Fireball - Song By Song

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

No One Came

It's a quite enjoyable song, compared with the rest of the album it is amid-position, but as I've said before there's no bad track on the album. I might have had Fools as the album closer though. Nice vocals from Ian, and a chugging rhythm works well.

[Charger]

No One Came is another strong favourite of mine. It's musically quite different and has quite a bit going on and lyrically it again has some of the funniest lyrics Ian has ever come up with. Another one of those songs that always leaves you feeling happy. A proper feel good song this one.

[Zzzptm]

The Olympia 1996 version of No One Came with horns is even more fun, it's my favorite version of the song.

Now for the best outtakes, Slow Train and Freedom...

Freedom - this is what Flight of the Rat should have been. Less pretention and borrow more from the Golden Age of rock with that straightforward verse and melody. No faffing about with sonata format or improvisational free-form sections. Proper Little Richard-style screamin' at the end, brilliant major key upbeat rocker of a song.

Slow Train - this takes a hard In Rock-style riff and gets a wee bit proggy with it. There's a witty lyric to go with it - I think of this + Freedom as what Flight of the Rat should have been. That is two say, two songs instead of one, with tighter writing on both.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

My 1996 25th Anniversary copy has a song call I'm Alone which is quite funky, I quite like it, but I've not really heard it enough.

Freedom - another I've only heard a couple of times before - is in the vein of an early Rock N Roll song you might have expected from, say, Little Richard. Not really my sort of song, if not actually bad.

Slow Train - the title suggests a soft bluesy number, but it's actually uptemp and proggy (in the solos anyway). I need to hear it more to fully judge, but I didn't really care for it!


I think I understand why these didn't make the final cut.


The final ranking:

Really good songs:
Fireball
Anyone's Daughter
Some Kind of Woman
Fools

Most enjoyable:
No No No
No One Came

Not Bad:
The Mule
Demon's Eye

[Charger]

I'm with KDC...I'm Alone is by far the best of the "extra tracks" on the 25th anniversary edition. Very nice rocker and is lyrically quite good too...I have to say I would have chosen that track to be on the album instead of the Mule or No No No!

The other two I haven't really listened to all that much which speaks in volumes I think...although I might just give them a spin today!


I'd rate the tracks:

1. Fools
2. Fireball
3. No One Came
4. Demon's Eye
5. Strange Kind Of Woman
6. Anyone's Daughter

(Wild card: I'm Alone)

7. The Mule
8.. No No No

[Zzzptm]

Whoops! I forgot I'm Alone! That's another one that I enjoy.

Songs I pretty much put on every playlist I make:
No One Came
No No No
Fireball
Freedom

Great fun, not on all my playlists, but still good jams:
Strange Kind of Woman
Demon's Eye
Slow Train
I'm Alone

I need to be in a certain mood for these, but I don't skip them:
Anyone's Daughter
Fools
The Mule

Bad tracks:
{null set}

Overall, I rate this album:

[Charger]

Shiiiit and I forgot Strange Kind Of Woman!

[Zzzptm]

Shiiiit and I forgot Strange Kind Of Woman!

With all the material they had, just a few more tracks and they could've had a double album.

[Zzzptm]

^ Speaking of which, what would be your track order if you had all 11 tracks to arrange if this had been a CD release?

Whatever the order, I don't think that it starts with anything other than "Fireball". That is an opening track, no two ways about it. I'm imagining the feel of the mix if any other tune opens the set and it's just not right for the rest of the tracks.

[Charger]

That's a pretty good question actually...

But yeah Fireball would have to be the opener no matter what. It's the perfect opener track.

I also think No One Came works very well as a closer...lyrically too...like the album is the show they played and then just realise that No One Came to the show...

I might throw in I'm Alone before Fools adding a bit of speed near the end and then Slow Train after No No No and Freedom maybe before The Mule or maybe before Anyone's Daughter...depending a little where I'd throw Strange Kind Of Woman...

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

I think it is more where would you fit the extra tracks into the original listing. I think I suggested previously that I would put Fools as the album closer rather than No One Came. After that I would go with:


Side 1
Fireball
No No No
Freedom
Slow Train
Demon's Eye
Anyone's Daughter

Side 2
Strange Kind od Woman
The Mule
I'm Alone
No One Came
Fools

[Zzzptm]

I like the thought of Fools closing it out. I'd actually like to see it show up on Machine Head as a lead-in to Pictures from Home. Very chilling pair, those two.

But this is my crack at the lineup plus four:

Fireball
Strange Kind of Woman
Demon's Eye
No No No

I like Demon's Eye leading into No No No, as it kinda adds to the tension that No No No releases. Moving on to the next group of four...

I'm Alone
Fools
Anyone's Daughter
The Mule

I think AD would fit beautifully as an acoustic interlude between the two most brooding songs on the album. Now the final three:

Slow Train
Freedom
No One Came

Slow Train takes that energy from The Mule and speeds it up. Freedom then explodes in a big ol' burst of sunshine before the reality of No One Came comes up to set us all straight and give us a tongue-in-cheek farewell.