Embodying the very best of the late 70’s scene, The Boyzz emerged just when outfits like Grand Funk Railroad, The Godz and Ted Nugent were hitting their straps.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: The Boyzz
ALBUM: Too Wild To Tame
LABEL: Epic
SERIAL: JE 35440
YEAR: 1978
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Dirty Dan Buck – vocals * Anatole Halinkovitch – keyboards * Gil Pini – guitars * Mike Tafoya – guitars * David Angel – bass * Kent Cooper – drums
<TRACK LISTING: 01 Too Wild To Tame * 02 Hoochie Koochie * 03 Wake It Up, Shake It Up * 04 Shady Lady * 05 Back To Kansas * 06 Destined To Die * 07 Lean n Mean * 08 Dianne Part II * 09 Good Life Shuffle
WEBLINKS: FB Page
The Boyzz Background
Originating from Illinois, these boyzz started life out in 1977 as a leather clad biker outfit. The Boyzz intially ground out a living blasting southern flavoured rock. They followed in the tire-tracks of 70’s icons Black Oak Arkansas and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Though their style was more commercial (only just!).
The Boyzz embodied the very best of the late 70’s scene. They emerged just when outfits like Grand Funk Railroad, The Godz and Ted Nugent were hitting their straps.
Though permeating a biker and metal theme, The Boyzz included elements such as keyboards and horns. Believe it or not, it did not detract from their sound.
Main man Dirty Dan Buck has obviously swallowed the liquid equivalent of broken glass, such is his roughened vocal approach. Don’t get me wrong, it sounds great in this context!
The Songs
The opening title track ‘Too Wild To Tame’ was their best known track. It featured on the CBS 1979 compilation ‘Killer Watts’ plus the ‘Striktly For Konniseurs’ 2LP set a few years later.
However, they are not a one-song band. There are other southern ‘gonzoid’ moments fit for a round or two of Budweiser.
‘Hoochie Koochie’ is a good singalong effort with swinging blues ridden guitars. ‘Wake It Up Shake It Up’ is an energetic track with stabbing pianos and horn blasts throughout. ‘Back To Kansas’ is a determined wee number as it heads off down the highway.
‘Destined To Die’ apart from the morbid title is the bands heaviest moment. The chugga chugga guitars and organ/keyboard work are straight from the Deep Purple instructors manual written by Jon Lord.
‘Lean N Mean’ reminds me of early Rick Derringer and Pat Travers Band. Again the Jon Lord inspired organ runs are close at hand.
‘Dianne Part 2’ continues the metallized boogie romp, though I gotta ask, what happened to ‘Dianne Part 1’?
‘Good Life Shuffle’ is a Van Halen romp, a la the ‘Ice Cream Man’, but sustained over the entire song. The female ‘doo-wops’ are a little off-putting, but hey.. if Dave Lee Roth can do it??
In Summary
When remembering one-off efforts like The Boyzz, their history was indeed short. They split up the following year due to media and public indifference. However, three of the members (Halinkovitch, Tafoya and Angel) reformed as The B’zz during 1982.
That band also featured drummer Steve Riley (WASP and L.A Guns) and vocalist Tom Holland (Holland).
‘Too Wild To Tame’ was re-released during 2001 on the French label Axe Killer some years later. Dirty Dan Buck resurrected The Boyzz in 1999 with a different line-up. He’s obviously still untamed after all these years!
The Boyzz on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
