Live & Rare, Vol. 1

Performer: Quiet Riot
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Many (all?) heavy metal fans will agree that Quiet Riot's peak occurred during 1983 and 1984, when the quartet's mugs were constantly plastered all over MTV, and Metal Health and Condition Critical were two of the genre's top sellers. As a result, it seemed inevitable that a "rarities" set that focused specifically on those years would emerge, and in 2005 Live and Rare, Vol. 1 appeared. On the one hand, there's no denying the party atmosphere the band cooks up on such live tracks as "Let's Get Crazy" and "Metal Health" -- you can easily imagine an arena filled with finger-less glove/headband wearing, mullet-sporting headbangers whooping it up. But on the other hand, the live tracks aren't that remarkably different from the studio versions on the two original albums. Regardless, many a metal-loving youth of the era will get a kick out of this trip down memory lane. There are several rarities here, including the studio outtakes "Danger Zone" and "Gonna Have a Riot," as well a trio of demos from Metal Health, which shows the group had the songs down pat before entering the studio. And judging from the album's title, it's only a matter of time until further volumes of Quiet Riot rarities surface (hopefully they'll go easy on the Paul Shortino era). ~ Greg Prato

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