Groundhogs - Live at Leeds

I’m maybe vaguely sure that the music on this early ‘hogs live release was used as bonus tracks on the other reissues, or if not the bonus tracks certainly hold quite a bit in common with the music here. If you looked at a theoretical peak I’d say this is the band just after cresting the top, still great, performing stuff like “Cherry Red,” but also getting that bit of gruffness that would take them into their second stage with records like Hogwash and the like which reminds me more of Motorhead than Colosseum. Anyway it’s still pretty high energy and impressive, although the quality is not quite up to the studio albums of the time.

Hidria Spacefolk - Live 11 A.M.

I’m not really all that sure what you can say about a band like Hidria Spacefolk who really seem to have mastered their take on the whole Hawkwind-Gong-Ozric Tentacles thing. I definitely find the title amusing as I’m sure anyone whose attended NEARfest can attest, as just about anything this powerful that early can be overwhelming. Music like this doesn’t particularly challenge me like it used to given the similarities among bands who use riff structures to jam over and spiral electronics around, but it’s also a style I’ve always really liked, so I always get the comfort food vibe. It is nice, however, and unlike some of the bands in this style (including Ozric Tentacles at times) that Hidria appear to be as competent on stage as they are in the studio and rarely was a misstep taken on this impressive show. Anyway I can imagine you’d know if you’d like this just by the style on display.

Def Leppard - On Through the Night

I think of my early AOR period as the early 80s and when it comes to Def Leppard, High n Dry was my album of the time, even if it took Pyromania to break the band. Their debut On Through the Night is entirely different from both successive records, definitely a child of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, most of which were spawned by Judas Priest influentially. They may have even had a different vocalist at this point, or at least the crooning was developed later and they certainly didn’t have the radio friendly songwriting chops that made Pyromania an album made up entirely of hits. I was pretty surprised on this listen because I don’t think I’d ever heard this album and because of that I don’t think I’ve quite absorbed it either.