Presenting radio with one of the best rock ballads ever, Cornerstone gave Chicago's Styx their big break with the number one single "Babe," which held that spot for two weeks in October of 1979. "Babe" is a smooth, keyboard-pampered love song that finally credited Dennis De Young's textured vocals. While this single helped the album climb all the way to the number two spot on the charts, the rest of the tracks from Cornerstone weren't nearly half as strong. "Why Me" made it to number 26, and both "Lights" and "Boat on the River" implement silky harmonies and welcoming choruses, yet failed to get off the ground. De Young's keyboards are effective without overly dominating the music, and the band's gritty rock & roll acerbity has been slightly sanded down to compliment the commercial market.
Danger Money is the second and final studio album by the progressive rock supergroup U.K., featuring John Wetton , Eddie Jobson and Terry Bozzio. It was released by E.G. Records / Polydor in March 1979. "The Only Thing She Needs", "Caesar's Palace Blues" and "Carrying No Cross" had been performed on tour throughout 1978 (and an early version of "Carrying No Cross" included what became the intro to the title track) by the band's original line-up with Bill Bruford and Allan Holdsworth. "Rendezvous 6:02" and "Nothing to Lose" were both edited for single release.
The Kids Are Alright is a soundtrack album by the British rock band the Who, a companion to the band's documentary film of the same name. As a compilation album, it serves as a retrospective look at the band's biggest hits throughout their career to the point it was released. Most of the tracks are live recordings, rather than the original studio versions. It was originally released as a double album in June 1979 on Polydor Records in the UK and MCA Records in the US. The performance of "My Wife" was from a concert the Who filmed for The Kids Are Alright at the Gaumont State Cinema in Kilburn; however the footage was not used in the film.
Not long after You're Gonna Get It, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' label, Shelter, was sold to MCA Records. Petty struggled to free himself from the major label, eventually sending himself into bankruptcy. He settled with MCA and set to work on his third album, digging out some old Mudcrutch numbers and quickly writing new songs. Amazingly, through all the frustration and anguish, Petty & the Heartbreakers delivered their breakthrough and arguably their masterpiece with Damn the Torpedoes. Musically, it follows through on the promise of their first two albums, offering a tough, streamlined fusion of the Stones and Byrds that, thanks to Jimmy Iovine's clean production, sounded utterly modern yet timeless. It helped that the Heartbreakers had turned into a tighter, muscular outfit, reminiscent of, well, the Stones in their prime - all of the parts combine into a powerful, distinctive sound capable of all sorts of subtle variations…
Danger Money is the second and final studio album by the progressive rock supergroup U.K., featuring John Wetton , Eddie Jobson and Terry Bozzio. It was released by E.G. Records / Polydor in March 1979. "The Only Thing She Needs", "Caesar's Palace Blues" and "Carrying No Cross" had been performed on tour throughout 1978 (and an early version of "Carrying No Cross" included what became the intro to the title track) by the band's original line-up with Bill Bruford and Allan Holdsworth. "Rendezvous 6:02" and "Nothing to Lose" were both edited for single release.
Stormwatch is the twelfth studio album by the progressive rock group Jethro Tull, released September 1979. It is considered the last in the trilogy of folk-rock albums by Jethro Tull (although folk music influenced virtually every Tull album to some extent.). Among other subject-matters, the album touches heavily on the problems relating to the environment, oil and money. Stormwatch was notably the last Tull album to feature the "classic" line-up of the 1970s, as drummer Barriemore Barlow and keyboardists John Evan and David Palmer left the band the following year after the end of the Stormwatch tour, while bassist John Glascock died from heart complications during the tour.