GREAT WHITE – Stick It [Axe Killer Records /Bad Reputation Records remastered +5 bonus] 1999, MP3+FLAC

One nice request here was the first full-length album by American hard rockers GREAT WHITE, in its remastered version by Axe Killer Records featuring 5 bonus tracks.

After an indie EP, Great White was signed by industry mover & shaker Alan Niven (whose distribution company, Greenworld, also issued Motley Crue’s first LP) and abandoning their original moniker Dante Fox, the newly rechristened Great White officially opened their bait & tackle shop for business with this eponymous 1984 debut on a major label.

Alternately named “Stick It” in a few foreign markets as this Axe Killer reissue – and graced with a sleazy band photo instead of the spare but classy, white-logo-on-black cover known to most fans – the album reworked 3 tracks from that independent EP, and for many this is their strongest record.

But this album shows a different Great White than the famous for its commercial tunes, displaying a more hard-driving metal sound as opposed to their later, blues-infused melodic rock sound.
‘Great White / Stick It’ still stands out from Great White’s remaining discography thanks to its gritty production (Michael Wagener) and straightforward songs, undiluted, as yet, by the group’s looming commercial aspirations.

The ‘Side A’ of this record is pure gold, highlighted by the menacing swagger of ‘On Your Knees’ and the killer ‘Stick It’, followed close behind by fast-driving opener “Out Of The Night’ and its magical early ’80s chorus (to me, influenced by Rainbow / Joe Lynn Turner era).
The cover of The Who / Pete Townshend’s is catchy and rockin’, and the album’s first half it’s rounded out by the more restrained but effective grooves of “Bad Boys”.

‘Side B’ includes the impressive ‘StreetKiller’ actually threatened to deliver a first taste of balladry before evolving into yet another menacing heavy rocker, followed by the atypically metallic Judas Priest-derived ‘No Better Than Hell’.
Midtempo ‘Hold On’ is a glimpse of the anthemic qualities that would anchor Great White’s future formula for success, ‘Nightmares’ is heavier (influenced by Elm Street movies?) before ‘Dead End’ – very reminiscent of early Dokken – finish out the album on an energetic thrust of the hips.

Great White’s first extended swim into the music business cesspool proved that they were easily up to the task of scavenging for fans alongside the L.A. glam metal scene. It’s heavy, it’s pure ’80s, it rocks.
This Axe Killer Records remaster is really good, well balanced, and features 5 bonus tracks, B-sides of some of the band’s singles.
This was Limited Numbered Edition, now out of print. If you want a copy, follow the purchase link below, but you have to pay over US$ 120.
Highly Recommended

01 – Out Of The Night
02 – Stick It
03 – Substitute
04 – Bad Boys
05 – On Your Knees
06 – Streetkiller
07 – No Better Than Hell
08 – Hold On
09 – Nightmares
10 – Dead End
BONUS TRACKS:
11 – Down At The Doctor
12 – Train To Nowhere
13 – The Hunter
14 – Red House
15 – Rock ‘N’ Roll

Jack Russell – lead and backing vocals
Mark Kendall – guitar, backing vocals
Lorne Black – bass, backing vocals
Gary Holland – drums, backing vocals
additional musicians:
Alan Niven – backing vocals, management
Michael Lardie – backing vocals, assistant engineer
Gary Gersh, Mark Wesley, Phylis Koch, Tom The Razzman – backing vocals

turbo FLAC