QUIET RIOT - MENTAL HEALTH (* New CD, 2001, Sony Music Entertainment Inc.)
Quiet Riot: Kevin DuBrow (vocals); Carlos Cavazo (guitar, background vocals); Rudy Sarzo (bass, background vocals); Frankie Banali (drums, percussion, background vocals). In the late 1970s, bands such as Van Halen and Cheap Trick tempered hard rock riffs with pop melodies and pin-up boy good looks, resulting in big time success. With the advent of MTV in the early 1980s, groups such as Loverboy, Def Leppard, and especially Quiet Riot softened the sound even more, taking 'pop metal' straight to the top of the charts. Both metalheads and popsters latched onto QR's sticky sweet hard rock, as its debut, METAL HEALTH, became one of the biggest rock releases of 1983. Although its success was based largely on the strength of two shout-along anthems (a cover of Slade's "Cum on Feel the Noize" and its own riff-heavy title track), METAL HEALTH turned out to be their most consistent album. There were several other winning numbers, such as the love song "Don't Want to Let You Go" and the charging "Slick Black Cadillac." The lesser known party hearty ditties "Breathless," "Run for Cover," and "Let's Get Crazy" are solid fist wavers as well. METAL HEALTH remains one of the better hard rock/metal albums to come out of
Track Listings
1 Metal Health (Bang Your Head)
2 Cum on Feel the Noize
3 Don't Wanna Let You Go
4 Slick Black Cadillac
5 Love's a Bitch
6 Breathless
7 Run for Cover
8 Battle Axe
9 Let's Get Crazy
10 Thunderbird
11 Danger Zone
12 Slick Black Cadillac