The cat from Three Mile Island.
Hey, you silly goose! It’s that day that is supposedly full of grace, Monday! That means it’s time for The Nest to stick in our thumb and pull out a lost hit that had a great fall out of that bare cupboard of old bones we like to call the Dusty Vinyl Archive! DJ Scratchy is sitting on her tuffet ready to spoonfeed you another forgotten classic for your merry old soul, while the Sponkies are fetching a pail of water. This song will sound so much better than a cat with a fiddle…
This week marks the 32nd anniversary of one of the more epic environmental disasters in the history of human stupidity. Of course, I’m talking about the highly toxic meltdown that put the small Soviet town of Chernobyl on the map. That got me to thinking about a nifty little rock hit from around that time that despite being done by some of the biggest names in rock and roll, never became much of a hit. Please extend a firm handshake to The Firm…
What’s so funny, guys? This is a serious blog, you know.
The Firm had star power in lead singer Paul Rodgers of Bad Company, and guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. In an era when so-called “supergroups” were popular, The Firm didn’t get a whole lot of guaranteed satisfaction. Their only US Top 40 hit was a minor one (#28 in 1985), but a damn fine song that includes some really cool musical effects. Three decades before Imagine Dragons came along, The Firm was telling us what it was like to be “Radioactive”…
Jimmy Page really knows how to milk some strange sounds out of a guitar, and he shows off some more of his tricks in this song with that crazy riff that follows the chorus, and the ear pleasing scratching that would make any housecat proud. Rodgers going reverb on the title word is a nice touch as well. But in listening to this song again, I realize it’s Tony Franklin’s prominent bass work that steals the show for me. The drummer (Chris Slade) really doesn’t do anything special at all on this song, but don’t tell him he got the boring part… he still wants to look badass even if he’s only playing a steady beat…
Never has any musician been so fired up to do something so mundane.
It’s a five Monday month! You’ll get that fifth April earworm in one week…
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
Okay we do know and remember that song. It blows mom over the edge. To say it’s the least favorite of hers is an understatement. Snorts with piggy laughter. XOXO – Bacon
You should play it all the time, I’ll bet she’d really appreciate it!
You think? Really? I’m off to record it now so it will play for her when she gets home tonight. Thanks for the tip my evil friend. XOXO – Bacon
love it!!!!! and I bet Mr. Burns loves it too ;O)
I’ll bet he dances to this one while nobody is looking…
fortunately the rhythm is more moderate… he still has not finished his last will … so we all are still in the game ;O)))
Yay, great way to begin the week with a little Jimmy Page. Way to go with this week’s ear worm!
I was hoping this one would be a hit my readers. Funny how I never thought of this song as “lost”, yet I also hadn’t heard it in years and it sounded way better than I remembered.
Oh yeah I remember that one……love the guitar work – I would almost say this didn’t need the rather boring words and would have been just fine with me as an instrumental. Page is amazing – period.
Pam
You are right that the music in this one is so good that the words are almost unnecessary. I do like the special effects on the title word, though!
Yes – it was like putting an exclamation mark on the title……..
My husband loves this song & we listen to it often! (Of course I never heard of them before I met Bob. 80s)
Woohoo! I finally found an 80’s song you like! I never thought I’d live to see the day!
Hahaha. My husband played it so much I came around (he he he). He’s an 80s guy. It’s not fair! I didn’t notice. I was hypnotized. It’s not my fault!
Thumbs up on this one. Rodgers is a criminally underrated rock vocalist.
Absolutely. Amazing voice.
ody N biskit…….wavez two ewe doodz N thanx for de share…thiz song kicks AZZ !!!!!!!!!
N therz a lot oh awesum guitarist out ther….but …one wood be hard pressed ta match Page’s talentz ~~~~ rock on ~~~~~~~~ ☺☺♥♥
I remember when I was in 7th grade music class in 1987, and we all thought nobody could possibly be a better guitarist than Eddie Van Halen. Our music teacher rated him 5th on his list of best guitarists, then schooled us on the classic rockers from before our time he thought were better. I’m pretty sure one of those in the Top 4 was Page…
Paul Rogers – OMG that wonderful voice. Swoon.
Yes. A bit calmer than his Bad Co. days, and I honestly didn’t know it was him until I looked The Firm up…
” This is a serious blog, you know.” Since when? Have I missed something?
Yes, the memo went out sometime over the weekend. Fleabag might have eaten it before anyone could read it…
I collaborated on a book about Chernobyl. Didn’t get published (of course) but I sure did learn WAY too much about radioactivity.
I actually spent about an hour reading up a bit on Chernobyl after writing this post up. I remember all the hype about it when it first happened, but never really knew a lot about the follow up. I was surprised to find out there are still people living in the are around the plant, and perhaps shouldn’t have been surprised to discover that the town is now a tourist destination…
Love “The Firm” my kind of music! I think I even have this cassette! Cruising with my buddy in his VW Beetle! Yahoo!!! The 80’s all over again! Thanks ES, I needed a boost ! ❤
No problem! I’m glad you enjoyed this muzak!
That was interesting, in a good way. It sounded like Bad Company but also not. It was fun to hear Jimmy Page’s legendary guitar skills in something short enough that I could actually pay attention to. I’ve always heard how awesome his guitar solo in Stairway to Heaven is and I’ve heard that song dozens of times but the slow part with the creepy flutes that lasts an eternity always makes me zone out and, the next thing I know, the song is over and I’ve missed the guitar solo again.
I’ve never been a LedZep fan mainly because their songs are too “out there” and most of them have completely asinine, random titles that make no sense so I can’t even tell them apart. Maybe Jimmy’s guitar work can finally be heard in this one now that he doesn’t have Robert Plant screaming like a whiny girl over the music. There are just so many weird things going on in this song musically, that I have to keep listening to it over and over now. They should’ve given the drummer something to actually get excited over playing!
Crazy stuff! Not toot bad.
Gotta love those dual guitars. And invented even before the technology exists to graft on a second hand with which to do it justice.
Not a song I remember hearing as a kid, but certainly worth a listen this evening! 😀