This is somewhat a forgotten album in TNT’s catalogue. It came out three years after Intuition, which they had great success with in the US. However, in those three years between ’89-92 the great grunge unpleasantness had exploded and taken over the rock scene, making classy rock bands like TNT surplus to requirements.
I’m a huge fan of Ronnie Le Tekro on the guitar and Tony Harnell possesses one of the best voices in rock, so these guys tick all the boxes for me when they all click together. I actually prefer this record to Intuition as they reeled in the more AOR elements and added more crunch to the melody.
Downhill Racer opens up the album and it’s a an absolute belter of a tune. Killer riff and groove, and Harnell gives it the beans. Hard To Say Goodbye follows and again, the quality is high. Melodic rock heaven for sure. Mother Warned Me is a straight up and down four to the floor groover with a hook and chorus that sticks in your brain. Lionheart is a trip to ballad town and you may know if you have read a few of these reviews that the ballad is not my favourite type of tune, although the solo in this is quite cool. Rain closes out Side 1 and this song could have been on Intuition as the vibe and sound are so similar.
My favourite tune on the album is Purple Mountains Majesty. Harnell sings this one on full power. Mix that with a great riff, ripping guitar, and driving groove; it’s a total beast of a song. Rock ‘N Roll Away is what I call a typical TNT song. It has all their signature elements: Ronni’s trademark tone and riffing, and Harnell doing only what he can do. Easy Street is the band taking a left turn slightly to doing an almost vaudeville song. All You Need sees the band going full groove with the funky riff and beat. We close out the album with Indian Summer, a killer uptempo groover.
This has just been reissued by Music On Vinyl and sounds great, so if you see one around, pick one up.
8.5/10 from The Grooveman.
