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Rating:
After the success of "Denim And Leather", in 1983 Biff Byford and company released their fifth studio album: this "Power & The Glory", less incisive in my opinion than its illustrious predecessors, but still an entry of great respect, always full of their unmistakable dirty and captivating sound.
Opening the dance is the fantastic title track; "The Power And The Glory", indeed: a story of rough and fierce mercenaries, a kind of gritty street epic, a compelling, aggressive, fast, fierce, compact song without any weak points: a real wall of fire in pure Saxon style; a special mention for the chiseling work of bassist Steve Dawson and another for the refrain, compelling and you never want it to end: ultimately this is, at least in my opinion, the most successful track of the album, along with the concluding one, "The Eagle Has Landed". Following is the more relaxed "Redline", a typical biker and motorcycle song, which some might find a bit predictable, with its classic rock'n'roll gait, but which I really like, especially the guitar solo, dreamy and aggressive at the same time. The next "Warrior" in its initial part recalls "Dissident Aggressor" by the never too praised Judas Priest, and for the rest it goes on fast, singing of Nordic warriors and coastal village devastations, but without any particular highlights, except for the solo, truly very engaging. Introduced by an acoustic arpeggio, which would suggest a sappy ballad, comes instead "Nightmare", indeed a gentler track but not at all sugary: in fact, it is a piece that alternates harder parts with more dreamy and almost melancholic ones, like the refrain, which however is characterized by the square guitars of Graham and Quinn, and the final part, where the acoustic guitar returns. The following "This Town Rocks" is a typical arena anthem, introduced by a drum burst from their new member, Nigel Glockler, who entered to replace Pete Gill, and who provides a very convincing show of strength precisely in this piece.
"Watching The Sky", dedicated to the movie "ET", deals, in fact, with aliens and spaceships and is, according to Saxon themselves, the most commercial piece of the lot: in fact, the melody is catchy and 'catchy', but sudden more metallic comebacks are not absent, while the ending surprises, taking on an almost rock'n'blues pace and fading a bit quickly, almost to emphasize even more the change of tempo. "Midas Touch" is another excellent piece, alternating acoustic parts with guitar outbursts in the refrain; Byford's interpretation is excellent, sometimes suffering and sometimes aggressive: even the guitar solo develops in this dualism: initially slow and suffering, with the support of the acoustic guitar, then fast and launched with full power. The piece is good, but nothing compared to what the last track reserves: slow, majestic, solemn, akin in rhythm and sound to the most psychedelic Led Zeppelin, almost sneakily comes "The Eagle Has Landed", bringing us back to the distant and magnificent 70s, alternating these more psychedelic parts with harder ones, but never fast or excessive, always measured, solemn, with a slight pinch of the very first NWOBHM (I refer to the very first Judas of "Sad Wings Of Destiny", in particular "Victim Of Changes", where nonetheless the latter were still heavily influenced by Led Zep and Black Sabbath); an absolutely must-listen piece, unmissable, which only at the end picks up more speed, without ever breaking the dream.
An album perhaps not excellent (I am not referring to the individual episodes but to its entirety) but still one to have, without a doubt; recommended to all lovers of NWOBHM and well-crafted rock of the past, a purchase that will disappoint no one: guaranteed!!
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Power and the Glory (05:57)
Put me to battle I'll follow the sound of the gun
Give me an order, command me I'll fire at will
I've got no emotions I'm living with thunder and steel
I don't hear your lies all I hear are your battle cries
I'm a soldier of fortune I'm trained and I'm ready to die
To the power and the glory
Raise your glasses high
To the power and the glory
Be with me tonight
A cold death awaits me tonight if I stumble or fall
My friends lay around me their bodies all tattered and torn
But mine is not to reason why, mine is just to do or die
To the power and the glory
Raise your glasses high
To the power and the glory
Be with me tonight
Can you feel the power
Can you feel the glory
Can you feel the power
Can you feel the glory
Can you feel the power
Is it with you tonight
I'm fighting for freedom, I'm safe, I've got God on my side
What price in lights (?) can you justify your battle hymn
The General says we'll will win the war just sacrificed a thousand more
To the power and the glory
Raise your glasses high
To the power and the glory
Be with me tonight
Tonight, tonight, tonight
To the power and the glory
Raise your glasses high
To the power and the glory
Be with me tonight
Tonight, yaya
02 Redline (03:38)
Hey baby (*)
Why don't you come and ride with me
Like a bullet
I'm the fastest thing you've ever seen
Hey Momma (**)
Can't you hear the master scream
Feel the power
Riding on my mean machine
Just me and my machine (***)
Out on the highway
Just me and my machine
I'll take you tonight
To the redline
Like lightning
It's the only way I get my fun
Don't stop me
I got to let my motor run
Sensation
Running up and down my spine
Celebration
Streaking past the winner line
(Repeat ***)
(Repeat *)
(Repeat **)
(Repeat ***)
To the redline
I'll take you tonight
To the redline
Redline
03 Warrior (03:47)
They land on your shore
Kick down your door
Invaders from over the sea
They rape and they slaughter
Your wifes and your daughter
Pillage the wealth from your land
Where do they come from
These warrior hordes
With their death and destruction to you
They come with the thunder
They kill and they plunder
Pillage the wealth from your land
So build your defenses
Against the invader
The terror from over the sea
Warrior came (*)
Warrior saw
Warrior conquered
Warrior came
Warrior saw
Warrior conquered
A village is peaceful
No sign of danger
People at work in the fields
Then they hit you like lightning
Stealing and fighting
Driving you down in the weeds
Over the border
The raiding marauder
Gathers his wealth to the sea
So you bury your dead
Put out the fires
And the death will be back with the tide
So build your defenses
Against the invader
The terror from over the sea
(Repeat *)
They land on your shore
Kick down your door
Invaders from over the sea
They rape and they slaughter
Your wifes and your daughter
Pillage the wealth from your land
Where do they come from
These warrior hordes
With their death and destruction to you
They come with the thunder
To steal and to plunder
Spilling your blood on the ground
So build your defenses
Against the invader
The terror from over the sea
(Repeat * twice)
04 Nightmare (04:25)
Where are you
In the night
Where are you
In the night
As the night closes in
I lay in my bed
Since you went away
It's been driving me mad
Stand in my room
I can't see the light
I wish you were here
I'm lonely at night
I'm caught in a nightmare (*)
Alone in the night
I was caught in a nightmare
Alone in the night
I was caught in a nightmare
Alone in the night
I was caught on the inside
I'm afraid of the night
Let my nightmare begin
Where reality ends
I won't sleep tonight
My head's spinning round
I'm alone in a crowd
I'll wait for the dark
For my nightmare to start
I'm lonely at night
Don't leave me this way
(Repeat *)
I was caught in a nightmare
Alone in the night
Oh, well you found me
Alone in the night
Don't leave me this way
Don't walk away
Alone in the night
Don't leave me, no
Don't walk away
05 This Town Rocks (03:58)
This town knows how to rock (*)
This town knows how to rock
This town knows how to rock
This town knows how to rock
We gonna send some knights
That gonna vandalize your soul
It does no good to sit there
Stand up and rock and roll
We know what to do in here
We'll start a ballroom blitz
So come on down and rock with us
We'll blow this town to bits
Well I ain't seen a town like this since 1974
I want so see you rock tonight, we gonna lock the doors
(Repeat *)
I've walked the streets of London
And I've been to Tokyo
I've seen the Coliseum
And I've grasped the Berlin Wall
I've heard the pipes of Scotland
Seen the eartbound snow
I've crossed the Mississippi
I've touched the Alamo
Well I ain't seen a town like this since 1974
I want to see you rock tonight, we gonna lock the doors
(Repeat *)
(Solo)
(Repeat *)
07 Midas Touch (04:13)
See the man in the bookshop
See his withered hand
He walks very slowly
Never stands in crowds
Children stand in wonder
As he turns and walks away
Closely guards the secret
Of the fury in his eyes
He's the man with the midas touch (*)
He'll make you burn with just one look
He's the man with the midas touch
He's got the fury in his eyes
He looks so innocent
As he shuffles down the street
But he is the holy sentinel
That guards the gates of Hades
To stop the Lord of Darkness
Coming straight from Hell
The bringer of disaster
The one who took the bread
(Repeat *)
Until the final conflict
He has to walk the earth
To do his master's bidding
And stop the evil force
He waits for Armageddon
The Nazarene will come
Rising from the ashes
Of the fallen one
(Repeat * three times)
08 The Eagle Has Landed (06:56)
In a giant´s step of mankind
On a distant lunar sea
As you travel cross the universe
Will you take a step
Take a step for me
Will you take a step for me
The voyage of an eagle
Blasting to the stars
You take the hopes and dreams of men
To find yourself
To find tranquillity
To find tranquillity
Speeding across the universe
And placed a lonely flag
Out there in isolation
At the final
Final frontier
At the final frontier
Celebration
As we wait for your return
You took a giant leap for mankind
On another
On another world
On another world
Take it easy
Take it slow
Don't go fast
Don't let go
The eagle has landed (Repeat 4 times)
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