Chase The Kangaroo

Ping Pong Over the Abyss  ~The 77's | Then and Now Ping Pong  is The 77's debut effort, released in 1982.  The title is said to have come from  Allen Ginsberg 's poem " Howl ," section 3: " I'm with you in Rockland / where you scream in a straight jacket that you're losing the game of the actual ping pong of the abyss. " When this album was released in '82, The 77's were the new kids on the block to this thing that was being called, "Christian rock".  Not only were they new, they brought with them a new style and sound.  It wasn't a new to the kids they were writing and playing for, but it was very new to a very new "industry".  Because of that, I can't remember if it was greeted with a ton of acceptance. In fact, I'll go on a limb and say that it probably wasn't.  However, it was greeted with just enough optimism. Even if it was my own personal optimism, it was enough to keep me and others listeni...

Seventy Sevens  ~The 77's | Then and Now "The 77's will take you on a journey through the past, present, and future of rock & roll" ~ Island Records radio advertisement, 1987 Unfortunately for the 77's, this album was released the same year and on the same label as  U2's,  The Joshua Tree .  This is unfortunate because Island Records had become completely absorbed with the release of  The Joshua Tree  and had little resources for anything else. Another harsh reality was that, as Larry Norman put it, the Christian music industry had no idea how to deal with the 77's. "The 77's - Too Christian for the radio and too radio for Christian music. " ~Larry Norman Though the album received favorable reviews from Rolling Stone and their single, "The Lust, The Flesh, The Eyes and The Pride of Life" became a commercial success, radio stations didn't know what to do with these "Christians".  And in the days where y...