Salutations™!!
Last week’s review had some people a little testy. That’s okay, I’m not without the occasional scandalous controversy. But, hey, I did the review. More than I can say for Eugene and Jon. There, I said it. Movin’ on…
#43 – Two Minute Warning by The Angels (or Angel City).
Right away I will say that I definitely prefer the late Doc Neeson’s voice over that of Ian Gillian. Neeson’s is a wider-ranged voice that can have some gruff but mostly is smoother. Somewhat predictable but not run-of-the-mill. I like the overall production better than the last, too. The whole thing does have a bit of a lingering reverb that I wish wasn’t so prevalent, but that’s okay; it was 1984. I’m not here to compare it to the last album, that will be the end of that. This album was when the sleaze rock was starting to pick up and this fits that bill, but it is just straight hard rock, too.
The album doesn’t stop driving the whole 40+ minutes it runs. The guitar work of the Brewster brothers (John and Rick) is riffy and their tone certainly fits the mold of that early-to-mid-80s tone motif. Rick’s solos are bluesy and tasteful. Jim Hilbun’s bass work actually sounds like mine. He does have a bit of a low note thing going on that I can’t tell if he’s tuned down or if he’s using a 5-string. I think it was a little early for that kind of thing to be that common. But, there’s a lot of riffy bass things going on but it’s not showy as much as it’s filling. I dig it. Brent Eccles’s drumming is heavy, solid and also not too showy. He does what he should. He gets his fills and he does them tastefully, without being too much.
It was hard to find this so I had to rely on YouTube instead of my normal avenues. It’s little known as best I can tell. The band released the album under the name Angel City here in the states, but they’re best known as The Angels. I kept finding stuff for “My Boyfriend’s Back” and I figured that wasn’t it. Here in America, it was a girl group from the early 60s. Also, not to be confused with about seven other bands name Angel or The Angel or Angels or whatever. This is a good band that did a great job with this album. Do I think it stands out over some of its contemporaries? Probably not, but it was a good listen and I enjoyed it.
My favorite tunes are “Run For Shelter,” “Babylon/Walking to Babylon” and “Underground,” but the whole album is worth the listen. Thanks Eug for telling me about it and I hope to one day read this and the previous twenty albums’ reviews and we may one day hear Jon’s take.
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
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“You said it’s easy when you had the form. Whole life flashed before me, shut another door. Wait at the window, no plans today. Star on the rise, small price to pay.” – “Small Price” (Brewster/Eccles/Brewster)
