Strangeways - Complete Recordings Vol. 1 1985-1994

Over a five year period starting with the release of their 1985 self-titled debut, Glasgow’s Strangeways released three outstanding AOR albums that are considered by many fans and music critics to be some of the best of that genre.  Complete Recordings Vol 1 1985-1994, the new four CD box set from Cherry Red Records (through their HNE Recordings label) brings these three releases, along with their fourth (more on that later), together, and also includes eighteen bonus tracks.

On their debut, the band comprised of Tony Liddell on vocals, brothers Ian J. and David Stewart on guitar and bass, Jim Drummond on drums and Alan Thomas on keys, worked with producer Kevin Elson (most notable at that time for his work with Journey on Departure, Escape and Frontiers) to create an album full of solid American styled AOR with a bit of a British rock bite.  Liddell’s vocals are strong and Stewart’s guitar work and soloing stand out throughout.  Some of the high points are “Breaking Down The Barriers”, which had all the makings of a hit, “The Kid Needs Love”, “Hold Back Your Love” (this tracks has some really good Neal Schon styled guitar), “Close To The Edge”, “Cry Out” and “Hold Tight”.  Closing out the disc are five demos, including three for tracks that didn’t appear on the album.  One of these is “Hold On”, which is interesting because it’s a ballad and there are really no ballads on the album.  

For their sophomore release Native Sons, the band parted ways with Liddell and added American singer Terry Brock along with David “Munch” Moore now on keys.  This time around they worked with John Punter as producer, who had worked with the likes of Japan, Roxy Music and Slade.  With the combination of Brock’s smoother, more hit friendly voice, that has a bit of a Steve Perry quality, Stewart’s at times Schon like guitar playing and Moore’s keys, along with a more polished production, the album has a definite Journey vibe.  If you’re a fan of eighties AOR there really isn’t a bad cut to be found, but the semi ballad “Goodnight LA”, “Only A Fool”, “So Far Away” and “Where Do We Go From Here” are definite highlights.  Six more bonus tracks can be found on this disc, starting with three live tracks.  The sound quality on these is the equivalent of a good bootleg and does a good job of showing what they were capable of live.  The other three bonus cuts are a couple of single edits and an AOR Mix of “Dance With Somebody”.

Walk In The Fire, the band’s third album, found them with the same lineup, but this time around guitarist Ian Stewart co-produced with John Lee and the mixing handled by Mike Shipley (Whitesnake, The Cars, Journey).  Like it’s predecessor, this is another album full of classic eighties AOR songs that should have been hits.   Again, no weak cuts to be found, but highlights here include “After The Hurt Is Gone”, “Where Are They Now”, “Danger In Your Eyes”, “Every Time You Cry” and “Modern World”.  Closing out the disc are six more bonus cuts, starting with four demos. While the first, “Jackie’s Gone”, is another solid tune with a bit of a Journey vibe and was recorded during the Walk In The Fire sessions with Brock on vocals, the other three were recorded with vocalist Charles Bowyer for a projected fourth album.  Bowyer is a solid vocalist, although his vocals are a little grittier, and while “Big Tom” and “The Last Chance” are strong AOR cuts, “Liberty” adds a little variety to their usual sound with a bit of a bluesy groove (this song was actually released on their 2010 album Perfect World with Brock back on vocals).  Live versions of “So Far From Here” and “Where Do We Go From Here”, again with the sound quality the equivalent of a good bootleg, round out the disc. 

Album number four, And The Horse, was a radical departure for the band and if you ask a fan what they think you might just see their head explode.  Ian Stewart handled production again, but also took over on vocals after the departure of Brock.  The music climate at this time was changing and the band decided to shift as well.  From the opening strains of “Precious Time”, with it’s catchy, laid-back funk rock groove, you can tell this isn’t going to be another album of AOR classics.  Contrary to what die hard fans might lead you to believe, this doesn’t mean this is a bad album.  In fact it is a very creative album, showing a more experimental side to the band and to me it’s just as good as any of their prior releases, just different.  While “Out Of The Blue” is a slower, kind of dreamy tune that treads fairly close to earlier albums, songs like “Through The Wire” and “The Great Awakening” are haunting, moodier tracks that show a definite Pink Floyd influence.  Other high points include “Head On”, another slower, laid-back track with a soulful jazz groove, the simple acoustic “On” and the nine minute “Some Of Us Lie”, a beautiful, introspective tune with hints of prog, that’s full of dreamy instrumental passages, some bluesy guitar work and great keyboard passages.  The band’s musicianship really shines throughout the album, especially Stewart’s guitar work.  It’s a shame that while they were a huge critical success, Strangeways never really got their just due, so if you long for the days when AOR bands were in their heyday, this is a great way to discover this deserving band. 

(HNE Recordings)