This column is dedicated to featuring those bands that aren’t household names but, to my ears, should be.

Growing up in a small town in southern Michigan, the closest major city was Chicago. We were still a good two hours away, though, so it was with great inconsistency that my little bedside transistor radio picked up Chicago rock powerhouse WLS (home of legendary rock DJ Larry Lujack). During the fateful summer of ’79, while Cheap Trick enjoyed their first taste of national and international success, another Chicago band was also ruling the Windy City airwaves.

That band was Off Broadway, and the song was “Stay in Time,” the first single from their Atlantic Records debut, On. Comprised of simple elements — as is the case with all great rock songs — there was something about “Stay in Time” that was nevertheless unlike anything else.

Off Broadway, 1978

It was with some difficulty that I finally tracked down a copy of On in late 1980 or early ’81, and from the moment it landed on my turntable, it would be months before I listened to anything else.

Since this was waaaaay before the Internet, and since little attention was being paid to Off Broadway in the major rock magazines, the only thing I really knew about them was they freakin’ rocked. By the time I discovered On, they had already issued a second album, Quick Turns, which had fared poorly and led to their dismissal from the Atlantic roster.

A year or so later, without knowing Off Broadway had broken up, I read a rundown of the local Chicago scene in an issue of Trouser Press and learned that the band’s singer, Cliff Johnson, was in a new band called U.S.S.A. with bassist Pete Comita, whose recent tenure in Cheap Trick had been short-lived. (Comita replaced original bassist Tom Petersson in 1980. He cowrote the song “Reach Out,” a highlight of the successful Heavy Metal soundtrack.) The idea of members of my two favorite bands joining forces was almost too much for me to process.

And it would get better.

When my brother and I went to see Cheap Trick at the intimate Morris Civic Auditorium in South Bend, Indiana, in the fall of ’82, we had no idea what was in store for us. As was often the case back then, the opening act wasn’t announced ahead of time. A band that didn’t look anything like Cheap Trick meandered onstage and, within seconds, started performing a riveting version of “Stay in Time.” My brother and I quickly put two and two together and damn near shat our pants.

For the next 45 minutes we were in absolute awe. Cliff Johnson sang every song as if his life depended on it, careening wildly about the stage, half clown, half rock star.

And then it was over. U.S.S.A. and Cliff Johnson dropped off the face of the earth.

Fast-forward to 1993: I’m living in Chicago and playing the local club circuit. I get a phone call from a booking agent asking if my band wants to open for Off Broadway.

Come again? Did you just say “Off Broadway”?

Off Broadway, 1996

Needless to say, after years of admiring them from afar, I couldn’t wait to get through my own band’s set to catch Off Broadway. Knowing that it had been a good decade and change since the band last played a gig, I wasn’t expecting miracles, but what I heard and saw that night was a band that sounded just as good as they did on the albums I knew by heart, if not better. I watched with tears in my fucking eyes, it was that good.

And you know what? Almost 15 years after that fateful night, Off Broadway is still rocking the Chicago scene as convincingly as any band you’ll ever see.

Stay in Time
Bad Indication
Bully Bully
Drop Me a Line
Full Moon Turn My Head Around
Hang On for Love
Oh Boy

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In 1975, music critic Jon Landau, having seen Springsteen’s performance at the Harvard Square Theater, wrote the immortal words, “I saw rock and roll’s future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen.”

Some six years later, he would be Springsteen’s manager and Springsteen himself would be enjoying the largest success of his career in the wake of the release of “The River” in 1980. The album gave Bruce his first official chart single, “Hungry Heart”, a song written at the request of Joey Ramone, who had asked Bruce to write a song for the Ramones. Springsteen went home that night and wrote the song, but wisely chose to keep it for himself. The song was released as the first single from “The River” and climbed to #5 on the Billboard singles charts. The ensuing world tour would keep Springsteen and the E Street band on the road for a majority of 1981.

Here are some highlights from the ’81 tour:

Hungry Heart (live from Hollywood Bowl)
The Promised Land (live, with Jackson Browne)
Who’ll Stop The Rain (live in Europe)
Because The Night (live)

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“…but the little girls understand” came only months later and it seemed to sound so much like “Get The Knack, Part 2″ to me that I was not at all surprised the tracks had been recorded during the same sessions and that the band had initially hoped to release “Get The Knack” as a double-album.

My favorite Knack record, without a doubt, is “Round Trip”. Oddly enough, it is the album that got the band dropped by Capitol Records for being a complete commercial failure.

If “Get The Knack” was their “Meet The Beatles, “Round Trip” was The Knack’s “Revolver”. With songs like “Art War”, “Africa”, and “We Are Waiting”, they fused psychedelia with jazz chops and, while there were the obligatory standard pop songs (“Radiating Love” and “Soul Kissin’, for example), this experimental approach completely alienated the fans.

The band later broke up, Fieger having become addicted to heroin(!). They would reform repeatedly, as Fieger and Gary made half-hearted attempts to work around their differences. It was not to be, though.

Bruce Gary, of course, passed away last year, making any further full reunions impossible.

The good news, of course, is that The Knack are still very much alive, gigging consistently in the wake of Fieger’s recent recovery from cancer.

The band’s 1979 Carnegie Hall appearance was perhaps the pinnacle of Knack-mania, if you will. Here are some tracks from that performance.

Enjoy!

Let Me Out
Your Number Or Your Name
Oh Tara
The Hard Way
It’s You
Frustrated
Heartbeat
End Of The Game
Hold On Tight And Don’t Let Go
Good Girls Don’t
She’s So Selfish
My Sharona

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One of the most dramatic success stories of 2007 is Amy Winehouse, who first captivated us with her stunningly retro hit, “Rehab”, then flew off the rails in a haze of drug and self-abuse. As the UK tabloids detail a life in quick decline, one can only hope that this immensely talented individual will eventually win out over the demons that seek to thwart her rise to greatness. Whether you dig her music, or not, I am hopeful that your prayers will be with her and that we are able to hear more from this potentially legendary artist.

I, too, entered a period where success sought to bring out every insecurity I had in myself. Every time you’re told you aren’t good enough, every time the kids in school make fun of you, every time your parents criticize you, will be magnified ten-fold the closer you get to realizing your dream. Alcohol brought me out of my shell when video shoots, photo shoots, and press interviews required that I be something other than the introverted person that I was 97% of the time. That was as far as it went, though. No hard stuff. I can only imagine that if I had been exposed to the things Amy has been exposed to, I wouldn’t be sitting here writing this blog. Sad to say, really.

Even sadder is the idea that Amy might not pull out of this tailspin and that she might be so devoid of self-respect that she allows herself to succumb to the voices that tell her she isn’t good enough. She IS good enough, goddammit. It’s a fuckin’ sad-ass world if she’s unable to allow herself to believe that when it matters most.

My thoughts and prayers are with this crazy, lost, mixed-up girl who’s no different than the rest of us when it comes to feeling like shit sometimes. She’s got that special something, though…something that you can’t necessarily describe…and I hope she sticks around.

Enjoy the tracks!

Addicted
Back To Black
He Can Only Hold Her
I Heard Love Is Blind
Just Friends
Know You Now
Me And Mr. Jones
Rehab
Take The Box
Tears Dry On Their Own
You Know I’m No Good

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I was such a wee lad when the first Boston album came out in 1976 that I remember little else from the time, but I distinctly remember how much an impact the record had on the music world. First, there was the distinctive guitar-shaped spaceship on the cover telling you this was not your everyday rock band. Then there was the sound of the album itself. Aside from some truly stellar songs, Scholz production resulted an album that sounded as if it had been cut twenty or thirty years in the future and then deposited in a time machine set for 1976.

MIT engineering graduate Tom Scholz had been dabbling in music since he was a kid, going so far as to invent some of the amplification that would be used in the recording of the album. Despite being impressed by Scholz home demos, Epic had demanded that the band re-record the album at a professional studio. Aside from recording one song at a California studio with John Boylan, though, the recording budget was spent on beefing up the equipment in Tom’s home studio, where the remaining seven songs were recorded without Epic knowing the difference.

With Boston more a concept than a functioning band up to that point, the classic Boston line-up of Scholz, singer Brad Delp, guitarist Barry Goudreau, bassist Fran Sheehan, and drummer Sib Hashian was hastily assembled and comprised mostly of musicians Scholz had worked with in other Boston-area bands.

The band would soon fracture into separate factions after the release of “Don’t Look Back” in 1978, with Goudreau pursuing a brief solo career before forming Orion The Hunter (with future Boston singer Fran Cosmo) and RTZ (with former Boston singer Brad Delp) in later years.

Critics often reflexively deride Boston as one of the many corporate rock bands that came to prominence in the 70’s, but, truth be told, they were the product of Scholz’ D.I.Y. determination. He got where he was by sticking to his guns, going so far as to deceive the label to maintain artistic control of the album by recording at home. The fact that the album went on to sell millions owes just as much to Scholz’ talents as a songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist as Epic’s considerable clout as THE label for the best American rock had to offer.

Here’s a new spin on a classic album, live cuts of each track from “Boston”:

More Than A Feeling
Peace Of Mind
Foreplay/Long Time
Rock & Roll Band
Smokin’
Hitch A Ride
Something About You
Let Me Take You Home Tonight

BONUS MATERIAL:

1981 article on Scholz’s broken thumb, which would delay completion of third album… (click image to enlarge article)

Video interview of Scholz and Delp from 80′s UK TV show, Old Grey Whistle Test:

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There, I said it.

I liked Snow Patrol back when they were just an Irish band getting some BBC airplay for their first album. In hindsight, the first album sounds pretty embryonic, but, still, there was just something about the singer’s voice that connected with me.

Years later, I picked up “Final Straw” at a time when I was going through some upheaval in my personal life (read: chick trouble) and, point blank, that album got me through some tough sh*t. I was working at eHarmony, answering emails from people who were also looking for “the love of their life” and there I was; a guy whose own love life was in shambles. For several months, all I did was show up at work, put “Final Straw” in my PC, and answer emails from hundreds of people who were having troubles of their own. Singer Gary Lightbody’s lyrics hit so close to home that it was sometimes a little hard to listen to, but the songs were so undeniable. There was just enough joy amidst the angst to raise my spirits.

With the release of “Eyes Open”, we find Gary still lamenting the relationship that crashed and burned just prior to Final Straw and I, for one, couldn’t be happier. Just kidding, of course. Again, the songs wear their lyrical heart on their sleeve and one can’t help wonder just what the heck poor Gary did to f*** things up so badly that here he is two years later still trying to find his way out of the debris.

In homage to one of the most-played albums on my numerous road trips this past year, I’ve compiled a sort of alternate Eyes Open, comprised of live versions I’ve gathered. Even if you’ve played this CD as often as I have over the past couple years, some of these performances will breath new life into these great, albeit familiar songs. Also note the cool mash-up of “Chasing Cars/Every Breath You Take”.

You’re All I Have
Hands Open
Chasing Cars
Shut Your Eyes
It’s Beginning To Get To Me
Make This Go On Forever
Set The Fire To The Third Bar
Headlights On Dark Roads
Open Your Eyes
Finish Line

Bonus Track: Every Car You Chase (The Police/Snow Patrol Mash-Up)

(note: an alternate version of “You Could Be Happy” was unavailable at press time.)

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So, without further delay, here are a few Help! and Abbey Road-era tunes in a variety of alternate formats:

You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away (alternate, Take 5)
You’re Going To Lose That Girl (alternate, Take 3)
Golden Slumbers (early take)
Come Together (Lennon ’72 rehearsal)
Here Comes The Sun (George Harrison and Paul Simon, Saturday Night Live ’78)

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While “Dream Police” was a record that furthered their chart domination at the time, it is an album that fails to garner as much hipster respect as the band’s prior three studio records and that, quite frankly, is a shame, as it is easily on par with “In Color” or “Heaven Tonight”. Truth be told, their stunning bone-jarring debut record is without equal. Period.

Exclamation point.

But tracks such as the highly conceptual “Dream Police” itself (which is an unheralded lyrical tour de force, however kitschy you may feel the actual song is) and “Voices” are simply two examples of some of the best songwriting to come from that particular decade. “I’ll Be With You Tonight” – sigh – how was this song not a Top 40 hit, much less a Top 10 smash? Like the album’s title track, it opens with a soaring chorus first, making it tailor-made for rock radio. The rest of the song just flat-out rocks and Robin Zander’s voice elevates the entire performance as Daltrey did for the best Who songs, Plant on all the chill-inducing Zep tunes, and so on. If you haven’t already, check out the live version we made available in yesterday’s post.

“The House Is Rockin’” is probably considered by most Trick fans to be somewhat of a throwaway track. We personally think it’s a great cut, but, admittedly, it tends to get lost amid the stellar tracks that dominate this album. Any other band would be patting themselves on the back and pricing mansions in the Hollywood Hills upon recording a track that cool. In Trick’s case, it ended up as a B-side.

“Writing On The Wall”? Again, a track most other band’s would be proud to call the best they’ve got to offer. Seriously, lesser bands have gotten further with less. Vocally, this tune allows Zander to branch out vocally, as he does on the verses, where he almost seems to be playing a character of sorts.

Cheap Trick-Dream Police
Cheap Trick-I Want You To Want Me
Cheap Trick-Surrender
Cheap Trick-House Is Rockin’
Cheap Trick-I Know What I Want

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Anyone who’d had any suspicions that the intensity of At Budokan was somehow manufactured could have tuned in to KLOS and heard for themselves that Cheap Trick was, indeed, the real deal.Listening to these tracks more than 25 years later, my jaw dropped just like it did back in the day.

There have been thousands of bands since, but very few bring the rock like Cheap Trick did in ’79, much less today. While their studio output has slowed, and the quality is certainly arguable, they continue to be a dependably raucous live act.

California Man
Downed
I’ll Be With You Tonight
Stiff Competition

We’ll continue to post more tracks from this classic Trick concert throughout the week (and thanks to my buddy Ginch for the tunes).

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A particular favorite of mine was a German show (for Rockpalast) from 1983. What makes this show so memorable is the appearance of some Next Position Please-era material that truly comes alive in a concert setting (whereas the studio versions were a bit flat, to my ears). Seriously, check out their live version of “Next Position Please”. Once you do, you realize how cool the song coulda been if Rundgren hadn’t been at the helm (not that I have anything Todd, of course).

Heck, they even played “Reach Out” and “Everything Works If You Let It”, which I never heard once the year before despite catching the band numerous times durijng the US leg of their One On One tour.

Those lucky Germans!

In addition, if you pay careful attention, you’ll hear a set of vocals singing impeccable harmonies right along with Zander. You’ll also hear pianos and synths throughout. All of this is compliments of tour singer/keyboardist Magic Christian, who was on-board for the Next Position Please tour.

I’ll Be With You Tonight
Dancing The Night Away
Baby Loves To Rock
Dream Police
Big Eyes

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