Young And Wild - A Decade Of American Glam Metal 1982-1992

Following on the heels of the popularity of genres like punk, glam and NWOBHM, hair metal (or American Glam Metal as the title calls it) really started making its mark in the early eighties, and over the next ten years was one of the dominant forces in the music world.  Most of the bands put as much time and effort into their looks and presentation as they did their music, and the fact that MTV was getting its start at the same time created the perfect storm for many of these bands that were either in or gravitating to LA and Hollywood.  With fifty-eight tracks from fifty-eight bands, Young And Wild - A Decade Of American Glam Metal 1982 - 1992, does a good job giving a broad range of bands in that scene at that time and includes many that were pretty much household names like Twisted Sister (actually starting off as a glam band in 1972), Quiet Riot (first number one metal album in the US), Sammy Hagar, David Lee Roth, KISS, Ratt, Bon Jovi, Cheap Trick, Poison, Skid Row, Extreme, White Lion, Vixen, and Warrant.  Some of the others like Dokken, Tesla, Bulletboys, Kix and Winger were still quite well known, while many of the others were lesser-known outside of the hair metal community but were releasing music that was just as good.  Some of these include Helix, Black ‘N Blue, Kick Axe, Leatherwolf, Faster Pussycat, Dirty Looks, Bang Tango, Dangerous Toys, Junkyard and Electric Angels.  The collection also does a great job of showing the diversity in the genre with band’s adding elements that include the blues (Cinderella, Tora Tora), soul (Little Caesar) and Southern Rock (Tattoo Rodeo, Jackyl) among them.  A few of the other bands here really took things in a fresh direction that made them stand out to me and ended up as some of my go to bands at that time.  These include Enuff Z’Nuff with their psychedelic pop, Saigon Kick who were rock, but with an ever-present, hook-heavy pop side and plenty of diversity, and Warrior Soul who mixed in elements of psychedelia, goth, pop and punk.  Then there is Mother Love Bone, who while I question their inclusion here, have what I consider the box set’s best song, "Stardog Champion".   Fronted by Andrew Wood, who was destined to be a star, but unfortunately died of a heroin overdose several days before their full-length debut was scheduled to be released, they drew rock influences from band’s like Led Zeppelin and also had glam in there too but were not “hair metal.”  It should be noted that two members went on to form Pearl Jam who were lumped in with the grunge movement that is considered a contributing factor to hair metal’s decline.  As with any collection like this, people are going to come up with a laundry list of bands that they feel should be included and there are going to be plenty that they don’t feel belong here, but overall this is a really fun listen that will take you back to that wild, loud and over the top debaucherous era in music. 

(Lemon Recordings)

Elephant - III

For the past four years, with two albums and an EP under their belt, Rotterdam’s Elephant (Frank Schalkwijk, Michael Broekhuizen, Bas Vosselman and Kaj van Driel) have been the band I’ve returned to more than any other.  Like its predecessor, album number three (simply titled III) has everything that makes them sound like Elephant, but also finds them experimenting, which keeps things fresh and ever evolving.  While lyrically it’s a bit darker than most of their previous songs, the sunshine pop of opening cut (and first single) “For A Friend,” with its lazy groove and hooky chorus, brings to mind their earlier work.  When it was released as their second single, “20 K” took me completely by surprise.  You can still hear elements of their sound, but with its electro hip-hop beat, vocoder and noisier guitars, they have created an absolutely hypnotic track that’s unlike anything they’ve released before.  “You Wanted The Same” is melancholy dream pop with fantastic vocal interplay between Frank and labelmate Sofie Winterson.  She also appears on their unexpected cover of Blink 182’s “Always,” which finds them taking the core of the original with its upbeat bounce and making it all their own.  At just over six minutes, “Trust Me I Feel It Too” is a cool, laid-back cut that will have you gently swaying back and forth and has some really interesting guitar work that at times gives it a disoriented, almost dizzying, effect and also has a a long instrumental ending with some subtle “Joe Meek-like” space sounds.  Juxtaposed with darker lyrics, the stunning “Tried To Sleep” is a largely acoustic cut that puts a modern-day spin on the West Coast singer / songwriter sounds of the seventies and also has some really nice jazzy guitar work in the middle.  “Memories” again brings to mind their earlier work with a touch of alt country that really comes through in the guitar work.  The mesmerizing “Real Love” has some strong shoegaze elements, while “When You’re Down,” featuring Dewolff’s Pablo Van de Poel, who has also produced all their releases, is a simple, stripped-down tune with more great guitar work.  The experimentation is at the forefront once more with closing track “For A Friend Pt 2,” an ethereal instrumental soundscape enhanced by the sounds of a crackling fire.  Not to beat a dead horse, but as has been the case the case with their prior releases, III is easily one of my favorite albums of the year. 

(Excelsior Recordings / Elephant)

Pilot - The Singles Collection

Before they founded Pilot, David Paton and Billy Lyall were substitute members of the pre-success Bay City Rollers. In the early seventies they were joined by drummer Stuart Tosh and after recording some demos they got a contract and recorded their debut album (produced by Alan Parsons) with session guitarist Ian Bairnson, who then joined the band as a permanent member.  If you live in the States you might be confused as to how there could be a two-disc release devoted to the singles of that band that you only know for their 1974 hit “Magic”, which hit number five on the US charts and is known to a younger generation through a cover by Selena Gomez and its use in Ozempic commercials.  While nowhere near as well-known as “Magic,” they did have two more singles that charted in the US, "January" at number 87 and "Just A Smile" at 90, and had four UK singles that hit 34 or higher (“Call Me Round”, “Just A Smile” and “January,” which was number 1 in the UK, Ireland and Australia were the other three).  From 1974 to 1977 they also released four albums and a total of thirteen singles.  The Singles Collection contains 31 songs comprised of those singles and their b-sides, one track released on a promotional flexi-disc, a single released under the name Scotch Mist before they became Pilot, and bonus solo singles from vocalist Paton and keyboardist Lyall.  While “Magic” is a power pop gem that has had people singing along for over fifty years, the rest of this release shows they were more than just a one hit wonder.  Many of the songs are notable for their strong vocal harmonies and production (strings and horns pop up from time to time), and while most are catchy pop and rock full of hooks, often bringing to mind Badfinger, Todd Rundgren (and his band Nazz), Wings, 10CC and Alan Parsons (producer of three of their albums), they also dip their toes into glam (“Call Me Round” opens like a glam rock stomper), funk, jazz and more.  Some of the songs that find them expanding on their sound include “Just Let Me Be, which is loaded with hooks and also has hints of jazz and funk and strangely reminds me of early Billy Joel at times, “Evil Eye,” an interesting track that has a bit of Alan Parsons and The Beatles with lyrics about their management’s greed and how they only saw the band as a means of making money, and “Ten Feel Tall” (the last official Pilot single) that at times sounds more like Queen and Supertramp. Considering that they did have some hits, and therefore some name recognition, it’s a real mystery why more of these songs weren’t hits as well.  There’s the lazy pop of “Love Is” (an album track that was released on a flexi disc given away in the UK in the weekly music paper “Record Mirror”), “Running Water,” a big power ballad with a strong 10CC vibe and “Penny In My Pocket,” an extremely catchy pop rock tune with some great guitar work that has hit written all over it.  “Monday Tuesday” and the dreamy, laid-back acoustic “Steps” are a couple of great ballads.  Then there’s “Are You In Love,” a gorgeous, semi-acoustic ballad with some nice prog elements in the guitar work (not sure why this was a b-side) and “Big Screen Kill,” a Beatles flavored tune with a big sounding, orchestral string section and lyrics dealing with Hollywood churning out crappy, violent movies just for the money.  In all fairness, there are a few tracks that to me just don’t really work.  “Ra-Ta-Ta” was the a-side of that pre-Pilot single under the name Scotch Mist, and it’s a cover of a 1970 hit for the band Rotation that’s driven by a military style beat and is really annoying (ironically the meandering psychedelic “Pamela” is the flipside and is a strong, dreamy acoustic track). Then there’s “Lady Luck,” which is kind of cheesy and sounds like they threw everything but the kitchen sink in production wise but just doesn’t work.  The solo singles are a nice addition to close out the disc.  Taken from his only solo album released in 1976, the two tracks that comprise Lyell’s only solo single are “Us,” a lightweight seventies power pop tune with some hints of ELO, and the very impressive, orchestrated, art rock pop song “Maniac” (a reworking of a song from the third Pilot album).  Phil Collins played drums on both songs and Phil Chen (Rod Stewart and many more) played bass.  Following Pilot's demise, David Paton started doing session work with artists like Kate Bush, Alan Parsons and Chris DeBurgh.  His single was recorded at Abbey Road and released in 1980 (the lack of radio play for the single ended up resulting in a proposed album being shelved).  The influence of his work with Alan Parsons is very evident on both "No Ties No Strings" and "Stop And Let Go."  Sadly, Lyall passed away in 1989, but various incarnations of the remaining members have gotten back together off and on over the years and in 2014 Paton, Bairnson and Tosh all reunited and released the album A Pilot Project.  Bairnston has since passed away as well in 2023.

(7T's)

Semihelix - Deeper Space in Time / Tin Blvd single

With a full-length release tentatively scheduled for late 2025, Austin three-piece Semihelix is back with their latest single.  "Deeper Space In Time" starts of with an infectious meshing of jangly guitar pop and driving riot grrrl punk and builds and builds in intensity before settling into a slower, more melancholy groove.  At first, the flipside "Tin Blvd" has more of the jangle rock guitar but with a bit of a Pixies feel, but evolves into a very taut and tense, fast paced song that becomes almost manic, but still with a sense of melody.  This is another great single that really has me looking forward to the upcoming album.

(Semihelix - Bandcamp)

Atomic Rooster - Atomic Rooster (Remastered and Expanded)

When The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown came to an end in 1969, two members of the final lineup, organist Vincent Crane and drummer Carl Palmer, decided to form a new band and Atomic Rooster was born.  Rounded out by Nick Graham on bass, they recorded their debut album before both Graham and Palmer left the band.  Over the ensuing years and a multitude of member changes (including expanding to a four-piece at one point), they released five albums, with Crane the only consistent member, before calling it a day in 1975.  Fast forward to 1980 when Crane and John Du Cann, who had been in the band on guitar and vocals from 1970 to 1971, decided to give the band another go with session musician Preston Heyman, who left the band after recording the album.  The resulting release was the self-titled Atomic Rooster (not to be confused with their debut Atomic Roooster), which has now been remastered and reissued in this new edition that also includes eleven bonus tracks, and a second disc recorded live at the Marquee Club in 1980.   

While their last two releases before the breakup had more of a soul influence, this album found them shifting back in a hard rock and prog direction, taking influences from the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal that was hot at the time, along with some elements of punk (Du Cann's vocals were notably different here with more of a punk snarl). The album starts strongly with "They Took Control Of You", which opens with screeching guitars and is a powerful, all-out rocker that's musically very reminiscent of Deep Purple (especially thanks to Crane's organ work), but with a touch of punk.  "She's My Woman" and "He Did It Again" are a couple of muscular rockers, the latter of which has more emphasis on the organ, giving it a bit more of a prog element with hints of Argent. While not totally punk, "Where's The Show?" really shows their punkier side.  At almost seven minutes, "In The Shadows" is a very organ driven track that is dark and a little evil sounding and in more of a prog direction.  The punk influence shows up once again on "Do You know Who's Looking For You," a track that is more aggressive but still with plenty of keys.  "Don't Lose Your Mind" has more of a classic rock sound that is reminiscent of the band's early days.  Instrumental "Watch Out!" is a solid prog instrumental that at times brings to mind Yes, although it's a bit faster at times.   ”I Can’t Stand It” is a fun rocker with a punky attitude that’s kind of upbeat with sprightly keys giving it a bit of a bounce, and closer “Lost In Space” is another more prog influenced track.  Rounding out the first disc are eleven bonus tracks starting off with “Throw Your Life Away” (originally released as a b-side), a high energy track that really showcases Du Cann’s guitar work and has more of his old school vocals, and “Broken Windows,” an unreleased, hard-driving rocker that was possibly initially recorded as a b-side.  Next up are four demos of songs that ended up on the album and four more that were recorded for a potential follow-up album before Du Cann left the band again.  They include the muscular rock of “End Of The Day” (released a year later as a single by a different incarnation of the band) and “Play It Again,” and the bluesy, soulful “Hold It Through The Night.”  The final bonus track is the short instrumental “Moonrise”, that is just listed as “last recording 1981.”

As was mentioned earlier, after the album was recorded, Heyman left the band and was replaced for a very short time by Ginger Baker followed by the return of Paul Hammond.  At this point the band was back to the lineup that recorded their sophomore album Death Walks Behind You.  This is who played in 1980 at The Marquee in London, which is documented here on disc two.  It was originally recorded on cassette on a single onstage microphone, so it definitely has that bootleg feel, but considering how it was recorded, it sounds extremely good and really puts you right in the middle of the action.  The band sounds really tight and the performance is strong, which is even more impressive since they hadn't been back together that long.  Along with four songs from the Atomic Rooster album, there are five from Death Walks Behind You along with "Devil's Answer," which had been released as a single back in 1971. These earlier cuts tend to be a little heavier than they were originally, putting them more in line with the rest of the set.  This disc is a great addition to this release that shows where the band was at that time.     

(Esoteric Recordings)

Treasure Pains - Charming

Durham, North Carolina's Treasure Pains was formed through a collaborative writing sessions with members of Youth League and WolvesxWolvesxWolvesxWolves, and Charming is their debut EP.  In just over sixteen minutes, the post-hardcore band blasts through six tracks that are aggressive with taut angular guitars, but dripping with a strong, hook-heavy sense of melody.  Openers “Blowout” and “Charming”, along with “Vines”, personify this perfectly.  “Not Opaque” moves in more of a melancholy direction, although is still not lacking in power.  They shift gears a little on the final two tracks, which are quite possibly my favorites. “Hands Up” kicks off with a Primus-like distorted bass that will throw you at first, but then moves into a mellower, very catchy rock song, while “Empty Paws” is a little less aggressive, but more high energy and will have you bouncing your head.  Hopefully this is just beginning of this collaboration.   

(Wiretap Records)

Madball - True To The Game - The Roadrunner Years

Back in the mid-eighties, when future Madball frontman Freddy Crucien was just a kid, he would get onstage with his brother, legendary Agnostic Front vocalist Roger Miret, and perform some lead vocals.  Fast forward a few years to 1988 and Madball became a full-fledged band with Cricien on vocals and Miret on bass along with fellow Agnostic Front members Vinnie Stigma on guitar and Will Shepler on drums.  They released a couple of EP's in 1988 and 1992 (second guitarist, and another former AF member Matt Henderson joined between EP's), and then in 1994 they signed a deal with Roadrunner Records, who released their first three albums.  Now, with the release of True To The Game - The Roadrunner Years, those releases have been combined into an outstanding box set.

Set If Off kicks the box set off, and features Jorge ‘Hoya Roc’ Guerra on bass, replacing Miret who had left the band at this point.  With it being their full-length debut and featuring so many former Agnostic Front members, that band is more of an influence here than on future releases.  Tracks like “Lockdown,” “Never Had It,” “Face To Face” and “Across Your Face” are hard-hitting and angry, but almost always have a slower moment to take a breath.  There is also a sign of what was to come on future albums on tracks like “It’s Time” and “Down By Law,” (the video for this song got a lot of attention on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball), which have a bit of a groove.  Interestingly, the album ends with their aggressive cover of Agnostic Front’s “Friend Or Foe.”

Between their debut and album number two, Demonstrating My Style, Vinnie left the band.  This album found them embracing the groove element even more, which is evident from the get-go with the opening title track, along with cuts like “Pride (Times Are Changing)” and “5-O".  “Godfather” is another interesting shift with instrumental breaks that are almost hardcore hip hop.  They once again close this album with an Agnostic Front cover, “Your Fall”, which is actually a hidden bonus track.  

Look My Way was the band’s final album on Roadrunner.  They continued as a four-piece, but John Lafata had replaced Shepler on drums.  Quite a few of the songs here, like the title track, “Waste Of Time” and “Cut Off,” are slower, but still lose nothing in the intensity department.  Having said that there are plenty of powerful fast-paced cuts like “Moment Of Truth” and “All I Can Take.”  Songs like “Fools Die” and “Lesson Of Life” also delve a little more into the metal side of things. Another track of note is “Our Family”, a reworking of “Nuestra Familia” from the previous album, that is their first song sung in Spanish.  True To The Game does a great job of consolidating this chapter of the Madball story, which still continues to this day, although with Cricien as the only remaining member from this era.  Also included is a great booklet with in-depth interviews with Cricien, Henderson and Shepler, as well as video director Drew Stone and Howie Abrams, the A&R person that signed them to Roadrunner.     

(Dissonance Productions)

Gentlemen Rogues - Half Empty, Half Fool / Children Of The Revolution single  

With it's punchy, yet jangly, guitars, the energetic, hook-heavy power pop gem "Half Empty, Half Fool," from Austin’s Gentlemen Rogues is a hook-heavy, power pop gem that would fit right in with Bob Mould in his Sugar days.  The track is taken from last year's full-length release Surface Noise and is the a-side of their new single released on vinyl to coincide with their Midwest tour.  The opaque pink 7” is limited to 100 copies that will only be available at shows on that tour while supplies last (the digital version is available on Bandcamp).  The flipside is a fantastic cover of the T-Rex classic “Children Of The Revolution," that  maintains the glam core of the original, but with a heavier, more muscular sound, that keeps it fresh.  

(Gentlemen Rogues - Bandcamp)