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WILD IN THE STREETS

Michael Courtney | San Antonio, Texas United States | 02/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's good to have this in my CD player for the first time. I liked the album, but this sounds so much better. I'm sure most of you that are familiar with British Lions realize they are, or, were what was left of Mott the Hoople after the departure of Ian Hunter. After a couple albums as Mott they moved on and became British Lions and released two albums, of which this was the first. The band for those of you who are less familiar is John Fiddler(vocals & guitar), Overend Watts(Bass), Morgan Fisher(Keyboards), Dale Griffin(Drums), and Ray Major(Guitar). The whole band actually provides vocals, too!The original disc is accompanied by 8 bonus tracks that were recorded live or were demos. The quality of the 4 live tracks isn't the best, but shows how good the band actually was live. I saw them open for Rainbow and Blue Oyster Cult. They put on a hell of a show for an opening act; it was hard to believe they weren't headlining. The capabilities of this band at that time(1978) seemed endless. But, unfortunately they seemed to stand still in their tracks!The music here, at least the first 9 songs, are all great recordings and atypical of most 70's music. The quality of this music is such that it sounds as fresh today as it did 24 years ago. John Fiddler handles most of the song writing chores and did an excellent job with the selections here. The playing of all the musicians is flawless and energetic. One of the better songs is a great rendition of Garland Jeffrey's "Wild in the Streets". My personal favorites are "One More Chance to Run", "My Life's In Your Hands", "Big Drift Away", and "Eat the Rich". Most of these songs are fun and take me back to my youth, which is still good in my memories. The only thing of note is that two of the tracks here are listed in reverse order, or, at least on the disc I got. #3-"Break This Fool" and #5-"Fork Talking Man" are actually #5 and #3. All of the tracks here are good listening; there are no duds. If you like surprizes buy this disc with the 8 bonus tracks and see if you can figure out why these guys didn't become "International Heroes"."

At Last !

Richard Martin | FLORIDA USA | 06/06/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hi Kids! Turn on the wayback machine to the 1970's. Ian Hunter leaves legendary Rock N Roll band Mott the Hoople. While Ian was the driving force behind that band, the remaining band members stay together and recruit guitarist Ray Major and singer John Fiddler. The result was the British Lions and after all these years their masterful debut is available on CD. From the opening classic "One More Chance To Run" on through "Wild in the Streets" & "International Heroes" The Lions prove that they were indeed a world class rock n roll band. While they never achieved the lofty status of Mott the Hoople, this disc should bring smiles to those who remember what good old fashioned rock n roll was all about!"

This is the one!

Richard Crooker | Clinton Township, Michigan USA | 07/03/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After the release of Live and Rare, (which wasn't that good), this is the release to get. If you are a fan of Mott the Hoople and Ian Hunter, this would be a great addition to your collection. Also check out (2) releases from Mott (minus Ian Hunter), Shouting and Pointing and Drive On, they are both excellent and worth the price."