My All Time Fave Albums #27

The early to mid 1980's was an amazing time to be a fan of hard rock and heavy metal.  So many great bands making quality music across the world. Los Angeles was a hotbed for sure, with the likes of Quiet Riot, Motley Crue, Ratt, Dokken and W.A.S.P. all releasing seminal albums by 1984.  There were also some bands from that era and time that released some excellent music, but may not have reached the heights of some of their peers.  One of those bands moved from Portland, Oregon to L.A. to achieve success, and in the process recorded a brilliant debut.  That band was Black n' Blue.

This record was something that I remember seeing somewhere in a copy of Hit Parader, a new band with a new album, something I had to check out.  As with a quite a few of my purchases from back in the day, this was a blind buy.  The first time I listened to it, I was hooked.  They were labeled as America's answer to Def Leppard, but I didn't hear that.  Black n' Blue's S/T album is full of hooky hard rock ,with a bit of edge, and not overpolished.  Every track is a winner, from speedster Autoblast, to a great cover of Sweet's Action. Hold On To 18 is my fave track on the album, and has become a bit of a rally for myself and friends who are now all older than 18.  Deep cut Chains Around Heaven is a classic, and has recently been covered by Cauldron.

Black n' Blue's S/T is steeped more in the tradition of 70's acts like KISS, Starz, and Sweet, rather than the full on metal of Judas Priest. The real key with this record aside from great performances all around, is the songs, and the songwriting.  Perfectly crafted chunks of catchy hard rock.  The band did gain momentum after this record, and have some other gems in their catalog as well, but this record is still my fave.  Sometimes with older stuff, there is a lot of nostalgia involved, but listening to this record again today is a reminder that it's just damn good music.

Black n' Blue still carries on today, minus two original members (one of which is Tommy Thayer, currently rocking lead guitar in KISS).  Lots of great tunes, here's the video for Hold On To 18.  Lets do exactly that. Cheers!