aglasshouse If it weren't for the fact that Great White emerged from the United States, I would certainly confuse this release to be a part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement of the early-1980's. This is because it's clear from their first record that Great White not only synthesized sounds from contemporary glam acts like Mötley Crüe and Quiet Riot, but also from emerging European groups such as Accept and Iron Maiden. This could be because the history of glam metal and the NWoBHM are very similar and happened at similar times, though on different continents.

But what differs Great White's 1984 breakout from albums like Killers or Breaker is the more pronounced hair metal nature of the record; from Jack Russel's catchy vocal hooks to punkish melodies, Great White channels the fabulosity of glam enough to differentiate them from their "darker"-in-tone European cousins. This also goes for lyrical value which, while not seemingly as brash and promiscuous as something Crüe might come out with, is still beautifully cheesy like on songs like 'Bad Boys'.

When it comes time to get heavy though, Great White certainly deliver. 'Substitute''s rollicking drum interlude interspersed with a chugging dissonant riff, the slowly rumbling and oddly dark 'Streetkiller"- these are just a few examples of how Great White uses the glam tradition of being able to please a stadium to bring an enjoyable (and often surprisingly intimidating) performance throughout. Though I will confess that Great White are prone to breaking the great atmosphere they create with awkward segues into uninspired cheesecake sections of pretty-boy rock, admittedly similar to what most glam-style bands do, which are presented seemingly as more of obligations than for sake of actual substance.

Great White's debut is much like a sore thumb compared to the rest of their discography. It's much more heavy, pugnacious, and raunchy than the more commercial style that they would go on to adapt. It remains a rather obscure and underappreciated piece of the sprawling puzzle that is 80's metal.

Stephen The fourth album, "...Twice Shy", strengthened Great White's position by claiming double platinum in 1989, thanks to their huge hits, "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" and the ballad, "The Angel Song", which raced the ladder of Billboard Hot 100 back in the days. Musically, Great White stripped down most of their rocking tracks and introduced a more laid-back release compared to their prior albums, but tracks like "Move It" or "Baby's On Fire" still rolled highly, rocking with style, and Mark Kendall's soulful solos with Russell's roaring vocals were paired perfectly.

"House of Broken Love", a bluesy ballad with such a passionate intro tells the story about a failed relationship from both Kendall and Russell's point of view, the emotion he poured into his singing is just flawless, this track is definitely one of the best they ever made, but I always have a thing about Great White's ballads, they really know how to make a great one. The Ian Hunter's cover, "Once Bitten, Twice Shy", is another hot track for the money, probably these two tracks worth the whole album alone, but without exaggerating too much, I have to admit that despite the commercial success, this album has too many fillers, including the unnecessary "Heart The Hunter" and "She Only".

"Twice Shy" isn't really essential since you can find all great tracks inside in their greatest hits compilation except for the piano ballad, "The Angel Song", but if you like a relaxing rock and roll show with ballads for the cold and lonely night, this album can be bought cheap easily, so grabbing one won't cost you any harm.

Stephen After the successful double platinum certified "..Twice Shy", Great White kept the train rollin' with "Hooked". Released in 1991, they're still riding on the highway of classic rock and roll with bluesy shot. While the previous album leaned toward the commercial side, "Hooked" is more of an idealistic approach which introduced a bold vintage-style rock that could take you back to the mid 70s. Lack of big radio hits like its predecessor, "Hooked" still managed to seize Gold status and considered the band's underrated record and one of their strongest albums to date. The fact that this was backed up by an excellent sound production as well, I will say that's not a false opinion.

Among ten tracks offered, I could easily found many great and favorite tracks here, including the opener, "Call It Rock N' Roll", The Angels cover of "Can't Shake It", and the heart-throbbing piano driven ballad, "Lovin' Kind". Onto the second half, you'll be swarmed with other fantastic tracks such as the homey non-distorted bluesy rock of "South Bay Cities", the uptempo "Desert Moon", and the beautiful acoustical thang of Small Faces single of "Afterglow". The latter was the final single before Steve Marriott left the band and later formed Humble Pie, and Great White did a fantastic job covering that track.

The album's original cover was photographed by John Scarpati and featured a nude female model on a giant hook which later was censored by the protest of Parents' Music Resource Center. It'll be good to have the rare original artwork, but no matter what version you have, it's the music that's important, and this release contained an important music you shouldn't miss if you favor the classic style of bluesy rock combined with a considerable amount of mid-80s glam metal flavor.

Negoba Very Nice Bluesy Glam Metal

Once Bitten was written and recorded long before Great White hit the big time, and for me sounds much more like the band has their heart in the music. From the opening pull-off lick that leads off "Lady Red Light," the band plays with both heart and stones, and ends with one of the best power ballads of all time "Save Your Love." Sure nothing here is out of the ordinary, but it's all done really well.

Great White had paid their dues in bar bands, and all were quite solid players. Singer Jack Russell had a bluesy tone that was able to slip into a glammish hue, settle in to Robert Plant style, and then belt out a bluesy rocker. Mark Kendall had plenty of laid-back tasty phrasing, but also had a little bit of firebreathing in his bag of tricks as well.

The big hit on this one was "Rock Me," which follows the Stairway to Heaven formula of starting slow and ending with full on rock. In this case, however, the quiet start is big open blues shuffle and the end is a monster guitar solo that is one of the best in glam history.

There is a reverb on this album that gives it a distinctive sound. What's more, the bluesy metal sound was just starting to resurge at this point, with increased interest in Led Zeppelin. This album was released at a perfect time to scratch those itches. Unfortunately, the band would choose to intentionally pander on their next album.

Bottom Line: Deserving Hit Song, with an entire album to back it up.

Negoba The Metal is Gone, but Here Comes the Money

Great White had made a name for themselves with the previous album and a bluesy single, and on Twice Shy they decided to go an almost completely blues-rock route. The metal was essentially gone, and the music sounded more like the Georgia Satellites than Judas Priest. This was capped off by the Ian Hunter cover of "Once Bitten Twice Shy." This extremely basic sex-song was a surprise hit, and as it was my least favorite Great White song, I never really listened to the band again after the overplay of the single.

There are some hard rockers like "Mista Bone" here, but Mark Kendall is held much more in check than he was on the previous album. He was already very restrained on the previous album, and actually sounds dumbed down here. Clearly, this album was a very calculated move to appeal to a certain mainstream audience and it worked. But I don't believe the band was true to themselves, and this music doesn't move me at all.

Bottom Line: Formula hard rock hit.