Label: Fame Records (UK), CD-FA 3175
Style: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal
Country: Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England
Time: 38:01
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 278 Mb
Produced
by Nigel Thomas, Denim and Leather is less abrasive than the previous
albums but still sonic meat and potatoes. It’s topped and tailed with
two of the greatest songs Saxon would ever produce. Continuing their
penchant for offbeat lyrical subjects and songs about forms of
transport, opening track Princess of the Night tells the tale of a steam
train delivering mail through ice and snow. (You’ll have to suspend
your disbelief at a British train actually running during such inclement
weather). It’s a darting, precision rocker with a riff you can’t
believe no-one thought of before and a joyously bluesy guitar solo from
Paul Quinn. Closing track Denim and Leather is a genuine and charming
tribute to the metal fans that put Saxon on the map, highlighting the
band’s down-to-earth attitude. It’s a stomping anthem with a huge and
irresistible chorus and one of the most memorable opening lines in metal
history: “Where were you in ’79 when the dam began to burst?”
After
the superb opening the first side is a mixed-bag. Never Surrender is
vintage Saxon and follows Princess of the Night in bruising style but
the quality starts to trail off. Rough and Ready is a stodgily
unconvincing hard-man boast and Play it Loud is a flat stab at a party
anthem. Side 2 immediately gets the album back on track with And the
Bands Played On, another of the album’s outstanding victories. Despite
its musical similarity to 747 (Strangers in the Night) it has its own
unique identity and appeal: a feel-good ode to the inaugural Monsters of
Rock festival at Castle Donington. As with the title track, Saxon’s
everyman charm works wonders: rather than singing about how amazing
their own performance was, they celebrate the festival itself, the
attending horde and name-check other bands on the bill. It’s got simple,
memorable guitar riffs and Biff Byford’s breathless delivery is a joy
“Will it rain, will it snow, will it shine? We don’t know” and it’s one
of those classics you never tire of hearing. Midnight Rider continues
the musical lap of honour, recounting the band’s early tours of the
States with the rolling tempo and gear-changing chords perfectly
capturing the excitement of the road trip. The album’s most ripping
number, the apocalyptic Fire in the Sky, and the triumphant title-track
finish the album on a high.
Along with Wheels of Steel and Strong Arm
of the Law, Denim and Leather is often thought of as the third in
Saxon’s “classic trilogy”. As is often the case with trilogies, the
final part is the weakest of the three but it’s still a must-hear with
some of the band’s most accomplished songwriting and the guitar duo of
Graham Oliver/Paul Quinn at a lively peak. The highlights are
magnificent metal classics and far outweighs any filler to elevate the
album to star status. It was their second highest charting album in the
UK so Saxon’s position at the head of the NWOBHM pack remained secure
and just two years on from their debut release they already had a
discography and a following worthy of celebration. The dam was well and
truly burst.
(heavymetaloverload.com/2015/01/05/saxon-denim-and-leather-review/)
Album recorded and mixed in the analog domain - AAD. That is, a minimum of digital processing.
A=Analog.
D=digital. The first letter stands for how the music was recorded. The
second letter for how it was mixed. The third letter stands for the
format (all CD's will have D as the last letter).
01. Princess Of The Night (04:01)
02. Never Surrender (03:12)
03. Out Of Control (04:08)
04. Rough And Ready (04:51)
05. Play It Loud (04:10)
06. And The Bands Played On (02:48)
07. Midnight Rider (05:45)
08. Fire In The Sky (03:36)
09. Denim And Leather (05:26)
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