Quiet Riot: One Night In Milan(2019)

So I guess if you’re signed to an Italian Record Label(Frontiers) it is written in your contract to record and release a Live Album from Milan!

I have seen a few of these Live in Milan albums floating about iTunes.  I even purchased the LA Guns which was a pretty decent spin on a bunch of tracks by LA Guns that I had even  forgotten about!

So here’s L.A veterans Quiet Riot chugging out a 15 song set of all your favourite QR Tunes recorded last year…. Course there are the Complimentary Slade tracks tossed in for good measure!

01. ‘Run For Cover’
02. ‘Slick Black Cadillac’
03. ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’ (Slade cover)
04. ‘Whatever It Takes’
05. ‘Terrified’
06. ‘Love’s A Bitch’
07. ‘Condition Critical’
08. ‘Thunderbird’
09. ‘Party All Night’
10. ‘Freak Flag’
11. ‘I Can’t Get Enough’
12. ‘Wild & The Young’
13. ‘Let’s Get Crazy’
14. ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ (Slade cover)
15. ‘Metal Health (Bang Your Head)’

So if you have been following these guys the last few years you know they have had a revolving door of vocalists( carrying on without Kevin Dubrow(RIP) but lately  seem to have settled on this current incarnation of QR..

James Durbin (vocals)
Alex Grossi (guitar)
Chuck Wright (bass)
Frankie Banali (drums)

Basically I bought this for a few reasons!

1- I love Live Albums…..

2- Face the facts Folk’s that back in 1983 if you were my age at the time (16 years young) you HAD a copy of Metal Health! Hell ,even my wife Sue who is not a huge music fan per se but she had a copy of Metal Health on cassette back in 83! Say what you want about it. Metal Health sold millions and was one of those albums that everyone bought even if your weren’t a Headbanger back in 83-84! Huge cross over album as everyone bought it! Metal Health still sounds good today!(especially on vinyl!)

3-Banali gets slammed lot’s in the press for still cruising  around playing shows with QR! Let it go Folk’s. Not worth the time and energy. If he was to bring this version to Thunder Bay I would go and have the past three times QR have rolled into Tbay!

4-It’s basically Greatest Hits set that is played Live so I would rather listen to something that is updated and not some rehash of another Greatest Hits Compilation compiled  by some  Suit at a Record Company who has no idea what he is putting together!

5- This along with Rival Sons latest Feral Roots came out on January 25th 2019 and are a couple of my first purchases this year(along with the Deluxe Edition of Skid Row)! QR especially! I mean who saw that coming??

Verdict….

A pretty damn fine Live Album that does sound Live!  Bootleg sounding. Durbin’s vocals are decent enough as he sings well and tries to get the crowd into it. The crowd is mixed down which when it comes to live records is an ok thing in my book as I cannot handle an overbearing screeching crowd…..

I really like the one-two punch of opener Run For Cover- Slick Black Cadillac. 

Interesting addition of ThunderBird in which Frankie tells the crowd that it’s the first time they are playing it live with a keyboardist! Once ThunderBird ends the band fires up Party All Night and we’re off and running again!

Must mention it was a great move to include some lesser known tunes like Terrified so along with the Hits so to speak QR dig back a little in the time machine to play some of those lesser known tune’s. They even play a couple of songs that they have put out recently as in Freak Flag and Can’t Get Enough. For a new tune Can’t Get Enough is a pretty decent song with a pretty slick driving Bass Line courtesy of Mr Wright!

Another personal fav-o song would be Wild and the Young. Great rock song period! Do u remember the video of this song from 1986? Set in a futuristic state where music is outlawed.. No  Rock N Roll !! No Rock N Roll! Haha..Man I miss the 80’s! Kevin Dubrow’s Lyrics from the Wild And The Young  say it all….

‘Times are changing
Nothing stays the same
For this jukebox generation

Adhere to fashion
Like computer games
Modern day communication’

 

Course the two biggie tracks of the catalogue Cum on Feel The Noise and Metal Health wrap up the show. It’s definitely  Bang Yer Head time! A good time Live Ass Kickin!

Don’t Scoff at this release Folk’s…

A lot of people are always trying to piss down  upon this band and everyone has an opinion but my opinion is Chill the Fuck Out! Just enjoy the Rock!

It’s always cool to be surprised by any kind of release at this point in my life and QR do indeed deliver with a totally live sounding effort!