You have to say that, for a demo album, the quality of recording is not only excellent, but it goes more than halfway to showcasing exactly what makes this band tick, both live and in the studio. Opening with their classic and surefire live crowd-pleaser "Black Monday", we immediately get a taste of all that makes this band so hot - the pummelling bass, the dramatic, driving drums, searing lead guitar with bluesy slide touches, the depth and riffing splendour of the rhythm guitar work, all topped off with the high-register vocal and memorable multi-harmony chorus - it's an immediate winner and one of those all-important tracks that sticks in your head for days, never mind hours, after you've heard it and, in this context, lets you know firmly and efficiently that you're dealing with a unique band who can fuse seventies rock, contemporary indie and blues-rock into a whole new brew that has the desired effect.
"Come On" revolves around a diving and soaring electric slide guitar lead as riffs tumble all around and the rhythm section crashes on, then dissolves to the slide guitar and subdued holler of a vocal, as the song unfolds and the arrangement twists and turns, eventually blossoming out in an inferno of dynamic rock proportions as the band drive towards a tight and huge-sounding finale, all guitars blazing and rhythm section solid as tungsten steel. "Too Hard To Find" is a more anthemic track, although lacking the hook-oriented immediacy of the previous two, yet still rocking out and almost Faces-like in the instrumental parts.
"WGACA" slows things down, still with a slightly pumping rhythm, starting the song with multi-part harmonies of great delicacy and strength as an emotive dual lead vocal soars and the song rises up as the guitars swirl and spiral, the staccato lead work winding itself around your ears and inside your head to magical degree, on a song that really is a slow-building but strong sounding contemporary anthemic ballad. "Leader" has been a stage favourite for aeons and this early version still sounds great to this day, with that spiralling high register lead vocal above the pumping rhythms and stirring dual guitar lead work, as the song defies you not to leap about to its addictive qualities, a sort of indie-boogie with attitude and steely intensity. "Given Up" is headed by a scorching lead guitar as the emotive anthemic song surges forward, the vocals strong, the staccato rhythms and pumping guitar riffing absolutely spot on, as the song breaks out into choruses, harmonies and searing guitar leads, vocals returning to take the song to its conclusion.
"Get Too Near" has echoes of early Rolling Stones mixed in with the strident rock-blues qualities of the track and comes out in powerful fashion. "Say It Again" mixes strident power with mid-paced intensity and their anthemic song qualities, as it all ebbs and flows, from soaring emotive leads through softer but strong-sounding and infectious choruses to driving band-driven effectiveness, while the guitar work all round continues to shine, some economic, razor-sharp soloing on a song that twists and turns in such an enjoyable manner.
As icing on the cake, you get two bonus tracks in the form of live renditions of "Lady Lucifer" and "Liger", both mixing desk recordings, the first of which is another of their indie-rock anthems wrapped in their own unique mix of guitars-driven rock, contemporary bluesy qualities and soaring vocals, all adding up to a soaring gem of a song. The latter is altogether more urgent, taking the boogie route to your brain and, once again, an exercise in dynamic arranging that moves from strident verses to stirring choruses above a driving sea of guitars and pumping rhythms.
As a representation of what the band is all about, this CD really rather superb and proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that if this is the band on demo form, then the real thing stands a chance of being absolutely electrifying.