Awesome Album - As a huge Ozzy fan, I really liked Jake E. Lee s playing on Bark at the Moon and the Ultimate Sin. When Jake was fired, I actually took his side in the situation even though Ozzy was my hero. I read all the rock mags back in the day like Hit Parader and Circus and I remember reading about Badlands way before the first album ever came out. I remember wanting this album really bad. When I finally got it, I didn t stop playing it for months. It was literally never taken out of my cheap portable cassette player that went from my car to my room every day. This album is a ten and I still listen to it heavily every year. I saw the tour for this album in Lampe, Missouri at the Swiss Villa Ampitheatre with Great White and Tesla. Excellent band in concert. I met all of the band outside of their tour bus and Eric Singer (now the drummer for KISS) was riding around on one of those miniature mototcycles. I got all of their autographs and they were way nice. I miss those days. Anyway, you won t be sorry if you buy this album.
Feels So Good To Be So Bad - Flashback: I bought this album on cassette outside of Dallas on a church choir trip in the summer of 1991. One of the most poignant memories of my youth was listening to Jade s Song and the opening to Winter s Call in the dead of night riding through Dallas with those lit-up skyscrapers. It lasted only a couple of minutes, but that moment has been burned into my memory ever since then...So, 16 years later I m surfing around on Amazon and it just hits me: Why don t I look up Badlands? Of course, it is on moratorium. No matter, I bought it from one of the sellers anyway. When it comes to perfection, money is not an obstacle.In it s most basic description, Badlands is a blues-rock band. They can (roughly) be compared to Whitesnake, Blue Murder, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin. The first Badlands line-up was formed with guitarist Jake E. Lee (of Ozzy Osbourne fame) and vocalist Ray Gillen (RIP 1993). Add to that duo the drummer Eric Singer (who will join KISS later), and bass player Greg Chaisson. They managed to eek out a second album, Voodoo Highway, and then Gillen was supposedly fired and Eric Singer soon left. The Dusk album was released posthumously in 1998. But on to the freshman eponymous album. It s a sleek and sexy piece of art with all the right trimmings. The opener, High Wire is a fast-paced rocker with a groovey middle eight. The next cut is Badland s commercial hook and single, Dreams in the Dark. As far as 80 s hard rock singles go, it is actually quite catchy and addictive. It s one of those songs you catch yourself humming in the elevator. The real one-two punch of the album is the instrumental ditty Jade s Song, which I think serves as an intro to Winter s Call. This is one of my personal favorite songs in my entire music library. Haunting and sensual, it is the cornerstone of the entire album. Dancing on the Edge and Hard Driver are two more stompers in the vein of the opening track. Listen closely and you can hear Ray s zippo flick in the opening bars of Dancing on the Edge...Rumblin Train is a gritty, raunchy, Howlin Wolf-inspired example of whiteboy blues. Jake E. Lee really shreds it here. Devil s Stomp is the age-old story of making a deal with the devil (gotta have this on a blues album - it s a staple). This song also has Ole Scratch s famous quote, It feels so good to be so bad. The album closes with Seasons, a 6-minute long mid-tempo number about aging and loss. The Bonus Track (which even the 1991 cassette I have includes) is Ball & Chain (great line: The girl has got a chain wrapped around my heart, Help me, Jesus, to the promised land...Gimme that Ball and Chain). Great syncopation on rythmn guitar during the solo.The album cover is simple, but effective. It s a black and white band photo topped by the band s name in crimson. The image exudes one word: Attitude. Produced and managed by Paul O Neill (Savatage guru), the sound is pretty clear. Word to the wise: A deep scratch appeared on the disc after spinning it one time in my player, so I bought a second one. A smaller scratch appeared on the second one, too. I m not sure what the deal is, but if you buy it from a seller, back it up on your computer...Anyway, Badlands is an album that NEEDS TO BE RE-RELEASED (with lyrics and photos, please). Shame on you, Atlantic.
what an album - The record exec that took this album out of product should be shot. this is/should be a classic.The guitar work is some of the best ever over an entire album, Ray Gillens voice is both powerful and elegant and the bass and drum lines are flawless.while this album will never be considered one of the greatest albums of all time, it is a classic to the hard core 80 s fan.
Absolutely nothing bad about badlands - This disk is one of the rare ones where if you like one song, you ll like EVERY song. No filler. No mail it in tracks. EVERY song. From the opening riff to the the last, this album just kicks you in the nuts. Many folks don t know this album is kinda two parts. The first side was largly written, and recorded first in New York. Ray was an east coast New Yorker through and through. Side 2 was largly written, and recorded later on in California, as that s where Jake was from. You can hear the differences in the songs once you really delve into the disk. I originally had the cassette, and side 1 is east, and side 2 is west. There s a reason every single reviewer here has given this disk 5 stars. Yes, it is that good. Yes, you won t regret paying whatever it costs to acquire it. Yes, you will yourself write a 5 star review for this album
One of THEE greatest CDs out there. - I was familiar with Badlands back in the day but was recently turned back on to them. This CD flat out rocks ! It s got it all, fast paced rockers, bluesy ballads and arena rock anthems. Jake E Lee really shows his other side after being is Ozzy s band and Ray Gillen is one of the best rock singers out there (RIP)If you are fan of rock music ... you must own this CD.