McAuley Schenker Group: Bad Boys - The McAuley Schenker Group Story 1987-1992

After getting his start in his brother Rudolf’s band The Scorpions in his mid-teens and then playing guitar on their debut album when he was just sixteeen, Michael Schenker joined UFO, playing with them for the next five years.  Following that with another short stint with The Scorpions, he then formed The Michael Schenker Group with vocalist Gary Barden.  From 1980 to 1984, they released four studio and two live albums (Barden was replaced by Graham Bonnet for their third studio album before Barden returned for number four).  When Barden left the band again, Schenker teamed up with former Grand Prix vocalist Robin McAuley and together they released three albums, an unplugged live album and an acoustic EP, which have all been collected here on Bad Boys- The McAuley Schenker Group Story 1987-1992.

Their debut was Perfect Timing, which ended up as their most melodic album and kicks off with “Gimme Your Love,” which epitomizes that, with big choruses and hooks, and great guitar work including a strong solo.  “Here Today - Gone Tomorrow” and “Don’t Stop Me” are more great examples of their mastery of that sound.  “No Time For Losers” and “Get Out” are a couple of shredders that give the album a bit of a punch, while “Follow The Night” and “Time,” a really gorgeous tune enhanced perfectly with Steve Mann’s keys, are really strong ballads, but with a bite.  “Love Is Not A Game” walks the line between ballad and rocker and “I Don’t Wanna Lose,” in my opinion the album’s best song, mixes acoustic guitar with electric and has a slight bluesy groove (don’t miss the guitar solo on this one).  Disc one closes out with a couple of bonus tracks in the form of edited versions of albums cuts.

Their sophomore album opens with the title track “Save Yourself,” which starts off with an excellent guitar solo leading into a hard-driving rocker that explodes with Schenker’s guitar work.  “Bad Boys” is up next and is more straight-ahead rock with a touch of bluesy swagger, while “Anytime” is a great power ballad with more strong guitar and McAuley’s emotional vocals (this was the biggest single of their career).  While there are a couple of other really solid tracks like the darker “Shadow of the Night” and “This Is My Heart,” another strong ballad, a lot of the remaining songs are just a little too generic (“I Am Your Radio” is the epitome of this), making this a less consistent release.  Disc two has seven more bonus tracks that include “There Has To Be Another Way,” a strong instrumental that really showcases Schenker’s guitar work, and the straight-ahead hard rocker “Vicious,” which was released as a b-side.  Both of these tracks are actually better than some of the songs that ended up on the album.  The remaining tracks include several single and radio edits of album tracks along with a nice acoustic version of "Bad Boys."

When they got around to album number three, simply titled MSG, melodic rock and hair metal was being pushed aside by grunge and as a result the album at times had a heavier, more guitar-driven sound than its predecessors.  Songs like “Eve,” which still has that melodic rock sound but with an edge, the straight-ahead hard rock of “Invincible,” and “This Broken Heart” are good examples of this.  Having said that there are several power ballads here where they really shine and show that not many bands did them as well as them  These include “When I’m Gone” (written by McAuley and Jesse Harms, who at that time was Sammy Hagar’s keyboardist), “What Happens To Me” and “This Night Is Gonna Last Forever” with its big sweeping choruses, and the hauntingly gorgeous closing track “Never Ending Nightmare.”  Some of the other high points are “Lonely Nights” (check out Schenker’s soloing on this one) and the catchy midtempo rocker “We Believe In Love.”  Five more bonus tracks can be found on disc three consisting primarily of edits and alternative versions of album cuts, most notably a great acoustic version of “When I’m Gone.”

With grunge taking over the rock charts at this point, MSG didn't make much of a dent in America and there wasn't a full electric tour to support MSG.  The band did though see the success that bands were having with MTV's Unplugged, so after releasing Nightmare: The Acoustic EP in Japan, a mini-album of acoustic tracks (the acoustic studio versions included here appear to come from this release), they did a nine-month acoustic tour resulting in the Unplugged Live album, found here on the box set's final disc.  Stripped down to just McAuley’s vocals and Schenker's guitars, along with Shark Island’s Spencer Serombe on rhythm guitar and 12-string, the songs are given a completely different life here and honestly this is the disc that I go back to the most.  Along with songs from all three of their albums, they performed three UFO songs, “Lights Out,” “Doctor Doctor” and “Natural Light.”  The disc closes out with five more bonus tracks, including a live acoustic version of UFO’s “Only You Can Rock Me” and acoustic versions of four more songs.  This highly recommended box set is rounded out nicely with a very informative booklet detailing the band’s career with stories behind each release.  

(HNE Recordings)

Howard Jones - Live At The Marquee

On September 20, 1983, a few months after he released his debut album, just as his first single “New Song” was about to break into the UK Top 40 and a couple of days before he would make his Top Of The Pops debut (both of which he mentions during the show), Howard Jones played his first show at London’s Marquee Club.  About twenty-five years later a previously unreleased recording of that performance was found in some tapes that were being transferred for possible bonus tracks on the 2018 reissue of Human’s Lib.  Now, thanks to Cherry Red Records, that full show has been released on CD and double LP, and sound great.  Among the thirteen tracks in the set are eight of the ten that are on Human’s Lib, with the bulk of the remaining songs ending up as b-sides or future album cuts.  Jones performance is animated and full of energy, and the crowd is very enthusiastic, as evidenced by the singalong on “New Song.”  While at this point the album had been out for about six months, it’s definitely not a paint by numbers performance, with Jones expanding and extended many of the songs.  Several of the tracks like “Hunt The Self,” “Pearl In The Shell,” and “Equality” also find him kicking up the tempo a little, and the synths sometimes have a harder edge than the softer sounds on the album.  A couple of other notable moments are the fun, upbeat honky tonk piano that closes “New Song” and the extended “Ruth, David and Dennis” story that he tells at the beginning of “Human’s Lib.”  Live At The Marquee is an extremely fun listen and a great listen back to Jones’ early days.  

(Cherry Red Records)

Los Armadillos - Another Monday Morning single

The Armadillos initially got their start in Zurich in 1985 and over the years have gone through some changes including changing their name to Los Armadillos.  Two of the current members, vocalist / guitarist / organist Bernie Sprenger and drummer Dominique Muench, have been there since the beginning, now being joined by Michael Herzig on bass and vocals.  Following an EP in 2023, they are now back with the new single containing a couple of garage rockers that take inspiration from bands like The Fleshtones and mix in a little Tex-Mex and some great pop hooks.   “Another Monday Morning” has a lazy groove and stabbing organ fills that will have you singing long after the music is over.  The flipside “Do It” is again rather laid-back, but with more of a surf / garage rock sound.  

(Los Armadillos)

King - Soul On My Boots - The Collection

Following the demise of the Coventry rock-ska band Reluctant Stereotypes, singer Paul King formed the Raw Screens, who then in 1983 became King.  Over the next couple of years, the band released two albums and had several hit singles in the UK, including two that hit the top ten (unfortunately their only US hit was "Love & Pride" at 55 on the singles chart).  Now those two albums, along with King's 1987 solo album and numerous bonus tracks (35 previously unreleased), including remixes, B-sides, demos and live recordings have been compiled on the five-disc box set Soul In My Boots - The Collection.

Their debut Steps In Time gets things started here and is highlighted by their most successful single, the incredibly infectious “Love And Pride” and its pure eighties dance beat driven, new wave pop (I”m really not sure why this wasn’t more successful in the States).  While a lot of the songs have a similar sound like “Won’t You Hold My Hand Now”  and “Kiss The Pikey Fridge” with its heavier beat, others show they did have some diversity like opener “Fish,” with more of a rock edge, the moodier, more subdued “And As For Myself” and the soulful “Soul In My Boots.”  Closing out disc one are six bonus tracks consisting of a variety of remixes of albums tracks (the extended mix of "Love and Pride" is great), along with an interesting, somewhat darker and slower alternative version of "Won't You Hold My Hand."

The band’s sophomore album Bitter Sweet is on disc two and opens with its first and biggest single “Alone Without You,” another catchy new wave pop track, here with some slight hints of Duran Duran in the keys.  Also like the debut, quite a few of the tracks here continue down that path with “I Cringed I Died I Felt Hot,” which has a more midtempo groove, “(KFAD) Wair For No One,” the driving, classic eighties new wave of “Torture” and “Sugar Candy Mountain Buddhas.”They also continue to branch out even more here with tracks like “Platform One,” with its laid-back soulful reggae beat, the excellent “2 M.B.,” a throwback to the ska of Reluctant Stereotypes, the gorgeous, should have been a hits “The Taste Of Your Tears” and “Mind Yer Toes, with is strings and horns.  Five more bonus tracks can be found at the end of disc two, which are again remixes of album cuts.  

Recorded between albums in 1985, disc three contains their previously unreleased live performance at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland.  In addition to performing eight of the ten tracks from their debut (including playing both "Won't You Hold My Hand Now" and "Love & Pride" for a second time for the encore), they gave the crowd a preview of four songs that would later appear on their sophomore album as well as “Don’t Stop,” the b-side to “Love & Pride,” and future b-side “Crazy Party.”  Although the recording is a little thin, the band sounds great, and the crowd is energetic, making this live recording a great addition to the box set.   

In preparation for their next album, CBS booked the band studio time to record their next single.  Produced by Julian Mendelsohn, who had already had production success with Pet Shop Boys, "Baby Raven Mane" was to be that single, but the band felt it didn’t really represent their new sound and asked the label to delay its release.  They ended up recording numerous more songs in several different sessions, but there were conflicts among the members and after King worked on some songs with producer Dan Hartman he decided to leave the band.  Now for the first time, 21 previously unreleased bonus tracks, including demos plus that abandoned single, can be found on disc four of this box set.  That unreleased "Baby Raven Mane" single gets things started and is an extremely catchy track that would have had great potential to give them another hit.   The b-side was set to be “Something To Believe,” another excellent track that’s moodier with a bit of a rock edge that was a bit of a different direction for the band.  Songs like "Man For All Seasons," "Can't Help Myself," "Let's Find A Home," "Rock Trash Go" and "Some Risks Are Worth Taking" are reminiscent of what they were doing on their earlier albums, but with more experimentation and maturity.  There are also several songs where funk elements come more into play, like "Love Has Let You Down," "Ten" and "Building."  Some of the other highlights include “Glory’s Goal,” a laid-back, dreamy track with a soulful groove, and the ballads "Play That Song Again" and "Someday."  A couple of the other tracks of interest are "At The End Of the Day," a totally different sounding song for them, relying more on synths and giving it a colder, more electronic sound, and an interesting cover of David Bowie's "In The Heat Of The Morning."  This disc is an absolute goldmine for fans and shows a band that was really moving forward.  

As mentioned above, after being motivated by the James Brown song "Living In America" Paul King met Dan Hartman, the song's writer and producer, to discuss how he thought he was the perfect person to bring his vision for King to fruition.  He wanted them to have a more modern, soulful sound and was further encouraged by Hartman's suggestion to use horns and backing singers.  Hartman also said he thought the best results would come from using the session musicians that played on "Living In America" and then have the actual band members fill in when appropriate, which ultimately resulted in King leaving the band and releasing his solo album Joy.  Included here on disc five, Joy shifted somewhat away from the sound of the band towards a more polished, and quite often more horn-fueled, soulful sound.  That at times comes across a little sterile, causing the album to lose some of the charm of his work with the band, but it's still quite a good album. The two singles that were released from the album, the laid-back "Follow My Heart" and the catchy, upbeat pop of “I Know,” punctuated with horns from The Uptown Horns, are among some of the better tracks here.  A couple of the album’s other highlights are “Glory’s Goal,” a more soulful, laid-back tune that is reminiscent of Spandau Ballet or ABC, “One Too Many Heartaches,” a bouncy pop tune that has a little more of an edge to it, and ”So Brutal,” a soulful tune at first before kicking up the pace with some super funky bass.  A few others worth mentioning are “Pass On By,” which brings to mind his earlier work with the band, the poppy dance cut “It’s Up To You” and “Slow Motion,” an upbeat dance tune with a slow, slinky funk groove and backing vocals from Nona Hendryx.  Disc five also includes five more bonus tracks, again mixes and remixes of album tracks including “Love - Pride and Brutality,” an interesting “mashup” of sorts of "So Brutal" and "Love and Pride."  Also included is a CD booklet with an essay written by Paul King, giving details on each disc.  While I was only slightly familiar with King back in the day, I was quite pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable a listen Soul In My Boots - The Collection is. 

(Cherry Pop)

British Lions - Trouble With Women (2025 Remaster)

British Lions were formed in 1977 from the remnants Mott (the renamed Mott The Hoople after Ian Hunter's departure) when lead singer Nigel Benjamin left the band and the remaining four members (Morgan Fisher, Dale Griffin, Ray Majors and Pete Overend Watts) teamed up with ex-Medicine Head vocalist John Fiddler. After releasing an eponymous debut in 1978 and touring with the likes of Status Quo, AC/DC and Blue Oyster Cult, they recorded the follow-up Trouble With Women the following year.  It was recorded with their American audience in mind, but their American label RSO rejected the album and a short time later their UK label, Vertigo, did the same.  While these rejections led to the band’s demise, the album was finally released by Cherry Red Records in 1980.  Now, following the successful reissue of their debut, Think Like A Key has released a newly remastered and expanded version of Trouble With Women.  The album opens with the quirky, slightly funky swagger of the title track, a catchy rocker that, after some old school electronic blips at the beginning, is punctuated with somewhat psychedelic keys and even a little harmonica.  The straight-ahead rock of “Any Port In A Storm” mixes in some piano with the keys and has a hint of Mott The Hoople.  Somewhat a change in direction, “Lady Don’t Fall Backwards” moves in more of a new wave direction and even has some farfisa to add to the fun.  “High Noon” shows the band’s heavier side and really highlights the guitar work, while “Lay Down Your Love” is a rollicking, upbeat tune with some killer piano.  The bluesy rock of “Waves Of Love” often brings to mind Bad Company, but with more emphasis on the organ and some T Rex-like glam vocals in the chorus.  By far my favorite track on the album, “Electric Chair” is another heavier, hard-hitting track that at times reminds me of Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy.  Closing the album out is their cover of “(Won’t You Give Him) One More Chance”, which had previously been recorded by Solomon Burke. It’s a very poppy song with a strong glam influence, along with a hint of ELO, that’s probably the weakest track on the album.  The nine bonus tracks kick off with the Status Quo demo of “Eat The Rich,” a fun, rollicking, bluesy take on the song, the home demo of “One More Chance To Run” (the studio versions of these tracks was on their debut), and the home demo of a slower ballad, “But The Night Is Young.”  “The Studio Song” is a goofy little “joke” song recorded at Mickie Most’s RAK Studios and highlights their recording session there as well as paying tribute to the people involved in the recording process.  The final four bonus tracks are all live recordings and includes a solid, straight-ahead, hard-driving take on the Medicine Head song “Rising Sun,” a punky pub rock cover of Chuck Berry’s “Come On,” “My Life’s In Your Hands,” from their debut, and “Wild One,” which would later become “Lay Down Your Love” on the second album, although it’s a little grittier here.  Trouble With Women is a sadly underappreciated album that shows a band embracing their past as well as the changes that were taking place in the music scene at that time.  

(Think Like A Key Music)

Leisure Process - The Complete Epic Recordings 

Formed in the early eighties by Ross Middleton, who had been in the band Positive Noise, and session sax player Gary Barnacle, Leisure Process released four singles during their short career, all produced by noted producer Martin Rushent.  The new two-CD collection The Complete Epic Recordings includes, for the first time on CD, all the A and B sides of these four singles (both 7-inch and 12-inch), as well as sessions, demos and instrumentals that were being considered for a never released full-length album.  "Love Cascade" was their debut single and is a catchy, very dancey eighties electropop track with hints of The Human League.  It really establishes their sound with the unique blend of synths and saxophone and made for a very promising start.  It was Single of the Week in most of the music publications as well as Peter Powell's Pick on Radio 1, but unfortunately, there was a mix-up at the label's pressing plant, and the single didn't hit the shops for another month.  Because of this, customers weren't able to get the single and by the time it was released they had moved on.  Their follow-up was "A Way You'll Never Be," which featured Mark King and Phil Gould from Level 42.  It moves in more of an electronic direction with a bit of funk, largely in part to King's bass playing.  The hooks were back full-force on their third single, "Cashflow," a super bouncy mixture of synthpop and new wave.  "Anxiety" ended up being their final single and is a solid, poppy, midtempo synthpop tune, but comes across as a little too radio friendly and therefore was safer than its predecessors.  The B-sides to their singles often found them showing their more experimental side.  These include the darker, haunting bass-driven "The Sun Turns Back," and "The Fluke," a slower track that's very sax and piano driven that strangely gives me Springsteen "Meeting Across The River" vibes and features Magazine's Dave Formula on piano.  "Rachel Dreams" is a colder, more sterile sounding synth driven song, but with Barnacle's warm sax, while "The Company" ("Company B" on the extended version) is another darker synth tune containing samples from films and TV and some great trumpet from Gary's dad, Big Bill Barnacle, and the slow and atmospheric instrumental "The Emigre" is quite different from anything else they had done.  In addition to multiple versions and mixes of the singles, along with a couple of the B-sides, are 2024 remixes of "Love Cascade" and "A Way You'll Never Be" from Klaus Devore that were included at the request of the band.  They are interesting remixes that are respectful of the originals, while giving them a modern day sound.  The remainder of the tracks are rough mixes and instrumentals, many of which were being considered for their shelved album Remarkable People With Interesting Lives.  Some of the highlights include “Pentagon,” with it’s fun, slinky swagger, the sprightly “Learning To Love Me” with its bleeps and bloops (check out the bass solo here), “Interesting Lives,” a slower, more atmospheric track that’s one of the standouts, and the upbeat “Call Me President” with its stabbing synth pulses.  Rounding out the bonus tracks are rough mixes of “Cashflow” and “Anxiety” and a trio of unreleased instrumentals.  The compilation also includes a thirty-two page booklet full of fun and informative essays from Middleton and makes this a welcome addition to the collection of any fan of eighties synthpop.  

(SFE)

Tina Turner - Good Hearted Woman – The Definitive Edition

In 1974, as her successful career as half of Ike and Tina Turner was winding down, Tina went into the studio to record her debut solo album.  Jack Millman came on board as the investor on the album and had the idea for her to record a country album with songs that could be performed on variety shows.  Once the album was finished it was sent to label executives and while United Artists was interested in signing her, they were not interested in the finished album.  Instead of that, they wanted country songs with a slower tempo that would be picked by their A&R staff, and they also wanted a different producer.  Millman reached an agreement with the label that he would keep the rights to the album and Tina could sign with them.  As a result of this, she ended up recording Tina Turns The Country On, which ended up being nominated for a Grammy.  In 1979 Millman released the original album on his Wagner Records label and over the years it has been re-released on CD numerous times under several different titles, but the sound quality on these has tended to be poor.  This newly released “definitive edition” uses a transfer of the master tapes and has been released on both CD and vinyl.  While I haven’t heard any of the earlier releases, so I can’t compare them, this new version sounds great.  As for the music, the album opens strongly with a powerful vocal performance and gorgeous string arrangement on “Lay It Down,” followed by a pure, classic country performance of Kris Kristofferson’s “Lovin’ Him Was Easier.”  Next up is a rollicking, good time take on the title track, which was actually written by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson after Jennings saw a newspaper ad that called Tina a “good hearted woman loving two-timing men.”  Originally a hit for Brenda Lee, “If This Is Our Last Time” is a slower track with a softer vocal performance (except for chorus) and the nice addition of horns.  While her take on “Stand By Your Man” sticks pretty close to the classic arrangement, she makes it her own with her powerhouse, soulful vocals.  Written by Will Hoover and originally recorded by Waylon Jennings, the lesser known “Freedom To Stay” is an absolutely gorgeous tune with a great arrangement and a strong, deeply emotional vocal.  Those gritty, emotional vocals continue on the next track, “We Had It All” and are the perfect complement to the string arrangement.  Her cover of “Soul Deep,” best known from the version from The Box Tops, is a fun take on the tune that walks the line between soul and country.  On “If It’s Alright With You” she adds a a bit of a rock edge, as she also does on the closing track, her take on another classic, Loretta Lynn’s “You Ain’t Woman Enough To Take My Man” where she gives a spirited performance with a bit of an attitude and a touch of funk.  In addition to songs being remastered, the album cover now features the photograph that Tina personally selected back in 1974, and the booklet has some great insight into the story behind the release.   It should also be noted that this release has now rightfully been added to the discography page of her official website and has support on her social media platforms.  

(Explore Rights Management)