Now Hear This: D.A.D. - Riskin' It All

     Disneyland After Dark formed in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1982. They were originally basically a cowpunk band, a rock band but heavily influenced by American country music, or rather the soundtracks to Hollywood westerns. After a threatened lawsuit from the Disney conglomerate the band decided to switch to an acronym for a name, D-A-D. I might have suggested a name change but I suppose they were being stubborn. I have to think that the strange name might have hindered their success because they were quite close to breaking in the states at one point, but what teenager wants to buy a record put out by his/her DAD? The band's first two albums, Call of the Wild and Draws a Circle were only released in Denmark and barely resemble heavy metal at all, incorporating much more of an Ennio Morricone influence. They moved closer to hard rock/heavy metal in time for their third album and first international release, 1989's No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims. The album's opening number and almost hit single, "Sleeping My Day Away," got a lot of airplay on MTV and retains the Morricone vibe in the killer guitar tone exhibited on the song's lead breaks.

     The album was a big hit in Denmark and almost a hit in the U.S. but not quite. Was it the name? Who knows. MTV played the shit out of the band's "Girl Nation" video as well, to no avail. Unfortunately it took the band more than two years to release a follow-up album, entitled Riskin' It All, and it would be their last album released in the U.S. As good as No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims was I would argue that Riskin' It All is possibly even better.The album opens strong with a fast-paced AC/DCish rocker called "Bad Craziness." Awesome song!

"You won't believe what I believe when I'm alone."

     Next up is the band's ominous ode to itself, a very cool song called "D Law," or Disneyland Law.

     And now we've arrived at my favorite song on the album and perhaps my favorite tune from the band's entire storied career, a groove-driven rocker mildly reminiscent of "Sleeping My Day Away" called "Day of Wrong Moves." I love the vibe and attitude of the song and the chorus is killer.

     Another upbeat virtual AC/DC tribute called "Rock n' Rock Radar" comes next. This is a really fun tune and continues the album's winning streak.

     At this point the album stalls a bit with the boring "Down That Dusty 3rd World Road" and another AC/DC rehash called "Makin' Fun of Money" but the record kicks into high gear again with a really cool song called "Grow Or Pay" that would have fit nicely on No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims. I keep bringing up AC/DC but when you get to a song like "Grow Or Pay" you realize that this band is capable of a very individual and unique sound, they can create quite the atmosphere and on a song like this the band has a style all its own.

      Yet another AC/DC tribute with a great bridge called "Smart Boy Can't Tell Ya" is followed by the aggressive title track, which is the heaviest song on the record.

      The album closes with a very effective acoustic number called "Laugh n' a 1/2." Not your typical early nineties rock ballad the song reminds me quite a bit of the kind of song Dogs D'Amour were known for, brooding and dark but brimming with emotion and purpose.

    

      Verdict: Riskin' It All by D.A.D. is a great early nineties rock record, the kind of album that you can just put on and let it play, the songs fit very well together and the record flows, you will not want to turn it off. What more can you ask for? Give it a try.

      D-A-D are still together and have released eight more albums since Riskin' It All, but none of those records have been released in the US and they saw the band exploring a variety of genres and styles, unfortunately never coming close, in my opinion, to achieving the greatness achieved by No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims and Riskin' It All.

Now Hear This: I'm a Turbo lover

     Judas Priest's tenth album Turbo is one of those albums that metalheads just love to hate. 1986 was definitely a confusing year for heavy metal fans. Looking back it's ironic that at the same moment thrash metal was peaking with albums like Master of Puppets, Reign In Blood, and Peace Sells many of heavy metal's earliest purveyors (Ozzy, Sabbath, Nugent, Priest, Quiet Riot) were jumping in the sack with keyboards and MTV. 1986 was the year of Van Hagar, the year Bon Jovi went to number one, the year Poison debuted, and the year Queensryche decided to start dressing like Duran Duran. Even a band like Savatage chose 1986 to take a shot at mainstream acceptance with the hamfisted Fight For The Rock album. So Judas Priest were not alone in their commercial aspirations but since there was arguably no band more responsible for the creation of heavy metal as a genre and considering that the band's previous album, Defenders of the Faith, had been their heaviest yet, well...all the more reason Turbo must have shocked the band's hardcore fans.

     But here's the thing, Turbo is a really good hard rock album. The album was produced by the same guy, Tom Allom, who had produced every Priest album since British Steel (not to mention On Through The Night and Headhunter), so this wasn't a case of bringing in the slick producer. Every song was written by KK, Glenn and Rob; nary a song doctor in sight. Obviously the band made a conscious choice to make a more accessible album chock full of potential hit singles, at least potential hits in 1986, but is this something we should hold against them? I don't think so. Here's why: they did it well. Really well. Look, I'm a big heavy metal fan, but I'm no metal purist, and my favorite metal is metal with hooks. I like a good single, and I can deal with some keyboards. No need to question my manhood! As far as I'm concerned there has always been too much of the tough guy mentality with metal fans. Too many rules about what metalheads can and can't like.

     "Turbo Lover" is a cool song. Yeah that's a synthesizer but really, who cares? Sure I'd like the song even more if they'd played it all on guitar instead, but "Jump" and "I'll Wait" would be a lot better too. Did you know that's not even a guitar on "And The Cradle Will Rock?" I think Eddie ran an organ through an amp, something like that. Who cares, that song is killer and "Turbo Lover" is damn good as well, I like the melody of the song and especially the vibe. The video did nothing to help the band's image at the time, but hey, again, who cares? The song is really good. The next two songs on the album, "Locked In" and "Private Property" are shameless attempts at hit singles but shamelessness is perfect because they had nothing to be ashamed of, both songs are quite good, I think they're fun songs, this is a great album to play loud in the car with the windows down, singing along. Try it some time.

     The next song, "Parental Guidance," is one of my favorite Judas Priest songs and here's why: I love the melody, I love the hooks. This is a great song, catchy as hell. Fuck off Tipper!

     The next song "Rock You All Around The World" is a great upbeat tune with a cool chorus. "Out In The Cold" comes next. It's a keyboard-driven, echo-laden track and I'm of the opinion it would be a much better song with less oppressive production but that being said it's not bad, not bad at all. The next two songs are the worst two on the album: "Wild Nights, Hot and Crazy Days" is decent but the chorus is a let-down and "Hot For Love" is the only song on the album I would say I dislike. The verse isn't bad but the chorus really falls flat. The album closes with a killer track called "Reckless" which the band actually decided not to give to the Top Gun soundtrack (oops!). This is probably the second best song on the record after "Parental Guidance." Great riffs and a strong melody. The production on this record is for the most part quite good and the guitar solos are killer. So what's the issue? Oh yeah, the tough guy thing.

     Apparently Turbo was originally conceived of as a double album called Twin Turbos and most of the additional tracks ended up on the band's next and far inferior album, Ram It Down, or have been released as bonus tracks on various reissues.

     Final verdict: Turbo is a really fun hard rock album.

     

Now Hear This: Ratt - Detonator

     When I was a teenager RATT were one of my favorite bands, probably in the top five, and I still hold their music in high regard to this day. It is undeniable that Out of the Cellar is a fantastic album, in my opinion it is one of the best metal albums of the eighties, song for song it really holds up. I suspect many RATT fans will disagree but Invasion of Your Privacy was, to me, the classic sophomore slump. The songs just weren't there. I quite like a few of them, "Never Use Love" is absolutely killer and "Got Me On The Line" is great, but the album as a whole was definitely disappointing coming on the heels of a work as impressive as Out of the Cellar.

     I am a huge fan of the band's next two albums; Dancing Undercover and Reach For The Sky are both excellent, a few of the songs might not be up to par but overall I really enjoy those records. The former was a big hit and the latter still made it into the top twenty and went Platinum. But what many rock fans seem to have missed is that there was another RATT album, after Reach For The Sky, and I'm here to tell you it is actually a damn fine record.

     Detonator came out on August 21, 1990, the same day as Facelift by Alice In Chains, which is, in retrospect, quite significant. This is a full year before Pearl Jam's Ten and Nirvana's Nevermind, but there was already a tangible shift in the vibe of Headbanger's Ball and on the pages of Metal Edge. Looking back, it was there. On the horizon. Faith No More had a huge hit with "Epic" that year and Cowboys From Hell came out in July. Cherry Pie came out in September and, as huge a hit as it was for Warrant, that song and that album really were the tipping point, the point at which glam metal hit the glass ceiling. For a short time "Unskinny Bop" was being played alongside "We Die Young" on Headbanger's Ball, but the world, for better or worse, was just waiting around for Nevermind.

     For some reason RATT had somewhat foolishly parted ways with Beau Hill, who had produced every album up to this point. Beau was recently featured on an episode of the Focus On Metal podcast and it seems that he might have been responsible for a great deal of what made RATT's songs great. So without him what would they do, go it alone? Heck no. Enter Desmond Child, who has co-writing credit on 9 of the album's 10 songs. Detonator was produced by Sir Arthur Payson, but I suspect Desmond's contributions were more significant.

     Detonator opens with a song called "Shame Shame Shame." It's not necessarily spectacular, but I like it. Next up is the first single, "Lovin' You's a Dirty Job." This song for some reason reminds me of the first single from the previous album, "Way Cool Jr," the difference being I like this song and did not like "Way Cool Jr." I am not fond of the third song on the record, "Scratch That Itch," but the next song, on which drummer Bobby Blotzer gets top billing as songwriter, blows me away. It's called "One Step Away" and it is beyond catchy. Very poppy and I love it.

     Side One of Detonator closes with a killer heavy tune called "Hard Time." Thoroughly enjoyable.

     Okay, we've arrived at Side Two and unfortunately the first two songs are not good, in fact they kinda suck, BUT the rest of Side Two? The last three songs on the album? AWESOME. AWESOME. AWESOME. First up we have "Can't Wait On Love," my favorite song on the record and one of my favorite RATT songs, career-wise. Absotively posilutely goddamn great.

     That spectacular gem of a song is followed by...uh oh...THE BALLAD. Stephen Pearcy even...gulp...sings on this one. But guess what: AWESOME.

     You know, to me, "Givin' Yourself Away" is not just a "power ballad," it is not a song to be snidely dismissed as some cynical stab at radio play. Sure, obviously the song was written with certain goals in mind but to me the song resonates more than the lifeless pandering some less talented bands embarked upon (Headed For a Heartbreak? Fly To The Angels?). "Givin' Yourself Away" is well-written and delivered with at least a modicum of sincerity. It's fair to say Stephen Pearcy has never struck me as the "romantic" type but I think he's a reasonably talented guy and has always been honestly invested in his craft. He wants to write good songs. It is also significant to note that along with Pearcy and Desmond Child ubiquitous hitmaker Diane Warren is also credited. When Ms. Warren ventured into the realm of hard rock I was usually pleased with the results (name the artists: Bed of Nails, Turn On The Night, The Only Good Thing You Ever Said Was Goodbye, You Make Me Rock Hard) but the ballads were usually atrocities (When I See You Smile, I Don't Want To Miss a Thing, Nothing Can Keep Me From You--holy mother of blech). Luckily she done good with "Givin' Yourself Away."

     This brings us to the last song on the record, the only song not co-written by Desmond Child, "Top Secret," and interestingly a song called "Top Secret" also featured in the band's early live sets in the late seventies, when they were called Mickey Ratt, but the song as it appears on Detonator is overhauled in a major way, and it is far better in its 1990 incarnation. I love it.

     After Detonator RATT came out with one more song, "Nobody Rides For Free," which was featured on the Point Break soundtrack, but soon after that the band broke up, Pearcy forming Arcade and releasing a couple of underwhelming albums. "Nobody Rides For Free" was awesome though.

Now Hear This: Bullet Lavolta - Swandive

     Bullet Lavolta formed in 1987 in Boston and consisted of singer Yukkie Gipe, guitarists Clay Tarver and Corey Brennan, bassist Bill Whelan and drummer Chris Guttmacher. The band built a loyal following on the Boston club scene before releasing their debut EP and LP in 1988 and 1989 respectively on local indie label Taang. In 1990 the band signed with RCA and recorded their major label debut with producer Dave Jerden, who was fresh from working with Jane's Addiction and Alice In Chains. Swandive was released on October 9, 1991.

     The album blasts off with a caustic tune called "Rails," a punky song with a very melodic chorus. 

     A bleak exercise in quasi-thrash called "My Protector" is followed by the album's title track, a blistering dose of hard rock which, like the album itself, displays a cobbled together patchwork of influences, from the sixties, seventies, eighties, you name it.

     Next up is one of the poppier moments on the album, an excellent song called "Between the Lines." After a battering ram of a verse comes a nice moment of clarity called the chorus.

     Side One ends with a slightly boring dirge called "Blizzard" but Side Two opens strong with two great songs, probably the two best songs on the album, an anthemic rocker called "Sunshine" and the album's most melodic tune, an obvious potential lost hit single called "Before I Fall." (Links below)

Bullet Lavolta - Sunshine

Bullet Lavolta - Before I Fall

     The last three songs on the album maintain that consistent quality, making this a very good record all the way through, and Bullet Lavolta were in the right place at the right time, that's for sure, considering Swandive was released on the very same day as Nirvana's Nevermind and the band played shows with Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins before either band broke, but RCA/BMG was a notorious label for dropping the ball when it came to marketing and promotion and Bullet Lavolta got very little. 

     Swandive without a doubt was a potential hit album in the wake of the success of bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, not to mention those other bands Dave Jerden had produced, Jane's Addiction and Alice In Chains. A video was made for "Swandive" but the label apparently never sprang for a video for "Before I Fall," which was a huge mistake. That song was the key to the band's success, and it languished on Side Two, track 7. What a shame. The band, probably disgusted and dejected, never made another album, breaking up in 1992.

Now Hear This: Redd Kross - Third Eye

     Red Cross was formed by teenage brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald in 1980 and they were there for the beginnings of the L.A. hardcore scene and saw former members go on to join groups like Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Bad Religion. The band's early material, including a six song EP and full length album called Born Innocent, fell in line with the more accessible fringes of hardcore but after a threatened lawsuit by the real Red Cross and the subtle name change to Redd Kross the band issued an album of covers in 1984 called Teen Babes From Monsanto which included a version of the KISS classic "Deuce."

     That same year, 1984, the band appeared in and participated in the soundtrack for a low budget B movie called Desperate Teenage Lovedolls which was loosely based on the story of The Runaways.

     The band's first real album as a rock band called Redd Kross came out in 1987 on indie label Big Time. It's called Neurotica and it's highly respected by underground rock aficionados. The band signed with Atlantic and released a streamlined, professional rock record in 1990 called Third Eye. No longer a punk band by any stretch Redd Kross could easily have fit in with the glam metal bands that were dominating MTV at the time. Third Eye is a polished and extremely melodic album that a lot of potential fans missed out on. While Neurotica may have been "alternative," Third Eye certainly was not. 

     The album opens with an epic ode to pretending to be a rock star in front of the mirror called "Faith Healer." It's not one of my favorite songs on the album but serves its purpose.

     The next song, "Annie's Gone," is possibly the best song on the album, a driving rocker with a great hook.

     Like I said, this album could definitely have been marketed by Atlantic as a glam metal album alongside hugely popular bands like Warrant and Slaughter, and to drive that point home it even includes a power ballad, a great one called "I Don't Know How To Be Your Friend."

     After a song named for a female Japanese pop punk band called Shonen Knife comes the poppiest song on the album, a bouncy, very catchy number called "Bubblegum Factory."

     Side One ends with an excellent pop tune called "Where Am I Today." Maybe Atlantic should have marketed them as glam, but an emotionally effective and artistic  song like this is what would have set them apart.

     Side Two opens with an infectious blast of melodic rock called "Zira (Call Out My Name)."

     A Beatlesesque ballad called "Love Is Not Love" is followed by a triumphant tribute to seventies rock called "1976." The song is GREAT, and listen closely for what appears to be an uncredited appearance by Paul Stanley.

     The second to last song, "Debbie & Kim," is another keeper.

     The album closes with my least favorite song on the album, "Elephant Flares," but what a record it is, and one that will appeal to rock fans across the board. The band followed it up with another strong rock record in 1993, the slightly heavier Phaseshifter, and released another excellent album in 1997 called Show World, and that was it for Redd Kross until last year, 2012, when the band reconvened and graced the world with a new album called Researching The Blues.

Now Hear This: Britny Fox - Boys In Heat

     The first, self-titled Britny Fox album, released in June of 1988, was not a great album. I enjoyed it at the time, especially those first two singles, "Long Way To Love" and "Girlschool," but in retrospect it's a bland record filled with simplistic songs that, for the most part, fall flat. 

     I am sure that I bought Boys In Heat the day it came out, probably already familiar with every song title thanks to a Metal Edge magazine "In The Studio" exclusive. I took the cassette home and, well...I definitely didn't crank it up, with my Dad in the next room, but I might have plugged in the headphones and thereby facilitated maximum volume. Who knows what I was expecting.

     The album opens with a straight ahead rocker called "In Motion," better than decent. The second song was the first single, "Standing In The Shadows," simply decent, not great but better than the majority of the songs on the first record. A completely pointless and unfortunate cover of "Hair of the Dog" by Nazareth comes next, Terrible!

     But wait a minute, there are four songs left on side one and...I love them all. 

     First up is a ragged rocker called "Livin' On A Dream," headbangin' riffs and all.

     Next up is another riff heavy blast of attitude called "She's So Lonely." Hot damn.

     Song number six on side one is an awesome acoustic tune called "Dream On." This is not a power ballad, it's a great, mostly acoustic rock song. I suppose it filled the "potential hit ballad" slot on the record but it's a very well-written song and definitely transcends most of the formulaic ballads MTV was pushing heavily at the time. "Dream On" is an example of stellar songwriting in my opinion.

     Side one closes with a simple but highly effective pop rock song called "Long Way From Home." 

     Side Two opens with a generic hard rocker called "Plenty of Love," not terrible but unimpressive. The next two songs, "Stevie" and "Shine On," are in a similar vein, I like "Stevie" a lot but "Shine On" is probably the worst song on the album. The last three songs are all keepers. "Angel In My Heart" is very poppy, similar to "Long Way From Home" but not quite as good.

     Ditto for "Left Me Stray," another fun pop tune.

     The last song on the album, "Long Road," is an excellent ballad, very well done, neither forced nor contrived but heartfelt and on target.

     Boys In Heat was a creative triumph but it failed to shift the desired number of units. Nevertheless the band's career still seemed to have quite a bit of potential at this point, thus it was sudden and shocking when singer and chief songwriter "Dizzy" Dean Davidson quit the band and with startling speed formed a new band called Blackeyed Susan and released a really strong album called Electric Rattlebone. If Boys In Heat was Davidson's Long Cold Winter then Electric Rattlebone was his Heartbreak Station, a creative celebration of seventies rock. "Satisfaction" and "Sympathy" were as good, maybe better than anything by Britny Fox.

     Britny Fox replaced Davidson with a singer named Tommy Paris and made a noble effort with Bite Down Hard, it's not a terrible album but Britny Fox was Davidson's baby and lacking his talents the band clearly struggled. Of course none of it mattered when grunge hit. The end.

Now Hear This: Heavy Pettin' - Lettin' Loose

     Heavy Pettin' formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1981 when singer Steve Hayman and guitarist Punky Mendoza teamed up with the disenchanted members of a band called Weeper: guitarist Gordon Bonnar, bassist Brian Waugh and drummer Gary Moat. Things came together quickly for the freshly augmented band and within a year they had released a single on legendary metal label Neat Records. 

     With a little help from Def Leppard manager Peter Mensch the band soon found themselves signed to Polydor records and ensconced in a studio in London recording their debut album with Queen guitarist Brian May producing. Some members of the band were reportedly less than enthusiastic about the highly polished album May delivered but I think it's freakin' awesome, one of the best and catchiest albums to come out of the NWOBHM. The album opens with a killer melodic metal song called "In and Out of Love" which predates the similarly titled Bon Jovi tune by a couple of years.

     The second song on the album is a pop metal classic called "Broken Heart." When the song kicks into gear resistance is futile. The song was definitely worthy of massive airplay and could have (should have) made the record a hit.

     The third and possibly best song on the album is a monster tune called "Love Times Love," which was originally on the b-side of the Neat single.

     Side One closes out with an epic stormer called "Victims of the Night." Oh how I wish I could have seen this group live at the time. These are inspired songs indeed.

     Side Two opens with a song called "Rock Me." At certain points the song is very reminiscent of Def Leppard but it's also a highly original, creative piece of work, far more imaginative than its title might suggest. These guys had heart and energy and it shows, "Rock Me" is awesome. A+.

     Next up is another generic title, "Shout It Out," but this time the song lives down to its name, it's probably the worst song on the album. The band makes up for it with the next track, "Devil In Her Eyes," a glorious exercise in pop metal grandiosity.

     The album closes with a hyperactive rocker called "Hell Is Beautiful," not a bad song at all (well, there are those lyrics) but a tad generic.

     Lettin' Loose was reissued in 2003 and included a very cool bonus track called "Shadows of the Night."

     The band toured with Whitesnake, Kiss and Ozzy Osbourne to support the record but it failed to take off the way Pyromania did for Def Leppard the same year. The band released an overproduced follow-up album in 1985 called Rock Ain't Dead, the songs were still strong but the sound and presentation of the record was unfortunate. Lettin' Loose had made it clear that the band had huge, huge potential. Perhaps if the listening public had given them the support they needed at the time they wouldn't have strayed too far in the wrong direction trying to get their attention. Rock Ain't Dead is a fun listen but Lettin' Loose is a work of art.

     In 1987 the band recorded a terrible song they didn't write called "Romeo" for entrance in the Eurovision song contest. Big mistake. The band released one last album in 1989 called Big Bang. And that was that. 

     Lettin' Loose was released as a self-titled (Heavy Pettin') record in the U.S. with different cover art. Keep your eyes peeled.