Tag: 1978

Ace Frehley – New York Groove

Only in the glittery excess of the late ’70s could a band decide to put out four solo albums on the same day and somehow convince the world it made perfect sense. On September 18, 1978, KISS pulled off one of rock’s most over-the-top stunts: four albums, one from each member, all branded as official KISS releases, all with matching cover art and posters you could piece together. This song had to be at least somewhat inspired by Bo Diddley’s Bo Diddley which was in turn inspired by Hush Little Baby. 

I’ve always liked this song from Ace Frehley’s KISS solo album. It peaked at #13 on the Billboard 100, #25 in Canada, and #24 in New Zealand in 1978. The song was written by Russ Ballard and was a UK chart hit for an English band named Hello. The track kicks in with that foot-stomp and hand-clap rhythm, more glam rock than hard rock, and right away it’s clear: this is not a KISS song. It’s got more in common with T. Rex than with Detroit Rock City.

Everything here is built around that simple, addictive beat, a four-on-the-floor thump with congas and claps riding shotgun. Over the top floats Frehley’s talk-sung vocal that is delivered with confidence. Ace was perfect for this song because he doesn’t have a huge vocal range. On Ace’s songs, he doesn’t sound like he is trying to make a hit…just a good song. I also like his guitar playing in general. It’s very Keith Richards like along with his tone. 

New York Groove is Ace Frehley’s very own personal anthem. The track is as synonymous with the ex-Kiss member as his silver suit and his smokin’ Les Paul. The egos in KISS were huge; Gene and Paul provoked Ace, even offering help (assuming that Ace would not be able to). However, Ace surprised them both. The best-selling solo album of the 4, in addition to being preferred by most fans and critics. 

Ace Frehley: “A lot of people think I wrote New York Groove. It’s not a myth that I’ve perpetuated, but that’s the way it is. I wish I would’ve wrote the song, though. I would’ve made a lot more cash out of it, ha-ha-hargh!”

Original Version by Hello

New York Groove

Many years since I was here,
On the street I was passin’ my time away
To the left and to the right,
Buildings towering to the sky
It’s outta sight in the dead of night

Here I am, and in this city, with a fistful of dollars
And baby, you’d better believe

I’m back, back in the New York groove
I’m back, back in the New York groove
I’m back, back in the New York groove
Back in the New York groove, in the New York groove

In the back of my Cadillac
A wicked lady, sittin’ by my side, sayin’ ‘Where are we?’
Stop at Third and Forty-three, exit to the night
It’s gonna be ecstacy, this place was meant for me

Feels so good tonight, who cares about tomorrow
So baby, you’d better believe

I’m back, back in the New York groove
I’m back, back in the New York groove
I’m back, back in the New York groove
Back in the New York groove, in the New York groove
I’m back, back in the New York groove
I’m back, back in the New York groove
I’m back, back in the New York groove
I’m back, back in the New York groove
I’m back, back in the New York groove
I’m back, back in the New York groove
I’m back, back in the New York groove
I’m back, back in the New York groove
I’m back, back in the New York groove
I’m back, back in the New York groove

Max’s Drive-In Movie – Halloween

Halloween Header

Que that spooky piano part now. This 1978 film is a horror classic that I still enjoy watching. While I’m at it…Happy Halloween Everyone! Sometimes, sequels can ruin a franchise and it gets silly. We sometimes forget how great the original is. I’m not a fan of the no-brain slasher movies that followed this.

From the very beginning, Halloween grabs your attention with its eerie, minimalist score—also composed by Carpenter himself. The haunting piano melody sets the tone for the entire film, creating a sense of dread even before it begins. It’s one of those soundtracks that sticks with you long after the credits roll. The two main leads…Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence do an excellent job. I’ve liked Pleasence in anything he has done.

What’s surprising about Halloween after rewatching it, is how little blood and gore is actually shown. The movie relies more on atmosphere and suspense than graphic violence, which is why it remains such an effective horror film today. Carpenter’s use of shadows, lighting, and camera angles makes everything feel off-kilter.  Halloween doesn’t go overboard with its horror… just enough to leave a sense of unease.

There are little things as well that this movie does well. Before it all starts Lauire (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Annie (Nancy Kyes) are smoking a joint in a car while Michael is following them. While this was going on…Don’t Fear The Reaper was playing on the radio faintly. Annie’s dad is the sheriff and his name is Brackett. Dr Loomis (Donald Pleasence) tells him that he and his town better be worried. Michael Myers escaped a facility and was headed toward the town where Myers lived when he killed his sister when he was a kid.

This is another movie that has been ingrained in pop culture. After this film, there was a part 2. John Carpenter did not want to make it but was sued to make it. He made sure to blow Myers up in the 2nd film and part 3 had nothing to do with Myers. Halloween II was written by Carpenter and Debra Lee…the two who wrote Halloween. He refused to direct it and he never liked it. “I had to come up with something. I think it was, perhaps, a late night fueled by alcoholic beverages, was that idea. A terrible, stupid idea! But that’s what we did.”

Rob Zombie remade the film in 2007 and a sequel with much more blood and gore. He traded mystic for the obvious, which didn’t work as well for me…but I’m glad he put a little more reason on why Michael did what he did.

Plot IMDB

The year is 1963, the night: of Halloween. Police are called to 43 Lampkin Ln. only to discover that 15-year-old Judith Myers has been stabbed to death by her 6-year-old brother, Michael. After being institutionalized for 15 years, Myers breaks out on the night before Halloween. No one knows, nor wants to find out, what will happen on October 31st, 1978, besides Myers’ psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis. He knows Michael is coming back to Haddonfield, but by the time the town realizes it, it’ll be too late for many people.

Quotes

  • Loomis: I met him, 15 years ago; I was told there was nothing left; no reason, no conscience, no understanding in even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, of good or evil, right or wrong. I met this… six-year-old child with this blank, pale, emotionless face, and… the blackest eyes – the Devil’s eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up, because I realized that what was living behind that boy’s eyes was purely and simply… evil.

_____________________________________

  • Brackett: I have a feeling that you’re way off on this.
  • Loomis: You have the wrong feeling.
  • Brackett: You’re not doing very much to prove me wrong!
  • Loomis: What more do you need?
  • Brackett: i going to take a lot more than fancy talk to keep me up all night crawling around these bushes.
  • Loomis: I-I-I watched him for fifteen years, sitting in a room, staring at a wall; not seeing the wall, looking past the wall; looking at this night, inhumanly patient, waiting for some secret, silent alarm to trigger him off. Death has come to your little town, Sheriff. Now, you can either ignore it, or you can help me to stop it.
  • Brackett: More fancy talk.

..,

Max Picks …songs from 1978

1978

I remember this year well. The Dodgers repeated a World Series trip but also repeated losing to the Yankees.

Great song by The Who on their last album with Keith Moon. Keith was not in the best shape by this time but his drumming on this is still fantastic. The song is about real events that happened to Pete Townshend down to being passed out drunk at night and asking a policeman that knew Pete’s name, Who the F**k are you? You can still hear Daltrey sing the expletive on classic radio stations.

This one was always a favorite of mine of the Rolling Stones. Keith Richards wrote this, but a lot of the lyrics were improvised in the studio. While the band played, Jagger came in with different lines to fit the music.

This song is a good example of the Rolling Stones tapestry of guitars. Keith and Ron Wood weave their guitars in and out until the two guitars are almost indistinguishable from each other.

Warren Zevon was a very clever songwriter. He went were other songwriters don’t often go. This track was produced by Jackson Browne. The songwriters were LeRoy Marinell, Waddy Wachtel, and Warren Zevon. John McVie and Mick Fleetwood played on this song.

This song is one of the best pop singles of the 1970s. It was on the album City To City. This was Rafferty’s first release after the breakup of his former band Steeler’s Wheel. Gerry Rafferty had been unable to release any material due to disputes about the band’s remaining contractual recording obligations, and his friend’s Baker Street flat was a convenient place to stay as he tried to remove himself from his Stealers Wheel contracts. It was his second solo album, the first being Can I Have My Money Back? released in 1971.

The album and song were about life on the road in all its glory and squalor. To emphasize this notion even further, Jackson Browne literally recorded the album on the road, in hotel rooms, on buses, and, in the case of “Running On Empty,” on stage.