Search - Rockets :: Back Talk/Rocket Roll

The Hollywood Record and the Last Gasp

Comet Zipper | Texas | 03/01/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"What we have here is a (partial) testament to a band that came close to making it big, but never did. Unfortunately, the bands two best records, "The Rockets" (A.K.A. Turn Up The Radio), and "No Ballads", have never been issued on CD, perhaps because of the record label (RSO) failing. These two albums (Back Talk and Rocket Roll) were made for Elektra. (Update: The Rockets and No Ballads are now availble as a combo CD)



The band was on that second rung of the ladder, opening for top-name acts, and trying to push through to nation wide headliner status themselves. While they didn't succeed, it wasn't for lack of effort or reputation. They had top-drawer production, and were offered songs by Bruce Springsteen and the like.



When No Ballads failed to match the band's potential, radio hitmaker Jack Douglas was hired (to produce Back Talk). Douglas had produced the biggest Aerosmith and Cheap Trick albums up to that time. He was producing John Lennon's Double Fantasy when the ex-Beatle was murdered.



(Gutarist) Jimmy McCarty summed up the sessions and resulting record: "Back Talk was our Hollywood record. That was us trying to find a hit record. Douglas was a mess after the Lennon thing. When the record came out, we alienated all the old fans and didn't make any new ones."



"When we went into Back Talk, we were trying, by Rocket Roll (Their final studio album), the thing was over."



Thier final album was a live show recorded on New Years Eve, 1982. It has been issued on CD.



Hopefully, the rest of their catalog will be released on CD soon.



The MetroTimes (Detroit weekly newspaper) recently had a story on the late Dave Gilbert, who sang lead vocals. Amazon discourages website references, but you should be able to find the article with the info above.

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