Released 40 years ago this week (July 27, 1979) via Atlantic Records, Highway to Hell, the sixth studio set from AC/DC, remains a perfect slab of timeless rock.
Christopher Long is an author, show biz analyst, TV / radio contributor, award-winning musician and entertainment personality. Referred to once as “the rock and roll Erma Bombeck,” Long is known for his conversational, common sense writing style and passion for sharing his unique perspectives on pop culture. Raised in Missouri’s rugged Ozark Mountains and on Florida’s sunny Space Coast, Long currently lives in Cocoa Beach. (AuthorChristopherLong@yahoo.com)
God’s favorite glam gurus, Stryper, dropped their ground-breaking debut EP 35 years ago this week via Enigma Records, and it still hits like a spandex sack of concrete Bibles.
In the late ‘70s, REO Speedwagon were the crowned “Kings of American Hard Rock.” And no other record found in their impressive catalog screams that point more profoundly than Nine Lives — a classic slab that was released via Epic Records, 40 years ago next week.
The landmark Kinks album, Low Budget, buzzed with crisp, relevant social commentary when it was released forty years ago this week via Arista Records. The 11-song set found the band with its collective fingers placed firmly on the pulse of current culture at the time and remains an important record.
Given the less than compelling content seeping into the hard rock scene at the time, DIO’s The Last in Line was the right record at the right time when it was released on July 2nd, 1984 via Warner Bros. Records. Thirty-five years later, it’s still guaranteed to blister your backside like no other slab from that era.
Pretties for You, the debut record from the legendary band Alice Cooper, is as “weird” today as when it first was released 50 years ago this week (June 25, 1969). And it remains a much-loved and well-respected record among the group’s most fervent followers.
It was precisely the right record at precisely the right time. Released June 20th, 1989, the smash album from Faith No More, The Real Thing, still bites down hard enough to draw blood, or at least hard enough to leave a nasty gash.
An amazing 15 years after its initial U.S. release (June 15, 2004, via Island), Hot Fuss, the debut slab from Vegas-bred rock darlings, The Killers, remains fresh and fun — easily the sweetest seduction in the band’s celebrated catalog.
Celebrating its 25th anniversary this week (June 7, 1994), Stone Temple Pilot’s sophomore set, Purple, remains an important, fresh and vibrant record — possibly the strongest in the band’s impressive catalog.
Doll Skin drummer, Meghan Herring, speaks openly about her passion for music and the realities of life on the road, as well as dishing on her band’s upcoming Hopeless Records album Love Is Dead And We Killed Her and U.S. summer tour with punk/pop kingpins, New Found Glory.
It was 45 years ago this month (May 1974), when the fledgling progressive British band, UFO released one of its quintessential studio sets, Phenomenon via Chrysalis Records. And it just might remain the band’s strongest work to date.
Dismissed frequently for being a disco record, “Dynasty” was EXACTLY the album that KISS needed at that time it was released — May 23, 1979. 40 years later, it stands tall as an impressive ROCK record.
For those who remember first hearing the debut Weezer record, when it was new, get ready — you’re about to feel a good bit older. The landmark set was released via DGC 25 years ago this past week (May 10, 1994).