| CD REVIEW Street Legal |
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Band: Street Legal “The Catching Up Trilogy, Last Episode” (fun, fun, fun, see reviews of Great White & iCon for further details, if needed). Norway based band Street Legal first made themselves heard of when they making their live debut playing support slots for W.A.S.P. in 1999, getting media comments like “…Iron Maiden threatened Kiss in 1980, Clawfinger showed muscle before Anthrax in 1990, Skunk Anansie blew away Therapy? in 1995. In 1999 Street Legal outplayed W.A.S.P.…” (Stig Myrhe of Nettpuls) or “…Street Legal would be the next Norwegian act to make a remarkable impact on an international level…” (Jan Dahle of Scream)! The band’s 2000 debut album Thunderdome was released through Frontiers, and that same year saw the band appear at Sweden Rock and UK’s Gods Festival. Somehow the band did not live up to their potential, splitting up before actually got around to make their breakthrough! Guitarist Tore Morén went on to achieve international acclaim as musician for Melodic Rock act Rain and playing on Jorn Lande’s first two solo albums. He then joined up sith Mayhem drummer Hellhammer to found traditional Heavy Metal act Carnivora. He currently still operates the Ozzy Osbourne tribute band Ozzmosis. Street Legal’s other guitarist, Ken Ingersen (who’d previously played with Limelight and Rags, produced a Jack in The Box album, and had been a member of Speed when they recorded their 1998 album One) would join the solo touring band of TNT guitarist Ronnie LeTekro and also perform with Live Wire (whicch also comprised former Uriah Heep’s Ken Hensley). The band’s frontman, Björn Boge, put down guest vocals on Rain’s 2002 album House Of Dreams. During 2004 Street Legal was resurrected by Boge, now also handling the bass, and seeking aid with his drummer brother Öystein and gitarists Rolf Bjorseth and Tommy Kristiansen. Soon after they were reported to be in preparations for a comeback album. Reports which were somewhat exagerated as to the prominent release of such an album, because first Tore Östby (of Ark and Conception fame) replaced Kristiansen in early 2008, and it’s with this line-up that the band eventually started the recording of their album in a co-production between Björn and Tommy Newton. Newton, by the way, would contribute additional guitar to “Warriors Of Genghis Kahn”, Kristiansen would still contribute some “alien “guitars, and further guest contributions were done by keyboardist Dag Selboskar and Björn Bolstad Skjelbred (sting arrangements on semi-ballad “Shadow in My Heart”). Musically, Street Legal has apparently often seen themselves compared to the Classic Rock sounds of the likes of Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, and Blue Murder…and let exactly thàt be the thought that went through my mind when I gave the album its first run in the cd-player! Björn has a somewhat versatile voice, which he can bend to add a certain hoarseness, or a slightly higher pitch, and depending on the underlaying music, he gets slight remeniscences to either David Coverdale, Gary Moore, and even Phil Lynott! Not like he’s trying to emulate ‘em, but simply as a natural bend in his voice. Besides, those remeniscences are very fleeting, and for the most part Björn has a voice quite his own…which is nice enough in its own right! Just like Lizzy, the band alternates Rocking ballads with Power Rockers, which does a lot for the appeal of the album overall! In fact, it does só much I was already inclined to nominate Bite The Bullet into my “Best Albums Of 2009” list before I’d even listened to ¾ of the material. And what with the rest of the album presenting a classy instrumental “the Battle Of Kringen”, a simply stunning cover of “Maniac” (ehr…the hit single from the movie soundtrack of Flash Dance, right?)…making it sound like as if Lizzy themselves had played it…and finishing off the album with yet another great semi-ballad…take a deep breath…hasn’t made me change my first opinion, quite on the contrary indeed! Check out a couple of tracks at myspace.com/streetlegalnorway and be convinced of the fact that Bite The Bullet is an album well worth your hard-earned wages! Latest news: although the Boge brothers consider themselves the backbone of Street Legal, calling in the help of great live guitarists when needed, they were more than thrilled to announce that in March 2008 they were re-joined by their old guitarist Tore Morén. Currently, only a couple of gigs in norway are announced, so let’s hope the album sales do well enough to tear them away from the Scandinavian part of Europe for a tourr in our neck of the woods! 98/100 Tony. |