Tag: keel

This is album number four from Keel, released back in ’87 and the transformation to a hair band is all complete. The sound was lot more raw and aggressive with the Steeler album and the first Keel album Lay Down The Law, and I guess they wanted to appeal more to the MTV generation hence the more polished sound and radio friendly material.

In fact, the songs here are bordering on pop at times, especially Cherry Lane and Calm Before The Storm. The hard rockin’ chest beating anthems are in short supply on this record with King Of The Rock and my favourite 4th July – the only ones to get you enthused. The Michael Wagener production is quite weak and all the balls has been removed.

I guess Gene Simmons didn’t do a bad job for these anyway.

6/10 from The Grooveman.

This is album number three for the band that everyone loved to hate and it was also the highest charting album Keel had, peaking at #53. Again, this album was produced by Gene Simmons giving it that Kiss sound. I think the main reason that the hate comes their way is for the vocals of Mr. Keel himself, as they are not that great and very similar in each track.

Musically, they have their moments mainly due to the Marc Ferrari songs. Rock N’ Roll Animal sounds huge and I love the guitar sound, and even the vocal harmonies are cool. Raised On Rock was a single from the album and is a mildly entertaining chest thumper. The best song on the album is the only uptempo rocker on the record and the last track, No Pain No Gain. Great riff and groove and there definitely should have been more of these on the album.

6.5/10 from The Grooveman.

This is the band’s second album, released in ’85. It was affectionately called “The Right To Cheese”, as a lot of rockers thought it is a tad on the cheesy side and aimed at younger fans. Nevertheless, they found their niche and they milked it for everything under the guidance of Gene Simmons who produced this album.

Every song is a big, anthem, hands-in-the-air style rocker – very reminiscent of tracks that Gene came up with for Kiss. The only track that steps out of that format is Speed Demon and You’re The Victim I’m The Crime, which is my favourite on the album, and both groove along at a fair pace. Mark Ferrari is a decent player and he rips it where he can.

7/10 from The Grooveman.