I really, REALLY blew it here. Although I owned most of Saxon's albums on crappy vinyl, I put off buying the CDs for a long time, thinking I could get them any time I wanted...well, guess what! THEY ALL WENT OUT OF PRINT!!!! As a result, it took some diligent web-searching (not to mention forking over some BIG $$$$) to get my CD collection complete, but thankfully, the quest is finally over!

"Saxon"

1. "Rainbow Theme"--instrumental (1:00)
2. "Frozen Rainbow" (4:37)
3. "Big Teaser" (3:55)
4. "Judgement Day" (5:30)
5. "Stallions of the Highway" (2:52)
6. "Backs to the Wall" (3:09)
7. "Still Fit to Boogie" (2:53)
8. "Militia Guard" (4:52)

This album has a much different sound than their later releases...kind of NWOBHM-ish, if you have any idea what that means. Had to buy this as an expensive Japanese import for something around 24 bucks...ah well, IT WAS WORTH IT!!

"Wheels of Steel"

1. "Motorcycle Man" (4:00)
2. "Stand Up and Be Counted" (3:09)
3. "747 (Strangers in the Night)" (4:57)
4. "Wheels of Steel" (5:57)
5. "Freeway Mad" (2:40)
6. "See the Light Shining" (4:53)
7. "Street Fighting Gang" (3:10)
8. "Suzie Hold On" (4:32)
9. "Machine Gun" (5:21)

Another expensive import that I was forced to invest money in, after seeing nearly all their other early albums go out of print. This one's a curious transition from the NWOBHM sound to their "freeway metal" style which set them apart from all other bands.

Oh yeah, there's a 2-disc compilation set which combines this album with Strong Arm of the Law and throws in about a dozen bonus tracks, but since they're all live versions of previously released songs, I ain't gonna lose sleep over it...

"Strong Arm of the Law"

1. "Heavy Metal Thunder" (4:21)
2. "To Hell and Back Again" (4:48)
3. "Strong Arm of the Law" (4:43)
4. "Taking Your Chances" (4:21)
5. "20,000 Ft." (3:25)
6. "Hungry Years" (5:08)
7. "Sixth Form Girls" (4:19)
8. "Dallas 1 PM" (6:27)

This is one of my favorite Saxon albums, due to the heavy-rhythm guitars in the first couple songs. Once again, I had to fork out serious bucks to get this as an import CD...

"Denim and Leather"

1. "Princess of the Night" (4:00)
2. "Never Surrender" (3:13)
3. "Out of Control" (4:04)
4. "Rough and Ready" (4:49)
5. "Play it Loud" (4:09)
6. "And the Bands Played On" (2:47)
7. "Midnight Rider" (5:41)
8. "Fire in the Sky" (3:35)
9. "Denim and Leather" (5:24)

Got lucky and found this one for a mere $7.99. Of course, it remains the ONLY Saxon CD you can buy these days for a reasonable price, I think CDNow lists it for six bucks or so.

"Power & the Glory"

1. "Power and the Glory" (5:56)
2. "Redline" (3:38)
3. "Warrior" (3:47)
4. "Nightmare" (4:23)
5. "This Town Rocks" (3:58)
6. "Watching the Sky" (3:42)
7. "Midas Touch" (4:12)
8. "The Eagle Has Landed" (6:57)

First, I gotta give word to Restless & Wild Imports for providing the two rarest Saxon CDs for my collection. When I ordered their last copy of Innocence Is No Excuse, I asked about this one, and they said they'd put it on a wantlist for me...well, a few weeks later, the guy actually called me up and said, "Hey, guess what we just got in!" Well, all I can say is THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!! Now I won't have to kill myself after all. :-))

Okay...without a doubt, this is Saxon's finest album, merely because it contains their two BEST SONGS EVER, "Redline" and "Power and the Glory"! (In fact, I'm annoying my neighbor with it right now.) "This Town Rocks" kinda sucks, which unfortunately is a pattern they would take up with future releases...

"Crusader"

1. "The Crusader Prelude" (1:05)
2. "Crusader" (6:33)
3. "A Little Bit of What You Fancy" (3:50)
4. "Sailing to America" (5:03)
5. "Set Me Free" (3:13)
6. "Just Let Me Rock" (4:11)
7. "Bad Boys (Like to Rock 'N' Roll)" (3:24)
8. "Do it All for You" (4:42)
9. "Rock City" (3:16)
10. "Run for Your Lives" (3:53)

"Crusader" and "Sailing to America" are two of the band's best songs of all time, so I made a special point of ordering this import. A few of the other songs kinda fall flat...in fact, "Just Let Me Rock" is one of the WORST rock songs of all time! "Set Me Free" was originally recorded by Sweet...Heathen has also covered it.

"Innocence Is No Excuse"

1. "Rockin' Again" (5:11)
2. "Call of the Wild" (4:03)
3. "Back on the Streets" (4:00)
4. "Devil Rides Out" (4:25)
5. "Rock 'N' Roll Gypsy" (4:14)
6. "Broken Heroes" (5:25)
7. "Gonna Shout" (3:59)
8. "Everybody Up" (3:30)
9. "Raise Some Hell" (3:40)
10. "Give It Everything You've Got" (3:27)

Ahhhh...this is the SECOND hardest Saxon album to find on CD, in fact the store I ordered it from had only ONE COPY LEFT! Japanese import, costing upwards of thirty bucks...ouch. Oh well. It's worth it merely for the tracks "Back on the Streets", "Devil Rides Out", "Rock 'N' Roll Gypsy" and "Broken Heroes", some of the best & moodiest music they've ever put to tape. Unfortunately, this was also where the band's sound as a whole began to slip, since it contains 2 or 3 crappy songs instead of just one (and eventually, those crappy songs would completely take over...)

"Rock the Nations"

1. "Rock the Nations" (4:41)
2. "Battle Cry" (5:26)
3. "Waiting for the Night" (4:52)
4. "We Came Here to Rock" (4:19)
5. "You Ain't No Angel" (5:29)
6. "Running Out" (3:36)
7. "Party Til You Puke" (3:26)
8. "Empty Promises" (4:11)
9. "Northern Lady" (4:43)

Not a great album...heck, not even a good one, really. The title track is a definitive arena-rocker, and "Battle Cry" has a nice, fast-driving riff, but that's about all I can say about it. At least I was able to get the domestic issue for considerably less cash than what their imports go for. Elton John...yes, ELTON JOHN!!...plays piano on "Party Til You Puke" and "Northern Lady".

"Destiny"

1. "Ride Like the Wind" (4:29)
2. "Where the Lightning Strikes" (4:18)
3. "I Can't Wait Anymore" (4:24)
4. "Calm Before the Storm" (3:47)
5. "S.O.S." (6:03)
6. "Song for Emma" (4:46)
7. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (3:54)
8. "We Are Strong" (3:57)
9. "Jericho Siren" (3:37)
10. "Red Alert" (4:34)

Yes, "Ride Like the Wind" is the Christopher Cross song! They do quite a good version of it, actually. The sound is quite a bit different from their regular style, toned down and more mainstream rock-ish. Still a good listen, though. Especially when you consider that it is TOTALLY out of print, yet I was fortunate enough to buy it when it first was released! Yippee!

"Solid Ball of Rock"

1. "Solid Ball of Rock" (4:35)
2. "Altar of the Gods" (3:30)
3. "Requiem (We Will Remember)" (5:16)
4. "Lights in the Sky" (4:03)
5. "I Just Can't Get Enough" (4:34)
6. "Baptism of Fire" (3:08)
7. "Ain't Gonna Take It" (4:47)
8. "I'm on Fire" (4:24)
9. "Overture in B-Minor/Refugee" (5:42)
10. "Bavarian Rhapsody" (1:17)
11. "Crash Dive" (4:21)

Not much to say here, this is basically a "nothing" album, at best. Only reason I bought the damn thing is because I found it for $1.99 and figured I might as well get it for my collection, considering how difficult it may be to find in the future...

Well...that does it for me. After skipping a few albums (and hearing their dull-as-hell contribution to the first Judas Priest tribute CD), I picked up their '97 release Unleash the Beast...and God, did it SUCK!!! Well, since I've spent more money on Saxon than any band deserves, I'm cutting them off right here. Sorry, guys.

on crappy vinyl:
• "The Eagle Has Landed - live"

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