Stephen
Not often did a band strike higher on their sophomore effort since basically all the great ideas are laid upon the debut, but Brighton Rock's 'Take A Deep Breath' evolved nicely that you'll realized that this is a better output even only in one single spin. The melodic hard rock outfit, with some radio-friendly AOR moment, is done tightly without losing the grip on the heavier pole. McGhee's shrieking voice which is a cross of Tony Harnell's high register with Brian Johnson's raspy roar is unique, different, and somehow invigorating, even though not everyone can appreciate it.
'Can't Stop The Earth From Shakin' greets you with a superbly-crafted song and an instant fave of mine. 'Outlaw' is pretty good but not in the same league as the first, but 'Ride The Rainbow', 'Who's Foolin' Who', and 'Unleash The Rage' are on the top tier together with that song. Greg Fraser's marvelous guitar playing is another spotlight here, check out how he shreds away some jaw-dropping solos on those songs, and even on some highlight ballads such as 'One More Try' and 'Love Slips Away'.
Unfortunately, some songs aren't just right, such as 'Hangin' High N' Dry' or 'Power Overload' are completely passable with 'Shootin' For Love' is a failed AC/DC emulation and probably one of their worst, though it's quite far up high from the other mediocre hard rock songs that's crowding the year.
A great buy for fans of glam and hard rock, I'm a fan of the music, vocal, and guitar, and I honestly think they should be bigger than this. If you can find two copies of it for a reasonable price, you can buy one for you, and inform me since I might need to replace my worn copy after some frequent spins.