Slade - "Far Far Away" (1974)

T.G.I.F. Friends!

The band Slade has never let us down* and we'll be singing this song as the first ice cubes rattle kicking off Happy Hour!

Enjoy!

(*unlike your mom)

Turkish Delight

Midnight Express Soundtrack (1978) - Casablanca Records

Hello Friends,

On the turntable tonight, we've got Giorgio Moroder's soundtrack album to Alan Parker's 1978 movie about a hash-smuggling American who gets caught and jailed in a Turkish prison.

Spoiler alert: Its no picnic!

Based on the (mostly) true account of Billy Hayes, the film's script was written by none other than Sir Oliver Stone.  

Very synthy & dreamlike, Moroder's soundtrack is at times haunting and powerful.  There's a couple of vocal tracks that end up sounding kind of dated and cheesey, but the 8-minute opening track alone ("Chase") is worth the price of admission.

Its so good, in fact, that it won the Academy Award for best original score for that year!

Nice job, Giorgio!  You have yet to let us down!

And remember kids, just say No!

o-o-oh billy!

RATING: 4 dreams that keep my soul alive out of 5

Iron Maiden - "Speed Of Light" (2015)

Hello Friends,

If this doesn't melt your face, well then, I'm afraid you don't have a face.

Iron Maiden's 16th Studio album came out this month and it captures the band in all their galloping metal beauty!

\m/

Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me (or else...)

Mac Davis - "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me" (1972) - CBS Records

Hello Friends,

We've been on quite the Mac Davis kick lately.

(Actually, someone gave the local Goodwill all their Mac Davis records.  Their loss = Vinyl in the Valley's gain!)

This album is great!!  Early 70's country-soft-rock at its peak!

Every single song is a potential Solid Gold classic with the title track being the top of the heap! (here)

Songs like the opener, "Dream Me Home", "Everybody Loves A Love Song", "Whoever Finds This, I Love You" & the record's closer, "The Words (Don't Come Easy)" are velvety smooth soulful & sappy tunes that fall somewhere in between Dewey Cox and Bob Welch-era Fleetwood Mac.  (Fleetwood Mac Davis?)

Things do start getting a little pervy on Side One's uptempo "Naughty Girl": 

Well Dixie Farmer was a hot young blooded, dimpled, devil child A churnin', burnin', backseat bundle built to drive a young boy wild She taught me all about life and love in a Georgia cotton field I ain't never seen nothin' like her since and I know that I never will She was a naughty girl She took advantage of my youth She was a naughty girl But she taught me the gospel truth, woo-ooh

Actually, Dixie Farmer sounds like kind of a whore.  But that isn't even the worst of it! How about a contender for best song title from 1972 with Side Two's "Spread Your Love On Me"?   Eww! What a CREEP!!  

Although, like most of the songs here, its as catchy as a case of the crabs*!

(* Not that I would know!)

RATING: 4.0 A little old man walks along shuffling through the autumn afternoon and the autumn leaves reminded him another summer's come and gone out of 5

Asia - "Heat Of The Moment" (1982)

TGIF Friends,

The heatwave here has finally broke and we couldn't be happier!

Hello Fall and So Long night sweats!

Here's some early 80's Prog Rock supergroup to get you through get you pumped up for the weekend!

Zex - "Savage City" (2015)

Our favorite new punk band from Ottawa!

Fucking Great, eh?

Lana Del Rey - "Chelsea Hotel No 2" (2013)

Hello Friends,

We're not sure what to think of Lana Del Rey.  We think we like her, but we just may love her.  The jury's still out!

At her best she sounds like a sad and tortured torch singer in a seedy nightclub in a David Lynch movie. 

Here she is covering one of our favorite Leonard Cohen songs. 

Enjoy!