Saxon desperately tries to rub shoulders with the overproduced hair metal of the day ... and honestly, the quality of this album is a slight improvement over the last one, which is a real stinker. But the improvement is more in the production-department. Obviously they are being pushed into this by the record company and paired with a producer who can twist them into "what the youth want nowadays".
I got a strong sense of hearing Journey at the start of "Rockin' Again". Had to check up on where I had herd that keyb sound before. It is "Happy To Give" on Journey's album "Raised On Radio". I doubt though, that Journey or their producer was spending any time on listening to generic Saxon albums for inspiration. Guess it is just one of those 80's "tricks" that was infecting studios back then (I do love the Journey track btw.).
Regarding the cover design ... there was a tendency at this point for MOR heavy bands to go a little off the main road and use more "normal" styles of designs, this one reminding me a lot of UFO's "Misdemeanor", to appeal to a broader audience - Bon Jovi style or something.
It seems they try to go for some mix between Def Leppard and add a bit of pretence of grittiness a la "The Cult". I wont say they don't succeed in using these kinds of styles, but I am left kind of empty after listening to it. knowing it is Saxon and not these other bands, who are far superior to this second rate copycat, it does not work for me. This is a far cry from the old Saxon ... from just a few years back.
They manage to not stink completely and I guess just keep the boat floating, until the next album.
1 "Rockin' Again"
- "Call of the Wild"
- "Back on the Streets"
- "Devil Rides Out"
- "Rock 'n' Roll Gypsy"
- "Broken Heroes"
- "Gonna Shout"
- "Everybody Up"
- "Raise Some Hell"
10."Give It Everything You've Got"