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Mama's Boys

Runaway Dreams: 1980-1992

Review by Gary Hill

Mama's Boys is an intriguing band. I always wanted to like them more than I did. I think that this set showed me just why that is. They had moments of absolute brilliance where they broke beyond expectations. Other times, though, they were pretty generic. They seemed to lack any kind of consistency. All that said, even their least successful stuff worked pretty well.

I remember back in the day being fascinated with a metal band using violin (or as they call it "fiddle). It's not such a stretch these days, but in the 80s, that was unheard of. Then I saw them live, opening for Ratt, and they were disappointing, for exactly the reasons I mentioned in the first paragraph.

Now, hearing such a wide sampling of their music makes me understand that they never seemed completely able to harness the things that made them unique. Instead, they appeared to be trying to find their place in the music scene, without fitting in exactly. This box set is well worth having. It showcases just why they were worth checking out, even if they sometimes fell short of greatness. I should say that I'm not sure they really fit under metal, but they come close and were lumped into that heading in the heyday.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2024  Volume 3 More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2024.

Track by Track Review
CD1: Official Bootleg (1980)
           
I'm Leaving Town

Raw and edgy, this is a solid metal stomper with some hints of punk rock.

Down and Out

This is more of a straight-ahead hard rocker. It's solid, too, but definitely has a demo vibe.

Belfast City Blues

Here we have a ballad. The sound quality on this one is definitely an issue, but it's a cool song nonetheless. It does get more rocking near the end and has some killer guitar soloing.

Highland Rock

Percussion gets us going here. This has some smoking hot hard rock at its heart as it drives out from there. They take it out to a rock take on traditional music near the end.

Record Machine

More of a metal vibe is on the menu here, but this still lands nearer to hard rock in some ways. It has some great riffing and the sound seems better on the tune.

Rock 'N' Roll Craze

Straight-ahead hard rock is on the menu here. This isn't all that special until it hits the first powerhouse instrumental section. That part is absolutely on fire. The second instrumental movement, though, really elevates and takes it into metal zones.

Summertime

Now, this is so interesting. The bass brings it in with a funky sort of vibe. Talk box jamming joins after a time. We get a wailing saxophone, too. This is a cover of the classic tune. This rendition has a real soulful vibe to it, and it's essentially an instrumental take with all the vocals delivered via talk box. This is so much fun.

Big Bad City
More of a driving, raw hard rocking tune, this is solid but not a standout. It has a little bit of a punky edge to it.
Without You

This mellower track has some jazzy elements at times. It's also got a blues ballad vibe. It turns to a metal treatment later. This has so much magic and style built into it. It's packed full of emotion and has some particularly tasteful guitar work. Electric violin takes over near the end, delivering some stuff that is right out of Jimmy Page's violin bow solo in the "Song Remains the Same" live performance. Then it works out to more pure metal from there as it continues. I absolutely love this piece of music.

Demon
Metal and bluesy rock merge on this powerhouse number. A violin solo really elevates this track. It's another winner.
CD2: Plug It In (1982)
      
In the Heat of the Night (Short Version)

The production on this feels a little flat, but the song is a driving metal stomper with plenty of class. It starts on drums and moves out from there with a lot of style.

Burnin' Up

Hard edged riff rock merges with metal on this screamer. It's driving tune that works really well.

Needle in the Groove

I really like this melodic groove. It is definitely a big change, but it has a lot of charm and style.

Reach for the Top

Furious metal is on the menu here. This is another powerhouse stomper.

Record Machine

Here we get another version of a song we heard on the last CD. I don't hear a big difference between the two performances.e.

Silence Is Out of Fashion

The riffing on this is stellar. This has a real metal vibe to it. It's a smoking hot tune that's among the best music on the set.

Straight Forward

This is another that occupies the shared territory between metal and hard rock. It's also another effective piece of music.

Runaway Dreams

Meaner metal is on the menu here. This is another standout cut. It has some great riffing and some powerhouse metal angles at play. The violin solo later in the track is on fire.

Getting Out

Here we get another powerhouse metal stomper. This has some scorching guitar soloing built into it.

Belfast City Blues

I like this version of the track much better. It's a stylish ballad-like piece that has some real blues at its heart.

Hard Headed Ways

The riff that opens this is mean and meaty.

In the Heat of the Night (Long Version)

A longer version of the track that opened this second disc, this is a powerhouse.

CD3: Turn It Up (1983)
                    
Midnight Promises

With catchy chorus hooks, this rocker works well. It's a metal tune, but lies on the pop rock end of that spectrum.

Loose Living

This is another fine merging of metal and hard rock sounds into something that is very effective. I really love the guitar solo on this. It's so tasty.

Too Little of You to Love

More of a pop rock song, this has some style, but not a lot of fury. It has its charms, but is not really what I'd consider a standout tune by any means.

Late Night Rendezvous

This has a great blend of metal and rock. It's another strong tune with some great hooks.

Crazy Daisy's House of Dreams

Another metal grind, this is a highlight. It has hooks, but it doesn't sacrifice meat to get them.

Face to Face

Mean riff-driven metal is on the menu here. It's another strong one.

Gentleman Rogues

This is a high energy metal stomper that works really well.

Lonely Soul

Here have a more melodic groove based rocker. There is some harmonica on the track, and the number has a definite blues angle. It's tasty, and so is the guitar solo.

Shake My Bones

I love the driving, meaty metal groove on this powerhouse.

Freedom Fighters

This is a killer track. In fact, it's one of the best of the whole set. It has a lot of drama and style. The violin work on it really elevates it, too. This is melodic metal of the highest form.

CD4: Relativity (1992)
                                                      
Judgement Day

Dramatic atmospheric stuff opens this. A cool mellower, melodic groove joins after a time. There is a moody, almost Pink Floyd like vibe to the first vocal part of this. The track rocks out with some metal ferocity after that. This is quite the blues rocker meets metal jam.

What You See Is What You Get

Here we get another blues rocking tune. This is very classy. It has some cool slide guitar built into it.

Laugh About It

More classy riff driven rock is on the menu here. This has more pop rock built into it, along with more metal. Saxophone comes in later, and this really gets into more of a standard pop rock vein as it does.

Don't Look Back in Anger

This comes in with a very balladic vibe. There is a real soulful groove to it. Electric guitar fires in later, but more as icing on the cake. This is sort of a power ballad kind of thing.

Left and Right

More of a metal rocker, this has good energy and groove. It's a bit over-polished for my tastes, but the guitar work on it is really top-notch.

Rescue Me

Mainstream hard rock and metal merge here. This is another that works really well, but it is a little over-produced. It makes me think of the more rocking side of Foreigner to a large degree.

My Way Home

That "harder rocking Foreigner" thing is definitely in place here, too. This works pretty well. The production doesn't feel as heavy handed. Somehow it also makes me think just a little over the power-metal of WASP's Last Command album. The instrumental section is on fire and includes both violin and harmonica.

Don't Back Down

Not a big change, this is another that lands in the arena rock meets metal zone. It's a solid tune, though. It works really well and has some meat on the bones without a lot of over-production.

Left and Right

I dig the intricacies of this mellow instrumental. It seems to have a lot of fusion and even progressive rock built into it. It's very cool stuff.

Cardboard City

Violin features well in the arrangement on this ballad. It's a mellow and rather proggy number that works well. They take this into a full powerhouse metal stomp mode near the end.

Walk All Over Me

A cool metal riff gets us going here. Hard rock and metal merge on this number. There is some killer guitar soloing in place on this thing.

Fallin'

I dig the hard rocking angles on this thing a lot. The chorus is a little over-done and mainstream for me, but the song has plenty of meat on its bones.

Moorlough Shore

This instrumental features some great electric guitar soloing that is evocative and expressive. There are some keyboards, too. I wouldn't quite call this New Age music, but it's definitely on the mellower end of the spectrum.

Bonus Track

This is a live Celtic music exploration that is fun.

Bonus Tracks:
                  
Walk All Over Me (Live)

Here we get a live rendition of the track we heard in studio format earlier. It's stronger here, I think, but there isn't a big change.

Rescue Me (Live)

Another meaty live rocker, I dig this one quite a bit. The music definitely lives up to its potential better in live performance.

My Way Home (Live)
This killer cut also gets a great live rendition here.
Fallin' (Live)

I really love the mix of mellower and more rocking on this live rendition. This definitely stands taller than its studio counterpart.

The Beast (Live)

This is a drum solo. I'm not generally a fan of drum solos, but this one is bombastic and energized and works pretty well.

CD5: Singles, B-Sides and Rarities (1980-1992)
                      
Rollin' On

This rock and roller has a great garage band vibe to it. It's fun stuff. I like the guitar solo a lot.

Demon

There is a section of weird tape effects at the start of this. They launch out into a killer jam from there. The sound is indie and the cut rocks with some unique angles and sounds. It's so strong. It has a real NWOBHM sound to it in a lot of ways, but is overall more of a blues rocker with metal angles at play. The violin adds something special to it. As it solos there are some hints of Celtic music.

High Energy Weekend

Edgy hard rock with metal angles is the idea here. This is a good energetic rocker.

Hitch Hike

This instrumental piece features a drum solo sandwiched amidst some edgy guitar rock. The section of guitar based stuff at the end is positively on fire.

Belfast City Blues

I love this version of the blues rocker. It has so much class and style.

Telephone Teaser

Bluesy rocking, this has some pop rock in the mix along with some hints of jazz. This is a fun tune. Appropriately, there is a phone call fitting the title in the middle of the track.

Shake My Bones

A lot more on the metal side, this is an energetic powerhouse. It's a standout.

Demon

There is a definite NWOBHM vibe to this powerhouse stomper. This works well here, but it's probably not my favorite version of the track.

Too Little of You to Love

There is more of a mainstream pop rock thing on the menu here. The track still has some hard rocking angles to it, though. It's much more of a ballad.

Record Machine

I like the metal edge to this rocker. This powerhouse works really well in this format.

This Flight Tonight

I've always liked this song by pretty much anyone who has done it. This version is an acoustic take that has some hints of roots music. That puts it in stark contrast to Nazareth's take on it. I like this quite a bit, but I wish they had rocked it out a little more. While it does get a bit more rocking, there is almost a soulful groove to it when it does.

Time Warp (Instrumental)

A keyboard based jam, this has an 80s vibe and a bit of a fusion angle to it. It starts on the mellower side, but manages to rock out more as it continues.

Mama Weer All Crazee Now (Live)
This is a screaming hot, powerhouse cover of the classic Slade tune. They really do it justice.
 
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