LABEL: PONY CANYON PCCY-01334
OVERALL: 87%
Produced by: Badlands
OVERALL: 87%
Produced by: Badlands
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LABEL: PONY CANYON PCCY-01334 OVERALL: 87% Produced by: Badlands | ||||
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Yep, this is good, I like this! Solid and pure blues based hard rock. This album just gets better and better with every listen. At first I thought it was a little slow paced, but with knowledge of the songs comes a feel that isn't evident first time around. This is a well paced and groovy hard rock record. Let's set the record straight right up front. I love the debut Badlands album the best. Yeah, I know it was a huge corporate over produced technically perfect record, but man I love those tunes and I love Ray Gillen's vocals. Perfect. I thought Voodoo Highway got too caught up in that muddy blues feel and lost the plot a little. It was a good record in itself, but it didn't appeal to me like the first album did. It was clearly not as commercial a record either and sales showed this. | ||
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Then there is Dusk. I like this album instantly and enthusiastically more than Voodoo Highway, and only just less than the debut. The album was recorded live in the studio with no overdubs. It still sounds better than some big production albums out there. Gillen sounds great, his voice has never had a bad day and Jake E Lee's guitar playing is first class as expected. Dusk is a fabulous return to the more rock sound of the debut. There is still plenty of blues based songs and in that way, the album is really a blend of the first and second albums. It is more straight-ahead rock, most of the songs fitting into a mid-paced mold. Healer is a great intro to the album. Sun Red Sun and Tribal Moon both follow with plenty of rock guitar from Jake and some just brilliant vocals from the late great Ray Gillen. The River is a slow bluesy number, while Walking Attitude cranks the guitars and the pace up three or four notches. The Fire Last Forever is another top notch semi-anthem rock track. Dog keeps the pace up. One of the more furious tracks on the album and one of my favourite album tracks. Fat Cat and Lord Knows bring that album back into check with some more mid paced blues rock. The guys end the album with the AC/DC cover Ride The Jack. A standard version of the old rocker. A great release, one that took it's time to come out but has proved worthwhile. Anyone that owns the previous two needs this. A fitting Swan Song to Gillen's short but illustrious career. | PRODUCTION: 80% | SONGS: 91% | VIBE: 93% | ATTITUDE: 87% | ESSENTIAL FOR: |
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DISCOGRAPHY: Badlands . Voodoo Highway . Dusk Also: Ray Gillen - Sun Red Sun; Jake E Lee - Ozzy Osbourne . Wicked Alliance; Solo - Fine Pink Mist | |||