Friday Fave 44.23 (50) November 3, 2023

Friday Fave at 50. The 1st Friday of the month, that means this week’s track comes from an album turning 50 this year. In 1973, I turned 14, the age that it is suggested our life long musical tastes are formed. The Fave will usually be from one I bought or a band that has figured prominently in my musical background.

In November 1973 a lot of great music was released by some pretty famous and influential artists. A sample that I listened to this week to prepare this week’s Friday Fave included (in no particular order) Hall & Oates, Bruce Springsteen, Alice Cooper Billy Joel, Ringo and Canada’s own April Wine. Of all these, I owned the Ringo release on 8-track. April Wine was probably the first live show I ever saw. They toured Canada and played in my hometown ever year in the mid-70’s it seemed.

In my 2^nd year University (1978) my roommate had Hall & Oates “Abandoned Luncheonette”, which was released exactly 50 years today on December 3, 1973. I had purchased “Bigger Than Both Of Us” (1976) and really liked them. I was glad he exposed me to the earlier stuff. Hearing it again reminded me how much I like their ‘blue-eyed soul’ and before they were MTV stars. It is a great record.

I don’t know that I’ve ever listened to the Springsteen’s “The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle” from start to finish. I came to Bruce with “Darkness on the Edge of Town” (1978) but got burnt out of Bruce-mania with “Born in the USA”. But the 1973 release, his 2^nd album and 2^nd in 1973 is great record indeed. I will listen to it again for sure.

The Ringo album took me back to the basement I grew up in and all those hours listening to music and reading Creem, Mad or National Lampoon.

I liked Alice Cooper and owned “School’s Out” (1972) and “Billion Dollar Babies” (1973) that produced ‘Generation Landslide’ FF5.23 (at 50) earlier this year. But for some reason ‘Muscle Of Love” never really took for me.

Billy Joel wrote ‘Piano Man’ 50 years ago and based it on his experience in a Piano Bar in LA. To listen today and still enjoy it speaks to the quality of the song and the performance.

During these listening, I wondered what kind of music was 50 years old in 1973. The 1923, the pop songs were a lot of blues/jazz records from the likes of Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong, swing music by numerous big bands and of course country/hillbilly music. I sure wasn’t listening to that back then, although my parents did have some of that kind of music on 78s (those Big 10” records). I wish we would have kept them.

The last album on this week’s review was April Wine “Electric Jewels”. I previously featured them in FF41.20 ‘I like to Rock’ (1979). I’ll admit I never owned the record, but as I have previously stated, I say them live many times. Their many early singles were all over AM radio in the day. ‘Weeping Widow’ is the opening track from the album, released as a single and live show staple (to this day). It holds up and is this week’s Friday Fave at 50.

Enjoy & remember; play it loud!