ALBUM: ‘Wheels of Steel’ (10-inch 1983)
MVC Rating: 4.0/$$$
Yikes we are still in the ‘M’s. I believe this Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels record is the last one. That was a lot of M’s, but we need to keep going so I’m lining up my N’s — for artists like Neutral Milk Hotel, November Group, Harry Nilsson, and and others.
Remember I’m counting down my records — which when I started about two years ago– stood at 678.
Going with M for Mitch (alphabetizing the band not just Ryder).
For Ryder and band I have a 10-inch “collector’s” edition featuring the group’s best known works. ‘Devil with a Blue Dress/Good Golly Miss Molly’ — said to be the best one-two punch combo in rock. Other raucous party tunes are ‘Jenny Take a Ride,’ the always fun party dance tune, ‘Shake a Tail Feather.’ Here’s line-up:
Side One
Jenny Take A Ride
Sock It To Me Baby
Little Latin Lupe Lu
You Get Your Kicks
Side Two
Devil With A Blue Dress On/ Good Golly Miss Molly
Breakout
Shake A Tail Feather
Too Many Fish In The Sea/ Three Little Fishes
Ryder was a real deal hard rock blues guy from Detroit –and possibly a little underrated.
According to AllMusic (which calls Ryder “the unsung hero” of Michigan rock and roll), Ryder withdrew from music after experiencing throat trouble,[1] moving to Colorado with his wife and taking up writing and painting. In 1983, Ryder returned to a major label with the John Mellencamp-produced album Never Kick a Sleeping Dog.
Interesting footnote from Wikipedia: Ryder was the last person to perform with Otis Redding, they performed the song “Knock On Wood”, on December 9, 1967, in Cleveland, Ohio, on a local TV show called Upbeat. Redding and four members of his touring band, The Bar-Kays, died in a plane crash near Madison, Wisconsin the following day, December 10, 1967.