Growing up in Metairie, LA is about as exciting as you could imagine and that\u2019s probably not too much.\u00a0 A close suburb of New Orleans, Metairie at times felt a million miles away.\u00a0 For a city that was so known for its party all night vibe, Metairie was a pretty sleepy, dingy little burb full of shopping malls, car dealerships, and furniture outlets.\u00a0 While not necessarily the most rockin\u2019 town to live, Metairie boasted what I consider to this day to be the greatest record store of all time: Warehouse Records & Tapes on Veterans Blvd.\u00a0 Ok, I\u2019m getting off track.\u00a0 Where was I?\u00a0 Oh yeah.\u00a0 Carrying on.<\/p>\n
The 80\u2019s in the New Orleans area was a pretty kick ass time for hard rock\/metal.\u00a0 New Orleans was spawning bands like Razor White, Victorian Blitz, Dark August, Killer Elite, Hagan, and Graveyard Rodeo to name a few but there was one band that seemed to rise above them.\u00a0 That band was a little band called Lillian Axe and in my opinion, nobody was doing it better than them.<\/p>\n
To be growing up as a young, fledgling metalhead in a city and a time where so many awesome bands were coming out, it was frustrating because at a whopping 12 or 13 years old, I couldn\u2019t get into the clubs.\u00a0 That would change when the aforementioned bands started renting out the gym at a local Catholic school (St. Christopher\u2019s CYO respectively) and suddenly I was able to see these shows.\u00a0 I remember my mom dropping me off and giving me 10 bucks (5 for the cover, 5 for sodas) to see the triple bill of Lillian Axe, Dark August, and Victorian Blitz.\u00a0 I was completely mesmorized by this show and after seeing Lillian Axe that night I was so inspired.\u00a0 These guys were amazing.<\/p>\n
If you were a young person between the years of 1984 and 1986, you at some point received a blank 90 minute cassette that was chockfull of Lillian Axe demos featuring the original line up of Stevie Blaze (guitar), Danny King (drums), Johnny Vines (vocals), and Michael Maxx (bass).\u00a0 Songs like \u201cDream of a Lifetime\u201d, \u201cInside Out\u201d, \u201cAxe Attack\u201d, \u201cLetters in the Rain\u201d and so on were just so fucking good.\u00a0 Even as shitty as the quality of this tape was, I was able to hear a band doing songs that were every bit as good if not better than many of the bands that were huge at that time.<\/p>\n
In 1988, a year before my family moved to Atlanta, it was announced that Lillian Axe had been signed to a major label and was about to release their self-titled debut album.\u00a0 With a brand new lineup featuring former members of the Texas band, Stiff (Ron Taylor \u2013 vocals, Jon Ster \u2013 guitar\/keys, and Rob Stratton \u2013 bass), Lillian Axe now sounded like an even more bold, strong, and professional band than they ever did.\u00a0 With no disrespect to former vocalist Johnny Vines, Ron Taylor was indeed the missing element that had now been found that would take Lillian Axe into the big leagues.<\/p>\n
The self-titled album was such a huge deal in New Orleans and in Metairie because it was local boys done good.\u00a0 Lil Stevie Blaze and his boys were finally about to get the opportunity to show the world what they could do.\u00a0 The album also served as a very important album to me because all of the sudden the impossible seemed very much possible.\u00a0 You didn\u2019t have to go out to California and starve and roll around broke and flyering the Sunset Strip.\u00a0 You could be from Metairie, New Orleans, wherever and as long as you had talent, worked hard, and dreamed even harder, the sky was the limit and that was a powerful dose of inspiration that I still carry with me to this day.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been years since I sat down with this album and listened to it from start to finish.\u00a0 This is going to be interesting for sure and I\u2019m eager to dive into this one.\u00a0 Ok, enough talking.\u00a0 Let\u2019s break down the debut album by Lillian Axe song by song.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dream of a Lifetime<\/strong><\/p>\n This was the first and only single off of this album.\u00a0 This was the song that the label really thought was going to be a hit for the band.\u00a0 Well, back in the day it was my least favorite song by the band and hearing it now I have to say that it\u2019s still the same.\u00a0 While I may not love this tune, I don\u2019t hate it and honestly it was a great choice to introduce the world to Lillian Axe.\u00a0 The biggest problem with this release was the video.\u00a0 My god what an awful video.\u00a0 It even got \u201ctrashed\u201d on MTVs show \u201cSmash or Trash.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s also a bummer that this was the only single because there are some great songs on this album that could\u2019ve broke the band in a bit more if promoted and released properly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Inside Out<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s fun to hear how the sound of this band takes such a dramatic, heavy turn.\u00a0 Dream of a Lifetime is so friendly sounding and \u201cInside Out\u201d definitely has more gritty, angry sound to it.\u00a0 This is the song I remember some of my friends who were into heavier stuff being surprised to hear from them.\u00a0 This just a solid fucking song.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Vision in the Night<\/strong><\/p>\n Hands down one of my favorite songs by Lillian Axe.\u00a0 It\u2019s so melodic and Ron Taylor\u2019s vocal delivery on this one is so fucking good.\u00a0 Listening to this album in order like this really shows me just how diverse and dynamic Lillian Axe could be.\u00a0 In just the span of three songs, Lillian Axe flexes their abilities to really stretch things and not nail themselves down to just one type of playing.\u00a0 Also, Steve\u2019s outro guitar playing on this song is absolutely stellar.\u00a0 I really feel like this song could have been a hit for them had it been given the chance.\u00a0 Fantastic song that gets repeat listens from me quite a bit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Picture Perfect<\/strong><\/p>\n For some reason, this particular song always sticks out as one of the most memorable ones from that old Lillian Axe demo.\u00a0 I also have to say that of all the songs, this is pretty much the only one where I feel like Johnny Vines did this one best.\u00a0 Again, no disrespect to Johnny (RIP), but Ron was a much stronger voice and presence but this song was definitely Vines\u2019 all the way. \u00a0Not my favorite song and kind of cheesy but it\u2019s a fun song and one that I never mind hearing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The More That You Get<\/strong><\/p>\n Whenever I see this song title, I always find myself going, \u201cHow does that song go?\u201d\u00a0 Listening to it now, it just kind of sounds like filler to me.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a horrible song but it just doesn\u2019t have the character that the other songs have.\u00a0 It almost sounds like it was just tacked onto the album for some reason.\u00a0 Kind of forgettable.\u00a0 Not insulting or intolerable in the least but just kind of \u201cmeh.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Misery Loves Company<\/strong><\/p>\n Much like with \u201cInside Out\u201d, this song really has Lillian Axe flexing their ability to really kick some fucking ass.\u00a0 This has always been one of my favorite songs and for the longest time they even opened their live shows with this song.\u00a0 This song sounds every bit as good now as it did back in the day.\u00a0 This is definitely a song where I feel Ron Taylor stepped up and owned the fuck out of this one.\u00a0 Great track for sure.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nobody Knows<\/strong><\/p>\n I consider this one to be yet another missed opportunity to really break the band in.\u00a0 This power ballad is every bit as good as any of the ones that were coming out around this time and if the band had been pushed and promoted hard enough, there\u2019s no reason that this song couldn\u2019t have been a hit.\u00a0 In the arena of ballads, I actually think that this is one of the better ones without a doubt.\u00a0 Nothing deep or thought provoking but it\u2019s a fantastic song with some absolutely gorgeous guitar work.\u00a0 Steve\u2019s guitar work on this particular song definitely channels his Randy Rhoads influence which is something I never picked up on until hearing it now.\u00a0 I loved hearing that.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hard Luck<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a song that I remember not liking too much back in the day but man, hearing this one now\u2026 what a fucking killer song.\u00a0 I love the overall dark vibe of the choruses and the hook in this song.\u00a0 This is a song I don\u2019t remember the band ever really playing much but I would love to hear this song live.\u00a0 This is definitely a sadly overlooked gem on this album that deserves more attention.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Waiting in the Dark<\/strong><\/p>\n Holy fuck do I love this song.\u00a0 This is such a dark song and once again shows just how Lillian Axe could dip into that kind of dark, heavier sound and style of playing.\u00a0 Also, I hear more of that Randy Rhoads influence shining through in the underlying acoustic guitar parts that totally reminded me of \u201cDiary of a Madman.\u201d\u00a0 This is such a well done song and I even had to give it a repeat listen.\u00a0 Back in the day this was just a song that I liked a good bit but hearing it now, I fucking LOVE this song and it\u2019s without a doubt one of the shining moments of this album.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Laughing in Your Face<\/strong><\/p>\n While this is definitely not one of my favorite songs, it\u2019s not a terrible song by any means.\u00a0 It\u2019s just a kind of silly, really catchy kind of song but I think it really suffers following \u201cWaiting in the Dark.\u201d\u00a0 Honestly, I also think that this isn\u2019t a great way to close this album out.\u00a0 If I had the ability to sequence this album, this song would\u2019ve been somewhere in the middle and the album would\u2019ve closed with \u201cWaiting in the Dark\u201d because I feel that move would\u2019ve been more dramatic.\u00a0 This song is just silly but again, it\u2019s a fun kind of carefree song.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n