The Four Horsemen - Nobody Said It Was Easy

In 1987, when former Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction bassist Haggis (real name Stephen Harris and later known as Kid Chaos) came to play some bass on The Cult’s Electric, producer Rick Rubin took him under his wing.  Once the album was released, he joined the band on tour and got a call from Rubin saying he should start his own band and should meet a singer named Frank C Starr, which led to the formation of the Four Horsemen.  Rubin also suggested Ken "Dimwit" Montgomery, brother of legendary punk and metal drummer Chuck Biscuits, who then came on board as drummer, and with Haggis switching to rhythm guitar and the addition of guitarist Dave Limzi and bassist Ben Pape the band was complete.  Following the release of their eponymous four-song EP in 1989, the band went into the studio with Rubin handling the production and recorded their full-length debut Nobody Said It Was Easy, which has now been reissued by Dissonance Records.  Unfortunately, the album’s release had a two-year delay due to Starr’s six months in jail on drug charges, but when it finally saw the light of day it was well worth the wait.  The title track kicks the album off and does a good job of setting the tone.  It’s a sleazy, blues rocker that comes across like The Black Crowes on steroids.  The band doubles down on the next track, “Rockin’ Is My Business,” which takes the elements of the opener and adds a strong shot of AC/DC.  Starr’s vocals really shine on this one and the end result isn't too far removed from what Haggis had been doing a few years earlier with The Cult on Electric.  Drenched in slide guitar, “Tired Wings” moves things in a bit of a Southern Rock direction, but with a raw energy that bands in that genre tend to be lacking.  “Can’t Stop Rockin’” is a hard-edged boogie-woogie rocker that takes a page from the Status Quo book and brings us to “Wanted Man, which is a repetitive track that really doesn’t go anywhere and is the album’s only real misstep.  From the title to the music, “Let It Rock” is pure, straight-up AC/CD.  Driven by an extremely infectious groove, “Hot Head” is a straight-ahead, midtempo blues rocker, followed by “Moonshine,” a breezy tune with a really fun beat that is a bit of a different direction for the band.  They dip their toes back in boogie woogie on the next two tracks, with the easygoing “Homesick Blues,” which is a really fun listen, and “75 Again,” which add a southern rock edge that is reminiscent of Black Oak Arkansas and has some outstanding guitar work towards the end.  “Lookin’ For Trouble” brings to mind AC/DC again, but with an intense, raw and ragged punk energy.   The album closes strongly with the lazy blues rock of “I Need A Thrill / Somethin’ Good,” which has some great guitar work and organ and sounds like a jam session that would close a live show perfectly.  While the album was met with positive reviews, the delay caused its release to coincide with the surge in grunge’s popularity resulting in poor sales.  On top of this, Starr was arrested again on drug charges and spent another year in jail, and the combination of all of that caused the label to drop them.  Although Haggis and Pape ended up leaving the band, in 1994 the remaining members started working on a third album, but then faced another tragedy in September of that year when Montgomery died of a drug overdose.  The band finished the album with his brother Chuck Biscuits playing the drums, but just over a year after his death, Starr was hit by a drunk driver and ended up with a severe head injury.  In hopes that Starr would recover and return to the band, they went on tour with Ron Young handling the vocals, but that never happened and he died in 1999, resulting in the band breaking up.  While it would've been nice to have some bonus cuts, like possibly the EP, but if you don't already have a copy of Nobody Said It Was Easy in your collection, this is a great time to rectify that.  

(Dissonance Records)