Spec's OOP Treat of the Week (Updated 9/29/09)

For this week, I have uploaded the debut of the hard rock/AOR band Riggs.





Hey! Remember the opening sequence of the "Heavy Metal" movie? Did you say to yourself, that"s an awesome song!? I did. The band that did that song ("Radar Rider") was the obscure rock band Riggs. Due to oversaturation of the melodic rock genre in the early 80"s, these guys were shuffled quietly under the rug. Before they were left for dead, they did produce what is said to be one of the best melodic rock albums of all time, with one of the worst album covers.

Riggs' debut (and only) release is an AOR treasure if you ask me. Although it is relatively unknown, this got a full worldwide release believe it or not. Originating from the unlikely hotbed of AOR (Knoxville Kentucky), though they did move to Florida to enjoy the sunshine (well Jerry did at least!), Riggs is the brainchild of singer guitarist Jerry Riggs, a bit of a AOR hero in his heyday. This album has all the hallmarks of superb AOR. There are some mighty impressive moments on display here, and they still sound good all these years later.

Rigg"s rock anthem "Ready Or Not" opens up, guitars cranked to the max. The next track is the awesome "One Night Affairs", keyboards and guitar melody to the forefront. One of my favorite songs of all time. Along with "One Night Affairs", the album's other best moment is without doubt "Over And Over", a tale of love played out over a classic AOR backdrop. Why this song wasn"t at least a minor hit boggles my mind. The rock boogie of "Take It Off" sort of lacks that special something, though we get back on track with the sonic assault of "Writing On The Wall" and the very Loverboy sounding "Depending On Love". Another outstanding track appears in the form of "Christine" while another great moment is the track "Don"t Walk Away". Listen to the solo section.

Killer!

Not much happened to the band after this one and only effort. Shame really, they had the potential to go far. Jerry Riggs is the only member to further his career, taking the place of Pat Thrall in the Pat Travers Band, and appearing on Pat's "Hot Shot" album, though more recently he has been playing with the Bobby Friss Band. In my opinion, this is another contender for a CD re-release.

The source material is from an old LP, so the sound quality isn't perfect. In fact, there are a couple of skips if you can believe it. I'm not responsible for the ripping. I have updated the cover artwork a bit, although the goofy dog picture is included for posterity. I also added the two songs from the Heavy Metal movie soundtrack to round out the package. I hope you enjoy. I sure as hell do!

Track Listing
1. Ready Or Not
2. One Night Affairs
3. Over and Over
4. Take It Off
5. Writing On The Wall
6. Depending On Love
7. Girls On The Loose
8. Christine
9. Don"t Walk Away
10. Too Strong
11. Heartbeat
12. Radar Rider

RIGGS - S/T ( 1982 Full Moon/WEA Records)
Jerry Riggs - vocals, guitars
Jeremy Graf - guitars
David Ridarick - bass
Stephen Roy Carlisle - drums


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SM45T902


password: spectrefate



Mirrored here: http://spectrefate.blogspot.com/2009/09/riggs-st-1982.html

I remember them! I used to have the one with Radar Rider on it on vinyl but I don't remember the cover with all those red & white lines. I do remember there was a snarling dog on the cover.

Nevermind, I missed the part about you messing with the cover.

I didn't know you had a blog....cool.

That's really pulling an obscure band out of the hat. I remember Radar Rider, never heard anything else by them. Thanks.

You better watch it with your reworking of the cover Spec. You know how jealously Eddie guards his stripes.

Thanks dude!

I snagged that REVEREND EP collection you made...thanks!

Ah, yes...I got the soundtrack to Heavy Metal last week, and those last two songs are on it. Good stuff.

Nice! Thanks Brian.

You sure have been generous as of late...keep uploading cool rare sh!t like this and maybe I WILL make an appearence in your barnyard animal movie....you know the one co starring DC?

Thanks, spec. I remember them only b/c of the Heavy Metal movie and soundtrack. Peace.

Funny I was just thinking about them because I just made my own mix of that soundtrack.

Thanks for uploading this, never actually heard their full album.

In 1988, the Cro-Mags finally released what, to me, is the finest hardcore album ever. (Although not my favorite) That album was "The Age of Quarrel". The album is chocked full of metal riffs disguised as hardcore and it relentlessly rips you to pieces from the intro of "We Gotta Know" to the end of "Signs of the Times"

I have collected some vintage recordings of the band in their prime and packaged them as "The Complete Quarrel". I have included that classic OOP LP along with demos that were released as "Before The Quarrel" on the first disc. The second disc is recordings of 2 live Cro-Mags shows. One from Winnipeg and one from the Steel City, Pittsburgh, both captured in 1986.

If you like hardcore and haven't heard this classic, then you must do yourself a favor and download this puppy!


CRO-MAGS - THE COMPLETE QUARREL (My own invention)
John Joseph – vocals
Parris Mitchell Mayhew – guitar
Doug Holland – guitar
Harley Flanagan – bass
Mackie – drums


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5XIX0TP1


password: spectrefate

The complete quarel...clever spec!

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

I snagged that REVEREND EP collection you made...thanks!

So did I. Burned an played it today, a very good listen.
Thanks Spec!!
Now if i only had the brains and skills to print the cover i the right size