My Favorite Albums: Girls With Guns

Let's go back to 1984...

It’s been a minute since I wrote about one of my favorite albums and so it’s time to dive back into the collection. A mention of this album came across my Facebook timeline and it occurred to me it has been a while since I’ve listened to it, so that seemed fortuitous when looking for something to write about. All of this is a long way of saying that today I’m talking about Tommy Shaw’s 1984 solo debut, Girls with Guns. 

This is an album I played a lot in the fall of 1984 as I embarked on my first year of college. I attended the Newark branch of Ohio State’s system that year, so it was little more than an extension of high school, but it was a worthwhile year. OSU-N shares a campus with Central Ohio Technical College, so between the two schools, several of my high school classmates attended the campus. I also met a lot of new folks, primarily from Utica, who I’ve remained in touch with over the years. 

I also got my first car in 1984 — a black, 1975 Chevrolet Caprice Classic — with my high school graduation money. It was a practically indestructible car and for the time it had some nice luxuries, like power windows and door locks. I didn’t know it then, but these would later become liabilities when the temperature dropped well below freezing. But the car had a cassette deck (eventually — it started with an 8-track player and I used one of those weird converters that you stuck in to play cassettes), and I had Girls with Guns (and many other albums) on cassette. 

I was becoming independent and even working most evenings when the album came out and, being a big Styx fan, I grabbed the album when it dropped on the strength of the title track, which was already getting play on Mtv and FM radio. From the first play all the way through I was hooked on this album and I still love it today.

Let’s get into the songs.

The title track starts things off and it’s a cracking opener. At just over three minutes, it just never lets up. It’s pop/rock goodness with a catchy keyboard riff and a chorus that requires — no, it demands — you to sing along. It’s just pure fun, with the perfect section is the bridge near the end, breaking back into the chorus. 

An innocent bystander
Who forgets to look both ways
Who never tries to understand her
Won't feel the heat 'til it's too late (So I tell you)

Stand tall, don't think small
Don't get your back against the wall
Shoot straight, don't wait
To fire away 

I would have liked for the drums to have been recorded a bit crisper (think: the way Neil Peart’s drums were generally recorded) but it comes off as a failed attempt to capture the Phil Collins gated drum sound. Other than that the production is fine for me and former Wings drummer Steve Holley’s quality behind the kit isn’t in question. 

It is likely that the vocals on the verses for the second track — “Come in and Explain” — will put off some listeners, as Tommy gets a bit screamy, but when he transitions to the chorus and then his doubled vocals kick in, it’s worth it. Lyrically it aligns with the next song on the album.

“Lonely School” was the album’s second single and is a personal favorite ballad of the 1980s. What guy my age couldn’t relate to the lyrics? It was your basic story of a guy being an idiot, blowing up a relationship, and then coming to his senses. Shaw’s vocals are a highlight on this one, especially the opening.

I drove past where we used to live
You might have caught a glimpse of me,
As I passed by

Shaw is known for being a rocker but he pulls off ballads with aplomb on this album and “Lonely School” is a terrific song. It’s spacious, with a simple rhythm from Holley and bassist Brian Stanley, and aside from Shaw himself, the star of this song (as on “Girls with Guns”) is late keyboardist Peter Wood, whose credits include working with Al Stewart, Roger Waters, Cyndi Lauper, Bob Dylan, and Lou Reed, among others. Wood’s credentials are unquestioned, as he even worked with Pink Floyd on The Wall tour.

“Heads Up” follows up “Lonely School,” with the tempo kicking up to mid-levels. I only recently realized that Kenny Loggins co-wrote this one and once I found that out I nearly smacked my forehead because in retrospect his influence is obvious. This one has a positive lyrical message despite the repetition of the line “Heads up the sky is falling.” It’s one of the better songs on the album for my money. Shaw’s guitar solo late in the song is fantastically melodic and tasteful. It’s perfect playing for the song.

The album goes back to the ballad well with “Kiss Me Hello,” and again it’s a sparse arrangement, but the space provided allows every instrument to shine. Holley’s drums sound more gated here and they work better than on other songs. Wood’s piano and electric keys again pull this song along, there is equal credit to go around. Shaw’s harmony vocals on the chorus, Holley’s drums, Stanley’s bass…everything just works. Wood gets a spotlight with a piano solo that I personally love but some might feel pads the song out too long (it clocks in at just over five and a half minutes). Shaw wisely doesn’t feel the need to show off his chops much on this song. There’s an excellent bit of guitar work near the end but for the most part he allows his fellow musicians to carry the song. I had the cassette, so I got the extended version of this song (7:47 as opposed to 5:37) but despite being nearly eight minutes long, it flies by.

“Fading Away” picks up the pace of the album once more. The song lyrics speak of someone who is oblivious to the damage they’re causing to others, or that they’re driving friends away. 

And in the morning when
You get around to counting all the casualties
Oh you lined them up and you dropped them
One by one
So you open up your eyes and
You see the cold pale face of reality
And there's a shiver in your spine
Cause you see that there's damage you've done

And there's a reason why you're fading away

The song has a nice groove and a cool little recurring guitar motif but it’s probably my least favorite on the album. That’s not to say I skip it, because I don’t. It just doesn’t grab me as tightly as the other tracks. It doesn’t overstay its welcome though, as it’s a tick over four minutes long.

The ballads return with “Little Girl World” and this is another album highlight for me. To me the lyrics speak of a girl afraid to give in to the love she feels while she waits for something ideal — some preconceived notion of perfection — that may never come around. 

The young girl says no to her fumbling beau
And she can't help from wondering why
And how she might feel
If she ever revealed
The love she so carefully hides
So she hides

She hides in her little girl world
Safe from the forces that make her give in
Safe from the boy who tries time and again
And goes home

Perhaps Shaw was the fumbling beau in the song? It seems likely.

Wood’s keyboards are again the defining instrument for me but Shaw’s vocal might as well be an instrument because he wields it with precision, particularly in the outro when he’s doing his “aaah aaaaaaah aaaaahs” and during the excellent bridge. 

Where's the rainbow?
She stares out from the room
Where's my prince on his white horse?
Lord I hope he comes soon

My version of this album was on cassette, so the next song was an extended version of “Outside in the Rain,” a more guitar-driven track than most on the album and the only song on the album that features another vocalist. Carol Kenyon provides an excellent duet partner, singing a bit of a “scolding” section. Her inclusion reminds me a lot of how Meat Loaf used Ellen Foley on “Paradise by the Dashboard Light.” Lyrically it seems to me like Shaw is singing about his self-image of achieving stardom and how people perceive him, yet the answering vocals by Kenyon refute that image and asking him to just be himself in order to reap the rewards of that action. This song is another highlight for me.

The extended instrumentation at the end of this song will probably drag on for some listeners but I never really had a problem with it aside from the way Mike Stone produced Holley’s drums.

“Free to Love You” follows up “Outside in the Rain,” and it features maybe my favorite chorus on the entire record. 

Don't say a word
Right now don't say a word
I've already heard too many words
Can't hear a sound
My heart can't hear a sound
My ear's to the ground
Oh and true love should be
Two hearts set free

This seems a more straightforward love song than on the rest of the album but it’s a mid-tempo rocker rather than a ballad. Holley’s beat and Stanley’s bass drive the song along nicely, with Wood’s keyboard and piano work splashing in and a subtle guitar solo midway through that could honestly stand to be a little louder in the mix. Everything Shaw does on this song with his voice is a delight, whether the doubled chorus vocals, the drop of an occasional “heeeeyyyeeeeeeeee” or the earnest verses.

Album closer “The Race is On” opens with a fantastic saxophone section and I’m not sure which player does which on it because there are two sax players in this song — Richie Cannata of Billy Joel’s band and Molly Duncan from the Average White Band (man, Shaw really surrounded himself with excellent musicians on this album). All of the saxophone work on this song is outstanding. 

The song doesn’t exactly close the album with a bang, but it’s a nice upbeat track. It’s an album that doesn’t overstay its welcome and makes you want to start over. I did that a lot, flipping the cassette over in my boom box (which didn’t have auto reverse). 

There you have it. Shaw’s solo debut stands for me as one of the most memorable releases of the 1980s and one of the better ones in 1984. As it marks a milestone year for me with the transition from high school to college, it holds a particular meaning and presents a bit of a time capsule. Everything was new and exciting and a little scary. I was moving into adulthood. Shaw was branching out as a musician. Changes were going on. I’ll always connect the two every time I listen.