At the time of writing, this was the only Harlan Cage album we hadn’t reviewed yet, so as part of our back-filling exercise, here is 1999’s ‘Forbidden Colors’.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Harlan Cage
ALBUM: Forbidden Colors
LABEL: MTM Music
SERIAL: 199683
YEAR: 1999
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: L.A. Greene – vocals, guitars * Roger Scott Craig – keyboards, backing vocals * Billy Liesegang – lead guitars * Wilhelm Wannabee Remarkable – bass (that’s what it says in the credits) * Ron Wikso – drums * Tommy Funderburk, Chris Julian – backing vocals * Judy Mass – violin * Scott Joss – fiddle
TRACK LISTING: 01 No Sunday Bride * 02 Chinatown * 03 Thrill Of It All * 04 Can’t Tame The Raven * 05 Hard Yellow Line (You Lied To Me) * 06 Last Plane Out * 07 A Little Rain * 08 Feel The Wheel * 09 Making My Way Back To You * 10 Late Night Escapades * 11 Before The Night Is Gone * 12 Two Ships In The Night
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
It pained me to go through all the online drama and fallout with Roger Scott Craig and 101 South a few years back. There’s no doubt the brace of albums released under the Harlan Cage and 101 South banners were exceptional.
At the time of writing, this was the only HC album we hadn’t reviewed yet, so as part of our back-filling exercise, here is 1999’s ‘Forbidden Colors’.
At the time of release it really should’ve been one of the first albums reviewed by our old HEART of the ROCK site, as 1999 was when we first went live.
The Songs
Of course Harlan Cage’s great appeal to readers here at this site is tied to the legendary and much loved Glory Daze faves Fortune.
Their 1985 pomp classic remains a staple of this site years later. It was due to the efforts of Larry (L.A) Greene and Roger Scott Craig that Harlan Cage sound as much a part of the 80’s despite this being recorded in 1999.
We even get a reworking of ‘Thrill Of It All’ from that 1985 album, but for mine, other songs stand out even more. The lovely violin laced ‘Can’t Tame The Raven’ is sublime, and the way it builds up momentum is a testament to the songwriting quality.
‘Hard Yellow Line’ is very intense stuff, the lyrics are pretty damning too (‘you lied to me’). You won’t be short-changed here, with the booming ‘No Sunday Bride’ and the equally teasing ‘Chinatown’ sounding like Joe Chandler‘s magnificent Journey-esque ‘Bad Move’. There are other tracks to discover, go to it.
In Summary
Of course, this would be the last Harlan Cage studio release for the 90’s, as Scott-Craig would move the band onto the 101 South project, albeit with a new lead singer. However, it wasn’t all over for the noughties.
Two more Harlan Cage albums were released: 2002’s ‘Temple Of Tears’ and 2004’s ‘Best Of’, which features a handful of tracks from this set. It should be stated though: all Harlan Cage CD’s should be in your collection, if you consider yourself a bonafide AOR collector.
