QUIET RIOT – Rehab

Quiet Riot had it all back in the 80’s … an unprecedented popular release in Metal Health that reached #1 on the charts and sold a crazy 10+ million copies worldwide, songs played on MTV almost every hour, massive tours, and even songs featured in mega-blockbuster movies such as Footloose. Unlike many of the 80’s Metal/Hair Metal bands, Quiet Riot did a few things differently … they piggy-backed heavily on covering other bands’ songs, but did so in a way that definitely rejuvenated each, thus creating a unique propensity for all but incessant radio play, helping, perhaps more than any band of the era, to foster Metal’s mainstream appeal. Quiet Riot, though, always seemed to have a knack to keep it simple … to be able to focus just on the core elements of a successful song, utilizing very basic and methodical drum beats, along with guitar riffs that were heavy, but the antithesis of modern day Power Metal, or even Thrash from that same 80’s era.

Over time, the well eventually ran dry, and Quiet Riot for all intents and purposes became a non-factor in the industry as the 90’s progressed, however, they stuck around, and though falling a bit into obscurity, still were periodically knocking out some pretty decent tunes. As the late 90’s transitioned into the 2000’s, Quiet Riot morphed as all bands tend to do, focusing less on Metal and more on Hard Rock derivatives … and that brings them now to 2006, with Kevin DuBrow still belting out catchy (Slade-like) choruses, and Frankie Banali pounding out the extraordinarily fat (Salty Dog-ish) drum beats.

The newest Quiet Riot offering at hand is entitled Rehab, issued via Chavis Records. The album starts out in very strong fashion with 4 can’t miss “hits” in “Free,” “Blind Faith,” “South Of Heaven,” and “Black Reign.” “Free” has an anthem-like chorus, with a really thick, almost Doom Metal guitar sound, and that trademark fat, simple drum beat. It’s a true winner and likely the best song on the album. “Blind Faith” establishes a modern 70’s feel, if you will, and is also very catchy, though not as organized musically as “Free.” “South Of Heaven” and “Black Reign” have a curious Led Zeppelin feel to them, especially during the openings, and also work very well. At this point, you sort of get the feel that Quiet Riot has done the impossible … that being they’ve resurrected the 70’s Hard Rock sound, yet have added enough modern technology to the sound so as to not make their songs come across like tributes or rip offs. As impressive, they’ve kept that 70’s raw energy and simplicity intact well enough to make the songs indeed feel authentic and genuinely retro.

The album loses a bit of steam heading into the 5th track, “Old Habits Die Hard,” with it’s Bluesy platform and female backup “bible singer” vocalist, but “Strange Daze” gets the album back on track, featuring some nice musical passages. The next 5 tracks tend to alternate between weaker and stronger, with “Beggars And Thieves” and “It Sucks To Be You” leading the charge. The album closes out with a cover of “Evil Woman” by Spooky Tooth, a 70’s Blues/Rock extended jam, incorporating some nice Deep Purple-ish keyboards (think Machine Head) and none other than Glenn Hughes sharing the vocal duties. It’s a nice finish to the album, although the song itself isn’t the strongest, but caps off what has been accomplished by the band on this album sound, groove, and vibe-wise.

All in all, a very solid effort by Quiet Riot … if you haven’t taken it upon yourself to check out anything by the band since the 80’s, you’re going to be surprised at what you hear. But, what you will hear is a band that has progressed, and has accomplished their continued development by going retro … and quite successfully indeed. Quiet Riot’s new Rehab album isn’t asking you to “Bang Your Head,” but it still rocks and is every bit as enjoyable as a whole as their heyday releases. If you have any allegiance to the band, or if you always wished a band would successfully recapture a true 70’s sound, then Rehab is an album you need to give a chance. Be sure to check it out!