| re: Billy Squier | |
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Posted by: |
Leesa (gallytrotter@mchsi.com) 11:35 pm UTC 07/26/07 |
| In reply to: | Billy Squier - Scaramouche 11:31 am UTC 07/26/07 |
| The last really great work Billy did in my opinion was "Creatures of Habit" in '91 I think it was. There were alot of reasons his career fell apart (no, not that stupid as 'Rock Me Tonight' video--give me a break...!)--he was just an amazing composer. Brian May loved him, Jim thought the world of him, the world was his (and the record company he was tied to)to lose. 'Happy Blue' was pure puke and I never entertained the anthology stuff. Plus he cut his hair which really affected me on a level I'd rather not discuss... His stuff from Piper days in the 70's was very decent as well. I'd check out the original lps he released in the 80's and then in '90/'91. 'Signs of Life' just never really delivered for me. I shuddered when I first learned that Jim had been tapped for producer because I feared it'd bring out the worst in both--for me, anyway, it did. Mutt Lange had had another nervous breakdown after the Cars' lp and made him wait nearly 2 YEARS. Mind you know, Mutt would have given the album a 'dated' sound, but if Billy would have delivered half the calibre of material he did for Mack, I think it would have worked. The fates just really blew lugies on this. Jim's a brilliant producer, but it was 1)a marked departure in the style that woirked for Billy and 2)the material Billy coughed up was really more in the hairball league, despite Jim's best and beautiful cheerleading efforts. JD has an interview on the Rockman I sent her from Wild Bill's 1984 Fan Club newsletter that makes a great read. Cheers! Leesa > Squier interview from 2006 (I think), with a very brief > mention of Jim: > > http://www.rockpages.gr/interviews/billysquier2006-en.htm > > Rockpages.gr: You had worked among others with Desmond > Child, Jim Steinman and Freddie Mercury. What do you > remember from those collaborations? > > Billy Squier: I met Desmond Child in 1980. He was in a > band called Desmond Child & Rouge and he was really trying > to make it. We all know now how successful Desmond is. > What most people don’t know is the fact that Desmond Child > didn’t gain success with that group and he was really > trying to make it. So, we wrote a song together for “The > Tale Of The Tape” (“You should be high, love”). I think > that it was a very effective collaboration because we were > both hungry to make it! Jim Steinman was a very surprising > guy! He helped me a lot and I learned a lot from him (ed. > note: He was the one that pushed Billy to record the > ballad “Fall for love” and expand on the song “Reach for > the sky”). As for Freddie…what can I say? He was the best > musician that I’ve ever met… a creative and a very > generous person. He made me see the full meaning of the > word “respect”. I miss him! > > Incidentally, Billy now spends a lot of his time as a > volunteer gardener in Central Park. > > Wish he'd record another album! Aside from 'Signs of Life' > (great album) he's written loads of other great stuff > (check out his Reach For The Sky Anthology set, which has > the fantastic Freddie Mercury intro to Love Is The Hero). | |
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