More Albums You Should Know

Some great rock albums are mentioned and played constantly; others stay hidden in the archives. Here are some great ones you might not have heard for awhile.

1 - Angel - On Earth As It Is In Heaven

Precursor to the 80s pop-metal. As were Starz, Same lightweight but listenable songs.They dressed all white satin and poufy stuff, like the antithesis to Kiss. They got so popular they were a headlining act at medium sized venues for awhile. Keyboardist Greg Giuffria went on to form his own band.

2 - Kiss - Alive I

When you ask for unerringly sleazy rock n roll, not silly poufter sleazy like Ratt or Poison, but down in the dirt nasty, you ask for Kiss Alive I. Black Diamond, Cold Gin, 100,000 Years, She, Duece, Strutter, Rock 'n' Roll All Night....Need I say more? Before the comic book, before the made for TV movie, before the videos, before the face paint came off for the fi rst time.

3 - Montrose - Paper Money

When Ronnie Montrose left the Edgar Winter Group, he formed the band bearing his moniker. Along with singer Sammy Hagar (a young fresh-faced Hagar) recorded two albums - Montrose and this subtle gem, with acid trippy Spaceage Sacrifice, the almost gleeful, clap along cover of the Stones' Connection & the anthemic We're Going Home. The frenzied I Got The Fire though, the first sign of Sammy's future bombastic appeal. -

4 - Aerosmith - Get Your Wings

Pre-rehab, most people remember only "Toys In the Attic" and "Dream On", but there are nine stellar cuts on this 1974 LP. In addition to Same Old Song and Dance, there's the almost operatic grandeur of Seasons of Wither, the naughty play on words of Lord of the Thighs and Pandora's Box.

5 - Scorpions - Lovedrive

By the time Winds of Change and the airshow favorite Rock You Like A Hurricane, the Scorpions were primarily a pop metal band. But that wasn't thte case in 1979, when this album was released. Between Rudy & Michael Schenker and Matthais Jabs on guitar a clarity to Schenker's riffs you don't get from a lotta other axemen

6 - Styx - Equinox

Midnight Ride a JY song, rocks! It was never played on the radio, Lady took that honor. But if you didn't hear it so much you wouldn't complain! When most people think of Styx, they think of Mr Roboto, Babe, Paradise Theatre and all that drek. But once upon a time, there was a drek-free Styx. "Pieces of Eight" released a few years after this album wasn't so bad, either. With a pre- Damn Yankees Tommy Shaw, songs like Renegade and The Great White Hope, veered towards a combination of rocker/show tune, but they worked.

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