Garbage Days Revisited #72: Keel - "Lay Down The Law" (1984)
Get link
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
"It takes you to the limit/Eats you up and cuts you to the bone/It's all I need to get to where I'm goin'...fast..." - Keel - Speed Demon
It's been a common theme for a lot of our GDR and SFTJ entries regarding hair metal or sleaze rock bands that sometimes big and dumb just works way better than trying to be clever. From AC/DC through Smashed Gladys, Zodiac Mindwarp and Cats In Boots all the way up to Broken Teeth and Buckcherry, sometimes three chords, a decent sledgehammer riff and a chantalong chorus just gets the job done like nothing else.
Keel, one of the earlier Sunset Strip bands, are another example of this...but sadly only for one album. But hell, WHAT an album - their debut Lay Down The Law is one of those records that's so gloriously stoopid that you would literally have to have a huge chunk of your brain removed not to "get" the message herein (let's rock out essentially). But even if just for this one brief moment, they properly captured that whole lightning in a bottle "drink a beer and shout the chorus until your lungs give out" ethos that sums up the best bands in this genre perfectly.
Keel were formed out of the ashes of Steeler, a very early Sunset Strip band, by frontman Ronnie Keel (hence the name). Steeler were there right at the beginning of the Sunset Strip years with the likes of Crue, Ratt, Hellion et al. Notably their line-up also included a young Yngwie Malmsteen and it's probably not a surprise that with two planet-sized egos jostling for space that their shelf life was limited - the band lasted just the one album before Malmsteen went off to join Alcatrazz with ex-Rainbow singer Graham Bonnet and bassist Rik Fox would move on to an early line-up of W.A.S.P. Leaving Ronnie, modest as ever, to form Keel.
The group would sign to Metal Blade with the early Keel line-up including future L.A. Guns drummer Steve Riley (who would split for W.A.S.P. almost as soon as the album was finished) and guitarist Marc Ferrari who would go on to be in the house band for Wayne's World. And with Lay Down The Law, they came up with a proto-sleaze metal classic. One part Kiss, one part Judas Priest, songs like the title track, Thunder And Lightning and the chantalong Metal Generation are about as subtle as a stampeding rhino but dammit, they work. Like Twisted Sister, it's OTT, daft as a brush and just very likeable. Best of all is the ode to dangerous driving Speed Demon with its chugging Maiden style riff and screeched vocals from Keel which make Axl sound like Barry White. They even manage to get away with an absolute bludgeoning of the Rolling Stones' Let's Spend The Night Together to finish the album with. Ignore the ill-advised power ballad Princess of Illusion and you've pretty much got a perfect no-brainer headbanger album right here.
Unfortunately it kind of worked too well. Lay Down The Law brought Keel to the attention of Gene Simmons who promptly became their manager, got them signed to a major and rushed them back into the studio for a follow-up, clearly before the band was ready. The net result, 1985's The Right To Rock, has the storming opening title track in its favour (another gleefully meatheaded chantalong which could have easily sat on the band's debut) but the rest consists of unnecessary re-recordings of tracks from Lay Down The Law with the rough edges smoothed off and a bunch of unremarkable newies co-penned by Simmons. Their third album, 1987's Final Frontier, had a cool front cover and a very ill-advised cover of Patti Smith's Because The Night as its lead-off single and...well, that was that really. The band began to fracture with members bailing out. Keel managed to stagger on to a fourth self-titled album (have to be honest, never heard it) and split soon afterwards.
Keel have reformed intermittently since with Ronnie also going on to form country rockers Iron Horse while the band were on hiatus but really, ignore the rest of their back catalogue and head straight for that debut album. It's a perfect getting ready soundtrack for nights out at the rock club and feeling the highway scream (should you be so inclined). Yup, they may well have completely flamed out quality wise soon afterwards but for that one brief glorious moment in 1984, Keel were arguably the hardest rocking band on the Sunset Strip and Lay Down The Law is all the proof you'll need.
"And though you are so far away, ten thousand miles of sorrow/This prison cannot, will not kill our blessed free tomorrow" - Jason & The Scorchers - Good Things Come To Those Who Wait Like a lot of Britrockers my age, it's probably Ginger Wildheart 's fault that I became a Jason & The Scorchers fan. They're a band who the G-man has never made any secret of his admiration for and the Wildhearts even covered the Scorchers classic White Lies as a B-side to Anthem many years ago. Most people who've heard them will happily tell you that the group's 1983 EP Fervor and their 1985 debut full length* Lost & Found are classics of the cowpunk genre, the perfect missing link between Johnny Cash and the Ramones and you can add me to that list as well. The follow-up, 1986's Still Standing though? Now that one seems to be a bit more divisive. And that's why it's the one we're covering here on Garbage Days Revisited... (* - well, sort
Best known as the frontman of Brit sleaze perennials Paradise Alley, this is the first solo album from Steve Vincent. I have to be honest, Steve's day job band are one of those who I've heard of but don't recall hearing anything by but the general signs here appeared to be promising with a guest list including the Wildhearts' Danny McCormack, ex-Dolls and current Mike Monroe guitarist Steve Conte and McCormack's old Main Grains bandmate (along with several others) Ben Marsden. The first thing to be aware of here though is that if you're expecting a Soho sleaze by numbers affair then you might just be in for a bit of a surprise. If anything, Recovered From My Past sails closer to the shores of power pop or the vintage strain of '80s Brit-glam (the Babysitters, Soho Roses, Torme, Marionette etc) with a healthy dash of early Hanoi Rocks in there as well. Certainly the harmonica honking likes of Yesterday's Man , Last Train To Babylon and Can't Bring
The Wannabes are the musical brainchild of Nottingham resident Wayne Zenith and from looking at the guy's Bandcamp page , I think it's fair to say he's a somewhat prolific feller with over 50 releases under various incarnations on there. Musically, as the title and artwork probably suggest, it's pretty straightforward Ramones style three-chord headbanger territory (including a competent cover of Rockaway Beach ) with a touch of the Cramps' gleefully sicko gorehound tendencies as songs with titles such as I Was There At The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Stuff Cindy In The Incinerator suggest. There's a few little tricks in there to ensure this doesn't fall into one trick pony territory though with the keyboards over the top actually adding a bit of a '60s Nuggets style feel to some of the songs especially opener Somehow which even has an extended piano-led break in the middle - brave move but it works. The more moody mid-paced Drag You Down (whic
Comments
Post a Comment