This is Eddie Money’s second album and arguably his best, CBS made the most of Eddie’s former New York Police officer background in their promotion campaign early on.
Written by: Eric
ARTIST: Eddie Money
ALBUM: Life For The Taking
LABEL: CBS
SERIAL: PC 35598
YEAR: 1978
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Eddie Money – lead vocals * Jimmy Lyon – guitars * Lonnie Turner – bass * Alan Pasqua – piano, keyboards
<TRACK LISTING: 01 Life For The Taking * 02 Can’t Keep A Good Man Down * 03 Nightmare * 04 Gimme Some Water * 05 Rock And Roll The Place * 06 Maybe I’m A Fool * 07 Love The Way You Love Me * 08 Maureen * 09 Nobody * 10 Call On Me
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
Money’s second album and arguably his best, CBS made the most of Eddie’s former New York Police officer background in their promotion campaign early on. The truth was Eddie had long left ‘the big apple’ behind, living in Northern California for several years developing his skills as both a songwriter and performer paying his dues in the local clubs.
He opened for local acts such as Earthquake and the Greg Kihn Band as well as latching on to the oddball support slot with Journey, 10cc and other bands rolling through Bay Area concert halls. Money’s debut released in mid ’77 surprised everyone, bolstered by the top twenty hit ‘Baby Hold On’, gigs ensued on an epic scale that would kill most of today’s artists.
Money shared the stage with Kansas, Styx, The Outlaws, Santana, Heart, Cheap Trick, Robin Trower and other heavy hitters for most of 1978. It’s a miracle he and his band found time to record at all.
The Songs
With one of the coolest stage names ever- it wasn’t just the album’s first single ‘Maybe I’m A Fool’ that pushed record buyers into the stores begging for Money. ‘Gimme Some Water’ made its way into heavy rotation on FM stations as a mid-tempo Southern-fried rocker with tasty slide guitar work and a hard to resist hook that truly ranks as one of the primo AOR cuts of the 1970’s.
Why it wasn’t released as a single will forever be a mystery (‘slapped that horse in the ass’ lyric maybe?), but ‘Can’t Keep A Good Man Down’ is as solid an anthem that didn’t do as well on the charts as it should have. No matter, the casting had been set. Money was well on his way to becoming the wonder boy of stadium rock and for those who bought ‘Life For The Taking’ not looking for another ‘Baby Hold On’ should have been richly rewarded with Eddie Money at his hard rockin’ best.
Buoyed by his gravely New Yawk drawl and Jimmy Lyons smoking hot power chords including my vote for the single that never was – ‘Rock & Roll The Place’ and the late night-wee small hours ballad ‘Call On Me’.
In Summary
A year of steady live work had turned Money into a lean mean rock machine with a no fuss, no muss sound tailor made for even more whirlwind tours in places unknown.. 1980’s ‘Playing For Keeps’ was his underrated follow-up, but from this point forward Eddie’s albums are sort of hit and a lot of miss with 1982’s ‘No Control’ the best of the lot. His slow descent into a classic rock parody was and has been painful to watch although he still plays out – coming soon to casinos and county fairs near you.
Eddie Money on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
