On October 28, 1977, Queen – News Of The World was released. I was eleven years old, not interested very much at the time about owning this album. Sometime within the first year of this albums release, I ventured into the local Bradlees department store, took one look at the 45 rpm sleeve of the Queen – We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You, (double A single), the very large head of that somber, yet spooked out robot head had me hooked and intrigued. I was just as enthralled by the artwork of this robot head as I was the two songs on the 45 record. I treated this 45 record and sleeve like it was pure gold… staring into the eyes of this nightmarish robot head, becoming transfixed by this image. Of course, I listened to this 45 record like there was no tomorrow, as an eleven year old in 1978, just owning this stuff was bragging material at the Parochial School I was enrolled at. I no longer have this memorable 45 record with it’s alluring sleeve, I positively do not remember how I let it go. Fast forward to 2009, I now am the proud owner of two album copies of this incredible Hard Rock masterpiece, both copies are vinyl too, not CD. I have spent fifty cents on each album, for one dollar… two copies of the Queen album News Of The World. I will never buy the third copy of this album I find, I’d rather leave it to the next collector or fan of exceptional Hard Rock Music and/or Queen, to be just as thrilled as I am of it’s artistic and musical importance.
It just seems so surreal at times, to think that such a significant and sensational album within the history of Rock Music, can be had for a mere fifty cents at one of my local thrift stores. I obtained both copies of this album through my thrift store jaunts, both being found within the last two years or so. Both album copies are in near mint condition, in other words fabulous shape, based on their being circulated around for maybe thirty years or so. The double gatefold artwork found within is breathtaking to me. I am not about to even come close to reviewing a Hard Rock album of this elite caliber… that would be insanity, even embarrassing. No, what I am expressing are the memories of seeing and buying this 45 record at age eleven, being drawn into the artwork and Hard Rock songs of Queen’s News Of The World at such a young age. Sometimes in life, there are those situations, those moments that never seem to change at all, moments that seem to be repeated through ones lifetime… I still stare into those eyes of that very large robot head, still being mesmerized by the uncanny Hard Rock excellence that is Queen News Of The World.
The album artwork seen on Queen News Of The World was created by American Science Fiction Artist – Frank Kelly Freas.
Gene Simmons, The Demon, bass guitarist for KISS, music producer and actor. (The many hats this legend has worn are numerous, quite the achiever is Gene Simmons, in my Metal opinion). Gene Simmons always seems to stay in the public eye, the limelight follows this Heavy Metal icon everywhere he goes… with “Celebrity Apprentice” and his very own family reality series “The Family Jewels” making his presence seen and known while KISS is idle. A short while back, I started writing about my favorite KISS solo albums, in preferential order, no less. Why am I doing this? First, I am celebrating the four original members of KISS, their solo albums being what I consider to be quite a historical achievement in Heavy Metal and Rock history. The quality across the board is apparent in the music that Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter created with their solo albums… my reminding and/or informing anyone who is interested in these great KISS solo albums makes for a fine Metal deed. For me to list in order, my favorite KISS solo albums, (it is not etched in Metal stone here), deciding the sequence of which album ranks 1 thru 4, is based on which album has given me the biggest Metal listening thrill over the decades.
If I had to choose one of my favorite Rock instrumental songs of all time, there is no doubt “Frankenstein” comes to mind. The Edgar Winter Group released “They Only Come Out At Night” in November of 1972, this is the album you will find this original song on. Written by Edgar Winter, how ahead of it’s time was this song? Realistically, this now Classic Rock masterpiece of an instrumental song was as diversified as it was heavy. The multi talented musicianship of Edgar Winter is standout on “Frankenstein”, with the keyboards creating enough spookiness to validate the song’s title. The saxophone, in my Metal opinion, has always had a macabre sounding affect on me, only adding to the overall eerie coolness that “Frankenstein” erupts. I fell Metal head over heels for this song decades ago… I still slap this song on very frequently, especially around Halloween. Seriously, this song just goes perfect when Autumn arrives… once October hits, I have plenty of scary and heavy songs to bust out and revel in their dark side glory, “Frankenstein” leads the pack. No Halloween season can ever get by me, without listening to this song on a consistent basis. The Edgar Winter Group released a mammoth of a Rock album with “They Only Come Out At Night”, “Frankenstein” just made this release immensely complete, with it’s inclusion.
Ted Nugent “Free For All”, (released in 1976), is an album of Hard Rock songs that I slap the label of greatness on. There is no one you can compare Ted Nugent to… he was and still is his own Rock and Roll Warrior. Meat Loaf’s vocals and Ted Nugent’s guitar are a double dose of Classic Hard Rock superiority on this album. Meat Loaf is the lead vocalist on the songs: “Writing On The Wall”, “Street Rats”, “Together”, “Hammerdown” and “I Love You So I Told You A Lie”. Meat Loaf is the real deal vocally, on these songs. “Free For All” was an accomplishment of incredible songs that just continue to knock me over to this day. This album just carries me off into the thunderous land of Hard Rock glory. Ted Nugent is truly an originator of 1970’s Hard Rock guitar… listening to the guitar play of this legend makes me want to stand atop a crowd of onlookers and scream hell yeah!! In my Metal opinion, Ted Nugent and “Free For All” is all about 1970’s Hard Rock in it’s most genuine and heaviest state. An uncompromising group of songs that are Hard Rock personified, aimed at stirring up a good time and feeling the Ted Nugent power of guitar cool. I finally had my first introduction to this album and other Ted Nugent albums at that, in the early 1980’s. Ted Nugent quickly made me aware that Hard Rock music should never be watered down, it should be hard driven and fostered with head turning guitar licks aplenty. With “Free For All”, there are so many Hard Rock attributes happening that this album could easily be labeled as The Great Reference Book of Hard Rock, in my Metal opinion.
On one of my recent Hard Rock/Heavy Metal hunts via the second hand route, I came across a true Classic Rock album that I grabbed ahold of within milliseconds of spotting it… Boston “Don’t Look Back”. As a Metal bonus, this great album is also – still factory sealed. That is so right, this vintage Boston album which was released on August 2, 1978, has still, it’s original plastic wrapping protecting it for thirty one years. I never owned “Don’t Look Back” on album before, finding a mint copy of it now, in 2009, is so fine. Sure, I have Boston on CD, yet landing one of my favorite Classic Rock bands on sealed vinyl, on a trip to a thrift store unleashes a cool high for me… every time. I realize this price always gets mentioned when I write about my vintage album finds, it is the truth when reveal it only cost fifty cents. Yikes, that is cheaper than most of the plastic prizes my daughters pay for at the (what I still call) bubble gum machines in front of the grocery stores.
Foreigner, a Hard Rock band that opened the doors to the world of Heavy Music for me. “Double Vision”, an album that I consider to be one of the greatest Rock or Hard Rock albums ever created. On June 20, 1978, “Double Vision” was released. On January 26, 1979, I received this revered album as a birthday gift from my late mother. I was able to choose an album, just one album, on a trip to the Caldor department store… Foreigner “Double Vision” was my choice, on that birthday. Each year that passes by, these fond memories only grow stronger. Man, if I was to say I have listened to this album more times than any other album, it would not be a stretch. Back in 1979, I was only listening to a handful of Hard Rock bands that would eventually guide me into evolving into the Metal Music loyalist that I am today. I was thirteen years old and completely blown away by this album and band… I listened to every lyric, every chord, every note, that erupted from these songs. Foreigner was actually teaching me, at this very young age, that Hard Rock music this enormous could and would make my life enjoyable. I continue to reflect, to revisit often, the bands and albums that molded my heavy music tastes. 
Is it just me thinking this way? Deep Purple “Deepest Purple”, (subtitled “The Very Best of Deep Purple”), is the epitome of what a Rock/Hard Rock Greatest Hits album is supposed to be. These Deep Purple classics are hands down, sensational and historical Rock Music. Gimme a break, how can any generation not want to embrace these songs? These Deep Purple songs are perfect examples of just how amazing the song writing was in Rock and Hard Rock, back in the 1970’s. Could Deep Purple have been ahead of their time? I certainly think so, by at least a decade. The hardness, forget about the heaviness for a second, is what drives these Deep Purple songs to the top tier of Rock and Hard Rock history, in my Metal opinion. Just stop to think about this, for a Metal second… how many new Rock or Hard Rock bands out there today, could actually put out a Greatest Hits album, down the road, with such impeccable and recognizable songs? “Smoke On The Water” and “Highway Star” are two Hard Rock songs alone, that represent a generation of Rock and Hard Rock music and the decade of the 1970’s. “Fireball” and “Child In Time” are just the icing on the Hard Rock cake here.
Ace Frehley will always be my choice pick for the guitarist of Kiss. Ace Frehley was the original guitarist and in my Metal opinion, the best at lead guitar for Kiss. I few posts ago, I stated that my favorite Kiss solo album of all time is Paul Stanley. I cannot backtrack that sentiment, the Paul Stanley album is for me, #1. With that said, out of the four Kiss solo albums, Ace Frehley is clearly my #2 choice. My fellow peer in Metal blogs over at The Metal Files, (a cool Metal Music blog that is worth the visits), commented his favorite Kiss solo album is Ace Frehley… this spurred me into delving into the Ace Frehley solo album once again. I do own the Ace Frehley solo album, (released on September 18, 1978), a record that has been with me for decades. I actually bought this Ace Frehley vinyl from a cut-out bin, from a small department store named Woolworths, back in the very early 1980’s. My Ace Frehley album has the top right corner actually cut off, therefore, that is probably why it was in a cut-out bin! Despite the cosmetic damage that this album cover suffered, the album itself and the large fold-out poster of Ace Frehley that was included with the album, never sustained damage from the cut-out process. (Each Kiss solo album had a large fold-out poster of the respective Kiss musician inside the album sleeve, with each of the four posters interlocking together, through die cuts, to form one giant Kiss collage, if you will).
Journey, the Rock icon of a band. Journey “Evolution”, an album that is now referred to as a Classic Rock masterpiece… by me anyways. What else can one say about this incredible Rock album? Quite a bit can actually be said, this album established Journey, solidified them atop the Rock Music world for many, many, years. There could never be another Steve Perry, his vocals alone gave Journey their signature sound. In my opinion, there are lead singers that have vocals so breathtaking, they are the most important musical instrument in their respective band. I had felt this way about Steve Perry, with his years with Journey. Steve Perry’s vocals can never be duplicated, nor will he ever be forgotten by me as the lead singer for Journey. I will always appreciate Journey as the band they are today too. With that said, this is an article where I am celebrating the brilliance of a moment in time, one that can be listened to time and again, that moment was Journey’s “Evolution”, (released in 1979).
For some reason or another, tonight I had the image of Toy Caldwell in my mind, playing guitar and singing his heart out with “Heard It In A Love Song”
AC/DC – they are not just Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, this band is an elite institution of heavy music. I always pondered throughout the years… which song from the extensive catalog of AC/DC albums, is my favorite of all time? Is my favorite song from the Bon Scott era? Man, the late Bon Scott was unique, his vocals were and always will be legendary. The Brian Johnson era is power packed with amazing songs, could I take the easy route and pull my favorite tune off of the “Back In Black” album? That would be way too easy for me, it seems like choosing “Hells Bells”, “Back In Black” or “Have A Drink On Me” as my favorite AC/DC song, would be particularly predictable. I will not argue the fact it is a historical album, “Back In Black” surely paved the way for Heavy Metal commercial acceptance. Besides, I personally am forever grateful for AC/DC appointing Brian Johnson to succeed the late Bon Scott. “Back In Black” will forever be on my all time favorite album list.
Metal Odyssey > Heavy Metal Music Blog 
Why I feel KISS gave Rock n’ Roll back to America and other KISS points too
Posted in 1970's classic rock albums, 1970's classic rock bands, 1970's classic rock songs, 1970's hard rock bands, 1970's hard rock, 1970's heavy metal, 1970's heavy metal albums, 1970's heavy metal music, 1970's Rock, 1970's rock music, 1980's classic rock bands, 1980's heavy metal albums, 1980's classic rock, 1980's heavy metal bands, 1980's heavy metal music, 1990's heavy metal bands, classic hard rock, classic hard rock bands, classic hard rock music, classic heavy metal albums, classic rock, classic rock albums, classic rock bands, classic rock music, classic rock songs, current heavy metal music, essential classic rock albums, essential heavy metal albums, Gene Simmons, glam metal music, Heavy Metal, heavy metal albums, heavy metal bands this decade, heavy metal memorabilia, heavy metal music, heavy metal this decade, Metal, metal music, metal music today, metal odyssey, Music, old school heavy metal, Rock, rock & roll, rock and roll, rock and roll hall of fame complaints, rock music, rock music commentary, vintage hard rock albums, vintage heavy metal albums, vintage heavy metal bands with tags 1970's classic rock music, 1970's hard rock music, 1970's heavy metal music, 1970's rock music, 1980's heavy metal bands, ace frehley guitarist, american rock and roll bands, bruce kulick guitarist, classic heavy metal music, classic rock, classic rock music, eric carr drummer, eric singer drummer, gene simmons bass guitarist, Heavy Metal, heavy metal music, history of rock and roll, kiss albums, kiss army, kiss hard rock band, kiss heavy metal band, kiss rock band, mark st. john guitarist, metal music, metal odyssey, Music, paul stanley guitarist, peter criss drummer, rock and roll hall of fame, rock and roll history, rock and roll music roots, rock music, rock n' roll music, roots of rock and roll, the british invasion of rock and roll, tommy thayer guitarist, vinnie vincent guitarist on August 28, 2009 by Metal OdysseyKiss being introduced to the world in 1974 may have had more of an impact than some Rock historians think… The Grateful Dead, with their extremely loyal and abundant following with unmatched touring was American – I will never disagree with this bands unique impact on Rock Music history. However, Kiss was not about peace and love… this was the loudest band in the land Dressed To kill, singing about girls that are Hotter Than Hell, partying, Makin’ Love, God of Thunder, a Love Gun and all things against the norm in ways that were not quite presented before in Rock Music history. What Rock Band from the 1960’s used Pyrotechnics like Kiss? How many Rock musicians could spit up blood and still play the bass and sing? Who used such an elaborate and eye defying stage show before Kiss? Kiss not only made Rock n’ Roll powerful, they (gasp) made it fun and entertaining too. The marketing blitz of items that portrayed the Kiss logo and band were everywhere during the 1970’s… if you look around today, these same items plus new products bearing Kiss are around us. Any Kiss tour during the 1970’s was nothing to ignore, the Kiss Army was never just a fictitious entity… it was and still is real.
After Kiss broke all the Rock n’ Roll rules, more Rock bands than I could ever mention here took their lead and emulated Kiss either musically, with make-up, through stage shows and/or marketing. When I stop to think about it, what other Rock or Heavy Metal Band garnered more media attention during the 1970’s than Kiss? With their all around power of Rock, Kiss let it be known, through their albums, that they were not fooling themselves or the fans all along. Kiss is setting the stage again, ready to unleash their brand new album Sonic Boom onto the masses… October of 2009 should be quite the month in the life of this middle aged Metalhead, for Kiss shall return… giving back their brand of Rock n’ Roll to us all again. That is why, in my Metal opinion, Kiss gave back Rock n’ Roll to America back in 1974, they are now only going to remind us as to why their music lives on.
It is high time for the so called Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, to stop playing nonsensical games and induct an American Rock Band that redefined American Rock n’ Roll history through their music and pop culture impact, Kiss over the decades has become an American institution. Since I am on the topic, I could care less about the voting process or who votes at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, all I know is that the ignorance is growing by leaps and bounds over there in each passing year of it’s existence. I do have one word of advice for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, (if you can consider this an actual word), DUH? I would guarantee this… more fans will go to this Hall of Fame to see Kiss than than anyone could ever imagine. Once again, this is my Metal opinion and I am steadfast about it.
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