The Firm “Radioactive”

sfilzen — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 20:08:01 +0000

The Firm “Radioactive” b/w “Together” 1985. The Firm were a 80′s rock supergroup featuring Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin, Yardbirds) on guitar, Paul Rodgers (Bad Company, Free) on vocals, Chris Slade (Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, he joined AC/DC in ‘89) on drums and Tony Franklin (never an official member of any big-name band but worked with Page, Rodgers, David Gilmour and many others) on bass. “Radioactive” was the first single from The Firm’s debut album The Firm. It hit #28 on the US singles chart and #76 in the UK. I really liked this song when it came out in ‘85 – it’s fairly straight-forward rock with an excellent beat but also has some cool effects that appealed to my 80′s new-wave self (I’m not sure I really knew who Jimmy Page was in ‘85 so the Zeppelin connection did not influence me at all – in fact I probably would have been less inclined to like the song). The B-side “Together” is a guitar-forward rock ballad with way too many 80′s flavors – heavily reverbed vocals, big echoey production and sappy lyrics. This is an A-side listen-only 45″ for sure.

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Led Zeppelin “Houses of the Holy”

sfilzen — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 19:14:11 +0000

Led Zeppelin “Houses of the Holy” 1973. Today, January 9th, is Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page’s birthday (b. James Patrick Page 1944). Consistently rated among the top albums of all time (anywhere in the top 100 to 500), Houses of Holy is a sweeping masterpiece with a range of musical influences and styles, from blues to reggae to funk to “epic folk/metal fusion” (on “Over the Hills and Far Away,” one of my favorite tracks and one of the best guitar intros every). I’ll admit to be a late-comer to the whole Zeppelin thing (though in fairness I was only 2 years old when this record came out). In the 80s while in junior high and high school the kids who listened to Zeppelin were the “grits” (heshers, burnouts, headbangers, take your pick): the ones who wore sleeveless jean jackets (which I learned is technically a “kutte” – German for battle jacket) with handmade black Sharpie Zeppelin/Iron Maiden/Metellica logos stenciled on their backs, sporting metal-mullets while hanging out at the smoking doors. Kind of like this one, but made by someone with no budget for store-bought patches. (Image from the internet, NOT MY JACKET!)

I was a punk so while I’d talk to them, I certainly wouldn’t listen to their music. Then came college at UW Madison, mind and music expansion and Houses of the Holy. A good friend’s roommate was a massive Led Zeppelin fan and we’d hang out in some dorm room or other, listening to “The Song Remains the Same,” “Dancing Days” and another one of my favorites, “The Ocean.”

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The Firm “Radioactive”

Led Zeppelin “Houses of the Holy”