Saxon - Wheels Of Steel
Carrere - Originally Released 1980
Review Al Hey
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Phew! When Steve asked me to submit the three albums that had personally influenced my musical direction and led me down the path of rock n roll damnation I have to say I didn’t know where to start. You would think it was easy picking out your all time favourite albums but there in lies the conundrum. Steve didn’t want my trusty favourites that got my motor running but the albums and artists that forged my love and undiminished enthusiasm for everything rock. My first choice was on reflection an easy one. It had to be Saxons “Wheels Of Steel”(1980). If ever there was a perfect slab of hard rock this album has to be as close as damn it to the Holy Grail. To get a feel for why this album is special to me it’s worth delving back into my dark and now distant past. When this album was released I was aged fourteen .I know this may come as a shock to those of you who I have got to know down the years as I regularly get asked “when are we having your twenty first birthday party”. I have a brother who is four years older than me so our house was a hotbed of music crossing over from the seventies into the eighties. I remember when he got a very cool Panasonic ghetto blaster that, if you put your head in just the right place between the speakers and found the honey spot in the stereo spectrum, made everything sound rather splendid. One example would be the opening of “More Than A Feeling” by Boston .It would slowly emerge from the speakers into a gloriously uplifting song that was blessed with soaring guitar and incredible vocals (It has to be said that first Boston album came close to being one of my three most influential albums). My brother would come home with L.P’s and tapes by bands like Zeppelin (“In Through The Outdoor” was another contender for my choices), Styx, Rainbow, Queen, Pink Floyd and the mighty Rush. Now I would only get a chance to hear music by these bands if I had permission to use his ghetto blaster or if he was listening to them. In those days little brothers didn’t go in big brothers room that was an unspoken rule. Next it’s worth looking at my school life. When I was in secondary school punk and to a certain extent new wave was a big thing, everyone was listening to the Sex Pistols, The Buzzcocks or Gary Numan.Now at school I was studying violin (I got to grade 5) out of school I was learning piano (I got to grade 6) and music theory (I got to grade 5) as a result being a schooled listener of music meant punk and new wave to my ears was just a waste of everyone’s time. Most of the bands couldn’t tune their guitars, the lyrics were moronic and we were subjected to a weekly fodder of one hit wonders on the radio. Now being able to tap into what my brother listened to was a good thing as the rock bands of the seventies could really play their instruments to a high standard and they wrote fine songs and as a result my love of rock was already forming. Stick with me here as I am getting to the turning point. At school I had two friends who like myself shared my love of rock. Graham “Animal” had a deep love for Iron Maiden and Ozzy and Dave was nuts about AC/DC (he went on to work for Brian Johnson’s wife at that time). Now back then radio still played rock music and one programme that was the “dogs bollocks” was The Friday Rock Show which I would sit up and listen to every Friday night at 10p.m.One night whilst sitting up listening to the gravel tones of the late, great Tommy Vance he introduced a track called “747 (Strangers In The Night”). I sat there stunned and just thought “bloody hell” that’s amazing. It was instant rock gratification of the highest order. It had great guitar playing, it was a fine song and the singer sounded like he had balls of steel. This would be my band, my discovery. It wasn’t one of my brother’s bands or my two mates at school, no Saxon were my band. When I used to pass a music exam I was always rewarded and I remember asking my folks if I could have the new Saxon album “Wheels Of Steel” as one of my prizes. I’ll never forget when I first got my hands on it. It physically felt like a rock record, as the vinyl that Carrere used was nice and thick and as result heavy. The cover with the eagle looked slightly dangerous and the back cover picture of the band sitting against an alley wall was real moody stuff. As I dropped the needle in the groove my life changed forever. The opening track “Motorcycle Man” begins with the sound of motorbikes flying across the speakers, it gets you on the edge of your seat but doesn’t prepare you for the kick in the head as the band enter in all their glory. In the eighties this song was fairly fast as tempos go. Biffs vocals are a rallying cry and full of passion and the guitar solos are just metal nirvana as the notes drip from Paul Quinn’s guitar like honey. The effect on this young listener was instant, as the music seemed to be calling out to me. Second track is “Stand Up And Be Counted” which once more pressed all the right buttons with its great riffing, solid drumming and lyrics that made me realise I wanted to be in Biffs gang.”747 (Strangers In The Night)” remains to this day a classic and a true rock anthem. The guitar licks and fills are lyrical and its verse and chorus are magical. Side one of the album closed with the awesome “Wheels Of Steel” which, as mentioned earlier, for its time was one heavy mother of a track. It pulsed, it throbbed and it grooved in a way that was simple, direct and ultimately magnificent. Once more the guitar solos were heroic and it primed the listener to turn the album over and get stuck in to side two. “Freeway Mad” gets thing off to a flying start with drumming that shows Saxon had one of the best engine rooms in the business in Pete Gill. This song shows a rock n roll side to Saxon as it bounces along and the addition of police siren sound effects showed a band that would go to any lengths to create a vibe.” See The Light Shining” once more showed Saxon loved to rock in the traditional manner with its almost metal boogie rythmns. Biff kept things edgy with a vocal performance that was passionate and full of attitude and the song had a great second half as it changed tempo and once more created an anthemic song for the band. Next came the track I played to death from this album “Street Fighting Man”. The guitars riffed for England and the song just pulled you in and never let go till the dying notes. I can remember this song always had a dangerous and menacing vibe to it at the time in the same way that Thin Lizzy’s “Killer On The Loose” has. “Suzie Hold On” followed and showed that Saxon could write more commercial orientated music if they so desired. It was a great song that really got ones foot tapping and ones head nodding. The section I always waited for was the harmony guitar solo that rocked big time and took the song to great heights. The last track on the album was “Machine Gun” which took the album out on a blaze of guitar glory. It was fast, furious and at times demented. Graham Oliver (guitar) had his moment in the sun as he dive-bombed his way into oblivion in a fashion similar to his personal idol Jimi Hendrix. Every rock fan needs “Wheels Of Steel” in their collection as it is without doubt an album that deserves the accolade of classic (at least in my mind). The next album by Saxon was “Strong Arm Of The Law” an album that contained favourites “Heavy Metal Thunder” and “Dallas 1p.m.”. By that time Saxon had blossomed into a headline act with a loyal fanbase. I’ll never forget those gigs at the Newcastle City Hall; they were magnificent in every way. Saxons output hasn’t always been “classic” as they did try to move with the times musically and fashionably with mixed results. I always like to think they did what they thought was right at the time and gave it their best shot. I own all their releases and everyone to my ears has its moments and since the “Dogs Of War” album I think they have delivered one brilliant album after another culminating in the brilliant “Inner Sanctum”(2007) album. I suppose by now you can gather Saxon are dear to me as I feel I really could call them “my band”. The music of Saxon primed me for delving deeper into the heavier side of rock that in the eighties was Iron Maiden, AC/DC, The Scorpions, Motorhead and Black Sabbath. If you were in the Newcastle area in the eighties and saw a young lad wandering around with a haversack on his back emblazoned with the Saxon eagle on the lid, that just might have been me. Give someone this album for Xmas and remember to tell him or her that “Saxon isn’t just for Xmas. They’re for life”. Let us know your views on Wheels Of Steel
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Track Listing Motorcycle Man Line Up Biff Byford - Vocals Related Links Biff Byford - Interview Saxon - Inner Sanctum CD Review Saxon - Live Review |
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