About half the set is material I couldn’t squeeze into my recent Labour Day work-oriented show from Sept.2. My track-by-track tales follow the bare-bones list.

1. Fu Manchu, Neptune’s Convoy
2. Flash and The Pan, Media Man
3. The Godfathers, Birth, School, Work, Death
4. The Police, Dead End Job
5. Devo, Working In The Coal Mine
6. Lynyrd Skynyrd, Workin’
7. Warren Zevon, The Factory
8. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Makin’ Thunderbirds
9. Neil Young, Union Man
10. ZZ Top, I Gotsta Get Paid
11. Thin Lizzy, Cold Sweat
12. Ron Wood, Shirley
13. Rory Gallagher, Smear Campaign
14. The Moody Blues, In My World
15. Free, Sweet Tooth
16. Concrete Blonde, Beware Of Darkness (George Harrison cover)
17. Dave Davies, God In My Brain
18. The Tragically Hip, Vapour Trails
19. Burton Cummings, Not Too Appealing
20. Traffic, Graveyard People
21. Elton John, Empty Sky

My track-by-track tales:

1. Fu Manchu, Neptune’s Convoy . . . Songs by this California stoner band often start off immediately heavy but this one builds, alternating between slow and spooky, punctuated by heavy flourishes, before all hell breaks loose with heavy rock to take us home for the last minute or so of the five-minute experience.

2. Flash and The Pan, Media Man . . . Damning diatribe against media, came out in 1980 on the Lights In The Night album and, sadly, nearly 45 years later things are arguably worse. And my career was in media where, while I loved what I consider a noble, necessary profession and was well-suited to it, I became disturbed by, as the final litany of lyrics, in list form, concludes, how at least some of it is, or can be, bullshit in terms of whatever agendas can be involved in coverage.

3. The Godfathers, Birth, School, Work, Death . . . Sort of sums things up, no? Aside from sex, I suppose. Nihilism, personified, otherwise. And a great tune, regardless. Title cut from the UK punkish band’s 1988 album. I remember having it on vinyl, lost in the mists of time or trade-ins, it was the only song on the album that truly grabbed me, but definitely a good one and I’ll have to dig deeper and rediscover the entire record sometime. The Godfathers were originally around between 1985 and 2000, disbanded then reunited in various configurations in 2008 and continue to this day.

4. The Police, Dead End Job . . . Early Police, straight ahead smokin’ punk rock. It was the B-side on two singles – Can’t Stand Losing You in the UK and Roxanne in the US/North America, both in 1978. It also appears on The Police box set, Message In A Box: The Complete Recordings, released in 1993.

5. Devo, Working In The Coal Mine . . . Infectious groove on all versions in various genres of this Allen Toussaint song, done by the American musician/songwriter/producer himself but likely best known as a hit, produced by Toussaint and his fellow producer and business partner Marshall Sehorn, for pop/R & B singer Lee Dorsey in 1966. It was later done by, among others, the mother-daughter country music duo The Judds. The Devo version also appeared on the Heavy Metal movie soundtrack in 1981 which also featured contributions from Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Sammy Hagar and Nazareth, among many others.

6. Lynyrd Skynyrd, Workin’ . . . The obvious thing, from a ‘work’ songs perspective, would I suppose be to play Skynyrd’s Workin’ For MCA by the original pre-plane crash band, and it came under consideration. But I thought I’d give the post-crash version of the band some love via this hard-rocking number from the 1999 album Edge Of Forever.

I’ve often said and I hold to it: I think the post-crash version of the band is high quality and they still certainly ‘bring it’ live where yes, they rely a lot on the tried and true catalog they’re expected to play and they do it well. But they’ve also released some solid studio albums since reuniting in 1987, some of which they draw from in concert, albeit now with no original members due to the passage of time and, mostly, deaths that have struck even newer members of the apparently star-crossed band whose roots go back to 1964.

Guitarist Rickey Medlocke, who’s been in latter-day versions of the band since 1996, arguably comes as close as possible to being an original member as he was a drummer in very early versions of Skynyrd in 1971-72, just before the release of the 1973 debut record Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd in 1973. Medlocke did record with the group, his early work with the band eventually coming out on the 1978 post-plane crash compilation Skynyrd’s First and . . . Last which was later expanded and re-released as Skynyrd’s First: The Complete Muscle Shoals Album, in 1998.

And, from what I’ve read, original vocalist Ronnie Van Zant supposedly eventually wanted to retire from the road and turn lead vocals over to younger brother Johnny, which wound up happening in 1987, 10 years after the plane crash took Ronnie’s life. There’s so much cross-pollination in so-called southern rock bands. Johnny had his own music career before, apparently at first somewhat reluctantly, taking over fronting Skynyrd, and Donnie, the middle brother of the three Van Zants, was a singer and guitarist in .38 Special before retiring due to health issues in 2013. He also teamed with Johnny to release several albums as Van Zant, a rock outfit which eventually branched into country music. And the late guitarist Hughie Thomasson, a founding member of the Outlaws, teamed with Medlocke and founding member Gary Rossington in the three-axe attack in post-crash versions of Skynyrd.

So, they persevere, it’s what they do, some people like it, some don’t, considering them a glorified tribute band which I can understand but, after some controversies and lawsuits over use of the name, the reconstituted Skynyrd is now doing it with, apparently, the blessings of all concerned, estates of the deceased included. They’re still out there touring, currently co-headlining with ZZ Top, who I’m getting to later in the set. I saw Skynyrd, great show, in 2004, when Rossington and keyboardist Billy Powell, the last remaining members of the band that recorded the first album, were still around. They released a studio album as recently as 2012 and, well, I suppose they’re like Nazareth for me, for some reason, I guess as simple as I still like most of whatever music they’re releasing, I admire their survival instincts and hang with them, loyal, perhaps, to a fault.

7. Warren Zevon, The Factory . . . Up-tempo tune from the Sentimental Hygiene album from 1987. Nothing ever approached the commercial heights for Zevon of Excitable Boy, the 1978 album fuelled by the hit single Werewolves Of London, but aficionados know the depth of Zevon’s catalog. Sentimental Hygiene is notable for Zevon’s main backing band – members of R.E.M. – on the bulk of the album, outside of star session players like Bob Dylan, Don Henley of the Eagles, Mike Campbell of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers and Neil Young on a track or two each. R.E.M.’s Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass) and Bill Berry (drums) back Zevon, which led to the apparently drunken session that resulted in the Hindu Love Gods album of covers, recorded around the same time and released in 1990. That album is notable for the cover of Prince’s Raspberry Beret.

8. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Makin’ Thunderbirds . . . I couldn’t decide between this one and Seger’s Feel Like A Number when I did the ‘work song’ thing on Labour Day, so here it is, a tasty leftover. It’s from his 1982 album The Distance.

9. Neil Young, Union Man . . . Short, sweet, two-minute rockabilly/country/hillbilly tune from Young’s 1980 album Hawks & Doves. I played his Ten Men Workin’ from 1988’s This Note’s For You album in my recent ‘work’ set, meant to juxtapose it with Union Sundown by Bob Dylan, which I did play, but song times and so on didn’t work out that night. So, here’s Union Man.

10. ZZ Top, I Gotsta Get Paid . . . Not to be confused with ZZ Top’s earlier hit, or at least widely known track, Just Got Paid, from the band’s second album, 1972’s Rio Grande Mud. This one’s from 40 years later, from the 2012 La Futura album by which time ZZ Top had long since largely abandoned the successful but divisive among fans and even band members, largely synthesizer approach, for a return to the group’s more bluesy leanings. That said, to me, a band of the quality of ZZ Top, like say The Rolling Stones, can dabble in things yet even if they may appear to go off the rails to some of their fan base (while attracting new fans with new sounds), they’re never too far from their roots, their essence. This track reflects that. It was a single, didn’t chart, classic bands like ZZ Top by now likely don’t give a shit in a totally different musical landscape, yet the song has millions of views on YouTube. Which says something, I think.

11. Thin Lizzy, Cold Sweat . . . Hard rocker from arguably Thin Lizzy’s hardest rocking, almost metal album, 1983’s appropriately-titled Thunder and Lightning which proved to be the band’s last studio release before the death bassist/frontman/songwriter Phil Lynott. The album was also the lone Thin Lizzy studio work featuring guitarist John Sykes. Sykes later joined the hair metal version of Whitesnake – whose roots in part might be found in Sykes’ contribution to the sound of the Lizzy record – and was on board for the monster commercial hit record Whitesnake aka ‘1987’.

12. Ron Wood, Shirley . . . Funky tune from Wood’s first solo album, the 1974 release I’ve Got My Own Album To Do which featured a host of Wood’s musical friends including future Rolling Stones mates Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts. Included in the track listing are the Jagger-Richards songs Sure The One You Need and Act Together, both sung by Richards. Mick Taylor, soon to quit the Stones and be replaced by Wood, contributed guitar, bass, piano and synthesizer to several tracks on the album.

13. Rory Gallagher, Smear Campaign . . . Stop-start sort of hypnotic riff on this one from the late great guitarist/songwriter’s 1987 album Defender. Lyrics applicable to any election campaign.

14. The Moody Blues, In My World . . . Lovely ballad from the band’s 1981 album Long Distance Voyager which I remember being all over radio then via such hits as The Voice and Gemini Dream.

15. Free, Sweet Tooth . . . Heavy blues rock, by a bunch of teenagers at the time, 1968, on the debut album Tons Of Sobs, sounding wonderfully like grizzled blues veterans. Fronted by singer Paul Rodgers backed by guitarist Paul Kossoff, bass player Andy Fraser and drummer Simon Kirke who, with Rodgers, would later form the more commercial, and commercially successful, Bad Company.

16. Concrete Blonde, Beware Of Darkness (George Harrison cover) . . . Nice treatment, on Concrete Blonde’s self-titled 1986 debut album, of the George Harrison classic from All Things Must Pass which, apparently, the former Beatle approved of and enjoyed. Always worth listening to the expressive voice of Concrete Blonde’s singer/bass player Johnette Napolitano. Fantastic singer, great band, yet for whatever reason, despite solid albums, never found much further major success after their breakthrough 1990 album Bloodletting which gave us the hit singles Joey, in particular and to a lesser extent Caroline and Tomorrow, Wendy.

17. Dave Davies, God In My Brain . . . A remarkable track, not only in its hypnotic psychedelic sort of industrial sound but more so because Davies, best known as The Kinks’ lead guitarist and forever battler with brother Ray, wrote and recorded it shortly after suffering a stroke, which the song addresses to a degree, in 2006. It was a new track recorded for the 2006-released compilation Kinked, comprised of Davies’ earlier solo work outside of the parent band which, by then, had not existed for a decade and seems forever dormant. And that’s OK. I’m a huge Kinks’ fan but I say, despite occasional rumors of a reunion, best at this point, 30 years after the last album, to let it be and not just because time has marched on and the brothers are 80 (Ray) and 77 (Dave), respectively, now. The legacy is assured, the influence of their talents widespread, nothing to prove.

18. The Tragically Hip, Vapour Trails . . . Nice groove, guitar work on this one from the renowned Canadian band’s 1998 release Phantom Power which contained the hits Poets, Fireworks and Bobcaygeon. If the song Fireworks doesn’t come immediately to mind via the title, it’s the one that starts with these lyrics; Canadians, at least, of a certain age will likely recall the subject matter of the first two verses:

“If there’s a goal that everyone remembers
It was back in ol’ 72
We all squeezed the stick and we all pulled the trigger
And all I remember is sitting beside you

You said you didn’t give a fuck about hockey
And I never saw someone say that before
You held my hand and we walked home the long way
You were loosening my grip on Bobby Orr”

19. Burton Cummings, Not Too Appealing . . . A song I rediscovered the other day, going through CDs and finding an old Cummings compilation. I like when that happens, you dust something off you haven’t listened to in ages and are rewarded. Anyway, I put it on and the song sounded instantly familiar, although it wasn’t if that makes sense, because I can’t remember when I last heard it, but I obviously must have although it’s not one of his big solo hits on the order of, say, the Guess Who singer’s better-known tracks like Stand Tall, I’m Scared, My Own Way To Rock, Break It To Them Gently and I Will Play A Rhapsody. But it has an irresistible hook, I find. To quote Cummings from his own liner notes on The Collection compilation: “Not Too Appealing was a stream of consciousness song that rolled out one day while I was staying at my then-manager’s house on Maui. . . . I picked up an old acoustic guitar and out came . . . ” The song was released on Cummings’ 1984 album Heart, long after his earlier commercial peak in Canada if not elsewhere had largely waned, and features Timothy B. Schmit, of Poco and Eagles fame, on backing vocals.

20. Traffic, Graveyard People . . . Intoxicating musical and biting lyrical brew from Traffic’s 1974 album When The Eagle Flies by which time the band was long into its latter-day jazz rock mode, long instrumental passages of terrific ensemble playing highlighting keyboards, percussion, bass and saxophone. It was the last Traffic album until Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi reunited for Far From Home in 1994. That album was decent enough but a bit overproduced to my ears and came off sounding more like a Winwood solo album and in fact he played and sang virtually everything on it, leaving drums, percussion and some backing vocals to Capaldi.

21. Elton John, Empty Sky . . . Strangely, perhaps, since I’m a huge Rolling Stones fan, that it took a while for me – until I recently read someone commenting on it in a YouTube clip – to clue in to the fact that the percussion intro to this title cut epic from EJ’s first album, 1969, is essentially a copy of Sympathy For The Devil done by the Stones a year earlier as the opening cut on Beggars Banquet. Paying deliberate homage to Sympathy, perhaps. In any event, not a criticism because I’ve always liked the song as Elton then goes off onto other lyrical and musical tangents, perhaps presaging future lengthy triumphs like Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding, from 1973’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

On the menu for Saturday morning: British hard rock/progressive band Wishbone Ash’s 1972 classic album Argus, then Moontan from the Dutch group Golden Earring, the 1973 record famous for its hit single Radar Love, just one of the consistently satisfying songs on a terrific front-to-back album of hard rock with a sometimes progressive edge. I close with AC/DC’s 5-song EP ’74 Jailbreak. Song clips follow my album-by-album commentary.

Wishbone Ash – Argus

Wishbone Ash, according to the allmusic website and I concur, balances hard rock edge and prog-rock ambition complete with twin lead guitars. I quote: “Wishbone Ash can be considered a group who dabbled in the main strains of early-’70s British rock without ever settling on one (were they a prog rock outfit like Yes, a space rock unit like Pink Floyd, a heavy ensemble like Led Zeppelin, or just a boogie band like Ten Years After?).” Yes, they were all of that, and excellent as a result, although I bristle at the reference to Ten Years After, among my favorite bands, as ‘just’ a boogie band. It’s a poor assessment of TYA who yes, were a boogie band but also much more – blues rock, hard rock, etc. so as not to be pigeonholed. As for Wishbone Ash, I would recommend the Argus album as an entry point, and also the fine Time Was double disc CD compilation which contains most of Argus and the fine self-titled 1970 debut record including key tracks Errors Of My Way and Phoenix. All are available as physical copies and also on YouTube and streaming services. Argus song list below.

1. Time Was
2. Sometime World
3. Blowin’ Free
4. The King Will Come
5. Leaf And Stream
6. Warrior
7. Throw Down The Sword

Golden Earring – Moontan (UK/US/North America track listing)

1. Radar Love
2. Candy’s Going Bad
3. Vanilla Queen
4. Big Tree, Blue Sea
5. Are You Receiving Me

Original track listing (The Netherlands)

1. Candy’s Going Bad
2. Are You Receiving Me
3. Suzy Lunacy (Mental Rock)
4. Radar Love
5. Just Like Vince Taylor (Vince Taylor is the man who wrote and performed Brand New Cadillac, a hit for him in 1959 later famously covered by The Clash on their London Calling album, along with Canadian band Teenage Head, and others. I played Vince Taylor’s version long ago on an “old time rock and roll’ show.
6. Vanilla Queen

The original Moontan track listing in Golden Earring’s home country of The Netherlands dropped the epic song Big Tree, Blue Sea in favor of the more pop-oriented Suzy Lunacy (Mental Rock) and Just Like Vince Taylor, which made for a six-song album as opposed to five extended songs elsewhere. To me, Big Tree, Blue Sea is the far better song than either of its replacements, so I’m glad that we in North America got that one instead. To my ears, Just Like Vince Taylor and Suzy Lunacy suggest Golden Earring may have been going for a more accessible mainstream pop sound at least on those two tracks. And, if one investigates their extensive catalog they did have pop leanings at various times. But, suffice it to say, however it came about, the North American version of the album is superior in my view. It’s tighter im terms of being consistently hard-rock focused.

As for the album cover, we in North America got the familiar ‘earring’ cover while overseas issues featured the exotic British dancer and model, nude and otherwise, Jilly Johnson. That album cover did originally appear in the United States, at least, but was quickly withdrawn although times have changed and it’s readily available, at least in my friendly neighborhood and amazing in terms of catalog completeness music store. Jilly Johnson also dabbled in acting, appeared topless in British tabloid the Daily Mirror and, with fellow model Nina Carter, formed the girl group Blonde on Blonde which in 1979 did a fun disco cover, complete with racy video, of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love. Nina Carter, born Penelope Jane Mallett, as Penny Mallett was a cover girl and centrefold subject in a 1971 issue of Mayfair magazine and was a popular topless Page 3 girl in The Sun tabloid. She and keyboard player of Yes fame Rick Wakeman married in 1984, were separated in 2000 and divorced in 2004.

AC/DC ’74 Jailbreak EP

From the Bon Scott on lead vocals era, featuring songs that had already been released as singles or on various albums in Australia but didn’t see widespread official release in North America until the EP came out in 1984. Included are my two favorites on the EP, Jailbreak (a different song than Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak) and a smoking hot version of the standard Baby, Please Don’t Go made famous by blues artist Big Joe Williams in 1935 and later covered by Van Morrison’s Them. Among others doing Baby, Please Don’t Go were Aerosmith (on their 2004 covers album Honkin’ On Bobo) and Ted Nugent on the first Amboy Dukes album in 1967 and on his solo Double Live Gonzo! in 1978.

1. Jailbreak
2. You Ain’t Got A Hold On Me
3. Show Business
4. Soul Stripper
5. Baby, Please Don’t Go

A Labour/Labor Day set. Some hits but mostly the usual deeper cuts, all songs and/or artists’ names referencing work in some fashion.

1. Elvis Costello, Welcome To The Working Week
2. The Butterfield Blues Band, Work Song
3. Rush, Working Man
4. Bruce Springsteen, Factory
5. The Rolling Stones, Factory Girl
6. The Clash, Career Opportunities
7. Bob Marley and The Wailers, Work
8. Van Morrison, I’ve Been Working (live, from It’s Too Late To Stop Now)
9. The Who, The Dirty Jobs
10. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Feel Like A Number
11. John Lennon, Working Class Hero
12. The Beatles, Lovely Rita (she’s a meter maid)
13. AC/DC, What Do You Do For Money Honey
14. Nick Lowe, Switchboard Susan
15. Jim Croce, Workin’ At The Car Wash Blues
16. Goddo, The Bus Driver Blues
17. Neil Young, Ten Men Workin’
18. Bob Dylan, Union Sundown
19. ABBA, Money, Money, Money
20. The Firm, Satisfaction Guaranteed
21. Men At Work, Down By The Sea
22. Blackfoot, Diary Of A Working Man