Darkside Paper Trails

"Conquest" is the 13th album by British rock band Uriah Heep. It was released in 1980 (No U.S. release). 1979-80 was a period of change for Heep, with John Sloman taking over lead vocal duties, Lee Kerslake bowing out from behind the drumstool, and main songwriter Ken Hensley ultimately leaving the band. Taken together with the commercial rock sound of the album, this is the most contentious era of Uriah Heep's history, with many fans believing Conquest is the group's worst record. Despite this era being regarded in hindsight as something of a disaster by Hensley as well as Mick Box, the album did receive some positive reviews at the time, namely a five-star rating from Record Mirror and three-and-a-half stars from Geoff Barton in Sounds. It also sold well enough to crack the Top 40 of the UK album charts, whereas all three of the band's previous records with John Lawton had failed to chart in the UK at all.

"Never Say Die!" is the 8th studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released in September 1978. It was the last studio album with the band's original lineup and the last studio album to feature original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne until the 2013 album 13. It was certified Gold in the U.S. on 7 November 1997 and as of November 2011 sold 133,000 copies in the United States since the SoundScan era. The album received mixed reviews, with critics calling it "unbalanced" and insisting its energy was scattered in too many directions.

"Mob Rules" is the 10th studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in November 1981. It followed 1980's "Heaven and Hell", it was the 2nd album to feature lead singer Ronnie James Dio and the first with drummer Vinny Appice. Neither musician would appear on a Black Sabbath studio album again until the 1992 album Dehumanizer. Produced and engineered by Martin Birch, the album received an expanded edition release in 2010.

"Heaven and Hell" is the 9th studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released on 25 April 1980. It is the 1st Black Sabbath album to feature vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who replaced original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne in 1979. Produced by Martin Birch, the album was a commercial success, particularly in the United States, where it reached #28 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified Platinum for 1 million sales. In the band's native country, it sold well enough to be certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry in April 1982.

The Alessi Brothers is an American pop rock singer-songwriter duo, best known for their 1984 hit "Savin' the Day" and also their 1977 hit "Oh Lori". The duo are identical twin brothers, Bill (Billy) Alessi and Bob (Bobby) Alessi (born 12 July 1953, West Hempstead, New York).

"Writer" is the debut album by Carole King and was released in 1970. King already had a successful career as a songwriter, and been a part of The City, a short-lived group she formed after moving to Los Angeles in 1968. Tracks on the album include "Up on the Roof" which was a #4 hit for the Drifters in 1962, and "Child of Mine", which has been recorded by Billy Joe Royal, among others. The album did not receive much attention upon its release, though it entered the chart following the success of King's next album, "Tapestry", in 1971. Reviewers rate it positively if not as highly as "Tapestry", one noting that it was the "most underrated of all [her] original albums". And, in a review that also covered "Tapestry" in Rolling Stone, Jon Landau wrote, "Writer was a blessing despite its faults" and that though the "production was poor", King herself made the album "very worthwhile".

Rupert Holmes followed up "Widescreen" (1974) with a self-titled LP that utilized a band rather than an orchestra, and was somewhat more accessible in its sound. Yet Holmes still was true to himself in composing its musical vignettes, again produced by Jeffrey Lesser. “Studio Musician” was a powerful Wall of Sound explosion that would be reverentially covered by Barry Manilow on his chart-topping Barry Manilow Live album, while “I Don’t Want to Hold Your Hand” was such a spot-on, deadpan Beatles send-up that George Martin reportedly told Holmes it was superior to the original recording! “Everything Gets Better When You’re Drunk” sounds like a toe-tapping ode to the perennial pleasures of booze, but it has a dark undercurrent of irony. The most enduring song on Rupert Holmes, though, may be its least commercial. “Brass Knuckles” was longtime mystery buff Holmes’ attempt to tell a detective noir story in under four minutes of song. Its songwriter remains proud of this one-of-a-kind song’s lyrics having been published in numerous crime anthologies and even reviewed in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine.