Released By : Angel Air Records
Genre : Classic Rock
Links : http://www.myspace.com/delbromhamstray
Tracklist:
Disc 1
1. Dawn Rising
2. A New Dawn
3. No Future
4. Dangerous Games
5. Maybe You Want Me
6. Trouble
7. The Man In My Head
8. White Knuckle Fever
9. Further To Fall
10. Rock Steady
Disc 2
1. Leave It Down To Us
2. Fire And Glass
3. After The Storm
4. Take A Life
5. Jericho
6. I Believe It
7. Mister Wind
8. Buying Time
9. Running Wild
10. All In Your Mind
U.K classic rock band STRAY have been in existence since the late sixties, but with some recent re-issues and a new studio album, interest in the group has never been stronger. STRAY are not a band widely spoken about in music circles, but they are very well respected by many rock purists, especially fans of the seventies U.K rock movement.
The latest in a long line of re-issues is this two-disc set released by Angel Air Music which combines the 1997 studio comeback album NEW DAWN and the 1996 live album ALIVE AND GIGGIN’. The interesting choice of albums shows a stark contrast in quality as the studio album NEW DAWN shows that the band’s particular style of songwriting doesn’t quite cut it in the modern age, but on the other hand ALIVE AND GIGGIN’ shows that STRAY always were, and still are a live powerhouse that should be experienced on stage more than on disc.
That’s not to say that the material on NEW DAWN is bad, it just seems to be lacking a bit of the magic that some of the earlier releases had, and has since been surpassed by the excellent 2009 studio release VALHALLA, which really was a true return to form for DEL BROMHAM and co.
Die hard STRAY fans (of which I’m sure there are many) will probably already own at least of the albums from this set, but if you yet to discover ALIVE AND GIGGIN’ this is a very worthy format to pick up, with a decent booklet featuring extensive liner notes written by Pete Feestra and plenty of little interview snippets that are informative and quite fun to read.
Another good release from Angel Air that only slightly suffers from a bit of a misfire on the studio album, but more than makes up for it with the live disc and great booklet. Recommended for classic power trio rock fans, just make sure to listen to some samples of the studio album. The live disc I can blindly recommend to just about anybody.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 7/10
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