Black 'N Blue was among the pioneers of Hard Rock/Glam metal! In 1984 Black N' Blue released their first and critical acclaimed album.
From their first album we got old demo versions of
Wicked Bitch and the ultimate Black N' Blue song
Hold on to 18. Both are a bit rawer, but even the demo for
Hold on to 18 could have been a huge hit. Lead singer Jamie St. James has a great tone and he was
Black 'N Blue's trump card along with lead guitarist Tommy Thayer.
We also get insight to Black N' Blues latest offering. The band has been working on the "Hell Yeah" record for several years. "Rarities" includes 3 songs from those sessions with St. James as the only original member playing on the demos.
The "new"
Black 'N Blue songs have a modern touch to it. Jamie St. James' voice sounds different since his vocal range are a lot sparser compared to the early 80's.
Serious Drag is a good song though and let's hope that 2008 sees the release of the new Black N' Blue record.
While it's interesting with a fresh take on the band - the true gems on "Rarities" are the old songs. Especially
Violent Kid from 1982, which often was played live but never released on any studio album.
Violent Kid is a killer energetic track driven by guitars from Tommy Thayer and Jeff Warner.
The Disc ends with 2 live tracks off the debut album
Autoblast and
I'm The King - both in a bootleg like sound quality.
"Rarities" is a great insight to
Black 'N Blue and a must for fans. It spans wide from the first demo tape to the latest offerings. The packaging from Metal Mind Records is amazing. It's a digipack edition limited to numerated 2000 copies and the old demos have been digitally remastered.
Written by
Michael Tuesday, June 3, 2008
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