HARDWARES

1976 was a glorious year for classic rock, the sort of benchmark that punk achieved in ’77 and thrash went through a decade later in ’86. Such a seminal time begs archival-type analysis, and Martin Popoff has answered the call with the third instalment in his Ye Olde Metal series, books that examine the classic records that went on to total and utter renown as well as the albums that are admired by a small and loyal few (i.e. the hidden gems). In Ye Olde Metal 1976, Popoff writes eloquently and features interviews on some massively prominent albums: Boston’s mega-selling debut is analyzed, as are Kansas’ Leftoverture and Max Webster’s first record, which ends up being the basis for the coolest dissertation in this tome (Max, on a side-note, is so under-rated it hurts, the band’s genius way ahead of its time and still worthy of attention some 30 years after its initial impact). Conversely, Ted Nugent's Free For All gets a 40 (!) page treatment, and also likely acts as the last known interview with drummer Cliff Davies before his unfortunate suicide in April. Other interesting record explorations come in the form of those hidden gem albums that were just on the verge of breaking out but didn’t, although that kind of near-miss weirdly ensures extra lore and respect amongst the faithful. Starz’s debut falls under that particular banner and, I’ve got to be honest, I never thought I’d read any sort of in-depth look at that record (which is precisely the whole charm of this Ye Olde Metal series). Other interesting essays explore the ins and outs of records by Angel, Rex, Moxy… the groups that, for a quick minute, looked like they might do something real big, but then sort of faded into the obscurity that Popoff clearly loves to shine a knowing light on. Nobody cares about these bands, you say? Popoff does, and that’s what makes Ye Olde Metal, in its totality, such entertaining reading. And, man, what a great cover shot of Brad Delp. You can almost hear his golden voice, now sadly silenced, smoothly jump off the cover page. See martinpopoff.com for more – these books are signed, hand-numbered and limited to 1000 copies.