Denim and Leather [Bonus Tracks] [Original recording remastered]

I first came across this album from a British band about 15 years ago. It blew me away then, it still does. An awesome album. If you only buy one Saxon CD, make it this one. Never Surrender, Denim and Leather, Princess of the Night. Etc. All good songs and will blow the cobwebs out your ears. All up-beat, but not 'samey', each song has its own beat and it's own place on the album. So just let your hair down, lean forward, and press 'play'..

Saxon, the undisputed kings of South Yorkshire Gumby metal (SYGM) and general all round scrappy Yorkshire Terrier's of NWOBHM. Biff and the boys get a fairly bad reputation both inside and outside of the metal scene. Why you ask? Well, some strange people see the whole Spinal Tap comparison as a negative thing...bizarre. But if you can get over the short comings of Biff Byford's wardrobe, you'll surely find some of the greatest rocked up metal around.

NWOBHM was a complete mess of sounds, generally using an umbrella term to keep the music press happy (much like the did with grunge ten years later). Venom sounded like a washing machine full of bricks, Def Leppard spent too much time on their backing vocals, Witchfynde, Witchfinder General, Witchfynder General, General Fynder Witch all imploded without too much hassle and all delivered some unfocused variant from the Sabbath mould, but Saxon just provided a most enjoyable AC/DC meets Priest rocking groove which pleased both rock and metal fans. If you enjoyed `British Steel' era Priest then this will be right up your street, if not then I suggest you try before you buy saving us the "Saxon ist not krieg!" reviews.

Four out of the eight songs here stand up to me as absolute metal classics, guarded in metal's sacred halls by the Thundercats, yeah, why not? `Princess of the Night' is embryonic speed metal and has some deceptively simple riffing. Saxon being as they are didn't sing much about Satan and Valhalla as such this song is about bloody trains. Not even trains carrying legions of the night to do battle with angels, just a train bringing Biff his copy of Gumby monthly. `Never Surrender' is a ripping "backs against the wall" type song with brilliant generic bouncy NWOBHM riffs and an effortlessly catchy chorus. No so much trains in this one. `And the Bands Played On' is perhaps the greatest Saxon songs ever, with it's sing along lead lines (ala `747') and nicely layered riffs. It was Saxon's ode to the 1980 Monsters of Rock festival, at which they apparently killed at. It is also of note that Saxon writes a song dedicated to every gig they've ever done, yes really;
`Dunstable Civic Hall, 1995, there was 155 there!'. `Denim and Leather' is another NWOBHM anthem and understandably a live favourite- a masterpiece of Gumby metal sing along brilliance. Isn't the `maybe you can learn play the bass' line comedy gold? After dreaming of guitar and smashing the drums, the bass must be learnt as a afterthought...if one line in metal ever did capture all the mystic of the faceless bassist then this is it! Anyway, it's one of the best AC/DC songs AC/DC never wrote.

The other songs here are generally excellent too. `Fire in the Sky' is an good old slab of NWOBHM speed, with some excellent guitar harmonies and Priest aspiring solos. `Play it Loud' is a lovable romp about never turning your music down and kicking lifeguards who take a disliking to Deep Purple (maybe it was Candice Night?). `Midnight Rider' is the only song I don't enjoy here, it reeks of `Hello America' and musically it does nothing that the other tracks don't do better. I mean I know your from Barnsley and are totally stoked by "bloody automobile highways" and "sun shining all of t' bloody night" but spare me the details.

Saxon always have been economic rather than flashy and `Denim and Leather' stands up as an excellent example of heavy metal precision, much like those steam engines Biff is so obsessed by (who is he Fred bleeding Dibnah? Steeplejack heavy metal!). The band generally perform excellently with lots of memorable hooks, riffs and solos. Pete Gill's performance was a bit disappointing for me as I was already aware of his phenomenal drumming with Motörhead and as such I knew he could sound a lot better than he does here...not that this is Lars Ulrich drumming by any means.

Looking to get all nostalgic for a time when England actually still was a proud heavy metal nation? Look no further, Biff and the boys will have you leathered up in no time (no, not lathered, bad Pete) and rocking away in a time when every metal fan dressed like some denim clad refugee.

I first bought this album almost thirty years ago but have only recently treated myself to the cd. I love new music, buying 4-5 albums a week so it is unusual for me to revisit past albums. The reason I did was because I was given a USB turntable and started to copy my old albums. The reproduction was disappointing but this album was not. Tracks Princess of the Night are still wonderful and Denim and Leather must remind most of us how we were. Great light metal album, if you have not heard, it buy it.