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Rating: Out with Yngwie, in with Steve. It's 1985 and after the good success of "No Parole From Rock 'N' Roll," Alcatrazz, led by the charismatic singer Graham Bonnet, known to most for his stint with Rainbow on "Down to Earth," releases "Disturbing the Peace."
Strange as it may seem, despite the overwhelming presence, Vai doesn't play the Vai role (although glimpses of "Passion & Warfare" can already be seen in Wire and Wood): "Disturbing the Peace" is not a guitar showcase, but a good hard rock album from the eighties, where a decent rhythm section allows both keyboard and guitar to manage their spaces without one overshadowing the other. The powerful voice of the extraordinary Bonnet stands out above all.
A major piece, as well as a great opener, is God Blessed Video, a typical track of the former MTV era, which immediately clarifies the direction of the album: rhythmic songs, captivating guitar, and the keyboards adding a pop touch. Along this line are the other strong tracks: Painted Lover, Wire and Wood (with a great solo by Vai), Sons and Lovers. There are also more cadenced but no less captivating tracks, such as the powerful Mercy or the intriguing Desert Diamond, as well as less successful ones: Lighter Shade of Green is a brief space for the acrobatic Vai, who enjoys himself like a child doing tapping and graceful whammy bar tricks, and Will You Be Home Tonight is a clumsy attempt at a "keyboard-driven" ballad, not to mention Breaking the Heart of the City.
While not a universal album, which will nevertheless be appreciated by fans of Bonnet and Vai, "Disturbing the Peace" remains a valid testament to the state of rock music in the eighties, an era certainly not very kind to it, an era in which Alcatrazz, along with a handful of artists, managed to navigate with dignity.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 God Blessed Video (03:26)
Lets take a plane and go somewhere exotic
To play with a non-descript song
We'll shoot all the crotch shots for 12 year old hopefuls
To make you a real man my son
Ahhhh real man my son
Some cheap kid from Birmingham
Blessed with an accent
That pours like the darkest brown ale
Just one more puppet, piss elegant marionette
He's just a fast buck for sale
Ahhhh fast buck for sale
Don't you know that God blessed video
We know that God blessed video
Break out the cameras that re-shape my face
And get someone to carve up my hair
If you can't beat them, you might as well join 'em
And be glad to say you were there
Ahhhh say you were there
Don't you know that God blessed video
We know that God blessed video
We know that God blessed video
Don't you know that God blessed video
We know that God blessed video
We know that God blessed video
04 Wire and Wood (03:23)
Down the street a snake of leather sliding off to war,
Out to fight the battle with the boys upon the boards,
Up against the disciples with their backs up to the walls,
They don't care, 'cos they can take the blast
They're just out to bust their balls!
In the arena the battle begins
They're eye to eye face to face...
They come back to feel the smack from the wire and the wood,
Pack that slap, don't take no crap from the wire and the wood.
Crushed against the barricades
And worked up to a rage
How hot it gets, and how the leather sweats,
As they reach to claw the stage
In an hour or two,
The battle will be done
No one leaving in defeat
Both sides having won
Blinded by the silence calling them back home
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