And then there's this one, a little bit of power pop from Down Under. I knew the Angels as Angel City when I first heard them in the early 80s; they had to adjust their name stateside due to the existence of the Punky Meadows lead pop-rock nightmare that was Angel. But Angel City's MONSTER hit on FM radio in Los Angeles (a little bit of heaven 94.7 KMET (tweedle dee)) around that time was "Take A Long Line (Reel 'Em In)". Inexplicably, my parents let me go and see these guys at the Roxy on Sunset Boulevard for the "Face to Face" tour (or whatever album featured aforementioned monster hit), and when I think about the band at all this is the track I remember. I found this live version on youtube and I imagine it sounds pretty much like it sounded when I saw them at the Roxy and then, later, at the Forum in L.A. opening for the Kinks in maybe 1985 (and don't get me started on how good the Kinks were that night; they did a version of "You Really Got Me" that made Van Halen's attempt sound pretty weak by comparison. Which is what I think they were striving for).
Anybody remember this?
IBL:mm
IBL:mm
Vaguely, vaguely. Quite bouncy hearing it now. Almost punk bouncy. By the way, I saw the Kinks thrice in the 70s and early 80s, and I have to say that particularly on the LOW BUDGET album tour, you couldn't find a band anywhere that rocked like that. Even a band like the Who had to be having an on night to keep up.
ReplyDeleteTheir original version was less heavily electric and more poppy than this one. Must have re done it for our shores with a bit more of a punk bounce. This second version is the one I first heard...
ReplyDeleteI think I saw the Kinks three times in that time frame, too, and they were fabulous each and every time...
Oh boy, seeing this on your list takes me back. I remember this one from Face to Face, though it's not one of my favorites from the album. They were a really great band, and we would see them often at the Whiskey or the Starwood. Now I'm really feeling nostalgic.
ReplyDeleteI too, used to see the Kinks whenever they would play in LA around that era- they were a great live act, even if the albums were usually quite uneven.
I may as well throw this out there too- do you like Sparks?
John - I NEVER went to the Starwood but would check its listings in the paper every week. I haven't thought about that in years. w/r/t Sparks I missed them completely. Maybe there was one hit that got played on FM radio? I Predict? Is that the one? Other than that, Sparks is a blank for me...
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