I’m a huge fan of the first five Saxon albums, as they appealed to me more than Maiden did. Plenty of huge riffs and grooves, and they knew how to write a good melody. The album before this was a bit disappointing, and there were rumours that the record company were interfering big time with this album, as they wanted the band to appeal more to an American audience. In fact, the version that you hear here was not the original version, as the label wanted them to record it again. There is another presumably more metal version of this album somewhere.
The first thing your ears are subjected to is a synth intro to opener Rockin’ Again. It’s clearly aimed at US radio with a slick production and commercial sound. Call Of The Wild follows and it feels more like Saxon, albeit with that slick production. It’s not that this is a bad album (it’s not), it just sounds like Saxon-lite, if you will. Back On The Streets is a great pop rock track with a killer hook and chorus, and the record company agreed as it was the lead single. Devil Rides Out sounds like any LA band of the time, a decent enough Friday night stomper. Rock N’ Roll Gypsy was another single release, and I hate that big dustbin lid snare drum sound.
Broken Heroes opens up Side 2 and its power ballad time. The only ballad that I like by the band is on their first album, with Frozen Rainbow. Gonna Shout starts with a nice riff and there are some very recognizable Saxon chord patterns on this one. Everybody Up has a variation of THAT riff again, and is quite a generic track. Raise Some Hell is moving the tempo up from the rest of the album with Dobby playing the galloping bass line. Superb middle eight! Save the best till last they say and that’s what get here with my favourite track Give It Everything You’ve Got. The band are finally giving it the treatment and it’s the only track that could have appeared alongside any from the first five albums. Great tune.
As I’ve already mentioned, it’s Saxon lite. It’s not a bad album, it’s just that I love those first five so much.
8/10 from The Grooveman.
