XL New York

XL New York

Genres: hard rock, heavy metal, melodic, AOR, Glam Metal

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About XL New York

Bass, Vocals– Dave Trupia Drums, Percussion, Vocals– Michael Starmer Guitar– Danny Fuchs Keyboards, Vocals– Rick Starmer Lead Vocals– John Gorman, Tony Fontaine Producer– John Anthony Album: Walkin New York Label: Retrospect Records ‎– RR-209 Format: CD, Album Country: US Released: 2006 Genre: Rock Style: Hard Rock Comments: "They are what we thought they were!" was the rant from Arizona Cardinals' head coach Dennis Green recently when his team lost after giving up a 20 point lead in the fourth quarter. The same could be said about XL New York with their new release, Walkin New York. They are exactly what they look like -- a solid '80s metal band that probably didn’t get their label’s attention and had to settle for busting their ass on the road to earn every little bit of success they had. Walkin New York is a compilation of XL New York's music from 1984 to 1990 released on Retrospect Records. Like the name implies, Retrospect is a label that releases albums from good ‘80s bands that maybe didn't have enough success to continue production of their album into the compact disc age. Because this album is a collection of songs that is being re-released, Retrospect took the opportunity to have these songs remixed and re-mastered. So if you had any old XL New York albums or were a fan from back in the day, you will appreciate the subtle improvements here. There are still some flaws in the older songs from deterioration of the analog tape prior to copying the tracks into the digital realm. The only other noticeable inconsistency is in the production. Since many of the tracks were recorded at different times and perhaps in different studios, the drum tones, guitar and vocal effects, equalization, bass tones and overall sounds are different from song to song. If you’re not familiar with XL New York, they could be included with such rock bands as King Kobra, Helix, Rail and Autograph to name a few. Their choruses are sugar-coated hooks with plenty of harmonies. The vocals have the usual '80s style 325 millisecond delay. The guitar tones are biting and the riffs are vintage '80s metal with the heavy reverb while the solos are melodic and energetic. The band toys with keyboards in many of the songs and they’re mixed in nicely (see: unlike Quiet Riot’s QRIII album). Keeping in tradition of the '80s metal music attitude, XL New York's lyrics are about living on the edge and being wild and young. In fact “Living on the Edge” is exactly about that. There is nothing clever or introspective here. "Red light, green light; walkin New York" is an example of what you'll find lyrically throughout the album. Another example can be found on "Snake Bite," where Tony Fontaine yells "Snake bite on the run; she got a snake bite; she'll take your life". Tony sounds a lot like Jeff Keith from Tesla mixed with a little Bruce Naumann from Hericane Alice for good measure. While his voice really seems to fit the band well, he only sings on 6 of the 11 tracks. The other 5 tracks, recorded from ’84 to ’86, feature John Forman on lead vocals. It is so nice that someone is taking time to go back and find the gems of years past like Retrospect Records has done. The production and song writing style is certainly dated on this album (what do you want, it’s a re-release!), but if you miss those glory days, get your ears on Walkin New York. It will put you right back in 9th grade again. Seriously, check your face; there will be acne forming by the time you get to the end of the album.

Taken from Last.fm

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