Published on Feb 1, 2000
If you ask a metalhead to tell you who some of their favorite
“unknown” bands are, they’re sure to rattle off a list that will
make your head spin. For every band out there whose name is
well-known, there are dozens of groups who, for some unknown
reason, never quite achieved the same level of success.
Now, some people might be offended that I would put the British
trio Raven into this category. After all, they did rise up through
the ranks with Metallica. They did have an album deal at one point
in time with Atlantic Records. Trust me, I mean no offense. I
remember the Gallagher brothers well, dressing up for the stage as
if they were prepared to tape an episode of “American Gladiators”
due to their frenzied stage presence. And while their music never
got the same attention as other bands, their overall output was
quite good.
As the band works on their latest studio project, Raven has now
unleashed
Raw Tracks, a collection of live and studio outtakes that
live up to the album’s name, on their fans. While I’d normally
lambast a release for not having optimal sound quality, there is
something unique about listening to tapes that almost had to have
the jaws of life called in to save them from eternal loss. It’s
kind of like sneaking a bootleg into the stack, and experiencing a
guilty pleasure in that you’re listening to something you shouldn’t
even have.
Of course,
Raw Tracks is not a bootleg. Instead, it’s 19 songs in
versions that have never been released. Vocalist/bassist John
Gallagher clearly warns the fans in the liner notes that due to the
condition of some of the source tapes, you’re bound to hear some
pops, clicks and hisses. (Actually, the worst I could claim to hear
was an inferior mix at times during some of the live songs.)
The diehard Raven fan will undoubtedly find themselves drooling
over the track selection on
Raw Tracks, from renditions of long-time favorites like
“Firepower,” “All For One” and “Rock Until You Drop” to covers of
tracks like Janis Joplin’s “Move Over” and Queen’s “Tie Your Mother
Down”. For the uninitiated, grab something that’s bolted down and
hang on for a wild ride.
I’ll freely admit it’s been a while since I dug any of my Raven
albums out of the Pierce Memorial Archives, and I haven’t closely
followed the band since their break with Atlantic some time ago.
But hearing these tracks made me feel like I was back in the
mid-80s, as I got into songs like “Don’t Need Your Money,” “Gimme A
Break” and “Juggernaut”. While it definitely helps if you’ve
followed Raven’s career from the beginning, this is one of those
rare discs where you could literally come into it at any point and
enjoy this album.
Granted, the live tracks will never take the place of
Live At The Inferno, but
Raw Tracks is an interesting collection of Raven’s history,
as well as a solid portrait of a band who deserved a better
commercial fate than the one they were dealt.
2000 Christopher Thelen and “The Daily Vault”. All rights
reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without
written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of
Republic / Universal Records, and is used for informational
purposes only.