| Track by Track Review
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CD 1: Let It Roll (1979)
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Let It Roll
There is a cool blend of sounds on this album. I can hear some Nazareth along with Aerosmith and even some hints of the Rolling Stones here. The guitar solo section movies more toward the metal end of things. |
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Ain't No Way to Be
Classic rock and metal seem to merge on this track. The Nazareth references are valid here, but there is plenty more at play, too. |
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Only Love
This lands somewhere in between the previous two tracks. It's another solid tune, but not really a standout. |
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Gutter Boy
More melodic and mainstream rocking, this is a strong tune and a change from what has come before. |
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Kill the Pain
Coming in balladic, that Nazareth reference is really upfront here. The strings are a little over the top for my tastes, but this is an evocative and intriguing power-ballad type number. |
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Come a Day
I really dig the riff driven arrangement on this thing. The track is one of the stronger ones on this first CD of the set. This has echoes of a number of acts I mentioned before. This just works particularly well. It's packed full of drama and style. |
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Rock N Roll Again
This hard rocker leans toward metal. It love the bass work on the track, but everything about this stands really tall. It even turns toward progressive rock later. The guitar solo brings some real metal angles to bear. |
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Bad Sister
A more metal version of Nazareth would be a good label for this. The track has some particularly expressive and fiery guitar work. |
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What in the World
This is another solid rocker that is in keeping with the rest of the album. |
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Bonus Tracks: Live 1978
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Introduction
This is a purely spoken introduction to the show. It also introduces all members of the band. |
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Rock N Roll Again
They deliver a solid live performance of this rocker. |
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Bad Sister
They deliver more strong live rock on this one. |
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What in the World
No surprises here, this is another well recorded and well performed song from the album. |
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Gutter Boy
You get the idea of what this is based on what the rest of these have been. |
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Kill the Pain
I actually like this better than the studio version. It's so strong. Somehow the track really comes to life (pardon the pun) here. This is one of the standouts from this first disc. |
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Only Love
This powerhouse works well in this live performance. It doesn't stand as tall as the song that preceded it, though. That's more about the strength of that one, though. |
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Let It Roll
A riff-driven rocker, the live performance of this one is particularly strong. |
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Ending
This is a spoken summary of the show from a DJ. |
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CD 2: Round Two - The Lost Demos (1979)
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Down to Tears
While this is a demo, it's a very pro-sounding demo. The music is pretty rudimentary, but it has plenty of style. It feels like it fits well with the stuff we heard on the first CD. This does lean toward the metal side of the equation at times. |
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TKO
Now, this one still has a lot of that rock and roll edge to it, but it's also a lot more metallic. In fact, I have no problem calling this one metal. It's a real powerhouse, too. The sound on this is great, too. |
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In for the Kill
While the recording on this is a little rougher, it's still very good for a demo. This seems to merge a metallic edge with more of those Nazareth type sounds. |
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Don't Say No
Driving rocking sounds with some punky edges and metal angles make up this track. It's another potent tune. The closing jam on this is on fire, but it does suffer a little bit from recording issues. |
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My Memory
The intriguing opening of this is cool, despite some recording issues. This has more of a mainstream pop rock sound in a lot of ways. |
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Mario
More metallic, this has some scorching hot guitar work. There is also some killer bass guitar playing on the number. It's fierce and furious. The Nazareth thing is in place again. Then again, it's really never gone. I can make out some Thin Lizzy on this number, too. |
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Gonna Get Out of Here
This hard rocker works well here. It's no big surprise, but just another effective demo track. |
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Not a Kid No More
This is much more metal oriented. It's got some killer jamming and is pretty intense. |
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Survive
Not a big change, this manages to stand out because it's particularly dramatic. |
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Point of View
High energy and raw, this has some punky angles. |
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Better Let Me Know
This really sounds a lot like Nazareth to me. |
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Weekend (Previously Unreleased)
I dig the riffing on this rocker a lot. It's not any kind of big surprise, but it works well. |
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End of the Line (Live in Detroit)
More metallic and raw, this is driving and tasty. It is a powerhouse. |
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I Wanna Fight (Live 1985)
Here we get another hard-edged rocker. It is no big change, but it works well. |
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CD 3: In Your Face (1984)
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I Wanna Fight
With some motorcycle sounds heard early, this is more pure metal. It has some solid riff-driven rock in the mix and anthemic hooks. |
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Run Out of Town
Here we get more driving rock with metal angles. |
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Give Into the Night
Metal with a punky edge is on the menu here. This has some of that Nazareth angle. It screams out with style and power. This thing really rocks. It's one of my favorite pieces on the set, really. A large part of that comes from the scorching guitar, but that's only part of it. This is just a screamer. |
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End of the Line
Driving and fierce, this makes me think of what you might get if you merged Nazareth with Motörhead. It's fiery heavy metal. |
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Working Girl
This is another driving metal stomper. It's not a big change, but it works well. |
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All I Want to Do'
Here we're back into more of that Nazareth kind of thing. This is more of a straight-ahead rocker. It has some particularly melodic movements built into it. There are some intriguing shifts on this thing that take it into almost proggy territory. |
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Don't Give It Away
The metal and Nazareth like rock meld in this high energy powerhouse tune. |
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I Can Do Without You
This comes in mellower as a picked ballad-type tune for the first vocals. It gets more power added to the mix as it continues, making this more of a power-ballad. It still has plenty of that Nazareth thing at play. It's also got a healthy helping of metal crunch built into it. |
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So This Is Rock N Roll
The blend of Nazareth rock and heavy metal on this screamer is great. This thing isn't any kind of big change. It just works particularly well. |
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Danger City
Screaming hot metal is on the menu here. This is driving and so cool. The sounds of what might be a diner are heard at the end. That eventually gives way to some trippy electronic effects to end the album. |
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Bonus Tracks (2001 Remixes)
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I Wanna Fight
This recording feels a little less punchy to me. The metal vibes seem less pronounced somehow. I prefer the other version of the tune. |
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Run Out of Town
I really don't like this mix as well as the other one. It seems to lean into the hard rock side more. I think it loses something in the process. |
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Give Into the Night
Now, this thing works really well here. I'm not sure that it's a huge difference from the other version, or that I like one over the other, but this just stomps. |
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End of the Line
This is another remix that doesn't feel all that different to me. |
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Working Girl
Now, this somehow works better for me in this mix. It's another powerhouse rocker. |
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All I Want to Do
I don't hear a lot of difference on this one. That said, there are some melodic overtones at times that I don't remember hearing on the other mix. |
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Don't Give It Away
This powerhouse rocks in this remixed version. I don't hear a lot of difference, really. |
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I Can Do Without You
The mix on this focuses more on the hard rocking side of things. This is more metal than the other version. While I like the change, I think I prefer the other take. This doesn't feel quite as rich. |
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So This Is Rock N Roll
This feels a little more direct and raw. I'm not sure which mix I prefer. |
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Danger City
If anything this feels more "in your face" than the other version did. I think this might be an improvement. Given how much I liked the other one, that says a lot. |
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CD 4: Below the Belt (1986)
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Beware the Hunter
We're back into very Nazareth like territory here. This rocker is classy. |
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With My Back to the Wall
Now, this crosses more into the metal zone. It still has plenty of that Nazareth kind of thing at play, too. |
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Below the Belt
The title track isn't a huge change. It has a lot of the same mix of sounds as the last one did. That said, when it's this good, that's not a complaint. |
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Can't Let Go
The guitar solo section on this absolutely soars. The cut is a powerhouse hard rocker with plenty of metal and arena rock in the mix. |
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Chains Don't Change
More of a hair metal sound is on the menu here. This is all class. It has more of that Nazareth rocking sound, too. |
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Rock N Roll Remains
This comes in with an acapella section with crowd noise behind it. The crowd sounds remain as a guitar takes over. As this launches out into song proper, and the rest of the instruments join, those sounds drop away. This is a riff-driven hard rocker with hints of metal in the mix. This screamer has some really scorching guitar work. |
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Seventeen
The Nazareth thing is all over this power-ballad. This is dramatic and powerful. It's also a highlight for me. I can hear some hints of UFO on this, too. |
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Doin Time
A less intense rocker, this isn't quite a ballad. It's more of a blues rock song that again calls to mind the Nazareth school of sound. There is a drop back section with a bluesy, mostly spoken vocal section that's a nice touch. |
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Fallin to Pieces
Driving metal is on the menu here. This thing is fierce. It's also high energy. The jam mid-track sees the vocals delivered as if from a distance. |
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Sticks N Stones
Slower and more melodic, this does feel like a power metal power ballad. It's dramatic and strong. I love the expressive guitar soloing on this, and the whole song is superb and sublime. |
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One of the Boys
This lands more along the lines of a 1970s styled hard rocker. It's got a lot of style and charm. It also has some really intriguing guitar work. |
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Suicide Squad (Ex-TKO Project) Live It While You Can EP
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Bad Boy Blues
Gritty, hard rocking music is on the menu here. This has a lot of that 1970s blues rock sound at its core. |
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Can't Use Ya
Now this has more metal in the mix. It's a hard rocking tune that works really well. It has some killer guitar sound, and the whole thing just oozes slower cool. |
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Live It While You Can
I love the metal riffing and guitar sound on this powerhouse tune. This just feels meaner than a lot of the rest here. It's one of the highlights of the whole set for me. |
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No Solution
Even meaner, this is pure metal. I can still hear some Nazareth and UFO in the mix, but the guitar sound really tips the scale in favor of metal. |
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CD 5: In Your Farce (Early Mixes)
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Working Girl
Pure mean, driving metal, this is raw. The recording leaves something to be desired, but the track manages to stand tall despite it. |
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Give Into the Night
The metal grind that gets this underway is on fire. The whole song has a lot of power and meat on its bones. Again, the recording leaves something to be desired, but it almost adds to the raw texture of the song. |
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So This Is Rock N Roll
This is less metal and more hard driving rock. It's also a fun stomper that seems to have somewhat better sound. I really love the guitar pyrotechnics on this thing. |
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End of the Line
There is a real driving grind to this thing. It's fierce and metallic. The slight roughness of the recording plays into this song, really. |
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All I Wanna Do
Nazareth meets metal on this powerhouse. |
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Run Outta Town
This is raw, screaming hot metal with a rock and roll vibe. |
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Without You
More of a power ballad, this leans in on the Nazareth kind of sound. It has some raw edges and a lot of oomph later. |
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Danger City
This is another powerhouse metal song with a lot of raw edges. |
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Kingdom Come (Basement Version)
Here we get a powerhouse metal stomper. |
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End of the Line (Basement Version)
Driving, fierce and raw, the recording doesn't do any favors to this. That said, it's not bad enough to completely destroy the song. The guitar soloing is absolutely on fire. |
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Bad Brad's Blues (Basement Version)
This blues features a guitar and vocal without accompaniment first section. The other instruments join after a time. This is a raunch and roll meets traditional electric blues stomper. You can definitely hear an audience on this recording. The sound quality isn't bad here. |
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Bonus Track:
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All I Want to Do (Live)
This earns a parental advisory. This live tune features a lot of stage banter and crowd interaction. In fact, that's the bulk of the track. I think it was probably fun for those there, but loses something on a CD. To me, it's tedious and, at over 21 minutes, way too long. I think I might have gotten bored even if I'd been in the audience. That says, there is some cool guitar work on the track. |
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