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Decent album, but really nothing special.
This was sort of a time and place thing. MTV was really starting to gain momentum and Photograph and Rock of Ages were mainstays. If you were a metalhead growing up in this era, you were already familiar with them from High ‘n’ Dry, but this was indeed the breakthrough album. (Foolin’ was one of the first songs I learned to play on guitar). Hysteria, for whatever criticism it got because of its arguably overproduced sound, is the superior album in terms of musicianship, but it’s hard to deny the anthemic aspects of Rock of Ages and one of the best intro riffs ever in Photograph.
Nah, I don't think so - this was the best mix between the harder early stuff (although the remix of Bringin' on the Heartbreak ruined that song), and the more pop direction of Hysteria. Photograph, Foolin, and Rock of Ages are fantastic songs.
:(
I also prefer High ‘N Dry for its more raw feel (“Lady Strange” is my favorite Lep tune), but can’t deny the powerful riffs and tightness of Pyromania. It’s an all-timer ‘80s album.
Back to the Byrds, many greats beyond Petty were influenced by them. I was recently watching one of those Classic Albums shows, this one on Cream’s Disraeli Gears (not sure we’ve covered his one yet). Never dawned upon me that Dance The Night Away (my favorite Cream tune) was heavily influenced by McGuinn’s jangly Rickenbacker.
They didn’t quite have the song writing and hookiness of the Beatles but they had more edge and an Americana factor that was off the charts.
There is something that is irrepressibly optimistic about the Byrds’ music for me- part of that may be McGuinn’s vocals.
Don’t Doubt Yourself Babe is an interesting song given our time and current context.
I'm not quite as down on the early/mid 80's rock. The stuff that preceded Hysteria and Slippery When Wet (both of which really changed the genre imho), is mostly still listenable to me. Older Crue, Leppard, Ozzy, the "Slide it In" version of Whitesnake, etc. It had an edge. Once it became "party music" and stuff the girls would play on the jukebox, I kind of checked out.
Somewhere between the two the twain shall meet.
I've brought up the Byrds before on this very board. "Eight Miles High" is one of the greatest rock n' roll songs ever conceived, IMHO, and I've always enjoyed the Byrds. So there, Tim, there's your comment. LOLZ.
My first "real" concert was Def Leppard in 1983. They sounded terrible. Not just different from the album, but like everyone was terribly out of tune or something. Uriah Heep opened and kicked their asses.
I still like this album more than Hysteria.
That's quite bad. They were better off singing about elves and warlocks.
Looks like they had just released a new album at the time. I distinctly remember liking the song "Stay on Top" from the concert.
Very 80s video.
There is a list. If you’re looking for links to each discussion- that is a LOT of work.
Little bass trivia:
Looks like they had just released a new album at the time. I distinctly remember liking the song "Stay on Top" from the concert.
Very 80s video.
That list is horrible - where is "Runaway", "Count On Me", or "Hearts"? - but I agree that "Coming Back To Me" is great.
I actually think the list is good - lots of oldies but goodies. “Hearts” is solo so probably didn’t make the cut. “Atlanta Lady” is also a good tune.
I guess I should've read the parameters
). 
This album is great from a nostalgia angle. I am immediately brought back to my youth in the 80s when I hear this stuff. I actually saw Cyndi Lauper perform in a small club when this album was just breaking. She is one of those performers I got to see a few months before they exploded. She was fun.
