As a child of the LP and cassette era, I read the liner notes of my favourite albums religiously, trying to glean as much information as I could about the artists and the songs.
At the time, there was nothing special about the credits behind Prism's 1979 album Armageddon but three of the men who worked behind the scenes during the production of that album would go on to international success and fame far greater than what Prism would ever enjoy.
Bruce Fairbairn produced Prism's first three records, wrapping up with Armageddon, before moving on to helm Loverboy's first three albums. From there, he became a superstar as the producer of Bon Jovi's biggest cuts, Slippery When Wet and New Jersey, as well as Aerosmith's comeback albums, Permanent Vacation and Pump. Along with Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Fairbairn made the 80s rock.
Sitting beside Fairbairn in the control room as the recording engineer during the recording of Prism's Armageddon was Bob Rock. Besides becoming part of the Payolas, Rock went on to produce The Cult and Motley Crue before polishing up the garage sound of 1980s Metallica and making the band a commercial success of the 1990s, starting with the self-titled "black album" featuring Enter Sandman.
As if that wasn't enough, Prism relied on some other Vancouver songwriters to contribute material to their record, including a couple songs from a rough-faced teenager working hard to land a record deal named Bryan Adams.
You Walked Away Again shows the young Adams trying to find his voice but still oozing talent and promise with his crisp, straightforward songwriting.
Armageddon's best-known hits - the title track and Night To Remember - were written by Prism guitarist Lindsay Mitchell but check out You Walked Away Again (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSdEvl2rY3s) to hear the work of three giants in 80s and 90s rock, before anyone knew who they were.
