Wild Horses - Standing Our Ground - Complete Recordings 1978-1981

When guitarist Brian Robertson left Thin Lizzy in 1978, he teamed up with his flatmate bassist Jimmy Bain (formerly of Rainbow) and they formed Wild Horses.  Bain handled the bulk of the lead vocals with Robertson singing on a couple and the initial incarnation of the band was rounded out by Neil Carter on guitars and keyboards, and Clive Edwards (formerly of Pat Travers and Uli Jon Roth’s Electric Sun) on drums.  Unfortunately, the band was fairly short-lived and ended up going through some lineup changes and releasing only two albums before imploding in 1981.  Now, with the release of the six CD box set Standing Our Ground - Complete Recordings 1978 - 1981, those two albums, along with live cuts, demos, b-sides, alternate takes, 2025 remixes of album cuts and more are all compiled into one collection.  

The band released their debut album, The First Album, in April 1980 and actually hit number thirty-eight on the UK charts.  The original mix of the album opens disc one and starts strongly with “Reservation,” a solid rocker with some stellar Robertson guitar work.  The Thin Lizzy influence shows itself from time to time, most notably on “Face Down” and “Blackmail.”  The album also contains a couple co-writes with his former Lizzy bandmates with Phil Lynott on the poppy power ballad “Flyaway” and Scott Gorham on “Dealer,” which has a fun boogie woogie groove.  Other highlights include “No Strings Attached,” a solid rocker that beautifully adds some acoustic guitar to the mix, “Nights On The Town,” which has a bit of a funk and at times sounds like Bad Company, and closer “Woman,” with its slinky groove. There are a couple of missteps here, most notably “Street Girl,” which shows the influence of producer Trevor Rabin, especially with the vocal effects that sound like his later work with Yes.  Unfortunately, the album didn’t do as good as expected, which was partially blamed to the label not printing enough copies making in unavailable for potential buyers.  As for the bonus tracks on disc one, first up are excellent 2025 remixes from Per Olsson of eight of the album’s ten tracks (multitracks could not be found for all the songs).  According to the liner notes, they were remixed to Robertson’s specifications and have a much fuller, meatier sound.  Having said that, both the original versions and remixes have their own charm, so it’s nice to have both available here.  There is also an alternate take on “Street Girl” and the b-side “The Rapist,” another great Thin Lizzy-like rocker that is one of the stronger songs here, in spite of its title and subject matter.  

Carter left the band in August 1980 to join UFO and was replaced by John Lockton.  This lineup recorded their second and final album, Stand Your Ground, which was released in May 1981.  Arguably stronger than anything on the debut, “I’ll Give You Love” is a galloping, hard charging rocker that opens the album and shows the band means business.  The slightly more midtempo “In The City” has a really cool, somewhat bluesy groove.  The Thin Lizzy influence is strong again here showing itself in the easygoing, laid-back groove of “Another Lover,” “Miami Heat” and the gritty rocker “Stake Out” that closes the album.  Other highlights are “Back In The USA,” a solid, midtempo rocker with an infectious chorus, the driving title track, the darker, more intense “The Axe” and the fun, upbeat “New York CIty,” with its boogie woogie beat.  The bonus cuts on disc two include 2025 remixes of five album cuts, that once again really fill out the sound making them sound fuller.  There are also a couple of demos that are quite different from anything that was on the album, with “Because I Care,” which strangely reminds me of the soulful yacht rock of Boz Scaggs and “The Stash,” which has a slight reggae beat.  A week after the album's release, following a show in London, Robertson left the band and Edwards was right behind him.  They did try to move forward with Reuben and Laurence Archer, but that was unsuccessful, and shortly later the band was done.      

While the band only released two albums this box set has a treasure trove of bonus cuts with four more discs.  Disc three and four contain a variety of bonus tracks with each disc covering one of the albums.  The disc devoted to the debut contains several really interesting cuts including an early acoustic demo of “Flyaway” with Phil Lynott on vocals and another take with Gary Moore on lead guitar (this song was initially among some that were being considered for either Thin Lizzy’s Black Rose album or Phil’s Solo In Soho album), along with a demo of “Dealer” with Neil Carter doing a great job handling lead vocals.  Other notable tracks include demos of unreleased classic rock track “Retribution,” which has some great guitar work and really should have made the album, a cover of Ron Wood’s “Breathe On Me,” which definitely has a bit of that Stones sound in the guitar work, and a beautiful acoustic version of “No Strings Attached.”  There are also demo and alternate versions of “Top Mod,” which is an early version of “Face Down” with different lyrics and a somewhat different arrangement, and demos and rough mixes of several album tracks.  The Stand Your Ground bonus tracks starts off with three b-sides taken from the “I’ll Give You Love” single consisting of “The Kid,” a solid, straight-ahead rocker with more great guitar work and live versions of Joe Walsh’s “Rocky Mountain Way” and Eddie Floyd’s “Saturday Night” (co-written by Steve Cropper), along with the complete left turn, standalone cover of the soul pop tune “Everlasting Love” (most successfully recorded by Love Affair).  The remaining tracks on this disc are demos, starting off with five album tracks with Robertson and Bain playing all the instruments (Robertson handles the drums).  The last three are demos of Thin Lizzy’s “Are You Ready,” album track “Back In The USA” and b-side “The Kid” that were recorded with Clive Edwards on drums and Neil Carter playing everything else including vocals.  These demos are all great additions to this collection and while a little raw, are well recorded and sound great.  

The final two discs consist of two live recordings.  The first is from a set at The Marquee in 1980 and while a little rough it’s far from bootleg quality.  The performance is loose and makes for a really enjoyable listen.  The final disc is also from 1980, this time in Tokyo, and while it’s a much longer set and the band still sounds great, it definitely sounds like a bootleg and probably isn’t something you would listen to repeatedly.  Wild Horses is one of those bands that on the surface had all the right things going for them and honestly really should be a name that is more familiar to music fans today, but thanks to HNE they are getting another chance to have their music heard. 

(HNE Recordings)

Smash Palace - 87

In 1980, brothers Stephen and Brian Butler released an album as members of the band Quincy, which was followed in 1983 with an EP under the band name Lulu Temple, a change necessitated by a lawsuit from Quincy Jones.  Shortly after the EP’s release that band broke up and the brothers then went on to form Smash Palace, releasing their debut album in 1985.  When their A&R man moved to a new label he asked them to come with him, but after leaving their label the deal with the new label didn’t come through.  Due to this, the demos they had recorded for their second album were never released.  Over the ensuing years they did other things including being staff songwriters and Stephen working with the band Mary Lee’s Corvette.  In 1999 the brothers reformed and released the first of thirteen Smash Palace releases working with various band members over the years.  Now, thirty-eight years after they started working on that sophomore album, these lost songs are getting their day with the new album 87, which contains five tracks rerecorded by the original lineup and five demos from 1987.  The album opens with the five new tracks starting strongly with “Bitter Blue,” a solid power pop tune with a rock edge that comes across a bit like a jangle rock version of the Psychedelic Furs.  Up next are “I’ll Be There,” a gritty alt rocker with a hint of a rootsy side, and the straight-ahead rock of “Poor Man’s Paradise,” both of which have a Petty vibe.  “Top Of The World” is a midtempo track with a really nice groove and “Everything Under the Sun” has a darker alt rock sound.  The influence of the eighties can definitely be heard on the five demo tracks.  “Along For The Ride” has a very radio friendly alt pop sound that is often reminiscent of Simple Minds.  Relying heavily on the synths, “Centipede” has more of a New Wave bounce, while “Stranger Than Strange” is a moodier, midtempo track. “First Time For Everything” is a more laid-back tune but is a bit plodding and probably the weakest song here.  The album closes with “Imaginary Lines,” which is their attempt at a bigger epic rock track and does a good job at presenting that, but is set back a little by the thinner production, which plagues several of the older tracks.  87 is a very enjoyable release that bridges the early days of the band with today, and hopefully is just the first of more from this newly reunited lineup.  

(Think Like A Key Music)

The Exploited - Punk's Not Dead (45th Anniversary Vinyl Edition) 

Forty-five years after it was originally released, Punk’s Not Dead, the classic full-length debut from Scottish punk band The Exploited, has been reissued on a limited-edition black vinyl with a red splatter.  The album’s title was in response to critics saying punk was on its way out with the rise in popularity of new wave and post-punk, and the band was quick to prove them wrong with the opening title track, a chant-along punk anthem with throbbing bass and chainsaw guitars.  Their anthemic cover of Puncture’s “Mucky Pup” is up next and manages to mix a hint of melody into the aggression.  “Cop Cars” is a bouncy, fast paced track with a fun side highlighted by the “mee maw mee maw” lines with vocalist Wattie Buchan impersonating a siren.  Thanks to Gary McCormack’s prominent bass, “Free Flight” is a gritty track that is on the heavier side but still manages to be a little hooky.  Shifting back to the pure, straight ahead punk, “Army Life (Part 2) and “Blown To Bits” show their more political side lyrically, respectively dealing with Wattie’s pre-Exploited stint in the army as a seventeen-year-old and the results of IRA bomb explosions.  Side One’s closing track “Sex & Violence” shifts musically throughout its five plus minutes, but the lyrics are just the title repeated over and over which gets kind of annoying and is a bit of a novelty that wears thin quickly.  Side two opens with another blast of punk with “SPG,” which criticizes the “Special Patrol Group” that was created in London to fight serious public disorder and crime.  They change things up a bit with “Royalty,” which still has punk energy but mixes in a bit of new wave, and with its propulsive drumbeat “Dole Q” has more of a darker intensity that goes with the lyrics about the woes of being on the dole.  “Exploited Barmy Army” is up next and is an anthemic battle cry for the band.  Darker and heavier both musically and lyrically, “Ripper” is a bit out of place, dealing with serial killer Peter Sutcliffe.  The taut, aggressive rapid-fire punk of “Out Of Control” and “Son Of A Copper” bring you to closing track “I Believe In Anarchy,” another punk anthem that is the perfect bookend to the title track that opened the album.  Whether you missed out on it before now or just need to replace that worn out copy, it's the perfect time to grab this newly reissued version.

(Captain Oi!)

Jon and Roy - I Can Dream

For their most recent EP I Can Dream, Canada’s Jon and Roy decided to steer away from the digital technology that has taken over the music industry and instead recorded on tape, resulting in a collection of tunes that are warm and more intimate sounding.  Opener “Maywell” was inspired by what has now become an annual winter hike to a rustic cabin in the mountains that was built by a man with that same name. It’s a captivating track of briskly paced folk rock with Jon Middleton’s fragile vocals and during the second half of the song the wonderful addition of horns.  “Waves Of Pleasure” is a jaunty folk rock track with a bounce that will have you swaying along, while “More Than I Can Dream” is a beautiful love song that’s slow and stripped down with a powerful, emotional vocal performance.  Bookended by two instrumentals, the easygoing, rootsy reggae-beat driven “Part One” and the slow, hypnotic closing track “Part Two,” is the lazy surf rock track “Make This Darkness Bright, which is enhanced brilliantly with horns and is reminiscent of Jack Johnson.  Unfortunately, at just over twenty-three minutes, the EP ends too quickly, but thankfully it is one that will have you hitting repeat over and over.  

(Blue Heron Music)