Folks, it’s time again for another edition of the RTH Thrifty Music series, hosted by yours truly. As you can read in greater detail here, this is the place where we discover — and, today, perhaps rediscover — interesting and timeless music that we might not bother with had it not been thrown away by somebody before we acquired it.
Today’s focus is a simple one: Classic Rock. There are times when I’m not even sure what the term means, but — like the art critic once famously said — I think we all know it when we hear it. Today’s triptych presents one vital tune I rediscovered; one questionable tune that, well, begs questions; and one new discovery that may help us define yet another Rock Niche that’s not really in need of further definition.
On to the show!
First up: “Rat Bat Blue”, from Deep Purple‘s otherwise execrable Who Do We Think We Are LP. I found the album for 99 cents, saw that it had “Woman From Tokyo” on it (one of my all-time DP faves), and thought it might have a few undiscovered treasures buried deep on its grooves. Wrong! This album sucks! However: I was downright startled to hear one song — “Rat Bat Blue” — for the first time in almost 30 years, and to be reminded of just how totally boss it is. Yeah, yeah, the “lyric” is retarded, but the band cooks, the riff is to die for, and the production is hard-rock perfection. Seriously — I admit I’ve got a huge boner for the Vanda/Young AC/DC studio sound, but this may be the greatest-sounding hard rock album in history.
I was also startled to realize that this song must have marked a major milestone for me as a young music listener, because as soon as I heard that riff come pounding out of the speakers again, I realized it’s one of those riffs that I’ve always had stuck in my head, and as crazy as it sounds, I almost mean that literally. Perhaps other musicians here will understand what I’m trying to say. It’s like the drum intro to the Clash’s “Revolution Rock”, or the opening fanfare to the theme from “Rocky” — it’s always been on instant recall in my head, so strong was its original pull. A riff by which all other riffs are measured. In this case, I had completely forgotten who wrote it, and where I’d heard it, until I plunked this dusty vinyl on the turntable. But now, the prodigal riff has come home at last. Slaughter the fatted calf and prepare to make merry, for the riff that was once lost is now found!
So this calls for answers to two questions:
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