 'Down for the Count', with the WTF of "Summertime Girls" (which was already a studio cut on their live album), their cover of "Your Mama Don't Dance" (pre-dating Poison's), and the embarrassing "Don't Tell Me What To Wear" (???), was more camp than rock.
"Your Mama Don't Dance" does bring up the novelty of metal bands covering '60s and '70s rock'n'roll hits, a trend that was becoming more and more prevalent as the decade progressed. Speaking of which, I remember 'Come Out and Play' being long and boring (maybe because the cassette had the interminable "King of the Fools" at the end).
I had AC/DC's 'Fly on the Wall' 30 minute long-form video that I taped off MTV with five songs from the album. It was OK, but Simon Wright's heavy-handed plodding and thudding was nowhere near as groovy as Rudd's subtle swing.
Dio's 'Sacred Heart' followed his formula of fast and heavy opener followed by the slow galloping title track. "Rock and Roll Children" may have been pure cheese, but dammit, Dio's cheese is better than most cheese.
I had 'Asylum,' but it didn't hold my attention the way 'Animalize' or 'Lick It Up' did. TBH, I was losing interest in KISS by then.
Rough Cutt's debut that year wasn't bad, even though the follow-up, 'Wants You' was the keeper.
'The Last Command' was fun, but it paled in comparison to W.A.S.P.'s s/t from the year before.
Meanwhile, 'Soldiers Under Command' was the funniest damn album of the year.
That's off the top of my head. Now I'm off to listen to the Pod. Thanks for the memories!
I rather liked Come Out and Play, not so much Fly on the Wall. Sacred Heart is decent, not as good as the previous two, Asylum has just one worthwhile song.
I'll have to revisit CO&P then. I did like the "Leader of the Pack" cover, I thought it was self-effacing and clever. Ending with "King of the Fools" left a bad taste that still lingers 40 years on.
Yeah, "Fly" was disappointing, something I never thought I'd say about an AC/DC album back then - or even now.
1985 was my prime time baby, but this was not my jam. Twisted Sister? Dee and the boys had a moment but I could not take them seriously. They were distractions like Kiss (as you eloquently state at that time). Definitely felt like a transition year on many levels.
Oh, man - 1985!
All of these I owned on glorious cassette, of course!
Aerosmith's 'Done With Mirrors' was their shoulda-been comeback album (MUCH better than 'Permanent Vacation').
Y&T's 'In Rock We Trust' was so much fun in '84, but '85's 'Down for the Count', with the WTF of "Summertime Girls" (which was already a studio cut on their live album), their cover of "Your Mama Don't Dance" (pre-dating Poison's), and the embarrassing "Don't Tell Me What To Wear" (???), was more camp than rock.
"Your Mama Don't Dance" does bring up the novelty of metal bands covering '60s and '70s rock'n'roll hits, a trend that was becoming more and more prevalent as the decade progressed. Speaking of which, I remember 'Come Out and Play' being long and boring (maybe because the cassette had the interminable "King of the Fools" at the end).
I had AC/DC's 'Fly on the Wall' 30 minute long-form video that I taped off MTV with five songs from the album. It was OK, but Simon Wright's heavy-handed plodding and thudding was nowhere near as groovy as Rudd's subtle swing.
Dio's 'Sacred Heart' followed his formula of fast and heavy opener followed by the slow galloping title track. "Rock and Roll Children" may have been pure cheese, but dammit, Dio's cheese is better than most cheese.
I had 'Asylum,' but it didn't hold my attention the way 'Animalize' or 'Lick It Up' did. TBH, I was losing interest in KISS by then.
Rough Cutt's debut that year wasn't bad, even though the follow-up, 'Wants You' was the keeper.
'The Last Command' was fun, but it paled in comparison to W.A.S.P.'s s/t from the year before.
Meanwhile, 'Soldiers Under Command' was the funniest damn album of the year.
That's off the top of my head. Now I'm off to listen to the Pod. Thanks for the memories!
I rather liked Come Out and Play, not so much Fly on the Wall. Sacred Heart is decent, not as good as the previous two, Asylum has just one worthwhile song.
I'll have to revisit CO&P then. I did like the "Leader of the Pack" cover, I thought it was self-effacing and clever. Ending with "King of the Fools" left a bad taste that still lingers 40 years on.
Yeah, "Fly" was disappointing, something I never thought I'd say about an AC/DC album back then - or even now.
Agree with you on the Dio and the KISS.
My era. Thank you!
1985 was my prime time baby, but this was not my jam. Twisted Sister? Dee and the boys had a moment but I could not take them seriously. They were distractions like Kiss (as you eloquently state at that time). Definitely felt like a transition year on many levels.