I’ve been obsessed with this album ever since I heard “Baby’s So Cool” a few months ago and I just cannot wait to introduce it to people who have no idea of this treasure right here. After familiarizing myself with what feels like a million and one late’80s/early-90s hard rock bands, sharing tons of similarities in image and sound, digging up an album that will make me say “Hold on a damn minute, there’s something here!!” became a formidable task. However, every now and then a band with a release like this one comes in and transforms my music library into an even more colorful and electrifying experience.
I will just leave this here before I move on…
A few things you gotta know about the band and this album before I let the music speak for itself!
Baton Rouge formed in Louisiana (hence the name) but just like any other rock band with big dreams, moved to Las Angeles in the late-80s, looking for that desired big break. They did manage to hop in the last hard rock train before the grunge scene totally occupied the industry and released a smashing debut album, titled “Shake Your Soul” (via Atlantic Records.)
The story is well-known – the spark faded away and during those transitional periods in music industry, only the toughest and more experienced artists managed to survive. Baton Rouge weren’t exactly one of those. Two albums and a long-overdue junior (demo) album were the products of their career. I must say, I have yet to befriend the sophomore album but the debut – “Shake Your Soul” blew me away so I have high hopes.
One of the most interesting things surrounding Baton Rouge is that all of its members spread their wings and went on to collaborate with some of the biggest names in the industry, including John Norum, John Sykes, Dokken, etc. or formed their own bands. For example, the impeccable vocals of Kelly Keeling brought richness to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and guitarist Lance Bulen was being a very busy man, forming one band after another with members of XYZ, White Lion and many others.
Let’s go back to the debut album (sorry about that I just get so much into the background stories of the rock bands. The songs I want you to definitely check out (in addition the that first one I knocked your socks with at the beginning of this publication) are “Doctor”, “Walks Like a Woman” and of course the POWER BALLADS “It’s About Time” and “There Was A Time (The Storm)”. If those songs don’t conquer you, don’t talk to me at all! That’s not the end of it though. “Shake Your Soul” is an excellent selection of underrated gems and when I say underrated I don’t mean XYZ or Hardline level of underrated – I mean one level below that!!! Absolutely unforgivable!! “Big Trouble” and “Young Hearts” are as ear-pleasing as you can imagine.
Don’t get me wrong – this is not an innovative, out-of-this-world piece of music. But it’s refreshing, different and it just STANDS OUT!! Your choice to believe me or not.
Last but not least, I want to bow down to vocalist Kelly Keeling for capturing my heart and filling it with so many emotions! You just don’t get to listen to a vocalist like that every day.
So many rock albums are on my list of “favorite rock debuts of all time”, I don’t even know where to begin with – from Def Leppard’s “On through the Night” to Bad Company’s self-titled debut, from ASIA to Rainbow, the list goes on and on. One of those albums is the album I will be focusing on throughout this publication – the 1990 coming out party of the American glam rocker, FireHouse. Intrigued by the gorgeous power-ballad, “Love of a Lifetime”, I followed its footsteps back to this record where I found out that there was indeed a reason why it was certified double platinum. The album showcases so much talent, effort and what’s so fascinating is that it somehow managed to make a statement during a transitional, rather shaky period in the music world. The time for a debut wasn’t that suitable because grunge basically took over and media, along with fans, just stopped caring about glam rock. Still, what’s good is good and I am sure many people, just like me, appreciate FireHouse and this marvelous album, full of explosive melodic-rockers.
Vocalist C. J. Snare, guitarist Bill Leverty, drummer Michael Foster, and bassist Perry Richardson caught the last wave of the glam rock era with a firm grab. What they did with that first release not only got them prestigious awards, including Best Newcomer in the States, but also launched their international success in many countries, including Canada and Japan. FireHouse is yet another band to brag with its supportive fandom and strong presence in the Japanese market and this first album has a lot to do with it.
What followed was indeed pure fire! “Hold Your Fire” was released in 1992 and though it couldn’t compete with the debut one in terms of sales, it still left a mark of its own. “When I Look Into Your Eyes”, “Hold Your Fire”, “Reach for the Sky” – all immensely successful hit singles and fan favorites. This right here is a perfect example of a worthy sophomore effort – an album that delivered what the fans expected after the first one. Unfortunately, those were the last good albums we got before grunge hit the music scene and kicked hard rock out of the picture. Nevertheless, I am still here, along with many other fans, who love and haven’t forgotten about bands such as FireHouse! Cheers!
MY ROCK MIXTAPES 