These three albums changed the lives of these three staff members and helped them through good and not-so-good times
Leftoverture by Kanas
by Gregory D. Cook
The album, and in particular the song “The Wall,” helped get me through one of the lowest parts of my life.
Admittedly, 1990 was a tough year for me. I had been in the U.S. Army since 1985, serving as a combat engineer, stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Our unit was rarely ever actually in Hawaii, deployed over 200 days a year to various locales around the Pacific Rim, mostly for cross-training with our allies, but occasionally in response to some threat, or just to remind the rest of the world that America had an army and knew how to use it.
As exciting as traveling to places like the Philippines and Thailand was, after the better part of three years of watching me leave for places unknown, sometimes with just a phone call’s notice in the middle of the night, my wife had had enough. She packed up our 2-year-old son and headed home to her family.
It’s not something I’m proud to admit, but I went right off the deep end. I stopped caring about everything. I stopped eating, and if I could have, I would have stopped breathing. I got bad enough that I wound up in the mental ward of a military hospital for a couple of days. During my weekend stay, a buddy brought me my Walkman, and one cassette, Kansas’ “Leftoverture.” I had listened to that tape hundreds of times, but suddenly the song “The Wall” took on a personal meaning for me. I would listen to it at night, just before I fell asleep.
The lyrics uncannily fit my situation, and its powerful message about the inner struggle to overcome, gave me the inspiration to get back on my feet and soldier on. I made that song my personal anthem, and I have carried it with me, still listening to it whenever I find a “dark and silent barrier between, all I am, and all that I would ever want to be.”
Best Shots by Pat Benatar
by Jackie Gibson
Pat Benatar’s album “Best Shots” came out on CD in 1989. That year, my parents bought their first CD player. At first listen, I was overwhelmed with her vocal range. She was hitting every note. Whether it was high or low, she owned it.
Her rock songs, such as “Hit me with Your Best Shot” and “All Fired Up” got me dancing with my friends after school everyday. Benatar’s uplifting, rebellious spirit came off in her lyrics. Her soft and tender ballads soothed me to sleep at night and the memories of good old days gone by flood back to me when I hear them today.
During my teenage years her music soothed my heart after those bad breakups. I definitely played out “Love is a Battlefield” in my teens, along with “Fire and Ice.” Looking back now, I also recall performing to Benatar’s hit “Heartbreaker” in Mr. Orr’s Drama class at North High School. Pat Benatar’s music has been in my life like a soundtrack for as long as I can remember.
During my early 20s, which I like to refer to as my “dark period,” Pat’s songs, “Invincible” and “Fire and Ice” carried me into my now, much calmer, early 30s.
Her music still makes me want to get up and dance when she is played on the air. Her vitality and love for life comes across in many of her songs.
Just listening to her crank it out on those vocals makes my day better. No matter what mood I am in, her music can always change it. That is why “Best Shots” is my favorite.
Appetite for Destruction by Gun N’Roses
By Breanna Fields
The allure of the music industry has always conjured up images of fame, fortune and touring the world. It has attracted many youth who wish to rid themselves of the responsibility and monotony of daily life.
Guns N’ Roses album “Appetite for Destruction” created an image of reckless abandon that I could relate to on so many levels. It was a sound that resonated so deeply within myself that I was inspired to pick up the guitar.
Hearing the album for the first time was an exhilarating experience. I stopped in my tracks upon first hearing the classic “Welcome to the Jungle” intro.It had a catchy and creative lick, unlike anything I had ever heard up to that point.
At first, I felt overwhelmed trying to learn an instrument with the hope of achieving the same level of success that measured up to Slash’s (the lead guitarist) skill and Izzy Stradlin’s (the rhythm guitarist) heavy rhythms. Spending countless hours playing through rock records I’ve heard hundreds of bands yet my faith in that this is still one of the greatest rock records still stands strong.
When I put “Appetite for Destruction” onto my record player, (Yes, I’m old school. Still rockin’ the vinyl!) the anger and aggression I felt when I was young was transposed into roaring guitar riffs on tracks like “Nightrain” and “My Michelle.”
Slash’s solo in “November Rain” was a particularly emotional piece of music that I would play over and over in an effort to capture that sound.
I’ve read all of their tales of rock ‘n’ roll decadence and debauchery. I had the opportunity to see Slash play live a year ago at the House of Blues in Los Angeles. When he broke out into “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” the crowd went crazy, just as they did with the original line-up.