With the passing of time, many people find it hard to wind back the clock prior to Quiet Riot’s breakout year of 1983, perhaps not realising that there were two albums that went back to 1977 and 1978, which really set this band in motion.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Quiet Riot
ALBUM: Quiet Riot 1
LABEL: CBS
SERIAL: 25AP-880
YEAR: 1978
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Kevin Dubrow – vocals * Randy Rhoads – guitars * Kelly Garni – bass * Drew Forsyth – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 It’s Not So Funny * 02 Mama’s Little Angels * 03 Tin Soldier * 04 Ravers * 05 Back To The Coast * 06 Glad All Over * 07 Get Your Kicks * 08 Look In Any Window * 09 Just How You Want It * 10 Riot Reunion * 11 Fit To Be Tied * 12 Demolition Derby
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
A look at the early history of singer Kevin Dubrow and guitarist Randy Rhoads would not go amiss at this website. Of course both musicians have both passed on now, and since then we have covered numerous Quiet Riot releases plus the odd Ozzy Osbourne album, but we have yet to wind the clock back to 1978 to really understand how this all came about.
From Los Angeles and formed in 1975 by the above line-up (previously known as Mach 1 and then Little Women), they would release two Japan only LP’s without ever getting a local deal in the USA. CBS Japan picked them up, though over the years the record has been bootlegged to heck.
With the passing of time, many people find it hard to wind back the clock prior to Quiet Riot’s breakout year of 1983. Perhaps not realising that there were two albums that went back to 1978 and 1979, which really set this band in motion for their successful run during the early 80’s, despite breaking up at the end of the 70’s decade.
The Songs
I gave this album a proper listen for the first time this week, and I have to say, I was underwhelmed by what I heard. From a sonic perspective, there were much better albums around during that year, and if they were any good I would have listened to them by now. Which is probably why this album has been left languishing.
Produced by Derek Lawrence (Legs Diamond), many of the songs are short and sweet, under three minutes, and there’s not a lot to get excited about from a songwriting point of view. Opener ‘It’s Not So Funny’ was released as a single, and unfortunately for me none of it stuck. Not even a cover of the Dave Clark Five hit ‘Glad All Over’. Even the suitable titled ‘Back To The Coast’ was an unmitigated disaster.
In Summary
There’s quite a bit written about this period of Quiet Riot’s history, suffice to say it doesn’t need repeating here. A quick read on Wikipedia will bring you up to date. We may also get to Quiet Riot II, which would finish up the QR story quite nicely.
Video
Entire Album (Select Tracks)
