Marseille
Red, White and Slightly Blue

THE REVIEW

Marseille who? In this review, we take a look at an album from a band that not many will know, hailing from the dawn of the scene that would later be named NWOBHM. English, these Marseille were formed in Liverpool in 1975, and driven by much more famous bands such as Ufo and Judas Priest, three years later they released their debut album: Red White And Slightly Blue. Coming from an English band, we are at first struck by the album cover and its very title, as references to France were quite unusual in late '70s British society.

This record, right from the first notes, highlights strong influences from hard rock and glam rock of that decade, starting with the opening track “No Time To Lose”, followed by “Can Can”, “She Gives Me Hell” and arriving at the ballad “I Felt No Pain”. In these first four tracks, we immediately notice a very solid sound production for the standards of emerging bands of those years, with sharp guitars, vocal harmonies, and well-defined guitar solos in the forefront; this demonstrates how the solidity of the musical scene Marseille belonged to had both the means and the cultural relevance to emerge in its best form. The freshness that comes out of these songs is something that, put into the context of their time, was certainly relevant since, despite the obvious references, they manage to sound different from what, just a few years earlier, was the standard of rock music. The album continues into territories dominated by riffs halfway between hard rock and the rising punk movement with the track “Dear Doctor” and songs that could come straight out of Killing Machine by Judas Priest, such as “The French Way” and “Motherly Love”. In this batch, we immediately notice a departure from certain scales and riffs based on the blues (except for some guitar solos), a rather innovative element for 1978 and which, together with the other groups of the scene, would soon define the metal sound as we know it today; the glam rock influences, however, resurface toward the end of the album with “Percival” and “Lolita”, the latter an energetic track opened by a powerful riff, as sharp as a razor blade. Throughout this tracklist, the voice of singer Paul Dale remains always powerful and clean, in line with the style offered by hard rock and heavy metal bands of that era; the guitars, with dueling riffs and solos played in a call-and-response manner, are another typical hallmark of all the NWOBHM to come—the two guitarists, Andy Charters and Neil Buchanan, although unknown today, prove to be highly competent both in execution and composition. Fun Fact: guitarist Neil Buchanan is, for those who watched the show Art Attack in the 2000s, the very same person—the artist behind the sand sculptures and co-host of the show. As for the fate of the band and its musicians after this album, things were not exactly brilliant; after two more albums, they disbanded and, having remained almost unknown in the music scene, would reunite only in 2010, far from the success enjoyed by their peers from other bands in the movement.

Returning to the album analysis, to conclude, we can confirm the robustness of the lineup, with an album that is certainly raw but possesses good inspiration and, after nearly fifty years, leaves us with that vintage aftertaste that never hurts. It may not be a masterpiece of British music but, in terms of its timing, it anticipated many of the most famous albums of the aforementioned scene; among these, Denim And Leather by Saxon (1981), See You In Hell by Grim Reaper (1983), and the masterpiece Screaming For Vengeance by Judas Priest (1982). For lovers of vintage discoveries and albums that didn’t break through despite solid overall quality, this Red White And Slightly Blue is a stop you must make.

Best tracks: “No Time To Lose”, “I Felt No Pain”, “Lolita”

Rating: 78/100