Label: Silver Lining Music
Release date: March 24, 2023
Production: Biff, Seb Byford & Jacky Lehmann
Compilation length:
Genre: Heavy Metal / N.W.O.B.H.M.
Rating: 9.0/10
Saxon! Is there anything left to say about this band that hasn’t already been said? They’ve gotten old. That’s for sure. And in the autumn of their lives, the band is flat-out enjoying themselves. Not long after the excellent latest studio album “Carpe Diem” (2022, RockLine review), which stands out as one of the strongest records of their post-millennium output, the band put out their first compilation, “Inspirations” (RockLine review), back in 2021. It was packed with covers of artists who, one way or another, inspired the members of the band with their image and their work. Above all the conductor-in-chief and head honcho, singer Biff Byford.
Over at Silver Lining Music, the enthusiasm for Saxon’s idea of covering originals by prominent names who shaped the face of rock and metal (and, well, pop too) clearly isn’t dying down, and Saxon have added a sequel to that first compilation, called “More Inspirations”. If you’re a die-hard, devoted fan of the band, you have to own it. For everyone else it’s not essential. The studio albums are enough.
Saxon stay fun, and not just in what they pick but in how they go about it. The hours they spent having the time of their lives in the studio come through authentically on the new record, “More Inspirations”. And those who know that Saxon have loved dressing up originals in clever new clothes since way, way back in their career (the unforgettable memory of the “Killing Ground” era (2001, SPV/Steamhammer Records), their King Crimson cover The Court of the Crimson King, and even further back, to 1984 and their take on The Sweet’s Set Me Free) will tell you that these iconic heavy metal forefathers simply can’t miss.
This time there are no The Beatles or The Rolling Stones originals on the compilation. The most “tricky” track to cover, especially in terms of the challenge of trying on a new off-the-rack arrangement, is The Faith Healer, the original by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Pulled off with flying colors. The rest of the selection sits quite close, genre-wise, to the style of Saxon’s classic albums. A smart pick, a fun pick, and not an overly (over)complicated one. As far as the challenge of covering goes, anyway. And that’s a good thing. Saxon are neither a jazz outfit nor prog heads, so it’s only right that they don’t “get carried away” when choosing covers.
Routine and experience do their thing. Biff holds up great vocally, as the opening The Animals track We’ve Gotta Get Out Of This Place already proves. Blue Oyster Cult covered the tune ages ago. Their 1978 version probably struck a young Biff and Paul, who had just gotten Saxon firmly on their feet back then, as more inspiring than The Animals’ original itself. But to confirm that, you’d have to ask both elder statesmen of metal straight up.
Quinn and Scarratt carve out a nice, clearly defined space in the passages where they shape the solos “their own way”. Subtitute (orig. The Who) and Razamanaz (orig. Nazareth) demand serious drumming alertness from the inventive, seasoned Nigel Glockler, who uses his finesse to keep the release of high-octane decibels at a pleasingly ravenous level. The production is live, organic, and warm. The old boys know their stuff. The bass lines are thick and piercing, set up to crank the sonic contrasts. In Detroit Rock City, Carter’s bass depth is especially essential (the look of the Kiss original demands it). And Gypsy (orig. Uriah Heep) without a Hammond? An unforgivable perversion. Or is it? The fix for the missing organ is, of course, classically metal and rests on the phrasing of two guitars that “Saxon-ishly” demonize the classic and graft onto it the “famous charm of corruption” of the quintet from Barnsley. The Rainbow classic Man On A Silver Mountain leaves a similar feeling after this kind of metamorphosis. What matters most is Biff Byford’s vocal form! And he delivers a rustic, well-preserved sound even in his golden years. The famous singer doesn’t fade! Not in range, not in power. Otherwise the whole covering exercise would be pointless. His one-of-a-kind voice is the key element in implanting the “Saxon-esque” into the covers.
In short, let me not get carried away. There’s no end in sight to the fun and the pleasure. Saxon’s cunning has proven full-blooded once again. “More Inspirations” is first and foremost a must for the true-believer Saxon faithful, who follow every inhale and exhale of this legendary band. In the form the legends are showing in 2023, nobody would complain if a third such compilation followed the second one in 2025. Let’s say one titled “Even More Inspirations”!
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. We’ve Gotta Get Out of This Place (orig. The Animals)
2. The Faith Healer (orig. The Sensational Alex Harvey Band)
3. From the Inside (orig. Alice Cooper)
4. Chevrolet (orig. ZZ Top)
5. Substitute (orig. The Who)
6. Gypsy (orig. Uriah Heep)
7. Man on the Silver Mountain (orig. Rainbow)
8. Detroit Rock City (orig. Kiss)
9. Razamanaz (orig. Nazareth)
10. Tales of Brave Ulysses (orig. Cream)
Line-up:
Biff Byford – vocals
Paul Quinn – guitar
Doug Scarratt – guitar
Nibbs Carter – bass guitar
Nigel Glockler – drums
