I’m sure if you were a rock and metal fan living in the UK in the eighties, you were well aware of Music For Nations. They released some of the best albums of that period including albums by Metallica, W.A.S.P, and Manowar. However, toward the end of the eighties they did lots of licensing deals with obscure labels from the US. The product of one of those deals is this long forgotten gem by The Creek. They are from North Carolina and were originally called Sugarcreek but changed their name in ’86. Metal they are not, but they are a great melodic band. Emphasis on the melody and the musicality.
Storm The Gate is a great opening tune with a killer riff and rockin’ groove. Rock Me Tonight is firmly in Journey territory with the big hook and chorus. Foxy is pure LA big hair rock n’ roll with a cool riff and a great Friday night is party night vibe. Nice guitar sound on this one too. Girl Is Crying starts with the Van Halen “Your No Good” bass sound, and it’s my favourite track. It has a big hook and melody, and the solo is really good. I Love closes out Side 1 and it’s ballad #1.
Side 2 kicks off with Hanky Panky, an old cover that has been boogied up and it’s just pure cheese, but at least the solo is killer. Passion is up next and when acoustic guitars open up the song it usually means a ballad is not far away. That is part correct here, as the hook and chorus are really cool with a nice riff thrown in and a short killer solo. The Climb is a short acoustic instrumental interlude, which is quite cool. It segues into Fountain Of Youth, a cool uptempo groover with a choppy funky riff and a superb bass line. Bad Light is pure eighties-US-radio-pop music with its big rock chorus. On My Way closes out the record with an opening big keyboard intro that also feels very eighties-radio-friendly-pop-rock. Not a bad album at all.
8/10 from The Grooveman.
