My first time hearing Kill 'Em All was around Christmas 1986. I was 16, working at a pizza joint and we had a Christmas party where we also had a grab bag where the person who picked my name was little Leslie (we had 2 waitresses named Leslie, little Leslie was the short one). She was older and asked her younger brother what a 16 year old metal head would like, he said Kill 'Em All. I ended up getting a little drunk at the party (we snuck some beers but the owners knew, don't judge, it was a different era folks). I ended up going back to my buddy's garage to partake in some other festivities and we put this on. I was blown away by it and loved the heaviness of it while the other people in the garage hated it. This was one of those important albums (well tape) in my life which shaped my music tastes, a very important album indeed. I wore this tape out and went on to check out other heavy stuff at that time including a Master of the Puppets (a story for another day). The first 3 Metallica albums are still some of my favorite albums of all time and it started with Kill 'Em All. Thanks Little Leslie! (edited for clarity)
Hey Pete, not sure if you have a chance to read some of these comments but I just wanted to mention that this series that you’re doing this month is so interesting really enjoying all the stories and especially the ones where you talk about your dad taking you to the record store That’s what happened to me with my dad when he took me to the record store and he bought me Led Zeppelin II Also wanted to just wish you and your family happy holidays and thanks again for providing such great content over the year
My story is I was in a record store and bought the cassette of Kill Em All in '83 based only on the album cover and song titles. I didn't know them, just looking for something new. I was immediately blown away. I had no warming up period, loved it from first listen. I turned all my friends onto it. I even have the original Megaforce pressing of Ride The Lightning.
I did the same thing in '83 with Mercyful Fate's Melissa record! I bought it without hearing the music or even anything about the band, I just really liked the song titles and was I Blown away!! Good story man!! First time I ever heard music that actually scared the hell outta me!!
Kansas Vinyl Confessions. When Steve Walsh left the band I wrote them off. When I heard Play the game tonight and John Elefantes vocals I became interested. Bought the album and realized there was life after Steve Walsh.
I am going to keep this shorter today, honest. Listening to the radio in my first job, which was in a warehouse and tuned to the UK's national pop station. Now mid 1970s apart from Quo, and Boys Are Back In Town there was little hard rock or indeed classic rock of any sort played. Suddenly a song with a great acoustic beginning was played leading into a huge hooky chorus with a big crunching riff and this amazing soaring clear vocal. The song was More Than A Feeling. I bought the debut BOSTON album, (along with around 10-15 million others) shortly after, the spaceship guitar sleeve and logo also making me want to own a copy. I just fell in love with that killer combination of soaring vocals, amazing hooks and songwriting and that revolutionary production and multi layered guitar sounds. Still one of my favourite debut albums and one of the best melodic rock albums ever released.
Good morning (afternoon, evening or night), Pete. Another fun story. Personal tale today? A band already mentioned this month when the oft-mentioned older brother bought the debut but I beat him to the punch and bought the second album of the band which he kept borrowing. Determined to beat him to the next album, it was released in the fall of 1970 and I kept haunting the record stores when I read the album was coming. The album and band - Led Zeppelin III. I was captivated by the spinning wheel inside the front cover [one of the advantages of the LP design versus most CD packaging]. Biked home, put it on and just didn't know what to think of it. So different from Led Zeppelin I & 2. It just didn't catch my emotions like those first two. So....asked the older brother to play it and tell me what he thought. Politely and succinctly, his stated reaction - "This is crap!" It didn't get much more play then and was played even less when the band released IV or Zoso. But over the years - and likely we're talking forty plus years give or take, i found myself playing III and Physical Graffiti when wanting to hear Zeppelin. The album continued to grow in my listening and for many years now, it has been and remains a top favorite from the band. One of those albums that earned its way over time and reminding me that could happen with other music as well [and it did]. Thanks, Pete. Looking forward to your next story.
Great story John ! I came to LZ lll in the same fashion. Where was “Whole Lotta Love” part ll ???. But now acknowledging Jimmy Page’s genius…the album makes more sense. And I have a lp with the spinner though I think it’s a repress. I hope to have a few stories in the next few days. But I enjoy reading these awesome stories !!
@@johnmichaelwilliams6694 I would wager that most of us would have felt that way and we now almost love it after all these years. You can only listen to black dog so many times, haha
Cool story John. I feel the same way about Led Zeppelin III, and my older cousins felt pretty much the same way about the album as your older brother did. I never understood why so many fans were so negative about the album. I'm just happy that with time critics and fans finally started giving this record the respect that it's always deserved.
From 83-87. Lived in California ( from NJ). In 84, went to a record store in Southern California, bought Whitesnake. Slide it in and experienced my first earthquake. It wasn’t big, however , I never experienced that before, I asked the store clerk. What the hell is that ? She said we’re having an earthquake. So, when I play that album, now In. Cd form, I think of that. Thank you Pete for your time 👍💯
@@garyjoyce2160 hi Gary. It was awesome seeing those pictures of you. Interesting story. I have a college friend that lives in Livermore CA and she said it took her a while to get used to the earthquakes. She about an hour away from Sal
Speaking of Metallica, Reminds me of raising my upcoming rockers ages 11 and 9. Rolling the roads in our minivan cranking the Black Album, with the BASS cranked all the way up! HEAVY METAL defined. AC/DC was the other training band for them. Proud to say they're both excellent guitarists, Proggy metal. The older an even better drummer., The younger a multi-instrumentalist producer. I practiced a lot as a left-handed guitarist, still can't hardly play a lick but I guess the DNA transferred, because those guys have practiced thousands and thousands of hours. Both obsessed with music. Very grateful Rock Forever!
I was the same way with listening to Metallica for the first time as well and the lineup on it with the late great Cliff Burton was awesome thanks again Pete and Merry Christmas.🎶🎤🎸🎸🎹🥁🎶
In August of 1987 a group of us were in a car going to the mall. The guy who drove bought Def Leppard’s Hysteria. Everyone was rocking out to it on the way home. I remember being in the back seat and saying something like, “Guys…if you ask me, this album kinda sucks.” Even though it wasn’t a huge hit sales-wise in 1987, I had to hear that damn album over and over during high school parties and road trips until we all left for college in the fall of 1988. Then it finally hit big on the charts when I was in college with the release of “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” That means I had to endure the damn album during college parties for yet another year. So, eff that album. The funny thing is, years ago, I found a near-mint original vinyl pressing with the shrink wrap and hype sticker still intact. The price was right (30 bucks), so being a collector, I grabbed it. You just don’t see it in the wild very often, let alone in that condition. It would sell online for around 100.00 these days.
I had a friend on my college XC team who was into the poppy rock and metal stuff like Hysteria -- while I was at a stage of being too cool for that stuff, we swapped tapes on long bus rides to meets, and I had to admit Def Lep still had some quality stuff, aside from Pour Some Sugar, as well as the INXS album.
For the record, I have nothing against pop or "poppy rock." But it has to have some sort of heart and soul to it. And Hysteria just sounds soulless to my ears. The production is extra-thin, and the songs aren't good enough to make up for its many faults. INXS's Kick is a GREAT album. I feel the heart and soul in those songs.
July 1972, and another secondary school year was about to end. In the electro shop, I had found an album with a fantastic cover in the shop, which was URIAH HEEP’s “Demons And Wizards” LP. I already knew their singles from the year before, “Lady In Black” and “Look At Yourself” which had a lot of airplay. “Demons” was their 4th album, and some of my classmates told me that the music is as fantastic as the cover art (which was from Roger Dean, who also had started to work for Yes around the same time). I soon found out that my classmates were quite right. This was (and still is) a perfect album from start to finish, with classic songs like “The Wizard”, “Traveller In Time”, “Circle Of Hands”, “Rainbow Demon”, the epic “Paradise/The Spell”, along with “Easy Livin’”, which became a big hit single. There is no filler, I was always able to hear the whole album, without having felt the need to skip anything. It was not only first class hard rock, as they also proved they could do perfect ballads and progressive stuff. The songwriting - mostly from Ken Hensley - was first class on here. This album was - and still is - in my personal album Top 10 of all time. After some line-up changes during the first two years, the band was now in their “classic line-up” with Mick Box, David Byron, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake and Gary Thain. And it was hard to believe that only a few months later, in November the same year, they had their next album “The Magician’s Birthday” in the shops, again with fantastic cover work from Roger Dean. Thanks to my beloved parents, I got it right in time before Christmas, loved it the same way as its precursor, and still do. Two fantastic albums from a band in the same year… of course, there are quite a few similarities in the sound. They had found their style and continued to develop on it. There are some more ballads on “MB”, but all very well done. All the songs on here are strong, and again, there is no filler. Starting with the opener “Sunrise” and the slide guitar driven “Spider Woman”, until the epic multi-part title track, they proved they could do musical “magic” again. The ending of the title track with their high lead and harmony voices was - and still remains - legendary, one of the best endings of an album ever. I always had the feeling, that it could have gone on and on for another few minutes, without fading out quite that fast. It's just a pity that they later never have been able to continue on this musically really high level again. They still would continue to create more classic songs later on, but they would also write and play weaker tracks, putting the later albums at a lower level. Today, Mick Box is the only surviving member of the classic line-up. He still is touring with the current line-up version of the band. In recent years, they have managed to release some strong albums which come quite close to their classic sound. Mick announced that they will soon do their last concert tour. Long may he still stay alive and at good health condition - as well as his band mates Bernie Shaw, Phil Lanzon, Russell Gilbrook and Dave Rimmer. My school time albums discoveries, In chronogical order: day 01: 07/1971 (fav) Led Zeppelin IV, (first) Led Zeppelin III day 02: 08/1971 (fav) Simon & Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water day 03: 09/1971 (fav) Atomic Rooster, In Hearing Of day 04: 09/1971 (fav) Deep Purple In Rock, (first) Deep Purple, Fireball day 05: 11/1971 (fav) Jethro Tull, Aqualung day 06: 11/1971 (fav) Black Sabbath s/t, (first) Master Of Reality day 07: 12/1971 Jesus Christ Superstar day 08: 01/1972 (fav) Grand Funk, Phoenix, (first) Grand Funk, E Pluribus Funk day 09: 03/1972 The Doors, L.A.Woman day 10: 04/1972 Neil Young, Harvest day 11: 06/1972 (fav) Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here, (first) Pink Floyd, Meddle day 12: 07/1972 (first/fav) Uriah Heep, Demons And Wizards
@@ziggyzagzi8017 Thank you, Ziggy! I felt lucky indeed, getting Heep's best work. 1972 was an overall great year, with so many excellent albums having been released.
R.E.M. - Fables of the Reconstruction (1985) There was a cover story on R.E.M. in Record magazine, which would soon fold, and my subscription would be picked up by SPIN. By that time I was familiar with several songs from the first two albums and EP that I heard on KUNI, and this was my first album purchase of R.E.M. It was dark and strange, produced by Joe Boyd in England, and while many had trouble with it, I loved it. It continues to hold a special place for me, even if the early ones and Lifes Rich Pageant (1986) are probably better. When I finally saw them live on the 1987 Document tour, it was a great show, but somehow was the beginning of the end of my superfandom. Probably because they were drifting to the mainstream and my tastes were going in the opposite direction. Similar thing happened with U2, except I thought their '87 show sucked.
Day 12. Paul Butterfield Blues Band - East/West When I was in high school an upperclassman named John Sulak had an incredible music collection and turned me onto Mike Bloomfield (Super Sessions) and I was hooked. I would discover this record at a small indy record store and bought it because it had Mike Bloomfield. This was not the standard blues record but one that featured all sorts of genres of music. This is where I first heard a jam so totally unreal from anything else in East/West. When I got my first CD player this was one of the first ones I bought. The music might be almost 50 years ago but it is still fresh. 1. John Coltrane - A Love Supreme 2. Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida 3. Steppenwolf - S/T 4. Mason Proffit - Wanted 5. Miles Davis - Jack Johnson 6. Ornette Coleman - Dancing In Your Head 7. The Doors - S/T 8. Bride - Scarecrow Messiah 9. Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Bright Moments 10. Delaney and Bonnie and Friends - On Tour 11. Tower of Power - East Bay Grease 12. Paul Butterfield Blues Band - East/West
Nice call Mark ! I didn’t discover this album til after I heard all the San Francisco bands like Jefferson Airplane and Country Joe & The Fish. But East/West was the basic Song that set the whole psychedelic thing in motion. Historically this song has become one of the touchstones of the entire Rock era. Still now nothing sounds quite like it. 😊
My Day 12 pick is Unbreakable is the fourth full-length album by American rock band New Years Day, released on April 26, 2019, through Century Media Records. Loudwire named it one of the 50 best rock albums of 2019. Back in 2019 at my final year of my college class I would meet a girl and become friends with her. We started talking about music and how much we love similar bands like metallica and Iron maiden and three days grace and motionless in white. So one day when we hung out(our first date basically), she would show me this band New years Day and I would go home and listen to songs like angel eyes and brutality( which brutality was used in WWE for a wrestler). I would come back to her and we'd begin listening to this in class for the rest of the remainder of the year as the song nocturnal would become our song( she was a goth so I picked something that suited her personality). Today I still listen to the track and album today because it reminds me of her. Track listing edit No. Title Length 1. "Come for Me" 2. "MissUnderstood" 3. "Skeletons" 4. "Unbreakable" 5. "Shut Up" 6. "Done with You" 7. "Poltergeist" 8. "Break My Body" 9. "Sorry Not Sorry" 10. "My Monsters" 11. "Nocturnal" 12. "I Survived"
Cool to see a younger fan doesn't mind hangin' with the geezers! I'll have to dig deep to think of stories behind newer discoveries, since I guzzle hundreds of albums a year these days.
The Wall I was a kid when I first heard The Wall. But I remember that my older brother was listening to it in the living room of our house, sitting in an armchair. I sat on the carpet and started looking at the drawings inside the album. It was all so strange and shocking. The music is sometimes slow and depressive, other times strong and some mid-operatic themes. For years I listened to the album and looked at the artwork on the album imagining what The Wall was about. I was only able to see the movie when I was 13 and I think it was one of the most important moments of my adolescence. I am still fascinated by The Wall, it seems to me to be the most important conceptual album in Rock. Not so much for the musical aspect but for what it means to millions of fans around the world.
@@sabinoabdala5685 hi sabino. I have this same album. Actually it’s my story for today. Our stories are quite different from each other. I’ve seen the movie to this album and it changed a lot of my taste to the music on this album.
Day 12 - Rainbow - Rising (1976) We are now back to 1976. I was 11 and my brothers were 16 and 18. We were at our parents friend's house for dinner. They have six kids ranging in age from 12 - 24. The oldest wasn't there. After dinner all of us kids/teens+ went to their basement to listen to albums. The first album was a pop album that I don't remember who it was. One of the older teens said we are going to like the next album. He put it on their stereo. The song “Tarot Woman” began. The sound coming from the speakers immediately grabbed my attention. The interpretive dancing began. I heard a few chuckles, one of the girls saying “How cute”, and the youngest Michael commented, “She's weird”. My reply, “Damn tootin’”. Anyway, as the song progressed, I was doing a mix of interpretive dance and air drumming. On the song “Do You Close Your Eyes” the dancing stopped and I was “playing” air guitar. Then it happened, I was sitting on the floor, and “Stargazer” came on. I think my brain went into overload when I heard Cozy’s drumming at the very beginning of the song. Then while sitting on the floor, I began moving my upper body to the music. I was already in love with Dio’s voice by then and even more as this song progressed. This song was magical to me. Still is in many regards. I also liked “A Light In the Black”, but “Stargazer” was and will always be special. The next time my brothers and I were at the record store, each of us bought our own copy of Rising. To this day this album is my favorite. I listen to it regularly and it often brings me back to the first time I heard it. Day 12 - Rainbow - Rising (1976) Day 11: Yes - Fragile (Released in the UK on 12 November 1971 and in the US on 4 January 1972) Day 10: Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak (1976) Day 9: Deep Purple Machine Head (1972) Day 8: Boston - Boston (1976) Day 7: Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery (1973) Day 6: Suzi Quatro - If You Knew Suzi (1978) Day 5: Steve Miller Band - Fly Like an Eagle (1976) Day 4: Journey - Infinity (1978) Day 3: Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual (1983) Day 2: Jethro Tull - Aqualung (1971) Day 1: Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970)
Moving Pictures- Rush Fall of 1981 Im a freshman in H.S and every morning on the school bus I would hear this album being played by the upperclassmen on a boombox in the rear of the bus. I was mesmerized by the strange keyboard sounds of Tom Sawyer and the high pitched vocals. I wanted to ask who this band was but freshmen were forbidden to go to the rear of the bus as an unwritten rule because lowly freshmen need to know their place. Several days later, Im at Disc O Mat and while thumbing through new albums, iI came upon this album and blindly bought it because of its strange album cover. I took it home and to my surprise, I found the album I was too afraid to ask who they were on the school bus. I wore that album down to its grooves.
Another KSHE 95 story. "Sky High Percentage" was getting quite a bit of play. I found out the band was Budgie and the album was "If I Was Britannia, I'd Waive The Rules". Got the album on cassette and loved it! After a few years I had managed to gather almost all of their catalog. One of my favorite bands that deserves more love.
@@ziggyzagzi8017"Sky High Percentage" was played on KSHE. Cool station. I'm assuming it was played in San Antonio also as there is a Budgie fan base there.
Hawkwind ... Friends and Relations The Rarities I had a favorite FYE entertainment store in Downtown Cleveland in the Terminal Tower where the public transportation rapid lines passed through. A noteworthy purchase was a bunch of Hawkwind albums/collections on CD in a sale bin for five bucks each. Independent Days Vols 1 & 2, Mighty Hawkwind Classics 1980-1985, and more. When cassettes were being phased out there were a boatload of Alligator Records then recent blues albums. All for a dollar each brand spanking mint condition. Much of it goodtime blues by Dave Hole, Son Seals, Kenny Neal, and others. I bought more than two dozen of them. They are the bulk of my small blues collection.
December 1978. I went out and bought a double LP by Santana, beautiful Moonflower with distinctive cover. Probably I bought it at Unima general department store, but Bazar as a place of purchase is also possible. Why I rember it is that I took it to basketball game, where 7-8,000 spectators gathered. As usual, they let people enter the hall late so it was a terrible crowd and I was afraid for the record. Back in the day local basketball team was excellent (now they are terrible) and actually several months later they became European champion. I thought I will find the date and with who they played the game but Internet says nothing and I do not recall. LP came home undamaged, cannot recall the result but music was spectacular, it is hard to point out any song, say Black Magic Woman, Bahia, Dance Sister Dance, Europa, She’s Not There, Soul Sacrifice.
Morning/ Afternoon/Evening everyone, hoping were6all well - soon be the weekend! Today's story is one I'm sure I've told before, but I'm going to tell it again anyway! As my senior school years came to an end, our local radio station, Northsound, decided to give us rockers what we wanted and started a regular weekly rock and metal show, hosted by Dave McLeod (son of former Pebble Mill At One presenter, Donnie B McLeod for any Brits old enough to remember that show). Bear in mind that none of my little group of friends who gathered that evening to listen to the launch show had a clue what Dave sounded like... 10.00.ticked closer and we were wondering what he'd choose as his opening number. Something classic, surely...? Then, a softly spoken Scottish voice came on and announced (these weren't the exact words, but close enough)... "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the first in our brand new series in which we celebrate the very finest in German oompah and bierkeller music, so sit back and enjoy..." Something like that at least. Those of us gathered just looked at one another in confusion. What the f... Sure enough, there was a crackle as needle hit vinyl and a jaunty little horn section struck up a very Bavarian sounding tune before a lady began singing along in a jolly harmony... "Hi dee hi doh, hi dah..." Cue more confusion, checking of the time, Dare and date of the week, but then... the needle slips... a short, horrid scratch and.. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!" I'm not sure which one of us went out and bought it first, but pretty soon most if not all of us gathered that night owned a copy of ACCEPT, "Restless And Wild" with 'that' song, Fast As A Shark kicking off proceedings.
I remember my brother having two lps of Sweet Give Us A Wink and Desolation Blvd i thought they were both great albums but i never picked up any for myself until yrs later i was at a Best Buy looking around i came across The Best Of Sweet cd. Im looking at the song listing and there was just enough songs i remember from my brothers records. The best songs are Little Willy. Wig Wam Bam. Blockbuster. Ballroom Blitz. Action. Our Love Is Like Oxygen and Fox On The Run. So it has plenty of the well known ones plus some good deep cuts. I still like listening to Sweet.
Nice 'n' Greasy Atomic Rooster. 1973. I was at a swimming pool in South America and my brother had got the album for me. I looked at the egg and cigarette butt on the front cover and just wondered. Had already got Made In England and nice n greasy turned out to be in the same style. Not the bands best albums but good all the same and I've enjoyed them ever since. I really do miss Vincent Crane and AR.
I have a story related to your pick today. Back many years ago, I received a call that my dad had passed away. Feeling numb after hearing this news, I didn't know how to deal with it. Music has always been my go to so I locked myself in my room and turned on Ride the Lightning at a very high volume. I was angry and I wanted to drown myself in some aggressive music. My mom was not too happy about this but I told her it was my way of dealing with the new.
Speaking of Metallica, Reminds me of raising my upcoming rockers ages 11 and 9. Rolling the roads in our minivan cranking the Black Album, with the BASS cranked all the way up! HEAVY METAL defined. AC/DC was the other training band for them. Proud to say they're both excellent guitarists, Proggy metal. The older an even better drummer. the younger a multi-instrumentalist producer. I practiced a lot as a left-handed guitarist, still can't hardly play a lick but I guess the DNA transferred, because those guys have practiced thousands and thousands of hours. Both obsessed with music. Very grateful Rock Forever!
@@ziggyzagzi8017 Hi Ziggy, my "little one" (24 now, lol!) likes some AC/DC too, but not a lot else from my collection, despite her dad's best efforts! She can sing beautifully though, so that's definitely not from my genes!
Around 1987 or 88, I was just looking through the rock music section at my local record store. Came across a guy I didn't know but thought the cover was cool, so I grabbed it. It was Surfing With the Alien, Joe Satriani. I was not a guitarist at all but this Just intrigued me and got me into the whole shred movement. This one went everywhere with me. I even started buying guitar magazines because I wanted to know what they used to get the sounds and tones. Still one of my favorite instrumental guitar albums of all time.
Pick #12: Death's Symbolic. So this is another pick where I'm debating whether or not the story behind this one is really that interesting, but this one day I had the house to myself and I wasn't 100% sure how I felt about Death since I had heard Leprosy and I wasn't really that into it, but then I had decided to listen to a bunch of songs from Death and Kansas back to back (moreso the later half of Death's catalogue) and somehow that made Death really click with me, specifically Symbolic but really any of those later albums I can listen to any time and never get sick of it, even though the first handful of albums are still really good. Also, minor spoiler, but Kansas will be on my list soon as well. #1: The Who's Tommy (1969) #2: RX Bandits' ...And the Battle Begun (2006) #3: Metallica's ...And Justice For All (1988) #4: Pink Floyd's The Wall (1979) #5: Daft Punk's Alive 2007 #6: Yes's Close to the Edge (1972) #7: Genesis's The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974) #8: Arcade Fire's Funeral (2004) #9: Silverchair's Diorama (2002) #10: Green Day's American Idiot (2004) #11: The Killers' Hot Fuss (2004) #12: Death's Symbolic (1995)
An experience you'll never get online or streaming, hearing something brand new because a knowledgeable music store clerk is giving it an in-store spin. I worked in music stores for 10 years. I would always pop on something new a regular might appreciate when they dropped in. One place was in a mall, and we had some mall employees that would inform us of obscure underground bands. A young girl deep into metal and a skater metal/punk. One new band they liked, we got in and it wasn't moving. We started playing in store, and sold one nearl every time. Word spread and they flew off the shelf. Then the first video hit MTV. Then they came to town and played a small bingo hall. After that we couldn't order enough Guns and Roses to keep in stock. We sold so many of the original cover! People were really pissed when the changed it. It all got even easier when CDs came out and you could skip tracks easier.
Quick,simple story,my friend told me to take one of his album home to listen to,he said if you don't like the music ,you will like the cover. Lo and behold I took the album out of the bag and it was Witchfinder General's "Death Penalty" with a topless Joanne Latham on the cover. Once I got past that,the album was fantastic,so I ended up buying 1 for myself.
Day12-B.O.C.-Spectres. Year Fall 1985 I’m in college at the dorms, and the guy down the hall is playing this song with a good riff in the beginning. I went down the hall and asked him what he was playing. He said Godzilla by B.O.C. I was mesmerized by the song, and also the rest of the album. Death Valley Nights was another great song. I’m like telling him I never heard of this band, he said yes you have, everyone has heard Don’t Fear the Reaper. I was like that’s this band. I purchased Spectres later that year. I’ve got 5 B.O.C. Albums that I listen too from time to time.
Listening to the SoT Big Big Train episode - New Releases … Big Big Train - Grand Tour in 2019. Upon Pete’s strong review, I purchased the Big Big Train - English Electric: Full Power, compilation CD in 2019. I have been exploring their discography since 2019 and wanted to thank Peter for recommending them.
Christmas Day, 2008 Chumbawamba - Tubthumper The title track song ‘Tubthumping’ I heard when I was about 2 or 3 years old it was played in my parents car. At the time, it almost sounded like R&B Hip Hop. Didn’t hear the song again in 2008 when my mother and stepfather would sing karaoke. It was called ‘SingStar’ we had it on PlayStation 2 & 3. It was SingStar The 90s, and that song appeared on it. That’s when I started becoming obsessed with the name and band. I used to play the CD all the time circa 08-09. I haven’t played the album in years.
My story takes me back to 1988 & Judas Priest and Slayer were playing at the San Diego Sports Arena. I wasn't familiar with Slayer at all so what happened that night was new to me. Slayer was the opening band that night and when the house lights went off there was a mad scramble to get to the floor area. People jumping mid ŕow rails as well as the stairs. The yellow jackets(security guards)had no chance of stopping the invasion. People were ripping seat cushions off chairs and throwing them and other items on everyone below them. Slayer played a crushing set & when the house lights came back on the carnage was intense. The folding chairs were twisted and broken metal & entire sections of floor seats had to be hauled off by security & maintenance workers. I picked up Reign In Blood-Slayer album at Tower Records after the show. They were open til midnight and right across the street from the arena. Raining Blood is still my favorite thrash song of all time.
Neil Young’s Zuma was pretty important to me back in 1976-77 when I was mostly out of the country on my destroyer DDG-11 USS Sellers. I was exploring the world, and a song like “Cortez the Killer” about conquering the New World was right up my alley. There was a loneliness and longing in the tunes on Zuma. Titles like “Lookin’ For a Love”, and “Danger Bird” spelled out the pitfalls that I was in with my isolation from friends and family. In a word Zuma was a lifesaver. I don’t know how I could have coped without it. To me it sits right up there with Everybody Knows This is Nowhere(1969) and Rust Never Sleeps(1979) as one of Neil’s best albums. It is indeed very special to me.
Great story Richard. I agree with you about Zuma. Start to finish one of my favourite albums. Young’s guitar is so unique across the album which is so haunting. Still have my original vinyl with the primitive drawing on the cover.
@@melaniethurber5117Yea Melanie I haven’t been writing much. I do have a few pretty good stories but not enough for 31 days. I am trying to read what others have written; because they are quite good.
Its 78. Just starting high school. Lived close so i would walk. Id always pass this group of cars , some of the seniors, u could smell the pot smoke and they would be blasting their car stereos before school. I heard this one song that blew me away. I decided to risk getting my ass kicked and asked what it was. It was The Rover by Zep. I went out and bought Physical Graffiti soon after. Expensive double album. But we ll worth it. To this day, The Rover is still my fav zep song and Physical is my fav zep album
12. Journey - Raised On Radio My mom bought this when it was released in 1986. She was a big fan back in the day and we listened to the band’s albums frequently. I was still in kindergarten at the time. We listened to this a lot for quite a while and I always loved it. It’s not my favorite Journey album (that would be the debut) but I really enjoy it from time. I feel like the album is very front loaded, where all the best songs are on the first half/first side.
That's a great Metallica story right there Day 11 traffic John barleycorn must die I remember this album one of my relatives had it when I was going through the record collection and I seen all this traffic stuff but I never heard anything. Well I got into Steve winwood really heavily during his role with an era I remembered some of his radio stuff back in the day from going to see a chance and Valerie. But the interesting part was I wanted to learn more about Mr winwood. I remembered more than one relative cuz they of course older than me but in their early adult years collected traffic albums. Well I remember when I was about I must have been in my early twenties old enough to drink I was in a bar. Having a few beers with some friends and someone had played at the time this was the new thing the CD jukebox. They were big fans of just classic rock in general. But I heard Glad does funky instrumental very jazzy like. It was just vibing along. So I walked up to the machine and I looked to see what was playing and there it was tr affic John barleycorn must die So when the bar started to die down on a whim I played a couple more tracks from that album. I played empty pages and the title track. Empty pages was good the title track kind of bored some people in the bar as it just kept plodding along lol But it was at that time that I went down to the place I mentioned before record swap a used record store and I picked up a shitload of traffic stuff really cheap sure they were kind of scratchy and Poppy but there they were. John barleycorn, the low spark of high heeled Boys which folded into this unique looking cube, and also Mr fantasy. And that began me on my love of traffic to this day which is still one of my favorite bands. I do prefer the reform traffic of John barleycorn which goes on a little further into eagle. But I do like the Dave Mason psychedelic style stuff to that they were putting out. But it was just interesting now when I hear glad I get mad if I don't hear freedom rider right behind at seguing in that most good rock stations will play both. It's only about six songs long and less than just over 35 minutes. But I've come to realize it's 35 great minutes of good solid music. So is it really a different band in a way without Mason not really it's a different kind of style of music I mean Stevie is not only a fantastic keyboard player he's a great guitarist in himself. interesting thing also about this album still it's only three people that did everything Jim capaldi Chris Wood and Steve. Steve also took care of the bass work. But it's still a fantastic album just to put on and listen to start to finish to this day.
Let's face it, when I was seventeen all I knew about Slade was the string of hit singles (mostly in the UK) that propelled them, momentarily at least, toward the upper reaches of stardom (pretty much exclusively in the UK). At least, that was before I came across this amazing album at a flea market. Slade Alive! documents a wild night of raucous Rock 'N' Roll posturing from the stage as Noddy Holder 'n' the boyz make big noize with this boot stompin', hand clappin' live effort from 1972. The slam glam merchants from Wolverhampton proudly point 'n' shout from the stage as they lay it all out there with unbridled raw energy and mayhem. Slade punches out power mad rockers from the jacked-up album opener, "Hear Me Calling" to the closing high-octane cover of Steppenwolf's time-honored biker anthem, "Born To Be Wild". Slade Alive! is a killer album from a criminally underrated band. My only complaint is that it's too short. I wish they could've included the entire performance, but oh well. Overall, it's just mind-blowing. Crank it up! 1) The Who - Tommy 2) Rush - All The World's A Stage 3) The Alan Parsons Project - I Robot 4) The Ramones - Ramones 5) Kansas - Leftoverture 6) City Boy - The Day The Earth Caught Fire 7) Jethro Tull - Songs From The Wood 8) Black Sabbath - Sabotage 9) Green Day - American Idiot 10) Allman Brothers Band - Seven Turns 11) Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - Live Bullet 12) Slade - Slade Alive!
My first introduction to Thrash was by way of the Puppets album when it was first released...no publicity Down Under with radio until the Justice album. Just so curious after reading mags like Circus and Hit Parader raving about them..thought I would try it. At the time nobody got it, totally blew me away...then came of course the debut and Ride. Great series Pete, always look forward to them!
Bought Kill Em All at the record store on release day and... it didn't work for me. At that time. It sounded kinda weird to me. It wasn't until Ride the Lightning came out and for some reason I bought it. Must have been the only new release that caught my eye. Ride turned me around on Metallica and now Kill Em All is a classic.
Metallica - Master of Puppets. And Guns and Roses first album. 1987, before they were big in Australia. A mate lent me those records as we did back in the day. I listened to them. It was summer. To show my friend what I thought of them, I let those records sit in the back seat all day in the 36c degree heat just to let him know what I thought of them. (I did give him the money though. To prove a point, it was worth it).
Hey, Pete. Since you bought both albums in late summer 84, chances are you bought Metallica albums when they still were an independent band on Megaforce Records.. Do you remember if they had grey labels?
Day 12 I bought this album THE WALL while a was in college when it came out in 1979. I liked the album a lot until I saw the movie in 1982. The movie I couldn’t stand but my college friends loved this movie and thought it was quite funny. I bought this album at a record and book store around where I was going to college in Boston. After seeing this movie my taste for this album changed a lot. I only liked some of the songs on this album “Another Brick in the Wall, pt 2”, “Comfortably Numb”, and some other songs. The cover has no writing on it just shapes of the bricks. I don’t care for the design of the gate fold either. I like abstract art but not this design.
Nice story, Melanie.I was totally into the move and have seen in 3 times in 10 days, following the copy from cinema to cinema. Every time a piece of movie was missing as a copy got damaged.
Hi Pete just a thought,I have been watching a lot of your ranking videos from 4 to 5 years ago ,would it be worth considering re ranking the band's albums on a one a day format for a month or two,just an idea Thanks
My first time hearing Kill 'Em All was around Christmas 1986. I was 16, working at a pizza joint and we had a Christmas party where we also had a grab bag where the person who picked my name was little Leslie (we had 2 waitresses named Leslie, little Leslie was the short one). She was older and asked her younger brother what a 16 year old metal head would like, he said Kill 'Em All. I ended up getting a little drunk at the party (we snuck some beers but the owners knew, don't judge, it was a different era folks). I ended up going back to my buddy's garage to partake in some other festivities and we put this on. I was blown away by it and loved the heaviness of it while the other people in the garage hated it. This was one of those important albums (well tape) in my life which shaped my music tastes, a very important album indeed. I wore this tape out and went on to check out other heavy stuff at that time including a Master of the Puppets (a story for another day). The first 3 Metallica albums are still some of my favorite albums of all time and it started with Kill 'Em All. Thanks Little Leslie! (edited for clarity)
Hey Pete, not sure if you have a chance to read some of these comments but I just wanted to mention that this series that you’re doing this month is so interesting really enjoying all the stories and especially the ones where you talk about your dad taking you to the record store That’s what happened to me with my dad when he took me to the record store and he bought me Led Zeppelin II
Also wanted to just wish you and your family happy holidays and thanks again for providing such great content over the year
My story is I was in a record store and bought the cassette of Kill Em All in '83 based only on the album cover and song titles. I didn't know them, just looking for something new. I was immediately blown away. I had no warming up period, loved it from first listen. I turned all my friends onto it. I even have the original Megaforce pressing of Ride The Lightning.
I did the same thing in '83 with Mercyful Fate's Melissa record! I bought it without hearing the music or even anything about the band, I just really liked the song titles and was I Blown away!! Good story man!! First time I ever heard music that actually scared the hell outta me!!
Kansas Vinyl Confessions. When Steve Walsh left the band I wrote them off. When I heard Play the game tonight and John Elefantes vocals I became interested. Bought the album and realized there was life after Steve Walsh.
I am going to keep this shorter today, honest. Listening to the radio in my first job, which was in a warehouse and tuned to the UK's national pop station. Now mid 1970s apart from Quo, and Boys Are Back In Town there was little hard rock or indeed classic rock of any sort played. Suddenly a song with a great acoustic beginning was played leading into a huge hooky chorus with a big crunching riff and this amazing soaring clear vocal. The song was More Than A Feeling. I bought the debut BOSTON album, (along with around 10-15 million others) shortly after, the spaceship guitar sleeve and logo also making me want to own a copy. I just fell in love with that killer combination of soaring vocals, amazing hooks and songwriting and that revolutionary production and multi layered guitar sounds. Still one of my favourite debut albums and one of the best melodic rock albums ever released.
@@jerryattwooll4864 hi Jerry. Interesting story and pick
Great story, Jerry. A very amazing album. It's also my favorite debut album.
@melaniethurber5117 Thank you Melanie.
@@weirddebbiem1619 Thank you Debbie.
@jerryattwooll4864 You're welcome, Jerry.
Good morning (afternoon, evening or night), Pete. Another fun story. Personal tale today? A band already mentioned this month when the oft-mentioned older brother bought the debut but I beat him to the punch and bought the second album of the band which he kept borrowing. Determined to beat him to the next album, it was released in the fall of 1970 and I kept haunting the record stores when I read the album was coming. The album and band - Led Zeppelin III. I was captivated by the spinning wheel inside the front cover [one of the advantages of the LP design versus most CD packaging]. Biked home, put it on and just didn't know what to think of it. So different from Led Zeppelin I & 2. It just didn't catch my emotions like those first two. So....asked the older brother to play it and tell me what he thought. Politely and succinctly, his stated reaction - "This is crap!" It didn't get much more play then and was played even less when the band released IV or Zoso. But over the years - and likely we're talking forty plus years give or take, i found myself playing III and Physical Graffiti when wanting to hear Zeppelin. The album continued to grow in my listening and for many years now, it has been and remains a top favorite from the band. One of those albums that earned its way over time and reminding me that could happen with other music as well [and it did]. Thanks, Pete. Looking forward to your next story.
@@johnmichaelwilliams6694 hi John. Interesting story. I have to agree with you about this album.
Great story John !
I came to LZ lll in the same fashion. Where was “Whole Lotta Love” part ll ???. But now acknowledging Jimmy Page’s genius…the album makes more sense. And I have a lp with the spinner though I think it’s a repress.
I hope to have a few stories in the next few days. But I enjoy reading these awesome stories !!
@@johnmichaelwilliams6694 I would wager that most of us would have felt that way and we now almost love it after all these years. You can only listen to black dog so many times, haha
Cool story John. I feel the same way about Led Zeppelin III, and my older cousins felt pretty much the same way about the album as your older brother did. I never understood why so many fans were so negative about the album. I'm just happy that with time critics and fans finally started giving this record the respect that it's always deserved.
From 83-87. Lived in California ( from NJ). In 84, went to a record store in Southern California, bought Whitesnake. Slide it in and experienced my first earthquake. It wasn’t big, however , I never experienced that before, I asked the store clerk. What the hell is that ? She said we’re having an earthquake. So, when I play that album, now In. Cd form, I think of that. Thank you Pete for your time 👍💯
@@garyjoyce2160 hi Gary. It was awesome seeing those pictures of you. Interesting story. I have a college friend that lives in Livermore CA and she said it took her a while to get used to the earthquakes. She about an hour away from Sal
Shake it Up GJ; That shook your foundations!
Speaking of Metallica,
Reminds me of raising my upcoming rockers ages 11 and 9. Rolling the roads in our minivan cranking the Black Album, with the BASS cranked all the way up! HEAVY METAL defined.
AC/DC was the other training band for them. Proud to say they're both excellent guitarists, Proggy metal. The older an even better drummer.,
The younger a multi-instrumentalist producer. I practiced a lot as a left-handed guitarist, still can't hardly play a lick but I guess the DNA transferred, because those guys have practiced thousands and thousands of hours. Both obsessed with music.
Very grateful Rock Forever!
Nice story Gary
49ers on the comeback tonight 🏈
Still in the fight ???😢
Ziggy. Lol
Ac. Dc style. Enjoy day 👍💯
I was the same way with listening to Metallica for the first time as well and
the lineup on it with the late great Cliff Burton was awesome thanks again Pete and Merry Christmas.🎶🎤🎸🎸🎹🥁🎶
In August of 1987 a group of us were in a car going to the mall. The guy who drove bought Def Leppard’s Hysteria. Everyone was rocking out to it on the way home. I remember being in the back seat and saying something like, “Guys…if you ask me, this album kinda sucks.”
Even though it wasn’t a huge hit sales-wise in 1987, I had to hear that damn album over and over during high school parties and road trips until we all left for college in the fall of 1988. Then it finally hit big on the charts when I was in college with the release of “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” That means I had to endure the damn album during college parties for yet another year. So, eff that album.
The funny thing is, years ago, I found a near-mint original vinyl pressing with the shrink wrap and hype sticker still intact. The price was right (30 bucks), so being a collector, I grabbed it. You just don’t see it in the wild very often, let alone in that condition. It would sell online for around 100.00 these days.
I had a friend on my college XC team who was into the poppy rock and metal stuff like Hysteria -- while I was at a stage of being too cool for that stuff, we swapped tapes on long bus rides to meets, and I had to admit Def Lep still had some quality stuff, aside from Pour Some Sugar, as well as the INXS album.
For the record, I have nothing against pop or "poppy rock." But it has to have some sort of heart and soul to it. And Hysteria just sounds soulless to my ears. The production is extra-thin, and the songs aren't good enough to make up for its many faults. INXS's Kick is a GREAT album. I feel the heart and soul in those songs.
July 1972, and another secondary school year was about to end. In the electro shop, I had found an album with a fantastic cover in the shop, which was
URIAH HEEP’s “Demons And Wizards” LP.
I already knew their singles from the year before, “Lady In Black” and “Look At Yourself” which had a lot of airplay. “Demons” was their 4th album, and some of my classmates told me that the music is as fantastic as the cover art (which was from Roger Dean, who also had started to work for Yes around the same time).
I soon found out that my classmates were quite right. This was (and still is) a perfect album from start to finish, with classic songs like “The Wizard”, “Traveller In Time”, “Circle Of Hands”, “Rainbow Demon”, the epic “Paradise/The Spell”, along with “Easy Livin’”, which became a big hit single. There is no filler, I was always able to hear the whole album, without having felt the need to skip anything. It was not only first class hard rock, as they also proved they could do perfect ballads and progressive stuff. The songwriting - mostly from Ken Hensley - was first class on here. This album was - and still is - in my personal album Top 10 of all time.
After some line-up changes during the first two years, the band was now in their “classic line-up” with Mick Box, David Byron, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake and Gary Thain. And it was hard to believe that only a few months later, in November the same year, they had their next album “The Magician’s Birthday” in the shops, again with fantastic cover work from Roger Dean. Thanks to my beloved parents, I got it right in time before Christmas, loved it the same way as its precursor, and still do. Two fantastic albums from a band in the same year… of course, there are quite a few similarities in the sound. They had found their style and continued to develop on it. There are some more ballads on “MB”, but all very well done. All the songs on here are strong, and again, there is no filler. Starting with the opener “Sunrise” and the slide guitar driven “Spider Woman”, until the epic multi-part title track, they proved they could do musical “magic” again. The ending of the title track with their high lead and harmony voices was - and still remains - legendary, one of the best endings of an album ever. I always had the feeling, that it could have gone on and on for another few minutes, without fading out quite that fast.
It's just a pity that they later never have been able to continue on this musically really high level again. They still would continue to create more classic songs later on, but they would also write and play weaker tracks, putting the later albums at a lower level.
Today, Mick Box is the only surviving member of the classic line-up. He still is touring with the current line-up version of the band. In recent years, they have managed to release some strong albums which come quite close to their classic sound.
Mick announced that they will soon do their last concert tour. Long may he still stay alive and at good health condition - as well as his band mates Bernie Shaw, Phil Lanzon, Russell Gilbrook and Dave Rimmer.
My school time albums discoveries, In chronogical order:
day 01: 07/1971 (fav) Led Zeppelin IV, (first) Led Zeppelin III
day 02: 08/1971 (fav) Simon & Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water
day 03: 09/1971 (fav) Atomic Rooster, In Hearing Of
day 04: 09/1971 (fav) Deep Purple In Rock, (first) Deep Purple, Fireball
day 05: 11/1971 (fav) Jethro Tull, Aqualung
day 06: 11/1971 (fav) Black Sabbath s/t, (first) Master Of Reality
day 07: 12/1971 Jesus Christ Superstar
day 08: 01/1972 (fav) Grand Funk, Phoenix, (first) Grand Funk, E Pluribus Funk
day 09: 03/1972 The Doors, L.A.Woman
day 10: 04/1972 Neil Young, Harvest
day 11: 06/1972 (fav) Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here, (first) Pink Floyd, Meddle
day 12: 07/1972 (first/fav) Uriah Heep, Demons And Wizards
@@FrankLang-i3n hi FrankLang. Awesome pick and interesting story
I got used demons and wizards from a friend, Frank. How lucky to get their best album
Great story, Frank. This is one of my favorite albums.
@@melaniethurber5117 Thank you kindly, Mel!
@@ziggyzagzi8017 Thank you, Ziggy! I felt lucky indeed, getting Heep's best work. 1972 was an overall great year, with so many excellent albums having been released.
R.E.M. - Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)
There was a cover story on R.E.M. in Record magazine, which would soon fold, and my subscription would be picked up by SPIN. By that time I was familiar with several songs from the first two albums and EP that I heard on KUNI, and this was my first album purchase of R.E.M. It was dark and strange, produced by Joe Boyd in England, and while many had trouble with it, I loved it. It continues to hold a special place for me, even if the early ones and Lifes Rich Pageant (1986) are probably better. When I finally saw them live on the 1987 Document tour, it was a great show, but somehow was the beginning of the end of my superfandom. Probably because they were drifting to the mainstream and my tastes were going in the opposite direction. Similar thing happened with U2, except I thought their '87 show sucked.
Day 12. Paul Butterfield Blues Band - East/West When I was in high school an upperclassman named John Sulak had an incredible music collection and turned me onto Mike Bloomfield (Super Sessions) and I was hooked. I would discover this record at a small indy record store and bought it because it had Mike Bloomfield. This was not the standard blues record but one that featured all sorts of genres of music. This is where I first heard a jam so totally unreal from anything else in East/West. When I got my first CD player this was one of the first ones I bought. The music might be almost 50 years ago but it is still fresh.
1. John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
2. Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
3. Steppenwolf - S/T
4. Mason Proffit - Wanted
5. Miles Davis - Jack Johnson
6. Ornette Coleman - Dancing In Your Head
7. The Doors - S/T
8. Bride - Scarecrow Messiah
9. Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Bright Moments
10. Delaney and Bonnie and Friends - On Tour
11. Tower of Power - East Bay Grease
12. Paul Butterfield Blues Band - East/West
Hi Mark. Interesting story
Nice call Mark !
I didn’t discover this album til after I heard all the San Francisco bands like Jefferson Airplane and Country Joe & The Fish. But East/West was the basic Song that set the whole psychedelic thing in motion. Historically this song has become one of the touchstones of the entire Rock era. Still now nothing sounds quite like it. 😊
My Day 12 pick is Unbreakable is the fourth full-length album by American rock band New Years Day, released on April 26, 2019, through Century Media Records. Loudwire named it one of the 50 best rock albums of 2019.
Back in 2019 at my final year of my college class I would meet a girl and become friends with her. We started talking about music and how much we love similar bands like metallica and Iron maiden and three days grace and motionless in white. So one day when we hung out(our first date basically), she would show me this band New years Day and I would go home and listen to songs like angel eyes and brutality( which brutality was used in WWE for a wrestler). I would come back to her and we'd begin listening to this in class for the rest of the remainder of the year as the song nocturnal would become our song( she was a goth so I picked something that suited her personality). Today I still listen to the track and album today because it reminds me of her.
Track listing
edit
No. Title Length
1. "Come for Me"
2. "MissUnderstood"
3. "Skeletons"
4. "Unbreakable"
5. "Shut Up"
6. "Done with You"
7. "Poltergeist"
8. "Break My Body"
9. "Sorry Not Sorry"
10. "My Monsters"
11. "Nocturnal"
12. "I Survived"
Cool to see a younger fan doesn't mind hangin' with the geezers! I'll have to dig deep to think of stories behind newer discoveries, since I guzzle hundreds of albums a year these days.
The Wall
I was a kid when I first heard The Wall. But I remember that my older brother was listening to it in the living room of our house, sitting in an armchair. I sat on the carpet and started looking at the drawings inside the album. It was all so strange and shocking. The music is sometimes slow and depressive, other times strong and some mid-operatic themes. For years I listened to the album and looked at the artwork on the album imagining what The Wall was about. I was only able to see the movie when I was 13 and I think it was one of the most important moments of my adolescence. I am still fascinated by The Wall, it seems to me to be the most important conceptual album in Rock. Not so much for the musical aspect but for what it means to millions of fans around the world.
@@sabinoabdala5685 hi sabino. I have this same album. Actually it’s my story for today. Our stories are quite different from each other. I’ve seen the movie to this album and it changed a lot of my taste to the music on this album.
Cool story Sabino.
Day 12 - Rainbow - Rising (1976)
We are now back to 1976. I was 11 and my brothers were 16 and 18. We were at our parents friend's house for dinner. They have six kids ranging in age from 12 - 24. The oldest wasn't there. After dinner all of us kids/teens+ went to their basement to listen to albums. The first album was a pop album that I don't remember who it was. One of the older teens said we are going to like the next album. He put it on their stereo. The song “Tarot Woman” began. The sound coming from the speakers immediately grabbed my attention. The interpretive dancing began. I heard a few chuckles, one of the girls saying “How cute”, and the youngest Michael commented, “She's weird”. My reply, “Damn tootin’”. Anyway, as the song progressed, I was doing a mix of interpretive dance and air drumming. On the song “Do You Close Your Eyes” the dancing stopped and I was “playing” air guitar.
Then it happened, I was sitting on the floor, and “Stargazer” came on. I think my brain went into overload when I heard Cozy’s drumming at the very beginning of the song. Then while sitting on the floor, I began moving my upper body to the music. I was already in love with Dio’s voice by then and even more as this song progressed. This song was magical to me. Still is in many regards. I also liked “A Light In the Black”, but “Stargazer” was and will always be special. The next time my brothers and I were at the record store, each of us bought our own copy of Rising.
To this day this album is my favorite. I listen to it regularly and it often brings me back to the first time I heard it.
Day 12 - Rainbow - Rising (1976)
Day 11: Yes - Fragile (Released in the UK on 12 November 1971 and in the US on 4 January 1972)
Day 10: Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak (1976)
Day 9: Deep Purple Machine Head (1972)
Day 8: Boston - Boston (1976)
Day 7: Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery (1973)
Day 6: Suzi Quatro - If You Knew Suzi (1978)
Day 5: Steve Miller Band - Fly Like an Eagle (1976)
Day 4: Journey - Infinity (1978)
Day 3: Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual (1983)
Day 2: Jethro Tull - Aqualung (1971)
Day 1: Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970)
@@weirddebbiem1619 hi Debbie. Very interesting story.
@@melaniethurber5117Thank you Melanie.
@ you’re welcome Debbie
good pick and interesting story, Debbie. The album will come on my list later ;)
Very cool great story
Moving Pictures- Rush
Fall of 1981 Im a freshman in H.S and every morning on the school bus I would hear this album being played by the upperclassmen on a boombox in the rear of the bus. I was mesmerized by the strange keyboard sounds of Tom Sawyer and the high pitched vocals. I wanted to ask who this band was but freshmen were forbidden to go to the rear of the bus as an unwritten rule because lowly freshmen need to know their place. Several days later, Im at Disc O Mat and while thumbing through new albums, iI came upon this album and blindly bought it because of its strange album cover. I took it home and to my surprise, I found the album I was too afraid to ask who they were on the school bus. I wore that album down to its grooves.
Another KSHE 95 story. "Sky High Percentage" was getting quite a bit of play. I found out the band was Budgie and the album was "If I Was Britannia, I'd Waive The Rules". Got the album on cassette and loved it! After a few years I had managed to gather almost all of their catalog. One of my favorite bands that deserves more love.
They played Budgie on the radio in the US?
@@ziggyzagzi8017"Sky High Percentage" was played on KSHE. Cool station. I'm assuming it was played in San Antonio also as there is a Budgie fan base there.
Hawkwind ... Friends and Relations The Rarities
I had a favorite FYE entertainment store in Downtown Cleveland in the Terminal Tower where the public transportation rapid lines passed through.
A noteworthy purchase was a bunch of Hawkwind albums/collections on CD in a sale bin for five bucks each. Independent Days Vols 1 & 2, Mighty Hawkwind Classics 1980-1985, and more.
When cassettes were being phased out there were a boatload of Alligator Records then recent blues albums. All for a dollar each brand spanking mint condition. Much of it goodtime blues by Dave Hole, Son Seals, Kenny Neal, and others. I bought more than two dozen of them. They are the bulk of my small blues collection.
The gremlins didn't eat this one?
Nice story about how you discovered Metallica, Pete.
December 1978. I went out and bought a double LP by Santana, beautiful Moonflower with distinctive cover. Probably I bought it at Unima general department store, but Bazar as a place of purchase is also possible. Why I rember it is that I took it to basketball game, where 7-8,000 spectators gathered. As usual, they let people enter the hall late so it was a terrible crowd and I was afraid for the record. Back in the day local basketball team was excellent (now they are terrible) and actually several months later they became European champion. I thought I will find the date and with who they played the game but Internet says nothing and I do not recall. LP came home undamaged, cannot recall the result but music was spectacular, it is hard to point out any song, say Black Magic Woman, Bahia, Dance Sister Dance, Europa, She’s Not There, Soul Sacrifice.
@@zlatanfilipovic8798 hi Zlatan. Fantastic pick and story.
@melaniethurber5117 Thank you, Melanie
@ you’re welcome Zlatan
I like your story, Zlatan. I bought that album too.
@@gaiaeternal5131Thank you, Dave
Morning/ Afternoon/Evening everyone, hoping were6all well - soon be the weekend! Today's story is one I'm sure I've told before, but I'm going to tell it again anyway!
As my senior school years came to an end, our local radio station, Northsound, decided to give us rockers what we wanted and started a regular weekly rock and metal show, hosted by Dave McLeod (son of former Pebble Mill At One presenter, Donnie B McLeod for any Brits old enough to remember that show).
Bear in mind that none of my little group of friends who gathered that evening to listen to the launch show had a clue what Dave sounded like...
10.00.ticked closer and we were wondering what he'd choose as his opening number. Something classic, surely...?
Then, a softly spoken Scottish voice came on and announced (these weren't the exact words, but close enough)... "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the first in our brand new series in which we celebrate the very finest in German oompah and bierkeller music, so sit back and enjoy..." Something like that at least. Those of us gathered just looked at one another in confusion. What the f...
Sure enough, there was a crackle as needle hit vinyl and a jaunty little horn section struck up a very Bavarian sounding tune before a lady began singing along in a jolly harmony... "Hi dee hi doh, hi dah..."
Cue more confusion, checking of the time, Dare and date of the week, but then... the needle slips... a short, horrid scratch and.. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"
I'm not sure which one of us went out and bought it first, but pretty soon most if not all of us gathered that night owned a copy of ACCEPT, "Restless And Wild" with 'that' song, Fast As A Shark kicking off proceedings.
Great story, Iain!
Awesome album!
Gremlins make it impossible for me to post any story today
@@iainhead9898 hi Iain. Interesting story
Almost got an earache at the beginning of that one!
Great story, Iain.
@@ramonace4770 Shame, happens occasionally. This month, you can't even do a quick post with a nomination as the story is the whole point!
I remember my brother having two lps of Sweet Give Us A Wink and Desolation Blvd i thought they were both great albums but i never picked up any for myself until yrs later i was at a Best Buy looking around i came across The Best Of Sweet cd. Im looking at the song listing and there was just enough songs i remember from my brothers records. The best songs are Little Willy. Wig Wam Bam. Blockbuster. Ballroom Blitz. Action. Our Love Is Like Oxygen and Fox On The Run. So it has plenty of the well known ones plus some good deep cuts. I still like listening to Sweet.
@@dennisstratton6508 hi Dennis. Interesting story
Nice story, Dennis
What an awesome band, Dennis!
Thank you ramon since that day i bought the greatest hits i added Give Us A Wink and Desolation Blvd.
Thank you zlaton
Nice 'n' Greasy Atomic Rooster. 1973. I was at a swimming pool in South America and my brother had got the album for me. I looked at the egg and cigarette butt on the front cover and just wondered. Had already got Made In England and nice n greasy turned out to be in the same style. Not the bands best albums but good all the same and I've enjoyed them ever since. I really do miss Vincent Crane and AR.
I have a story related to your pick today. Back many years ago, I received a call that my dad had passed away. Feeling numb after hearing this news, I didn't know how to deal with it. Music has always been my go to so I locked myself in my room and turned on Ride the Lightning at a very high volume. I was angry and I wanted to drown myself in some aggressive music. My mom was not too happy about this but I told her it was my way of dealing with the new.
Speaking of Metallica, Reminds me of raising my upcoming rockers ages 11 and 9. Rolling the roads in our minivan cranking the Black Album, with the BASS cranked all the way up!
HEAVY METAL defined.
AC/DC was the other training band for them. Proud to say they're both excellent guitarists, Proggy metal. The older an even better drummer. the younger a multi-instrumentalist producer. I practiced a lot as a left-handed guitarist, still can't hardly play a lick but I guess the DNA transferred, because those guys have practiced thousands and thousands of hours. Both obsessed with music.
Very grateful Rock Forever!
@@ziggyzagzi8017 hi Ziggy. Interesting story
@@melaniethurber5117 For us music is life! Thanks Melanie stay warm
@@ziggyzagzi8017 Hi Ziggy, my "little one" (24 now, lol!) likes some AC/DC too, but not a lot else from my collection, despite her dad's best efforts! She can sing beautifully though, so that's definitely not from my genes!
@@iainhead9898 must have sang in the school holiday shows at least
@ziggyzagzi8017 Who, me or her? Definitely not me!!
Around 1987 or 88, I was just looking through the rock music section at my local record store. Came across a guy I didn't know but thought the cover was cool, so I grabbed it. It was Surfing With the Alien, Joe Satriani. I was not a guitarist at all but this Just intrigued me and got me into the whole shred movement. This one went everywhere with me. I even started buying guitar magazines because I wanted to know what they used to get the sounds and tones. Still one of my favorite instrumental guitar albums of all time.
Pick #12: Death's Symbolic. So this is another pick where I'm debating whether or not the story behind this one is really that interesting, but this one day I had the house to myself and I wasn't 100% sure how I felt about Death since I had heard Leprosy and I wasn't really that into it, but then I had decided to listen to a bunch of songs from Death and Kansas back to back (moreso the later half of Death's catalogue) and somehow that made Death really click with me, specifically Symbolic but really any of those later albums I can listen to any time and never get sick of it, even though the first handful of albums are still really good. Also, minor spoiler, but Kansas will be on my list soon as well.
#1: The Who's Tommy (1969)
#2: RX Bandits' ...And the Battle Begun (2006)
#3: Metallica's ...And Justice For All (1988)
#4: Pink Floyd's The Wall (1979)
#5: Daft Punk's Alive 2007
#6: Yes's Close to the Edge (1972)
#7: Genesis's The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974)
#8: Arcade Fire's Funeral (2004)
#9: Silverchair's Diorama (2002)
#10: Green Day's American Idiot (2004)
#11: The Killers' Hot Fuss (2004)
#12: Death's Symbolic (1995)
An experience you'll never get online or streaming, hearing something brand new because a knowledgeable music store clerk is giving it an in-store spin. I worked in music stores for 10 years. I would always pop on something new a regular might appreciate when they dropped in. One place was in a mall, and we had some mall employees that would inform us of obscure underground bands. A young girl deep into metal and a skater metal/punk. One new band they liked, we got in and it wasn't moving. We started playing in store, and sold one nearl every time. Word spread and they flew off the shelf. Then the first video hit MTV. Then they came to town and played a small bingo hall. After that we couldn't order enough Guns and Roses to keep in stock. We sold so many of the original cover! People were really pissed when the changed it. It all got even easier when CDs came out and you could skip tracks easier.
Quick,simple story,my friend told me to take one of his album home to listen to,he said if you don't like the music ,you will like the cover. Lo and behold I took the album out of the bag and it was Witchfinder General's "Death Penalty" with a topless Joanne Latham on the cover. Once I got past that,the album was fantastic,so I ended up buying 1 for myself.
@@kingmrfone5604 great friend, Mr.
Day12-B.O.C.-Spectres. Year Fall 1985 I’m in college at the dorms, and the guy down the hall is playing this song with a good riff in the beginning. I went down the hall and asked him what he was playing. He said Godzilla by B.O.C. I was mesmerized by the song, and also the rest of the album. Death Valley Nights was another great song. I’m like telling him I never heard of this band, he said yes you have, everyone has heard Don’t Fear the Reaper. I was like that’s this band. I purchased Spectres later that year. I’ve got 5 B.O.C. Albums that I listen too from time to time.
Listening to the SoT Big Big Train episode - New Releases … Big Big Train - Grand Tour in 2019.
Upon Pete’s strong review, I purchased the Big Big Train - English Electric: Full Power, compilation CD in 2019. I have been exploring their discography since 2019 and wanted to thank Peter for recommending them.
Nice credit of Pete, Sal. I have a pick coming up that was on his recommendation.
Christmas Day, 2008
Chumbawamba - Tubthumper
The title track song ‘Tubthumping’ I heard when I was about 2 or 3 years old it was played in my parents car. At the time, it almost sounded like R&B Hip Hop. Didn’t hear the song again in 2008 when my mother and stepfather would sing karaoke. It was called ‘SingStar’ we had it on PlayStation 2 & 3. It was SingStar The 90s, and that song appeared on it. That’s when I started becoming obsessed with the name and band. I used to play the CD all the time circa 08-09. I haven’t played the album in years.
My story takes me back to 1988 & Judas Priest and Slayer were playing at the San Diego Sports Arena. I wasn't familiar with Slayer at all so what happened that night was new to me. Slayer was the opening band that night and when the house lights went off there was a mad scramble to get to the floor area. People jumping mid ŕow rails as well as the stairs. The yellow jackets(security guards)had no chance of stopping the invasion. People were ripping seat cushions off chairs and throwing them and other items on everyone below them. Slayer played a crushing set & when the house lights came back on the carnage was intense. The folding chairs were twisted and broken metal & entire sections of floor seats had to be hauled off by security & maintenance workers. I picked up Reign In Blood-Slayer album at Tower Records after the show. They were open til midnight and right across the street from the arena. Raining Blood is still my favorite thrash song of all time.
Neil Young’s Zuma was pretty important to me back in 1976-77 when I was mostly out of the country on my destroyer DDG-11 USS Sellers.
I was exploring the world, and a song like “Cortez the Killer” about conquering the New World was right up my alley. There was a loneliness and longing in the tunes on Zuma. Titles like “Lookin’ For a Love”, and “Danger Bird” spelled out the pitfalls that I was in with my isolation from friends and family.
In a word Zuma was a lifesaver. I don’t know how I could have coped without it. To me it sits right up there with Everybody Knows This is Nowhere(1969) and Rust Never Sleeps(1979) as one of Neil’s best albums. It is indeed very special to me.
Thank you for your service RB. Definitely a great companion upon the waves
@@richardbooth6063 hi Richard or should I call you stranger since you haven’t been putting your stories on….. lol. Interesting pick and story.
Great story Richard. I agree with you about Zuma. Start to finish one of my favourite albums. Young’s guitar is so unique across the album which is so haunting. Still have my original vinyl with the primitive drawing on the cover.
@@ziggyzagzi8017Thank You Ziggy !
@@melaniethurber5117Yea Melanie I haven’t been writing much. I do have a few pretty good stories but not enough for 31 days. I am trying to read what others have written; because they are quite good.
Its 78. Just starting high school. Lived close so i would walk. Id always pass this group of cars , some of the seniors, u could smell the pot smoke and they would be blasting their car stereos before school. I heard this one song that blew me away. I decided to risk getting my ass kicked and asked what it was. It was The Rover by Zep. I went out and bought Physical Graffiti soon after. Expensive double album. But we ll worth it. To this day, The Rover is still my fav zep song and Physical is my fav zep album
12. Journey - Raised On Radio
My mom bought this when it was released in 1986. She was a big fan back in the day and we listened to the band’s albums frequently. I was still in kindergarten at the time. We listened to this a lot for quite a while and I always loved it. It’s not my favorite Journey album (that would be the debut) but I really enjoy it from time. I feel like the album is very front loaded, where all the best songs are on the first half/first side.
That's a great Metallica story right there
Day 11 traffic John barleycorn must die
I remember this album one of my relatives had it when I was going through the record collection and I seen all this traffic stuff but I never heard anything.
Well I got into Steve winwood really heavily during his role with an era I remembered some of his radio stuff back in the day from going to see a chance and Valerie.
But the interesting part was I wanted to learn more about Mr winwood.
I remembered more than one relative cuz they of course older than me but in their early adult years collected traffic albums.
Well I remember when I was about I must have been in my early twenties old enough to drink I was in a bar. Having a few beers with some friends and someone had played at the time this was the new thing the CD jukebox. They were big fans of just classic rock in general. But I heard Glad does funky instrumental very jazzy like. It was just vibing along.
So I walked up to the machine and I looked to see what was playing and there it was tr
affic John barleycorn must die
So when the bar started to die down on a whim I played a couple more tracks from that album. I played empty pages and the title track.
Empty pages was good the title track kind of bored some people in the bar as it just kept plodding along lol
But it was at that time that I went down to the place I mentioned before record swap a used record store and I picked up a shitload of traffic stuff really cheap sure they were kind of scratchy and Poppy but there they were.
John barleycorn, the low spark of high heeled Boys which folded into this unique looking cube, and also Mr fantasy.
And that began me on my love of traffic to this day which is still one of my favorite bands. I do prefer the reform traffic of John barleycorn which goes on a little further into eagle.
But I do like the Dave Mason psychedelic style stuff to that they were putting out.
But it was just interesting now when I hear glad I get mad if I don't hear freedom rider right behind at seguing in that most good rock stations will play both.
It's only about six songs long and less than just over 35 minutes. But I've come to realize it's 35 great minutes of good solid music.
So is it really a different band in a way without Mason not really it's a different kind of style of music I mean Stevie is not only a fantastic keyboard player he's a great guitarist in himself. interesting thing also about this album still it's only three people that did everything Jim capaldi Chris Wood and Steve. Steve also took care of the bass work.
But it's still a fantastic album just to put on and listen to start to finish to this day.
Great story, Kev. A fantastic album.
@@weirddebbiem1619thank you Debbie
@@truckerkevthepaidtourist Great mining of the old albums, Kev
@@weirddebbiem1619 thank you Debbie
@@ziggyzagzi8017 thanks Ziggy. Yeah they stuck with me they've all been replaced on CD and remastered CD but yep still a huge traffic fan
Let's face it, when I was seventeen all I knew about Slade was the string of hit singles (mostly in the UK) that propelled them, momentarily at least, toward the upper reaches of stardom (pretty much exclusively in the UK). At least, that was before I came across this amazing album at a flea market. Slade Alive! documents a wild night of raucous Rock 'N' Roll posturing from the stage as Noddy Holder 'n' the boyz make big noize with this boot stompin', hand clappin' live effort from 1972. The slam glam merchants from Wolverhampton proudly point 'n' shout from the stage as they lay it all out there with unbridled raw energy and mayhem.
Slade punches out power mad rockers from the jacked-up album opener, "Hear Me Calling" to the closing high-octane cover of Steppenwolf's time-honored biker anthem, "Born To Be Wild".
Slade Alive! is a killer album from a criminally underrated band. My only complaint is that it's too short. I wish they could've included the entire performance, but oh well.
Overall, it's just mind-blowing. Crank it up!
1) The Who - Tommy
2) Rush - All The World's A Stage
3) The Alan Parsons Project - I Robot
4) The Ramones - Ramones
5) Kansas - Leftoverture
6) City Boy - The Day The Earth Caught Fire
7) Jethro Tull - Songs From The Wood
8) Black Sabbath - Sabotage
9) Green Day - American Idiot
10) Allman Brothers Band - Seven Turns
11) Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - Live Bullet
12) Slade - Slade Alive!
My first introduction to Thrash was by way of the Puppets album when it was first released...no publicity Down Under with radio until the Justice album. Just so curious after reading mags like Circus and Hit Parader raving about them..thought I would try it. At the time nobody got it, totally blew me away...then came of course the debut and Ride. Great series Pete, always look forward to them!
Bought Kill Em All at the record store on release day and... it didn't work for me. At that time. It sounded kinda weird to me. It wasn't until Ride the Lightning came out and for some reason I bought it. Must have been the only new release that caught my eye. Ride turned me around on Metallica and now Kill Em All is a classic.
Metallica - Master of Puppets. And Guns and Roses first album. 1987, before they were big in Australia. A mate lent me those records as we did back in the day. I listened to them. It was summer. To show my friend what I thought of them, I let those records sit in the back seat all day in the 36c degree heat just to let him know what I thought of them. (I did give him the money though. To prove a point, it was worth it).
Hey, Pete. Since you bought both albums in late summer 84, chances are you bought Metallica albums when they still were an independent band on Megaforce Records.. Do you remember if they had grey labels?
Pete, where is your 100K subscribers plaque? Gotta get that bad boy hung up!
Egg was an incredible band!
0:27 pick #12
Day 12
I bought this album THE WALL while a was in college when it came out in 1979. I liked the album a lot until I saw the movie in 1982. The movie I couldn’t stand but my college friends loved this movie and thought it was quite funny. I bought this album at a record and book store around where I was going to college in Boston. After seeing this movie my taste for this album changed a lot. I only liked some of the songs on this album “Another Brick in the Wall, pt 2”, “Comfortably Numb”, and some other songs. The cover has no writing on it just shapes of the bricks. I don’t care for the design of the gate fold either. I like abstract art but not this design.
Great pick, Melanie. Can't go wrong with Pink Floyd.
@ thanks Rick
Nice story, Melanie.I was totally into the move and have seen in 3 times in 10 days, following the copy from cinema to cinema. Every time a piece of movie was missing as a copy got damaged.
@@zlatanfilipovic8798 thanks Zlatan
Hi Melanie I sort of agree about the movie part. Do you like the follow up album much?
Hi Pete just a thought,I have been watching a lot of your ranking videos from 4 to 5 years ago ,would it be worth considering re ranking the band's albums on a one a day format for a month or two,just an idea
Thanks
Kill Em All is still my favorite Metallica album!
🌠PERFECT PICK PETE !...P3....
The best Metallica album
Yes, the best !
I’ll always treasure the first four Metallica albums.