Hey hey hey, it's the Japanese heavy metal band! Most people remember them only for their hit song "Rock and Roll Crazy Nights" -- or rather, "Wock and Woll Cwazy Nights" :) -- but that is really when they started their decline.

"The Birthday Eve"

1. "Loudness" (5:10)
2. "Sexy Woman" (5:40)
3. "Open Your Eyes" (4:32)
4. "Street Woman" (5:17)
5. "To Be Demon" (6:07)
6. "I'm on Fire" (3:41)
7. "High Try" (5:07)
8. "Rock Shock (More and More)" (4:56)

A lot of straight-forward rock and roll tunes here.

"Devil Soldier"

1. "Lonely Player" (4:51)
2. "Angel Dust" (4:47)
3. "After Illusion" (5:58)
4. "Girl" (2:32)
5. "Hard Workin'" (3:29)
6. "Loving Maid" (4:55)
7. "Rock the Nation" (3:22)
8. "Devil Soldier" (7:08)

Some of their most dischordant, progressive music is on this album, which at times sounds a little bit like Voi Vod! As Krusty the Klown said, "Me rikey very much!!"

"The Law of Devil's Land"

1. "Theme of Loudness Part II" (1:59)
2. "In the Mirror" (3:41)
3. "Show Me the Way" (6:05)
4. "I Wish You Were Here" (3:45)
5. "Mr. Yes Man" (6:57)
6. "The Law of Devil's Land" (4:56)
7. "Black Wall" (5:06)
8. "Sleepless Night" (4:48)
9. "Speed" (5:32)

Probably the best of all Loudness albums...and the naked boy-devil on the cover helps as well! "Speed" was the first Loudness song I ever heard, long before "Crazy Nights".

"Live - Loud - Alive: Loudness in Tokyo"

disc one:
1. "In the Mirror" (3:50)
2. "Road Racer" (5:15)
3. "I Was the Sun" (4:15)
4. "Fly Away" (3:39)
5. "Black Wall" (5:41)
6. "Tusk of Jaguar/drum solo"--instrumental (8:04)
7. "Mr. Yes Man" (7:08)

disc two:
1. "Exploder/Heavenward"--instrumental (6:09)
2. "Loudness" (5:24)
3. "Sleepless Night" (7:59)
4. "Speed" (5:52)
5. "Shinkiro" (4:07)
6. "Burning Love/Ending Theme (Theme of Loudness II)" (7:56)

A thunderous live album, extremely hard to find on CD, yet essential because over half the music was never released on their albums!! (Well, "Tusk of Jaguar" is a guitar solo number from Akira Takasaki's solo record, but that doesn't count really.) For some reason, they removed the "Mars, Bringer of War" introduction that was on the crappy vinyl, which doesn't make any sense? Also they didn't HAVE to release it as a 2-CD set, since entire length is only something like 76 minutes.... Oh, and I always crack up when Minoru Nihara introduces the band members, with those crazy Japanese names...

"Disillusion"

1. "Crazy Doctor" (4:13)
2. "Esper" (3:45)
3. "Butterfly" (5:16)
4. "Revelation" (4:18)
5. "Exploder"--instrumental (2:29)
6. "Dream Fantasy" (4:33)
7. "Milky Way" (4:17)
8. "Satisfaction Guaranteed" (3:39)
9. "Ares' Lament" (5:30)

Some more great music here, almost like Devil Soldier in terms of progressive-ness. This was their last all-Japanese album (although in all of their songs, they DO throw in English lyrics from time to time.)

"Thunder in the East"

1. "Crazy Nights" (4:04)
2. "Like Hell" (3:44)
3. "Heavy Chains" (4:18)
4. "Get Away" (3:55)
5. "We Could Be Together" (4:35)
6. "Run for Your Life" (3:48)
7. "Clockwork Toy" (3:55)
8. "No Way Out" (4:01)
9. "The Lines are Down" (4:57)
10. "Never Change Your Mind" (4:09)

I actually bought this from CDNow a long time ago, and returned it because the rear sleeve was missing...turns out that's the way it came! Well, I figured I'd buy it again at my convenience...until I discovered copies selling on ebay for 30-40 bucks!! What the hell??? Sure enough, CDNow could no longer get it, and Amazon couldn't get it either. However, the good folks at MoreMetal.Com were able to secure a copy. Don't know what rabbit's hat these guys pull their CDs out of, but they haven't failed me yet!! (Oh, and this copy DOES have a rear sleeve...so there. :))

"Early Singles" (CDR)

1. "Burning Love" (3:57)
2. "Bad News" (4:27)
3. "Geraldine" (4:01)
4. "In the Mirror" (3:41)
5. "Road Racer" (4:38)
6. "Shinkiiro" (4:15)
7. "Crazy Nights" (4:08)
8. "No Way Out" (4:06)
9. "Gotta Fight" (3:46)
10. "Odin" (5:17)
11. "Flash Out"--instrumental (4:07)
    bonus tracks:
12. "Eruption"--instrumental (3:14)
13. "The Night Beast" (4:38)
14. "Risky Woman" (4:46)
15. "Road Racer"--English version (4:38)
16. "Farewell"--instrumental (3:23)
17. "Akira - Bonno"--instrumental (5:26)

Some very kind soul noticed this on my "Kill For" list and, although he wouldn't part with his own copy, he made me a CDR for myself -- with faithfully reproduced artwork, and six "bonus" tracks not on the original! Many thanks!! In any case, this compilation features several non-album "singles" (as the title suggests), including "Burning Love" "Road Racer", "Geraldine" and a few songs from the Japanese anime Odin.

UPDATE: Good news for you folks drooling over this CD...the guy who burned it for me is back in business, and if you want a copy, go ahead and email him at starslayerjo@yahoo.com. (This address is valid as of Sept. 2002 ... I'd make you a copy myself, but unfortunately my burner's on the fritz right now. Sorry.)

"Lightning Strikes"

1. "Let it Go" (4:13)
2. "Dark Desire" (4:19)
3. "1000 Eyes" (4:35)
4. "Face to Face" (3:49)
5. "Who Knows" (4:02)
6. "Ashes in the Sky" (6:02)
7. "Black Star Oblivion" (3:55)
8. "Street Life Dream" (4:28)
9. "Complication" (4:00)

I do believe this is their best English album with Minoru. "Let it Go" is a nice bit of radio-friendly pop metal, with the rest varying from mainstream rock to even a slightly progressive vein (especially "Ashes in the Sky" and "Complication".)

"Hurricane Eyes"

1. "S.D.I." (4:15)
2. "This Lonely Heart" (4:08)
3. "Rock 'N' Roll Gypsy" (4:22)
4. "In My Dreams" (4:30)
5. "Take Me Home" (3:16)
6. "Strike of the Sword" (3:50)
7. "Rock This Way" (4:07)
8. "In This World Beyond" (4:26)
9. "Hungry Heart" (4:08)
10. "So Lonely" (4:43)

Well, it's safe to say this is the last album where Loudness was worth anything. "S.D.I." is a fast rock number, and they turn an interesting bluesy groove on "This Lonely Heart", but the rest is boring pop-metal. At least it's better than their future albums, where they dumped Minoru (who later did a "side project" called Sly) for an AMERICAN singer (Mike Vescera of Obsession, hardly a vocal virtuoso) and turned to complete crap. I mean really, this band's charm has always been laughing at their crazy Japanese accent! So there's no point in following them anymore.

"Jealousy" (CDR)

1. "Jealousy" (5:04)
2. "Long Distance Love" (4:32)
3. "Good Things Going" (5:09)
4. "Die of Hunger" (4:48)
5. "Heavier Than Hell" (4:29)
6. "Dreamer and Screamer" (3:55)

Hey, wow!! I didn't even know this final EP with Minoru Nihara existed, until he'd been out of the band for fifteen years!!! As far as I can figure out how the story goes, after the greedy record company demanded a change in personnel, the band decided to record one last quickie EP for Japan only. There's even Japanese lyrics!! The sound is more in the generic metal of Thunder in the East as opposed to their more adventurous music from days of yore, but it's still a fitting farewell from a classic metal band before they were converted into pure shit.

...Oh, and since I've gotten several emails about this, I guess I should mention it. Apparently, Mike Vescera only lasted a few years in the band, and he got replaced by a proper Japanese singer -- the guy from E-Z-O, I do believe. But while many have encouraged me to check out their most recent work, all I can do is turn my pockets inside out and shrug.

"Cozy Powell Forever/Super Rock Summit: Cozy Powell Forever Tour Live in Tokyo" (2CDR)

Now here's a nice pair of CDs, a tribute to the late great Cozy Powell, one of rock's greatest drummers (well, greatest after Neil Peart, Mike Portnoy, Carl Palmer, Phil Collins, Mikkey Dee, John Bonham, Bill Bruford...aw heck, he's at least in the top twenty I guess.) While technically these are various artists releases, the main performers are Loudness (which at the time included only Akira Takasaki and a bunch of guys from E.Z.O.) and Sly (which included all the EX-Loudness guys!) so I guess it counts as a "Mark I" Loudness reunion, with a few extra Japanese guest artists. On the downside, both of these CDs are super-expensive Jap imports, so until I win the lottery, all I can afford right now are these CDRs...

Disc one is the studio tribute, featuring cover songs from just about every major band Cozy ever performed with: Rainbow, Emerson Lake & Powell, Whitesnake, Michael Schenker Group, Jeff Beck, and apparently Tchaikovsky as well. :) Good music all around, especially "Stargazer"...but I do wish they played the FULL version of "The Score" instead of just the intro. "Slide it In" features a female lead singer, which is neat.

But wait...there's more! Not content with a single tribute album, the boys from Loudness & Sly decided to take their show on the road...which brings us to Super Rock Summit, the LIVE tribute album! This CD's quite a bit more exciting than the studio disc (and counts better as a genuine Loudness CD, since there's no guest performers to muck things up!) and features some brilliant performances by all members involved -- former E.Z.O. singer Masaki Yamada really shows his soulful power on "Mistreated", for example. My only gripe is...well, we've got two Deep Purple songs, but Cozy was never a member of that band!!! Same goes for "War Pigs" (which Minoru Niihara really screws up, vocal-wise) -- which I guess only counts because Cozy was a member of Black Sabbath for a brief time in the late 80's, but man that's a stretch. Still, it's good to hear a lot of the songs that didn't make the previous tribute, especially "Still I'm Sad" and "A Light in the Black".

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