Rollins Band - Come In And Burn (1997)

Come In And Burn is straight edge, ex Black flag vocalist, raconteur, philosopher, spoken-word poet and general all-round legend Henry Rollins’ last album with the ‘classic’ lineup of Rollins Band and features a tight set of powerful rock tracks with insightful lyrics and typical Rollins emotional power and angst. Always under-rated and an outsider to mainstream music, Rollins has always provided powerful lyrical content delivered with an intensity few can match and Come In And Burn is no exception.

The crunching chords of Shame open the album leading to a pounding mid-tempo track which makes good use of light and shade with the verses understated whilst the ‘chorus’ is sheer power. As with the majority of Rollins’ material, it is a dark track lyrically and the mid-section in particular is atmospheric with guitarist Chris Haskett turning-in a strong solo that conveys the overall mood of the track to good effect.

Starve has an interesting syncopated bass/drums/guitar timing which is taught and over which Rollins semi-talks the lyrics before the track explodes into the chorus. It’s here that you realise that Rollins Band where much more than a backing band for Rollins himself but were a fine bunch of musicians that created a unique blend of rock/punk/funk that was both extremely powerful but subtle and melodic in equal measure.

In All I Want Rollins demands ‘Don’t ignore me’ – and with the ferocity of the delivery it’s fair to say that it would be possible to ignore him! The plea of the track is again more than ably backed by the band who provide considerable musical interest that weaves in and out of the emotion of Rollins’ lyrical delivery to great effect. In fact, as I’m sure Rollins would admit, he isn’t the most skillful vocalists in the world but more than makes up for it with emotional and passion with the musical interests really resting with a band that is attuned to his mindset for each track and happily on the album throughout, he has just that band.

The End of Something is a standout track from the album and one of the best examples of the light/shade dynamic that works so well for Rollins Band. The line “If i saw your body burning in the street . .. I’d put you out . . . with gasoline” just about sums up Rollins’ mindset at the time of writing this track which references the trauma of a relationship breakup but verbalised like no other could – this is no ‘Love Hurts’! There’s real malice and pain here and once more, the band reflect this in their instrumentation: the mellow verses layout the scene for each of Rollins’ reflections before the power and aggression of the statement of fact and emotional detachment that ‘it’s just the end of something’ kicks-in with accompanying power of the band.

On My Way To The Cage is an up-tempo bass-driven track with a bit of a nod to his punky Black Flag days. The riff is really punchy and you can almost feel the track beating you in the face with each syncopation: see if you agree as the video below shows Rollins Band performing an very intense version of this track in a TV studio!

Thursday Afternoon slows things down in terms of tempo but certainly not of intensity. This more takes the form of spoken-word over the band’s backing which, as ever, is good and reminds me of Rage Against the Machine to an extent – which is only a plus as far as I’m concerned, particularly on the verses.

During a City takes an almost swing approach from drummer Sim Cain with bassist Melvin Gibbs providing the majority of instrumentation/melody on the verses and Chris Haskett providing added power for the chorus. The track runs into Neon which opens with a very understated bass and drum track before kicking-in to a slow, plodding riff. There’s also an explosive guitar solo from Haskett but not of a pointless shredding variety – Haskett has the ability to convey the emotion of the subject matter in his guitar playing and does so here excellently.

Spilling Over the Side moves up a gear for a funky, but heavy, track again veering towards RATM territory. which is followed by Inhale/Exhale which again is a rather doom-laden riff with the verses largely Rollins talking over them with his usual intensity of subject-matter.

Saying Goodbye Again refers to a friend of Rollins who was gunned-down and killed and his general anger at the futility of gang violence and gun culture and the emotions such an incident leaves behind: “You’re gone, I’m left to move on”. This incident, as you wold expect, really moved Rollins and a discussion of the vents surrounding it, and his insight, was a feature of his spoken-word performances for a number of years.

Rejection closes the album, although there are various later releases around with additional tracks, and you really feel that you’ve been through a few rounds with Mike Tyson as the track draws to a close!

Come In and Burn has incredible fire and intensity, rage and power in equal measure and is compelling listening for both the musical skill of the band and Rollins lyrics and delivery. If you’re not previously acquainted with Henry Rollins, this album would prove a good introduction in my opinion and everyone should at least have one Henry Rollins release in their collection: he’s quite a character and whether with a band or delivering his solo lecture, when he speaks – you listen and it’s always a worthwhile experience!

• Henry Rollins – Vocals
• Chris Haskett – Guitar
• Melvin Gibbs – Bass
• Sim Cain – Drums

The Runaways - Queens of Noise (1977)

Released in the year following their debut The Runaways album, Queens of Noise displays something of a development in the sound of the band – albeit a fractured one – with, on the one hand Lita Ford’s more heavy rock style coming through which is counterbalanced by Joan Jett’s Quattro-esque rock and roll styling. Add to this vocalist Cherie Currie’s emerging penchant for more melodic (some may say cheesy) balladic efforts and Queens of Noise proves to be quite an interesting album! The album also marked the last studio release form the band featuring Cherie Currie and bassist Jackie Fox . . . which was a pity as they were both strong in their respective fields with Joan Jett soon to assume full lead vocal duties and Vicky Blu replacing Fox.

The opener, Queens of Noise, is one of the band’s greatest tracks and, whilst not penned by the band themselves, fits their style well – although it caused Jett and Currie friction over who was to sing the lead as Joan Jett was increasingly taking over the lead vocal role in the band which is evident on the album as a whole where vocals are largely shared between the two in equal measure. The track is quite a ‘heavy’ number for the band and features a strong chorus, good harmonies and another increasingly evident element in The Runaways, a Lita Ford guitar solo – something that was very much largely lacking on their debut release.

Take It Or Leave It is again a heavy number, opening with thunderous drumming from Sandy West and powerful guitar and Joan Jett on vocals. Again also there is a maturity about the track with strong vocal harmonies and powerful solo from Ford and the track is definitely sign of Jett’s song writing beginning to blossom.

More as a vehicle for Cherie, Midnight Music (with some really clichéd Kim Fowley lyrics) is ok as a track – quite melodic and middle of the road and Cherrie Currie gives a good performance . . . but, this isn’t The Runaways proper, it lacks their spirit and rough around the edges approach that defined their sound.

Born to be Bad follows and almost sounds like Showaddywaddy or Mud during its intro section which is only partly saved by an unusually mellow vocal from Jett! There is also a phenomenal amount of reverb on West’s snare which largely knocks -out the subtlety of the piece which is a shame. It’s a very slow number and features a rather ill-advised ‘rap’ from Jett midway through and is more reflective of manager Kim Fowley’s influence on the band than being reflective of their true preferred style.

Neon Angels On The Road To Ruin is my personal favourite form the album and is a crunching heavy rock track driven by a great slow riff from Lita Ford at the intro that suddenly leads into an up-tempo shuffle of a track with Currie’s vocals outstanding. Jackie Fox has stated that “Neon Angels was our concession to Lita’s heavy metal ones” but it was a worthy concession in my opinion and Ford’s solo is great too. See the video clip below of this track being performed live in Japan which, apart from Currie’s vocals cracking on the second verse, is strong.

I Love Playin’ With Fire opens with a powerful ‘metal’ riff once more and is an up-tempo number with Jett once again on lead vocals. Although penned by Jett, the track has a very hard rock edge to it and affords Lit Ford the opportunity to solo through the mid-section.

California Paradise was co-written by Kim Fowley, Jett and Sandy West and sung by Cherrie Currie and is one of the more well-known Runaways tracks. It’s a stomping rock track with Currie’s lower-register vocals working well and harmonising with Jett on the chorus/hook. Lead guitar/solo duties are split here between Jett and Ford with Jett providing the first part before Ford adds a speedier approach for the latter.

Hollywood is a Jett/Fowley/Fox composition and is one fo the weaker on the album and features a Joan Jett lead vocal.

Up next, originally a track written by Jackie Fox and Lita Ford about Joey Ramone, Heartbeat suffered at the hands of manager Kim Fowley (as did the band!) who re-wrote it with Joan Jett into the form heard here with input from Currie rewriting the track to be about Bowie unbeknown to Fox – and freezing Fox out of the twin lead vocal role she had originally envisaged for her and Jett . . . always appeared to be a bit of a drama within the band!

The closing track on the album is Johnny Guitar penned by Ford and Fowley which sounds like it was recorded in a cellar – in fact the reverb throughout the album is appalling to be honest – and is a rather doom-laden attempt at a slow blues number. Fox has later questioned the wisdom of this approach – “Why anyone thought that five teenage girls could play the blues is beyond me” – and I guess that it was a chance for Ford to noodle a lot on guitar but it doesn’t really work. Ford’s soloing is hardly of the emotionally-fraught variety associated with the blues and the whole thing really falls flat on its face.

Despite its shortcomings, Queens of Noise is an 8 out of 10 album for me and shows a real development from their first album – unfortunately a development curtailed by the departure of Currie and Fox following its release whereupon the band continued but in a slightly different direction. Sadly, the Runaways never really enjoyed any commercial success and their short career was a tale of misery and exploitation from start to finish but this album is definitely worth a listen . . . in fact, quite a few listens and with a film biopic due out shortly, it might be best to get to grips with the band prior to any Hollywood hype that will ensue following its release!

• Cherie Currie – Vocals
• Joan Jett – Guitar/Vocals
• Lita Ford – Guitar
• Jackie Fox – Bass
• Sandy West – Drums

Extreme - Pornograffitti (1990)

Emerging as the death knell was rang for the mainstream metal movement that had dominated the 1980s, Extreme largely got their act together as grunge swept away the more flamboyant of the metal genre in favour of a very low-fi approach to music: tough time to be launching a career! Pornograffitti was the second album from the band, the first being their self-titled debut a year earlier in 1989, and really showcased the band’s talent and set them up perfectly for their album III Sides to Every Story released in 1992. What Pornograffitti delivered was 13 polished hard rock tracks with good commercial potential, strong musicianship – in particular from guitarist Nuno Bettencourt – and an original edge that would see Extreme explode into the mainstream, albeit somewhat for the wrong reasons.

Thunder and rain fades in at the start of the album before a piano intro to Decadence Dance breaks through for a moment before a more ominous tone slowly builds in a dramatic fashion and then Bettencourt begins to hit some chords and we’re off. A powerful rocker in the style of Sammy Hagar, Ted Nugent . . . and even Kiss on a good day . . . opens the album proper with Cherone turning in a fine performance and Bettencourt showcasing his style with some good flourishes. The chorus harks back a year or two to the height of the ‘hair metal’ bands in both its catchy approach and the vocal harmony styling but the track motors along well and gives a strong kick-start to the album. The half-time mid-section leading to the guitar solo works well too and when you get the feeling that there’s’ going to be one almighty shred, Bettencourt plays it cool and melodically which makes a refreshing change for guitarists of the period.

Li’l Jack Horny, whilst an unbearably corny title, opens with some guitar harmonics before descending into a sleazy guitar riff for a mid-tempo shuffle complete with the odd blast from a brass section. Again, it’s apparent that Extreme are intent on providing substance with their tracks musically and vocally strong with clearly defined sections to them and strong riffs which set them apart from many of their peers and was more akin to Van Halen – whom Cherone would later join – than the whole hair metal scene. Bettencourt finally lets rip on L’il Jack with a shred too – just for good measure!

When I’m President opens with a Beastie Boys style rapped into before a syncopated riff breaks through and Cherone re-emerges with a semi-rapped verse, but slowly and in a rock style over which a strong harmony vocal is sung. Lyrically, Cherone’s social conscience is to the fore here too which makes a welcome change from the run of the mill metal lyrics prevalent in the day, something that didn’t sit well with the ‘cock rock’ posturing of Van Halen some years later!

Next-up is my personal favourite from Pornograffitti, Get The Funk Out. As a track it has it all, good vocals and great hook, funky bassline, brass section, strong riff and great solo from Bettencourt . . . who could ask for more: if this track doesn’t make you want to dance, nothing will! Get the Funk Out was reasonably well received as a single release too and received heavy airplay from MTV at the time, and still crops up from time to time on ‘classic rock’ programs. I can’t help thinking that if this track had been released 5 years earlier Extreme would have been huge.

That said, More Than Words is next which, as we all know . . . well most of us . . . was massive hit in both the UK and US and is a lilting, tender ballad featuring Cherone and Bettencourt with the latter playing acoustic guitar. It’s a really good track and a million miles from the insincere syrup dished out by Mr Big et al but unfortunately didn’t serve the band as well as it might. Unfortunately, as with Take My Breath Away by Berlin a few years earlier, More Than Words attracted a huge new audience eager to hear more from this ‘balladeering duo’ only to find that they were in fact, a powerful hard-rock band a nothing like More Than Words. Thus their biggest hit became a nail in the coffin and millstone around the neck of the band from which their career would gradually descend.

Money (In God We Trust) is another politicised lyric with a pounding rock backbone which is a theme carried into the more lyrically light-hearted It’s A Monster which opens with feedback accompanying a drum break intro and again the band really push the track along. The chorus is again catchy and the brass section makes an appearance. Extreme certainly mastered combining commerciality without compromising on the power of their music which was a trick missed by many of their peers. Bettencourt’s wailing guitar solo and dynamic runs are a real highlight here too.

The title track is a mid-tempo riff-fest with Bettencourt again providing a heavy but funky riff around which the track is woven – no three chord wonders here, each riff is complex but accessible and provide the perfect foil for Gary Cherone’s powerful and melodic vocal lines. Unsurprisingly, the theme here is the abundance/prevalence of sex in its many forms in society in general and appears as somewhat of a distancing from, and expression of distaste for, the obsession with sex as a marketing tool in music and the wider media.

When I First Kissed You slows the mood with a piano-backed ballad opening almost harking back to the mellow jazz of the Rat Pack, with a good, slow walking bassline from Pat Badger and some smooth crooning from Gary Cherone on this lounge lizard track. This shows a whole other side to Extreme as it’s a soft jazz number – even referring to Sinatra – and a million miles away from the rest of the album but it works very well, giving the listener a breather and allowing Cherone to demonstrate he’s not only a rock singer! On the downside, the keyboard strings should have been cut in favour of a string section but you can’t have everything can you?

Suzie (Wants Her All Day What) thumps away in much the same manner as the rest of the album and certainly gives you a kick after mellowing to the preceding track.

He-Man Woman Hater opens with a hundred mile an hour shred from Bettencourt to a overworking click track and is impeccably played throughout. At the time Bettencourt was being courted int he same circles as Vai etc as a new ‘guitar hero’ but, sadly, with the demise of the band doesn’t seem to get much of a reference in the present day. Once the lengthy guitar solo intro abates, the track proper comes in and is again a mid-tempo rocker and I have to confess that by now things are maybe getting a little samey but not at all disagreeable.

Song For Love is a tender love song with a strong but cheesy chorus – this is moving dangerously into 80s formula ballad territory which, in my opinion, is very dangerous territory and one that should be plundered with caution: few bands have been there and emerged with any musical credibility! Song For Love was released as a single and reached number 12 in the UK further reinforcing the public’s perception that Extreme were balladeers . . . not a good thing for their longevity as it was definitely not the case but I’m sure the record company thought they’d make hay whilst the sun shone.

The final track on the album, Hole Hearted, reached number 4 when released as a single in the US so guess what kind of track it was? Yes, it was an acoustic track but fortunately an upbeat one and not of the syrup variety. In fact, Hole Hearted is one of the standout tracks on the album with Bettencourt providing some good guitar work and Cherone singing really well and the whole track staying just the right side of formula ballad to remain credible. There’s almost a bluegrass feel to the track with some slide guitar thrown-in and the vocal melody is excellent. The track ends with thunder and rain and the album’s over as it began.

Pornograffitti is a good album, not great, but very good – there’s just a tendency to slip a little towards cheesy from time to time that prevents it from being a great album. As far as Extreme go, it’s their strongest album and whilst the follow-up had some good moments too, the fun element that they had here had somewhat dissipated by that release which was a pity. If you like your rock loud, funky and catchy with lashings of strong guitar work and solos then Pornograffitti is an album you must hear.

• Gary Cherone – Vocals
• Nuno Bettencourt – Guitar
• Pat Badger – Bass
• Paul Geary – Drums

Fastway - Fastway (1983)

When talent was being handed out, some people got greedy, and when the opportunity for a musician to display that talent traditionally confined them to the work of one band, some musicians wanted more: “Fast” Eddie Clarke was such a musician. Not content with being a member of and writer for the classic line-up of Motorhead (Bomber, Overkill, Ace of Spades etc), Mr Clarke felt the need to spread his wings musically and form a hard blues-rock band with a commercial tinge, the result being Fastway. This being their 1983 debut album the band set about announcing their presence with a ‘bang’ and that they did with 10 powerful tracks featuring Eddie Clarke’s trademark riffing and Dave King’s powerful and upper register vocals proving a powerful combination. Oh yes, and UFO’s Pete Way was supposed to be on bass (hence the band’s name) but wasn’t due to a contractual obligation with bass duties falling to Mickey Feat.

Easy Livin’ gets things started and showcases the band’s style well presenting blues-based commercial hard rock – no mean feat in itself, especially to pull it off (many have crashed and burnt) which Fastway do with great aplomb. Easy Livin’ motors along powerfully with a great vocal melody and hook and typical rhythm guitar approach solo from Clarke as used with great effect in his previous band. Don’t be put off by the vocals on the video version below from 2007, Dave King’s vocals are excellent here but by the time the video below was made he had long since flown the Fastway nest to form US band Flogging Molly.

Another heavy blues riff opens Feel Me, Touch Me which is a mid-tempo shuffle/boogie but with the vocal line very much in the hard rock field . . . it strikes me here that, for those of you who have heard Rush’s first album, imagining that with a better production will give you the ball park Fastway were playing from. This is loud but very musical, hard and melodic rock at its best.

All I Need is Your Love continues the driving feel of the previous tracks with again a strong vocal from King who really shines throughout the album and Eddie Clarke turning in a good solo towards the end of the track.

Another Day has an acoustic guitar and vocal intro – yes, old “Fast” on an acoustic (whatever would Lemmy say?). Somewhat expectedly, this then fades into a stomping rock track but not at all in a clichéd/cheesy way as did 99% of 80s bands, this works well and seems a logical progression for the track which turns out to be one of the more straightforward heavy numbers on the album.

Heft opens with a menacing strummed bass chord riff leading into a very slow, pounding track more in-keeping with NWOBHM that is sparsely orchestrated and heavily reliant on King’s rather snarling vocals. Clarke digs out the old wah-wah for the solo which is a definite plus as was his trademark on many a classic Motorhead track.

We Become One sees Clarke moving into more Tony Iommi-esque riff territory which he somehow connects to a boogie shuffle rhythm guitar piece at the end of each verse effortlessly before the track moves into full shuffle mid-section again taking the form of a more updated NWOBHM track. On another album this would be a standout track but here, thus far, every track is of equally high merit!

Give It All You Will opens with a neat drum break from Jerry Shirley leading into a driving riff from Clarke on a more commercially-edged US-tinged rocker. Next-up is Say What You Will which is an up-tempo shuffle driven by a Clarke riff that wouldn’t have appeared out of place on Ace of Spades however here it is moulded into a strong boogie track with Dave King once more providing a great vocal track. For fans of Clarke’s previous works this will be one of the more appealing tracks on the album as even the solo, albeit brief, is very reminiscent of his work with Motorhead: think No Class minus Lemmy . . . if you can!

You Got Me Runnin’ has more of a US hard rock flavour to it and the crunching guitar of Give It Some Action closes the album.

For the CD reissue we are also treated to Far Far From Home which was originally a promo single and included on some original pressings of the vinyl album. It sits somewhat at odds with the rest of the album however, in that it is a very slow blues track – with a heavily crashing chord rhythm guitar from Clarke of course – with Kind singing his heart out. The track is somewhat reminiscent of Grand Funk Railroad’s classic Heartbreaker which can only be seen as a positive boon. Clarke gives a strong solo to the track too but I would question why this particular track was used as a promo single as it’s not the most reflective of the overall style of Fastway but is excellent nonetheless!

One thing worthy of mention here is that when a guitarist ‘goes solo’ you often end-up with a Rising Force where the band is merely a backing group and the ’songs’ themselves merely vehicles for endless shredding and guitar histrionics. This is definitely not the case with Fastway where Eddie Clarke largely gives the spotlight to vocalist Dave King and has crafted a very strong set of songs . . . that’s right, songs . . . not guitar instrumentals with the odd lyrics thrown in. This is a stunning debut from the band and one that did provide a springboard for reasonable success on both sides of the Atlantic and deservedly so. If you’re a rock fan – and I assume you are if you’re reading this – you should definitely add this album to your collection.

• Dave King – Vocals
• “Fast” Eddie Clarke – Guitar
• Jerry Shirley – Drums
• Mickey Feat – Bass

Lee Aaron - Metal Queen (1984)

Whilst traditional heavy rock of the 1970s was an all-male preserve and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal in the late 70’s/early 80’s had begun to spawn the odd all-female group and rock vocalist, it was the 1980s proper that really saw the emergence of a range of female musicians and singers and Canadian Lee Aaron was, for a brief period, at the forefront of this movement. Metal Queen was her second album released in 1984 and was her breakthrough album raising her to headline status in both her native Canada and throughout Europe.

The album opens with the title track and some menacing keyboards which moves to a stabbing metal riff and is, to be fair, formulaic 80s metal fare with Aaron’s powerful and, by and large, lower register vocals (imagine Dio on oestrogen!) belting out the chorus, such as it is: “Metal Queeeeeeeeeen”. It’s not a bad track but does wreak of a ‘metal by numbers’ approach which sadly pervades the album and as the chief writing team were Aaron and guitarist John Albani we know who to blame!

Lady of the Darkness continues where Metal Queen left off, however the overall sound is more leaning to the aforementioned Mr Dio’s band than the trashy end of 80s metal (ala Madam X). Arron’s vocals are very good too and she doesn’t get too caught up in high-pitched squealing which was much the downfall of many an 80s rock vocalist but with lyrics like “She’s the lady of the darkest night, she’ll take your soul when the time is right”, she hasn’t got a fat lot to work with. This track also features a mellow, picked chord mid-section before thumping into the guitar break . . . page 5 of the metal textbook on how to structure a track I believe! Hopefully things will improve . . .

Well, they do, almost with Head Above Water which opens with a good harmony guitar lick which sadly leads to a plodding, mediocre metal track once more with the occasional return to the harmony guitar piece being its only saving grace. Got To Be The One drops the pace with a chorused, picked guitar intro over which Aaron sings quite delicately which shows promise but you get the feeling – referring to the metal textbook – that any moment a chugging guitar riff is going to kick – in . . . and the track fails to disappoint! Fist clenching moments aside, this is a strong track with Aaron in good form, as she is throughout the album to be fair, but being a standout moment on Metal Queen isn’t the same as being a standout track per se.

Shake It Up is a good rocker . . . yes, I did say that. It’s a bit more of an up-tempo number with the unforgivably sin of lyrics including the words “rock n roll” but overall it’s a solid track with a good vocal melody and driving bass. See the video below from the Channel 4 ECT series for a strong live rendition of this track. Maybe things are looking up?

Possibly so, Deceiver takes a more Judas Priest approach – which can only be a good thing – although the multi-tracking of the vocals on the one-word repetition of a chorus is a little overdone. The guitar break is good too and features some good use of runs and harmonics and works very well however, Steal Away Your Love moves back to plodding anthem territory.

Hold Out actually breaks the mould quite well for its verse with a mellow chorused guitar and bass arrangement and is a strong mid-tempo track with a rockier chorus – of course. The following track Breakdown also follows the same formula which serves to showcase Aaron’s vocals well and the fact that she can actually sing well without having to verge on the semi-shouting approach she feels necessary for the choruses of the majority of the tracks here. The harmony guitar melody that crops up now and again is also melodically strong.

We Will Be Rockin’ closes the album and I can’t stress enough how much the word ‘Rock’ and its various synonyms strike fear into my heart on a tracklist as they usually indicate firstly an attempt by the artist to write an ‘anthem’ and secondly usually denote formulaic sh*te. This hypothesis is once again borne out here: “we will be rockin’ until the end of time” . . . I rest my case.

Metal Queen suffers from many a common faux pas in 80s metal circles. However, a formulaic and clichéd nature (in both writing and execution) is not always a bad thing, far from it. There’s just an unquantifiable element, a certain x-factor, that distinguishes (to use a Kiss analogy) an I Love it Loud from a Crazy Nights that makes one a standout and the other an embarrassment. Sadly, this album leans towards the latter and whilst Lee Aaron is a strong vocalist, for me it is only through her latter-day jazzier material that this has really become apparent and this album should really only be listened to as an 80s curiosity.

• Lee Aaron – Vocals
• John Albani – Guitar
• George Bernhardt – Guitar
• Jack Meli – Bass
• Frank Russell – Drums

Lita Ford - Lita (1988)

Lita is the third studio album from British-born ex-Runaways guitarist Lita Ford and was her most successful reaching platinum status in the US and spawning a clutch of singles which troubled the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. The album was produced by 1970s hit songwriter Mike Chapman (responsible for Sweet’s early hits along with writing partner Nicky Chinn) and featured writing credits for a whole host of rock notables, and a duet with Ozzy which became the album’s biggest chart hit.

Back To The Cave opens the album and reminds me of Steve Miller’s Abracadabra . . . but with a latter period Carlos Santana on guitar: but maybe that’s just me! At any rate, it’s a powerful mid-tempo power-rock track with some fine guitar work from Ms Ford and is one of the strongest tracks on the album.

If I mentioned that the next track was co-written with Lemmy, how would you imagine it sounded? Yes, you’re right – opens with an Overkill-style double bass drum riff and then the track kicks-in proper and is a fast paced chugger of a riff with loud drums and Ford shouting the lyrics . . . in fact, apart from the Hammond accompaniment, this is erring on the side of Girlschool – which is not necessarily a bad thing! The track drops to half-time for the guitar solo (although Myron Grombacher rather kills it with over the top pounding drum fills) and then normal service is resumed.

The intro to Blueberry is a real shredding metal riff which you would imagine would lead into a rapid-fire metal track but in actual fact drifts into a mid-tempo heavily keyboard-orchestrated track with Ford’s guitar rather relegated to a backing instrument . . . which is a shame . . . but it’s not a bad track overall and Ford turns in a good solo once more – she’d certainly been practicing since her days in The Runaways!

Next-up is a very catchy 80’s ‘anthem’: Kiss Me Deadly. I remember this track getting a fair amount of airplay back in the day and it’s very formulaic 80’s fodder with a bouncy beat and generally ‘happy’ feel to it with a catchy chorus . . . not bad, just a bit cheesy. It’s also not written by Ford but Mike who, along with Mike Chapman, I assume were brought in to ensure a bit of commerciality was added to proceedings to temper Ford’s penchant for more ballsy rockers.

Co-written with Motley Cru’s Nikki Sixx, Falling In And Out Of Love could have been a real stomper of a track . . . and it is, almost but I feel Mike Chapman struck on this one – adding rather twee keyboards to an otherwise powerful ballad and mixing the guitar so far back as to be relatively inaudible: surely Nikki Sixx wouldn’t have approved of such a mix, or Ford for that matter? As the track progresses, however, the guitar does put in the odd appearance but those keyboards are just naff!

Fatal Passion is a powerful rock track and more suited to Ford’s vocals and guitar style than the previous offering – the mix has more power too with the track being co-written by Ford and Dave Ezrin and Punky Peru of Witch.

Uner The Gun opens with an electronic percussion pattern into which drifts keyboards and then Ford comes-in with a real powerful vocal on a very strong slow rocker (albeit with a horrible drum sound) featuring some of Ford’s most outstanding vocals and some nice guitar flourishes throughout. This is the only track on the album credited as being written solely by Ford and is a standout track.

Broken Dreams is a mellow number, again co-written by Ezrin, but stands-up well as a power-rock number however, the following track Close My Eyes Forever was the biggest hit from this album and, in my humble opinion, woeful! With song writing and vocal duties split between Ford and OZzy Osbourne you would expect this to be one heavy riff-fest. Unfortunately, do you recall Ozzy’s duet with Kelly Osbourne on Changes? Enough said!

On aggregate, this is a good album and shows a real depth of maturity in both playing, singing and song writing from Ford when compared to her youthful musings with The Runaways. However, this has to be balanced against Mike ‘bubblegum pop’ Chapman’s production – which doesn’t fit Ford at all – and the odd 80’s formula power-rock track that is crow barred in 2 – 3 times for commercial purposes. That said, it’s well-worth a listen and I get the distinct impression that none of my misgivings about this album were down to Ford herself, but more to do with RCA which is a pity.

• Lita Ford – Guitar/Vocals
• Don Nossov – Bass
• David Ezrin – Keyboards
• Craig Krampf – Guitar
• Myron Grombacher – Drums

Contraband - Contraband (1991)

“Supergroup noun (so̵̅o̅′pər gro̵̅o̅p′): a rock-music group made up of members of other well-known groups and/or a highly successful rock group”. Well, Contraband certainly satisfied the former but definitely not the latter being hardly a name the trips of the tongue of the majority of rock officiandos! An unlikely coming together of glam, hair and trad metal, Contraband comprised of Michael Shenker, Bobby Blotzer (Ratt), Tracii Guns (LA Guns), Richard Black (Shark Island) and Share Pedersen (Vixen) and this 1991 album was to be both their debut and swansong!

The album opens with a cover of Mott the Hoople’s 1973 single All The Way From Memphis, which was also a single release from this album, and is a solid rocker of an opener featuring some wah-wah soloing from Guns along with a strong solo from Shenker. Despite my initial misgivings about the compatibility of the players here, Memphis is certainly a strong opener for the album.

Kiss By Kiss follows-on from Memphis and again is a powerful riff-driven slow burner with a catchy chorus hook and, I would have thought, had significant commercial potential – there’s constant wailing guitar flourishes throughout to boot! The theme continues with Intimate Outrage with, I suspect, a Shenker-penned opening riff with, interestingly, the members of the band combining to produce a sound unlike any of their previous bands but rather creating a polished, powerful sound with a commercial edge that works extremely well.

Bad For Each Other slips into the ‘we must do a ballad’ territory which never wins brownie points with me and is overly formulaic in that respect. However, we are soon back on track with the appallingly named Loud Guitars, Fast Cars And Wild, Wild Livin’ which, to be fair, does what it says on the tin – provides plenty of loud guitars . . . not sure about the rest though, but it is a good, solid track best played loud and leans more towards the Ratt/Guns style of chorus and hook.

Good Rockin’ Tonight is a good up-tempo number – albeit lyrically childlike – with a striding rock and roll feel and some more wailing guitar breaks. Then the mood is dropped for If This Is Love, another ballad with a good harmony guitar intro and a certain amount of power is kept throughout so, fortunately, it doesn’t qutie descend into the formula mush of Bad For Each Other.

Stand features an acapella intro (well, with bass drum and hi-hat accompaniment from Blotzer), there’s even the odd flourish of a heavily midi’d Yes 90125-era keyboard and a strong solo from Shenker later in the track which is all good as far as I’m concerned.

Unfortunately, Tonight You’re Mine takes us back into ballad territory – of the more mushy kind but fortunately the album is then saved by a rocked-up Bowie cover with Hang On To Yourself which provides a storming finale. Unfortunately Guns provides the majority of the soloing as opposed to Shenker but that’s nit-picking really as it’s a cracking cover!

This album does leave you pondering the question: how did they not make the big time? Contraband had a really strong line-up (and Bobby Blotzer!) of members from really big-name acts and the music they produced was great – there’s no real filler, every track (even the ballads) are well-crafted so what went wrong is a moot point. The album itself seems very hard to obtain now too but I would recommend its purchase should you be able to find a copy . . . and it’s got Share Pedersen on it which is always a plus as far as I’m concerned: a forgotten gem of an album.

• Richard Black – Vocals
• Share Pedersen – Bass
• Michael Schenker – Guitar
• Tracii Guns – Guitar
• Bobby Blotzer – Drums

Mamas Boys - Power & Passion (1985)

Northern Ireland’s Mama’s Boys, for a number of reasons never quite got the foothold their talent demanded on the heavy rock gravy train that powered its way through the 1980s. Power and Passion was their ‘breakthrough’ album, cracking the US charts and on the back of a deal with Jive Records and a tour supporting Thin Lizzy things should really have gone up and up. However, the equation that talent equals success has never rung true in the musical arena and no more so than in the case of Mamas Boys.

The album veers away from their more ‘raw’ sound of their early output, with a more ‘polished’ production which, in my view, rather kills the band – giving them a bland veneer of vocals and guitar sound that detracts from their true abilities. Not only that but a rather out of place keyboard also appears from time to time and overshadows Pat McManus’s guitar work – which is never a good thing, however, onto the tracks . . .

Don’t Tell Mama opens the album and, production aside, is a good ballsy effort with a strong hook (albeit the vocals are overly smoothed-out). Hard n’ Loud opens with a pounding drum beat from the late Tommy McManus leading into a strong riff from brother Pat but it’s rather ‘hands in the air’ anthem fare which doesn’t really escape from the formulaic.

Let’s Get High is up next and features some great guitar work from Pat ‘The Professor’ McManus, a catchy Slade-style chorus and some nice Thin Lizzy/Horslips guitar flourishes, showing the influence of the bands that inspired the McManus brothers. Lettin’ Go is another thumping ‘anthem’ and features some cringe worthy lyrics such as “let’s get high on rock ‘n’ roll” – a definite no-no!

Then, like a bolt of lightning from the blue, Needle In the Groove kicks-in and is a prime example of just what Mamas Boys could achieve when they put their minds to it. You get the feeling throughout the album that the fist-pumping anthems were more contrived to fit a mould desired by Jive Records than a genre really enjoyed by the band and one with which they felt comfortable. Nowhere is this more evident than here – a powerful bluesy shuffle with s great guitar part from Pat McManus, strong lower-range vocals and an all round classic. Even the production – bar the keyboards which detract from the true bluesy nature of the track – fail to ruin it: for a truly great appreciation of the track, watch the video below from the short-lived mid-80s heavy metal show ECT.

The title track is up next and is also a very strong track with a great hook and solo from Pat – all-in-ll another gem and the producer has omitted the harmonised vocals, well kept them to a minimum, that mar some of the other tracks. Power and Passion is the sort of track that would become an anthem, as opposed to being written in an attempt to contrive one!

Things take a bit of a dip again with Run – a run of the mill affair, with a good solo however, but nothing to get excited about overall. Straight Forward, No Looking Back gets things a little back on track with a good intro and some tapping from ‘The Professor’ – and a very tight solo later in the piece – I think it may also have been a single as it got a reasonable bit of play around the rock clubs and pubs back in the day too.

The Professor II closes the album with a thumping twin-bass drum rhythm and showcases Pat’s undoubted guitar talents (with a trashy stabbing keyboard riff on there too) and almost veers towards a fusion-type of affair with melodic soloing and a good instrumental arrangement overall.

Apart form having one of the most awful – Spinal Tap ‘Smell The Glove’ style – sleeves in rock history, Power and Passion isn’t a bad album. Mamas Boys were caught in the no-man’s land between the decline in the NWOBHM and the rise of the glam metal scene with the US invasion of Ratt, Motley Crue etc and didn’t particularly site well with either camp and so got a bit left behind. That’s not to take anything away from the band however, who – particularly in the case of Pat McManus – were musically strong and Power and Passion certainly attests to that and is worthy of a few plays at the very least.

• John McManus – Bass/Vocals
• Pat McManus – Guitar
• Tommy McManus – Drums

Phantom Blue - Built To Perform (1993)

If you’re thinking ‘Phantom who?’, you’re probably not alone – especially on the UK-side of the Atlantic! I have to confess to missing Phantom Blue the first time around completely despite working at the time they were at their ‘peak’ in a succession of rock clubs and venues . . . and being an avid subscriber to Kerrang! That said, Built To Perform was the second studio album from the US all-girl group and is an absolute stormer – quite how they failed to hit the mainstream attentions when they were musically streets ahead of their peers is beyond me. Whilst not wanting to harp-on about the fact that they were an all-female group – I have mostly found all-female rock groups to be rather lacking: The Runaways, Girlschool, Rock Goddess etc didn’t do much for me at all and I found their overall sound and musicality somewhat naive and uninspiring. However, Phantom Blue really threw that back in my face on hearing this album!

Built To Perform is an in-your-face metal album featuring some great vocals from Gigi Hangach and stunning guitar riffing and soloing from the sadly-late Michelle Meldrum which serves to blow any preconceived prejudices right out of the window.

Nothing Good is as strong an opening track as your likely to hear, an uptempo rocker with screeching guitar soloing and powerful vocals from Hangach with just enough melody to keep a commercial edge . . . just! This is not a fluke either, the subsequent track Time To Run keeps the pace, and was a single from the album, with an interesting eastern-inspired opening riff leading into a real powerful chugger of a number filled with powerful chords and great vocals. Meldrum’s soloing is first class and Hangach is a perfect rock vocalist, encompassing both power and range.

Track 3 is what I would normally consider a ‘no-no’, a Thin Lizzy cover – something which could quite easily have gone horribly wrong. However Phantom Blue turn-in a fine performance, sticking closely to the original (minus the deft drum flourishes of Brian Downey) but making it sound like something they could have penned – no mean feat. The harmony guitar work is also note perfect and once again, Meldrum really shines here: I could barely believe my ears on hearing this as I’m a huge fan of Mr Lynnot et al and when I see a Lizzy cover on a tracklist I’m always sceptical!

My Misery is up next and takes the mood down a notch from Bad Reputation – however, whist a ballad, it’s not in the cheesy rock ballad style of Winger, Mr Big etc but is a REAL ballad – one that sounds like it was written as an emotional piece, not a formulaic necessity as was often the case during late-1980s rock albums in particular. This is a classy piece, well sung and performed and further evidence of the band’s commercial, albeit untapped, potential.

Little Man is a solid riff-rocker and further evidence that Michelle Meldrum was one hell of a guitarist! The crashing chords of Better Off Dead lead into another powerful slice of rock with a rather sneering vocal and has some good use of twin guitars.

Anti Love Crunch gives a nod towards the speed metal genre for its main riff and Loved Ya To Pieces is another ballsy rocker. Things then slow, but with no loss of intensity, on So Easy before Lied To Me and Little Evil conclude the powerful tracks before the closing track You’re Free bursts through – a slow number with a chorus-fuelled picked guitar melody interspersed with crashing chords and strong vocal hook.

I have to admit I feel really sorry for Phantom Blue! If this album – their only major label release (Geffen) – had come out in place of their debut album some four years earlier (for which the band had been somewhat ‘forced’ into pitching their image at the commercial end of the ‘hair metal’ market, albeit their material erred on the heavy side) I’m certain the band would have really hit the heights. The band had all the ingredients to catapult them to rock stardom – great songwriting and good musicianship – but by the time they really got their act together the metal boom had subsided and despite brimming with talent, the album didn’t achieve any great sales and with numerous lineup changes and being dropped by their record company they never had the momentum, nor marketing clout, to really achieve the status their abilities deserved.

This album was a real eye opener for me and I’d urge anyone to give it a listen and to rue what could have, and should have, been for Phantom Blue.

• Gigi Hangach – vocals
• Michelle Meldrum – guitar
• Karen Kreutzer – guitar
• Kim Nielsen – bass guitar
• Linda McDonald – drums

Atomic Rooster - In Hearing Of (1971)

I always felt that, particularly at their peak, Atomic Rooster were in something of a quandary: on the one hand they had ELP-style prog rock pretensions and on the other, more soulful, song-based Uriah Heap stylings. This 1971 release does nothing to clear-up things either featuring both Hammond-driven instrumentals and more commercial vocal-based numbers.

However, the above doesn’t mean the album is not without its merits, far from it there are many, but just that the juxtaposition of the two conflicting styles doesn’t make for the most consistent of listening experiences when listened to from start to finish.

The album opens with an uptempo eighth note piano riff overlaid with keyboard that builds, with the introduction of the drums, up to a quite a riff including guitar and vocals. Track two is based around a simplistic guitar riff and vocals and does little to stick in the memory – similarly track 3, Decision/Indecision, whilst a pleasantly melodic piano/vocal based number does little to inspire the listener.

Where things really begin to pick up is with A Spoonful Of Bromide which is a belter of an instrumental allowing drummer Paul Hammond to loosen up and Vincent Crane to provide some great Hammond and keyboard soloing built around a central motif to which it repeatedly returns.

The following Black Snake is uneventful but then Head In The Sky returns to the instrumental mode with a guitar-driven piece containing once more some good drumming and Hammond twiddling, but in this instance there’s a vocal track crow-barred into it to but, thankfully, this subsides into a lengthy soloing section.

The Rock is also a strong instrumental piece featuring both Crane and John Du Cann laying down a selection of solos. The album closes with The Price, again a vocal-based number of little merit.

I really wanted to like this album when I first purchased it many years ago, and indeed there are flashes of genius throughout but sadly whilst the band were aware of their undoubted abilities, they didn’t seem aware of their limitations with their songwriting, as opposed to instrumental writing, ability passable at best and for me, John Du Cann was perpetually attempting to punch above his weight.

All-in-all, a disappointing album from a talented group but worth a listen, if just for A Spoonful Of Bromide!

• Vincent Crane – Keyboards
• John Du Cann – Guitar
• Peter French – Vocals
• Paul Hammond – Drums