Music of the Day, 2 November 2023

my hands are in the air

There are many rock bands I’ve long adored, but was too young to see them in concert at their peak.¹ The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) are two (among many) I wish I could have seen.

I think I discovered BTO a few years after they peaked; it wasn’t until I was in high school that I dared to switch my parents’ radio from its variety AM station to the FM rock station that my friends were listening to. BTO, Queen, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, ELP, Yes, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple were among the musicians I discovered there and couldn’t get enough of.

Someone I knew had BTO’s album Not Fragile; I remember seeing the album cover and being intrigued, and getting pulled into their sound with the opening track, “Not Fragile.” At that point, I’d heard the 1974 album’s biggest hits—”You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” and “Roll on Down the Highway”—a lot on the radio, but the quiet bass intro with that tasty riff and the slow build of “Not Fragile” put it ahead of the hits in my heart. Today’s music of the day similarly worked its magic on me, with a melding of heavy rock and jazzy interludes that I haven’t found in any other BTO track.

The line “some of us have not survived” hits a little harder these days, as two of the Bachman brothers died earlier this year, and so many other legends² are gone. Writing about Van Halen yesterday probably helped put this song in my mind; even though Eddie has been gone three years now, my mind has a hard time acknowledging that. We are so fortunate to be able to listen to the music of those gone—and revisit some live performances³—via audio and video.

The alternating between laid back and heavier licks beautifully captures the dichotomy of a rocker’s life on stage and off stage. Randy Bachman’s distinctive voice breathes life into the words he wrote so well that I don’t understand why “Rock Is My Life, and This Is My Song” wasn’t a hit too. Even though I heard it first, Jackson Browne’s “The Load Out/Stay” was the song that led me to think about all the in-between time and the loneliness of touring, and it changed me from a passive observer to an active participant in live music.

Discovering deep cuts that speak to me is a thrill I have yet to tire of. Sure, hearing hits is great (and a lot of those songs speak to me too), but there’s something special about being able to go beyond what the A&R people think will sell and finding my own diamonds. This is why I will be significantly expanding my music library once I’ve landed a better job. There are always jewels waiting for us to discover them.

1. There are many more that I wasn’t able to see because I couldn’t afford the time and/or money to see them … but today isn’t the day for airing my regrets

2. Eddie Van Halen, Neil Peart, Chris Squire, Freddie Mercury, Bon Scott, Keith Emerson, and Greg Lake are just a few that come to mind

3. I’m so grateful that Rush regularly put out live albums from their tours. I got into them in the mid ‘80s and appreciate being able to go back in time and visit previous tours via those releases