By Monk
Arguably one of the bands at the forefront of the Scandinavian revival of the classic Eighties’ glam/hair.sleaze metal sound, Crazy Lixx have taken a slightly different approach to the “greatest hits” album format with this 20th anniversary retrospective. Rather that just sticking out the already familiar versions of their biggest pops, they headed back into the studio to re-imagine and re-present them with updated production values and renewed attitude adjustments – oh, and taking the opportunity to lay down a few new tunes to boot, just to satiate our appetites for same…
Although the album cover, depicting the five members in Wild West gunslinger poses, may suggest the band are entering their third decade by adopting a more Jon Bon Jovi/Poison country blues approach, the opening title track immediately proves that nothing could be further from the truth, as this is the Crazy Lixx sound we have come to expect, know and love: glammy, glunky and sleazy to the core, with plenty of hairspray lingering in the air, just to add to the heady atmosphere you understand.
Alongside the three new songs – the aforementioned titular opener, the suitably declarative ‘Invincible’ and the surprisingly metallic ‘Sword And Stone’ – they play it fairly safe in terms of the re-imagined tunes, relying on adding a new vibrancy to established fan favourites such as ‘Lights Out’, ‘Whiskey Tango Foxtrot’, ‘In The Night’ and the almost trip down ‘Riot Avenue’.
One surprise, in my books at least, is a stunning new version of the power ballad ‘Only The Dead Know’, which initially strips the song right back to its bare bones before piling on that inevitable glam-infused gristle, all the while highlighting the nuances of Danny Rexon’s superb range and accuracy of delivery.
The overall result is an essential addition for not only any Crazy Lixx fan but those of the entire Scandinavian revivalist movement as a whole. I’m surprised nobody has come up with the epithet “New Wave Of Scandinavian Hair Metal (NWOSHM)”… hang on, have we just done that? Oh shit a brick, Mildred…
- ‘Two Shots At Glory‘ is released today (Friday 16 February).
- All content © Über Rock. Not to be reproduced in part or in whole without the express written permission of Über Rock.