the new Cherry Red Records / Hear No Evil 4-CD Box Set “Rock Justice : The Complete Recordings 1983-1986” compiling all ALCATRAZZ 80s albums plus 22 bonus tracks.
At Cherry Red website your can read the following message: **PLEASE NOTE THIS TITLE HAS BEEN TAKEN OFF SALE PENDING DELAYS AT MANUFACTURING**. However, some stores had copies already, and we have it here for your in Exclusive.
While Alcatrazz albums have been already reissued & remastered, this HNE box sound quality is far superior, you have Alcatrazz’s all three 1980s studio albums in one place with never before heard bonus tracks, plus a CD of rare & unreleased material, and mixes handled by keyboardist Jimmy Waldo.
When others promise what they don’t have, plotn08 delivers…
Singer Graham Bonnet had already enjoyed a long career that included The Marbles, Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, the Michael Schenker Group plus a number of solo albums, when Alcatrazz came together in 1983.
Formed by Bonnet, former New England and Warrior members Jimmy Waldo on keyboards and Gary Shea on bass, and with a line-up completed by Jan Uvena on drums, ‘No Parole From Rock ‘N’ Roll’ (CD1) is notable for the first mainstream success of Swedish lead guitarist Yngwie J. Malmsteen, having previously appeared on the eponymous LP by LA rockers Steeler.
Then only 20 years old, Malmsteen and Bonnet created a strong musical partnership and writing team, particularly on the singles ‘Island In The Sun’ and ‘Hiroshima Mon Amour’, both of which received heavy rotation on MTV in the States and gaining them huge acclaim as far afield as Japan.
When Yngwie left in 1984 to pursue a successful career fronting Yngwie J Malmsteen’s Rising Force, Alcatrazz had not only lost a key songwriter, but also a musician who would turn out to be one of the most influential guitarists of the decade.
Although relatively unknown at the time, it was a stroke of genius when Yngwie was replaced by former Frank Zappa guitarist Steve Vai for ‘Disturbing The Peace’ (CD2). Released in 1985, it was led by the single and MTV favourite ‘God Blessed Video’.
Here, the album is augmented with 5 bonus tracks.
Vai left to join David Lee Roth for 1986’s ‘Eat ’Em And Smile’, to be replaced by guitarist Danny Johnson for 1986’s ‘Dangerous Games’ (CD4). Among the originals included on the album was a cover of The Animals’ ‘It’s My Life’, as well as a re-working of ‘Only One Woman’, a song written by The Bee Gees that had been a hit for Graham’s pop duo The Marbles way back in 1968.
With this remaster you can appreciate Danny Johnson’s brighter guitar tones better than never before.
This comprehensive collection is completed with ‘Capitol Crimes – The Unreleased Sessions (1985-1986)’ (CD4), a new collection of rare and unreleased tracks recently unearthed from the vaults.
There’s a new mastering of the unreleased song ‘Emotion (Demo 1985)’ and demos from 1986 with a very sound quality.
Then the unreleased tracks remixed by Jimmy Waldo in 2020 really shine a light on the potential a fourth Alcatrazz LP would have had, circa 1987. The midtempo ‘Set Me Free’ shows off a great blend of guitar and keys, furthering the AOR sounds of ‘Dangerous Games’ and gives Graham a huge chorus to work with, whilst a strong melody lurking beneath the main riff and vocal allows for some solid bass work. An even more melodic and a busy, chopping groove throws Alcatrazz even further into an 80s sound, and overall, its the kind of track that makes the band really shine.
The same goes for ‘Rider’, a track with a great combo of blanket keys and soaring vocals that come together on a chorus that sounds like a welcome throwback to ‘Abominog’ era Uriah Heep.
Despite the 2017 Frontiers Music release ‘Parole Denied’ included demos of tracks bearing the same names, these tapes absolutely aren’t the same ones, and it’s great to hear a couple of things that sound halfway finished, as opposed to Alcatrazz bashing through them in a rehearsal space.
‘A Love Like Yours’, another leftover from 1986 remixed by Waldo, sounds as good as ‘Set Me Free’ from an audio perspective. Jimmy honks on some keys with a strange oriental bent – presumably to please their Japanese fans, whom at this point were the last majorly interested market – and there’s an AOR chorus very mid-80s.
A cover of ‘When A Man Loves A Woman’, meanwhile, will offer no surprises. Bonnet wails his way through the old classic in a way that makes his version of ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’ seem like genuine winner.
All three of these Alcatrazz albums are worth owning if you don’t already, and this box provides a convenient way of getting all of the Bonnet era essentials in one package, plus bonuses. ‘No Parole From Rock N’ Roll’ and ‘Disturbing The Peace’ worth the price alone – and ‘Dangerous Games’ shares some smart AOR, while the bonus are good and fun.
HIGHLY Recommended
CD1 No Parole From Rock N’ Roll (1983) +1
01 – Island In The Sun
02 – General Hospital
03 – Jet To Jet
04 – Hiroshima Mon Amour
05 – Kree Nakoorie
06 – Incubus
07 – Too Young To Die, Too Drunk To Live
08 – Big Foot
09 – Starcarr Lane
10 – Suffer Me
11 – Promo interview (Bonus Track)
CD2 Disturbing The Peace (1985) +5
01 – God Blessed Video
02 – Mercy
03 – Will You be Home Tonight
04 – Wire And Wood
05 – Desert Diamond
06 – Stripper
07 – Painted Lover
08 – Lighter Shade Of Green
09 – Sons & Lovers
10 – Skyfire
11 – Breaking The Heart Of The City
12 – Emotion Demo (Original Vocal) (Bonus Track)
13 – PSA Against Drunk Driving (Bonus Track)
14 – Lowengrin (Instrumental) (Bonus Track)
15 – Run Into The Sun (Instrumental) (Bonus Track)
16 – Rehearsal 1984 (Bonus Track)
CD3 Dangerous Games (1986) +6
01 – It’s My Life
02 – Undercover
03 – That Aint Nothin’
04 – No Imagination
05 – Ohayo Tokyo
06 – Dangerous Games
07 – Blue Boar
08 – Only One Woman
09 – The Witchwood
10 – Double Man
11 – Night Of The Shooting Star
12 – No Imagination (Jimmy Waldo Mix 2020) (Bonus Track)
13 – Dangerous Games (Partial Vocal) (Bonus Track)
14 – Let Me Go (Danny Johnson Scratch Vocal) (Bonus Track)
15 – Lonely Rider (Bonus Track)
16 – Set Me Free (Instrumental) (Bonus Track)
17 – Stand By Me (Instrumental) (Bonus Track)
18 – Jimmy & Danny writing session (Bonus Track)
CD4 Capitol Crimes – The Unreleased Sessions 1985-1986
01 – Emotion (Demo 1985 – New Master)
02 – A Love Like Yours (Jimmy Waldo Mix 2020)
03 – When A Man Loves A Woman (Jimmy Waldo Mix 2020)
04 – Set Me Free (Jimmy Waldo Mix 2020)
05 – Rider (Jimmy Waldo Mix 2020)
06 – Losing You Is Winning (Demo 1986)
07 – Please Call Me (Demo 1986)
08 – Blue Boar (Demo 1986)
09 – Ohayo Tokyo (Demo 1986)
10 – No Imagination (Demo 1986)
Graham Bonnet – vocals, backing vocals
Yngwie Malmsteen – guitars
Steve Vai – guitars, backing vocals
Danny Johnson – guitars, backing vocals
Gary Shea – bass
Jimmy Waldo – keyboards, backing vocals
Jan Uvena – drums, percussion, backing vocals