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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

TUFF "What Comes Around Goes Around...Again"





(c) 2012 iTunes

  1. Good Guys Wear Black (featuring George Lynch and Jamie St. James)
  2. The All New Generation (featuring Steve Brown)
  3. I Hate Kissing You Goodbye (featuring Keri Kelli)
  4. So Many Seasons (featuring Michael Raphael)
  5. What Comes Around Goes Around (featuring Jeff Loomis and Stephen Pearcy)
  6. Put Out Or Get Out (featuring Howie Simon and Lizzie DeVine)
  7. Round 'Em Up
  8. Summertime Goodbye
  9. Want Trouble--You Got It
  10. Down On Sinner Street
  11. Forever Yours
  12. Ain't Worth A Dime
  13. Move Along
  14. So Many Seasons (piano version)
Stevie "$tEVIL" Rachelle--Lead Vocals
Todd CH@SE Chaisson--Bass
Tod "T-DRUMS" Burr--Drums
Staffan "S'OLIN" Osterlind--Guitars

TUFF is one of those bands that just refuses to die...which is a good thing.  Long considered, at least by myself, as one of the most underrated of the 80's hairbands, Stevie Rachelle and his revolving cast of band members (which usually included Todd Chaisson) just continued to release new albums, live albums, best of packages, and the occasional "hit" track, such as the surprise breakout track "American Hairband" from 2001.  Despite all of this, Tuff has never exactly been an upper-tier member of the hair genre; heck, they aren't even second tier in terms of album sales, videos, airplay, or even name recognition.  So why in the world would the band put together and release a re-recording of PART of their best known (and only major label) album, What Comes Around Goes Around?  For me, the why isn't all that important, as I am simply very glad they did it...and did it right.

Now, this isn't a complete re-recording of that 1991 album; less than half of those tracks are included on this new version, but most of the high points are all here.  "What Comes Around...", "Good Guys Wear Black", "I Hate Kissing You Good-Bye", and the anthemic "The All New Generation" are given a second chance at life, along with "So Many Seasons".  The production is decidedly more modern on these new takes, with a grittier sound for the most part.  Rachelle no longer sounds like the blatant Bret Michael's rip-off he was always (wrongly) accused of being, as his voice is also grittier than it has been in the past.  This works especially well on "Good Guys..." and the reworked "The All New Generation", which could be called "The New All New Generation", as an additional line has been added to the song, throwing in more modern band names such as Black Veil Brides alongside Skid Row, Poison, Motley Crue, etc.  It's a nice touch that bridges the old and new schools without coming off like a band pandering to the new fans it hopes to attract because, in all reality, it is old school Tuff fans that are going to be picking up this new album for the most part.  I do wish that a couple more tracks from the original album had been added here, specifically "Ruck-a-pit Bridge" and "Spit Like This".

For me, the real treat on this disc is the re-mastered demos from 1988 and 1989.  These songs have been circulating out there on the demo market for some time, but the quality has ranged from pretty okay to downright awful for the most part.  It was great to get to hear songs like "Round 'Em Up", "Down On Sinner Street", and one of my favorite Tuff tracks ever, "Ain't Worth A Dime", all given the digital touch up.  However, that is all that has been done to these tracks...a cleaning up of the sound.  The original vocals and instrumental tracks are still intact, so you get a definite throwback sound with tracks 7-12.

Now, before I go further, I need to address one question I have.  I "think" there may be an error in the chronological listing here, as I have the original Atlantic Records version of What Comes Around Goes Around, and there is NOT a song called "Put Out Or Get Out", yet it is listed as a re-recording.  Additionally, "Ain't Worth A Dime" IS on the Atlantic Records album, yet it is listed as a 1989 demo version.  Granted, there could have been demo version previously, but I have to think that something is amiss with the track listing or chronological information.  It is a small point, but it did confuse me a bit...

Moving on, the last two songs, "Move Along" and "So Many Seasons (Piano Version)" I could honestly do without.  Neither is terrible, but "Seasons" sounds tired in this format and doesn't fit the fun and energy of the rest of this disc.   Honestly, I skip "Seasons" and don't pay much attention to "Move Along", although I may be doing that song a disservice.  It is just that being placed after the old school sounds of the 80's demo re-masters, "Move Along" kind of sticks out a bit.  Perhaps it will grow on me.

Granted, special guests riddle the re-recorded tracks, with such big names as Stephen Pearcey (Ratt), George Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob), Keri Kelli(Ratt, LA Guns, and a dozen other bands), Jamie St. James (Black N Blue, Warrant, St. James), and Steven Brown (Trixter), among others, taking their turns behind the mic or on the guitar, but this is like sprinkles on top of an already well baked and frosted cake.  These songs are strong enough, and the performances by the actual members of Tuff are solid, so the re-recorded songs don't need a lot of additional flash and flair, although I'm not going to complain about the chance to hear another George Lynch solo.  Surprisingly, Jeff Loomis of Nevermore, pulls off one of the coolest solos on the disc despite the fact that Tuff's music is definitely not the style Loomis is mostly associated with.

Is What Comes Around Goes Around...Again worth picking up?  Absolutely, especially if you want to hear a nice mix of where the band is now (re-recordings) and where they came from (re-mastered demos).  The classics from that underrated 1991 effort are given new life an dfans are given a chance to hear songs many may not have realized existed.  Obviously, Tuff isn't breaking any new ground here, but perhaps WCAGA...A can be a launching pad for someall new Tuff recordings in the near future.

Rating:  Crank this to a fun 7.5, with only a couple of missing favorites and a weak piano ballad keeping this disc from scoring higher for me.

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Monday, March 12, 2012

JETBOY "Now And Then"




(c)2010 Demon Doll Records

  1. Dogs Gotta Roam
  2. Goin' Down (Above The Clods)
  3. Perfectly Wring
  4. Stomp It (Down To The Bricks)
  5. Heavy Chevy
  6. Evil
  7. Bullfrog Pond
  8. Feel The Shake
  9. Make Some Noise
  10. Snakebite
  11. One Night Stand
  12. I Wanna Be a Millionaire
  13. No Limit
  14. Dying Inside
Mickey Finn--Vocals, Harmonica
Fernie Dog--Lead & Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
Billy Rowe--Rhyth, & Slide Guitar, Vocals
Jesse Mendez--Drums
Jes Reckless--Bass, Vocals

Additional Musicians
Ron Totenson---Drums (Tracks 4-13)
Sam Yaffa--Bass (Tracks 4-10)
Michael Butler--Bass (Tracks 1-3, 14)
Doug Hovan--Drums (Tracks 1-3)
Tim Huthert--Drums (Track 14)

Jetboy is one of those bands that seemed to always be on the cusp of breaking out.  These guys had a HUGE following in their native San Francisco as well as a strong support base on the Sunset Strip back in the mid-80's, managed to get several songs on movie releases (five different tracks from the Feel The Shake album were spread out between Tom Hanks' movie The Burbs, and the lesser-known Tony Danza flick, She's Out Of Control), and scored a couple of decent video hits on MTV's Headbanger's Ball.  But between the death of original bass player Todd Crew (found dead in Slash's hotel room...), and the grunge phenomenon of the early-to-mid-90's, Jetboy never managed to get the traction that was necessary for them to fully hit the big time.  Too bad, as Jetboy was one of the more original sounding bands of the era, not coming off like a cookie-cutter clone of the Poisons, Warrants, or Wingers of the time.

Probably as well known for Mickey Finn's sky-high mohawk as they were for most of their musical catalog, Jetboy combined the glammy edge of bands like Hanoi Rocks and the New York Dolls with the punk and sleaze look of a lot of the underground Hollywood bands.  As such, their sound was a hybrid that always came off as fresh and original to these ears, even when I didn't like every song the band put on tape.  On this collection, Demon Doll manages to capture the best of the band, for the most part, with seven tracks coming from the band's two major label releases, 1988's Feel The Shake and 1990's Damned Nation.  "Feel The Shake", "Heavy Chevy", and "Evil" are the band's bigger songs, at least as far as airplay goes, and "Stomp It (Down To The Bricks)" and "Make Some Noise" are a couple of the band's more popular songs with their fans.  Personally, I was really happy to see "Snakebite" included here, as I think it's one of the best songs in the band's catalog.  "Bullfrog Pond" was an interesting inclusion as well.  What really makes the album, at least for me, is the inclusion of the hard-to-find EP Off Your Rocker studio tracks and the previously unreleased "Dying Inside".  All four of these songs are very much in the vein of the harder-edged material that made Jetboy popular with their fans...and maybe kept them off of radio...with Finn's gritty vocals and the guitar tandem of Rowe and Rod still ripping things up.  With no ballads to bog this collection down, Now And Then is a full-tilt rock collection that I think casual fans will find a lot to like about and one that will give new listeners a solid cross-section of material to choose from. 

The project is not perfect, however, as there was still room left on the disc to include a couple more tracks, which I think would have been smart.  "Bloodstone", from the Feel The Shake album, would be a logical inclusion, since it was included on a movie soundtrack and is one of the more well-known Jetboy songs.  I also think a couple of other tracks from the band's Lost And Found collection would have been nice, especially since so many of those songs are not available anywhere else and are now out of print ("Little Teaser", "Cuts Me Down", and "In The Alley" are some of my faves from that effort).  Still, this is a pretty good sampling of what Jetboy had to offer, and I don't have a lot of problems with the musical choices.

While I normally am not a fan of Demon Doll Records' projects, this is one that I think the label generally got right, at least on the musical side.  The production is crisp with no volume level problems between tracks of varying ages (in some cases, 20 years has passed between recordings).  I also think the song selection was pretty much spot on, as the "hits" (if you can call them that) are here, and the inclusion of the 2010 Off Your Rocker EP made the collection that much more solid, as did the unreleased track.  However, as far as packaging goes, I was expecting a lot more as far as photos, band history, and lyrics, NONE of which is included.  This is a MAJOR problem I have with pretty much every release I have ever gotten from Demon Doll...and these are official releases, not promos.  Considering the label charges full price ($11.99-14.99 for most releases), you would think they would put some more effort into the packaging, especially on re-issues and compilations like this one, to make them more desireable to those people who already have the original albums.  To be honest, if I was a digital person and not a CD person, there is really no reason to buy the CD rather than just download the music.

Rating:  Since the music is what really matters to most people, I will still crank this to 8 based on the new song, the strong selection, and the inclusion of the EP.  As far as Demon Doll Records' efforts in the packaging department...I wouldn't rate them more than a 5 or so...

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Friday, March 9, 2012

CINDERELLA "Night Songs"




(c) 1986 Mercury Records

  1. Night Songs
  2. Shake Me
  3. Nobody's Fool
  4. Nothin' For Nothin'
  5. Once Around The Ride
  6. Hell On Wheels
  7. Somebody Save Me
  8. In From The Outside
  9. Push Push
  10. Back Home Again
Tom Keifer--Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Piano
Jeff LaBar--Lead Guitar
Eric Brittingham--Bass
Fred Coury--Drums (credited, touring)
Jim Drnec--Drums (recorded)

Additional Musicians:
Tony Mills--Backing Vocals
Jon Bon Jovi--Backing Vocals on "Nothin' For Nothin'" and "In From The Outside"
Jeff Paris--Keyboards

Ah, Night Songs.  This CD is one of the cornerstone memories of my 1980's youth!  In fact, this is the very first album I can remember actually anxiously waiting for its arrival.  I remember seeing a promo poster for this album hanging up in my favorite mom & pop record shop (remember those?!) and thinking how cool these guys looked, all decked out in leather, spandex, and sky-high hair!  If these guys sounded even half as cool as they looked, Night Songs was gonna ROCK!  I was not disappointed then...and I still get a flashback grin every time I spin this record.  From the haunting wind and chugging guitar intro of the title track to the scorching closing riffs of the massively underrated "Back Home Again", Night Songs became the measuring stick by which I would judge all other "hair metal" albums of the time period.

One of the things I find hard to believe about this album is only three songs were released as singles, ("Somebody Save Me", "Nobody's Fool", and "Shake Me"), and only "Nobody's Fool" made any significant mark on the charts (reaching #13 on Billboard's Hot 100).  Perhaps it is a testament to the power of marketing, word of mouth, intense touring, and yes, MTV, as despite this lack of radio success, the album sold over 3 million copies in America alone and managed to hit #3 on the album sales charts.  Considering it is such a rarity for bands to even go gold now (500,000 album sales), hitting triple platinum on a debut effort is quite an accomplishment, especially with the limited assitance of radio at the time.

As to the music itself, Cinderella, at least on this disc, did not have the bluesy style that they would later be noted for.  Instead, the guys stick to the hair metal sound that was really starting to come into full bloom by 1986, although there is no denying that they had a bit of a sleazy edge to their sound, especially with the plodding, somewhat sludgy sound of the guitars on the title track, for example.  Keifer's vocals, which he always kept in the raspy, snarled style here (as opposed to more of an actual singing approach he would take later when vocal problems began to appear), also set Cinderella apart from many of their peers.  I know of several people who claim that Keifer's vocals actually turned them OFF of the band during the Night Songs era, but for me, this was Tom at his finest vocally, although I certainly love the style he adopted later as well.

Despite the passage of 25 years, this is one album of this genre that I think still sounds as great as it did back in the day.  Granted, modern production techniques could definitely clean up some minor issues on a couple of tracks, but to me, that 80's production is part of the charm of the era's sound.  I am surprised, however, that there was not an anniversary edition of this classic released, at least that I am aware of, although the band/label legal issues that have been ongoing for years (and which have prevented Cinderella from releasing a new album) may be part of the reason for us not seeing a repackaging of Night Songs

As to the songs themselves, there are only a couple of tracks that I would consider filler material, and even these are not skippers for me.  I have never been a particular fan of "Once Around The Ride" or "Nothin' For Nothin'", as I just don't find either one of them particularly catchy, especially when played alongside hook-laden tracks like "Somebody Save Me" or "Shake Me".  "Nobody's Fool" is a definite lighter-in-the-air ballad for these guys (who had several more on subsequent albums), and, as I alluded to earlier, I think "Night Songs" and "Back Home Again" are just monstrous bookends to this great album, with "Back Home Again" being one of the most underrated tracks in this band's catalog.

If fans of the New Wave of European Glam and Sleaze are looking for classic material from some of the best the scene had to offer back in the day, Cinderella's Night Songs is a disc that MUST be near the top of the search list.  Still readily available and generally very easy to find for under $10 on eBay or elsewhere, there is no reason not to have this gem in your collection...or in your stereo!

Rating:  Just about perfect for me, even with a couple of less-than-classic tracks.  Crank this sucker...repeatedly...to 8.5!

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Wednesday, March 7, 2012

ROYAL BLISS "Waiting Out The Storm"




(c) 2012 Air Castle Records

  1. I Got This
  2. Monster
  3. Bleed My Soul
  4. Wake Up
  5. Singing For Our Lives
  6. Crazy
  7. With A Smile
  8. I Will Catch You
  9. Sunburn
  10. For No One
  11. High On Fire
  12. Crazy (Rock Remix)
Neal Middleton--Vocals
Taylor Richards--Acoustic & Electric Guitars
Jake Smith--Drums & Percussion
Dwayne Crawford--Bass on "I Got This"
Tommy Mortensen--All other Bass Guitars
Chris Harding--Rhythm Guitar on all songs except "Sunburn"

Waiting Out The Storm is the latest album from Salt Lake City's Royal Bliss.  Royal Bliss is another one of those modern hard rock bands that seems to trip something within me and actually get me to sit up and pay attention, much like Hinder, Shinedown, Underride, and a small handful of others.  I'm not saying they sound anything like those bands, because they really don't; in fact if I was to compare Royal Bliss to anyone it would be my favorite modern rock band of all time, Fuel.  Much like Fuel, Royal Bliss has that special combination of powerful vocals, big guitars, strong, catchy hooks, and generally excellent songwriting, which creates the perfect mix for me and keeps me interested throughout the majority of the disc.  While not everything is a 100% hit here, there is nothing that is unlistenable or that makes me want to turn the disc off.

 Royal Bliss faced a bit of a challenge with this effort as former bass player Tommy Mortensen and guitar player Chris Harding are no longer with the group, although both appear on the majority of the new album.  I have no special insights, but perhaps these departures are part of the "storm" that the band was waiting out in the two years since their last album.  If so, then perhaps this album is that much better because of the adversity the band had to endure and overcome, as I think Waiting Out The Storm is a more concentrated, more cohesive sounding effort than Life In Between, which I thought was a generally solid album.  Additionally, I think the band has found a heavier edge to their sound on this disc, as is especially evident on tracks like album opener "I Got This" which features one of the best guitar solos on the disc as well as some tasty bass work from new member, Crawford.  "Monster" is another crunching moment on this new disc, and "Wake Up" is another great fist-pounding moment.  In the end, I think the attitude-laden tracks "With A Smile" and "For No One" may be the best of the rockers here and are two of the tracks I find myself coming back to repeatedly.

On the flip side, Royal Bliss makes sure to tone things down from time to time.  "I Will Catch You" is a very strong track here, but the single "Crazy", which is all over rock radio right now, is a bit of musical magic that shows the band in an even more toned-down, contemplative mood.  Written by Middleton about the hardships he suffers while on the road away from his wife and family, this is definitely one of the moments that I was talking about catching my attention and making me take notice.  It's a rare thing when a ballad is one of the first tracks I notice on a disc, especially one with some seriously rocking moments, but "Crazy" is just one of those special tracks.  That being said, I also really enjoy the rock remix of "Crazy", although no one should expect the song to stray too far from it's original sound.  There is a good deal more bite to the guitars on the rock remix, a bit more punch to the bottom end, but in the end, it's the vocals and lyrics that drive either version of "Crazy", so you can't go wrong with either version. 

Somewhere in the middle is the other song that grabbed me instantly.  The kind of off-the-beaten-path track "Bleed My Soul" is a semi-acoustic,  70's throwback number that has a hook and groove you will swear you have heard before, yet it doesn't scream rip-off like a lot of retro efforts drifting on the airwaves today.  This is a truly great summer-feeling song that I can imagine being played around bonfires on the beach at sundown.  Great stuff.

A couple of tracks don't work quite as well for me, although they are not terrible by any means.  The grungy "Sunburn" leaves me wanting a bit, probably because it doesn't really ever find a groove or hook that I can really grab a hold of.  "High On Fire" is a decent rocker, but it sounds too much to me like everything else on XM/Sirius Octane right now, and doesn't really establish its own musical identity, especially alongside some of the others here.  I don't hit the skip button or anything, but I also don't find this song getting stuck in my head like "Bleed My Soul" or "With A Smile".

For people who loved this band's sound on earlier tracks like ""We Did Nothing Wrong" or "Save Me", there is plenty to love about this newest effort.  For those who were looking for a bit more from an obviously talented band, Waiting Out The Storm will not disappoint you, either.  If you are looking for nothing but glam or sleaze, you are likely not going to be a fan of Royal Bliss, but if you are willing to expand your hard rock vocabulary to include some of the best modern rock available, check these guys out before the vast majority of the bands you hear on the radio today.

Rating:  Crank this to a 9.5 and prepare to be instantly hooked by "Bleed My Soul", "Crazy", and "With A Smile", among others.

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Thursday, March 1, 2012

JACK RUSSELL "For You"




(c)2002 Knight Records, Inc.

  1. Any Kinda Love
  2. Whatever It Takes
  3. Always
  4. Don't Know Why
  5. For You
  6. The Best Is Yet To Come
  7. Where The Wind Don't Blow
  8. Paradise
  9. No Time Left
  10. If Not For Love
  11. My Everything
Jack Russell--Lead & Backing Vocals
Bob Kulick--Guitars
Tony Levin--Bass
Billy Sherwood--Bass (Tracks 4 & 10), Backing Vocals
Vinnie Colaiuta--Drums
Michael Sherwood--Keyboards & String Arrangement

Jack Russell's second solo record away from Great White is a pretty stark departure in style from what fans have come to expect from the powerhouse vocalist.  The music on this disc is considerably more pop-oriented than just about anything Great White has done, and also far more pop-laden that Jack's first solo effort.  The possible exception would be some of the more mellow, smoother stuff on Sail Away or maybe the band's latest effort, Rising, although both of those albums at least retain some of the bluesy grit that became the band's post "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" sound.

If I had to categorize the music on this album, or throw out a name to compare with, I would have to say the recent, poppier Santana style would be close.  The guitars, played on this effort by Bob Kulick, are very smooth and distortion-free.  The solos, while present, are unspectacular and incredibly laid back, so that doesn't really fit the Santana comparison, I guess.

Jack's vocals are still very powerful and smooth, but the songs themselves are generally unspectacular.  "Any Kind Of Love" is a decent up-tempo number, and "The Best Is Yet To Come" holds its own fairly well, also.  The ballads, as might be expected, are pretty good, but again, don't hold the power or appeal of anything Great White has done, although "For You", the only single released from the album, does lend itself to repeated listens.  Other than this handful of songs, however, you get the feeling Jack was trying to be a bit more pop-oriented, maybe even adult-contemporary in places, and leaves most of his rocking side behind.  This is a shame as much of the material comes across as filler fluff as a result.

As with his previous solo effort, For You is long out of print from the tiny Knight Records label and is very hard to come by.  Again, this disc can easily fetch $30-$50, but I can honestly say that the collector in me sought this record out and not the music fan, because this is not what I would normally invest that kind of money in.  In fact, I DIDN'T invest that kind of money in it; I got it in a trade.  If you can find it cheap, go ahead and snag it for it's collector's value and to maybe spin once in a while.  There is also a CD-single out there for the title track for those collectors who, like me, are inclined to pick up such items.  Again, the single is incredibly rare, as I think it was only released as a radio promo item.

I realize there is not a lot said in this review, with less detail than I tend to give sometimes, but in all honesty, there is just not a lot more to say about this effort.  It has the feel of a singer who tried to change his style a bit but didn't really succeed in improving his sound or reflecting the successes he already had.  Not terrible, but not great, either...more bland than anything, really, which is a lot coming from a Great White fan of my caliber.

Rating:  Despite being a huge fan of Jack and Great White, I can't recommend doing anything more than rocking this at 5.5.

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JACK RUSSELL "Shelter Me"





(c)1996 Victor Entertaimnment Japan

  1. Shelter Me
  2. Take My Pain
  3. Leave Me Lonely
  4. Long Way To Go
  5. Hey Bulldog
  6. You'll Lose A Good Thing
  7. 24/7
  8. The Fault's All Mine
  9. Roll With The Tide
  10. Faith In You
  11. Save Your Love
  12. Shine On
  13. When I Look Into Your Eyes
Jack Russell--Lead & Backing Vocals
Matthew Johnson--Lead Guitar & Backing Vocals
Michael Lardie--Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Harmonica, Banjo
Tim Bogert--Bass
Myron Grombacher--Drums

With the recent drama surrounding Great White, I thought now might be a good time to pull out Jack's solo material for a review in case folks want to hear some different music that at least sounds like Great White.  I'm sorry, but as possibly the biggest Great White fan you will ever meet, I can tell you that, no disrespect to Terry Illous, formerly of XYZ, Great White without Jack Russell is NOT Great White.  It is Jack's voice (and his songwriting) that makes this band for most people.  Granted, Mark Kendall's guitar is a huge part as well, but without Jack, I don't know how much interest I have in seeing Great White.  If I get the chance to see them live with Terry I will check them out and let you know...

Anyway...

Shelter Me is Jack's first solo album from 1996 when it seemed the band was pretty much at an end.  My copy is an import from Japan, which may be the only way to get it, since it is long out of print and rather difficult to find.  However, if you are a fan of Great White, I can honestly say it is well worth the effort to track it down.  This album is chock full of Great White-sounding songs including one remake "Save Your Love", and one that managed to be released as a Japanese bonus track on Can't Get There From Here ("Hey, Bulldog").  Add in Michael Lardie on rhythm guitar and keyboards, and it is actually pretty hard to separate this disc from any of the other solid, yet underappreciated, Great White discs of the 90's.  There really isn't much "hair" to the sound, just good, solid blues-based hard rock,

There are a couple of weaker tracks here, "The Fault's All Mine" comes to mind, but for the majority of the disc you get what you would expect from Jack...smokey ballads and foot-stomping rockers.  Among the best of the uptempo material is the previously mentioned, "Hey, Bulldog", "Shine On", "24/7", and the title track, "Shelter Me".  Of course, it is the blues-soaked ballads that Jack is best known for, and he doesn't disappoint here.  The semi-acoustic remake of "Save Your Love" is a nice surprise, as it is just Jack and a guitar (not even a drum on the track), which showcases Jack's powerful vocals all the more.  "When I Look In Your Eyes" is a bit more of a pop-styled ballad than most, but it is still solid and worth a listen.  "You'll Lose A Good Thing" is another smokey barroom ballad the likes of which Great White fans clamor for, especially at live shows.  In fact, that is one thing about Great White that I can say I have not really witnessed with other bands...the ballads garner as much, or more, attention as the rocking numbers do in concert.     

The packaging is full-fledged here, with complete lyrics included, both in English and Japanese, as is the norm with Japanese imports.  Of course, being the compulsive collector that I am, I had to make sure the Obi strip was included with this disc when I got it.

If you can find this disc, be prepared to pay in the range of $35-$50 most likely, which I know is pretty steep for the average listener.  However, if you are a fan of the band, the singer, or the style, there are not a lot of albums from this time frame that will satisfy your hunger for this type of music.  And if you are like me and just want some more solid Great White-esque material to enjoy, especially since it looks like the two touring versions of the band are not going to be settling their differences anytime soon, you could do a lot worse than finding this import effort.

Rating:  I may be biased, but I still say crank this to 8, especially if you are a fan of Great White discs like Let It Rock or Psycho City.

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