ANIMAL NOTES

For a much too brief period in the late 1970s, 'album-oriented rock' (AOR) radio stations were popular. On an AOR station, you could hear great music from bands that the pop stations did not ordinarily play. One of the darlings of AOR stations was Crack The Sky, especially the very catchy track 'We Want Mine,' which opens the ANIMAL NOTES album. This fast-moving song has some outstanding guitar work. The next track on the album, 'Animal Skins', completely changes the tempo and style, and I have always liked the contrast between those two songs. All the remaining songs on this album are just as enjoyable. I'll mention two in particular. 'Wet Teenager' contains some excellent lyrics about growing up and facing the struggles of life. The last track, 'Play On,' ends with a beautiful ELO-like piece played by a violin section. I was hooked on this album the first time I heard it, and it has been one of my favorites ever since. The student newspaper at the University of Notre Dame, THE OBSERVER, ranked ANIMAL NOTES as one of the top ten rock albums of the 1970s. That honor is well deserved. Play On!