Amazing!Reviewed by kloard, 2009-05-04
I saw Hughes Thrall live in the early 80's and it was amazing! They were incredible live. Still one of the best show's I have ever seen. Do yourself a favor and buy this record, you won't regret it.
Hughes/Thrall 80's classic melodic hard rockReviewed by Thin Timmy, 2009-05-01
Hughes/Thrall featuring Glenn Hughes of
Deep Purple/Trapeze & Pat Thrall under
rated guitarist released in 82. This
should've been mega huge but like most
great music [UFO, Thin Lizzy]never quite
made it for whatever reasons but still
has die hard fans who still love this
kind of music. I had never heard of this
until I got in Hughes solo work after
being a big fan of his earlier work. The
man should be huge himself with the
great music he continues to put out.
Songs like I got your number, Beg Borrow
& Steal, Muscle & Blood just ROCK! but
the remake of Coast to Coast is awesome.
Every song is a killer. Yes it sounds
very 80's but still great. I'm happy I
bought & I think it's a must have.
a hidden treasure of Rock and RollReviewed by Matthew J. Rosenfeld, 2007-08-25
I first found this record back when it came out around 1982 as i
was a huge fan of Pat Thrall in the Pat Travers Band and a huge fan
of Glen Hughes from Ted Nugent's band. When they got together it
seemed like the natural makings of a fresh sound, and it was.
Whether they were railroaded by bad hair cuts of bad management
this record never caught on, but it was a hit with me the moment i
heard it. generous guitar solos from Thrall displaying his range,
from his trademark picking technique to blazing blues ballad solos.
This is a front to back sonic tour de force, with Hughes' voice
soaring, smart lyrics, a mix of pop sense and Heavy Metal impact,
one of the harder fusions to pull off. Funny thing is to me every
one of these songs still holds up as a great song. The song Coast
to Coast is one of my all time favorite ballads and the most
soothing driving track you ever rolled to. Find this album and find
a treasure trove of funky metal pop gems.
Hughes - Thrall (1982)Reviewed by Mr. S. St Thomas, 2005-02-26
The reason this album gets 5 stars, is because most of the people
that have reviewed it know their 'Hard Rock' history, and what else
was coming out of the Eighties, especially during the time of this
album. In 1982, you had Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne,
Black Sabbath (w/Dio), Van Halen, Rainbow, Motorhead, The
Scorpions, a whole ton of Metal, and Psuedo-Metal bands
proliferating the airwaves. This was before of course, the
Poison's, Warrant's, Motley Crue's, Skid Row's, Bon Jovi's, Ratt's,
Slaughter's, Cinderella's and such. There's a gap between these two
styles of Jeans and No Shower Metal, and Hairspray and Glitter
Metal.
And in-between these two you had this album.
This album is literally one of a kind for its time, and quite
literally bridges that 'unknown' gap between fringe-metal, enjoyed
by guys with no girlfriends but a keg of beer at the ready, and
pop-metal, where all those guys could go and check out the girls
who thought the lead singer had better hair than any other girl
they knew. This is why this album is important, one of a kind, and
so celebrated. It is quite frankly, the Holy Grail of Hard Rock
albums.
And it possessed two very talented people, for one time only,
captured on wax/plastic. To have Pat Thrall, who is a very diverse
and skilled guitarist, who's tenure with Automatic Man and the Pat
Travers Band got him nominated Best Guitarist of 1980, would be
enough for something. But to have Glenn Hughes is another matter
altogether. In Glenn Hughes, you have one of the best vocalists to
come out of Britain. A man who could sound as 'Negro' as Stevie
Wonder, but satisfy every 'Caucasian' requirement to 'Rock'. His
voice is quite literally, a reason to purchase this album and give
it half a chance.
When I say this album is one of a kind, I mean that it sounds
nothing like any other album in the genre. It is unto itself, and
that is why it takes some patience, an open mind, and understanding
that not all music is going to hit you straight away. Especially
when Hughes and Thrall were creating something people weren't quite
ready for yet, that gap between what is Motorhead, and what is Def
Leppard circa 1987. There is nothing as completely heavy as
Motorhead on this album, nor is there anything completely Pop as
Def Leppard at their height. But you do find something in-between
these two on this album, which is why it may only have a few
reviews, but it receives 5 stars almost every time.
The people that vote for this album, know how important this one
is, and that nothing sounds quite like it in all of that genre. And
that is why it's still celebrated as much as it is. I have friends
who react to me owning Hughes/Thrall like it's a great missing
piece to a puzzle, because for a long time it was a very hard album
to find. You actually had to travel to get it in some
circumstances. Like I said, it is almost like the Holy Grail of
Metal albums.
If you already a fan of Glenn Hughes, then this album shouldn't be
too hard to digest, because this is one of his best vocal albums,
no matter his state of affairs at the time. Every track is Hughes
singing his *** off, especially First Step Of Love, and Muscle
& Blood. But what's behind all of these songs is music that is
never quite metal, but never quite commercial or formulaic pop. It
has touches of both, but never enough to be one or the other, nor
is each song 'targeted' for somewhere or someone. It sounds more
like Hughes and Thrall were just writing to see what came out, and
that sound came across so strongly on this album, that that shines
through more than whether one can ask 'Is This Metal, or Is this
Pop?'
It wasn't market research or an image that made this album, it was
two people working together with others, and making something that,
as I'll restate again, is one of a kind in Music / Rock History.
It's the benchmark of a hundred albums that came after it, one just
has to be familiar with how much in it's sound did it pre-date all
of those Pop Metal bands that were effectively put to rest by
Alternative and Rap/Hip Hop.
I recommend this album simply because of this one of a kind status
it has. I can think of a number of one of a kind albums that I own,
that can be counted on one hand. There's Talk Talk's ''Laughing
Stock'', Kate Bush's ''The Dreaming'', and the Hughes/Thrall album.
Strange company to put it in, but I've owned this album for years
and years, and I still haven't heard anything like it yet. It's
either one or the other, someone does what you expect, and if it
sells, they keep doing it. But not quite like this.
Only one great songReviewed by L. B. Ivarsson, 2004-02-24
I can't understand why this album get such high ratings. To me, the only really good song is the opening "I got your number", but that one is very good. The rest is a strange blend of pop and rock that doesn't work at all. The material is also very time typical. I would not advise you to buy this album if you're looking for steamy rock tunes in the Deep Purple manner.
