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On disc: Girlschool



- Believe - Jörg Petersen - 7 stars
- Legacy - Claudia Ehrhardt - 8 stars


www.girlschool.co.uk







Legacy

Legacy
(Wacken Records - 2008)


The British ladies are back with Legacy to celebrate their 30th anniversary! For this special album they got a few guests - more about that later. The girls keep doing what they can do best - they play heavy rock. The opener Everything's The Same could have been on one of their early releases. An up-tempo rocker with a heavy groove and a decent hook line. I only wonder what 'feat. Kelly Johnson on percussion - her ashes' is about... With From The Other Side they continue, as usually Denise Dufort and Enid Williams deliver a solid playground for guitarists Jackie Chambers and Kim McAuliffe. Chambers guitar solo fits well and she isn't pushing too far. Very heavy sounds I Spy in the Girlschool Mix. But somehow the vocals don't fit, but that's probably a matter of taste... Later on this disc you find the same song in the Dio / Iommi mix, perhaps that one will get me... Time to present the first guest! Spend Spend Spend is again a quite typical track of the British ladies - and quite 80's. The guitar solo is played by J.J. French who every metalhead knows from Twisted Sister. At some tracks they try to add a modern touch, but I prefer the classic Girlschool. At Legend - dedicated to Kelly Johnson - they welcome Neil Murray on bass again (he also played on Whole New World) and Phil Campbell who add a guitar solo here. At Whole New World he played lead guitar. Legend isn't as fast as some of the other tunes, but has a punch and a catchy hook line. So far my highlight on Legacy. I also dig Still Waters which shows the girls a bit different - and without any guests. Cool tune!
At the Motörhead cover Metropolis they got joined by Fast Eddie Clark who played the solo. The song sounds a bit more melodic / less heavy in this 'female' version, even if Ms. McAuliffe sings a bit deeper and more raspy. At the following Don't Mess Around Mr. Eddie Ojeda was responsible for the guitar solo. And this up-tempo rocker has a bit the flair of Motörhead - in my opinion here the Girls sound better then on Metropolis... On Don't Talk To Me they speed up and vocals been taken over by Mr. Motörhead Lemmy Kilmister - who also plays bass here. The Dio / Iommi mix of I Spy is better in my opinion, coz Ronnie James Dio's vocals add something special to this tune. I would have put only this one on the disc, coz Ronnie James Dio can put magic on every track - and so the ladies' version couldn't keep up. But the Dio / Iommi version is a bonus track as well as the 2 remaining songs on the CD. Even if I think that London should have been on the regular one. Emergency is a nice idea - it's a classic -, but why not re-record Please Don't Touch from St. Valentine's Day Massacre EP... Even if it was a cover, but the duet was something special!
Well, the girls still know how to rock and they keep to their roots. I miss a real killer track, but they are kicking ass. The NWoBHM is still alive!


8 stars

Claudia Ehrhardt
 

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Believe

Believe
(GWR - 2004)


The Girlschool girls open up their latest album with Come On Up. The track sounds like a combination of revived NWoBHM with alternative rock and therefor they are a decade too late. With We All Love To (Rock'n'Roll) Kim McAulife and her girls find back to their own sound - the Motörhead-influenced rock. Songs like Feel Good and New Beginning show that they can still rock and that you're never too old for rock'n'roll. Not all songs can stand the comparison with the old punk'n'roll of the girls, but Never Say Never is as good as their early work. Only the sound is more modern and actually I think that a rough sound would have be better... Since Demolition and Hit And Run are re-released on CD it's more comfortable to listen to the queens of NWoBHM, but it also shows that the new album Believe can't compete. If this album will stand the test of time, well, I have my doubts. But they already entered the hall of fame of rock & metal with Hit And Run. Personally I think that Crazy is the weakest track which would fit to someone like Kim Wilde or perhaps Sam Brown.
If you want to check the album out, give a try to Never Say Never and We All Love To (Rock'n'Roll).


7 stars

Jörg Petersen
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)
 

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