Alex Trebek/Jeopardy Tribute Thread

This was a really interesting read! I kind of love how deep Claire gets into the weeds on Jeopardy stuff, haha. Her book on the show is pretty good.

 

One of the things I've learned when delving into the Steve Hoffman Forums is how legendary the Power Station album is within both drumming and producer/engineer circles.

Tony Thompson's drums are rightfully praised to high heaven on that record. It is the pinnacle of the gated drum sound that was so big in the 80s. One of the best drum records in rock without question. There's a reason, at that time, he was asked to play with Led Zeppelin at Live Aid.

However, what also makes the drums remarkable to the producer/engineer crowd is how clean the sound of the drums were. Apparently, it's a Holy Grail-like thing to try to mic drums the way they were miked on the Power Station record to get the compression, etc., the kind of shit I would never understand.

Sadly, Thompson (who played on all kinds of 80s classics along with being in Chic and who was as big as any musician in 1985 for what he played on) is no longer with us.

I LOVED the Power Station record in 1985. The Taylor's do both shine and Palmer is a good foil. Though I do love my glam music from the 70s, in particular, T-Rex's "Electric Warrior" album, I still prefer Power Station's crunchy version of "Get It On" to T-Rex. It rawks.

Only problem in hindsight is the lyrics of the originals on Power Station are hilariously terrible. "Murderess", for example, has almighty drum work by Thompson, and it's worth listening to for that reason, but the lyrics are sub-Poison level dreck.

 

Insightful Tony Thompson interview from 2002. His secret on the Power Station album? "Good kit, hit hard, in a nice live room."

Tony Thompson Interviewed | Modern Drummer Magazine

And here's a great live recording of Robert Palmer covering Mōtorhead's "Eat The Rich" from his 1988 Heavy Nova tour.

 

Holy shit, that was spectacular.

 

Hard to believe in retrospect that Bolan began his career in the early David Bowie/solo Syd Barrett mode strumming folk songs in the late 1960s.

 

Also, as this is a threadjack of the Jeopardy! thread, I’m imagining a matchup between Barrett, Bolan and Bowie on the show, back in the Art Fleming era.

Over/under on combined correct responses: 5.5.

 

He was Bowie’s drummer when I saw him in ‘83. Dude played with everyone.

 

Robert Palmer had such a bizarre career. Dabbled in everything. I doubt any of his 80s fans know he made great shit like this in the 70s.

 

Jesus H. fucking Christ, where has that been hiding all my life? Not only does Palmer get a little Lemmy-vibe in there but the band fucking kicks. That is awesome stuff.

And @BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo is spot on, "Take It Easy" - despite being ripped from a half dozen glam singles (most notably "Get It On") - is one of the great lost singles of the 80s.

 

Great song, I was a huge fan of stuff like "Looking for Clues", "Johnny and Mary" (that one always struck me as a song Rod Stewart would have knocked out of the park back when he had his fastball) and his version of "Bad Case of Lovin' You" shreds the original.

 

The closest I've heard to that Power Station drum sound is on T-Ride's only album. It's one of the most unique genre-benders I've heard. Hard rock, funk, and pop.

Eric Valentine played drums and also produced it. I think he's gone on to be an in-demand producer, too. Geoff Tyson is the only other student besides Steve Vai to "graduate" from Joe Satriani's guitar lessons and Dan Arlie's bass and vocal range are huge. They said their live shows were kind of boring because the musical complexity and harmonies didn't allow for a lot of extracurriculars.

 

Rod Stewart never lost his fastball! "Love Touch" is a masterpiece! #SJClassics