hard rock Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Ozzy Osbourne “No More Tears”

sfilzen — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 17:36:05 +0000

Ozzy Osbourne “No More Tears” 1991/2021 limited edition Record Store Day picture disc. I pilfered this from the kiddo’s Ozzy collection to spin in remembrance of Osbourne who died yesterday, July 22nd, at age 76. No More Tears was his 6th solo studio LP and a smash, going to #7 on the US album charts (#17 in the UK) with the hits “No More Tears” and “Mama I’m Coming Home” dominating the hard rock/hair metal airwaves in ’91 and ’92; the former went to #71 in the US (but #17 on the rock chart) and latter going to #28 on the mainstream charts in the US but #2 on the Mainstream Rock charts. Besides being a great heavy metal LP, the record is also notable for Lemmy Kilmister’s writing contributions on “Mama” plus “I Don’t Want to Change the World” (so good and thrashy – the live version on Ozzy’s 1993 Live & Loud won a grammy for Best Metal Performance), “Desire” (another thrasher) and “Hellraiser.” Motörhead recorded “Hellraiser” in ’92 for their March ör Die album and released it as a single; in 2021 Ozzy and Lemmy released a new version of “Hellraiser” that mashes both Ozzy and Lemmy’s vocals in one song (the kid has that in his collection, too). The track “Time After Time” is a very formulaic, late 80’s/early 90’s mid-tempo metal track, ballad-esque (with very weird and silly video) but it totally works on this LP. “Zombie Stomp” is a fun headbanger (and also silly) and very on-brand for the Prince of Darkness who seemed to not quite take himself too seriously.

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Grand Funk “We’re an American Band”

sfilzen — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 17:50:59 +0000

Grand Funk “We’re an American Band” 1973. Grand Funk (Railroad)’s 7th studio LP. We saw GFA this past Friday night at Summerfest — they were great!! Old f**ckers can still rock hard and played a great catalog of old and new songs, including their ubiquitous hit and title track from this LP: “We’re an American Band” (#1 US charts) which is considered one of the best hard rock songs of all-time. The LP, produced by Todd Rundgren, hit #2 in the US. They released one other single from the album, “Walk Like a Man,” which went to #19 in the US. Besides those singles, my other top picks are the drum-forward “Stop Lookin’ Back” (sidetone: it wasn’t this song I don’t think but during the show on Friday all the band members grabbed various styles and drums and performed an amazing jam/beat breakdown), the funky “Black Licorice” with both keyboard and guitar solos, and the soulful “Ain’t Got Nobody” (which, too, has funk).

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Mooner “Tabiat”

sfilzen — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 16:58:35 +0000

Mooner “Tabiat” 2017. Limited edition clear w/color swirl vinyl, Outer Battery Records/Bhang Records. Heavy Indonesian psychedelic rock. This LP showed up in my to-do pile and I know nothing about it so from the album page on Outer Battery’s website: “Released as a companion album to our Shark Move reissue, Mooner update the heavy psych sounds of early 70’s Indonesia while staying true to the roots of the original scene. Featuring members of The Slave, The SIGIT, Sigmun and Sarasvati, Mooner are a supergroup of the Indonesian heavy/hard rock scene. Tabiat is Mooner’s first full length and it’s a monster, 12 tracks of heavy psych with strong influences of Indian Raga and Middle Eastern touches thrown into a stoner rock stew…Tabiat is an extremely limited release, with just a few hundred copies being made available outside of Indonesia.” I can’t understand any of the lyrics but it doesn’t matter – the music is amazing. Head-banging Sabbath beats, hypnotic bass and buzzy guitars behind female vocals that alternate between slightly lo-fi and soaring, layered yelps. My top tracks include the opener “Buruh/Pemburu,” the groovy “Hei,” the shredding, ass-shaking “Lancang” and the wild “Serikat Penyembuh.”

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Van Halen “1984”

sfilzen — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 20:24:31 +0000

Van Halen “1984” released 40 years ago today (!!!!) January 9th, 1984. Iconic 80’s rock, one of the defining albums of the decade. I’ve written about 1984 previously but it’s such a monster that it deserves another page. It certainly is a record I remember vividly (it was everywhere in ’84) and continue to hear tracks from 40 years on. 1984 was Van Halen’s sixth studio album, one of their top sellers ever, and the last to feature all four original members. It went to #2 on the US album chart (held back from the #1 spot by Michael Jackson’s Thriller) and, despite the pushback from metal fans at the time, brought the 80’s keyboard trend to hard rock and, in so doing, propelled heavy metal into the popular consciousness. Van Halen was on MTV constantly and I am still not tired of the “Jump” video – David Lee Roth being…well, his obnoxious and hilarious self, Eddie looking coke’d out of his mind and the other guys – well I didn’t pay attention to them. The single hit #1 and remains their most successful single ever and the video was nominated for three MTV VMAs, winning the “Best Stage Performance” award. “I’ll Wait” was the next single and it went to #13. This is one that has grown on me more and more over the years – it’s so 80′s over-the-top with big keyboards and even bigger production. The third single was “Panama,” which is my favorite track on 1984; it went to #13 on the US charts. Extra fond memories of “Panama” which involve driving around, head-banging, singing loudly for all to hear. The last single from 1984 was “Hot For Teacher” and while it only went to #56 on the charts, its video got serious airplay on MTV and remains hilarious. Other tracks of note are “Drop Dead Legs” (obnoxiously 80’s, awesome) and the shred-tastic “Girl Gone Bad.”

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Led Zeppelin “Houses of the Holy”

sfilzen — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 22:16:56 +0000

Led Zeppelin “Houses of the Holy” released 50 years ago today, March 28th, 1973. I never need much of an excuse to listen to Zeppelin’s fifth studio album – it’s one of my favorites and gives me all the good feels/memories. I was a late bloomer Zeppelin fan, not getting into them until ’89 at college where this record was on heavy repeat. It went to #1 in the US and the UK and is on a multitude of best-of lists. They released a few singles in various international markets: “Over the Hills and Far Away” which went to #51 in the US and is definitely one of my top tracks with its gorgeous acoustic riff that explodes into heavy rock fury. They also released “D’yer Mak’er” (#20 US), a reggae-flavored rocker and “Dancing Days,” which “was inspired by an Indian tune that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant heard while traveling in Bombay” (wiki). (I love Zeppelin but they certainly were kings of ripping off other cultures music). One of my all-time Zeppelin tracks from any album, “The Ocean” (released only in Germany as a single where it went to #8) is also on Houses of the Holy – I thought the last line was kind of creepy until a friend in college gently explained to me that the three year old girl Robert Plant sings about was his daughter.

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ZZ Top “Eliminator”

sfilzen — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 17:14:58 +0000

ZZ Top “Eliminator” released 40 years ago today, March 23rd, 1983. Definitely one of the soundtracks to my middle school, MTV-obsessed years – and I still love it! It’s ZZ Top’s eighth studio LP and their biggest selling album; it went to #9 in the US and to #3 in the UK; its tracks continue to be played to this day on classic rock stations everywhere and it’s considered one of the best records of all-time. Eliminator found the blues-based rock band incorporating the 80’s synth sound into their recordings and while some of their fans were horrified, the mix of blues and modern keyboards clearly worked. That, and their clever story-lined videos that were played nonstop on MTV throughout ’83 and ’84. One reviewer, writing 20 years after its release stated “ZZ Top had found the potent combination that would bring them into the eighties and their era of greatest commercial triumph: raunchy guitar sounds coupled with the pounding drive and unrelenting sex machine rhythmic precision of electronic dance music and synth pop” and converted teens – and, for the first time, girls (👋) – into listeners (and buyers).

My top tracks are of course the hits that are still embedded into my 80’s DNA. “Gimme All Your Lovin,” the first single, went to #37 in the US and to #10 in the UK. It’s the first time we see Eliminator car and its trio of Playboy model/actresses in the video which the MTV generation would get to see in the following singles videos. The second single from Eliminator is another favorite, “Sharp Dressed Man.” It hit #56 in the US (I feel like it was more popular than that) and #22 in the UK. Its video had the same director as “Gimme All Your Lovin,” Tim Newman, and continues the storyline with the three women giving the Eliminator car keys to a remade valet, who indeed becomes sharply dressed. “Legs” completed the trilogy and is my hands-down favorite of the three tracks. It also went the highest on the charts, going to #8 in the US (and to #16 in the UK). In the video the hot ladies turn their sights onto giving a mousy young woman a makeover. I 100% wanted to wear little white socks with lace and heels after seeing that video (but at 12 years old I think the line was drawn at high heels but I’m pretty sure I got the lacy ankle socks). The “Legs” video won the MTV award for Best Group video in 1984. There was another single released, “TV Dinners,” but I don’t remember that one from my childhood. It didn’t hit the main charts in the US but made it to #38 on the Top Tracks chart and to #67 in the UK. Non-single songs that are also great: the hard-rocking “I Got the Six” and “Dirty Dog.”

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Lynyrd Skynyrd “(Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd)”

sfilzen — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 17:27:24 +0000

Lynyrd Skynyrd “(Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd)” 1973. Today’s spin of their debut LP in commemoration of Gary Rossington’s death yesterday, March 5th 2023, at age 71. He was the last remaining founding member of the band, having survived the infamous plane crash of ’77 that killed fellow bandmates Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines. (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd) went to #27 in the US and is still ubiquitous on classic rock stations 50 years on. The album includes some of the era’s most recognizable southern-fried blues rock songs: “Tuesday’s Gone,” “Gimme Three Steps,” and, of course, the ultimate arena rock ballad, “Free Bird.” “Free Bird” is still considered one of the best rock songs of all-time; it went to #19 in ’74 (when it was released as a single) and then charted again after the plane crash. It’s also the longest running joke in rock history (I’m assuming anyway), its name still screamed out by audience members at shows regardless of the band or style on stage. I’m pretty ambivalent about Skynyrd in general, but there’s no denying the anthemic appeal of (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd) and its influence on the rock genre.

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Alice Cooper “Love It to Death”

sfilzen — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 19:19:09 +0000

Alice Cooper “Love It to Death” 1971. Today’s pull for the track “I’m Eighteen” because my kid turns 18 today. Hard rocking glam rock, Love It to Death is Alice Cooper’s third studio LP. It’s considered among the vanguard of hard rock/metal of the 70’s and inspired some of the heavy hitters of the 70’s punk scene including Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols (he auditioned for the Pistols by performing “Eighteen” and mimicking Cooper’s delivery), Johnny Ramone of the Ramones (he wrote his first song based on “Eighteen’s” chords) and Pat Smear of the Germs (Smear reportedly was inspired to start playing guitar after listening to Love It to Death). The record hit #35 in the US and went to #28 in the UK. The first single, “I’m Eighteen,” went to #21 in the US, making it the band’s first top 40 hit and its lasting influence has it included in many best-of all time lists. The second single released was “Caught in a Dream,” the album’s opener. A big riff-filled rocker, it squeaked into the top 100 at #94 in the US. Besides those tracks, I also dig “Hallowed Be My Name,” another hard rocker, “Black Juju,” an evil-tinged psych-rocker, and the glammy “Is It My Body.” One of the kiddo’s belated birthday presents is to see Alice Cooper perform here in Milwaukee in May.

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Sweet “Give Us a Wink”

sfilzen — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 18:57:01 +0000

Sweet “Give Us a Wink” 1976. Today, February 23rd, would have been Sweet founding member and bassist Steve Priest’s 75th birthday (b. 1948, d. 2020). Give Us a Wink was Sweet’s fourth studio LP and the first to be entirely written and produced by the band members. It hit #27 in the US but didn’t chart in England, Sweet’s home country. Hard and fast glam rock, Give Us a Wink is overblown 70’s awesomeness with intricate guitar solos and sometimes wailing operatic vocals (“White Mouse” has all of that and more), it’s what the UK punk movement was directly rebelling against. But it’s a really really good time! Our version is the US Capitol Records release, which flipped the European RCA sides A and B and adds the song “Lady Starlight” which originally appeared on the European versions of Desolation Boulevard (1974). Sweet released three singles from Give Us a Wink: “Action” (which leads off the US version) which went to #20 in the US and to #15 in the UK; according to Wiki it’s a criticism of the music press’s coverage of Sweet and has a “masked backwards vocal with the words ‘You kiss my arse.'” The other two singles were “The Lies in Your Eyes” (#35 UK) and “4th of July” (only in Australia where it failed to chart).

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Aerosmith “Aerosmith”

sfilzen — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 19:24:44 +0000

Aerosmith “Aerosmith” released 50 years ago today, January 5th, 1973. Aerosmith’s debut s/t record. Our copy certainly looks about 50 years old but it is not the first pressing (the song “Walkin’ the Dog” – originally by Rufus Thomas in ’63 – was misprinted as “Walkin’ the Dig” on the first pressings and ours is correctly printed). It is most likely a second pressing since it has the original cover art. The third pressings of Aerosmith after the success “Dream On” had bigger photograph of the band with the text “Featuring ‘Dream On'” on the cover. The single “Dream On” was first released in 1973 and went to #59 (though it was huge in the local Boston market) but then went to #6 in 1976 in its edited down form. That track is really the only song I know from this record, and it’s the only song that actually sounds like Steven Tyler. The rest have his voice really subdued. From Tyler’s autobiography via Wiki: “”The band was very uptight. We were so nervous that when the red recording light came on we froze. We were scared shitless. I changed my voice into the Muppet, Kermit the Frog, to sound more like a blues singer.” “One Way Street” has some glimpse into Tyler’s true range and shriek, and the track “Movin’ Out” is a really great gritty blues rocker, but the rest of the record is kind of meh.

Aerosmith took a few years to really gain traction. It received mostly negative reviews, from those who bothered to review it, upon its release in ’73. After “Dream On” the album went to #21 and since has gone well over double platinum.

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