Moonrider - Moonrider (50th Anniversary Edition)

Moonrider was formed in 1974 after vocalist Keith West (formerly of Tomorrow) worked with guitarist Jason Weider (previously in Family and The Animals) on West's solo album Wherever My Love Goes.  Along with bassist Bruce Thomas, who would go on to play with Elvis Costello, and drummer Chico Greenwood, they released one album, made a couple TV appearances and opened for a few other artists before calling it a day.  Now, fifty years after its release, that album has been remastered and reissued with 9 bonus tracks.  While the music of their prior bands tended to be in more of the psychedelic and prog rock genres, Moonrider’s music drew more from pub rock and the country rock of the West Coast.   After starting off sounding like a dance tune, the album’s opener “Angel Of Mercy” becomes a nice, laid-back pub rock track with a bit of a soulful side, and is followed by the gentle, country rock of “Having Someone” with its Eagles like harmonies.  “Our Day’s Gonna Come” shifts gears a bit, sounding like more of an easy listening, yacht rock ballad, and is one of the weaker tracks here.  Featuring Weider’s only lead vocal on the album, “Good Things” is a nice midtempo country rock track with a laid-back, galloping beat and some really solid guitar.  The upbeat “Livin’ On Main Street” adds a little boogie to the beat and has some bluesy guitar from Weider.  With a bit of a funk groove, “Too Early In The Morning” is another change of pace that’s reminiscent of Steely Dan (Steely Dan producer Gary Katz was initially supposed to produce the album but never showed up to the studio).  The next two tracks, “Golddigger” and “Danger In The Night,” are to me the best on the album and both show their rock side with the latter having a darker, Neil Young vibe.  “Ridin’ For A Fall” is another country-tinged pub rocker with an extremely catchy chorus, which brings us to the album closer, “As Long As It Takes,” a somewhat generic country rock ballad that is a little too soft rock.  As for the bonus cuts, first up is the non-album single “I Found Love,” which is on the poppier side and sounds like they are trying a little too hard for a hit.  The remaining bonus tracks are a previously unreleased six song set that was recorded for the BBC In Concert radio session and two cuts from their appearance on the BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test.  Both performances sound great and make excellent additions to the CD.  Following the album's release, they toured with John Mayall, Ace and even Chaka Khan, but between label financial woes and conflicts between the members, the band was short lived.  While its not without its flaws and weaker cuts, Moonrider is an album that is definitely worth checking out.  

(Think Like A Key Music)

Rose Tattoo - The Albums 1981 - 1984

Australia's Rose Tattoo formed in 1976 and were led by vocalist Angry Anderson along with the distinctive slide guitar work of Peter Wells.  Between 1978 and 1984 they released four albums (Wells left after album three) with a sound that notably drew from elements of pub rock, punk, metal and blues.  Now, thanks to Lemon Records, those first four albums, along with a handful of bonus tracks, have been compiled on the four-disc box set The Albums 1981-1984.

The band set the bar high with their eponymous debut (also titled Rock ‘N’ Roll Outlaw in some areas), an album that explodes with bluesy Australian pub rock delivered with a raw and ragged, hard rocking punk energy highlighted by Wells’ aforementioned slide guitar.  The album opens with the perfect introduction to the band - the ragged and full of swagger “Rock ‘N’ Roll Outlaw” followed by “Nice Boys,” which was made even more famous when Guns ‘N’ Roses covered it.  While GnR definitely did the song justice, just take a listen to this version, a raw, punk-paced rock and roll anthem that takes it to another level.  Shifting gears a little, “The Butcher And Fast Eddy” is a slower, gritty storytelling tune reminiscent of Thin Lizzy that tells the real-life story of a gang war that led to the death of one gang's leader, followed by “One of The Boys, a bluesy boogie woogie track not so unlike George Thorogood.  “Remedy” is up next and is a blue-tinged rocker with no-frills punk energy, similar in style to later tracks “T.V.” and “Tramp.”  With guitar riffs taken almost directly from AC/DC’s “She’s Got Balls” (the album was produced by the team of Vanda and Young, who notably also worked with AC/DC), “Bad Boy For Love” is more of a midtempo blues rock track with some great slide guitar.  The slide work is again very notable on “Stuck On You,” a captivating, soulful, semi-acoustic cut that is the only slow song.  At almost six minutes, the album closes in fine fashion with “Astra Wally” is a super fast rocker with some absolute killer guitar work and an extremely infectious groove.  Also included on disc one is the bonus track “Snow Queen” another solid hard rock tune.

For their sophomore release, Assault & Battery, the band stuck pretty close to what had made the debut successful, with songs like “Let It Go,” “Assault & Battery,” “Sidewalk Sally” and the radio-friendly “Rock & Roll Is King” sticking to the straight-ahead rock, while “All The Lessons,” “Magnum Maid,” “Manzil Madness” and the raw, crunching “Suicide City” having more of the in-your-face punk element.  The AC/DC influence also shows up from time to time, most notably on “Out Of Place” and album highlight “Chinese Dunkirk,” a slower bluesy track that sounds like a cross between AC/DC and ZZ Top.  Although not quite as good as the debut, this album is another outstanding release.  Six more bonus tracks can be found on disc two starting with the swagger filled straight-up punk of “I Had You First.”  Followed by a 7” version of “Rock ‘N’ Roll Is King” are four live cuts.  The sound quality is just so-so, but they definitely show the power of the band playing live.  

While album number three, Scarred For Life, ended up being their most successful album in Australia, it also found them largely bailing on their aggressive raw punk element and instead shifting towards a more mainstream, radio friendly sound.  Throughout the album there is an emphasis on rock anthems with songs like “It’s Gonna Work Itself Out,” “Sydney Girls,” “We Can’t Be Beaten,” a bluesy rocker with a big anthemic chorus, and “Branded,” an extremely catchy track that’s on the poppy side, but one where they really make that work.  They also throw in a little Southern Rock influence here on tracks like “Juice On The Loose” and “Who’s Got The Cash.”  They tap into Led Zeppelin on the barnstorming “Revenge” and show the AC/DC connection again on tunes like the title track and “Texas,” the latter of which also adds a little ZZ Top flavored boogie.  As for the punk, they haven’t completely abandoned that as can be heard on “Dead Set.”  Although not quite as good as their first two releases, there is plenty to like on album number three.  There are three more bonus tracks on this disc, including the single version of “Branded,” the honky tonk country rock of “Fightin’ Sons” (this one would have been a nice addition to the album) and the rocking anthem “All Hell Broke Loose.”  

When album number four, Southern Stars, came along, the band had gone through a pretty big overhaul with Anderson and bassist Geordie Leach not only the remaining original members, but also the only members left from the Scarred For Life lineup.  That album also saw them shifting even further in more of a generic AOR direction. Unfortunately, a lot of these songs ended up being pretty lackluster with nothing to really set them apart.  They also venture into reggae on “The Pirate Song,” and “No Secrets” is an attempt at a rock ballad, but neither of these really work well.  Having said that, there are a few that are worth the listen.  These include the radio friendly “I Wish,” which has some really strong guitar, “Saturday’s Rage,” with its high-energy drive and “Death Or Glory”.  A couple of the songs, the gritty rocker “You’ve Been Told” and the hard driving, boogie woogie rocker “The Radio Said Rock ‘N’ Roll Is Dead,” take you back to the earlier “old school Rose Tattoo” days.  There are two more bonus tracks on disc four along with a single version of “Freedom’s Flame."  They are both a couple of solid straight-ahead rockers, “Never Too Loud” and “Wild One,” that are ironically stronger than most of the album cuts.  Rounded out with an informative CD booklet detailing the band’s history The Albums 1981-1984 is a nice box set that gives some much deserved attention to a band that although not overlooked, one that deserved more attention and accolades than they got.  

(Lemon Records)

Buzzcocks - Attitude Adjustment

When Pete Shelley passed away in 2018, Steve Diggle became the only remaining founding member of the legendary Buzzcocks.  Instead of replacing him, they continued as a three-piece, with the remaining members Chris Remington and Danny Farrant in the band since 2008 and 2006 respectively and released Sonics In The Soul in 2022.  They have now followed that up with the band’s twelfth release Attitude Adjustment, an excellent album from start to finish that does a great job of showing what made the Buzzcocks who they are but also branches out a bit as well.  That classic sound is evident out the gate with the straight-ahead punchy punk of “Queen of the Scene,” the slightly slower “Games,” which also has a hint of a rootsy undercurrent, and the mellower “Seeing Daylight.”  “Poetic Machine Gun” and “Tears of a Golden Girl” both find them shifting in more of a classic punk direction, the former with a couple of psychedelic breaks and the latter with more of a pop side.  Slower, heavier, noisier and darker, “Heavy Streets” is an interesting departure that at times comes across sounding like something that Bowie would’ve recorded in Tin Machine. Bookended by two fifty-five second musical interludes titled “One of the Universe (Part One)” and “One of the Universe (Part Two)”, “All Gone to War” is a nice, stripped down acoustic track that is a complete shifting of pace.  Not really what you think of when you think Buzzcocks, album standout “Jesus at the Wheel” is a gorgeous, very melancholy, largely acoustic cut that rolls along and digs deeper in your brain as you listen.  The extremely catchy “Just a Dream I Followed” is another super melodic, extremely catchy punk blast and “Feelin' Uptight” follows the same punk path but is a little repetitive and to me is the weakest cut here.  Ironically, it’s followed by another of the album’s high points in “Break That Ball and Chain,” an incredibly fun track driven by a Motown beat that gives it more of a mod Sound.  The album winds up with the perfect closer with the anthemic ballad “The Greatest of Them All.”  Attitude Adjustment is a welcome addition to the Buzzcocks discography.  

(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)

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)

Bagdad - They Don't Know EP

Formed in 2023 by a couple of high school friends, guitarist/vocalist Franciszek Drobiński (guitar, vocals) and bassist Wojciech Stach, and later rounded out by drummer Jakub Gadamski, Polish three-piece Bagdad have recently released their debut EP They Don't Know.  While it does have a few short bursts of energy, the Cobain like vocal delivery and droning guitars of opening track "Valley Of Dry Bones" are quite reminiscent of Nirvana's slower moments.  With it's infectious beat, the fuzz rock of "Somewhere, Nowhere" is the most upbeat and "pop" (using that term loosely) track here and really highlights their diversity.  The midtempo "Knight Errant Block" starts off somewhat restrained and then becomes even more introspective about halfway through before letting oose at the end.  The dreamy "Ash Pan Nocturne" is a gorgeous cut of swirling slowcore with a taut undercurrent rearing its head at times.  The seven plus minute "Heartland" closes out the EP and is a very introspective track at first, building to a slow, but much noisier instrumental ending about halfway through.  With elements that include slowcore, grunge, pop, fuzz rock, and post-punk They Don't Know is quite an impressive debut.

(Rite Field Records)

Howard Jones - Live At The Marquee

On September 20, 1983, a few months before 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 would end up 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)

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)

Nash Albert - Kingdom Of Love

While he was born in Georgia and was raised on Georgian folk songs, when Nash Albert turned six he heard the rock and rock that was being smuggled into the USSR by his brothers.  He formed a college band when he was 16 and in 1991 his band Salamandra came to the US where he played in that band and others for several years.  After returning to Moscow in 1996 he formed the band Blast.  They released an album the following year and then toured in the UK, Europe and Russia, including opening for Deep Purple in 2010 at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow.  In 2014, following the release of a couple more albums with Blast, Nash started a solo career with the album Rude Beggar that was produced by The Icicle Works' Ian McNabb, and was followed in 2022 by his sophomore release Yet.  That brings us to his fantastic new release Kingdom Of Love.  The album opens with “Thought As Time,” which starts with strummed acoustic guitar and then builds into a strong atmospheric alt rocker with Albert’s deep goth like vocals.  It at times reminds me of the underappreciated eighties band The Bolshoi with bits of U2 mixed in.  The eighties alt rock with a modern day edge sounds continue with “Better Home,” which would have been right at home on a John Hughes soundtrack back in the day, while “Professor Steiner’s Trip” adds some psychedelia and a little funk to his sound.  “Berlin Wall” finds him shifting in more of a prog rock direction, opening with haunting keys and vocals that build as the song progresses, reminding me of Fish-era Marillion.  Dedicated to his mother, “Maya” is a beautiful and hypnotic ballad that has a sparse sound instrumentally that is really highlighted by his captivating deep vocals and Mariam Tsibakhashvili’s cello.  The influence of The Beatles can be heard in the bouncy, sunshiny psychedelic pop of “Around The Sun,” while the poppy alt rock of “Beautiful Day” has a bit of a upbeat country beat.  The introspective “Someone Else Is Me” is captivating, and while sounding a little like Pink Floyd at the beginning, “Stars” is a very big and sweeping laid-pack psychedelic track.  With an emotional vocal performance that has echoes of Bowie accompanied by piano, “My Friend” is a gorgeous song.  The album ends very strongly with the hypnotic, midtempo title track.  Kingdom of love is a stunning album that pulls in alot of different elements stylewise as you make your way through but still manages to be a very cohesive collection.  

(Think Like A Key Music)

  

ARK Identity - Deluxe Nightmare

On his latest EP, Deluxe Nightmare, Toronto’s Ark Identity (Noah Mroueh) lays out six lush dream-pop soundscapes, but with elements of everything from alt rock and psychedelia to the grungy rock of the title track (strangely reminiscent of Nirvana if they were more of a dream-pop band).  Although there isn't a bad track here, some of the high points include the hypnotic “Still In Love,” which has a bit of a Squeeze feel, the delicate at times “I’m Still the Same,” with its gentle piano accompaniment, and “Can’t Stop Loving You.”

(ARK Identity - Facebook)

Mozart Estate - Tower Block In A Jam Jar

Following ten years as the leader of Felt, Lawrence (last name Hayward, but going by only his first name) went on to form Denim, which was then followed by Go-Kart Mozart, whose second album Tearing Up The Album Chart, was released in 2005.  Many years after its release, Lawrence said that the album was really just a collection of demos from a rough period in his life dealing with drug addiction and mental health issues, and said he wanted to remix and re-record them, which brings us to Tower Block In A Jam Jar from the now renamed band Mozart Estate.  With the exception of “At The DDU,” which now has new lyrics and is titled “A Lorra Laughs With Cilla,” and “England & Wales,” which was dropped and replaced with a new version of “Selfish, Lazy & Greedy,” a track that was originally on Go Kart Mozart’s debut Instant Wigwam and Igloo Mixture, the album is a complete revamping of that earlier release.  Following the success of last year's book about him, Street Level Superstar: A Year With Lawrence, he found himself with a whole new set of fans and said “This is an album for people who have never heard Mozart Estate or Go-Kart Mozart before – it’s for people who picked up the book and got into me that way. If you’re one of those then this record will knock your socks off!!”  The album kicks off with “Summer Is Here,” which opens with harmonies that are semi-Beach Boys like, although a bit quirkier, then turns into a super chipper summery pop tune full of chirpy keys and “la la la’s.”  In a perfect world it would be a summertime hit.  “Selfish & Lazy & Greedy” is another super catchy song that sounds like it would’ve fit in with the early eighties pop scene (I can imagine a video for this song blasting all day long on MTV).  With lyrics that are primarilly Lawrence running through strange band names from the sixties and seventies, “Fuzzy Duck” has a bit of a pychedelic country sound completed by the noise of a duck quack running through the whole song, and “Electric Roll” is an upbeat pop track with a chorus that strangely reminds me of Elton John.  “A Lorra Laughs With Cilla” starts off like a lost T Rex gem, exploding with glam guitars and handclaps before adding some chirpy keys about halfway through and then slowing to a close.  The gorgeous “Glorious Chorus” is midtempo pop with an emotional vocal performance and choral backing vocals with some Supertramp-like piano, and “Donna and the Dope Fiends” is more bouncy pop but juxtaposed with lyrics about scoring drugs.  The upbeat, synth driven rock of “Delta Echo Echo Beta Alpha Neon Kettle” changes things up with a sound that is a bit reminiscent of The Cars, but with a touch of Lou Reed, as does “Transgressions” a short blast of manic electropop.  The extremely quirky “On A Building Site” is apparently considered by many to be too much of a novelty track, but to me sounds more like it would be the perfect singalong from an off-the-wall children’s show (I can imagine them popping up performing this on Yo Gabba Gabba if it was still in production).  Although initially coming across as straight-ahead seventies melodic punk they add some strings and keys towards the end of “Listening to Marmalade” to give it a little more texture, and “City Centre” closes things out perfectly with some non-stop, raucous seventies pop glam with a modern-day rock edge.  Tower Block In A Jam Jar is nothing but wall to wall earworms, any one of which you might find stuck in your head after a listen or two.   

West Midlands Records

  

The Needmores - Side X Side

Led by Lenny Grassa, formerly of The Leonards and Popular Creeps, Detroit’s The Needmores have recently released their debut EP Side X Side.  The title track kicks things off with a raucous, garage rock punch, power pop hooks and is just a little on the rootsier side of things. “Let It Ride” is up next and is a little mellower with a nice easygoing groove, followed by the classic power pop sounds of “Lookin’” with its hook-heavy beat.  The EP closes with “Echoes,” a high energy track with a bit of that raw Detroit garage rock edge once again. 

(The Needmores - Facebook)

 

Bangles - Watching The Sky

Along with bands like The Dream Syndicate, Green On Red, Rain Parade and The Three O’Clock, the Bangles were initially part of LA’s Paisley Underground scene, bringing together influences from jangly guitar-driven psychedelia, power pop and garage rock.  From 1984 to 1988 they released three albums that eventually found them shifting towards a more radio-friendly pop sound that while losing some of what made them special, did give them seven top thirty songs in the US (including two that reached number one and two more that topped at number two).  Watching The Sky, the new four CD box set, collects these three albums along with twenty-two bonus cuts consisting of B-sides, single versions, remixes and extended versions.

The band was initially formed by Susanna Hoffs (guitar and vocals) and sisters Vicki (guitar and vocals) and Debbi Peterson, who then added Annette Zilinskas.  Originally the Colours and then the Bangs before becoming The Bangles, they released their eponymous debut EP in 1982 (included here amongst the bonus tracks on disc four).  While the promise of what was to come could be heard here, they really found their sound on 1984’s All Over The Place, their full-length debut, which featured new bassist and former Runaway Michael Steele replacing the departed Zilinskas.  Hoffs and the Peterson’s trade off on vocals from song to song and the album is absolutely brimming with great vocal harmonies, the aforementioned Byrds-like jangly guitars, pop hooks galore and a bit of a loose, ragged rock edge and punk energy (“Silent Treatment”) that sadly seemed to fade away a bit over the next two albums.  While there really isn’t a bad track here, some of the highlights are the infectious pop gems “Hero Takes A Fall” and “James,” the very Byrds-y “Dover Beach,” their outstanding covers of The Merry-Go-Round’s “Live” and Katrina and the Waves’ “Going Down To Liverpool" (an excellent showcase for their great vocal harmonies), and closing track “More Than Meets The Eye,” a complete shift from the rest of the album with its haunting string arrangement.  Disc one also contains three bonus tracks, and while the first two are the single version of "Going Down To Liverpool" and a remix of "Hero Takes A Fall," the definite can't miss is their outstanding cover of The Grass Roots’ “Where Were You When I Needed You," which was originally released as a b-side.  

Although their sophomore album Different Light traded in a lot of that ragged edge of the debut in favor of a more polished, poppier sound, it also resulted in the most successful and best-selling release of their career.  It not only hit number two on the album charts, but also contained four top thirty singles, including the number one “Walk Like An Egyptian,” which anyone not living under a rock knows.  Ironically, the song was written by Liam Sternberg and was brought to the band by producer David Kahne.  Rumors are the band was less than thrilled with including the song on the album, and while it was their biggest hit it really is totally different than anything else they recorded.  It was also one of several tracks that used a drum machine, something else that moved them away from the charm of the debut.  Having said that, there is plenty to like here.  First off are the remaining singles - “Manic Monday,” a keyboard-driven piece of sunshine pop penned by Prince (as Christopher), a somewhat psychedelic cover of Jules Shears’ “If She Knew What She Wants,” which has more great vocal harmonies, and the bouncing pop tune “Walking Down Your Street.”  Some of the other highlights are the faster-paced, high energy “In A Different Light,” the slower, minimalist “Return Post” with its harmonies and subtle funk groove, “Angels Fall In Love,” which reminds me of earlier Tom Petty, a great cover of Big Star’s “September Gurls” and the hauntingly, dark acoustic guitar driven “Following.”  Four more bonus tracks close out disc two, with remixes and edits of three album tracks plus a fun live medley of “Walking Down Your Street” and “James.”

In 1988 they released Everything, their third and final album of this era (after disbanding a year later they reunited in 1998 and have released two more albums).  Although not as successful as its predecessor, the album did contain two more hit singles, including the biggest seller of their career, “Eternal Flame,” which ironically like most of their hits was pretty far removed from their original sound.  Having said that, for what it’s worth, it’s a good, emotional ballad.  A couple of other notable facts about the album were a new producer, Davitt Sigerson, who got their attention for his work on the Boomtown record from David + David, and a major change in the songwriting process.  Unlike the previous releases, the album contained no covers, but there was more emphasis on co-writers like Vinnie Vincent, Rachel Sweet and the songwriting teams of Billy Steinbert and Tom Kelly and Dan Navarro and Eric Lowen, with only two songs written without a co-writer.   Sigerson’s production was again more pop and polished but also brought back more of the garage rock and folky psychedelia.  Opening track “In Your Room” is a great example of this, mixing the shinier production with catchy psychedelic pop full of mellotron, organ, sitar and more.  The folk-tinged pop of “I’ll Set You Free” and The Byrds meet The Beatles sounds of “Waiting For You” both bring back the jangly, chiming guitars of their earlier days.  The Vinnie Vincent co-write with Vicki, “Make A Play For Her Now” is a beautifully arranged rock track with some rootsy undertones and a driving beat with some great twelve string guitar from Vincent that actually sounds a lot like The Church.  “Some Dreams Come True” and “Crash And Burn” are a couple of fun upbeat rockers, the former having a dance beat with touches of psychedelia and blues and the latter more of a garage rock vibe.  Several tracks find the band exploring new directions.  “Bell Jar,” is an interesting psych pop tune that’s a little dark and faster paced with equally dark lyrics and noises and sound effects.  The gorgeous “Something To Believe In” is moody and atmospheric, bringing to mind artists like Kate Bush, and elements of Zeppelin, most notably in the guitars and stomping drums, are in big, loud rocker “Watching The Sky."   In a salute to her stint with The Runaways, Steele’s “Glitter Years” is a more straight-forward rock track with hints of Bowie-esque glam.

The final disc here contains twenty bonus tracks starting at the very beginning with their debut single (released as The Bangs and recorded by Hoffs and the Peterson sisters) featuring the infectious Sixties garage rock of “Getting Out Of Hand” and the bouncy “Call On Me,” sounding a bit like something The Monkees would have recorded.  Their debut EP is up next and features the addition of Annette Zilinskas on bass.  While their feet are firmly planted in the psychedelia of LA’s Paisley Underground on every song, they also still manage to show plenty of diversity over the five cuts.  There’s the garage rock of “The Real World” and their cover of New Zealand garage rockers The La De Da’s “How Is the Air Up There?,” an insanely fun ragged and raw track made even better with some harmonica, the strong Beatles influence on “I’m In Line,” the punk drive of “Want You” and the power pop of “Mary Street” that’s a strong precursor to where they went on the next album.  The remaining tracks include numerous single mixes, b-sides and extended mixes, including four different versions of their powerhouse cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Hazy Shade Of Winter” that was produced by Rick Rubin and was part of the soundtrack for the move Less Than Zero (don’t miss the Shady Haze version, which is the song played backward). Rounded out with a CD booklet that details the band's history, Watching the Sky shows that there was really alot more to the Bangles than you might think if you just knew them from the hits.  

(Cherry Pop)

Libby Ember - I Kill Spiders EP

I Kill Spiders, the debut EP from Montreal's Libby Ember is an outstanding collection of four songs that walk the line between atmospheric dream pop and folk-tinged indie pop.  They are full of captivating melodies and are highlighted by her warm, expressive vocals.  Her lyrics are smart, and often introspective and personal, tackling things like the little decisions we make that make up who we are (“I Kill Spiders”), dealing with a failed secret relationship (“Alibi”) and the self-doubts and mind games of young love (“Fortune Cookies”).  Lines like “Could it be true that all of this is happening cause I kill spiders in my room” and "Just tell me that I’m annoying just so I’d know for sure that I can stop looking for signs in the fortune cookies I buy at the store” really show the creativity of her lyrics.  I've had this EP on repeat quite frequently and really look forward to hearing more.  

(Libby Ember)

Wrathchild America - Climbin' The Walls / 3-D

Wrathchild America initially formed in 1978 under the name Atlantis and then Tyrant. They went through a handful of member changes and then when Brad Divens joined in 1983, after a couple of years in Kix, his studio experience allowed him to help with song construction and give them some direction.  Unfortunately, while they had a pretty good reputation as a live band, by the time their debut album was released in 1989 (delayed by a year due to another band named Wrathchild, hence the “America”) musical tastes were changing and they never really got their just due.  They did manage to release a second album in 1991, but with the explosion of grunge, it was even less successful and Atlantic Records dropped them.  This newly released double CD includes both of these releases along with two bonus cuts.  

From the time Divens joined until they signed their major label deal, the band focused on rehearsing and playing live.  They often played five nights a week and since the clubs wanted covers they learned how to play alot of different styles.  Due to this, there ended up being a lot of variety and diversity on their debut album Climbin’ The Walls.  The album opens strongly with the title track, a fast-paced thrasher that also has some interesting tempo shifts throughout.  Hell's Gates is up next and is a hard-charging track, that sounds a little like Iron Maiden if they had more of a thrash edge.  It has some impressive guitar work along with Shannon Larkin's drumming.  The aforementioned diversity comes into play with "No Deposit, No Return," a fun, kind of gritty rocker with a hint of blues and a really nice slower acoustic passage about halfway through.  The album's instrumental track "Hernia" does a great job of showcasing the musicianship of the band, but the song itself is a little lackluster.  The nearly six minute “London After Midnight” is probably the most interesting track on the album.  The foundation of the song is very Iron Maiden sounding, but with a strong goth element, as you might expect by the title.  With its B horror movie lyrics, "Candy From A Madman" is straight ahead rock somewhat in the vein of NWOBHM, but with an instrumental interlude that is almost whimsical.  "Silent Darkness (Smothered Life)" has elements of classic rock, metal and thrash with more dark horror lyrics, this time about being buried alive during a prank and then returning from the grave for revenge.  Their cover of Pink Floyd’s time doesn’t stray too far from the original but does have more of a metal edge especially in the crunching guitar work.  Closing out the album is “Day Of The Thunder,” a driving rocker that is somewhat reminiscent of Iron Maiden both lyrically and musically, although not as heavy.  Climbin’ The Walls is a solid debut, but with one big drawback for me, which is the thin and somewhat flat production.  

While the debut had some diversity, their sophomore release 3-D, which was produced by in demand producer Alex Perialis, took things to another level in both quality and diversity, making it hard to believe it’s the same band.  “3-D Man” gets things going and is an aggressive, in-your-face track that sounds like Metallica if they played jazz.  With its walking bass line “Spy” is a super funky rocker that is extremely well-played and just makes for a fun listen.  Melding funk and technical metal, “Gentleman Death” is an album highlight with some very strong guitar work, followed by “Forever Alone,” a solid groove metal track that was a precursor to where they would go in Souls At Zero (more on that later).  The six minute “Draintime” is an impressive track with a lot of prog tendencies shifting back and forth from softer acoustic passages to heavy power metal.  “Surrounded By Idiots” is a fun, funky trash tune with a lot of twisting, turning instrumental passages that brings to mind Anthrax and Scatterbrain.  The six and half minute “Desert Smiles” is a very dynamic song with constantly shifting tempos that go from intense thrash to an acoustic guitar instrumental section and even throws in some talkbox before segueing into the brutal, absolutely in your face “What’s Your Pleasure?,” which will have you thinking Anthrax.  The instrumental “Prego” (as in “it’s in there” from the old pasta sauce commercials) is a fun, all over the place, instrumental that crams in about every style of music known to man.  It really shows the band’s musical prowess, even sounds like the theme song to some offbeat old school cartoon at times.  Probably one of the album’s weakest tracks is “Another Namelesss Face,” a bluesy rock tune with a metal edge that’s a little too plodding and missing the fun edge that can be found on the rest of the album.  The album wraps up with “//,” a straight-ahead, breakneck paced thrash tune with an inexplicable reggae section in the middle.  Also included on disc two are a fun cover of Albert Collins’ blues track “I Ain’t Drunk, I’m Just Drinking,” which sticks pretty close to the original, but adds a little metal punch, and an edited version of “Surrounded By Idiots.”  It's a shame their timing was just a little off, because listening back to these albums it's apparent that if they were released a few years earlier, they would be much better known.  Interestingly, once they were dropped from Atlantic Records in 1992, the band changed up their style. renamed themselves Souls At Zero and released a couple more albums under that name.  Following that band, Larkin went on to drum for Ugly Kid Joe and then played with Godsmack for over twenty years, while Divens became an in-demand audio engineer, working with artists like Motley Crue, Cyndi Lauper, Garbage and HIM.

(Dissonance Productions)

da nang - Kids EP

On their new EP Kids, Toronto three-piece da nang lay out four solid cuts of alt rock, emo and post-punk with an ever-present sense of melancholy that often reminds me of bands like The Smoking Popes and Sugar.  Several of the songs have an undercurrent of tension and along the way there are also elements like the jangly guitars in “Your Feed” and the strong pop melodies of the title track to keep things fresh.  Nostalgia is a common theme with well-crafted lyrics dealing with things like first love and heartbreak, birthdays and getting older.  

(da nang - instagram)

Snips - The Solo Years 1978-1981

Following his stint as lead singer of Sharks (see the review of their box set Car Crash Supergroup back in February) and then Baker Gurvitz Army, Steve “Snips” Parsons released a couple of really strong solo albums, Video King and La Rocca!  These two releases, along with 31 previously unreleased tracks (27 unissued BBC live and session recordings), have now been compiled in the outstanding new three-CD box set The Solo Years 1978-1981.  

Disc one opens with the album Video King, which was produced by Steve Lillywhite and featured John Bentley (later in Squeeze) and Mick Dyche on guitar, Graham Deakin (John Entwistle's band The Ox) and Jackie Badger (Mother Superior) on bass.  It’s a fun collection of tunes that find him shifting more towards New Wave in its early days especially on songs like the punchy, upbeat opener “Love Is Blind”, the midtempo “Film Club,” “Walking” (co-written by former Sharks bandmate Chris Spedding who later covered it) and they super infectious, keyboard driven “Eat It Up,” which sounds like it should’ve had an accompanying  video playing over and over on MTV in its infancy.  The quirky “Stravinky’s Shoes” also follows that path, but with its use of sax it has moments that bring to mind Psychedelic Furs and Spear of Destiny (interestingly it also has a passage that pops up a couple of times that is very reminiscent of Talking Heads “Psycho Killer” which came out at almost the same time).  There are also several tracks that harken back to his work with the Sharks.  “Video Kings” and “Dracula” are more straight-ahead rockers with a bluesy edge that are perfect examples, as is the slow, bluesy “Babaloomah.”  “Under Suspicion” is an easygoing, almost loping, cut that mixes some rootsy elements with the New Wave, and closer “Animal Century” is almost six minutes and is a big sounding song with storytelling lyrics.  Disc one also has fourteen bonus tracks starting with “Smash Your TV,” an upbeat power pop song with a touch of glam, that was the b-side to the “Waiting For Tonight” single.  Next up are four previously unreleased tracks that appear to be demos, although there is no context given.  The first three are listed as re-recorded versions of albums tracks "Radio Kings" ("Video Kings" on the album), "Dracula" and "Babaloomah."  They are a little more ragged and the first two are heavier.  The fourth is “Taxi,” a really strong rock track that also sounds a lot like his work with the Sharks.  The remaining nine bonus tracks on disc one are a live set from November 22, 1978, recorded at the Paris Theatre in London for the BBC’s Andy Peebles Show.  The recording itself is really good, and the band is tight and sounds great, playing a selection of songs from both albums along with a couple of energetic rockers “Flow My Tears” and “Music Breakout.”

Since Video King failed to have alot of sales, their record label Jet wouldn't pay for a second album, and the band was disbanded.  Snips continued to cut demos and when he recorded the song "Nine O'clock," everyone thought he had a hit, which led to him getting a deal with MAM Records for three singles.  At this point he teamed up with Midge Ure as producer, guitar and synths and along with Steve Young (Holly And The Italians) on drums and Jackie B on bass, they recorded a new version.  The song went into heavy rotation on radio and had great reviews, but the label didn't press enough copies (stores were saying they sold out in three days) and the momentum was lost.  To try to make up for it, EMI gave him an album deal, resulting in his second album La Rocca!  Production on the remaining tracks was handled by Spedding, who also played guitars and keys, with Badger returning on bass, Bill Nelson (Be Bop Deluxe) on synths, and Clem Cattini and Dave Mattacks (Fairport Convention) on drums.  Overall, the album moves even further in the new wave and power pop direction, but with more experimentation than the debut.  The aforementioned "Nine O'clock" kicks things off and was definitely a missed opportunity.  It's an insanely catchy power pop track with a bit of an edge that has hit single written all over it.  Driven by a pulsing electronic beat and with a lot of synth washes mixed in, the experimentation is very evident on the title track.  The new wave influence is strong on cuts like punchy rocker “Skies Of England” (a tribute to Brian Jones) and the upbeat power pop songs “Backs Of Millions” and “Happy Sometimes."  “Telepathy” shows the quirkier side and the laid-back “The Rain” has a bit of New Romantics moodiness. “Dark Outside” and “Work” are a couple of rockers that have a soulful rootsy grit.  The album also contains a cover of Larry Wallis’ “Police Car,” which has an interesting arrangement, slowing it down and giving it a dark, more intense sound.  Disc two is rounded out with six more bonus cuts originally released as singles.  “What’s Your Number” was the b-side to “Nine O’Clock” and is an early Elvis Costello-ish New Wave track.  Their cover of Holland Dozier Holland’s “You’re A Wonderful One” (originally sung by Marvin Gaye) is a fun, R&B-tinged pub rock cut punctuated with some great sax with the heavier, kinder darker “Mr Dillinger” on the flip.  The catchy New Wave power pop “Lolita” was the b-side to “Telepathy” and lastly is the “Tight Mix” version of album track “Tight Shoes” that is a lot better than the album version, which to me is a little lackluster, with “Noise” and its infectious driving beat on the back.  

The third disc in this set is titled BBC Recordings and contains eighteen previously unreleased tracks recorded for the BBC during three different sessions.  The first set was again recorded for the Andy Peebles Show, this time on February 16, 1979.  Along with "Flow My Tears" and "Music Breakout," which were also on the earlier session, but never released in studio versions, are an energetic "Nine O'clock" and "Twelve O'Clock," which is a tad mellower, but just as catchy.  The last two sets were recorded for BBC in Concert, starting off with a seven-song session recorded on March 5, 1980, and featuring Midge Ure on keys.  In addition to tracks from the sophomore album and a single B-side they also played three songs that were never released.  “Mr Machine” is a dark rocker with a strong noisy electronic element that shows Ure’s influence, while “I Am The Line” is more pop-tinged New Wave rock and “Rat Catcher” is a taut, midtempo track.  The final seven songs are from a session that was recorded on January 6, 1981.  This time they stuck pretty much with tracks from La Rocca!, with the closing “Kustom Car Kommandos,” being the only track not on the album.  It’s a fun, super catchy, manic paced track, and it’s a shame it never got properly recorded in the studio.  The various bands on all three shows sound great and the recordings are outstanding, definitely making them a great addition to the box set.  Rounding things out is a booklet with detailed liner notes written by Snips.  

(Lemon Recordings)