What do you get when you mix Ozzy guitar heroics with some Zeppelin like based riff rock? Ya get Badlands.
The Guitars are handled by Jake E Lee. Lead Vocals are by Ray Gillen. Bass is handled by Greg Chaisson and Eric Singer is the Drum Dude!
Badlands kicked to the curb the Hairspray Antics Of Poison as they could play and they fused a sound that was its own. They came together at a time that perhaps wasn’t as ready for them as should have been. It happens!
The song’s speak for themselves! Opener Hard Wire leads the Charge with Jake playing super charged rock riffs while Ray(RIP) has the vocals to deliver. They had a sound that would be similar more to the 70’s than the late 80’s! Bombastic Rock I say!
The rest of the tracks are just straight ahead Blitzes of Hard Blues Rock(Streets Cry Freedom and Winter’s Call are awesome)making Badlands a band that people should talk about.
Before the release of the next album Voodoo Highway (1991)drummer Eric Singer got a call from Ki$$ and it was adios amigos as was Badlands after an onstage meltdown between Lee and Gillen shortly after.
Bummer….
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HAHAHAH Eric got a call from KI$$ indeed! This band had all the potential in the world. Real damn shame with hindsight.
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Absolutley! Even the followup Voodoo Highway was real good.I even got my mitts on a copy of Dusk the third forgotten album…Haven’t really given it the full deal yet..someday though…
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Dusk I don’t have. I do have some weird 3 disc set by Ray Gillen from a band called Sun Red Sun. Not very good.
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I recall hearing about Sun Red Sun and I wanted to track it down but boy am I glad I didn’t now…
Dusk of all things is on iTunes but not the first two Badlands….bizarre
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It’s too bad when the timing doesn’t work out – it happens when the $$ band name calls!
I find these ‘what might have been’ records fascinating, what if it had been released a few years earlier/later? if they hadn’t had that onstage meltdown?
At least it sounds like there are no “ifs” about the quality here!
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Geoff this is a solid record from the start to the finish. The video at the top of the blog which is the album cover is a throwback look considering what was going on at the time.
Great album and thanks for the comments!
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Even though I worked at Atlantic Records when this was released, somehow Badlands slipped under my musical radar and I didn’t hear it until many years later. Now I know it’s one of the best hard rock albums of its time. Excellent post that concisely captures what’s great about this record.
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Rich,thanks for the kind words! Badlands slipped under the radar of a lot of folks! Here in Thunder Bay I was hanging out with a girl who worked at the local radio station and they received a promo copy stamped of course as a promo and she lent it to me for a few days (this was a before it hit our record shops). When Hard Wire kicked in I was hooked….
Had a real hard time giving that promo copy back as I did question her on it as to would it really be played on one of the local radio stations here? She still repoed it back though..hahaha….
Thanks for stopping by!
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Hot damn, that’s quite a line-up, and I like what I hear! Maybe they shoulda called themselves Rawklands.
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At the time they could have done a concept album about War(1989-92) and called it “The Falkland Wars”
Ha!
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They cold’ve done a duo album with the Hoodoo* Gurus.
*’cos hoodoos are found in the badlands, you see…
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Man, this sounds great! I’ve never heard of these folks, but seriously good!
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Wonderful LP, I only heard it in about 2000 and couldn’t believe I’d missed them at the time.
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Better late than never Dude!
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That’s what she said.
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Great album and alot of great influences from Jake come out on this album. High Wire and Streets Cry Freedom are personal favs of mine. Dont forget that Paul O’Neill of Trans Siberian Orchestra and Savatage fame is on hand to produce and co-write the majority of the album.
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Thats right …thanks for the added info! safe travels on the European Tour!
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I didn’t get into Badlands until recently. Somehow I missed them back in the day. When Jake E Lee came back with Red Dragon Cartel, I went back and checked them and I am glad I did. This was an awesome album.
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Voodoo Highway the followup is pretty solid as well…
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I have that one now as well, plus a solo album of his.
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Dusk was the third album as well that was buried for some reason. RDC is interesting. I need to revisit it…
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Actually listening to it now. The review made me think of that album. Really like the song “Shout It Out”.
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Actually I will have to get too it as well…
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