Saturday, March 30, 2013

Saturday Night Rock: Riot

No, No...NO! For the last friggin' time, not Quiet Riot, just RIOT! Forget that other crap that those so-called classic rock stations insist on playing. That's for kids weened on MTV. This is the real thing, RIOT. I can't tell you how many times over the years when I'd mention RIOT, to have someone say, "Oh you mean Quiet Riot." No, I never meant that crummy band. And it's a shame that the two ever got confused. Okay...I'm probably being too hard on that other band, but, are you kidding me? Does anyone have to hear "Bang Your Head" ever again?

I saw RIOT play live in Lakeland, Florida somewhere around 1980 or 1981, I can't remember the exact year. They were the opening band for...that's just it. I have no idea. I can't remember who the headliner was that night. It says a lot about a band who was relatively unknown in Florida at the time, opening for another band that you can't remember at all. RIOT took the stage hungry that night and ate it alive!


This cut "Swords and Tequila" is from one of the best hard rock albums from that decade, Fire Down Under which was released in 1981 on Electra/Asylum Records. Fire Down Under was their 3rd album and one of two RIOT albums I still have on vinyl. The line-up for this album is Mark Reale / guitar, Sandy Slavin / drums, Rick Ventura / guitar, Guy Speranza / vocals, and Kip Leming on bass. "Swords and Tequila" is written by Guy Speranza and Mark Reale. Give it a shot!


2 comments:

  1. This album is still in my top ten metal albums of all time.
    Remember this taken home from the library, putting it on tape.
    Years later I found a CD version of it, with some live material too.
    On the cover, it says "Promotional copy: NOT for sale".
    I know about the re-releases by High vaultage records (With bad mixing), from 1997, and one from Metal blade records, in 1999.
    Both have different bonus tracks, and both are not the same version as the one I own.
    It's been a mystery to me until I found out that the company who released my copy (Unforgotten Jewels) just printed the words promotional copy on the cover, but in reality, it isn't.
    Well.....

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    1. Thanks for the comment, Seafields. I had no idea this album went through so many incarnations. It's too bad they didn't get support from the label that they deserved.

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