Now if you were to ask me about some of the best debut albums of the 80’s I’d have a pretty long list and a pretty varied one, but vying for position in the upper reaches along with the bigger names would be bands like Love/Hate, Tora Tora, Vain and Salty Dog and it’s that latter band that might just take the cake, not necessarily just because of the songs but because of the sound and the fact that they weren’t afraid to look back even at the peak of Rock’s biggest mainstream flirtation.
Their debit ‘Every Dog has its Day’ is a wonderful album packed with fine rockers and golden mellow moments driven by the writing partnership largely of Pete Reeven (who provided the music) and Jimmi Bleacher (who added lyrics). This album is comprised of songs that were worked as demos for the second album that never saw the light of day and see Darrel Beach on vocals in place of Bleacher. Sadly notes to accompany the release leave a number of gaps but sonically this sounds like a re-recording rather than a straight release of the demos. It’s also uncertain whether these songs were originally recorded with Bleacher or if had left by that time. I say that because lyrically it doesn’t sound quite as strong as the quirky yet inspirational debut, but then there may be other reasons for that if you know the backstory.
The good news is that it’s still an album that could stand its ground against many late eighties releases and whilst there’s nothing here quite as remarkable as the debut’s ‘Come Along’ or ‘Lonesome Fool’ or the masterful slower numbers ‘Just Like a Woman’ and my personal favourite ‘Sacrifice Me’ it’s still petty close sonically.
A few years ago now I managed to get a copy of a few second album demos and there are five of those eight songs here along with six I hadn’t heard including the riff-heavy groove of ‘I Need More’, the build and glower of ‘Walk Softley’ (sic) and the lilting, smooth and laid back Zeppelin-like ‘Mission on a Hill.’ They’re joined by the strutting, guitar-laden ‘Woman Scorned’; the stutter and thrust of ‘Didju’ and the gentle breeze that winds around closer ‘When Fools Rush In’ possibly my current favourite here. Some of these songs may even be new recordings but it’s hard to be sure, one thing’s for sure I love them all, and with tracks like ‘Open Sezme’ with its killer slide and pounding drums and the contrast of tracks like ‘Honeysuckle Wind’ with its finger-picking and ‘down home’ feel you’ll get immersed pretty deeply in this one.
Salty Dog just had that certain something back in the day that made them stand out and here they have it too, maybe not as polished, maybe not even quite as good songs but the vibe and thrust is there despite the change in vocalist and whilst I do prefer Bleacher’s pipes Beach is a similar vocalist stylistically and does a great job of staying faithful to the ‘Salty Dog’ sound.
Word is that there is a new album on the way of all new tracks. And that is up there with the best news I’ve heard all year.
