Chopper - S/T

Chopper - Chopper
Released 1979 on Ariola Records SW-50049

While record shopping in Canada this one really caught my eye. The band is named Chopper. The cover looks like the backpatch worn by a biker gang. A search later would find that the band features a member of Steppenwolf. It was going to be a couple of days before I would be able to hear anything off of the album due to being out of town. But I mean come on, all of these signs pointed towards these guys being pretty hard rocking. Right?

That quick search of members also showed that the keyboardist was a member of Poco and future Elton John keyboardist. But nevermind that, biker name and biker looking cover! Steppenwolf member! These guys are going to be exceedingly hard rocking. No doubt about it!

Oh yeah, that Steppenwolf member would join Steppenwolf after leaving Chopper. But again, look at that cover! Wings spread, hard rock all the way to the biggest arenas with pyrotechnics all over the place.

With all of that then, Chopper, our possible biker band, actually plays AOR style Rock. AOR has always been a style of music I have tried to steer clear of due to it usually being associated with mellower bands. Bands that eventually became known for their ballads and after four albums would turn out nothing but ballads. Although AOR stands for "album orientated rock," I am not so sure why mellow music seems to be associated with the style. I'm not a fan of shmaltzy ballads, so AOR and I have never been friends.

So obviously I hate Chopper, right? I bought it expecting some great 70s HARD Rock. Something that would tear my face off, something possibly harder edged than The Godz. Obviously these guys are in my list of biggest disappointments. Right?

Well, I really like Chopper. For my money these guys do it all right. They never get cheesy, they never get too melodramatic, and they keep enough energy in the music to make it all work. They throw in just enough spots where the music kicks in and they stop being a wimpy ballad band. The album is full of great hooks, great playing, and a solid production.

Gary Link, our future Steppenwolf bassist, turns in a killer performance on "Blue Winter." Heck, he does on the entire album. But this song is close to being exactly what one would expect from an AOR band. Mellow, with some overly dramatic turns, but the bass is killer on this song. Link adds the perfect accents and gives us a little more than just a bass line. Perfect notes added here and there, just the right amount of a run here and there. The bass actually propels the song along and takes what could have been a mediocre tune and transforms it into a great track.

Songs like "Beggars Day," "Don't Cry" and "Be Ready For Me Tonight" keep the album from being too mellow. Solid 70s guitar driven radio friendly rock numbers. Yet these are really the only two numbers that show teeth. But really, this is fine, and they are far from the strongest cuts on the album.

The standout tracks for me are the aforementioned "Blue Winter," "I'll Hold Onto You" and "Eddie." "I'll Hold Onto You" features a guitar riff and tone that is just incredibly warming to the heart. It is one of those songs that you can put on, and once you hear that riff you would be fine with nothing else from the song. The riff and production on the song is that good.

Chopper was a really good band. Regardless of the image and name, they are without a doubt worthy of your time and attention. The album can be found for decent prices. It doesn't appear to be on the streaming services and it was never given a CD repressing. If AOR or solid Pop is your thing then this should be added into your want list.

Gary Link is still playing with Steppenwolf is appears. Kim Bullard was with Poco for a time. As of 2009 he has been a touring player with Elton John. Drummer Brad Seip is a bit tougher to track down. It doesn't appear that he moved on to anything else from Chopper.

Searching for lead guitarist Peter Bunch bring us to the law offices of divorce attorney Peter Bunch. Looking at the picture on the sleeve for Chopper, and the picture of the attorney, there is no doubt Mr. Bunch is now an attorney. This is further confirmed by the Record Robot blog.

So, what about that image? Why did they take on an image and name that is so out of place? According to the Record Robot page it appears that they were re-tooled by the label into an attempt at a biker band image. Which seems an absolutely ridiculous move considering the sound the band turned out. It isn't like people would be fooled once they actually heard the band. There is no way a group of bikers, looking for an evening of debauchery, are going to see this album cover on a poster outside the club, go in and be happy with the resulting music. Well, they might be, after being a little irked that the band isn't really rocking the heck out of the place. It was this over-handling of the band lead to the break up, which is a great shame. They were a really good band that could have been so much more than just the minor footnote that they are now.

Sources:
Record Robot: http://recordrobot.blogspot.com/2005/08/cautionary-tale-of-pete-and-george-and.html

The Demons - S/T

edit: If you are just reading this for the first time, please take the time to visit the comments section. Guitarist Martin John Butler has been chiming in with some wonderful details about the history of the band. His input is priceless!

The Demons - S/T
Released 1977 on Mercury SRM-1-1164
Promo copy without inserts

For a few years now I have really wondered how many times bands that are credited with a certain sound are truly the creators of the sounds, and how many times they are just a product of the environment. We all know that AC/DC spawned thousands of imitators. We can figure this because after the enormous success of Back In Black we were suddenly faced with bands from the US and the UK that sounded very similar. In that case those bands were taking what made them a hit and using it to their own advantage.

But was the sound something they created? We can go back to Australia around the same time and find bands such as Rose Tattoo and The Angels. Both of these bands had similar sounds to AC/DC. So was it AC/DC or just the environment and trends in Australia during this time period that created more than a few bands with the same sound? AC/DC obviously being the most successful, due to management, song quality, or maybe pure determination (or all of the above), but bands like the aforementioned Rose Tattoo and Angels not being copy-cats, but actual peers running down the same roads.

One can even go back into the mid 60s, just as The Beatles were blowing up. The sound and style was not exclusive to them. They were a part of a scene. But when people look back now they tend to give The Beatles credit for what happened in music.

This brings us to The Demons. A band that is so set in their scene that without any form of knowledge of the band I knew exactly where they hailed from by the time the first chorus hit. For many people it might be thought that they are a copycat band, but a little research shows that they are very much a product of a time period in a location and a part of their scene.

Before we get too much further, and before people started getting ready to type in the comments that I am an idiot. Yes, The New York Dolls are without a doubt a cornerstone of that scene. It is hard to argue that they were not the catalyst for the underground scene in New York, and that spawned the Ramones. But there was shortly after a definite Rock and Roll sound that came about, with a lot of bands popping up doing almost the same thing. Whereas the Ramones had that 50s things going, they were relying on power chords. Bands like The Heartbreakers, however, were using full chords. A pretty big difference in the sound and impact.

So here we meet The Demons. The Demons were very much a part of the scene. Founding member of the aforementioned Heartbreakers Walter Lure was an early member (according to lead guitarist Martin John Butler's website). Vocalist Eliot Kidd was close friends with Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan (in his own words as can be read in the Legs McNeil book Please Kill Me). Kidd recounts many stories between himself and Thunders in the pages of Please Kill Me. This only helps add to it that this was not a copy of style, but rather contemporaries experiencing the same world.

The Demons were a five piece early Punk act out of New York in 1977. By my typing that sentence, if you know your music scenes you know exactly what The Demons sound like. The sound is text book on how to be a New York Punk/RnR band from the formative years of the mid to late 70s. Light on distortion, heavy on attitude, with a touch of the 50s and early 60s AM Rock and Roll founders added into the mix. The type of band that will sing a heartbreaking song about missing somebody ("What a Shame"), but then deliver a song about how much hate they have for somebody, with some pretty brutal lyrics. In fact, in Please Kill Me Kidd speaks about how the big difference between the 50s songs they loved and punk is in the lyrics (p. 260). He mentions that their material takes the songs to areas that were never approached before. In Eliot Kidd's own words ". . . basically punk rock was just rock and roll. We weren't taking music anywhere new . . . we were all at the age where we had grown up with pop radio: Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers, Little Richard and Chuck Berry." (McNeil, p. 263)

So remember, we are talking about 1977 here. Don't think Punk of the hardcore variety that is now associated with the word "Punk." This is Rock and Roll with extra danger and attitude added. There is nothing here that couldn't be played on that radio. It is all just Rock and Roll. It doesn't even have the bite that would show up that same year from The Dead Boys or the Sex Pistols. The guitars are light on distortion, but just as dangerous.

The debut album, and only album, from The Demons, is a wonderful addition to the New York Punk / Glam scene. An album that should be in the collection of almost anybody who has an interest in 70s Glam or 70s Punk. Songs like "It'll Be Alright" and "She's So Tuf" are brilliant tracks that should be considered classics. "She's So Tuf" is textbook New York Rock and Roll. The dang thing should be one of those songs that everybody has covered.

The album features two cover tunes, one being a version of Gene Pitney's "She's a Rebel." The other being the band beating The Clash to the punch by delivering a blistering cover of "I Fought The Law" of its own. A notch down from the intensity of The Clash version, but still a wonderful version of the song.

The cover of the album is what caught my eye. It was actually Martin John Butler and Robbie Twyford that sold me on the album. Then the song titles. But in all honesty, I still am a little surprised by the sound every time I look at Robbie Twyford. He looks more like he should have fallen out of a British band circa 1967. The styles are a little mixed on the cover, but the dang guys still look incredibly cool.

The Demons were through and through Rock and Roll, and they were through and through New York. Musically they featured solid guitar work with those trademark flourishes from the area. Solid drumming and vocals that could have fit right in with The Dictators (Shernoff and Teeter).
A band that seriously needs to be preserved, and luckily one that at this moment in time can still be had from the used stores for a good price. But if the world begins to catch on, this thing is going to skyrocket in price. I think I paid around $5.00 for it, which is a steal.

So what became of The Demons? It seems that they met with some rather terrible fate. According to the website for Martin John Butler (lead guitar), the band was enjoying the success for this album, selling 250,000 copies even! But then tragedy struck and drummer Mike Rappoport was killed in a car accident. I don't know the details, and even that knowledge comes from a post on his guest book. He mentions the loss of Rappoport, but a friend chimes in mentioning the car accident aspect.

Eliot Kidd, the brains and voice behind the band, had also met with tragedy. This is according to the website Dead Punk Stars. According to them Eliot had done time due to dealing and eventually passed away in 1998.

Thankfully Martin John Butler has created a Facebook page for The Demons. It appears that Bob Jones, the other guitarist, is doing well and is still involved with music. Obviously his name would be a little bit harder to search on the internet, so as of this writing this is as far as I went in my research.

Mr. Butler's personal site seems to be a little out of date, but he appears to still be active. As I mention though he is running the Demons Facebook page, which can be found by searching Demons/NYC or by clicking https://www.facebook.com/The-DemonsNYC-101777063232690/. His personal site, with some newer music, can be found here: http://www.martinbutlermusic.com/home.html

As for Robbie Twyford, I have not been able to find anything. A search for Robbie turned up nothing. Scanning the Demons Facebook site also didn't show me anything. But who know, maybe one of the Demons will see this and give a little information.

sources:
McNeil, Legs. McCain, Gillian. Please Kill Me. Penguin, 1997.
Dead Punk Stars website - http://www.deadpunkstars.com/browse/153/eliot_kidd.html

Hero - S/T

Hero - S/T
Released 1977 on Mercury SRM-1-1137
Promo copy with lyric insert

Let's be honest, as the years roll by it gets a little more difficult to be as excited as I once was for music. Bands like Hanoi Rocks, The Lords of the New Church, T-Rex, Slade, The Damned, and so on, when first exposed it was a life changing moment. Finding bands that the radio doesn't play, but who are actually better than the bands the radio does play, is an amazing experience. The excitement continued for years, but eventually those bands have influenced so many others that one starts to experience a little bit of the "been there, done that" with music.


Which is part of the reason why finding bands like Hero (and Hounds below) is such an exciting experience!

This is not to say there is anything super original going on with Hero, or that they are playing something I have never heard. In fact, it is completely the opposite. Hero is a 70s Glam act, complete with stomping drums drums and big choruses. The type of sound that was perfect for the 70s. The soundtrack for an afternoon cruising in the summer with your t-tops down, girls in halter tops, roller skates, tight t-shirts, feathered hair and tube socks. Video games played not in an arcade, but a pizza shop.

What is so refreshing is that it is that sound, that exact sound, that era, and I have never heard it before. Yes, there are nostalgia acts, bands influenced by the era, but nobody is able to nail it right on. There is always something missing. The keyboard at the beginning of "Taxi Driver" would not exist like it does here. The vocals would not sound like they do here.

On top of all of that, the songs here are as good as anything any band of the time period was doing, if not a little bit better. Every song rocks, there isn't a ballad to be found anywhere. They seemed to be interested only in giving a hell of a great party record, one that would stick in your head with hook after hook. Nothing seemed to have been done half-hearted.

Stand out tracks are easily the opening number "I Love The Way You Rock and Roll," which features a brilliant verse and response that adds a energy to the song that is infectious. Vocalist Scott Phares also really shines on this song and really tears it up. No vocal acrobatics, just a performance that lets the listener know he is serious about what is happening here.

"I Love The Way . . ." leads right into the follow-up track, "You Are The People." First off, I could listen to this song combo for no other reason than the way these two songs roll into each other. No, it isn't smooth, but it is brilliant in its execution. But if that wasn't enough, the chorus on this one is insanely catchy. One of those choruses that needed a 70s arena, pyro, lights, everything. If it wasn;t a magical experience, it should have been.

I am not sure what caught my eye with this album. The cover isn't the greatest, nor is the name and logo. It might have been the back cover. If I had opened the record and read the lyrics, I can pretty much guarantee that the lyrics to the third song "Smile" would have been what made me walk straight to the counter. "Your girlfriend she's a junky / You're best friend he's a queen / The two of them / broke into your house / And they rob you while you sleep." Come on . . . I'm walking to the counter with that one right away, smiling the whole way.

"I'm the King, I'm the Star" is classic 70s all around and everything is wonderful about it. Hooky, borderline Bubblegum. Wonderful vocal line that has that 70s feel, with a chorus that could only have been produced in that era. It is everything that made the era what it was. To make this one better, check out this opening verse: "Ladies here I am / Gentlemen's answer to Superman / Standin' on the stage / Posin' for tomorrow's front page." This leads into the chorus of "I'm the king, I'm the star." Again, come on . . . that's pretty cool. No, that's really cool.

As mentioned earlier, the beginning keyboard on "Taxi Driver" is a thing of beauty. The song itself is every bit as wonderful. The drive of the verse is perfect, the chorus is a slight build up on that verse. Then we have the solo that takes all those elements and just twists it up slightly. The song moves and takes you along with it and builds to a wonderful end.

I have no idea who they are, or were. At this point they seem to be my perfect example of what I am on the hunt for in music. That great band that only released one or two albums and then vanished. In this case there was a second album, Boys Will Be Boys. But then what happened? What got them to the label? Why did they disappear? They have two brothers in the band, was it their band originally?

The only thing I have found is that guitarist Neil Citron (https://www.neilcitron.com) has slugged it out through the years. Becoming more of a behind the scenes guy who owns a studio and even winning a Grammy! He has a pretty impressive list of credits on his website. He also happens to be the cousin of Howard Leese from Heart. Around 2006 he played with Quiet Riot and has remained close with Frankie Banali.

As I mention, there is a second album. Normally I am a "wait until I find it at the shop" kind of guy when it comes to buying my vinyl. I love the hunt. But in this case I have a feeling that as soon as the holidays get out of the way I will be sending some money out to a faceless place on Discogs to get the second album. This album is that good that I would rather not leave hearing more from these guys up to chance.

If you love Glam, if you love 70s Rock, if you love Bubblegum, if you love Power Pop, if you love Rock and Roll, then this album is everything you need. This is the very definition of under appreciated, a forgotten masterpiece. Yes, I place it right up against any other Glam release from that time period. Yes, I am aware somebody is out there thinking "He's crazy," or the band will stumble onto this and think "This guy is an idiot," but I also have no doubt many others who are fans of this style will also love this album as much as I do. I paid $10 for it, and I would have gladly paid three times that price.