ADRENALIN KICK "Bad Reputation"

(c) 1991 TAB Music

1. Dehumanize
2. She's Got Me Runnin'
3. Get Up
4. Turn Me Off
5. Rough Stuff
6. Beware The Stranger
7. Million Miles
8. All I Want
9. Cold, Tired, And Hungry
10. Bad Reputation

Mick Pritchard--Vocals
Darren Richardson--Bass
Andre Kania--Guitar
Dave Cooke--Guitar
Mac--Drums

Adrenalin Kick (that is how they spelled it) was a rarely heard of band that released this hard rocker in 1991, then disbanded after releasing what is generally accepted to be an atrocious follow-up about 6 or 7 years later.  While there is nothing exceptionally special about this band, there is also nothing terrible about them or this album.  They remind me a bit of a lesser-talented Kik Tracee to some degree.  The lead vocalist, Mick Pritchard, is more than competent and is what I call a power-vocalist, using a lower tenor range for most of the tracks.  He is not a screamer by any means, nor does he ever get up into the high singing range that a lot of bands employed during this era.  The guitar tandem of Kania and Cooke is competent, if not overly flashy, and the rhythm section is generally pretty tight.  So why has no one heard of them?

Frankly, the songs themselves are nothing overly special and sound like songs you have heard from dozens of other lower-tier bands on several dozen albums.  There are flashes of talent, such as on "Cold, Tired, And Hungry", which has a nice hook to it, or on the rocking title track.  As far as other good material, "Dehumanize" rocks pretty hard but is not overly memorable.  "Beware The Stranger" might be the best track on the disc and has some nice guitar work on it, and I would have liked to hear more songs in this style.  "Get Up" is decent, if not spectacular, and "Rough Stuff" is an above average effort as well, but that is about it. 

"Turn Me On" is a rather lame ballad, and "Million Miles" is pure filler material.  "All I Want" has potential, again showing some nice guitar flashes, but the lyrics are pretty lame and cliche with no real vocal hook or catchy chorus to help the song along.         

Should you get this?  Well, first off, you are going to have a hard time finding it, as it is on a TINY label.  That makes it fairly collectible, so for that reason, I would snag it if you can find it for a good price (sub-$10).  It is not a terrible album and you are probably going to find a few tracks you like.  It is a decent "mix in" disc that breaks up the monotony of all of your favorites strung back-to-back, but that is about the best it will ever be for me.  Adrenalin Kick had potential but they never brought it fully into being, at least on an album.  I have heard they had a GREAT live show, however.

Rating:  Rock this at 5.5 or so, but snap it up if you find it cheap...it makes good trade material on the internet!  

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