Artist: Saxon
Label: EMI Records
Released: 1985
Running time: 77:47
Rating: 4.8/5
Not long ago, the last trio of the “big” Saxon albums got the remaster treatment too — the records with which, between 1985 and 1988, the pioneers of the NWOBHM, after long years of ruling the island, decided to go after America as well. They’d already recorded Power and the glory in ’83 with that goal in mind, but their manager’s bad strategy largely put the brakes on those ambitions: after the first leg of the tour with Iron Maiden, he decided Saxon were ripe for headlining shows across the United States. Maiden, whose first two records were still in the shadow of the mighty Wheels of steel and Strong arm of the law, already had an efficient management, promotion, iconography and publishing machine behind them by then, and they conquered the US with ease, while Biff and company’s headlining tour turned out to be a flop. Even signing with the famous EMI at last couldn’t change the course of events, and the deal with the major label, against all expectations, mostly marked the start of the Yorkshire band’s decline
Of course, the trio of Innocence, Rock the nations and Destiny still has an honorable place in the rock pantheon, since the albums sold by the million in the mid-eighties. But even though these are epic releases with top-notch production and quality ideas, their weak spot (mostly true of the first and last album) is the very issue that has buried many a band: bending to trends. Iron maiden and Motorhead refused to fall in line and so stood the test of time, while Saxon probably sank slowly into oblivion precisely because of it, and were sentenced to long years of scraping by somewhere on the border between a more-or-less successful revival of their heroic past and the metal subculture.
That process of weighing things up and adapting to the American market — along with guitarist Paul Quinn’s assorted wigs — is revealed most vividly by the album Innocence is no excuse. Its predecessor Crusader was the last in a line of classic British-sounding albums with minimalist, clunky production, so the leap to an explosive, polished sound is all the more noticeable. Simon Hanhart helped get it there, a protégé of “Mutt” Lange, whom Biff first got in touch with after seeing the famous producer successfully launch Def Leppard and their Pyromania into orbit. And Hanhart did more than an excellent job himself. In energy, flexibility and production, Innocence outdoes all of Saxon’s previous records and opens up completely new sonic dimensions for the band.
Rock n’roll gypsy, Back on the streets and Gonna shout are true AOR gems, while Broken heroes proudly represents the power ballad category, without which you couldn’t put together a successful hard rock album at the time. One of the more interesting chapters is also the song Rockin’ again, about which Biff said this: “The label wanted us to open the album with this song. I like it, but it’s not right for an opener because it’s too ‘moody’ and would work better somewhere in the middle. That’s partly why Innocence got a reputation as a softer, more experimental record.” But Innocence is by no means softer than the albums before it — it’s sharp as a razor. It’s simply differently conceived and, above all, a more mature record, whose energy flows in completely different directions compared to Crusader. The problem probably lies in the fact that this very maturity and deliberateness is somewhat at odds with everything Saxon created in their golden era.
Innocence is no excuse came out in 1985 and climbed to number 36 on the UK chart, a rather sorry showing compared to the previous five albums. Across the pond the impact was a bit more noticeable despite the unenviable number 133, since it’s still the band’s biggest success in America to this day. But the price for that faint recognition in the US was paid mostly at home, and after the solid but somewhat too sterile Destiny, Saxon all but vanished from the rock map for nearly two decades. Their definitive return from the dead was confirmed only by the last two albums, The inner sanctum (2007) and Into the labyrinth (2009), which earned plenty of positive reviews, plus Biff’s autobiography with the symbolic title Never surrender (Or nearly good looking).
Byford has kicked up the most dust lately with his campaign, in which, with the help of Metal hammer magazine, he’s trying to elevate heavy metal to a religion: “It’s really an act of rebellion against existing institutions and proof that metal is still a global phenomenon,” the tall frontman explained.
– Biff, we propose Gonna shout as the official anthem, now just tell us where to sign up.
Lineup
Biff Byford – vocals
Steve Dawson – bass
Paul Quinn – guitar
Graham Oliver – guitar
Nigel Glocker – drums
Production
Simon Hanhart
Track list
1. Rockin’ again
2. Call of the wild
3. Back on the streets
4. Devil rides out
5. Rock n’roll gypsy
6. Broken heroes
7. Gonna shout
8. Everybody up
9. Raise some hell
10. Give it everything you’ve got
Bonus tracks (remaster)
11. Back on the streets (12′ mix)
12. Live fast die young
13. Krakatoa
14. The medley
15. Gonna shout (live)
16. Devil rides out (live)
17. Back on the streets (live)
