Tag: keel

So, after Steeler went their separate ways it wasn’t long after that Keel was born. This is their debut album and was released in ’84 on Shrapnel Records. After this, they signed a major label contract with Vertigo and put out The Right To Rock which contained three songs from this release. They were Speed Demon, Tonight You’re Mine, and the Stones’ cover Let’s Spend The Night Together.

Anthems are Ron’s forte and that’s what made his name. Lay Down The Law, Born Ready, Metal Generation, and my favourite Speed Demon are this record’s anthem contributions. I do like a double guitar assault and Brian Jay and Marc Ferrari complement each other really well.

It’s not the best Keel album, it is quite raw sounding but for a debut, it rocks.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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.